AT521588A2 - In-ear ANC earphones - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an in-ear ANC earphone which is at least partially worn with its ear tip (5) in the external auditory canal, with at least one loudspeaker (1) with a pre-volume (2) leading to the tip area 6 and / or loudspeaker channel (10 ) and with at least one ANC microphone (11). In order to create an in-ear ANC earphone in which the ANC circuit remains stable even under different wearing conditions, with the utmost consideration being given to the limited space available, the invention provides that the pre-volume (2) and / or the loudspeaker channel (10) is connected to an additional volume (3) by a tube (7) which opens into the tip area 6.

Description

The invention relates to an in-ear ANC earphone which is at least partially worn with its ear tip (5) in the external auditory canal, with at least one loudspeaker (1) with a pre-volume (2) leading to the tip area 6 and / or loudspeaker channel (10 ) and with at least one ANC microphone (11).

In order to create an in-ear ANC earphone in which the ANC circuit remains stable even under different wearing conditions, with the utmost consideration being given to the limited space available, the invention provides that the pre-volume (2) and / or the loudspeaker channel (10) is connected to an additional volume (3) by a tube (7) which opens into the tip area 6.

(Fig. 1) / 19

In-ear ANC earphones

The invention relates to an in-ear ANC earphone, which is at least partially in the outer

Ear canal is worn, and which loses as little quality as possible when licking compared to the ear canal, according to the generic term of

Claim 1

There are various approaches in the prior art to achieve this goal, so reference is made to EP 2 856 771, in which it is required that the passage acoustically coupling the acoustic driver and the auditory canal has an open cross-sectional area of at least 10 mm ² , and that from the exit of this passage, called the nozzle, certain impedance limit values are maintained at different frequencies. Furthermore, it is disclosed there that the axis of the acoustic driver forms an angle with the center line of the passage that is greater than 30 °.

Furthermore, US 9,082,388 B requires that the nominal diameter of the converter be greater than 10 mm. This publication belongs to the same patent family as the one mentioned above, but places emphasis on a different focus.

From EP 1 398 991, a conventional ANC headphone with shells worn over the ears is known, which requires that the inner volume and the outer volume of the shell communicate with one another via an acoustic resistance, and that within the shell, separated by the driver and its membrane, has a front cavity facing the ear and a rear cavity is provided on the side of the user facing away from the ear, the front cavity having a significantly larger volume than the rear cavity.

It is known from US Pat. No. 7,995,782 to provide a second channel for an in-ear hearing aid in addition to the microphone and its acoustic channel, which, when the hearing aid is inserted, connects the auditory canal of the ear with the outside (the environment) in order to achieve the so-called “occlusion effect”. to prevent.

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Further in-ear ANC headphones are known from US 2009/0080670, EP 2 768 239, GB 2 526 945 and US 2014/0294182, the latter two publications belonging to the same patent family, but different aspects in move to the foreground. All of these four documents disclose tubes that extend from the tip, which is the “inner” end of the in-ear earphone, into the area of the device that lies outside the ear canal, and lead there to a microphone that is used to provide Data or reference data for the ANC procedure is used.

For all jurisdictions in which this is possible, the content of the following publications is included in the content of the present application by reference:

EP 2 856 771 US 2009/0080670

US 9,082,388 B EP 2 768 239

EP 1 398 991 GB 2 526 945

US 7,995,782 US 2014/0294182

As already mentioned, in-ear ANC earphones have to be designed for different cases, in particular:

If the earphone leaks from the ear canal when wearing it, causing a leak, the result is a bass drop to the limit frequency of the leak opening.

When used by different carriers, the different geometries of the ear canals and thus the different coupled ear volumes lead to different loads on the transducer, as a result of which the limit frequency of the pressure chamber changes.

In many cases, the earphone is removed from the ear when it is still in use and is therefore operated in the open sound field. Since it is not designed for such operation, but is designed for operation with a closed volume, the secondary link frequency response (corresponds to the transfer function between / 19

Loudspeaker and microphone) characterized by a strong bass drop. Only for higher frequencies, at which the earphone pronunciation begins to have an inductive effect, does the situation again approach that of the secondary section in the closed volume.

It is the aim and object of the invention to solve these problems appropriately, and to provide an in-ear ANC earphone in which the ANC circuit remains stable even under different wearing conditions, with the utmost consideration being given to the limited space available got to.

According to the invention this is done by the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1; in other words, the acoustic channel of the loudspeaker, possibly also this one, and an acoustic connecting channel (tube) are present side by side in the plug part to be inserted into the ear, the side of the loudspeaker facing away from the ear is connected to the surroundings by means of a connecting opening; the acoustic connecting channel does not lead to the outside, but to an additional volume which is arranged at a distance from the pronunciation, preferably in the vicinity of the loudspeaker and possibly around it. The additional channel is to be routed next to each other in the earphone as well as in the plug part with the speaker channel for geometric reasons, but as soundproof as possible from each other. The task of the plug part is to connect both channels to the earphone in as sealed a manner as possible.

These measures largely eliminate or at least significantly reduce the influence of unequal pre-volumes with different carriers, because the additional volume relativizes these differences. Since the leaky wearing is de facto equivalent to a change in the previous volume (ear volume), there is also a tendency to reduce the impact. In addition, it is advantageously possible to provide the ANC microphone not in the area of the earphone pronunciation (ear tip - end) but in the additional volume, where there is sufficient space, which increases the mechanical robustness and results in a low-pass characteristic, which improves the stability of the Promotes the operation of the ANC system.

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The measures according to the invention de facto lead to a linearization of the secondary path with regard to the wearing situation; Furthermore, the measures according to the invention with the second channel, the connecting channel, the acoustic friction which can be provided therein and the additional volume have created a stabilization for high frequencies above approximately 1 kHz, since frequency components above one kHz generally impair the stability in the secondary path, which is caused by the acoustic low-pass effect is suppressed.

If, as in the case of a design with small volumes customary in the market, blocking the earphone in front of the loudspeaker, the resultant sound level and the effective range of the pressure chamber which is created increase in the now smaller pre-volume. In the case of an ANC system, this state usually leads to instabilities which are manifested by acoustic oversteer. In an embodiment of the invention, for security against willful blocking of the earphone pronunciation, the second tube can be designed in such a way that the feedback circuit is interrupted in the event of such blocking, so that instability does not occur even in this extreme case.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which FIG. 1 shows, purely schematically, an in-ear ANC earphone according to the invention in section, FIG. 2 shows examples of the frequency response change with or without additional volume according to the invention, FIG. 3 2 additionally positioned with the microphone in the additional volume, FIG. 4 an equivalent circuit diagram, FIG. 5 the frequency response for different situations for comparison and FIG. 6 a first variant in a view similar to that of FIG. 1.

1 shows, purely schematically, an in-ear earphone according to the invention, hereinafter often referred to simply as the earphone. A loudspeaker 1 in the outer part of the earpiece is acoustic by means of a pre-volume 2 and a speaker channel 10, largely in the plug part connected to Eartip 5. On its rear side, it is connected to the environment via a vent 4. According to the invention, a tube 7 extends from the tip area 6 past the loudspeaker channel 10 and the pre-volume 2, possibly also the loudspeaker 1, to an additional volume 3 which occupies a noticeable to large part of the listener. The preliminary volume 12 is thus significantly increased compared to the prior art by the additional volume 3 coupled with the aid of the tube 7, which leads to the advantages according to the invention mentioned at the beginning. A horizontal orientation of the tube is assumed as the intended orientation. 1 shows the coupling volume 12 (FIGS. 2 and 4), which corresponds to the ear volume of the user when used as intended.

The tube 7 is shown in FIG. 1 simply as an empty space, this is just as possible as the use of a “real” tube, which by no means has to have a circular cross section. In the case of a “real” tube, the geometric situation at the transition from tube 7 to additional volume 3 would be different from that shown in FIG. 1. In any case, it is advantageous if tube 7 is soundproofed as far as possible from speaker channel 10, pre-volume 2 and speaker 1 is.

In the prior art, the microphone 11 of the ANC circuit is usually arranged in the area of the ear tip 5 in a tip area 6 or in the standard pre-volume 2. In one embodiment of the invention, this microphone 11 is now arranged in the additional volume 3 in its inner region, for example at the inner position 8, which leads to surprisingly favorable results. This measure gives results as if the microphone were arranged in the tip area, for example at virtual position 13.

For this purpose, reference is made to FIG. 2, which schematically shows the changes in the secondary route in a receiver according to FIG. 1 with the microphone 11 at the tip area 6 position in accordance with the prior art in the area of the ear tip 5. Here, the resulting Helmholtz resonator, which results from tubes 7 with additional volume 3, appears in the thin characteristic curves in the range 400-1000 Hz.

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It shows (for simplification, the reference numerals for the term):

The continuous line, bold: a small pre-volume 2, without coupling volume 12 (blocked),

The continuous line, thin: a large pre-volume 2 + 3, without coupling volume 12 (blocked),

The dashed line, bold: a small pre-volume 2 on a small coupling volume 12 (1 cm ³ ),

The dashed line, thin: a large pre-volume 2 + 3 on a small coupling volume 12 (1cm3),

The dotted line, bold: a small pre-volume 2 on a medium coupling volume 12 (2cm3),

The dotted line, thin: a large pre-volume 2 + 3 at a medium coupling volume 12 (2cm3),

The dash-dotted line, bold: a small pre-volume 2 on a large coupling volume 12 (3cm3) and

The dash-dotted line, thin: a large pre-volume 2 + 3 on a large coupling volume 12 (3cm3).

It can clearly be seen that the thin lines, representing versions with the additional volume 3 according to the invention, take a favorable course.

FIG. 3 shows the situation in FIG. 2 with the difference that here the microphone 11 is positioned schematically in the additional volume 3 at an inner position 8. The description of the lines is the same as that of FIG. 2. Here one can see the sudden improvement compared to the basis of the invention shown in FIG. 2, which occurs completely unexpectedly.

FIG. 4 shows the equivalent circuit diagram, the reference symbols drawn in correspond to those of FIG. 1.

Finally, FIG. 5 shows the frequency response for the following situations: This representation shows the secondary path differences between construction with / without / 19

Connection of the microphone 11 at the inner position 8 through the tube 7. In other words: standard construction vs. Setup with tubes, always with the same volume 3 + 2.

The solid line shows the secondary path WITHOUT channel / tube for the position inner area 8 of the microphone 11, but a direct connection to the side volume in which the ANC microphone 11 sits, for the blocked case (earphone is blocked by its pronunciation).

The dashed line shows the secondary distance in the wearing situation in the ear for this situation (WITHOUT channel / tube).

The dash-dotted line shows the secondary path WITHOUT channel / tube for the position inner area 8 of the microphone 11, but the direct connection to the side volume in which the ANC microphone 11 is located. The listener plays "open", i.e. is not worn and also not blocked.

The dotted line shows the situation analogous to the dash-dotted line, but with the significant difference that the coupling according to the invention of the microphone 11 seated in the additional volume 3 (position inner region 8) is implemented using the tube 7. As a result, the position of the microphone shifts virtually to the end of the tube 7 on the ear side (depending on the design, generally corresponds to the tip area 6), of course with an upstream acoustic low-pass filter, which is of a mechano-acoustic nature. This virtual position in tip area 6 has the great advantage that additional level spacing is generated for the ANC system in the open case. In the present case, the additional level difference is e.g. 16dB in the range 300-2000Hz.

6 represents, purely schematically, an in-ear earphone according to the invention corresponding to FIG. 1, in which the tube 7 is not only made up of a continuous part, but is divided into two segments, in this special case earphone housing and sound guides (Tubes or channels), continues as part of the ear tip 5 to the tip area 6.

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In the illustrated and described embodiment, the speaker is in one

Provided outer part of the earphone, the progressive miniaturization already allows it to be brought into the area of the outer auditory canal. Also in this

In this case, the features according to the invention are to be used advantageously, and with knowledge of the invention the person skilled in the art can easily do this.

Some of the terms used in the description and the claims will be briefly discussed, even though most of them are clear in principle for the person skilled in the art:

Pre-volume 2 is the volume in front of him in the sound propagation of the loudspeaker (standard pre-volume 2 and speaker channel 10), with the respective ear volume of the user (coupling volume 12) and, depending on the design of the listener, with or without additional volume 3 and the tube 7 for coupling the additional volume 3.

Tip area 6 is, in general, the area at the ear-side end of the handset ^ pronunciation) (earphone housing including ear tip 5), which also includes 25% of the distance from the physical end (pronunciation) of the listener to the membrane of speaker 1.

The position of the inner region 8 is only indicated in principle in FIG. 1, it can be anywhere in the additional volume 3 that begins at the end of the tube 7 that is far from the tip. Here, “in the interior” or “in the additional volume” naturally means a wall or walls in the additional volume in or on which the microphone 11 is attached.

The additional volume 3 provided according to the invention can occupy any region of the receiver without any particular restriction, insofar as the components accommodated therein permit this; it can also extend around the vent 4.

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The "at least partially wearing in the outer ear canal" and the related

Explanations in the description and the claims also apply mutatis mutandis to listeners who are wholly in the auditory canal, the term “outer part” of the listener is then the “outer part” of the listener, etc., in which then preferably the

Speaker 1 and / or the additional volume 3 is located.

The loudspeaker channel 10 extends from the loudspeaker 1 or in the form of a channel from the pre-volume 2 to the outer end of the tip area 6 and is to be acoustically isolated from the tube 7.

The tube 7 provided according to the invention extends, as indicated in FIG. 1, from the ear-side end of the handset (pronunciation), for the above-mentioned reasons, depending on the design, also at a small distance of a few millimeters therefrom, up to the additional volume 3 Have adapted cross-sectional shape inside the listener, which need not be constant in shape or in area over its length. The desired acoustic insulation with respect to the directly adjacent pre-volume 2, the loudspeaker channel 10 and the loudspeaker 1 itself is achieved, for example, by airtight and, in the best case, sound-hard separation by suitable material thicknesses and high material densities.

The tube 7 has only two end openings, one opening into the tip area, the other opening into the additional volume 3, the shape of the latter opening being specifically adapted to the geometry in this area and to the formation of the transition. The jacket of the tube 7, which may protrude into the additional volume 3, is formed outside of this additional volume without any opening.

If the sound-hard separation between the pre-volume 2 with the loudspeaker channel 10 and the tube 7 is not possible up to the tip area 6, the Eartip 5 itself can also consist of (or have) two separate channel guides which have the two-channel structure (tube 7 and loudspeaker channel 10). , under the aforementioned conditions, of the earphone housing part as shown in FIG. 6, receives and extends / extends into the tip area 6. In this last-mentioned embodiment, the tube 7 therefore does not only consist of a continuous part, but is / 19 divided by two or more segments, in this special case earphone housing and sound guides (tubes or channels), in or as part of the ear tip 5 .

The loudspeaker vent 4 is also generally acoustically isolated from the additional volume 3 and, in addition, in most cases has an acoustic friction inside, which the person skilled in the art can easily determine with knowledge of the invention and the design of the receiver. However, a possible embodiment in which a high-inductive, i.e. effective only for very low-frequency signals (<20 Hz) connection is established between loudspeaker ventilation 4 and additional volume 3 is useful in some cases to ensure isobaric pressure compensation between the pre-volume and the outside area.

The electronics for the operation of the loudspeaker and the microphone are as in the prior art and, like the power supply and the wiring, require no explanation, and the same applies to the materials that can be used.

In the description and the claims, the terms “front”, “rear”, “top”, “bottom” and so on are used in the common form and with reference to the object in its usual position of use. This means that with a weapon the muzzle of the barrel is "in front", that the breech or slide is moved "backwards" by the explosion gases, etc. In the case of a monorail, the direction of the barrel refers because it is about the hanger and not about the running rail (s) goes in this direction on the hanger, transverse to it essentially means a direction rotated 90 ° to it and essentially horizontal.

It should also be pointed out that in the description and the claims information such as “lower area” of a hanger, reactor, filter, structure, or a device or, more generally, an object, the lower half and in particular the lower quarter of the total height “foremost area” means the foremost quarter and in particular an even smaller part; while "middle area" means the middle third of the total height (width - length). All of these / 19

Information has its common meaning, applied to the intended

Position of the viewed object.

In the description and the claims, "essentially" means a deviation of up to 10% of the stated value, if it is physically possible, both downwards and upwards, otherwise only in the sensible direction, with degrees (angle and temperature) this means ± 10 °.

All quantities and proportions, in particular those for delimiting the invention, insofar as they do not relate to the specific examples, are to be understood with a tolerance of ± 10%, thus for example: 11% means: from 9.9% to 12.1%. In terms such as "a microphone", the word "on" is not to be regarded as a numerical word, but as an indefinite article or as an advocate, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Unless otherwise stated, the term: “combination” or “combinations” stands for all types of combinations, starting from two of the constituents in question up to a large number or all such constituents, the term: “containing” also stands for “existing” out".

The features and variants specified in the individual configurations and examples can be freely combined with those of the other examples and configurations and in particular can be used to characterize the invention in the claims without necessarily taking the other details of the respective configuration or the respective example with them / 19

Reference symbol list:

1: speaker

2: Standard - pre-volume ("State of the Art")

3: Additional volume

4: speaker ventilation

5: Eartip

6: Tip area

7: Tube for coupling the additional volume

8: Indoor

9: Parameter model

10: speaker channel

11: microphone

12: coupling volume, pre-volume

13: virtual position

Claims (5)

Claims: 1. In-ear ANC earphones, which are at least partially worn with their ear tip (5) in the external auditory canal, with at least one loudspeaker (1) with a leading volume (2) and / or loudspeaker channel (10) and With at least one ANC microphone (11), characterized in that a tube (7) leads from the tip area 6 to an additional volume (3). 2. In-ear ANC earphones according to claim 1, characterized in that the tube (7) along its outer surface is acoustically isolated from the adjacent pre-volume (2) and / or speaker channel (10). 3. In-ear ANC earphones according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the ANC microphone (11) is arranged in the additional volume (3). 4. In-ear ANC earphone according to one of claims 1 to 3, which has an outer part, characterized in that the loudspeaker (1) is arranged in the outer part. 5. In-ear ANC earphone according to one of the preceding claims, which has an outer part, characterized in that the additional volume (3) is arranged in the outer part.