Shape-adaptable audio port surface for ear comfort
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio ports in electronic devices often suffer from reduced sound quality due to gaps formed between the device's surface and the user's ear, either because the device's deformable materials do not deform enough to create sufficient audio coupling or because a complete seal blocks sound transmission.
Innovation Solution
A shape-adaptable surface for audio ports that uses sensors and a processor to adjust the surface's shape and form a channel between the audio port and the user's ear, ensuring optimal audio coupling by conforming to the ear's irregular shape and preventing excessive pressure that could muffle sound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the speaker portion is made of deformable material to cushion the ear, then comfort is improved, but audio coupling is insufficient resulting in gaps that reduce sound quality
Solution Approach 1:
The speaker portion is divided into a rigid support structure and a separate deformable cushioning layer. This segmentation allows the rigid portion to maintain structural integrity and audio coupling while the deformable layer provides comfort, resolving the contradiction between comfort and audio coupling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The speaker portion uses composite construction combining rigid materials for structural support and deformable materials for cushioning. This composite approach enables simultaneous achievement of structural rigidity for sound transmission and material deformability for comfort.
2Ease of operation
If the deformable surface is made highly deformable to create a complete seal, then comfort is improved, but sound transmission is blocked or muffled
Solution Approach 1:
The speaker portion is segmented into rigid and deformable components, where the rigid portion maintains the acoustic pathway for sound transmission while the deformable portion provides sealing and comfort without blocking sound.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the speaker portion have different properties: the rigid support structure provides acoustic pathways in specific locations while deformable regions provide sealing contact with the ear, creating local quality variations that satisfy both sound transmission and comfort requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for providing a shape-adaptable surface for an audio port of a device includes an audio port, a shape-adaptable surface having a plurality of portions, a plurality of sensors coupled to the shape-adaptable surface, wherein the plurality of sensors are operative to sense a plurality of distances between the object and the shape-adaptable surface, and a processor operatively coupled to the shape-adaptable surface and the plurality of sensors, said processor configured to control some of the plurality of portions of the shape-adaptable surface to adjust the plurality of distances and to provide a channel between a sound receiver of the object and the audio port. An improved audio coupling is formed by adjusting the distances between the shape-adaptable surface and the object, thereby transmitting sounds directly from the audio port of the device to a sound receiver of the object.