IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,014,410
Granted Patent B2
US 9,014,410 · App. 13/899,076 · Granted Apr 21, 2015

Earphone device

Inventors: Tomohiro Matsuo (Saitama-Ken, JP); Takashi Ohta (Tokyo, JP); Koji Nageno (Tokyo, JP); Tomohiro Ito (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Sony Corporation
H04R1/1066H04R1/1016H04R1/345H04R29/001H04R1/10H04R1/1091
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,014,410
App. No.
13/899,076
Granted
Apr 21, 2015
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 (50)

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 front portion and the housing rear portion are mechanically fused together, and

the housing front portion and the housing rear portion are part of the primary enclosure for the driver unit;

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

the sound guide tube is at a position deviated from a middle axis line which runs through a middle of both the housing front portion and the housing rear portion, the sound guide tube being integrated to the housing front portion; and

a cord knot of a cord located within the housing.

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

a cord retainer integrated with the housing, wherein the cord knot is located near one end of the cord retainer.

3. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the cord knot is located behind the driver unit.

4. The earphone according to claim 3 , wherein:

the cord knot is located behind the driver unit on the middle axis line of the driver unit.

5. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the cord knot is located behind a base portion of the sound guide tube.

6. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the sound guide tube, including a tip portion and a base portion, deviates from the middle axis line of the driver unit, and

the cord knot is located closer to the base portion than the tip portion.

7. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the sound guide tube, including a tip portion and a base portion, is tilted away from and relative to the middle axis line of the driver unit by a predetermined angle, and

the cord knot is located closer to the base portion than the tip portion.

8. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the cord knot is located at the housing rear portion.

9. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

a drawn direction in which the cord is drawn from the housing is approximately orthogonal to both the middle axis line of the driver unit and a center axis line of the sound guide tube.

10. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

a drawn direction of the cord being drawn from the housing is totally orthogonal to both the center line of the driver unit and the center axis line of the sound guide tube.

11. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

a drawn direction in which the cord being drawn from the housing is orthogonal to a theoretical surface defined as including the middle axis line of the driver unit and a center axis line of the sound guide tube.

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

a cord retainer integrated with the housing, wherein the cord retainer is configured to allow a user to pinch the cord retainer with fingertips when the user is wearing the earphone.

13. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

an intersection point of the middle axis line of the driver and the center axis line of the sound guide tube is located near the center of the cord knot.

14. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

an intersection point of the middle axis line of the driver unit and the center axis line of the sound guide tube is located within the cord knot.

15. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the cord knot is on the middle axis line of the driver unit.

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

a hole on the front surface, wherein the hole and the cord knot are on the middle axis line of the driver unit.

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

a cord retainer integrated with the housing, configured such that a part of the cord retainer is located outside of a cavum conchae of a user, when the user is wearing the earphone.

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

a cord retainer, shaped substantially cylindrical and integrated with the housing.

19. The earphone according to claim 1 , wherein:

the housing front portion comprises the front surface of the housing;

directly behind the front surface is a porous protection plate;

directly behind the porous protection plate is the driver unit comprising a voice coil; and

a line of sight exists, looking through the sound guide tube between a tip of the sound guide tube and a portion of the voice coil.

20. The earphone of claim 19 , wherein:

the line of sight between the tip of the sound guide tube and the portion of the voice coil goes through the porous protection plate.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 30, 2013
From: MATSUO, TOMOHIRO; OHTA, TAKASHI; NAGENO, KOJI; ITO, TOMOHIRO
To: SONY CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 031307/0170 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2006-005412 · Jan 12, 2006 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 11651557 · Jan 10, 2007
Related Publication 20130251186A1 · Sep 26, 2013