Rotary-type control for headphone earpiece
AssigneeKoss Corporation
InventorJoseph J. Chladil, Sr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary-type control for a headphone earpiece has an indexing dial which is loosely keyed to the control shaft of a potentiometer and extends partially through an opening in the cover of the earpiece to permit the wearer of the earpiece to manually control the potentiometer. The loosely keyed indexing dial is centered in the opening in the cover of the earpiece by the cooperative action of a journal bearing on the underside of the cover, a raised hub-like projection on the top of the indexing dial which is received and journaled in the bearing and a spring which exerts an upward force on the bottom of the dial keeping the hub-like projection journaled in the bearing so that the dial is level and centered in the opening in the cover.
Claims12
A rotary-type control for a headphone earpiece having an opening therein, the combination comprising:
- a. a potentiometer mounted within the earpiece and having a rotatable shaft;
- b. an indexing dial loosely keyed to the shaft, said dial having a portion which extends through the opening in the earpiece so that it can be manually manipulated from the outside of the earpiece;
- c. a bearing formed on the interior of the earpiece and positioned to engage said dial and level and center it in the earpiece opening;
- and
- d. a spring which maintains said dial in contact with the bearing as the shaft is rotated.
In an apparatus having a base containing a device having a shaft which can be rotated to control the device, shaft rotating means, and a cover for said apparatus which cover has an opening to expose a portion of the shaft rotating means so that it can be manually manipulated to control the shaft, the improvement which comprises:
- a. shaft rotating means loosely keyed to the control shaft;
- b. a journal and a journal bearing associated with the shaft rotating means and the cover which cooperate to level and center the shaft rotating means in the opening in the cover;
- and
- c. a spring which maintains the journal and journal bearing in cooperative relationship to level and center the shaft rotating means in the opening in the cover.
A rotary-type control for a headphone earpiece, the combination comprising:
- an enclosure having a cover portion and a base portion which are spaced apart to form a cavity therebetween, said enclosure having an opening therein which communicates with said cavity;
- a potentiometer disposed within said cavity and having a body which is mounted to said base portion and a shaft which extends toward said cover portion;
- a dial mounted to said shaft and loosely keyed thereto, said dial extending radially outward from the axis of rotation defined by the potentiometer shaft and a portion thereof extending through the opening in the enclosure;
- a bearing surface formed on said cover and disposed within said cavity, said bearing surface defining a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said potentiometer shaft and which is precisely aligned with respect to the opening in said enclosure;
- and
- a spring disposed around said potentiometer shaft and between said potentiometer body and said dial, said spring generating an axially directed bias force which retains said dial against said bearing surface and hence in alignment with said opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.