WO2002065809A1

WO2002065809A1 - The structure for head-phone

Info

Publication number: WO2002065809A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/000213
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sung-Il Kim
Original assignee: Mm Gear Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2001-02-12
Filing date: 2002-02-08
Publication date: 2002-08-22
Also published as: KR20020066528A

Abstract

There is a headphone structure which can be conveniently worn for an extended period of time by uniformly dispersing the load and pressure of the heavy speaker units in various postures by putting a neck support on the neck or shoulder of a user. The headphone structure includes speaker systems, a head holder on which the speaker systems are installed and which is formed to enclose a user's head, and a neck support, which is attachable to and detachable from the head holder, and contacts the user's shoulder and/or the back portion of the user's neck so as to evenly distribute the load of the head holder. The load of speaker units is evenly distributed throughout various portions of the human body so that listeners can wear headphones without feeling weight or pressure on their ears. Thus, the headphones allow listeners to comfortably and conveniently watch movies or listen to music for an extended period of time without a burden. Also, the headphones can flexibly adjust to the listener's various movements, such as turning ordropping his head, without a burden.

Description

THE STRUCTURE FOR HEAD-PHONE

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a headphone structure, and more particularly, to a headphone structures which can be conveniently worn for an extended period of time by uniformly dispersing the load and pressure of the heavy speaker units in various postures by putting a neck support on the neck or shoulder of a user.

Background Art

In general, headphones or earphones allow listeners to hear reproduced sounds without disturbing people in their vicinity through the use of relatively small-sized speaker units that are placed at the ears of the listeners. Listeners can listen to music without large-sized speakers and conveniently carry the headphones or earphones. Thus, headphones and earphones are widespread.

However, conventional headphones include speaker systems having speaker units at both ends of an arch-shaped speaker holder that covers the upper and back portions of the head to adjustably secure the speaker units against a user's ears. The whole load of the speaker holder and the speaker system concentrates on the head as a whole as well as the ears. Thus, the hairstyle of a user is damaged, and pressure is applied to the head. As a result, conventional headphones are very inconvenient and uncomfortable to wear for an extended period of time.

Conventional earphones only include small-sized speaker units, which are inserted into both ear holes, without a speaker holder. The earphones must be inserted into the ear holes to fix the speaker units. Thus, earphones have a problem of irritating sensitive ear holes, if they are worn for an extended period of time, even though the load of the speaker units is not great. Also, small-sized speaker units that are inserted into the ear holes do not meet listeners' needs for high sound quality because they are too small to reproduce certain sounds.

In order to solve these problems, various types of headphones having speaker units with large diameters for meeting listeners' needs for high sound quality and lightweight speaker holders have been developed. These headphones do not have a structure suitable for dispersing the load of the speaker units, and thus, they increase the weight and pressure on a user's head. In particular, multi-channel headphones having a plurality of speaker units, to which different signals are applied, have been developed so that listeners can enjoy realistic multi-channel stereophonic sound (e.g., 5.1 channel, 6.1 channel, 7 channel stereophonic sound) without disturbing others. However, it is very inconvenient for the listeners to watch movies or listen to music for an extended period of time using conventional arch-shaped multi-channel headphones because of the excessive load of the plurality of speaker units.

Also, the conventional headphones are difficult to adjust to fit according to different body sizes.

Further, conventional headphones cannot satisfy various video technology, such as virtual reality and sound, transmit the user's voice, and secure spaces necessary for installing various additional units because of an increase in the load.

Disclosure of the Invention

To solve the above-described problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a headphone structure that allows listeners to comfortably and conveniently watch movies or listen to music for an extended period of time without the burden of uniformly dispersing the load of speaker units to different portions of the body.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a headphone structure that can be comfortably and safely worn so as to stay put by flexibly adjusting to a listener's various movements, such as turning or dropping his head, and having a speaker holder that is placed on the neck so as not to be a burden when the listener moves his head in various ways.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide a headphone structure that provides comfort for the user when wearing the headphones, can be manufactured in various shapes and sizes to fit the user, satisfies various video and sound technology, such as virtual reality or radio video communication, and has various additional units therein so as to increase convenience. Accordingly, to achieve the above objects, there is provided headphones. The headphones include speaker systems, a head holder on which the speaker systems are installed and which is formed to enclose a user's head, and a neck support, which is attachable to and detachable from the head holder, and contacts the user's shoulder and/or the back portion of the user's neck so as to evenly distribute the load of the head holder.

The speaker systems produce multi-channel stereophonic sound, and the head holder may have a displayer for displaying videos and a microphone for receiving voice. The head holder may have curved bars that are capable of sliding into speaker fixing units on which the speaker systems are fixed so that the head holder is adjustable to fit the circumference of the user's head and the fixing means which are installed to fix the part of the curved bars that slide. The head holder may be ring-shaped so as to be spaced apart from the user's head and enclose the circumference of the user's head and is hinged to the speaker systems so as to be adjusted with respect to the speaker systems.

The head holder may be arch-shaped to enclose the circumference of the user's head and be hinged to freely rotating plates, which are installed on the speaker systems, so as to be adjusted with respect to the speaker systems.

The neck support includes a saddle which contacts the user's shoulder and/or neck and elastic supports which are formed at both ends of the saddle and extend from the ends of the saddle to the speaker system.

The elastic supports may be composed of a coat which does not irritate the user's skin, a filing material formed of flexible elastic plastic foam having high elasticity, and an inner center for maintaining the shape thereof, connectors may be installed between a saddle and the elastic supports, height adjusters may be installed at upper portions of the elastic supports to be adjusted to a length of the user's neck, and length adjusters may be installed in the saddle to be adjusted to the circumference of the user's neck. The elastic supports may be formed of one of a multi-bending spring having a predetermined elasticity and an elastic material, and be joined with the saddle.

The saddle and the elastic supports may be composed of a power storage device for applying a power source to the speaker systems, an audio transceiver for transmitting an audio signal to the speaker systems, and a multi-channel amplifier for amplifying a multi-channel signal and applying it to the speaker systems.

Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headphone structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a headphone structure where a head holder is turned and reconnected to a neck support so as to use a displayer shown in FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is a front view of the headphones shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the headphones shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a height adjuster of an elastic support shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a saddle and the elastic support shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the headphones shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the headphones shown in FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a head holder of a headphone structure according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a headphone structure of according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention

Hereinafter, headphone structures of according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, headphones according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention include speaker systems

10, a head holder 20, and a neck support 30.

The speaker systems 10 include enclosures having speaker units adjacent to the ears, which receive electrical signals and output the electrical signals in the form of sound waves. The speaker systems 10, which come in various shapes and kinds, may be modified and changed by those skilled in the art from common knowledge.

In particular, the speaker systems 10 include relatively heavy speaker units, which have a large diameter to improve the quality of sound. However, it is more preferable that the speaker systems 10 include a plurality of speaker units, which are positioned around the center of the ear and output surround sound, and form multi-channels to support three-dimensional stereophonic sound. Thus, the present invention relates to a technique that allows listeners to feel a minimal amount of weight from the speaker systems and pressure caused by fixing the speaker systems to their ears.

The head holder 20, at which the speaker systems 10 are installed, encloses the head of a user. The head holder 20 shown in

FIG. 1 includes semi-circular curved bars 21 and fixing means. The curved bars 21 slide into speaker fixing units 11 on which the speaker systems 10 are fixed so that the head holder 20 is adjusted to the circumference of the user's head. The fixing means are installed so that the parts of the curved bars 21 that slide are fixed.

The fixing means are composed of the curved bars 21 , which penetrate through speaker fixing units 11 and have a plurality of grooves 21a, and/or hanging bars 22 having a plurality of grooves 22a with which ends of the curved bars 21 are engaged.

The technique for such fixing means can be applied to various shapes and types of fixing means, which can be modified and changed by those skilled in the art.

The head holder 20 includes a displayer 23 for displaying videos and a microphone 24 for receiving voice so as to achieve various video and sound effects, such as virtual reality, video communication, or the like. A shown in FIG. 1 , the displayer 23 and the microphone 24 are usually positioned over the upper or back portion of the user's head. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the head support 20 can be adjusted and reassembled at the neck support 30 so that the displayer 23 is positioned in front of the user's face. The neck support 30 can reduce the weight and pressure of the speaker systems 10 and the head holder 20. The neck support 30 is attachable to and detachable from the head holder 20 and is placed on the user's shoulder and/or neck to evenly distribute the load of the head holder 20. The neck support 30 is composed of a saddle 31 and elastic supports 32. The saddle 31 contacts the user's shoulder and/or neck. The elastic supports 32 are formed at both ends of the saddle 31 and extend from the ends of the saddle 31 to the speaker system 10.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the saddle 31 and the elastic supports 32 are respectively composed of a coat 33 which does not irritate the user's skin, a filling material 34 formed of a flexible plastic foam having high elasticity, and an inner center 35 for maintaining the shape thereof. Thus, the neck support 30 supports the head holder 20 with sufficient elasticity to evenly distribute the load of the head holder 20, be flexibly transformed, and reduce pressure.

In this situation, it is preferable that the coat 33 is formed of a functional fabric, such as cool-max (polyester: product name of U.S.

DuPont Inc.) or Lycra, that does not irritate the user's skin and easily permeates and absorbs. It is preferable that the filling material 34 is formed of synthetic resins, such as elastic Styrofoam, and the inner center 35 is formed of a multi-bending material, such as copper core, soft iron core, free wire, or the like.

The saddle 31 is curved to contact the back and side portions of the neck and both ends thereof extend to the collarbone so as to evenly distribute the load of the speaker system 10 and the head holder 20 throughout the back and side portions of the neck and the collarbone.

The saddle 31 may be specially manufactured in various shapes and in large, medium, and small sizes to fit different body sizes, or it may be manufactured in one average size. The saddle 31 has the inner center 35 therein that is formed of an elastic material to apply elastic force to the head holder 20 to closely contact the ears even if the user turns or drops his head.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, connectors 36, which are made of a light metal material, are installed between the saddle 31 and the elastic supports 32 so as to provide aesthetics and convenience in carrying and assembling the headphones. As shown in FIG. 5, a height adjustment screw 37 (spiral spring), which is a height adjuster, is formed at the upper portion of the elastic support 32 so as to be adjusted to fit the user's neck length. An end portion connector 38 is screwed in by the height adjustment screw 37 and is engaged with the elastic support 32. A length adjuster (not shown), which is adjusted to fit the circumference of the user's neck, may be installed in the saddle 31.

All kinds of height adjusters and length adjusters, which act in the same manner as an antenna in which it slide to extend/contract, are applicable to the present invention. The height adjuster and the length adjuster may be modified and changed by those skilled in the art using common knowledge.

The saddle 31 and the elastic supports 32 may have a power storage device (not shown), an audio transceiver (not shown), and a multi-channel amplifier (not shown) within. The power storage device applies a power source to the speaker systems 10. The audio transceiver transmits an audio signal to the speaker systems 10. The multi-channel amplifier amplifies a multi-channel signal and transmits it to the speaker systems 10. In other words, the saddle 31 and the elastic supports 32 can provide spaces necessary for installing the power storage device, the audio transceiver, and the multi-channel amplifier.

As shown in FIGS. 7 through 9, in headphones according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a head holder 20 is spaced apart from a user's head and has an elliptical ring shape so as to enclose the circumference of the user's head. Also, the head holder 20 is hinged to the speaker systems 10 so as to be rotated with respect to the speaker systems 10.

The head holder 20 can be called a "circle phone" and encloses the circumference of the user's head so as to place the speaker systems 10 on the user's ears. Also, the head holder 20 can enclose and protect the user's head like a helmet. A microphone 24 is installed on the head holder 20. Since the microphone 24 is used by adjusting the head holder 20, it can be positioned over the head when not in use. As another example, elastic supports 32 are formed of a multi-bending spring having a predetermined elasticity, joined with a saddle 31 , and have the same functions as the elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , in headphones according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of head holders 20 are arch-shaped to enclose the circumference of the user's head and can rotate with respect to speaker systems 10.

Freely rotating plates 10a are installed on the speaker systems 10. A displayer 23 and a microphone 24 are installed on the plurality of head holders 20, each of which is hinged to the freely rotating plates 10a.

Accordingly, the user can select one of the plurality of head holders 20 on which the displayer 23 is installed and one of the plurality of head holders 20 on which the microphone 24 is installed and place them in front of his face. Also, the user can adjust the head holders 20 in consideration of his hairstyle or head shape to the most proper position around his head.

Describing the operations of the headphones according to the present invention, the headphones can flexibly adjust to the listener's various movements. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, when the listener raises or drops his head, the neck support 30 does not change its position on the back portion of the neck, thus reducing any burden. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, when the listener turns his head, the neck support 30 does not change its position on the back portion of the neck and the collarbone, thus reducing any burden. As a result, the headphones evenly distribute their load so that the listener can conveniently listen music or watch movies for an extended period of time.

In particular, in a case where the listener turns his head, the speaker systems 10 are not deviated from the ears since the neck support 30 is flexible.

Accordingly, the load of the speaker units having a diameter sufficient for high quality sound or the load of a plurality of speaker units for multi-channel stereophonic sound may be evenly distributed. The weight and pressure applied to the ears are reduced to the maximum, and the listener is free to move his head in various ways. Thus, listeners can comfortably and conveniently watch movies, listen to music, or work for an extended period of time without disturbing others.

The neck support 30, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, can evenly distribute the load of the speaker systems 10 solely with the elastic supports 32, even though the neck support 30 does not have a U-shaped saddle, which encloses the shoulder and/or the back portion of the user's neck.

In other words, as shown in FIGS. 12 through 15, the elastic supports 32, which extend from the speaker systems 10 to the user's shoulder, may be included so as to evenly distribute the load of the speaker systems 10 and allow the user to be free to move his head.

The elastic supports 32, as shown in FIGS. 12 through 15, may be formed of an elastic material that is multi-flexible, or as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, may be formed of an elastic material that is composed of a coat which does not irritate the user's skin and a filling material 34 formed of a flexible plastic foam having high elasticity.

In particular, the elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 12 have one end, which contacts the user's shoulder and are formed of elastic boards to cope with the curve of the shoulder. The elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 13 are semi-circular elastic bars, which can be folded outward when not being used, since the elastic supports 32 are free to be adjusted due to bearings 40. When the elastic supports 32 are folded, they are fixed to hooks 50. When in used, they are unfolded and contact the user's shoulder, thus evenly distributing the load of the speaker systems 10.

Such elastic supports 32 can smoothly contact the user's shoulder by a sliding effect so as to evenly distribute the load of the speaker systems 10 even if the user turns his head. Since the elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 14 are circular elastic rings, which are free to rotate due to the bearings 40, the elastic supports 32 are foldable inward when not in use. When the elastic supports 32 are folded, they are fixed to the hooks 50. When in use, the elastic supports 32 are unfolded and contact the user's shoulder, thus evenly distributing the load of the speaker systems 10.

The elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 15 are elastic rods, one end of each rod that contacts the user's shoulder is bent so as to cope with the curve of the user's shoulder.

The elastic supports 32 shown in FIG. 16 are composed of connection lines 60 and snap fasteners 70. The connection lines 60, which connect the right and left elastic supports 32, are formed of textile, or a flexible or elastic material. The snap fasteners 70 are formed at the ends of the connection lines 60 to be connected to each other to adjust the length of the connection lines 60 to fit the size of the user's neck.

Since the elastic supports 32 may be of any shape and type, it can contact the user's shoulder so as to evenly distribute the load of the speaker systems and be modified and changed without departing from the technical sprit of the present invention. The technical spirit of the present invention must not be interpreted as being restricted to the above-described embodiments and may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

For example, not only speaker systems for producing high quality sound or multi-channel stereophonic sound but also other existing speaker systems, headphones, or earphones may be connected to the connectors and used as part of the present invention.

Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims and the technical sprit thereof, not the above-described embodiments.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, headphones according to the present invention evenly distribute the load of speaker units throughout various portions of the human body so that listeners can wear the headphones without feeling weight or pressure on their ears. Thus, the headphones allow listeners to comfortably and conveniently watch movies or listen to music for an extended period of time without a burden. Also, the headphones can flexibly adjust to the listener's various movements, such as turning or dropping his head, without a burden. Further, the headphones can satisfy various video and sound effects, such as virtual reality, audio video communication, or the like, and have various additional units therein to increase convenience of the headphones.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Headphones comprising: speaker systems; a head holder on which the speaker systems are installed and which is formed to enclose a user's head; and a neck support, which is attachable to and detachable from the head holder, and contacts the user's shoulder and/or the back portion of the user's neck so as to evenly distribute the load of the head holder.

2. The headphones of claim 1 , wherein the speaker systems produce multi-channel stereophonic sound, and the head holder has a displayer for displaying videos and a microphone for receiving voice.

3. The headphones of claim 1 , wherein the head holder has curved bars that are capable of sliding into speaker fixing units on which the speaker systems are fixed so that the head holder is adjustable to fit the circumference of the user's head and the fixing means which are installed to fix the part of the curved bars that slide.

4. The headphones of claim 1 , wherein the head holder is ring-shaped so as to be spaced apart from the user's head and enclose the circumference of the user's head and is hinged to the speaker systems so as to be adjusted with respect to the speaker systems.

5. The headphones of claim 1 , wherein the head holder is arch-shaped to enclose the circumference of the user's head and is hinged to freely rotating plates, which are installed on the speaker systems, so as to be adjusted with respect to the speaker systems.

6. The headphones of claim 1 , wherein the neck support comprises elastic supports, which extend from the speaker systems to the user's shoulder.

7. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the elastic supports are composed of a coat which does not irritate the user's skin, a filing material formed of flexible elastic plastic foam having high elasticity, and an inner center for maintaining the shape thereof, connectors are installed between a saddle and the elastic supports, height adjusters are installed at upper portions of the elastic supports to be adjusted to a length of the user's neck, and length adjusters are installed in the saddle to be adjusted to the circumference of the user's neck.

8. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the elastic supports are formed of one of a multi-bending spring having a predetermined elasticity and an elastic material, and are joined with the saddle.

9. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the elastic supports are folded inward and fixed to hooks when not being used and are unfolded to contact the user's shoulder and evenly distribute the load of the speaker systems when being used.

10. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the elastic supports are semi-circular or ring-shaped so as to be folded inward or outward.

11. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the elastic supports have ends, which are bent to adjust to the curve of the user's shoulder.

12. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the neck support is connected to the elastic supports and further includes a U-shaped saddle, which encloses the shoulder and/or back portion of the neck.

13. The headphones of claim 6, wherein the saddle and the elastic supports are composed of a power storage device for applying a power source to the speaker systems, an audio transceiver for transmitting an audio signal to the speaker systems, and a multi-channel amplifier for amplifying a multi-channel signal and applying it to the speaker systems.