Antihelix-conforming ear-mount for personal audio-set

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/361,490 entitled “Antihelix-Conforming Ear-Mount For Personal Audio-Set,” filed on Mar. 2, 2002, and is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to, the following U.S. Design Applications, U.S. Des. application Ser. No. 29/161,922, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Des. Pat. No. D469,755 on Feb. 4, 2003; U.S. Des. application Ser. No. 29/161,923, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Des. Pat. No. D470,128 on Feb. 11, 2003; U.S. Des. application Ser. No. 29/161,924, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Des. Pat. No. D470,122 on Feb. 11, 2003; and U.S. Des. application Ser. No. 29/161,926, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Des. Pat. No. D470,123 on Feb. 11, 2003, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a mount for a headset and the like that compresses to conform with the inner ridge of a wearer's ear known as the antihelix, thereby comfortably and detachably securing the headset in place.

[0003] Personal audio-sets, commonly known as headphones, earphones, headsets, and the like, are gaining in popularity. The typical audio-set includes a frame containing an earphone which is usually positioned over or in a wearer's ear. In cases where the audio-set is a headset, a microphone is also typically positioned on the frame near-the wearer's mouth.

[0004] It is important that the frame of the audio-set securely hold these components in their proper places with respect to the wearer, without being unduly heavy and without causing discomfort to the wearer. Historically, the frames of personal audio-sets have included a headband that the wearer positions over or behind their head to hold an earphone portion over one or both ears. However, some headband-type personal audio-sets inadvertently compress the wearer's head and/or ears thereby causing discomfort, particularly when the personal audio-set is worn for extended periods.

[0005] More recently, personal audio-sets have been mounted to a wearer without using a headband. For example, headphones have been clipped around a wearer's ear as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,171 to Marshall. However, these types of mounts are relatively bulky structures and some wearers feel discomfort supporting the personal audio-set in this matter. In addition, most ear clip designs do not easily lend themselves to being worn over either a wearer's left or right ear.

[0006] Also, some personal audio-set rely on ear plug-type mounts, which are also commonly known as ear bud-type mounts, that are either physically wedged either into the wearer's ear canal or hooked on the intertragal notch of the wearer's ear as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,253 to Nagayoshi et al. However, the size of a wearer's ear and ear canal differ greatly between wearers. Accordingly, different sized ear plugs must typically be offered to account for these differences in ear and ear canal sizes. Moreover, since the entire weight of the assembly is supported by such a small portion of the ear, these types of mounts feel uncomfortable for some wearers.

[0007] In addition, in order to optimize the sound qualities of the audio set, it is desirable for the sound pressure producing device, such as the headphone driver or other audio transducer, to be pneumatically coupled to the tympanic membrane (also known as the “eardrum”) via the external auditory meatus (also known as the “ear canal”). However, many typical ear bud-type mounts permit an excessive amount of pneumatic leakage between the ear bud and the wearer's ear. This excessive leakage is usually perceived as a loss in the low frequency region of the sound transmission spectrum.

[0008] More recently, some manufacturers of ear bud-type mounts have attempted to reduce this pneumatic leakage by completely occluding the ear canal with the ear bud. While such occlusion blocks a large portion of background noise, they also tend to increase the passive attenuation of the system. Accordingly, such designs are often perceived as unnatural by the wearer. In addition, under some circumstances, such as when using a headset in an office or while driving, it is undesirable to completely block all ambient noise by occluding the ear canal with the ear bud. According, such ear bud designs tend to be undesirable for many uses.

[0009] Accordingly, despite the available improvements offered by personal audio-set ear mounts, there remains a need for an ear mount that is light weight, not bulky, and comfortable to wear, that also minimizes pneumatic leakage between the ear bud and the ear without substantially increasing the passive attenuation of the system. In addition to other benefits that will become apparent in the following disclosure, the present invention fulfills these needs.

[0010] The present invention is a personal audio set, such as a headphone, earphone, or headset, that includes a mounting portion and an ear bud. The mounting portion preferably has an ear bud mounting portion and an anti-helix mounting portion. The anti-helix mounting portion is preferably a band or loop of resilient material that has an opening therethrough. The band compresses into the opening to conform with the antihelix of the wearer, thereby detachably securing the personal audio set within a wearer's ear. More preferably, the mounting portion is substantially kidney-shaped and biased to a neutral position such that the anti-helix mounting portion acts like a compression spring.

[0011] The ear bud contains a headphone driver or other audio transducer (collectively referred to herein as a “speaker” or “headphone” herein) and is operably secured to the wearer's ear at the ear's tragus. Accordingly, the weight of the audio set is evenly distributed between a surface area of the ear defined by a relatively large portion of the wearer's antihelix at the mounting portion and the ear's tragus at the ear bud. The biasing force of the mounting portion urges the mounting portion to conform with the unique shape of each wearer's antihelix, thereby detachably securing the personal audio set to the wearer's ear and forcing the ear bud against the wearer's tragus.

[0012] The opening in the mounting loop prevents the total occlusion of the ear canal, thereby allowing desirable ambient sounds to be heard by the wearer, while still allowing the headphone driver to remain in substantially pneumatic communication with the wearer's eardrum.

[0013] Preferably, the mounting portion and personal audio set are shaped to fit in both a wearer's left or right ear.

[0029] A personal audio set 10, such as a headphone, earphone 10′ (FIGS. 8 and 13-15), or headset 10″ (FIGS. 1-7, and 9-12), that includes a compressible mounting portion 12 that compresses to conform with the antihelix 90 of the wearer's ear 92 thereby detachably securing the personal audio set 10 within the wearer's ear 92 is disclosed in FIGS. 1-15.

A. Kidney-shaped Ear Loop

[0030] In a first preferred embodiment, shown in FIGS. 1-3, the personal audio set 10 is a headset 10″ having a frame 14 with a boom microphone 16 extending longitudinally from an ear bud 18. The ear bud 18 preferably contains driver or other audio transducer (collectively referred to herein as a “speaker 20” or earphone), and wiring (not shown) usually extends from the headset 10″ to operably connect the headset 10″ to an appropriate audio device (not shown).

[0031] As best shown in FIG. 2, the ear bud 18 is sized to be received within a wearer's ear 92 such that the speaker 20 is positioned over the ear canal 94 of the wearer's ear 92 with the outer portion 24 of the ear bud 18 positioned adjacent to the tragus 96 of the wearer's ear 92.

[0032] A compressible mounting portion 12, which is biased to a neutral position shown in FIG. 1, extends from the frame 14 and is operably secured to the ear bud 18. Preferably, the mounting portion 12 includes and ear bud mounting portion 21 and an antihelix mounting portion 23. The ear bud mounting portion 21 is operably secured to the ear bud 18. Preferably, the ear bud mounting portion 21 is pivotally secured around the ear bud 18 defining a pivot 25. Accordingly, the position of the frame 14 relative to the mounting portion 12 may be adjusted about the pivot 25.

[0033] More preferably, the ear bud mounting portion 21 is constructed from a resilient cushioning material such that the outer portion 27 of the ear bud mounting portion 21 contacts and cushions the wearer's ear 92. Moreover, the ear bud mounting portion 21 preferably encircles the speaker 20 and has a thickness sufficiently large to operably engage the wearer's concha 97 around the ear canal as shown, thereby providing a quasi-pneumatic seal between the speaker 20 and the wearer's ear canal.

[0034] One known material having these properties is silicone rubber. One brand of silicone rubber having particularly desirable characteristics for this purposes has a Shore A hardness of about 50, a tensile strength of about 10.5 MPa, and a Specific Gravity of about 1.13 g/cm³. Such a product is commercially available. For example, the Dow Corning Corporation of Midland, Mich., USA sells such a product under the trademark SILASTIC NEW GP 500.

[0035] The antihelix mounting portion 23 extends from the ear bud mounting portion 21 and is sized to operably engage the wearer's antihelix 90. The mounting portion 12 is preferably a loop of resilient material 26 that compresses substantially in the direction of arrow 30 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to conform with the particular shape of the antihelix 90 of the wearer's ear 92. Accordingly, the mounting portion 12 functions essentially as a compression spring.

[0036] More preferably, the mounting portion 12 is substantially kidney-shaped as best shown in FIG. 1, defining an outer edge 31 that operably engages the antihelix 90 of the wearer and a concave inner edge 33 sized to avoid the wearer's crus of helix 99. The loop of resilient material 26 preferably defines a substantially kidney-shaped opening 35 thereby allowing the loop of resilient material 26 to compress into the opening 35 during use. Moreover, this opening 35 also prevents the speaker 20 from totally occluding the ear canal thereby allowing some ambient noise to be heard by the wearer without unduly compromising the quasi-pneumatic seal between the speaker 20 and wearer's ear canal formed by the mounting portion 12. Acoustic testing has confirmed the benefits of this structure.

[0037] A wearer detachably secures the personal audio set 10 within one of their ears 92 by compressing the mounting portion 12 substantially in the direction of arrow 30 (FIGS. 1) while aligning the mounting portion 12 with their ear's antihelix 90. He or she then positions the ear bud 18 adjacent to their tragus 96 and releases the mounting portion 12. The mounting portion 12 seeks to return to its neutral position thereby urging the mounting portion 12 to conform to the shape of the antihelix 90 and urging the ear bud 18 against the wearer's tragus 96. Accordingly, the personal audio set is secured to the wearer's ear 92, thereby securing the personal audio set within the ear and evenly distributing the pressure along a large portion the wearer's antihelix 90 and tragus 96.

[0038] Preferably, the mounting portion 12 is reversible so that it may fit equally well in either the wearer's left ear (92b, FIG. 2) or right ear (92a, FIG. 7). The mounting portion 12 of the present embodiment my be reversed simply by detaching the ear bud mounting portion 21 from around the ear bud 18 and turning the mounting portion 12 around so that the former exterior surface 37a is now the interior surface 37b, then re-attaching the ear bud 18 to the ear bud mounting portion 21.

[0039] More preferably, the mounting portion is available with different sized anti-helix mounting portions. For example, a mounting portion 12 having a small sized antihelix mounting portion 23 is shown in FIGS. 4-7, a medium-sized anti-helix mounting portion 23 is shown in FIG. 8, and a large sized anti-helix mounting portion 23 is shown in FIGS. 1-3. These different sized mounting portions are preferably sold as a set and allow a wearer the opportunity to select the optimally sized mounting portion that best conforms with their ear.

[0040] Similarly, the personal audio device operably secured to the mounting portion can be an elongate boom microphone 16 as shown in FIGS. 1-3, a shorter microphone assembly 16′ as shown in FIGS. 4-7, or a simple driver 20 as shown in FIG. 8.

B. Alternative Ear Loop

[0041] In a first preferred embodiment, shown in FIGS. 9-11, the personal audio set 10 is a headset 10″ having a frame 14 with a boom microphone 16 extending longitudinally from an ear bud 18. The ear bud 18 preferably contains a speaker 20 and wiring 22 (FIG. 2) extends from the headset 10″ to operably connect the headset 10″ to an appropriate audio device (not shown).

[0042] The ear bud 18 is sized to be received within a wearer's ear 92 such that the speaker 20 is positioned over the ear canal 94 of the wearer's ear 92 with the outer portion 24 of the ear bud 18 positioned adjacent to the tragus 96 of the wearer's ear 92 as shown best shown in FIG. 2.

[0043] A compressible mounting portion 12, which is biased to a neutral position shown in FIG. 1, extends from the frame 14. Preferably, the mounting portion 12 is sized to be operably received against the antihelix 90 of the wearer's ear 92. More preferably, the mounting portion 12 is a loop of resilient material 26 that compresses in the direction of arrow 30 (FIG. 9) to conform with the particular shape of antihelix 90 of the wearer's ear 92 so as to function essentially as a compression spring.

[0044] A wearer detachably secures the personal audio set 10 within one of their ears 92 by compressing the mounting portion 12 in the direction of arrow 30 (FIG. 9) while aligning the mounting portion 12 with their ear's antihelix 90. He or she then positions the ear bud 18 adjacent to their tragus 96 and releases the mounting portion 12. The mounting portion 12 seeks to return to its neutral position thereby urging the mounting portion 12 to conform to the shape of the antihelix 90 and urging the ear bud 18 against the wearer's tragus 96. Accordingly, the personal audio set is secured to the wearer's ear 92.

[0045] Preferably the ear bud 18 includes padding to comfort the connection between the ear bud 18 and the wearer's tragus 96. Similarly, the mounting portion 12 is shaped to conform with the wearer's antihelix 90, thereby evenly distributing pressure along a large portion the wearer's antihelix 90.

[0046] More preferably, the mounting portion and personal audio set are shaped to fit in either a wearer's right ear 92a as shown FIG. 10 or his left ear 92b as shown in FIG. 11.

[0047] Referring now to FIG. 12, the ear bud 18 can also be a pad that rests over the wearer's ear canal. The pad includes an outer portion 24, sized to operably engage the tragus 96 of the wearer's ear 92 when the mounting portion is operably secured to the wearer's antihelix 90 as shown in FIG. 12.

[0048] Referring now to FIGS. 13-15, the personal audio set 10 can also be an earphone 10′ without a boom microphone extending therefrom. The earphone 10′ includes a frame 14 having an ear bud 18. The ear bud preferably contains a speaker 20, and wiring 22 (FIGS. 14 and 15) extends from the earphone 10′ to operably connect the earphone 10′ to an appropriate audio device (not shown).

[0049] The ear bud 18 is sized to be received within a wearer's ear 92 such that the speaker 20 is positioned over the ear canal 94 of the wearer's ear 92 with the outer portion 24 of the ear bud 18 positioned adjacent to the tragus 96 of the wearer's ear 92 as shown best shown in FIG. 14 (right ear 92a) and FIG. 15 (left ear 92b). The mounting portion 12 of the first preferred embodiment is operably secured to the frame 14, thereby allowing the earphone 10′ to be detachably secured to wither the wearer's right or left ears 92a, 92b, respectively.

[0050] If desired, separate earphones 10′ can be secured in both the right and left ears 92a, 92b, respectively, of the wearer, thereby providing stereo sound to the wearer, and allowing the two earphones 10′ to operate like a pair of headphones.

[0051] Having described and illustrated the principles of our invention with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles may be put, it should be recognized that the detailed embodiment is illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of our invention. Accordingly, we claim as our invention all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.