Systems and methods for assembling non-occluding earbuds
Systems and methods for assembling non-occluding earbuds are disclosed. The earbud includes a non-occluding housing having a directional sound port offset with respect to a center axis of the earbud. The housing can have an asymmetric shape amenable to in-the-ear retention. Additionally, the housing can have a seamless or nearly seamless construction even though two or more parts are joined together to form the housing.
1. A method for achieving minimum gap and offset when constructing an earbud that comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, the method comprising:
mating the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly, wherein the mating comprises providing an adhesive to span a gap along a first axis between the cap sub-assembly and the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the mating, applying constant gap-closing pressure to the cap sub-assembly and the rear housing sub-assembly;
during the applying, aligning the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies, wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and
after the aligning, releasing the constant gap-closing pressure.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing the adhesive comprises applying glue to an inner surface of the cap sub-assembly.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mating process comprises soldering a cable to a driver.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gap-closing pressure is applied using an alignment device.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to the mating, loading the cap sub-assembly into a cap nest, wherein the cap nest comprises a magnet operative to attract a driver of the cap sub-assembly.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until the gap and an offset along the second axis between them are minimized.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning comprises rotating the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until a desired clocking angle is achieved.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the providing the adhesive comprises providing a pliable glue;
the glue remains pliable during the applying and the aligning; and
the releasing occurs after the glue is no longer pliable.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mating comprises snapping a cap of the cap sub-assembly to a rear housing of the rear housing sub-assembly.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aligning further comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.
11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other comprises moving the cap nest along the second axis.
12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the aligning further comprises verifying the gap and offset are minimized using an alignment verification device.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the alignment verification device observes a tangent point of the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the alignment verification device comprises one of a charge-coupled device and a laser measurement instrument.
15. The method of claim 7 , wherein the rotating comprises observing a parting line of the cap sub-assembly and a parting line of the rear housing sub-assembly.
16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the aligning comprises moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other until an offset along the third axis between them is minimized.
17. A method for constructing an earbud that comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, the method comprising:
coupling the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly by providing an adhesive along a first axis between a first surface of the cap sub-assembly and a first surface of the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the coupling, applying pressure along the first axis to a second surface of the cap sub-assembly and to a second surface of the rear housing sub-assembly; and
during the applying, moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising, during the applying, moving the cap and rear housing sub-assemblies relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.
19. A method for constructing an earbud using a cap nest, wherein the earbud comprises a cap sub-assembly and a rear housing sub-assembly, wherein the cap sub-assembly comprises a driver comprising a driver magnet, and wherein the cap nest comprises a cap nest magnet, the method comprising:
loading the cap sub-assembly into the cap nest by attracting the driver magnet to the cap nest magnet;
coupling the cap sub-assembly to the rear housing sub-assembly;
after the loading and after the coupling, applying pressure along a first axis to the cap nest and to the rear housing sub-assembly; and
during the applying, moving the cap nest and the rear housing sub-assembly relative to each other along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising, during the applying, moving the cap nest and the rear housing sub-assembly relative to each other along a third axis that is perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis.