US 5,276,740 AGranted

Earphone device

AssigneeSony Corporation

InventorsKiyofumi Inanaga, Hiroyuki Sogawa, Yasuhiro Iida, Akira Kimura

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An earphone device includes an acoustic tube having an inner diameter substantially identical to that of the external auditory canal has an ear mounting portion at one end and an acoustic non-reflecting portion at the outer end. An earphone unit and an internal microphone unit are mounted on the periphery of the acoustic tube adjacent each other and communicate with the interior of the acoustic tube with their respective vibration plates facing inwardly of the tube. The phase of the signal representing the external noise in the acoustic tube picked up by the internal microphone unit is reversed and combined with the audio signal fed to the earphone unit. The earphone device also includes an external microphone unit on the outside of the acoustic tube and a variable ratio mixing circuit for mixing the input audio program signal, the reversed phase signal obtained from the internal microphone unit, and the signal from the external microphone unit, so that external sounds can be heard without removing the earphone device.

Claims5

Dependent claims

An earphone device characterized in that it comprises

an acoustic tube having an inner diameter substantially identical with that of the external auditory canal and provided with an ear mounting portion at one end thereof and with an acoustic non-reflecting portion at the other end thereof;
an external microphone unit disposed externally of said acoustic tube for converting an external sound into an electrical signal
an earphone unit and an internal microphone unit which are mounted on the periphery of the acoustic tube in adjacent relationship with each other so that vibration plates of the units face inwardly of the tube;
and
variable ratio mixing means for mixing an input audio signal, a feedback signal obtained by negatively feeding back the signal obtained from said internal microphone unit and the electrical signal obtained from the external microphone unit with each other at a desired ratio, to form an output signal including level adjusting means for independently adjusting a level of each said input audio signal, said feedback signal, and said electrical signal from said external microphone, the output signal of said variable ratio mixing means being supplied to said earphone unit.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/018,468Filed 16 Feb 1993 · continuation
Priority: JP 2-850919 Jan 1990
Granted: 4 Jan 1994
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

H04R 1/1075
Manufacture or assembly: mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones
A61F 11/08
Protective devices for the ears: internal, e.g. earplugs
G10K 11/17827
Characterised by the analysis of the input signals only: desired external signals, e.g. pass-through audio such as music or speech
G10K 11/17837
Handling or detecting of non-standard events or conditions, e.g. changing operating modes under specific operating conditions: by retaining part…