Patent Application
20070036385
The present invention relates generally to audio monitors and, more particularly, to in-ear monitors.
Earpieces, also referred to as in-ear monitors and canal phones, are commonly used to listen to both recorded and live music. A typical recorded music application would involve plugging the earpiece into a music player such as a CD player, flash or hard drive based MP3 player, home stereo, or similar device using the earpiece's headphone jack. Alternately, the earpiece can be wirelessly coupled to the music player. In a typical live music application, an on-stage musician wears the earpiece in order to hear his or her own music during a performance. In this case, the earpiece is either plugged into a wireless belt pack receiver or directly connected to an audio distribution device such as a mixer or a headphone amplifier. This type of monitor offers numerous advantages over the use of stage loudspeakers, including improved gain-before-feedback, minimization/elimination of room/stage acoustic effects, cleaner mix through the minimization of stage noise, increased mobility for the musician and the reduction of ambient sounds.
Earpieces are quite small and are normally worn just outside the ear canal. As a result, the acoustic design of the monitor must lend itself to a very compact design utilizing small components. Some monitors are custom fit (i.e., custom molded) while others use a generic “one-size-fits-all” eartip.
Prior art earpieces use either one or more diaphragm-based drivers, one or more armature-based drivers, or a combination of both driver types. Broadly characterized, a diaphragm is a moving-coil speaker with a paper or mylar diaphragm. Since the cost to manufacture diaphragms is relatively low, they are widely used in many common audio products (e.g., ear buds). In contrast to the diaphragm approach, an armature receiver utilizes a piston design. Due to the inherent cost of armature receivers, however, they are typically only found in hearing aids and high-end in-ear monitors.
Armature drivers, also referred to as balanced armatures, were originally developed by the hearing aid industry. This type of driver uses a magnetically balanced shaft or armature within a small, typically rectangular, enclosure. A single armature is capable of accurately reproducing low-frequency audio or high-frequency audio, but incapable of providing high-fidelity performance across all frequencies. To overcome this limitation, armature-based earpieces often use two, or even three, armature drivers. In such multiple armature arrangements, a crossover network is used to divide the frequency spectrum into multiple regions, i.e., low and high or low, medium, and high. Separate armature drivers are then used for each region, individual armature drivers being optimized for each region. In contrast to the multiple driver approach often used with armature drivers, earpieces utilizing diaphragm drivers are typically limited to a single diaphragm due to the size of the diaphragm assembly. Unfortunately, as diaphragm-based monitors have significant frequency roll off above 4 kHz, an earpiece with a single diaphragm cannot achieve the desired upper frequency response while still providing an accurate low frequency response.
In order to obtain the best possible performance from an earpiece, the driver or drivers within the earpiece are tuned. Armature tuning is typically accomplished through the use of acoustic filters (i.e., dampers). Further armature tuning can be achieved by porting, or venting, the armature enclosure as well as the earpiece itself. Diaphragm drivers, due to the use of a moving-coil speaker, are typically tuned by controlling the dimensions of the diaphragm housing. Depending upon the desired frequency response, the diaphragm housing may or may not be ported.
Although there are a variety of techniques used to tune a particular earpiece design, these techniques are implemented during fabrication. As a result, the end user is unable to tune, or otherwise customize, the sound characteristics of the earpiece. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an earpiece that can be tuned, at least to a limited degree, by the end user. The present invention provides such an earpiece.
The present invention provides an earpiece for use with either a recorded or a live audio source. The disclosed earpiece includes an earpiece enclosure and a sound delivery member that contains a sound delivery tube. Within the earpiece enclosure is a driver, although the invention can also be used with an earpiece enclosure containing two or more drivers. Armature drivers, diaphragm drivers, or a combination of the two driver types can be contained within the earpiece enclosure. In at least one embodiment, acoustic dampers are interposed between the one or more driver outputs and the eartip. The earpiece enclosure includes one or more enclosure ports that couple the internal enclosure volume to the volume outside of the earpiece. Corresponding to each enclosure port is a port cover that has at least a fully open port position and a fully closed port position. Preferably the port covering means is capable of multiple positions between the fully open port position and the fully closed port position. The port cover can be a plug, a rotating earpiece collar, a sliding cover, or other means. In at least one embodiment, separate drivers and/or separate volumes within the earpiece enclosure are coupled to separate enclosure ports.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.
In this embodiment, the signal from the source (not shown) is coupled to earpiece 100, and more specifically driver 101, via cable 103. The invention is not limited to a particular source, exemplary sources including audio receivers, mixers, music players, headphone amplifiers, etc. Only a portion of cable 103 is visible in
Attached to the end portion of sound delivery member 113 is an eartip 115, also referred to as an eartip sleeve or simply a sleeve. Without departing from the invention, eartip 115 or the combination of sound delivery member 113 and eartip 115 can be replaced with a custom fit eartip (not shown). A custom fit eartip is one that is designed to fit into a particular user's ear. Custom fit eartips, which are left ear and right ear specific, are made by first making a casting of the user's ear canal and concha, and then molding the earpiece from the casting.
Custom fit earpieces typically provide better performance, both in terms of delivered sound fidelity and user comfort, than generic earpieces. Generic earpieces, however, are generally much less expensive as custom molds are not required and the earpieces can be manufactured in volume. In addition to the cost factor, generic earpieces are typically more readily accepted by the general population since many people find it both too time consuming and somewhat unnerving to have to go to a specialist, such as an audiologist, to be fitted for a custom earpiece.
In the illustrated embodiment, a generic eartip 115 is shown. Eartip 115 can be fabricated from any of a variety of materials including foam, plastic and silicon based material. Sleeve 115 can have the generally cylindrical and smooth shape shown in
An outer earpiece enclosure 121 attaches to sound delivery member 113. Earpiece enclosure 121 protects driver 101 (or multiple drivers) and any required earpiece circuitry (e.g., cross-over circuit for multiple driver implementation) from damage while providing a convenient means of securing cable 103, or alternately a cable socket (not shown), to the in-ear monitor. Enclosure 121 can be attached to member 113 using interlocking members (e.g., groove 123, lip 125). Alternately, an adhesive or other means can be used to attach enclosure 121 to member 113. Enclosure 121 can be fabricated from any of a variety of materials, thus allowing the designer and/or user to select the material's firmness (i.e., hard to soft), texture, color, etc. Enclosure 121 can either be custom molded or designed with a generic shape.
There are a variety of techniques that can be used to hold, or mount, the components of the earpiece within earpiece enclosure 121. In the preferred embodiment, a boot member 127 is used to hold damper 109, sound tube 107 and a portion of driver 101 in place. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular boot arrangement, for example boot member 127 can be extended to capture a greater portion of the driver 101.
Driver 101 includes a port, or vent, 129. According to the invention, earpiece enclosure 121 includes a port 131 and a matching plug 133. Although not required, plug 133 can be attached to earpiece 100, for example using a flexible member 135, thus preventing plug loss. It will be appreciated that plug 133 can be replaced with other port covering means, some of which are described in further detail below.
When port 131 is unplugged, as shown, driver 101 is ported to outside of earpiece 100. In contrast, when port 131 is plugged with port plug 133, driver 101 is ported only to the closed internal volume of earpiece 100. As a result of this porting flexibility, the user is able to adjust the frequency response of the earpiece, in particular extending the base response of the earpiece by simply uncovering or unplugging port 131. Thus the user is able to tailor, to a limited degree, the earpiece for particular music (e.g., acoustic versus heavy metal, rock versus classical, etc.) or for a particular listening mode or behavior. The variable porting capability of the invention can also be used to tailor, to a limited degree, the ambient sound blockage capabilities of the earpiece. Specifically, by unblocking port 131 earpiece 100 allows more ambient sounds and/or noise to reach the user. This capability can be used by the end user to alter the earpiece as the environment changes (e.g., user going from a quiet environment to a noisy environment), or as the user's needs change (e.g., off-stage usage versus on-stage usage).
As previously noted, the invention is not limited to a single driver. For example,
In the embodiment illustrated in
In order to provide further control over the frequency characteristics of a multi-driver earpiece, the earpiece enclosure can include separate port/plug assemblies for each ported driver, for example as illustrated in
It will be appreciated that other means can be used to couple individual ports to individual drivers, thereby providing greater control over the frequency response characteristics of the earpiece. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in
If desired, the amount of available enclosure porting can be varied, thus providing the user with additional frequency response control for the earpiece. For example,
A similar effect to that of
As previously noted, the present invention of including one or more earpiece ports, or a variable earpiece port, is not limited to the number or type of driver within the earpiece. For example,
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/701,559, filed Jul. 22, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for any and all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60701559 | Jul 2005 | US |
