Wireless headphones, earphones

Sunday, 07 January 2007

Personal audio systems are popular everywhere these days. Audio systems can provide users various kinds of entertainment while they are engaged in all sorts of activities. With the widespread use of portable AM/FM receivers, portable AM/FM/Cassette players or cassette players standing alone and the rising popularity of portable CD players and MP3 players, a need has arisen for a good way of getting the audio signals to the user's ears. Audio signal reproducing methods using a headphone or an earphone are known to reproduce an audio signal with the headphone worn by the listener on the head such that the headphone covers listener's ears. Thus, the listener can listen to reproduced sounds of the audio signal from the ears. Within the audio and hi-fi industry, headphones or earphones are commonly known as electro-acoustic transducers used by a single listener for the reproduction of sound of music to the one individual or listener. Personal audio systems include headphones or earphones which a user wears over or in his or her ears so that the sound from the system is heard only by the user and does not disturb others. There are many situations where it is desirable to provide audio output for personal use to be worn or carried near the body. Earphones offer privacy, easier integration with clothing, and address concerns for fashion and social acceptability. The earphones also usually provide better sound transmission to the listener so the listener can hear and understand the sounds better than if merely transmitted into the air, particularly during movement of the user such as in sport or exercise activities or in noisy environments. Earphones also have the additional advantage that when used in conjunction with microphones, the problem of feedback control is greatly ameliorated. Further, headphones are efficient in terms of sound pressure level (SPL) delivered for a given electrical output. Audio output with earphones can be used for portable entertainment, personal communications, hearing prosthesis and the like. These personal and portable communications and entertainment products include, for example, cellular and portable telephones, AM and FM radios, cassette tape players, CD players, and audio portions of portable video systems and personal monitors.

The headphones comprise a small loudspeaker. A recorded sound signal (voice or music) is sent to the headphones and sound generators inside the headphone generate a sound. With the headphone device, an audio signal is transmitted to the left and right acoustic transducers. The transducers generate stereo acoustic sound in response to the audio signal. Headphones with audio transducers in the form of electrostatic controllers typically generate electric fields in the order of magnitude of a few hundred volts per meter. Headphones have been diversified in shape and function as a result of many problems that wearers encountered as they attempted to listen to the headphones while performing various activities. Conventional headphones that wrap over a listener's head with a resilient headband cause discomfort and interference. In response to this problem, headphones which do not have headbands, but rather have housing members which snugly fit into the cavum concha in an auricles of a listener's ears have been developed. Headphones may also include a comfort sling connected at its ends to be positioned within the head band, with the head band providing the mechanical strength and positioning for the headphone, and with the comfort sling fitting closely to the user's head for increased comfort when wearing the headphone. Headphones may incorporate different combinations of pivot points, extensions, and beam and hinge configurations to allow for folding. Certain foldable headphones contain a central pivot point located on a headband at a point corresponding to a top portion of the head of a user. Earphones are increasingly utilized and improved, with the development of portable acoustic appliances, from headphones, earplug earphones to clip-on earphones. Particularly, clip-on earphone devices have become more and more popular and a great variety of such devices have been developed. A clip-on earphone device has a clip-on structure such that the clip-on earphone device can be fixed on the ears. Earphones are also used in communication systems such as cell phone and radio communication systems. For use with such communication systems, the earphones will often have a microphone associated therewith extending toward the user's mouth so the user can easily participate in hands-off two-way communication.

Headphones are known in several configurations and variants. Headphones can be broadly categorized as head band type headphones supported on the head with the audio output component thereof in proximity to the ear, and inner ear type headphones used while inserted in the auricle. The head band type headphones are around-the-ear headphones having large earphones that resemble earmuffs. Like earmuffs, the around-the-ear earphone covers and surrounds the ear. It typically provides very good noise attenuation but it is not particularly comfortable. The inner ear type headphones may include on-the-ear and in-the-ear headphones. The on-the-ear headphone, which is also referred to as the supra aural design, has an earphone cushion that simply rests against the ear when the headphone is being worn by the user. Typically, the cushion is made of an open cell foam material that easily transmits sound. This design tends to be lightweight, compact, and very comfortable. The in-the-ear headphones are commonly known as earbuds. An in-ear phone is composed of at least one speaker element that can be fitted into the user's ears and a pair of cables connecting the speaker elements to the associated audio equipment. In-ear phone is widely used in conjunction with an audio means, such as a portable radio, a stereo cassette player, an audio CD (compact disc) player, a pager, or a mobile phone, to serve as a small sound receiving means which can be plugged into the ear for the user to hear the sound from the associated audio means. The in-the-ear headphone which typically provides less attenuation than the around-the-ear type has an ear piece that fits into the ear cavity, i.e., concha. Earbud earphones provide good audio fidelity, although their placement is sensitive in order to obtain the best performance. Earbuds become uncomfortable after extended use and often block and attenuate environmental sounds at the expense of safety and loss of audio contact with the wearer's surroundings.

With devices such as radios, cell phones, compact disc players and MP3 players are combined with the wide spread use of headphones either by building the same into the headsets or electronically connecting the same to the headsets, users have gained great flexibility in that the audio programming may be played and listened to in almost any location or setting. However, many headphones are coupled to the portable audio device by wires. These cables are a source of inconvenience because the length of the cable is rarely the appropriate length for the particular use being made of the entertainment device. Typically, during such activities there is frequently a great deal of arm motion and sometimes there are moving or stationary objects which are or pass within close range of the users upper torso. The somewhat long and stretched cables connecting the speaker elements to the associated audio means can be pulled accidentally by the user or nearby obstacles. As a result of the wires swinging freely in the space around the users upper torso between the users waist and the headphones, the wires frequently get tangled up with the users arms, or snag on some stationary. This can be not only destructive to the portable audio equipment and headphones but dangerous as well. Therefore, a need has arisen for a device which can attach to a portable audio device and which can transmit audio signals from the portable audio device to the headphones without wires but which is small enough to be unobtrusive. The use of wireless headphones may be advantageous not only for portability, but also to prevent others in the house, or in an apartment building, in neighboring apartments from being disturbed by the home stereo unit. Similar to a cordless phone, the wireless headphones receive a radio frequency transmission from the personal stereo of music or other audio programming. The user wearing the headphones can then travel throughout the house or even work in the yard while listening to the home stereo unit.

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