GB2542773A

GB2542773A - Headphones

Info

Publication number: GB2542773A
Application number: GB1516995.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Huang Tien-Sheng
Original assignee: ROLI Ltd
Current assignee: ROLI Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-25
Filing date: 2015-09-25
Publication date: 2017-04-05
Also published as: GB201516995D0

Abstract

A set of in-ear headphones comprises first and second earpieces a connector plug and an electrical cord. Each earpiece and the connector plug contain either a magnet or a piece of magnetically permeable material such that the earpieces and the connector plug may be retained together (figs 3-8). A magnetic µ-metal shield may prevent the coupling magnets affecting the operation of the earpieces; alternatively the orientation of the magnets may be adapted to achieve the same result. In an alternative embodiment interlocking parts may be provided on the earpieces and connector plug and no magnetic coupling is employed.

Description

HEADPHONES

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to headphones, in particular an arrangement for preventing tangling of a cord of a set of in-ear headphones.

BACKGROUND

Common in-ear headphones are made of a Y-shaped cord with a single headphone at each of two ends and a jack for connection to an audio device at the third end. In use, the jack is placed into an audio device such as a smartphone or MP3 player and the headphones are inserted into the left and right ears of the user.

When not in use, the set of headphones is commonly left in a pocket or bag of the user and is liable to become tangled. This is due to loops forming along the length of the cord and one of the free ends passing through the loop forming small knots. This can result in particularly complex tangling and the need for long-winded untangling to be performed. The tangling and untangling can also result in damage to the connections at each end of the cord.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the present disclosure, an arrangement is provided for a set of in-ear headphones that connects the three loose ends of the headphones to each other in order to prevent tangling. By bundling the three open ends of the cord, that is to say the headphones and the jack, free ends of the cord can no longer pass through loops formed in the cord and tangling is greatly reduced.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure there is provided a set of in-ear headphones comprising a first component, a second component, a third component, and an electrical cord. Two of the first, second and third components comprise speaker units and one of the first, second and third components comprises an electrical connector for receiving audio signals and for supplying the audio signals to the speaker units via the electrical cord. The first component comprises a first coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the first component to the second and third components. The second component comprises a second coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the second component to the first and third components. The third component comprises a third coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the third component to the first and second components.

The first, second and third coupling arrangements may be configured to be releasably attached due to magnetic attraction between the coupling arrangements. The first, second and third coupling arrangements may each comprise a magnetic element to provide the releasable attachment.

Two of the first, second and third coupling arrangements may comprise a magnetic element and the other of the first, second and third coupling arrangements may comprise a ferrous element such that the ferrous element is attracted to the magnetic elements to provide the releasable attachment. The ferrous element may be an un-magnetised magnetic material.

Each speaker unit comprising a magnetic element may be configured such that the magnetic flux of the magnetic element is perpendicular to the magnetic flux of a magnet of the speaker unit. Each speaker unit comprising a magnetic element may further comprise a magnetic shield disposed between the magnetic element and a magnet of the speaker unit. The magnetic shield may comprise mu-metal.

Each of the first, second and third coupling arrangements may comprise a first coupling element configured to releasably attach to a first of the other two components; and a second coupling element configured to releasably attach to a second of the other two components .The first, second and third coupling arrangements may be configured to releasably attach to one another only when the first, second and third components are arranged in a correct configuration. Magnetic attraction and repulsion may be used to enable the first, second and third components to be arranged in the correct configuration.

The first, second and third components may each be provided with at least one external surface configured to mate with a surface of another of the first, second and third components when attached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary arrangements of the disclosure shall now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a set of in-ear headphones;

Figure 2A shows a perspective view of a set of headphones where two headphones and a jack are assembled to connect to each other;

Figure 2B shows a cross-sectional view of the assembly of two headphones and a jack;

Figure 3A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a first arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 3B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a second arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 4A shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a third arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 4B shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a fourth arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a fifth arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a sixth arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 7 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a seventh arrangement for a set of headphones;

Figure 8 shows alternative arrangements for mating surfaces of two headphones and a jack.

Throughout the description and the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows a set of in-ear headphones 10 having a Y-shaped cord 12 that has three ends. A first headphone 14 is at a first end of the Y-shaped cord 12. A second headphone 16 is at a second end of the Y-shaped cord. A jack 18 is at the third end of the Y-shaped cord.

In operation, the jack 18 is inserted into a corresponding socket of a user device (not shown) in order to form an electrical connection. The electrical connection provides electrical audio signals from the user device to the jack 18. The electrical audio signals are transmitted from the jack 18, via the cord 12, to the headphones 14 and 16. The headphones 14 and 16 each have a speaker unit that converts the electrical audio signals into acoustic waves that can then be perceived as sound by a user wearing the set of headphones 10.

When not in use, the cord 12 can form loops through which one of the headphones 14 and 16 or the jack 18 can pass, resulting in complex tangling of the set of headphones 10.

The headphones 10 shown in Figure 1 overcome this problem by enabling the three ends of the Y-shaped cord 12 to connect to one another to thereby prevent such tangling occurring. This is shown in Figures 2A and 2B, which show a perspective view and a top view of the components connected respectively. The way in which the set of headphones 10 achieves this connection shall now be discussed in detail.

Figure 3A shows a schematic cross section of the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18. Each of the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18 has a surface for mating to each of the other components, and a magnet for providing magnetic attraction between the components. These provide coupling arrangements between the three components for connecting them together and preventing tangling of the cord 12.

The first headphone 14 has a first surface 20 for mating with the jack 18, and a second surface 22 for mating with the second headphone 16. The second headphone 16 has a third surface 24 for mating with the first headphone 14 and a fourth surface 26 for mating with the jack 18. The jack 18 has a fifth surface 28 for mating with the second headphone 16 and a sixth surface 30 for mating with the first headphone 14.

The design of the top end of a headphone is constrained to follow the form of the wearer’s outer ear and relieve strain on the cable. Therefore, it is preferred that the mating surfaces of the headphones 14 and 16 are arranged towards the lower end of each headphone. This is shown, for example, in Figure 1.

Referring again to Figure 3A, the first headphone 14 contains a first magnet 32. The second headphone 16 contains a second magnet 34. The jack 18 contains a third magnet 36. The magnets 32, 34 and 36 are arranged such that their poles provide a magnetic attraction between the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18. In the figures, the north pole of each magnet is clear, whereas the south pole of each magnet is hatched.

The north pole of the first magnet 32 is adjacent the second surface 22 and the south pole of the second magnet 34 is adjacent the third surface 24. Therefore the second and third surfaces 22 and 24 are attracted to each other by the magnetic attraction of the first magnet 32 and the second magnet 34.

The south pole of the first magnet 32 is adjacent the first surface 20 and the north pole of the third magnet 36 is adjacent the sixth surface 30. Therefore the first and sixth surfaces 20 and 30 are attracted towards each other by the magnetic attraction of the first magnet 32 and the third magnet 36.

Similarly, the north pole of the second magnet 34 is adjacent the fourth surface 26 and the south pole of the third magnet 36 is adjacent the fifth surface 28. Therefore the fourth and fifth surfaces 26 and 28 are attracted to each other by the magnetic attraction of the second magnet 34 and the third magnet 36.

In the above arrangement, the magnets 32, 34 and 36 are bar magnets, although other types of magnets may be used. For example, Figure 3B shows an alternative arrangement. In this arrangement, the magnets 32, 34 and 36 are curved. In this manner, the poles of the magnets 32, 34 and 36 are arranged such that a decreased distance is provided between opposite poles. This improves the strength of the magnetic connection between opposite poles and therefore improves the attachment of the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18.

In the arrangements shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18 are bundled together and releasably attached by the attraction between the magnets. The components may be assembled in any order as each component is attracted to the other two. The bundling together of the three components prevents loose ends of the cord 12 passing through loops formed in the cord 12, and therefore reduced tangling of the cord 12.

An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 4A. In this arrangement, the jack 18 has a ferrous element 38 in place of the magnet 36. The ferrous element 38 is made of an un-magnetised magnetic material. In this case, the ferrous element 38 is temporarily magnetised when in proximity of the south pole of the first magnet 32 and the north pole of the second magnet 34. This provides an attraction between the ferrous element 38 and the first and second magnets 32 and 34. The headphones 14 and 16 are thereby releasably connected to the jack along the respective surfaces.

In this arrangement, the orientation of the jack 18 is flexible as the magnetisation of the ferrous element 38 is provided when the jack 18 is placed near the headphones 14 and 16. This permits an application where the jack 18 is made with rotational symmetry such that it fits either pointing upwards or downwards with respect to the headphones 14 and 16. This also permits the outer body of jack 18 to be fabricated entirely from ferrous material. Use of a ferrous element 38 also provides a cost saving as ferrous material is generally cheaper than a magnetised material.

An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 4B. Similarly to Figure 3B, the magnets 32 and 34 and the ferrous element 38 are curved. This provides spacing between the respective like poles of the magnets 32 and 34, therefore improving attraction between the components.

In either of the arrangements shown in figures 4A and 4B, the ferrous element 38 could be present in either the first headphone 14 or the second headphone 16 instead of the jack 18, as long as the requisite attraction between the components in provided.

An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 5. In this case, the first headphone 14 has a first headphone magnet 40 and a first jack magnet 42. The second headphone 16 has a second headphone magnet 44 and a second jack magnet 46. The jack 18 has a ferrous element 38. The ferrous element 38 is made of an un-magnetised magnetic material.

The north pole of the first headphone magnet 40 is arranged adjacent the second surface 22 of the first headphone 14. The south pole of the second headphone magnet 44 is arranged adjacent the third surface 24. This attracts the second and third surfaces 22 and 24 together.

The south pole of the first jack magnet 42 is arranged adjacent the first surface 20 of the first headphone 14. The north pole of the second jack magnet 46 is adjacent the fourth surface 26 of the second headphone 16. This provides a magnetic field which temporarily magnetises the ferrous element 38 when the jack 18 is in the proximity of the headphones 14 and 16. This magnetisation therefore attracts the first surface 20 of the first headphone 14 to the sixth surface 30 of the jack 18. It also attracts the fourth surface 26 of the second headphone 16 to the fifth surface 28 of the jack 18.

In the above arrangement, the magnets 40 to 46 are cylinder magnets, although other types of magnet may be used. Deploying two magnets per earphone allows a stronger attraction between elements, especially when using small disc-shaped magnets. The headphone magnets 40 and 42 are arranged above the jack magnets 42 and 46. This allows the attachment point between the headphones to be higher than the attachment point to the jack, which makes the elements easier to pull apart under the greater magnetic attraction.

An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 6. The arrangement of Figure 6 is similar to that of Figure 5, except that the jack 18 has a third headphone magnet 48 and a fourth headphone magnet 50 in place of the ferrous element 38. The north pole of third headphone magnet 48 is arranged adjacent the sixth surface 30 of the jack 18. An attraction is provided between the first jack magnet 42 of the first headphone 14 and the third headphone magnet 48 of the jack 18 such that the first and sixth surfaces 20 and 30 are attracted to each other.

Similarly, the south pole of fourth headphone magnet 50 is arranged adjacent the fifth surface 28 of the jack 18. An attraction is provided between the second jack magnet 46 of the second headphone 16 and the fourth jack magnet 50 of the jack 18. Therefore, the fourth and fifth surfaces 26 and 28 are attracted to each other.

In this arrangement, the use of multiple magnets per component allows a stronger attraction between elements. This also allows for lighter weight, improved balancing, and easier manufacturing (as less metal is required in the design). A further arrangement is shown in Figure 7. The arrangement of Figure 7 is similar to that of Figure 6, except that the first jack magnet 42, the second headphone magnet 44 and the fourth headphone magnet 50 are each replaced with respective ferrous elements 52, 54 and 56. The first headphone 14 contains ferrous element 52 arranged adjacent the first surface 20. The second headphone 16 contains ferrous element 54 arranged adjacent the third surface 24. The jack 18 contains ferrous element 56 arranged adjacent the fifth surface 28.

In this arrangement, the north pole of third headphone magnet 48 temporarily magnetises the ferrous element 52 in order to attract the jack 18 to the first headphone 14. The north pole of first headphone magnet 40 temporarily magnetises the ferrous element 54 in order to attract the first headphone 14 to the second headphone 16. The north pole of second jack magnet 46 temporarily magnetises the ferrous element 56 in order to provide an attraction between the second headphone 16 and the jack 18.

In the above arrangement, each ferrous element 52, 54, 56 is made of an unmagnetised magnetic material. Again, this arrangement allows for lighter weight, and easier manufacturing (as less metal is required in the design), as well as reducing costs as magnetic material is used that is cheaper than rare earth metal.

It will be easily envisaged by the skilled person that the polarity of the magnets in any of the above arrangements could be reversed as long as the requisite attraction is provided between the respective components of the set of headphones 10.

The permanent magnet of a loudspeaker driver tends to contain magnetic flux very tightly within the coil cavity. This is in the interests of efficiency. For the same reason, the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet is not strongly affected by external fields. However, in order to ensure that no interference is provided, the magnets of the headphones 14 and 16 are arranged such that their magnetic field direction does not generate significant lateral movement of a headphone’s voice coil. For example, an arrangement may use two symmetrically-placed magnets with opposing polarity to attach the components together in order to have the flux from the magnets counteracted on each side of the voice coil. This may also be achieved by arranging the magnets of the headphones 14 and 16 such that flux is at an angle of approximately 90° to the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet in the speaker of the headphone. This ensures that the two magnetic fields do not significantly interact.

In a further arrangement, a magnetic insulator could be placed between the permanent magnet of the speaker and the other magnets in the headphones in order to avoid interference. The magnetic insulator in this instance is mumetal or any other suitable magnetic insulator.

In another arrangement, each of the magnets described above could be embodied in a polymagnet®. A polymagnet® has a pattern of many magnetic regions, rather than having just one north pole and one south pole.

Figure 8 shows a number of different shapes for the mating surfaces of the headphones 14 and 16 and the jack 18. Further shapes will be easily envisaged.

It will be appreciated that the mating components shown in each of the headphones 14, 16 and the jack 18 could be arranged in any order amongst the three components provided that there is attraction between the respective components.

In alternative arrangements magnetism may not be used to provide a connection between each of the headphones 14, 16 and the jack 18. Instead, a mechanical connection may be provided. For example, interlocking parts may be provided in pairs between each of the headphones 14, 16 and jack 18.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A set of in-ear headphones comprising: a first component; a second component; a third component; and an electrical cord; wherein two of the first, second and third components comprise speaker units; and one of the first, second and third components comprises an electrical connector for receiving audio signals and for supplying the audio signals to the speaker units via the electrical cord; the first component comprises a first coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the first component to the second and third components; the second component comprises a second coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the second component to the first and third components; and the third component comprises a third coupling arrangement configured to releasably attach the third component to the first and second components.

2. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 1, wherein the first, second and third coupling arrangements are configured to be releasably attached due to magnetic attraction between the coupling arrangements.

3. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 2 wherein the first, second and third coupling arrangements each comprises a magnetic element to provide the releasable attachment.

4. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 2 wherein two of the first, second and third coupling arrangements comprise a magnetic element and the other of the first, second and third coupling arrangements comprises a ferrous element such that the ferrous element is attracted to the magnetic elements to provide the releasable attachment.

5. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 4, wherein the ferrous element is an un-magnetised magnetic material.

6. The set of in-ear headphones of any of claims 3 to 5 wherein each speaker unit comprising a magnetic element is configured such that the magnetic flux of the magnetic element is perpendicular to the magnetic flux of a magnet of the speaker unit or provides a resultant force that cancels across a voice coil of the speaker unit.

7. The set of in-ear headphones of any of claims 3 to 6 wherein each speaker unit comprising a magnetic element further comprises a magnetic shield disposed between the magnetic element and a magnet of the speaker unit.

8. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 7 wherein the magnetic shield comprises mu-metal.

9. The set of in-ear headphones of any preceding claim, wherein each of the first, second and third coupling arrangements comprises: a first coupling element configured to releasably attach to a first of the other two components; and a second coupling element configured to releasably attach to a second of the other two components.

10. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 9, wherein the first, second and third coupling arrangements are configured to releasably attach to one another only when the first, second and third components are arranged in a correct configuration.

11. The set of in-ear headphones of claim 10 wherein magnetic attraction and repulsion is used to enable the first, second and third components to be arranged in the correct configuration.

12. The set of in-ear headphones of any preceding claim wherein the first, second and third components are each provided with at least one external surface configured to mate with a surface of another of the first, second and third components when attached.