US 11,696,061 B2Granted

Earpiece

AssigneeSectio Aurea AS

InventorsVidar Sandanger, Johan Sundkvist, Henrik Myhre-Sandmark

Life of this patent

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Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an earpiece for an ear. The ear comprises a concha cavity at least partially delimited by a concha floor, a concha side wall and a concha ceiling. The earpiece comprises a peripheral skirt comprising a positioning skirt portion which in turn comprises an outer skirt surface and an inner skirt surface, wherein a transition from the outer skirt surface to the inner skirt surface occurs at a skirt edge. The skirt edge extends at least partially circumferentially around a central axis of the earpiece, wherein the earpiece is adapted to be moved to a use position, at least partially within the concha cavity, in a direction parallel to the central axis, during insertion of the earpiece into the ear. When the peripheral skirt is in a non-influenced condition, at least a portion of the inner skirt surface faces the central axis.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An earpiece for an ear, said ear comprising a concha cavity at least partially delimited by a concha floor, a concha side wall and a concha ceiling, wherein said concha side wall connects said concha floor to said concha ceiling, wherein the surface of said concha ceiling has a normal at least a component of which being directed towards said concha floor,

said earpiece comprising a peripheral skirt comprising a positioning skirt portion which in turn comprises an outer skirt surface and an inner skirt surface, wherein a transition from said outer skirt surface to said inner skirt surface occurs at a skirt edge,
wherein said skirt edge extends at least partially circumferentially around a central axis of said earpiece, wherein said earpiece is adapted to be moved to a use position, at least partially within said concha cavity, in a direction parallel to said central axis, during insertion of said earpiece into said ear,
wherein, when said peripheral skirt is in a non-influenced condition, at least a portion of said inner skirt surface faces said central axis, and
wherein said earpiece is such that said positioning skirt portion is adapted to assume said use position at least partially within said concha cavity whereby:
at least a portion of said outer skirt surface abuts at least a portion of said concha ceiling,
said skirt edge is located closer to said concha floor than said outer skirt surface, and
said skirt edge is spaced from said concha floor,
wherein said positioning skirt portion comprises a distal portion adapted to be located farthest away from said concha floor, as seen along said central axis, when said positioning skirt portion assumes said use position, said positioning skirt portion extending at least partially from said distal portion to said skirt edge,
wherein a material thickness of the positioning skirt portion is defined as the distance between said inner skirt surface and said outer skirt surface, as seen in a direction parallel to the normal to the outer skirt surface, and
wherein said positioning skirt portion comprises an elongate portion being such that an elongate portion length, being the distance of said elongate portion along said outer skirt surface from said distal portion to said skirt edge, is greater than an average material thickness of the elongate portion, when following said elongate portion from said distal portion to said skirt edge, said elongate portion length being at least 1.05 times the average material thickness of the elongate portion.

7 more elements

said earpiece comprising a peripheral skirt comprising a positioning skirt portion which in turn comprises an outer skirt surface and an inner skirt surface, wherein a transition from said outer skirt surface to said inner skirt surface occurs at a skirt edge,
wherein said skirt edge extends at least partially circumferentially around a central axis of said earpiece, wherein said earpiece is adapted to be moved to a use position, at least partially within said concha cavity, in a direction parallel to said central axis, during insertion of said earpiece into said ear,
wherein, when said peripheral skirt is in a non-influenced condition, at least a portion of said inner skirt surface faces said central axis, and
wherein said earpiece is such that said positioning skirt portion is adapted to assume said use position at least partially within said concha cavity whereby:
at least a portion of said outer skirt surface abuts at least a portion of said concha ceiling,
said skirt edge is located closer to said concha floor than said outer skirt surface, and
said skirt edge is spaced from said concha floor,
wherein said positioning skirt portion comprises a distal portion adapted to be located farthest away from said concha floor, as seen along said central axis, when said positioning skirt portion assumes said use position, said positioning skirt portion extending at least partially from said distal portion to said skirt edge,
wherein at least a portion of said skirt edge is adapted to be deflected, relative to said distal portion, in a direction towards said central axis to thereby allow that said positioning skirt portion can be moved to said use position.

6 more elements

said earpiece comprising a peripheral skirt comprising a positioning skirt portion which in turn comprises an outer skirt surface and an inner skirt surface, wherein a transition from said outer skirt surface to said inner skirt surface occurs at a skirt edge,
wherein said skirt edge extends at least partially circumferentially around a central axis of said earpiece, wherein said earpiece is adapted to be moved to a use position, at least partially within said concha cavity, in a direction parallel to said central axis, during insertion of said earpiece into said ear,
wherein, when said peripheral skirt is in a non-influenced condition, at least a portion of said inner skirt surface faces said central axis, and
wherein said earpiece is such that said positioning skirt portion is adapted to assume said use position at least partially within said concha cavity whereby:
at least a portion of said outer skirt surface abuts at least a portion of said concha ceiling,
said skirt edge is located closer to said concha floor than said outer skirt surface, and
said skirt edge is spaced from said concha floor,
wherein said earpiece further comprises a housing, wherein said peripheral skirt at least partially circumscribes said housing,
wherein said earpiece further comprises a movement-prevention member adapted to prevent said positioning skirt portion from moving relative to said concha floor to a position in which at least a portion of said skirt edge contacts said concha floor,
wherein said housing comprises a concha floor abutment portion forming at least part of said movement-prevention member, said earpiece being such that said housing is adapted to assume a use position at least partially within said concha cavity in which said concha floor abutment portion abuts said concha floor at or around an ear canal of said concha floor, thereby preventing said skirt edge from contacting said concha floor,
wherein a length of the concha floor abutment portion is variable such that the length may be adapted to the user of the earpiece.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/964,533Filed 12 Oct 2022 · continuation
Priority: EP 1917064123 Apr 2019
Published: US 2023/0035056 A12 Feb 2023
Granted: 4 Jul 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H04R 1/1016
Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones: earpieces of the intra-aural type
H04R 1/105
Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones: earpiece supports, e.g. ear hooks
H04R 1/1066
Manufacture or assembly: constructional aspects of the interconnection between earpiece and earpiece support
H04R 25/652
Housing parts, e.g. shells, tips or moulds, or their manufacture: ear tips; Ear moulds

Family

Application16/392,597Parent of this continuation · filed 23 Apr 2019
PCT/EP2019/087158Parent of this continuation · filed 30 Dec 2019
Application17/412,747Parent of this continuation · filed 26 Aug 2021
US 11,122,353 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 14 Sep 2021
US 2023/0035056 A1Pre-grant publication · published 2 Feb 2023
US 11,503,396 B2Parent of this continuation
Application16/978,077Parent of this continuation
US 10,820,085 B1Parent of this continuation
US 11,039,237 B2Related patent
US 2020/0344539 A1Published application
US 2021/0092502 A1Published application
US 2021/0392425 A1Published application
US 11,696,061 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.