Patent Application
20170280214
Embodiments generally relate to helmet-worn devices which can transmit audio from other types of devices by using the user's helmet as a transmission medium for sound pressure waves.
During many activities, it is desirable for the participants to be able to effectively and safely listen to audio from other electronic devices such as smartphones. For a number of reasons, including but not limited to the fact that it may be cumbersome to install speakers into the ear covers of existing helmets and that it may be unsafe to wear conventional earbuds or headphones directly over or inside the ears underneath the helmet, existing methods to listen to audio from electronic devices while participating in high motion activities may be ineffective and/or unsafe.
Exemplary embodiments provide a device for users to listen to streaming audio from electronic devices or communicate with one another while performing high motion activities such as motorcycle riding, skiing/snowboarding, kiteboarding, wakeboarding, cycling, jet skiing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, construction/contractor activities, search and rescue activities, and other similar activities. A significant proportion of these activities are performed while the user is wearing a helmet. A helmet or hardhat is typically constructed of a hard outer plastic shell with rigid foam padding inside. It has been discovered that the rigidity of the helmet construction, even though there is a large amount of variability between types of helmets, provides a medium through which sound pressure waves may be transmitted.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the particular embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A better understanding of an exemplary embodiment will be obtained from a reading of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer to identical parts and in which:
The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary 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 exemplary 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. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/ or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the invention. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As used herein, the term ‘helmet’ applies to any rigid device that is worn on the head for protection against impact and would specifically include construction hard hats.
The LED status indicator 150 may be visibly positioned under an aperture in the top housing 15 to preferably indicate to the user the operating state of the device as well as the battery level. The LED is preferably an RGB-type and is oval in shape to allow illumination of four discrete lights to represent various states and levels. In some embodiments, the LED status indicator 150 may be circular in shape with one, multi-colored LED light representing various states and levels. The volume up button 155 allows the user to elevate the volume level of the audio. Similarly, the volume down button 160 allows the user to lower the volume level of the audio. Both buttons may be slightly concave in profile to provide guidance for the user when the device is in operation and is not in the user's line of sight. The main activation button 165 enables the user to power on/off the device as well as temporarily disable and re-enable from/to group communications. The main activation button 165 should preferably have a relatively large surface area among the three as the larger size easily allows the user to disable when sudden conditions may arise that require the user to be more attentive to their environment.
As mentioned above, the buttons 155, 165, and 160 form part of the mechanical user interface 10 and extend upwardly from a base plate 190. When assembled, the base plate 190 of the mechanical user interface 10 should rest atop the PCB 250. A switch 195 may be placed on the PCB 250 and beneath each button 155, 165, and 160 so that when the button is pressed by the user, the interface 10 will stroke downwardly until contacting the switch 195, allowing the user to control the device.
When installing the housing base 20 on to the helmet mating mount 60, the teeth 90 of the housing base 20 should slide underneath one or more ledges 61 in the mating mount 60. As the housing base 20 is rotated and the teeth 90 engage with the ledge 61, a compressive force of 5-10 Newtons is preferably applied from the floor 24 of the bottom housing 20 onto the helmet 500. Once installed, the top ring 21 should contact the top surface of the ledges 61. This can be provided by placing the teeth 90 at a downward angle relative to horizontal, preferably about 10 degrees below the horizontal median. There should be direct contact between the bottom ring 23 and the helmet 500, as such direct contact between the two surfaces allows for vibrational sound to efficiently transmit from the device to the helmet.
Due to the curvature of the bottom surface of the helmet mating mount 60, the bottom surface of the floor 24 sits vertically above the lowest point on the helmet mating mount 60. As described below, the pressure transducer 400 is in electrical connection with the PCB 250. Although axially-surrounded by the foam insulator 290, it is preferable that the pressure transducer 400 is not in contact with the foam 290, but is only in contact with the floor 24. A battery 215 is preferably placed atop the foam 290, covering the central opening 291. The cutout 292 may be used for routing the wiring from the pressure transducer 400 to the PCB 250, avoiding the battery 215 while maintaining the maximum volume of foam 290.
The floor 24 of the bottom housing 20 should preferably be comprised of a material that meets a number of design requirements. It should preferably have an acoustic impedance value of approximately 2.5 which is consistent with the acoustic impedance of the materials of the outer shells of a majority of sports helmets and construction hats. This matching will minimize the degree of sound waves reflected and refracted at the interface of the floor 24 and the helmet 500 during sound transmission. It should preferably have a flexural modulus value of between 25,000 psi and 35,000 psi to allow the floor 24 to bend slightly and conform to the curve of the helmet 500. In some embodiments, the lower part of the bottom housing 20 or the entire bottom housing 20 may be entirely comprised of this material. In alternative embodiments, the floor 24 alone may be comprised of this material while the remainder of the bottom housing 20 is comprised of another polymer material. In some embodiments, the floor 24 is perforated with a series of 10-20 small through holes with a diameter of approximately 1 mm. In alternate embodiments, the floor 24 contains a series of 10-15 small metal rods 99 each with a diameter of approximately 1 mm inserted through the floor 24.
In some embodiments, a bender piezoelectric configuration is used as an alternative to the pressure transducer 70 and the floor 24.
The first microphone 235 allows the user to send spoken audio, captured by the first microphone 235, back out to a smart device using the wireless streaming module 210. This would allow a user to take phone calls or send voice instructions to a smart device. A second microphone (not shown) may be used in order to perform a noise cancellation algorithm. In this embodiment, voice frequencies along with some ambient noise will be captured by the first microphone 235 while the second microphone captures mostly ambient noise but with some voice frequencies as well. The two input waves are then shifted by 180 degrees in phase in order to create destructive interference. This preferably causes the ambient noise to be subtracted from the voice and ambient noise signal of the first microphone 235.
In some embodiments, a modular, wireless microphone is used as a means of enable two-way communications with the phone connected by Bluetooth. The modular microphone is preferably connected by sub-GHz radio frequency to the main device.
Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention and still be within the scope of the claimed invention. Additionally, many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/312,926 filed on Mar. 24, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/313,355 filed on Mar. 25, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62312926 | Mar 2016 | US | |
| 62313355 | Mar 2016 | US |
