Systems and methods for assembling non-occluding earbuds

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9258663-B2
Application number	US-201213607560-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2012
Priority date	Sep 7, 2012
Publication date	Feb 9, 2016
Grant date	Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

Systems and methods for assembling non-occluding earbuds are disclosed. The earbud includes a non-occluding housing having a directional sound port offset with respect to a center axis of the earbud. The housing can have an asymmetric shape amenable to in-the-ear retention. Additionally, the housing can have a seamless or nearly seamless construction even though two or more parts are joined together to form the housing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for achieving minimum gap and offset when constructing an earbud that comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, the method comprising:
mating the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly, wherein the mating comprises providing an adhesive to span a gap along a first axis between the cap sub-assembly and the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the mating, applying constant gap-closing pressure to the cap sub-assembly and the rear housing sub-assembly;
during the applying, aligning the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies, wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and
after the aligning, releasing the constant gap-closing pressure.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing the adhesive comprises applying glue to an inner surface of the cap sub-assembly.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mating process comprises soldering a cable to a driver.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap-closing pressure is applied using an alignment device.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to the mating, loading the cap sub-assembly into a cap nest, wherein the cap nest comprises a magnet operative to attract a driver of the cap sub-assembly.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until the gap and an offset along the second axis between them are minimized.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning comprises rotating the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until a desired clocking angle is achieved.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the providing the adhesive comprises providing a pliable glue;
the glue remains pliable during the applying and the aligning; and
the releasing occurs after the glue is no longer pliable.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mating comprises snapping a cap of the cap sub-assembly to a rear housing of the rear housing sub-assembly.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning further comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other comprises moving the cap nest along the second axis.

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the aligning further comprises verifying the gap and offset are minimized using an alignment verification device.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the alignment verification device observes a tangent point of the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the alignment verification device comprises one of a charge-coupled device and a laser measurement instrument.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the rotating comprises observing a parting line of the cap sub-assembly and a parting line of the rear housing sub-assembly.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until an offset along the third axis between them is minimized.

17. A method for constructing an earbud that comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, the method comprising:
coupling the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly by providing an adhesive along a first axis between a first surface of the cap sub-assembly and a first surface of the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the coupling, applying pressure along the first axis to a second surface of the cap sub-assembly and to a second surface of the rear housing sub-assembly; and
during the applying, moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising, during the applying, moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.

19. A method for constructing an earbud using a cap nest, wherein the earbud comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, wherein the cap sub-assembly comprises a driver comprising a driver magnet, and wherein the cap nest comprises a cap nest magnet, the method comprising:
loading the cap sub-assembly into the cap nest by attracting the driver magnet to the cap nest magnet;
coupling the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the loading and after the coupling, applying pressure along a first axis to the cap nest and to the rear housing sub-assembly; and
during the applying, moving the cap nest and the rear housing sub-assembly relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising, during the applying, moving the cap nest and the rear housing sub-assembly relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.

Assignees

• Aase Jonathan
• Davison Ian
• Stiehl Kurt
• Wark Brian
• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Aase Jonathan
• Davison Ian
• Stiehl Kurt
• Wark Brian

Classifications

• H04R1/1016

  Earpieces of the intra-aural type · CPC title

• H04R31/006 Primary

  Interconnection of transducer parts (of diaphragm and outer suspension by moulding H04R31/003) · CPC title

• Y10T29/53091

  for work-holder for assembly or disassembly · CPC title

• H04R2460/09

  Non-occlusive ear tips, i.e. leaving the ear canal open, for both custom and non-custom tips (H04R2460/11 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04R1/1058 Primary

  Manufacture or assembly · CPC title