Earphone having a controlled acoustic leak port

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11317196-B2
Application number	US-202016868372-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 6, 2020
Priority date	Jun 20, 2012
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

An earphone comprising an earphone housing having a wall comprising (1) a front side that joins (2) an end portion in which a primary sound output opening is formed, which joins (3) a face portion in which a secondary output opening is formed, which joins (4) a back side which joins the front side and encloses a driver, wherein the primary output opening is dimensioned to output sound generated by a diaphragm of the driver contained within the earphone housing into the ear and the secondary output opening is dimensioned to vent the ear to a surrounding environment, and wherein the primary output opening and the secondary output opening face different directions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An earphone comprising:
an earphone housing having a cap portion and a body portion that interlock with one another to enclose a driver, the driver having a front face that outputs sound waves and a back face opposite the front face, the cap portion comprises a first portion and a second portion that are at angles relative to the front face of the driver and together defines a first chamber coupled to the front face of the driver and the body portion defines a second chamber coupled to the back face of the driver,
a first opening formed through the first portion of the cap portion; and
a first port and a second port formed through the body portion of the earphone housing, the first port and the second port facing different directions and open to a surrounding environment.

2. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the body portion comprises a front side that joins a back side to form the second chamber, and the second portion of the cap portion faces a pinna portion of an ear when the first portion is inserted into the ear.

3. The earphone of claim 1 further comprising:
a second opening, wherein the second opening is formed through the second portion, both the first opening and the second opening are directly over the front face of the driver, and the first opening and the second opening face different directions.

4. The earphone of claim 3 wherein the second opening is calibrated to modify a sound pressure level at around 6 kHz.

5. The earphone of claim 3 wherein the second opening has a surface area of from 3 mm 2 to 12 mm 2 .

6. The earphone of claim 3 wherein the second opening has an elongated shape that extends outward from an ear when the first opening is facing an ear canal of the ear.

7. The earphone of claim 3 wherein the earphone housing further comprises a tube portion coupled to the second chamber, and the second port is a bass port formed in the tube portion, the bass port is dimensioned to control a bass response of the earphone.

8. The earphone of claim 3 wherein the second opening is dimensioned to provide consistency in an acoustic performance of the earphone when worn by different users.

9. The earphone of claim 3 further comprising an acoustic material that is snap fit over the first opening or the second opening to tune an acoustic response of the earphone, and a protective material positioned between the acoustic material and the first opening or the second opening.

10. The earphone of claim 1 further comprising a mesh that is snap fit over the first opening, the first port or the second port.

11. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the earphone housing does not have a rubber tip.

12. An earphone comprising:
an earphone housing having a cap portion and a body portion that interlock with one another to enclose a driver, the driver having a front face that outputs sound waves and a back face opposite the front face, the cap portion defines a first chamber coupled to the front face of the driver, and the body portion defines a second chamber coupled to the back face of the driver,
a first opening and a second opening are formed through the cap portion, wherein the first opening and the second opening face different directions and a portion of the front face of the driver is closer to the first opening than the second opening, and
a first port is formed through the body portion defining the second chamber.

13. The earphone of claim 12 wherein an angle formed at an intersection, within the earphone housing, of a first axis through a center of the first opening and a second axis through a center of the second opening is less than 90 degrees.

14. The earphone of claim 12 wherein the second opening has a surface area of from 3 mm 2 to 12 mm 2 .

15. The earphone of claim 12 wherein the first port is a turning port formed through the body portion.

16. The earphone of claim 12 wherein the earphone housing further comprises a second port and a tube portion, the first port is a tuning port, the second port is a bass port and the bass port is formed through the tube portion and faces a different direction than the tuning port.

17. An earphone housing comprising:
a cap portion that defines a first chamber coupled to a front face of a driver and a body portion that defines a second chamber coupled to a back face of the driver that faces a different direction than the front face of the driver, the cap portion having a first side that is at an angle to a second side and the front face of the driver, and the cap portion and the body portion interlock with one another to enclose the driver, and wherein a first opening is formed through the first side, a second opening is formed through the second side, and the first opening, the second opening, the first port and the second port face different directions.

18. The earphone housing of claim 17 wherein the first port and the second port are formed through the body portion.

19. The earphone housing of claim 18 wherein at least portions of the first opening and the second opening are formed directly over the front face of the driver, and the first port is a tuning output port formed over the back face of the driver.

20. The earphone housing of claim 17 wherein the second port is a bass port, and the body portion comprises a tube through which the bass port is formed.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Howes Michael B
• Azmi Yacine
• Porter Scott P
• Aase Jonathan S
• Bright Andrew P
• Wilk Christopher R

Classifications

• H04R1/023

  Screens for loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R1/1058 Primary

  Manufacture or assembly · CPC title

• H04R1/2826

  for loudspeaker transducers · CPC title

• H04R1/1075

  Mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones · CPC title

• H04R1/2849 Primary

  for loudspeaker transducers · CPC title