Custom-molding in-ear headphone ear tips

1. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall along a length between the first end and a second end to define a volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into a portion of a typical human outer ear or ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a compliant material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall;

an earphone configured to mate with the ear tip, the earphone comprising:

a light source that when activated causes the compliant material to harden; and

a sensor positioned to detect light emitted by the light source and reflected by skin adjacent to the ear tip when the ear tip is located in an ear;

wherein the light source emits ultra violet (UV) light and selectively emits a second wavelength of light other than UV, and

the sensor detects light of the second wavelength.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light source is directly coupled to the inner wall of the ear tip.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light source is coupled to the polymer by a fiber-optic cable.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the earphone further comprises audio electronics acoustically coupled to the hollow passage.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the earphone fits within the hollow passage.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall is shaped to close the entrance to a user's ear canal without protruding into the ear canal.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the compliant material comprises UV-curable silicone.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall comprises a material that blocks the transmission of UV light.

9. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall along a length between the first end and a second end to define a volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into a portion of a typical human outer ear or ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a compliant material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall;

an earphone configured to mate with the ear tip, the earphone comprising:

a light source that when activated causes the compliant material to harden; and

a sensor positioned to detect light emitted by the light source and reflected by skin adjacent to the ear tip when the ear tip is located in an ear;

wherein the light source comprises a first LED that emits UV light and a second LED that emits light of the second wavelength.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the sensor detects light of the second wavelength.

11. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall along a length between the first end and a second end to define a volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into a portion of a typical human outer ear or ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a variable-stiffness material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall; and

a source of energy that can selectively and repeatably cause the variable-stiffness material to become soft or hard;

wherein the variable-stiffness material comprises a photo-reactive material, and

the source of energy comprises a light source that emits light of a first wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to harden, and emits light of a second wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to become compliant.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , where the light source comprises a first LED that emits light of the first wavelength and a second LED that emits light of the second wavelength.

13. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall along a length between the first end and a second end to define a volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into a portion of a typical human outer ear or ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a variable-stiffness material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall; and

a source of energy that can selectively and repeatably cause the variable-stiffness material to become soft or hard;

wherein the variable-stiffness material softens when current is applied and hardens when current is removed, and

the source of energy comprises a source of current.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the current causes Joule heating of the variable-stiffness material.

15. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall by an increasing distance along a length between the first end and a second end to define a generally cone-shaped volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into an entrance of a typical human ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a variable-stiffness material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall; and

a first source of applied energy that when activated causes the compliant material to change between a compliant state and a stiff state;

wherein:

the first source of applied energy causes the variable-stiffness material to become stiff;

the apparatus further comprising a second source of applied energy that when activated causes the variable-stiffness material to return to its compliant state.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the variable-stiffness material comprises a photo-reactive material, and

the first source of energy comprises a light source that emits light of a first wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to become stiff, and emits light of a second wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to become compliant.

17. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising:

an inner wall forming a hollow passage;

an outer wall joined to the inner wall at a first end and spaced apart from the inner wall by an increasing distance along a length between the first end and a second end to define a generally cone-shaped volume,

the outer wall formed of a compliant material and shaped to fit into an entrance of a typical human ear canal;

an end wall closing an otherwise-open space between the inner wall and the outer wall at the second end, the end wall closing the volume; and

a variable-stiffness material located in the volume between the inner wall, outer wall, and end wall; and

a first source of applied energy that when activated causes the compliant material to change between a compliant state and a stiff state;

wherein:

when the first source of applied energy is activated, the variable-stiffness material becomes compliant, and

when the first source of applied energy is deactivated, the variable-stiffness material returns to a stiff state.

18. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising a positioning and retaining structure for positioning and retaining the earphone in the outer ear of a wearer;

the positioning and retaining structure comprising a variable-stiffness material; and

a source of energy that can selectively and repeatably cause the variable-stiffness material to become soft or hard;

wherein the variable-stiffness material comprises a photo-reactive material, and

the source of energy comprises:

a light source that emits light of a first wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to harden, and emits light of a second wavelength that causes the photo-reactive material to become compliant, and

a light-conductive pathway that conducts the light emitted by the source and releases it into the positioning and retaining structure along its length.

19. An apparatus comprising:

an earphone ear tip comprising a positioning and retaining structure for positioning and retaining the earphone in the outer ear of a wearer;

the positioning and retaining structure comprising a variable-stiffness material; and

a source of energy that can selectively and repeatably cause the variable-stiffness material to become soft or hard;

wherein the variable-stiffness material softens when current is applied and hardens when current is removed, and

the source of energy comprises:

a source of current, and

a conductor that routes the current along a length of the positioning and retaining structure.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the current in the conductor causes Joule heating of the variable-stiffness material.