1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio signal playback apparatus, and more particularly, to an earphone.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Multi-media devices, such as computers, mobile phones, or MP3 players, are commonly used devices that can provide a wide variety of multi-media entertainment. Earphones are often used in conjunction with these devices for convenience, particularly when the devices are portable.
Commercial headsets are available as mono headsets and stereo headsets. The former is usually applied in cell phones to provide hands-free capability. When the headsets are connected to Bluetooth modules, users can answer telephone calls through the headsets directly. In general, mono headsets are designed to be small and delicate. Mono headsets, however, are not suitable for listening to stereo music, not only because they comprise only one earphone but also because the sound is limited to the vocal frequency range (300 Hz˜3 KHz).
Stereo headsets are mostly used when users wish to listen to music as they have two earphones for providing stereo sound. There are three types of stereo headsets: head-wear headsets, neck-wear headsets, and ear-wear headsets, and they generally comprise a right earphone and a left earphone, wherein the right earphone is unable to be worn on the left ear and vice versa.
Moreover, one earphone of the stereo headset may have the function of Bluetooth. This is very convenient, as a user does not need to disconnect the stereo headset to answer the phone. The Bluetooth earphone is generally designed for only one ear according to the structure of the ear, and comprises a body and an ear hook that is only suitable for that particular ear; however, wearing the earphone in the same ear for a long time is uncomfortable. In addition, there is a need to adjust the distance between the ear hook and the ear according to the user's preference. The conventional techniques available are unable to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
It is therefore one of the objectives of the present invention to provide an earphone in order to solve the above-mentioned problem. The earphone can be worn on the left or right ear depending on the requirements of the user, and the distance between the ear hook and the user's ears can also be adjusted. In addition, it can act as a stereo Bluetooth earphone to provide not only a means of listening to music through the cell phone but also provides hands-free capability.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an earphone is provided. The earphone comprises a body having a surrounding side; a rotatable loop pivotally connected with the body on the two opposite ends of the surrounding side, wherein the body and the rotatable loop can rotate oppositely around a first axis; and an ear hook, pivotally mounted on one side of the rotatable loop near where the rotatable loop is connected with the body, capable of rotating around a second axis, which is on a plane that the rotatable loop is positioned on and is different from the first axis.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a stereo earphone apparatus comprising the earphone mentioned above is also provided.
The earphone of the present invention can be worn on the left or right ear because the body can pivot on the first axis by 360 degrees within the surrounding side so as to avoid the discomfort due to long-term use. In addition, the ear hook on the one side of the surrounding side can pivot on the second axis perpendicular to the first axis so the distance between the ear hook and the ear can be adjusted to make the user more comfortable. Furthermore, when the earphone of the present invention has the function of Bluetooth and is applied to a stereo earphone apparatus, it provides not only a means of listening to music through the cell phone but also provides hands-free capability. In addition, if both earphones in a stereo headset utilize the earphone of the present invention, comfort and convenience are increased. This is because both the left and right earphones adopt the same structure and can be utilized on either ear.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
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The rotatable loop 30 is a circular ring. A pair of pivot holes (mortises) 31, 32 are disposed at opposite sides of the rotatable loop 30. For assembly, the through tenon 211 of the upper housing 21 is inserted into the pivot hole 32, and the through tenon 221 of the lower housing 22 is inserted into the pivot hole 31. The whole body 20 formed by the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 22 can thereby pivot on a central axis of the through tenons 211, 221 through 360 degrees within the circular ring.
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Optionally, the rotatable loop 30 can be a half ring whose radian is not less than 180 degrees as long as a pair of pivot holes 31, 32 that are positioned opposite to each other can be disposed on the inside of the rotatable loop 30.
The rotatable loop 30 can also be other shapes of rings or half rings such as rhombus, triangle and diamond, etc., although the shape of the rotatable loop 30 preferably matches the contour of the earphone body 20.
Optionally, the ear-hook pin-jointed part 33 of the rotatable loop 30 is not limited to be in the shape of a rectangular handle as shown in
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The rotatable loop 70 is a half ring. A pair of tenons 71, 72 extend from inner side the rotatable loop 70 along the diameter to the center of the half ring. The pair of tenons 71, 72 each consists of two parts. One part is a tenon part and the other part is a top part that extends from the tenon part. The diameter of the top part is greater than that of the tenon part. During assembly, the tenon 71 is assembled in the fixed hole formed by the concave gaps 612, 622, and the top part of the tenon 71 is contained in the hollow space formed by the structures 614, 624. Similarly, the tenon 72 is assembled in the fixed hole formed by the concave gaps 611, 621, and the top part of the tenon 72 is contained in the hollow space formed by the structures 613, 623. The structures are used to prevent the tenons from moving towards the inside of the body and thereby damaging the electronic elements in the body. In addition, the diameter of the tenon part is less than the diameter of the fix hole, and the diameter of the top part is greater than the diameter of the fix hole. This design enables the rotatable loop 70 and the body 60 to be pivotally connected to each other without separating, but still allows the body 60 to pivot on the central axis of the body 60 and the rotatable loop 70 (i.e. the D axis shown in
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The end of the ear hook 50 fixed in the ear-hook pin-jointed part 73 further comprises a pair of elastic arms 51, 52. The ends of the elastic arms 51, 52 are respectively clutch units 511, 521. The clutch units 511, 521 can be closed under a certain amount of pressure and are capable of going through the holes 74, 75. The elastic arms 51, 52 return to their original position when the pressure is not in effect and the ends of the elastic arms 51, 52 separate so that the clutch units 511, 521 clutch respectively edges of the holes 74, 75 to fix the ear hook 50 in the ear-hook pin-jointed part 73. The ear hook 50 is capable of pivoting on the central axis of the holes 74, 75.
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Please note that the clutch units 511, 521 can be protuberant structures in other shapes or inverted hook structures only if the clutch units can clutch the edges of the holes 74 or 75 after the elastic arms 51, 52 going through the holes 74, 75 to ensure fixing the ear-hook 50 in the ear-hook pin-jointed part 73.
Optionally, the rotatable loop 70 can be a circular ring, a ring of other shape, or a partially circular ring whose radian is equal to or greater than 180 degrees only if a pair of tenons 71, 72 on the rotatable loop 70 can be positioned at opposite ends of the rotatable loop 70 to contact with the body 60.
Furthermore, the upper and lower housings of the body of the earphone provided by the present invention are not limited to be in the shape of a circular plate, and can be in a variety of shapes; for example: star, polygon, heart, petal, butterfly, on condition that the shape of the upper and lower housings match that of the rotatable loop and does not prevent their opposite rotation with each other through 360 degrees.
A stereo earphone apparatus can comprise the earphone of the present invention. For example, the stereo earphone apparatus is a Bluetooth stereo earphone apparatus. One earphone of the stereo earphone apparatus has Bluetooth capability, which can be used as a hands-free receiver, and the other earphone of the stereo earphone apparatus does not have Bluetooth capability. Wherein, the earphone with Bluetooth capability is the earphone of the present invention. The position of the ear-hook of the earphone with Bluetooth capability can be adjusted depending on the user's preference in order to match the user's right or left ear when being used as a hands-free receiver.
The ear-hook position of the earphone with Bluetooth capability can be adjusted to the right/left ear according to the other earphone without Bluetooth capability (for use on the left/right ear) for allowing the stereo earphone apparatus to be worn on the left and right ears. In another embodiment of the present invention, the pair of earphones in the stereo earphone apparatus both can be the earphones of the present invention, so that there is no need to distinct which ear phone is for left or right ear since the earphone in the stereo earphone apparatus can be worn on the left or right ear by simply adjusting its ear-hook position to fit user's preference. Please note that any alternative designs according to the spirit of the present invention also fall within the scope of the present invention.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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200710030858.2 | Oct 2007 | CN | national |