Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ADJUSTABLE EARPHONE WITH A MICROPHONE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an earphone. More particularly, the present
invention relates to an adjustable earphone with a microphone.
Description of Related Art
People enjoy personal audio systems because users can listen to the radio, a
tape,
or a CD, without disturbing others and while simultaneously engaging in other
activities.
I o A personal audio system includes an earphone that is worn on the user's
ear. Thus,
only the user can hear the sound produced by the personal audio system and
others are
not disturbed. The earphone also provides better sound transmission, which
allows the
user to hear the sound more clearly than if the sound were mediated by the
air. In
addition, the sound transmitted by the earphone is not disturbed while the
user is
moving, exercising, or in a noisy environment. This type of earphone is also
used in
communication systems, such as educational, telephone or radio-communication
systems. When the earphone is used in a communication system, a microphone is
usually mounted on the earphone and extends to a location near the user's
mouth.
With such a system, the user can communicate with his or her hands free.
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Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional earphone with a microphone. The earphone
usually includes a speaker 10 and a microphone 12. The speaker 10 is so small
that it
can be fixed on the user's exterior acoustic meatus. The microphone 12
includes a clip
14 that allows the user to affix the microphone 14 in the location near the
user's mouth,
e.g., on the collar.
However, the convenience and the comfort for the user while wearing an
earphone are very important. The speaker of the conventional earphone which
tends to
fall out of the ear causes discomfort when it is worn. In addition, the
microphone
needs to be clipped to something, but it is not always easy for the user to
find a place to
I o clip the microphone to. Thus the microphone may be attached at a distance
from the
user's mouth, so that the communication system is disturbed and noises are
produced.
An earphone that can be comfortably worn by a user and can be firmly fixed on
the user's ear while the user is exercising is disclosed in U.S. patent No.
5412736. An
earphone with a microphone is disclosed in Taiwan application No. 87111485
based on
is U.S. patent No. 5412736, wherein both the signal-wire coupling to the
microphone and
the signal-wire coupling to the speaker pass through a slot in the hook of the
earphone.
After passing through the slot, one of the signal-wires couples to the
speaker, and the
other signal-wire couples to the microphone through a boom. It is difficult to
fabricate,
assemble, and use the earphone. In addition, if the user feels tired, due to
extended
2o wear of the earphone on one ear, and tries to move the earphone from one
ear to another
ear, e.g. from his right ear to his left ear, many steps are needed. These
steps include:
taking off the earphone, turning the speaker chamber, turning the boom which
supports
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the microphone, adjusting the speaker chamber so that the speaker chamber can
be
affixed on the exterior acoustic meatus, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an earphone with a microphone. The earphone
includes a hook, a speaker, and a microphone. The speaker is in a speaker
chamber
and the microphone is in a microphone chamber, wherein the speaker chamber and
the
microphone chamber respectively protect the speaker and the microphone. The
hook
comprises a speaker end connecting to the speaker and a microphone end
connecting to
the microphone. When the earphone is worn on a user's ear, the hook extends
along
I o the user's helix, wherein the speaker end of the hook is near the upper
side of the helix,
and the microphone end of the hook is near the user's earlobe. The speaker of
the
earphone connects to the speaker end of the hook by an outrigger, and the
microphone
connects to the hook by a boom. The speaker signal-wire extends from the
speaker
and then passes through the outrigger, the speaker end of the hook, the slot
in the hook
I5 and then couples to the audio signal manager. The microphone signal-wire
extends
from the microphone, passes through the boom and then couples to the audio
signal
manager.
Both the microphone signal-wire and the speaker signal-wire can be protected
well in the invention. Additionally, fabrication of the earphone according to
the
2o invention is much easier.
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It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the
following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide
further
explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of
the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this
specification. The
drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the
description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,
Fig. 1 shows a schematic, front view of a conventional earphone with a
microphone;
Fig. 2 shows a schematic, front view of the earphone with a microphone
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 3 shows a schematic, cross-sectional view of the earphone with a
microphone as illustrated in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 shows a schematic, side view of the embodiment of the earphone with a
microphone while being worn by a user; and
Fig. 5 shows a schematic view from the rear side of the head of a user while
the
earphone with a microphone according to a preferred embodiment of the
invention is
worn by a user.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of
the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the
description to refer to the same or like parts.
Fig. 2 shows a front view of the earphone with a microphone according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 shows a cross-
sectional view
of the earphone with a microphone in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2 and in Fig. 3,
the
hook 20 is an apparatus that can be comfortably and firmly worn on a user's
ear by
to extending and clipping along the user's ear. One end 24 of the hook 20
connects to the
housing 22. An outrigger 30 passes through the housing 22 and connects to the
speaker chamber 40. The speaker 42 is in the speaker chamber 40.
The user can slide the outrigger 30 upwardly or downwardly in the tunnel 23 of
the housing 22 along the tunnel 23 along the direction of the arrowhead I. The
user
can also turn the outrigger 30 in the tunnel 23 of the housing 22 along the
direction of
the arrowhead II. While the force exerting on the outrigger 30 vanishes, the
outrigger
30 will stay firmly because of the friction. Thus the direction and location
of the
speaker chamber 40 can be adjusted according to the user so that the speaker
chamber
40 can be comfortably fixed on the user's exterior acoustic meatus. There are
bulges
33 on both ends of the outrigger 30; the bulges 33 are at two ends of the
outrigger 30.
The bulges 33 prevent the outrigger 30 from slipping away from the housing 22.
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Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the earphone with a microphone as
illustrated in Fig.2. As seen in Fig. 3, the outrigger 30 and the boom 52 are
both
hollow tubes. The hook 20 also includes a hollow passage therein. The signal-
wire
62 extend from the speaker 42 and then extend into the bore 31 of the
outrigger 30.
After the signal-wire 62 passes through the outrigger 30, the signal-wire 62
form a loop
63 before entering the hook 20. The signal-wire 62 extend to one end 26 of the
hook
20 after passing through the hook 20, and then the signal-wire 62 passes into
the tri-
bores housing 50. The loop 63 is a looser and less tensile part of the signal-
wire 62,
and the loop 63 exists to let the outrigger 30 move easily in the housing 22.
The
1o signal-wire 62 passes into the bore 48 of the tri-bore housing SO after
extending from
the end 26 of the hook 20. The signal-wire 64 extends from the microphone 56
and
passes into the bore 53 of the boom 52. The signal-wire 64 then passes into
the bore 49
of the tri-bore housing 50 and extends from the bore 47. Finally, the signal-
wire 64
couples to the audio signal manager. Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, signal-
wire 62 and
I5 signal-wire 64 are usually combined into one wire 60. The wire 60 extends
from the
bore 47 of the tri-bore housing 50 and then connects to the end point for
coupling to the
audio signal manager 80. The audio signal manager 80 can be a communication
means, e.g. mobile phone, wireless, mufti-media, or radio intercom.
Referring to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, one end of the boom 52 connects to the tri-
bore
20 housing 50, and the other end of the boom 52 connects to the microphone
chamber 54.
The boom 52 is a delicate and waterproof hollow tube used for covering and
holding the
microphone signal-wire 64. Additionally, the microphone is made from materials
having high ductility because the boom 52 should be able to be bent easily by
the user,
and the boom 52 should maintain its configuration after being bent by the
user. Thus
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the user can adjust the location of the microphone chamber 54 according to the
location
of the user's mouth when wearing the earphone with microphone of the
invention.
If two earphones are used simultaneously, the signal-wire 60 can be plugged
into
a Y-type connector so that the signal from the audio signal manager can be
transmitted
s to both of the earphones. If needed, a volume controller and a switch can
also be
installed on the signal-wire 60 for the user to control the On/Off State and
the volume
easily.
Fig. 4 shows a side view of the embodiment of the earphone with a microphone
while being worn by a user, and Fig. 5 shows a view from the rear side of the
head of a
to user wherein the earphone with a microphone is worn on the user's ear.
Referring to
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the hook 20 extends from a location near the earlobe 86 to
a location
near the upper side of the helix 88. The hook 20 is designed according to the
shape of
the ear and thus it is comfortable for the user to wear the earphone on his or
her ear.
One end 26 of the hook 20 is at the rear side of the ear near the earlobe 86,
and the other
15 end 24 of the hook 20 connects to a housing 22 on the upper side of the
helix 88. Thus
the hook 20 cannot easily fall from the ear. Additionally, after wearing the
earphone
according to embodiment of the invention, the user can adjust the outrigger 30
that
connects to the speaker chamber 40 and the hook 20 enable the speaker chamber
to be
located in a more comfortable position. The hook 20 and the outrigger 30 also
keep
2o the speaker 42 and the speaker chamber 40 on the exterior acoustic meatus
even when
the user is engaged in vigorous physical activity.
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Generally, high quality speakers always have a metal buffer cap. But when the
user is engaged in vigorous physical activities, the sweat and the humidity
still erode the
earphone. To resolve this problem, the speaker of the invention has a
waterproof
material covering the the metal buffer cap. The waterproof material can be
made from
latex. The waterproof material is interleaved between the metal buffer cap and
a scale-
proof meshes , and than sealed by an elastic seal.
Some people need their hands free and have to pay attention to the
surroundings
while working, thus the earphone with a microphone according to their
invention is very
important. Sometimes they may feel tired after wearing the earphone on the
same ear
t o for a long time and try to move the earphone from one ear to another ear.
At such a
time, the user just needs to take off the earphone and turn the speaker
chamber 40 about
180°, after which then the earphone can be worn on the other ear. While
the user
engages in vigorous physical activity, the housing prevents the outrigger 30
from
turning or moving due to friction, and thus the speaker chamber40 does not
turn nor
move. As a result, the user still feels comfortable even during vigorous
activity.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and
variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without
departing from
the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended
that the
present invention shield modifications and variations of this invention
provided they fall
2o within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
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