IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,961,428
Granted Patent B2
US 9,961,428 · App. 15/335,990 · Granted May 1, 2018

Earphone device

Inventors: Tomohiro Matsuo (Saitama-Ken, JP); Takashi Ohta (Tokyo, JP); Koji Nageno (Tokyo, JP); Tomohiro Ito (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Sony Corporation
H04R1/1016H04R1/02H04R1/10H04R1/1033H04R1/1058H04R1/1066H04R1/1091H04R1/2807H04R1/34H04R1/345H04R1/1008H04R29/001H04R2499/11
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,961,428
App. No.
15/335,990
Granted
May 1, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

An earphone device includes a housing having a driver unit, and a sound guide tube mounted on a front surface of the housing to protrude from the front surface, in which the sound guide tube is disposed at a position deviated from a center position of the housing.

Claims (42)

1. An earphone comprising:

a housing which houses a driver unit, wherein the housing includes a housing front portion and a housing rear portion, wherein the housing rear portion has at least one inner rear opening;

a sound guide tube mounted on the housing front portion to protrude from a front surface of the housing;

a rear cover located at a rear side of the housing rear portion, wherein the rear cover has a sloped peripheral portion contacting and extending from a peripheral portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion, in which the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover extends from the peripheral portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion with increasing spacing from the front surface of the housing, wherein the rear cover has at least one outer rear opening at the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover, and wherein an entirety of the at least one outer rear opening is exposed to an exterior of the earphone;

a front space formed by a diaphragm of the driver unit and the housing front portion; and

a rear space formed by a rear portion of the driver unit and the housing rear portion,

wherein the rear space is communicated to the exterior of the earphone via the inner rear opening and the outer rear opening.

2. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein the housing front portion and the housing rear portion are mechanically fused together.

3. The earphone according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a cord retainer for fixing a drawn position of a cord, wherein the cord retainer is fixed at the housing rear portion.

4. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein the sound guide tube is disposed at a position deviated from a middle axis line of the driver unit.

5. The earphone according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a cord knot of a cord located within the housing.

6. An earphone comprising:

a housing which houses a driver unit, wherein the housing includes a housing front portion and a housing rear portion, wherein the housing rear portion has at least one inner rear opening;

a sound guide tube mounted on the housing front portion to protrude from a front surface of the housing;

a rear cover located at a rear side of the housing rear portion, wherein the rear cover has a sloped peripheral portion and has at least one outer rear opening at the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover, in which the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover is in contact with a portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion and extends from the portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion with increasing spacing from the front surface of the housing, and wherein an entirety of the at least one outer rear opening is exposed to an exterior of the earphone;

a front space formed by a diaphragm of the driver unit and the housing front portion;

a rear space formed by a rear portion of the driver unit and the housing rear portion,

wherein the rear space is communicated to the exterior of the earphone via the inner rear opening and the outer rear opening; and

a cord knot of a cord located at an opposite side of the sound guide tube across the driver unit.

7. The earphone according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a protection plate spaced from the diaphragm, the protection plate having a plate opening; and

a sound opening formed by the sound guide tube,

wherein the front space is communicated to the exterior of the earphone via the plate opening and the sound opening.

8. An earphone comprising:

a housing which houses a driver unit, wherein the housing includes a housing front portion and a housing rear portion, wherein the housing rear portion has at least one inner rear opening;

a sound guide tube mounted on the housing front portion to protrude from a front surface of the housing;

a rear cover located at a rear side of the housing rear portion, wherein the rear cover has a sloped peripheral portion and has at least one outer rear opening at the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover, in which the sloped peripheral portion of the rear cover is in contact with a portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion and extends from the portion of the rear side of the housing rear portion with increasing spacing from the front surface of the housing, and wherein an entirety of the at least one outer rear opening is exposed to an exterior of the earphone;

a front space formed by a diaphragm of the driver unit and the housing front portion;

a rear space formed by a rear portion of the driver unit and the housing rear portion,

wherein the rear space is communicated to the exterior of the earphone via the inner rear opening and the outer rear opening;

a protection plate spaced from the diaphragm; and

a cord knot of a cord located at an opposite side of the protection plate across the driver unit.

9. The earphone according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an earpiece wrapped around the sound guide tube, and

wherein the earpiece is formed of flexible material and has a profile corresponding to an external auditory meatus when a user wears the earphone.

10. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein a number of the at least one outer rear opening is at least two.

11. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein a number of the at least one outer rear opening and a number of the at least one inner rear opening in communication between the rear space and the exterior of the earphone is the same.

12. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein the driver unit is symmetrically positioned about a middle axis line of the housing front portion.

13. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein the rear cover is capable of covering a part of the housing rear portion.

14. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein the earphone is configured to generate sound corresponding to an audio signal supplied from a music player.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 28, 2016
From: MATSUO, TOMOHIRO; OHTA, TAKASHI; NAGENO, KOJI; ITO, TOMOHIRO
To: SONY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 040510/0001 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2006-005412 · Jan 12, 2006 · national
Continuity (4)
Continuation 14969466 · Dec 15, 2015
Continuation 13932262 · Jul 1, 2013
Continuation 11651557 · Jan 10, 2007
Related Publication 20170048603A1 · Feb 16, 2017