Patent Application
20060140433
The present invention relates generally to audio ear cups, and more particularly to audio ear cups on wireless communication devices.
The number of wireless phone users has grown dramatically over the last decade. With this growth, the available features and functionalities have similarly grown in attempts to attract consumers to purchase certain phones, and/or select a certain wireless service provider. For example, many wireless phones include digital cameras, allow text messaging communication, allow access to the Internet, and numerous other features and functionality.
The types and designs of phones have similarly increased. For example, some phones are extremely small in size. Other phones provide a user with a larger display. Some phones open or flip in an attempt to provide a larger display while still providing a relatively small phone when flipped closed. Additionally, some wireless phones include a swivel display portion.
A swivel-flip wireless phone opens (sometimes referred to as a “clam” phone) and can allow a display to be swiveled relative to the keypad portion of the phone to allow a user to orient the display in a desired position. For example, the display can be swiveled 180 degrees then closed with the display now facing out and visible to the user. These types of phone typically require the swiveled portion to be in a predefined position in order for the user to answer and/or hear from the phone.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are typically not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.
The present embodiments provide a dual sided ear cup system for use with communication devices, such as wireless phones, to generate audio output from both a front side and back side of the communication device. The dual sided ear cup system is further configured so that the audio output is substantially equivalent from both the front side and the back side while still achieving high levels of quality and meeting industry standards.
One example of an implementation for the dual sided ear cup system is a swivel-flip wireless phone that allows the display portion to be swiveled. Typically, these phones only include a single ear cup on the display side of these types of phones. Because of the single ear cup, a user often has to swivel the display portion in order listen and/or to answer an incoming call or make an outgoing call. If the phone is positioned with the display exposed and closed, the user typically has to open the flip phone, and re-swivel the display portion to the original position in order to answer an incoming call or make an outgoing call. This required reorienting of the swivel portion of the phone undesirably limits the use of the phone and limits a user's ability to quickly answer the phone.
The dual sided ear cup systems of the present embodiments can be employed, as one example, in these types of swivel phones. By incorporating the dual sided ear cup system a user can listen and/or answer the phone from either side of the display portion regardless whether the display is facing the user or facing away from the user.
Some of these flip phones further allow for the display portion 122 to rotate or swivel allowing the user to change the orientation of the display portion relative to the key pad portion 124.
The dual sided ear cup system allows a user to utilize the phone and listen to audio output from either side of the display portion 122. Referring to
The wireless phone industry defines industry standards and specifications that a phone is to meet for the maximum sound or audio levels emitted from ear cups. These specifications and/or standards are different than those for loud speakers that may be incorporated into wireless phones and generally not to be used directly adjacent a user's ear. The ear cups for wireless phones are generally designed for low power and low audio applications to avoid injury to a user's ear. Further, because of the low power, the acoustical effects generally have a significant impact on the resulting output signal audible to the user. The dual ear cup systems provide acoustical output that meets defined specifications and/or standards for both the front side and back side ear cups 140, 240. Further, preferably the system provides substantially the same acoustical output from both the front side ear cup 140 and back side ear cup 240.
The dual sided ear cup system 620 includes a transducer 622 (which is commonly also referred to as a receiver and/or speaker). The transducer 622 has a front side 624 and back side 626. Various acoustical elements are provided for cooperating with the transducer 622 including front and back side resonant endocavities 630, 632, front and back side diffusion cavities 634, 636, and front and back side ectocavities 640, 642 formed in part by front and back side device ear cups 644, 646 that cooperate with a human ear concha (not shown). The front and back side endocavities are defined in part by front and back side endocavity volumes 650, 652 that each include an endocavity port 654, 656. The system 620 further includes a back side gasket 670, and an electrically conductive back side flex or flex member 672.
The device ear cups 644, 646 are defined in part by surfaces of the front and back side communication device enclosure or casing 660, 662, and resistive meshes or protective screens 664, 668. The front and back side diffusion cavities 634, 636 are defined at least in part by the meshes 664, 668 and the volumes 650, 652.
The transducer 622 is activated and/or driven by electrical circuitry of the wireless phone to generate acoustical signals and/or emissions from both the front and back sides 624, 626. In some implementations, the acoustical signals are generated from both the front and back sides simultaneously. The transducer 622 cooperates with matched front and back side acoustic elements to generate the desired acoustical output on both the front and back sides of the system 620. The match of acoustical elements provides output from the front side that is substantially identical to the output from the back side so that a user receives the same quality sound from both the front side and/or the back side of a device employing the dual sided ear cup system 620.
The front and back endocavities 630, 632 establish resonant frequency cavities and are acoustically matched forming acoustic resonators (e.g., Helmhotz resonators), where the front and back side resonant frequencies of the matched endocavities are substantially the same value. The acoustical matching does not necessarily mean that the physical dimensions or configurations of the front and back side endocavities cavities are equal or the same, but instead such dimensions and/or configurations are such that the cavities 630, 632 are acoustically matched. Similarly, acoustical matching does not necessarily mean that the components of the endocavities (e.g., endocavity volumes 650, 652, ports 654, 656, etc.) are equal in size or shape. The matching is achieved by setting the front and rear resonant frequencies to be substantially the same with the acoustic loading substantially the same for the front and back sides. The resonant frequencies for the front and back sides are matched by adjusting the components of the endocavities. For example, the physical dimensions and/or cubic dimensions or configurations of one or both endocavity volumes 650, 652 can be adjusted to alter or control the resonant frequency of the respective endocavities. Additionally and/or alternatively, the size and shape of the endocavity ports 654, 656 can be adjusted to effect resonant frequency and/or loading.
In some implementations, the front and back endocavity volumes 650, 652 are acoustically matched when the front and back side endocavity volumes have substantially equal cubic dimensions or configurations. The actual physical dimensions (e.g., length, width, depth), however, are not necessarily equal. The front and back side endocavity ports 654 and 656, respectively, are similarly matched to achieve the desired substantially equivalent acoustical output. Again, the sizes of the ports 654, 656 are not necessarily equal. The acoustical effects and/or loading on the transducer are matched in part through the matching of the port sizes.
The sheet 820 can be substantially any shape, and in some implementation, the shape of the sheet is dictated by the configuration of the front and/or back casing 660, 662 to allow secure positioning and mounting of the sheet 820 thereto, and thus the endocavity volume within the system 620. As indicated above, the endocavity volumes 650, 652 can be formed in the sheet through various means, such as being pressed in a sheet of metal, formed through injection molding, and other such processes. The sheet is secured with the casing through relevant methods, such as compression fit, adhesive, slot and groove, and other relevant methods and combinations of methods.
The front and back side endocavity ports 654, 656 are further shown as formed in the endocavity volumes 650, 652. The ports can have substantially any shape and/or size to achieve the desired acoustical output and/or to establish desired loading on the front and back sides of the transducer 622, respectively.
The dual sided ear cup system 620 further includes and/or electrically couples with circuitry 840 that drives the transducer 622. In some implementations the circuitry is a single equalizer 840 that is electrically coupled with the circuit board 674 that in turn electrically communicates electrical signals to the transducer 622. The equalizer can be implemented as software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Based on the acoustical design of the dual ear cup system herein, a single equalizer can provide accurate adjustment of the drive signals to maintain the output signals from both the front side and back side ear cups to within a desired specification and/or mask as fully described below.
In some alternative embodiments, however, the system employs two or more equalizers that provide separate signals to the transducer depending on the orientation of the device within which the dual ear cup system is employed. For example with the dual ear cup system employed with a wireless phone 120 (see
As indicated above, however, the matching of acoustical elements of the dual sided ear cup system 620 allows it to be implemented with a single equalizer to drive the transducer regardless of orientation of the swivel phone while still generating substantially the same acoustical output signal within a tolerance from the front and back side ear cups 644, 646. Further, because the same acoustical output signal is emitted from both the front and back side cups 644, 646, the system 620 does not need to generate different drive signals to the transducer depending on whether the user is listening from the front side or the back side (e.g., based on an orientation of the device). This simplifies the drive electronics of the wireless communication device employing the dual sided ear cup system. Further, the wireless communication device does not need to include a detector to determine the positioning of the swivel display portion of the device, nor does the wireless communication device need to include additional programming and/or hardware to select one of two equalizers.
Referring to
Additionally, the front and back side grills 720, 830 and/or meshes 664, 668 are further configured with aperture sizes and shapes, aperture patterns, and grill to endocavity port separations, where the aperture patterns, aperture sizes, and/or grill to endocavity port separations are optimized to provide proper linear loudness over the transducer electrical drive level range. The mesh and/or grill apertures can be of substantially any relevant size, shape and/or pattern allowing sound to pass through at desired levels. Further, the pattern, size and shape are further selected based on aesthetics, while providing protection to the dual sided ear cup system 620 without adversely affect the desired frequency response. In some embodiments, size, shape and patterns of the apertures are identified, and simulations are performed to determine acoustical effects with adjustments to the size, shape and/or patterns being made to achieve desired effects.
The front and/or back side diffusion cavities 634, 636 further include one or more ectocavity leak ports or passageways 722, 724, and 822, 824, respectively. The ectocavity leak ports allow the dual sided ear cup system 620 to meet leak tolerance designs and to adjust the resonant frequency of the ectocavity 640, 642. The leak ports are optimized to reduce the loudness differences from variations of coupling to the human ear. For example, leak ports 722, 724, 822, 824 in some implementations avoid a significantly tight seal with the user's ear to avoid excessively loud sounds into the ear and thus meeting leak tolerances. The combination of the endocavity and ectocavity resonant frequencies provides desired acoustic frequency response enhancements. The size, positioning and shape of the leak ports are similarly determined based on simulations followed by iterative testing.
Still referring to
Typically, devices that employ transducers are not concerned with the back side of the transducer and acoustical output from the back side. Additionally, because of the lack of concern about the back side of the transducer, electrical contact is simply made to the transducer without concern with whether the wiring or leads to the transducer would interfere with back side acoustics.
The dual sided ear cup system 620, however, utilize the acoustical output from the back side of the transducer, and thus in some embodiments the flex 672 is operable at least in part to establish a seal about the perimeter of the transducer and further deliver electrical drive signals to the transducer while avoiding interfering with and instead enhancing the acoustical output from the back side 626 of the transducer 622 by, at least in part, avoiding acoustic leaks. By overlaying portions of the transducer, the flex does not interfere with acoustical output, and further establishes a seal in same implementation about the back side of the transducer.
The flex 672 also has electrical contact apertures 1030 through which the solder posts 924 extend. The contact apertures 1030 further include conductive material that contact the solder posts 924 to establish electrical contact between the flex 672 and the transducer. The electrical contact is maintained through soldering, spring contacts, conductive spray, elastomer, and other such relevant methods. For example, the perimeters of the contact apertures are coated with gold, or other conductive material to enhance the electrical connection. Electrical leads or traces 1032 formed on the flex portion 672 extend from contact apertures 1030 to the flexible circuit board 674 to couple with one or more equalizers and/or drivers (not shown). The flex 672 is secured with the transducer through the electrical coupling with the electrical contacts (e.g., solder posts 924) of the transducer. The flex can further be secured, for example with adhesive or other relevant methods. In some implementations, the flex is additionally and/or alternatively sealed through compression of the gasket 670 against the flex as described fully below.
Some embodiments further utilize a support member 1120 to provide added support to the flex 672 and/or further maintain positioning of the flex relative to the transducer 622. The support member additionally includes openings 1122 that substantially correspond to the vents 1026 of the transducer. The openings 1122 are also sized to allow the solder posts 924 adjacent to the transducer vents 1026 to extend therethrough, or additional solder post holes can be included. The support member 1120 can be configured and formed of a relevant material so that it is more rigid than the flex to provide the desired structural support, such as sheet metal, plastic, and other relevant material or combinations of materials.
Referring to
As introduced above, the gasket can be configured to absorb surface irregularities of the rear transducer to establish a flush and/or secure fitting of components with the transducer 622. By employing a compressible gasket, the gasket further provides and/or absorbs component stack-up tolerance variations. Because the dual sided ear cup system 620 is implemented into devices, such as wireless phones which often desirably have minimal thicknesses, the stack-up of components (e.g., front and rear diffusion cavities 634, 636, front and rear endocavity volumes 650, 652, front and rear endocavities 630, 632, transducer 622, etc.) typically have a predefined maximum total thickness with only minimal tolerance for variation. Additionally, the thicknesses of the components and the cooperation between components often have minor variations. As such, the tolerance of the stack up can be difficult to achieve. By employing the compressible gasket 670, the gasket allows for variations in the components of the system 620 and compensates for those variations through compression and expansion of the gasket.
The gasket 670 and flex 672 additionally provides part of a transducer rear seal/gasket solution. To ensure proper rear seal and gasket functionality, the flex 672 includes the extended circumferential portion 1124 that corresponds to the perimeter of the transducer 622. Similarly, the gasket 674 matches or mirrors the perimeter of the transducer 622 and the circumferential portion 1124 of the flex 672. The flex 672 and the gasket 670 cooperate to seal with the transducer to avoid sound pressure leaks that can alter the resonant frequency of the back side endocavity 632 and thus the acoustical output. Further, the gasket and flex are configured to establish a desired final thickness to within defined tolerances so that the system maintains a desired back side resonant frequency.
In some embodiments, the cooperation between the front side seal 922 and the back side gasket 670 and flex 672 is such that one of the front side or the back side is non-compressible to precisely control at least one of the resonant frequencies of the front side and/or back side endocavities 630, 632. For example, the front side seal 922 can be generally non-compressible to precisely fix the positioning of the transducer 622. This provides for precisely defined front and back side endocavity resonant frequencies and thus acoustical outputs.
The gasket 670 of
The dual sided ear cup systems of the present embodiments achieve precisely controlled acoustical outputs. As introduced above, the wireless phone industry defines industry standards and specifications defining sound quality and/or the maximum sound or audio levels emitted from ear cups. These standards are different than those for loud speakers that generally operate at higher power levels with louder audio output. Typically, ear cups are low power, low audio applications. The acoustical elements of each ear cup 644, 645 of the dual sided ear cup system 620 are configured such that the acoustical output from both front and back side ear cups 644, 646 meet desired acoustical specifications or masks.
The dual sided ear cup systems and/or apparatuses provide acoustically matched outputs from both sides of a device, such as a wireless phone. Further, the dual sided ear cup system achieves substantially the same quality signal from both ear cups, such that the output meets set standards. The systems can be employed in substantially any device where it would be beneficial to emit low power acoustical signals from both sides of the device. Additionally, the system can be implemented with only a single equalizer while still achieving the desired matched outputs from both ear cups.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
