Seamless earbud structures and methods for making the same
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorJonathan Aase
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Seamless earbud structures and methods for making the same are disclosed. Seamless earbud structures can be constructed using an insert molding construction method, which overmolds a cosmetic material over two sub-enclosures that are mated together. The two sub-enclosures form a housing that can encompass a driver assembly (e.g., woofer and tweeter), a conductor bundle, and provide one or acoustic volumes. The housing has a non-occluding member and a neck member, and has a seamless or nearly seamless construction. The cosmetic material is insert molded around the housing to provide a smooth and seamless surface disposed around the periphery of the housing.
Claims27
An earbud, comprising:
- driver assembly;
- conductor bundle coupled to the driver assembly;
- a first sub-enclosure that is mated to a second sub-enclosure to form a housing that encompasses the driver assembly and a portion of the conductor bundle, the housing comprising non-occluding and neck members, the non-occluding member including a directional port;
- and
- a cosmetic material that encompasses the housing.
A method for making a seamless earbud, comprising:
- providing a first sub-enclosure that, when mated with a second sub-enclosure, forms a housing comprising non-occluding and neck members, the non-occluding member including a directional port;
- coupling a conductor bundle to the first sub-enclosure;
- coupling a driver assembly to the first sub-enclosure;
- mating the second sub-enclosure to the first sub-enclosure;
- molding a material onto the housing;
- and
- polishing the material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.