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This invention relates generally to an audio signal loudspeaker or
loudspeakers carried by a human head, and more particularly to simple,
effective support or positioning of such a speaker or speakers to optimize
reception by the user's ear of sounds from both the speaker or speakers,
and also from other sound sources.
Personal portable stereo equipment is now very popular with people from
many walks of life. Current personal portable stereos allow the user to
listen to music easily, no matter where he or she goes, as in athletic
activities, such as jogging and biking. There are two types of
lightweight, personal stereo headphones currently in use. The first is the
foam, "over-the-ear" device that includes a lightweight headband, two
foam-covered speakers, and flexible leads connecting to the audio source.
Problems associated with such devices include their unsightliness as they
resemble ear muffs. Also, the flexible metal band that connects the
speakers prohibits the user from wearing a hat or helmet. Lastly, since
the speakers completely cover both ears for maximum audio clarity, no
exterior sounds can be heard, thereby making the user oblivious to his
surrounding environment and placing him in danger from a variety of
sources.
The second type of portable stereo headphone device is the "in-the-ear"
model. This type of speaker does not necessarily need a restraining metal
band, so each speaker is separate. The very small speaker is placed inside
the ear canal and remains there by forcefully being wedged into the small
opening of the inner ear. Such a speaker is uncomfortable to the user if
worn for any length of time. Furthermore, if the user is participating in
athletic activity, it is difficult to keep the speaker in place, and it
frequently falls out of the ear. The user usually resorts to jamming the
speaker even further into the ear, causing much pain. Also, like the
over-the-ear speakers, the in-the-ear speaker inhibits the user from
hearing exterior sounds, making this type of speaker dangerous as well.
A new danger has arisen with the increasing popularity of car telephones.
When using a car phone, an automobile operator's attention is not where it
should be, on the road. The user in most cases must use one hand to hold
the phone and one for driving. Some speaker phones that allow hands-free
operation are available on the market, but they severely lack audio
clarity and quality. Also on the market is a directional microphone that
affixes to the car to be used with a car phone. The microphone points
toward the user's head and picks up his voice, eliminating the need for a
hand-held microphone unit. What is needed is a speaker system to be used
in conjunction with such a microphone, and that allows the user to hear
the other phone user without blocking environmental sounds around the
automobile, such as sirens, horns, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,355 to Moore discloses use of clamps, transverse
apertures, lead loops, and variable positions of speakers to attach a
personal audio assembly to eyeglasses or headgear. In the embodiment of
Moore's invention, the speakers hang on straps from clamps on the earn
stems and are free to flop around the user's movement, resulting in
irritating contact with the ears and variable audio volume. The device of
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,120 to Weyer, on the other hand, while achieving fixed
position of speakers, still results in ear contact and blockage of
environmental sounds.
Aside from the above-mentioned problems associated with Moore's and Weyer's
headphones, the safety factor of wearing such headphones is an unsolved
problem. Bikers, Joggers, or automobile operators wearing such devices
cannot hear what is going on around them, such as sirens, voices, horns,
etc. California State Law prohibits automobile operators and bicycle
riders from wearing such devices as when using their vehicles.
Nevertheless, infractions of the law are common. This is caused by the
fact that people enjoy privately listening to music as they drive or
pursue athletic activities. Since there is no alternative speaker on the
market, people choose to break the law and put themselves and others at
great danger rather than go without their personal stereos. What is needed
is a speaker assembly that is of high quality, comfortable to wear,
securely attachable to the head for vigorous activity, and most
importantly, one that allows the user to hear sounds from the worn audio
source as well as exterior sounds emanating from the surrounding
environment. There is also need for an adjustment system that prevents the
speaker from blocking the ear opening and cutting off environmental
sounds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a major object of the invention to provide an improved loudspeaker
system, and associated equipment, meeting the above need. Basically, the
invention is embodied in a combination with a support member attachable to
an upper portion of the user's head and that extends generally forwardly
toward the user's face, of the improvement comprising
a) a first loudspeaker carried by the member in offset, proximate relation
to the ear opening of one of the user's ears, the loudspeaker having an
input to receive electrical signals from an audio source,
b) the speaker having an audio output side, and the offset relation
characterized in that said output side faces toward the ear opening and
has spacing from that opening by an amount between about 1/2 and 1 inch
when the member is attached to the user's head.
It is another object of the invention to provide the support member in the
form of an eyeglass ear stem, to which the support member may be
integrally or adjustably connected.
In one embodiment of the invention, the speaker assembly is permanently
attached in a predetermined position on the ear stem of the eyeglasses. In
a second embodiment of the invention, a detachable speaker assembly is
used in conjunction with a specially prepared ear stem, made to accept the
speakers. This embodiment is convenient for the user since the speaker
assembly may be removed when not in use, or when attachment is not
desired. In a third embodiment, the speaker assembly is detachable from
the ear stem, but the ear stem is unprepared for attachment. This
embodiment makes the speaker assembly compatible with any type or size of
eyeglasses. Means for such attachment include a slotted member attached to
the speaker assembly that slides over the ear stem, and secures in place.
In a fourth embodiment, each speaker is permanently attached to an
expandable sleeve which slips over the eyeglasses ear stem and holds the
speaker in an individually selected position. This allows for
compatibility with any size or kind of eyeglasses. In the fifth and sixth
embodiments, the speaker assembly is permanently attached to a
lightweight, flexible headband. These embodiments also differ from
conventional headphones because the speaker members do not come in contact
with the ears, the speaker members positioned close by and, preferably, in
front of the ears, thereby allowing environmental sounds to be heard. The
user is thus able to enjoy music through a personal stereo or other audio
source, while allowing environmental sounds to be heard, for safety.
The invention also permits use of such speakers without the user having to
wear eyeglasses to support the speakers. In this regard, in the fifth
embodiment, the headband fits over the head; while in the sixth
embodiment, the band extends around the head from back to front.
Yet another object is the provision of removable attachment of a
loudspeaker to an eyeglass stem by one of the following:
i) pin and hole elements, one on the member and the other on the stem,
ii) male and female snaps, one on the member, and the other on the stem,
iii) VELCRO elements, one on the member and the other on the stem.
A further object includes the provision of a microphone directed toward the
user's head within a motor vehicle, and affixed to structure within the
vehicle, the first loudspeaker carried by the member which is in turn
carried by the user's head.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention, as well as the
details of an illustrative embodiment, will be more fully understood from
the following specification and drawings, in which:
DRAWING DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1a is a top view of a user's head showing the general position of the
head, eyeglasses, speakers, and elbow support members holding the
speakers; and
FIG. 1b is a side view taken on lines 1b--1b of FIG. 1a;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus incorporating the present invention,
permanently attached and built in to the ear stems of eyeglasses;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of eyeglasses with prepared ear stems having
holes pre-drilled, detachable speaker and support assemblies with pins
also being shown;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing eyeglasses with detachable,
adjustable, slotted speaker support members;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing eyeglasses with detachable, expandable
speaker supporting sleeves as they slide onto ear stems;
FIGS. 6a, 6b, and 6c are perspective views showing loudspeakers on a
lightweight, flexible headband, which extends over the head, with speaker
positioning supports;
FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c are perspective views showing speakers on a
lightweight, flexible headband which goes around the head from the
forehead to the back of the head, with speaker positioning supports;
FIG. 8a is a section showing a speaker mounted on a sleeve which is
rotatable on a stem;
FIG. 8b is a view like FIG. 8a showing a rotated position of the sleeve and
speakers;
FIG. 9 is a view like FIG. 7a showing sleeves of FIGS. 8a and b type
mounted on eyeglass stems;
FIG. 10 is a view like FIG. 9 showing stem collapsed position, and speaker
and sleeve rotated and collapsed positions; and
FIGS. 11a and 11b show sleeves rotated on eyeglasses stem.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The general objective of the present invention is to give the individual
quality sound from a personal audio source, without speakers touching the
ears, and/or without interfering and blocking surrounding sounds from the
environment. The position of the audio elements is fixed so that the
volume of the sound is constant, independent of movements of the listener.
The general arrangement is shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b. The speakers 10,
energized through the flexible leads 11, are mounted on the ear stems 13
of the eyeglasses 13a by the elbows 12. The speakers 10 are shown
generally in front of the ears 14 and at a fixed distance or distances
away from the head 15, and from the ears, and from the ear openings. Each
speaker is typically positioned about 1/2 to 1 inch forward of the ear
opening and 1/2 to 1 inch to the outside of that opening. The
sound-emitting side 10a of each speaker is pointed toward or faces the
ear, but never touches the ear, so that the eyeglasses may be worn for
long periods of time without ear fatigue commonly caused by other types of
earphones. Furthermore, while the invention permits extremely good audio
fidelity, surrounding environmental sounds are easily heard, as via path
14'. An audio source, such as a radio, is seen at 16, volume adjustable at
17, and having stereo outputs at 16a and 16b, connectible with leads 11.
The speakers are preferably located outward from the head and forward of
the ears since listeners are generally used to listening to entertainment
audio sources in front of the ear, yielding a natural orientation to the
sound source.
The optimum distance is found by considering the following constraints:
1. Ease of fitting and low inventory, or one-size-fits-all without
requiring a multitude of adjustments. (Multiple adjustments in position
and angle of the speaker are mandatory if the speaker is to be at or very
near the ear, as in prior devices, such devices being prone to slip and
get out of adjustment especially while the user is active, such as while
biking.) In the present invention, the speaker is far enough from the ear
that small variations in the position of the ear opening are minimal with
respect to the maximum fidelity zone of the speaker. If one considers
anatomical variations of the ear position, but limits ear sampling to the
set of persons on whom a given set of eyeglasses "fit" well enough to be
comfortable, the variation is about 0.5 inch diameter, to include the vast
majority of people. The maximum fidelity zone of a speaker is a cone in
front of the speaker which is about 60 degrees in full angle. If one
demands that all 98 percent of the ears in the above sample are in the
maximum fidelity zone, then the distance from the speaker to the ear must
be at least about 0.5 inch.
2. Enough volume to hear without distortion. The audio source 16 and the
speakers 10 should produce enough volume so that the audio source can
easily be heard over the background noises. Available speakers as in
personal tape units or radios can be heard easily at 1 inch distance from
the ear, at volume levels that present little distortion. The volume
varies inversely with the square of the distance. At the distance of 3
inches, the volume requirement has increased almost by an order of
magnitude. Most common units cannot broadcast quality sound that far
without being hard to hear, the user being outdoors pursuing activities
such as biking and running, or driving in traffic.
3. Speakers awkward and in the way. As the distance from the head
increases, the speakers look unattractive and awkward and the probability
of unwanted impacts greatly increases. At an extreme, if the speakers are
far enough from the ears and diagonally forward of the ears, they are
visible from the wearer's eyes and create visible blind spots. Speakers 3
inches away from the head are substantially more awkward than at a
distance of 1 inch from the ear.
4. Cut off of environmental sounds. If the speakers are too close to the
ear or in the ear, then environmental sounds can be overcome by output
from the speakers. Of course, the volume interplays with the distance so
that a specific inner cut-off is not at all sharp. However, it is found
that at least 0.5 inch is needed to allow adequate hearing of
environmental sounds.
5. Laws. The speaker system should be compatible with laws which prevent
vehicle operators, including bikers, from wearing earphones. Again, at
least 0.5 inch is a practical minimum in order for enforcement to be
practical.
In recognition of the above factors, the preferred region from about 0.5
inch to about 1.5 inch from the ear opening from the ear is most practical
and desirable.
The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 comprises a speaker
assembly 20 permanently attached to either eyeglass or sunglass ear stem
23 by speaker elbow 22. Ear stem 23, speaker elbow 22 and speaker housing
20a may be one manufactured piece, made by injection molding plastic.
Flexible lead 21 extends from speaker assembly 20 to a personal stereo
unit, car phone, or other audio source not shown. Speaker elbow 22 has two
purposes: to attach speaker assembly 20 to ear stem 23, and also to locate
speaker assembly 20 at optimal spacing from the user's ear for the best
possible clarity of sound. See above discussion of FIGS. 1a and 1b, and
spacing criteria.
The second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 3, and includes
detachable speaker assemblies 30 that can be firmly attached to either
eyeglass or sunglass ear stems 33. Each ear stem 33 is prepared to carry a
speaker assembly 30 by means of holes 34 drilled into the ear stem at a
specific location for optimal positioning of speaker assembly support
elbows 32. Each support (member) elbow 32 connects a speaker assembly 30
to an ear stem 33 as by two pins 35 on the elbow that fit into ear stem
holes 34 in ear stem 33, and spaced lengthwise thereon. Flexible lead 31
connects speaker assembly 30 to personal stereo unit, car phone, or other
audio sources, which are not shown, but which are seen in FIG. 1. Other
manner of detachable connection of 32 to 33, such as VELCRO, slide locks,
and male-female snaps are also possible for this embodiment of the
invention. (Elements 34 and 35 may be considered to represent same.) The
eyeglasses also include panes 37 and ear hooks 38. Elbows may be generally
S-shaped, as shown, to attach lengthwise to both 30 and 33.
The third embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 and consists of
detachable speaker assembly 40 that can be firmly attached to eyeglass or
sunglass ear stem 43. Since S-shaped elbow 42 is adjustable, along the
stem, this embodiment is compatible with a wide variety of ear stem 43
sizes and shapes. Ear stems 43 need not be specially prepared to allow for
slotted collars. Each slotted collar 44 is grooved at 44a to accommodate
an ear stem 43 and to be firmly secured by tightening means 45 (such as a
clamp ring that fits over the stem and over the collar). Elbow 42 connects
speaker assembly 40 to ear stem 43, via collar 44, and at a spaced
position from the ear opening, as discussed above, to allow optimum audio
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