WO2016027065A1

WO2016027065A1 - In-Ear Headphone Cable

Info

Publication number: WO2016027065A1
Application number: PCT/GB2015/052335
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Lewis Heath
Original assignee: Thomas Lewis Heath
Priority date: 2014-08-19
Filing date: 2015-08-12
Publication date: 2016-02-25
Also published as: GB2529434B; GB2529434A; GB201414742D0

Abstract

An in-ear headphone cable has a hook portion provided with a coil wound around its longitudinal axis, and it may also have a malleable member provided through the cable. These features provide improved malleability and robustness and for the fitting around an ear to be more secure and more easily adjusted.

Description

In-Ear Headphone Cable

The present disclosure related to an in-ear headphone cable, an in-ear headphone ear hook and a set of in-ear headphones.

In-ear headphones are used with various mobile and fixed devices including feature telephones, smart telephones, tablet computers, personal media players, laptop and desktop computers, hi-fi equipment and so on.

An in-ear headphone may comprise earbuds which are fitted in the outer ear, or in-ear monitors which are inserted into the ear canal.

An in-ear headphone typically comprises a phone connector ("jack plug") such as a TS, T S or TRRS connector and a cable which bifurcates to provide right and left loudspeaker cable portions, which each terminate with a loudspeaker for insertion into a user's ear. Other components such as microphones or actuators for commands such as accepting and terminating phone calls or adjusting volume of media playback may be provided.

In-ear headphones can be wrapped around an ear, typically being provided around an upper portion of the auricle adjacent the skull. To assist with this placement, plastic casings have been proposed but are rigid and cannot be moulded to fit the specific shape of an ear.

An adjustable headphone has been proposed in which a malleable wire is provided in the headphone cable, but such solutions can be flimsy, insecure (i.e. prone to falling out of the ear) or difficult to shape.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure there is provided an in-ear headphone cable with an ear hook portion comprising a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

Optionally, the coil member extends along the entire length of the ear hook portion.

Optionally, the coil member is formed from a metal material. Optionally, the in-ear headphone cable further comprises a malleable member provided longitudinally with the cable.

Optionally, coils of the coil member enclose the malleable member.

Optionally, the in-ear headphone cable comprises a casing which encases the coil member.

Optionally, the coil member is provided on an external surface of a cable casing.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure there is provided an in-ear headphone ear hook comprising a cable with a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

Optionally, the cable is that of the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of the disclosure there is provided a set of in-ear headphones comprising: a phone connector; a first loudspeaker; a second loudspeaker; a cable coupling the phone connector with said first and second loudspeakers and which bifurcates to provide right and left loudspeaker cable portions for said first and second loudspeakers; and wherein each of the loudspeaker cable portions comprises an ear hook portion, which comprises a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

Optionally, the cable is that of the first aspect.

The disclosure will be described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows an overview of a typical headphone ear hook portion; Figure 2 shows a cutaway diagram of the same ear hook portion;

Figure 3 shows a cutaway diagram of an ear hook portion according to the disclosure; and Figure 4 shows a set of in-ear headphones according to the disclosure. Figure 1 shows an in-ear headphone in situ. A loudspeaker 100 is inserted at or in an ear canal. A (left) loudspeaker cable portion 102 comprises an ear hook portion 104 that, in use, is wrapped round the auricle 106 so that the loudspeaker 100 is securely positioned at or in the ear canal. A set of in-ear headphones will comprise left and right ear loudspeakers although just one is illustrated here to avoid unnecessary duplication.

Figure 2 is a cutaway diagram, showing the internal structure of an ear hook portion of a cable according to the prior art. The inside of the ear hook portion 104 comprises audio cables 200 (signal and return lines) and a longitudinal malleable member 202, which may be a flexible wire. The flexible wire may or may not serve an electrical function. Its primary purpose is to improve the malleability of the cable as compared with a cable that just comprises audio cables 200. The audio cables 200 comprise copper cores and are of set dimensions to meet electrical performance criteria. However the malleable member 202 can be freely specified because it does not have to have an electrical function. Therefore it can be chosen to have suitable characteristics to improve the malleability of the cable as a whole, that is, the cable retains its shape better when bent into position. There may be different numbers of audio cables depending on the specific structure of the headphone. The malleable member 202 is provided throughout the headphone cable to provide basic cable malleability and structure. The wires are encased within a plastic or rubber casing 204.

Figure 3 is a cutaway diagram, showing the internal structure of an ear hook portion of a cable according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The cable is similar to that of figure 2, so like components have been illustrated with like references. However, here an additional coil member 300 has been provided. The coils of the coil member 300 are wound around the longitudinal axis of the cable.

The coil member 300 bends together with the malleable member 202. In a preferred embodiment the coil member may have a malleability similar to that of the malleable member 202. The coil member 300 also provides a barrier that stops the malleable member 202 from breaking through the surface of the casing 204, and may be finely wound for this purpose. The coil member may be provided with a sleeve over the top, which may be formed from a synthetic material. The coil member 300 is preferably formed from a metal material, which may for example be stainless steel. In an example embodiment, the coil is formed from a stainless steel wire of 0.6mm diameter and coiled with a pitch of 1mm (as measured from the centre of a wire portion of one coil to the centre of a wire portion of an adjacent coil), although it will be appreciated that the gauge and pitch of the coil may be varied to provide different desired malleability and springiness. The pitch of the coil may also be chosen to make sure that heatshrink folding is avoided. For example, the wire of the coil may be between 0.1 and 1 mm and the pitch may be between 0.2 and 2 mm.

The coil member 300 may be provided along the length of an ear hook portion of a headphone cable. A headphone set will comprise left and right loudspeaker cable portions, each of which will comprise an ear hook portion.

The cores 200 may be provided with further insulation 302 to counteract against any

electromagnetic interference when the coil 300 is metallic. This may be any suitable insulating material such as enamel or thermoplastic elastomer.

The outer casing 204 may comprise a sleeve which may be formed from a synthetic material such as rubber or plastic. The casing 204 may be thin, in which case the contours of the coil member 300 can be seen on the outside surface of the casing 204; or the casing 204 may be thick enough to provide a smooth appearance on its outside surface.

In an alternative embodiment the coil member 300 may be provided on an outer surface of the casing 204. That is, the casing 204 is provided to encase the audio cables 200 and flexible wire 202, and the coil member 300 can be provided around the outside of the casing 204. In this embodiment, the coil member could be further provided with an outer coating or sleeve which may also be formed of a synthetic material such as rubber or plastic.

In general, a cable may be provided with additional layers, cores or casings which are not mentioned here.

The provision of the coil member 300 provides improved malleability and robustness and enables around ear fitting to be more secure and more easily adjusted.

In addition, the coil makes the ear hook more reliable than others. It gives the ear hook a continuous shape with a consistent diameter as well, which means that the ear hook portion can be overmoulded. The overmoulding ensures that the coil is securely held in place, as is the malleable member, and the outer overmoulded sleeve cannot be peeled away. Figure 4 shows a set of in-ear headphones according to the disclosure. A phone connector 400 ("jack plug") is provided for insertion into a corresponding socket on a device. A cable 402 bifurcates to provide right and left loudspeaker cable portions 404, 406 which each terminate with a loudspeaker 408 for insertion into a user's ear. An ear hook portion 410 is provided as part of each loudspeaker cable portion 404, 406 and in this embodiment extends from the loudspeaker 408 to a termination 412. In this specific embodiment an actuator in the form of a volume control 414 is also provided although it will be appreciated that this is not an essential part of the disclosure.

So far we have assumed that an in-ear headphone provides a wired connection to an external device. However it is possible that a wireless connection may be provided and such an option can be accommodated by the present disclosure. In that case, the disclosure provides one or more self- contained ear hook devices each comprising an ear hook cable portion with a coiled member as illustrated above.

Various improvements and modifications can be made to the above without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. An in-ear headphone cable with an ear hook portion comprising a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

2. The in-ear headphone cable of claim 1, wherein the coil member extends along the entire length of the ear hook portion.

3. The in-ear headphone cable of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the coil member is formed from a metal material.

4. The in-ear headphone cable of any preceding claim, further comprising a malleable member provided longitudinally with the cable.

5. The in-ear headphone cable of claim 4, wherein coils of the coil member enclose the malleable member.

6. The in-ear headphone cable of any preceding claim, comprising a casing which encases the coil member.

7. The in-ear headphone cable of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the coil member is provided on an external surface of a cable casing.

8. An in-ear headphone ear hook comprising a cable with a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

9. The in-ear headphone ear hook of claim 6, wherein the cable is that of any of claims 1 to 7.

10. A set of in-ear headphones comprising:

a phone connector;

a first loudspeaker;

a second loudspeaker; a cable coupling the phone connector with said first and second loudspeakers and which bifurcates to provide right and left loudspeaker cable portions for said first and second loudspeakers;

and wherein each of the loudspeaker cable portions comprises an ear hook portion, which comprises a coil member wound around its longitudinal axis.

11. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 10, wherein the cable is that of any of claims 1 to 7.