RU2621362C1 - Inter-channel headphone - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: inter-channel earpiece contains at least three electro-acoustic transducers installed in the casing. The body is designed to be located in the external auditory canal. The front part of the case, when using the earpiece, is located in the region of the second turn of the external ear canal. The first electroacoustic transducer is installed in the front of the casing, the other electroacoustic transducers are installed along the length of the casing and are equipped with coaxial acoustic channels, the outputs of which are located in the front part of the casing. The front part of the body is teardrop shaped with the corresponding typical ear canal expansion and is equipped with a flexible sealing nozzle. The electroacoustic transducers have a balanced armature, the flexible sealing nozzle is made of silicone and is deployed upwards relative to the body axis by an angle of 5-20°.

EFFECT: improvement of the design of the machine.

7 cl, 5 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The invention relates to constructions of devices for emitting sound, more specifically to the designs of headphones installed in the external auditory meatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Headphones installed in the ear, it is customary to call in-ear headphones, or in-ear headphones. Most of them are inserted at the very beginning of the external auditory meatus. Earphones inserted deeper inside the ear canal are rare and are usually called in-ear headphones.

Designs with the location of electro-acoustic transducers in the external sound passage are also used in hearing aids. These devices include not only electro-acoustic transducers, but also microphones. These devices solve the medical problem of improving the sound quality of the environment around the user, especially the volume and intelligibility of speech.

Headphones, designed primarily for listening to musical works, have a different purpose and, therefore, a design different from hearing aids.

Known design of the in-ear earphone according to patent CN 201928413, publ. 08/10/2011, IPC H04R 1/10, which contains two electro-acoustic transducers, a low-frequency and a high-frequency, located in parallel. The transducers during operation of the headphones are located at the very beginning of the ear canal.

Known patent KR 101539064, publ. 07/23/2015, IPC H04R 1/10, which discloses the design of headphones with two electro-acoustic transducers. Converters are misaligned in the housing. In front of each transducer, a camera with a volume is made in the housing, which creates an echo-space effect.

A technical solution is known for the application US 20140140565, publ. 05.22.2014, IPC H04R 1/10. The earphone in the ear includes a shell body, a first electro-electro-acoustic transducer with a first acoustic chamber and a second electro-electro-acoustic transducer with a second acoustic chamber. Converters are misaligned in the housing. In this case, the second acoustic chamber has an acoustic outlet located far from the first acoustic chamber.

The closest analogue is the solution disclosed in patent US 9055366, publ. 06/09/2015, IPC H04R 25/00, in which the design of the in-ear earphone is disclosed. This earphone contains two electro-acoustic transducers: one low-frequency, the other high-frequency, which are located in parallel. The outputs of the electro-acoustic transducers in the earphone body have their own sound channels. As electro-acoustic transducers are used transducers with balanced armature.

Despite the obvious achievements in the design of headphones with two electro-acoustic transducers, there remains a need to improve the design of headphones to achieve better sound quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technical result of the claimed invention is to improve the sound quality by increasing the return of electro-acoustic transducers, reducing non-linear distortion, as well as longitudinal low-frequency resonances.

The in-ear earphone contains at least three electro-acoustic transducers installed in the housing. The body is arranged to be located in the external auditory meatus, while the front of the body, when operating the earphone, is located in the region of the second turn of the external auditory meatus. The first electro-acoustic transducer is installed in the front of the housing, the remaining electro-acoustic transducers are installed along the length of the housing and equipped with coaxial acoustic channels, the outputs of which are located in the front of the housing. The front of the case is made in a drop-shaped form, with a corresponding typical auditory meatus widening in the upper part and equipped with a flexible sealing nozzle.

The in-ear earphone is located deep enough in the external auditory canal, the front part of its body is in the region of the second turn of the external auditory canal. The deep location of the earpiece allows, with the help of a flexible sealing nozzle, to form a small, insulated air chamber in front of the eardrum. This contributes to the effective return of electro-acoustic transducers, and the isolation of the camera from external noise, due to the deep landing, ensures high sound quality.

The reduction of nonlinear distortion, as well as longitudinal low-frequency resonances, occurs because the air chamber, which the transducers sound, is small, and also because there are more than three transducers, they are installed along the length of the case and equipped with coaxial acoustic channels. Nonlinear distortion and low-frequency resonances are also reduced because one transducer is located directly in front of the housing, which shifts the resonances to a higher frequency region. Other transducers are connected to the camera by coaxial channels. The parallel propagation of sound fronts from coaxial channels preserves a common directivity pattern for all speakers. Being "on the axis", all the speakers show their best properties, respectively, and their combination shows their best properties. An important factor is the presence of a sufficiently large number of electro-acoustic transducers - more than three. This allows you to choose electro-acoustic transducers in such a way that they give surround, filled sound at all frequencies. An important role in improving the sound quality is played by the installation of such an earpiece in the external auditory canal near the transition of the cartilage into the bone, in the region of the second turn of the external auditory canal. This allows you to voice the minimum amount of air in front of the eardrum, and thus increase the acoustic return of electro-acoustic transducers. The implementation of the front part of the drop-shaped body allows you to correctly orient the earphone in the ear canal to achieve perpendicularity to the eardrum of the acoustic channels of the transducers.

Electro-acoustic transducers are usually installed in the housing approximately parallel to each other.

The parallelism of electro-acoustic transducers and acoustic channels to the usual “common” sound propagation vector in the external auditory meatus, which is located “on the axis” with the eardrum, also contributes to sound quality.

Each of the transducers can be made in the form of transducers with balanced armature.

The acoustic axis of the first electro-acoustic transducer and the said coaxial acoustic channels of the remaining transducers can be located approximately perpendicular to the eardrum during operation of the earphone. This arrangement of the axis of the first electro-acoustic transducer and the axes of the acoustic channels of the remaining transducers makes it possible to match the propagation of sound in a typical external auditory canal.

In particular, a flexible sealing nozzle can be deployed upward relative to the axis of the housing at an angle of 5-20 °. This installation of the nozzle allows you to achieve the required degree of isolation of the volume in front of the eardrum, taking into account the geometry in the region of the second turn of the external auditory meatus. In this case, the state of acoustic insulation occurs when the headphone is installed in the corresponding direction with respect to a typical “common” vector, sound propagation. Flexible sealing nozzle can be made of silicone.

In particular, electro-acoustic transducers are connected in parallel through an electric circuit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In FIG. 1 shows the location of the in-ear earphone in the ear canal.

In FIG. 2 shows the design of the in-ear earphone in side view.

In FIG. 3 shows the design of the in-ear earphone in a top view.

In FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of a headphone in front view.

In FIG. 5 shows a General view of the headphones, in one of the possible options.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The in-ear earphone (Fig. 2, 3) contains a housing 4, electro-acoustic transducers (speakers) installed in the housing. In the given example, five transducers 6, 7, 8, 9,10 with acoustic channels 11, 12, 13, 14 from transducers 7, 8, 9, 10, the outputs of which are located in front of the housing, are used. The output of the electro-acoustic transducer 6 is located in front of the housing 4 directly, without any acoustic channel (sound guide). In this embodiment, the transducers are designed as transducers with a balanced armature. These transducers are used primarily for portable hearing aids, due to their small size and accuracy of sound reproduction. In this design, due to the presence of a significant number of transducers, it became possible to improve the sound quality by selecting different types of transducers with a balanced anchor to achieve the necessary super-total effect.

In the best version of the headphone design, various transducers with a balanced armature from the manufacturer of the corresponding components, for example Knowles, from large to small, were used. The use of converters of various series, each of which works in the optimal mode, gives the resulting full-fledged sound.

When other types of electroacoustic transducers of small size appear, they can also be used in the proposed design.

The transducers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are installed in the housing along the length of the earphone to provide the ability to maintain the necessary suitable and minimum size housing shape for placement in the external auditory meatus. The outputs of the transducers 7, 8, 9, 10 are connected with coaxial acoustic channels 11, 12, 13, 14, the diameters of which depend on the frequency response of the transducer. From the drawings (Fig. 2-4) it is seen that the diameters of the channels 11 and 14 are larger, due to the fact that they are connected to the low-frequency speakers 7 and 10. The choice of the diameter of the channels is subject to the usual laws so that the distortion of the frequency response introduced by the sound channels, would be more acceptable by ear, the largest possible diameters of the channels and their smallest length are needed. Electric converters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are interconnected in parallel, which provides a resistance of just over 2 ohms. The total resistance of a fully assembled headphone is approximately 17 ohms, and is formed by resistors connected in series. Structurally, these impedances are in the connector for connection to the sound source. These resistors affect the frequency response of the finished product and therefore are selected during the overall design development.

Electro-acoustic transducers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 in an electric circuit can be grouped into separate sections, each of which, in order to further improve sound quality, can operate from a separate amplifier.

The front of the housing 4 can be made in a “teardrop” shape with expansion in the upper part and narrowing in the lower part (Fig. 4). This shape is better suited to the typical shape of the external auditory canal when installing the earphone and allows you to install the earphone most optimally, with the orientation of the axes of the acoustic channels 11, 12, 13, 14 approximately perpendicular to the eardrum 2 (Fig. 1). This is due to the fact that it is precisely on the axis of the radiation pattern of the emitters, directed perpendicular to the eardrum, that the least distortions of sound are observed, especially in the high-frequency region, including when using several electro-acoustic transducers.

The front of the housing 4 is equipped with a flexible sealing nozzle 5 (Fig. 2-5). The nozzle 5 is made of silicone and is installed in front of the front of the housing 4 (Fig. 2, 3). The nozzle 5 is installed at an angle α (Fig. 2), which is in the range of 5–20 ° up from the axis of the body 4. The concept of up from the axis of the body 4 is associated with the location of the earphone in the external auditory meatus. The direction of the external auditory meatus is individually variable, but in principle, at first it goes backward and upward, and then turns down and forward. It is possible to talk about the direction up from the axis of the body in the sense that the headphone body is oriented in a certain way due to the drop-shaped shape of the front of the body and the typical anatomical structure of the external auditory canal at the eardrum. The nozzle 5, as a rule, is made round, front view (Fig. 4). However, it can also be given another form that promotes the formation of an isolated chamber at the eardrum 2.

In-ear headphones are installed in the external auditory meatus 1 (Fig. 1). The front of the casing 4 is located in the region of the second turn of the ear canal 1 and due to the drop-shaped shape of the front of the casing (Fig. 4) and upward rotation of the nozzle 5 by an angle α, acoustic isolation of the volume in front of the eardrum 3 and the correct orientation of the earphone casing 4 are ensured. The teardrop shape of the front of the housing 4 also provides a comfortable installation of headphones. This is facilitated by the typical anatomical feature of the external auditory canal, the presence of a fairly sharp stiffening rib (intertragal notch), running along the entire auditory canal. After the second turn, the auditory meatus, in a typical case, is teardrop-shaped in cross section.

It should be noted that not all users can recommend this type of headphones. In addition to individual preferences, there is a restriction associated with the diameter of the external auditory meatus, as well as its shape.

This headphone design provides the deepest "fit" in the external auditory canal, while a large number of electro-acoustic transducers voices the minimum amount of air in front of the eardrum. In this case, one of the transducers does not have an acoustic channel at all, and the other transducers have coaxial acoustic channels.

Due to the achievement of the above-mentioned set of design features of the earphone, the frequency response corresponding to a typical characteristic of the open ear canal gives the impression that the music does not play “inside the head”, but “slightly outside”. The listeners do not feel that their ears are plugged, and the music plays inside the enclosed space.

Longitudinal low-frequency resonances are reduced by reducing the physical dimensions of the "working volume", limited, on the one hand, by the nozzle 5 and the front of the housing 4, and, on the other, by the eardrum. One of the features of this design is that the silicone nozzle 5 does not clog the ear very tightly, and when using headphones, the quality factors of resonances are much lower than with very dense clogging. Moreover, due to the parallel arrangement of electro-acoustic transducers and acoustic channels, the resulting spectrum of resonances of the “working” volume is shifted to a higher frequency region and the negative effect of the “blockage” of the ear on the audibility of these low-frequency resonances is reduced.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

This design of the headphones ensures high listening quality, volume, clarity and richness of sound, due to the minimum number of spurious resonances and non-linear distortions, close to matching the typical characteristics of the “open ear” in the entire audible range, as well as an even phase characteristic. All this is provided by the entire set of design features of the headphone. Moreover, this design can be produced industrially.

Claims (7)

1. An in-ear earphone containing at least three electro-acoustic transducers installed in the housing, the housing is arranged to be located in the external auditory meatus, while the front of the housing, when operating the earphone, is located in the region of the second turn of the external auditory meatus, the first electro-acoustic transducer is installed in the front of the case, the remaining electro-acoustic transducers are installed along the length of the case and are equipped with coaxial acoustic channels, the outputs of which are located laid in the front of the housing, and the front of the housing is made in a drop-shaped form with expansion in the upper part and is equipped with a flexible sealing nozzle. 2. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the electro-acoustic transducers are installed in the housing approximately parallel to each other. 3. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the electro-acoustic transducers is made in the form of transducers with a balanced armature. 4. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the acoustic axis of the first transducer and said coaxial acoustic channels of the remaining transducers are located approximately perpendicular to the eardrum during operation of the earphone. 5. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the said flexible sealing nozzle is deployed upward relative to the axis of the housing by an angle of 5-20 °. 6. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the said flexible sealing nozzle is made of silicone. 7. The in-ear earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the electro-acoustic transducers are connected in parallel through an electric circuit.

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