Back to results
US 6,856,690 B1Granted
Comfortable earphone cushions
AssigneePlantronis, Inc.
InventorGerald W. Skulley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneePlantronis, Inc.
InventorGerald W. Skulley
Estimating the term…
A cushion for a headset earphone comprises a resilient ring having opposite input and output faces, and a through-opening defining an interior surface between the two faces. The input face has structure for acoustically coupling the opening to an output face of an audio speaker, and the output face is resiliently conformable to a lateral face of an external ear of a listener, thereby acoustically coupling the opening, and hence, the speaker, to the listener's ear. The interior surface of the cushion can be configured to effectively match the acoustical impedance at the output face of the speaker to the acoustical impedance at the entrance of the listener's ear. In one possible embodiment, the ring is formed of an elastomer filled with microcapsules containing a material capable of an endothermic phase changes at a constant temperature, such that the cushion more effectively conducts heat away from the ear, thereby providing long term listening comfort. In another embodiment, the through-opening is acoustically coupled to the output of the transducer with an acoustic plug such that the cushion is flexibly articulated about the plug relative to the speaker, thereby enabling the cushion to comply more easily to the listener's ear using lower contact forces between the cushion and the ear.
An earphone cushion, comprising a first resilient ring having opposite input and output faces, a thickness between the faces, and an opening therethrough defining an interior surface between the faces, the input face having associated structure for acoustically coupling the opening to an output face of a speaker, the output face of the first resilient ring being resiliently conformable to a lateral face of an auricle, and the interior surface flaring unidirectionally outwardly for at least a portion of the thickness, the first ring comprising an elastomer comprising microcapsules of a material capable of an endothermic phase change at a substantially constant temperature.
An earphone cushion, comprising a first ring having opposing first and second faces defining a thickness therebetween, the first ring defining an opening therethrough, the opening defining an interior surface between the faces, the first face having associated structure for acoustically coupling the opening to an output face of a speaker and the second face being resiliently conformable to a lateral face of an auricle, the first ring comprising microcapsules of a material capable of an endothermic phase change at a substantially constant temperature.
An earphone cushion, comprising a first resilient ring having opposite input and output faces, a thickness between the faces, and an opening therethrough defining an interior surface between the faces, the input face having associated structure for acoustically coupling the opening to an output face of a speaker, the output face of the first resilient ring being resiliently conformable to a later face of an auricle, and the interior surface flaring unidirectionally outwardly for at least a portion of the thickness, the interior surface being configured to facilitate in matching acoustical impedances at the output face of the ring and the output face of the speaker when coupled to the ring.
An earphone cushion, comprising a first ring having opposing first and second faces defining a thickness therebetween, the first ring defining an opening therethrough, the opening defining an interior surface between the faces, the first face having associated structure for acoustically coupling the opening to an output face of a speaker and the second face being resiliently conformable to a lateral face of an auricle, the interior surface of the ring being configured to facilitate in matching acoustical impedances at the second face of the ring and the output face of the speaker when coupled to the ring, the first ring comprising microcapsules of a material capable of an endothermic phase change at a substantially constant temperature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.