Variable Occlusion Headphones Valve Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sound occluding headphones isolate users from their environment, leading to potential unawareness of important communications and warnings, which can be undesirable.
Innovation Solution
The development of adjustable occlusion headphones with a housing, resilient seal, speaker, and a sensor-processor system that controls a valve member to selectively allow external sound to enter the ear chamber based on sound volume, frequency, or duration, using operators like electric motors or piezoelectric elements to manage sound communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a resilient seal member is used to form an enclosed chamber around the user's ear, then sound isolation and listening quality are improved, but awareness of environmental sounds deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the occlusion state adjustable rather than fixed. The valve member can transition between open and closed positions, allowing the system to dynamically adapt between two occlusion states. This enables the user to switch between full isolation for high-quality listening and partial openness for environmental awareness, resolving the contradiction by making the isolation property changeable rather than static
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the occlusion parameter through the valve member mechanism. By changing the occlusion parameter from fully closed to partially open or fully open, the system can adjust the degree of sound isolation. This allows optimization of both listening quality and environmental awareness by adjusting the occlusion parameter according to different usage scenarios
2Device complexity
If the valve member is controlled manually, then device complexity is reduced, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by using sensors to detect environmental sound levels and automatically adjusting the valve member position based on the detected sound conditions. The system receives feedback from the environment about sound levels and automatically responds by opening or closing the valve, eliminating the need for manual user intervention while maintaining simple device architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the headphone system to automatically monitor environmental sounds and adjust its own occlusion state without external user input. The sensor-processor-valve mechanism allows the system to serve itself by autonomously determining when environmental awareness is needed and automatically opening the passage accordingly
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These headphones reduce or eliminate the isolation issue by allowing important sounds to be perceived, enhancing user awareness of environmental communications and warnings while maintaining a high-quality listening experience.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient seal member on the housing, adapted to surround the user's ear, and with the face of the housing form a chamber enclosing the user's ear
Implementation Method 2
The operator can comprise an electric motor, a piezoelectric element, an electrostrictive element, or a solenoids
Implementation Method 3
The operator can comprise an electric motor, a piezoelectric element, an electrostrictive element, or a solenoids
Implementation Method 4
The headphones preferably further comprise a sensor for sensing sound outside the housing
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable occlusion headphone includes a housing having a face, a resilient seal member on the housing, adapted to surround the user's ear, and with the face of the housing form a chamber enclosing the user's ear. A speaker communicates through the face of the housing to provide sound to the user's ear. There is at least one port in the face of the housing. A passage extends from each port to the exterior of the housing. A valve member associated with each passage, is operable between an open position and a closed position, and an operator for operating each valve member between its open and closed position to control sound communication from outside the housing to the chamber.