Patent Application
20090034774
1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an earbud assembly that can be provided with a decorative accessory and an associated method of decorating an earbud assembly with such an accessory.
2) Description of Related Art
Earbuds are used in products such as headphones for portable music players to convert the electrical signals from the music player to acoustic energy that is directed into a user's ear or ears. A conventional earbud includes a housing in which an electro-acoustic transducer is disposed. In use, a person wears the earbud such that the housing is disposed at least partially in the ear so that the acoustic energy from the earbud is directed toward the inner ear.
The housing of the earbud is typically formed in a size that is just large enough to house the transducer and fit comfortably in the ear, while minimizing the overall profile and noticeability of the earbud when worn. The earbud housing is often formed of plastic, which can be any of various colors such as black, gray, or white. Information relating to the manufacturer, brand, or characteristics of the earbud can be provided on the housing, but the housing is typically otherwise devoid of any substantial ornamentation. More particularly, the earbud housing can have a generally rounded shape and few or no markings or other indications thereon.
In some cases, earbuds can be decorated, e.g., by clipping a decoration thereon; however, such decorations are not integrated into the design of the earbud. In other words, the decoration must be designed to clip or otherwise attach to a portion of the earbud that is provided for other functions or reasons. Accordingly, the flexibility in connecting such decorations is limited by the design of the earbud, and providing any such decoration to the earbud can be complicated by the configuration of the earbud.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved earbud that is configured to provide a convenient attachment mechanism for a decorative accessory so that the accessory can be easily connected to the earbud to improve the aesthetic appeal of the accessory and/or provide a customized appearance to the earbud.
Embodiments of the present invention meet these needs and others by the use of an earbud assembly having a housing to which decorative accessories can be releasably connected by the use of male and female connectors.
According to one embodiment, the earbud assembly includes at least one housing that defines first and second opposite sides and is configured to be inserted at least partially into an ear so that the first side is directed into the ear and the second side is directed out of the ear. An electro-acoustic transducer, which is disposed in the housing is configured to receive electrical signals and convert the electrical signals into sounds that are directed in a first direction through the first side of the housing and into the ear. The housing also defines a male connector that extends from the second side of the housing along a longitudinal axis in a second direction that is generally parallel and opposite the first direction. For example, the male connector can define a cylindrical post that extends outward from the housing. In some cases, the male connector defines a base at the second side of the housing and an end distal to the base and is configured to receive a female connector thereon so that the male connector is disposed in a cavity of the female connector and engages the female connector. For example, an end of the male connector that is distal to the base can define a radial projection that is configured to engage a corresponding slot defined in the cavity of the female connector. Thus, the male connector secures the female connector along the longitudinal axis of the male connector to thereby secure to the housing a decorative accessory that is fixedly attached to the female connector. In some cases, the male connector also defines a plurality of radially extending teeth at the base. The teeth are configured to engage corresponding teeth defined in the cavity of the female connector to thereby prevent rotation of the female connector relative to the male connector about the longitudinal axis of the male connector. The decorative accessory can define such items as a gem, a lightning bolt, an arrow, a flower, a star, and a skull. The decorative accessory can also include an electronic device that is configured to be electrically connected to the transducer when the male and female connectors are engaged.
According to one embodiment, the earbud assembly includes two of the housings. Each housing has one of the transducers disposed therein and defines one of the male connectors, and the transducers are connected to a wire for providing the electrical signals to the transducers. The assembly can include one or more of the female connectors, and each female connector can be configured to be releasably connected to the housing via one of the male connectors. The decorative accessory can be fixedly attached to the female connector and thereby configured to be releasably connected to the housing by the engagement of the male and female connectors. In cases where the assembly includes multiple female connectors, the female connectors can have decorative accessories with similar configurations or decorative accessories with different and/or complementary configurations.
According to another embodiment, a method of decorating an earbud assembly includes providing an earbud assembly and inserting a male connector defined by the housing and extending from the second side of the housing into a cavity of a female connector to thereby engage the female connector so that a decorative accessory fixedly attached to the female connector is releasably connected to the second side of the housing. The male connector can be inserted relative to the female connector in a direction along a longitudinal axis of the male connector that extends a from base of the male connector to a distal end thereof. The female connector can be disconnected from the male connector to thereby remove the decorative accessory from the earbud accessory, and the male connector can subsequently be inserting into another female connector. In some cases, an electronic device in the decorative accessory can be electrically connected to the transducer and powered by electrical signals provided to the transducer.
Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. In the drawings:
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring to the drawings and, in particular, to
As illustrated in
The housing 14 defines an interior space in which an electro-acoustic transducer 24 is disposed. The transducer 24 is generally configured to receive electrical signals and convert the electrical signals into the sounds that are directed into the user's ear 16. The transducer 24 can be a conventional device, such as one of various types of transducers that are used in conventional headphones. In some cases, the transducer 24 can be connected to an electrical wire 26 that extends from the housing 14 to a jack or other connector that can be used to connect the wire 26 (and, hence, the transducer 24) to the portable media player or other electrical device that supplies the electrical signals. In other cases, the transducer 24 can receive the electrical signals in other manners, such as by way of a wireless receiver, which can be disposed in the housing 14 with the transducer 24 or outside of the housing 14. Such a wireless receiver can be configured to receive signals from a radio transmitter, e.g., a licensed, regional radio station or a personal area network device such as a Bluetooth® device, a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. of Bellevue, Wash.
The housing 14 also defines a connector 30, which extends from the second side 20 of the housing 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the connector 30 is a male connector and, in particular, a cylindrical post, that defines a base 32 at the second side 20 of the housing 14 and an end 34 distal to the base 32. The male connector 30 extends along a longitudinal axis in a second direction that is generally opposite the first direction 22 and is configured to receive a female connector 40 thereon such that the female connector 40 is directed outward from the user's ear 16. As described below, a decorative accessory 12 can be fixedly attached to a first end 42 of the female connector 40 such that the female connector 40 can be used to connect the decorative accessory 12 to the earbud housing 14, e.g., to thereby improve the aesthetic appeal of the earbud assembly 10, provide a customized appearance to the earbud assembly 10, or otherwise modify the appearance of the earbud assembly 10.
The male connector 30 is typically an integral part of the second side 20 of the housing 14, i.e., formed with at least the second side 20 of the housing 14 as a single, unified member, as illustrated in
The female connector 40 defines a cavity 44 for receiving the male connector 30 for connecting the two connectors 30, 40. In particular, as shown in
The male and female connectors 30, 40 are adapted to be releasably connected or releasably secured to one another so that the decorative accessory 12 can be connected to the earbud housing 14, removed from the housing 14, and optionally replaced with another decorative accessory 12. In this regard, the male connector 30 defines a radial projection 50 at the end 34 of the male connector 30 that is distal to the base 32. The female connector 40 defines a corresponding slot 52 that extends circumferentially on the interior surface that defines the cavity 44. The dimensions and positions of the radial projection 50 and the slot 52 correspond to each other so that the projection 50 is configured to engage the slot 52 when the male connector 30 is disposed in the female connector 40. In addition, the male connector 30 can define one or more notches 54 that extend in the longitudinal direction of the male connector 30 so that the projection 50 can be flexed slightly radially inward when the male connector 30 is being inserted into or removed from the female connector 40.
By the term “releasably connected” it is meant that the female connector 40 can be released or removed from the male connector 30 (and, hence, from the housing 14) easily by the user without plastic deformation or destruction of the assembly 10. By the term “fixedly attached,” it is meant that the decorative accessory 12 is secured to the female connector 40 by a connection that, once destroyed, is not easily restored without the use of tools or adhesives. For example, as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the male and female connectors 30, 40 can also be configured to engage one another to prevent a relative rotational movement between the two connectors 30, 40. In this regard,
As illustrated in
A variety of decorative accessories 12 can be provided for selectively connecting to the earbud housings 14. By way of example,
In some cases, the decorative accessory 12 can include an electronic device. For example, the decorative accessory 12 can include a light source such as a light emitting diode or an actuator such as a motor. The electronic device can be powered by a battery in the decorative accessory 12 or otherwise provided with the female connector 40. Alternatively, the electronic device can be configured to operate using power provided by the electrical signal delivered to the transducer 24. In some cases, the housing 14 and/or the male connector 30 can provide electrical contacts that are engaged with corresponding contacts on the female connector 40 to thereby connect the electronic device of the decorative accessory 12 with the wire 26.
For example,
In other embodiments, other connections can be provided between the electronic device 130 and the transducer 24 and/or wire 26. For example, various conventional electrical connectors can be incorporated into the male and female connectors 30, 40. In some cases, the male and female connectors 30, 40 can be defined at least partially by any of various conventional electrical connectors, which can provide both an electrical connection for connecting the electronic device 130 to the wire 26 and a mechanical connection for engaging the decorative accessory 12 to the housing 14. For example, the male connector 30 can be the jack of a 3.5 mm or 2.5 mm TS or TRS connector, and the female connector 40 can be a corresponding socket of the same type of TS or TRS connector, both of which are conventionally used for connecting headphone sets to radios and music players.
As shown in
The operation of the electronic device 130 can be controlled by the electrical signals, such as by turning a light, motor, or other actuator of the electronic device 130 on only when the earbud is in operation and/or adjusting the intensity, color, or other attribute of the light, motion, or other feature of the device 130 in response to the voltage, current, or other property of the electrical signal. In this way, the electronic device 130 can provide an indication of the use of the earbud, e.g., to indicate that the user is currently using the earbud assembly 10 to listening to music or talking on a cell phone. In some cases, the electronic device 130 can further provide an indication of a characteristic of the sounds generated by the earbud assembly 10, e.g., a rhythmic pulsing of light that indicates the rhythm of music that the user is hearing with the earbud assembly 10.
It is appreciated that decorative accessories 12 can be connected to the housing 14, disconnected therefrom, and replaced with other decorative accessories 12 by the user. Further, it is appreciated that a user may collect a plurality of the female connectors 40 with a variety of decorative accessories 12 and periodically selectively replace the decorative accessory 12 or accessories 12 on the earbud assembly 10. The replacement of a decorative accessory 12 can be performed so that the decorative accessory 12 that is selected and worn by the user matches or complements the user's clothing; so that the decorative accessory 12 corresponds to the day or time, such as a holiday or current event; so that the decorative accessory 12 indicates an expression of the user's taste, opinion, or personality, such as by indicating a particular musical performer, band, or the like; or so that the decorative accessory 12 otherwise provides a customized appearance as desired by the user.
In some embodiments, the decorative accessory 12 can be adjustably mounted on the housing 14, e.g., to achieve a desired orientation and/or motion of the decorative accessory 12 relative to the housings 14. In this regard, it is noted that the housings 14 may fit best differently in different people's ears 16. That is, the size and shape of a person's ear 16 can affect the orientation at which the housing 14 fits most comfortably. As a result, the longitudinal direction of the male connector 30 may extend generally horizontally when the earbud accessory 12 is worn by a person with his or her head in an upright position, but the male connector 30 may extend at an angle relative to the horizontal direction when worn by another person. Further, in some cases, a user may desire to wear a decorative accessory 12 in one of multiple different orientations, e.g., so that the decorative accessory 12 is supported in a particular orientation relative to the user's body, the ground, or some other reference. An adjustable joint between the housing 14 and the decorative accessory 12 can allow each user to adjust each decorative accessory 12 to a desired orientation. The joint can be provided in the male connector 30, in the female connector 40, in the decorative accessory 12, or between the various elements of the earbud accessory 12. The joint can be configured to stay in a particular position as set by the user until the user manually adjusts the decorative accessory 12 to another orientation. In addition or alternative, in other embodiments, the joint can be configured to allow the decorative accessory 12 to move freely by providing a rotary joint that allows the decorative accessory 12 to spin freely, e.g., about an axis generally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the male connector 30.
In some cases, the decorative accessory 12 can be configured to be adjusted relative to the housing 14 while connected thereto by adjusting the engagement of the teeth 60, 62. In this regard, it is noted that the engagement of the corresponding teeth 60, 62 as shown in
Other adjustments can also be accommodated by the earbud assembly 10 to allow other adjustments of the decorative accessory 12 relative to the housing 14. For example, as shown in
It is appreciated that other configurations of joints can be provided by the assembly and, in some cases, the decorative accessory 12 can be configured to adjust about any of multiple axes or in any of multiple directions so that a desired position of the decorative accessory 12 relative to the housing 14 can be achieved and maintained during wearing. Further, as noted above, in some cases, the joint can allow some adjustment to occur freely (i.e., with very little force) so that the decorative accessory 12 tends to move when worn.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
