Granted Patent B2

US 12,413,892 · App. 17/407,163 · Granted Sep 9, 2025

Inventor: John Patrick Keady (Fairfax Station, VA)

Assignee: ST TipTech, LLC

H04R1/1058H04R1/1091B29C66/1122B29C66/301B29C66/5221B29C66/532B29C66/53245H04R2201/105H04R2460/17Y10T156/1051

Abstract

Claims (12)

1. An earpiece comprising:

an instrument package, wherein the instrument package includes at least one microphone and a speaker, wherein the instrument package includes a pump coupled to a pneumatic tube, wherein the pneumatic tube includes a deformable third valve; and

a detachable ear manifold, where the ear manifold includes an inflation element and a first valve and a second valve, wherein the instrument package is configured to be attached to the ear manifold, and wherein the ear manifold is configured to be pneumatically separate from the instrument package when the ear manifold is detached from the instrument package, wherein the inflation element is coupled to an inflation tube, wherein when the ear manifold is attached to the instrument package the inflation tube is coupled to the pneumatic tube, wherein the first valve and second valve are configured so that when the inflation element is inflated using the pump and the instrument package is removed from the ear manifold the inflation element remains inflated.

2. The earpiece according to claim 1 , where the inflation element is composed of a flexible material.

3. The earpiece according to claim 2 , wherein the ear manifold includes a stent.

4. The earpiece according to claim 3 , wherein the inflation element is bonded to the stent by an inverted bond.

5. The earpiece according to claim 4 , wherein the stent includes a lumen associated with an inflation hole.

6. The earpiece according to claim 1 , wherein the instrument package includes a power source.

7. The earpiece according to claim 1 , wherein the instrument package includes a first microphone and a second microphone.

8. The earpiece according to claim 7 , wherein the instrument package includes a first valve.

9. The earpiece according to claim 8 , wherein the instrument package includes a second valve.

10. The earpiece according to claim 7 , wherein the first microphone is an ear canal microphone and the second microphone is an ambient sound microphone, where the first microphone is configured to measure sound from a user's ear canal when the earpiece is used.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (90)