Wearable Acoustic Ear Protection With Adaptive Sound Attenuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing earplugs with fixed sound filters struggle to adapt flexibly to external sounds, limiting their effectiveness in reducing noise exposure.
Innovation Solution
A wearable acoustic device with microphones, processors, and speakers that use active noise control and adjustable filters to dynamically adjust sound levels based on perceived and external sounds, ensuring proper ear protection and clear audio.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If plugs with special shape and material and a filter with fixed characteristics are used, then external sound volume is reduced, but flexibility to adapt to external sounds is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic adaptability by using multiple microphones to capture external sounds and processing these sounds through signal processing circuits that can dynamically adjust attenuation characteristics. The system transitions from fixed physical filters to dynamically controllable electronic filtering, allowing real-time adaptation to different external sound environments while maintaining protection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the attenuation parameter from fixed (determined by physical filter structure) to variable (controllable through signal processing). By using multiple microphones and processing circuits, the system can adjust attenuation levels and frequency characteristics based on the actual external sound environment, enabling flexible adaptation while maintaining effective sound volume reduction.
2Ease of manufacture
If a filter with fixed characteristics is used, then manufacturing is simplified, but the ability to reduce external sound volume effectively across different frequencies is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical filter system with fixed physical characteristics with an electronic signal processing system. Instead of manufacturing complex physical filters with varying frequency characteristics, the system uses multiple microphones and digital/signal processing circuits to achieve frequency-selective attenuation, simplifying manufacturing while improving effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal sound attenuation system that can handle various frequency characteristics through a single platform. The combination of multiple microphones and programmable signal processing circuits provides multi-functionality, allowing the same device to effectively reduce external sound volume across different frequency ranges without requiring different physical filter designs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If dual microphones and signal processing are used, then flexibility and sound volume control are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sound capture and processing function into multiple segments: multiple microphones for different sound capture positions, separate processing circuits for different signal paths, and independent control mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together to provide flexible sound volume control, managing complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces signal processing circuits as intermediary elements between the microphones and the output. These intermediary circuits process the raw microphone signals, applying attenuation and frequency adjustments before final output. This intermediary layer provides the flexibility needed for adaptive sound control while keeping the physical device structure relatively simple.
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
The device provides flexible sound attenuation, ensuring safe ear protection while allowing for clear audio experience, with independent adjustment for each ear and real-time feedback on noise exposure.
Implementation Method 1
a first microphone configured to collect external sound to acquire input sound
Implementation Method 2
a second microphone configured to collect sound perceived by the ear in a state of the wearable acoustic device being worn on the ear of the user
Implementation Method 3
a speaker configured to output the output sound that is based on the adjusted sound signal
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable acoustic device includes: a first microphone configured to collect external sound to acquire input sound; a second microphone configured to collect sound perceived by the ear in a state of the wearable acoustic device being worn on the ear of a user; a first processor configured to acoustically adjust the input sound using active noise control, based on the sound perceived by the ear collected by the second microphone, to acquire a first sound signal; a second processor configured to perform predetermined filter processing on the input sound, to acquire a second sound signal; a gain adjuster configured to adjust an attenuation amount characteristic of the sound perceived by the ear for a frequency to a predetermined characteristic and sound volume by combining the first sound signal and the second sound signal according to a level of the input sound.