Inflatable Bubble
An ear device having a bubble for placement approximate a user's ear canal and capable of inflation and deflation is disclosed. An inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the bubble during inflation of the bubble and an inflation source, such as a diaphonic valve, cause the bubble to extend automatically into the user's ear canal during inflation and retract from the user's ear canal during deflation. The bubble is substantially cylindrical and is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers. The bubble may also comprise at least one non-inflatable section interspersed therein. Where the ear device is used to convey sound to the user's ear, the device includes a sound tube positioned within the cylindrical bubble. At least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble, which may be a non-inflatable section of the bubble, is used to retract the bubble automatically. The ear device, equipped with a cerumen removing mechanism, may be used to clean a user's ear canal as well.
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The present application claims filing priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/323,599, dated Apr. 13, 2010. In addition, the present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/777,001, to Ambrose et al., filed on May 10, 2010 and published as Publication No. 2010/0322454 A1 on Dec. 23, 2010, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/178,236, to Ambrose et al., filed on Jul. 23, 2008 and published as Publication No. 2009/0028356 A1 on Jan. 29, 2009. The complete content of each of the above-listed applications is hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present device and methods relate to the structure, operation and manufacture of an insertable sound transmission instrument for a user's ear. Specifically, the device and methods relate to such an instrument which can be coupled with any number of electronic sound devices, such as a hearing aid, MP3 player, Bluetooth® device, phone, and the like, while providing improved comfort and control to the user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe use of headphones for private listening of an audio device, such as a phone, telegraph or the like, began back as early as the 1900's. The original devices provided very poor sound quality and even less comfort to the user. Such devices have come a long way in the last 20 years with noise-reduction, sound control, feedback control and comfort features as well. However, prior designs have typically employed a “one-size-fits-all” approach to function and comfort and as such they have been unable to offer an in-ear device which is individually customizable for a particular user. The present device addresses this oversight in the prior art by providing an in-ear device which is adjustable to comfortably fit each user, while providing full rich sound quality.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0028356 A1 (the '356 application), published on Jan. 29, 2009, discloses an in-ear, inflatable, diaphonic member (bubble), for the coupling of sound to the ear, wherein a source of static and active pressure is utilized to inflate the bubble and to keep it inflated. As part of the '356 application disclosure, a diaphonic valve is described that can convert oscillating sound pressure into static pressure to inflate the bubble in the user's ear. This is accomplished while still passing the sound of the program material (music, voice, etc.) through the valve, into the bubble and thus into the ear, with a minimum of attenuation or distortion. Thus a speaker or acoustical driver of the type used in hearing aids, mp3 player ear buds, or professional in ear monitors may be used to generate static pressures to inflate the diaphonic member (bubble), in addition to playing the program material. The diaphonic valve of the '356 application uses a flat valve design where oscillating sound waves cause oscillations in thin elastic membranes, thus opening and closing ports to harvest the positive pressure, pushing cycles of the speaker and venting in outside air during the negative pressure, pulling cycles of the speaker.
Embodiments of the present invention supplement the inventive pumping methods which utilize sound energy to actively inflate and deflate a diaphonic bubble in a user's ear by creating a bubble which expands in a completely unique manner.
The present invention addresses and solves numerous problems in the ear device industry and provides uncountable improvements in the area of earphone devices and manufacturing methods of the same. Solutions to other problems associated with prior earphone devices, whether the intended use is to be in conjunction with hearing aids, MP3 players, mobile phones, or other similar devices, may be achieved by the present devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThere is disclosed herein an improved ear device for in-ear placement of a user which avoids the disadvantages of prior devices while affording additional structural and operating advantages.
Generally speaking, the invention of the present application, numerously embodied in countless combinations of components, is comprised of a bubble for placement approximate a user's ear canal and capable of inflation and deflation, and an inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the bubble during inflation of the bubble, wherein the bubble automatically extends into the user's ear canal during inflation and retracts from the user's ear canal during deflation. An inflating air source coupled to an end of the inflation tube is used to provide inflation air to the bubble. In a preferred embodiment, the inflating air source comprises a diaphonic valve.
In an embodiment of the invention, the bubble is substantially cylindrical and is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers. The bubble may also comprise at least one non-inflatable section interspersed therein. Where the ear device is used to convey sound to the user's ear, an embodiment of the invention includes a sound tube positioned within the cylindrical bubble.
An aspect of another embodiment comprises at least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble, which may be a non-inflatable section of the bubble. In one embodiment, the resilient member may comprise a coil spring positioned within the sound tube. In another, it may comprise at least one flat spring.
An ear device having a cerumen removing mechanism is also disclosed. The cerumen removing mechanism may be comprised of a textured outer surface on the bubble or a coating on an outer surface of the bubble. It is an aspect of an embodiment of the disclosed ear device to provide fibers selected from the group consisting of cotton fibers, linen fibers, polyester fibers, synthetic fibers, and any combination thereof within a bubble coating. Such fibers may be impregnated with a cleaning solution to soften or dissolve the cerumen.
Alternately, the ear device may be used exclusively as a cleaning device.
These and other aspects of the invention may be understood more readily from the following description and the appended drawings.
For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject matter sought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanying drawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the subject matter sought to be protected, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description and throughout the numerous drawings, like reference numbers are used to designate corresponding parts.
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, preferred embodiments of the invention, including embodiments of the various components of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to embodiments illustrated.
Referring to
The bubble 12 automatically operates between two forms: i.e., an inflated form and a deflated form. In the inflated form, the bubble 12 is unfurled and relatively firm, extending into a user's ear canal where it seals against the wall of the canal to retain the ear device 10 in place. When in the deflated form, the bubble 12 is refracted from the ear canal, flaccid and soft, and is pulled to some degree into or about itself. Specific details of the two forms and the operation of the bubble 12 to achieve such forms are explained in greater detail below.
Referring to
As can be seen, when fully inserted and fully inflated (
Referring now to
The unrolling or unfurling of the bubble 12 from the ear device 10 is driven by the pumping of air into inflatable chambers 14 which make up the cylindrical bubble wall 32. This pumping is provided by a diaphonic valve of one of the numerous types previously disclosed. The re-rolling or re-furling of the bubble 12, i.e. the mechanism by which it retracts from the ear canal and turns inside itself, is driven by energy stored in a resilient member 18, such as a spring or springs. During inflation, air pressure pumped into the bubble 12 from the attached diaphonic pump unrolls or unfurls the rolled or furled portion of the bubble 12 and simultaneously places tension onto the resilient member, i.e., a flat spring or flat springs 26. As the air pressure is released in deflation mode, the spring or springs 26 begin to recoil, thereby re-rolling or re-furling the bubble 12.
In the embodiment of
The particular embodiment of the ear device 10 shown in
In alternate embodiments, some or all of the flat springs 26 may be housed in parallel inflatable chambers. The inflated, spring containing chambers may alternate or otherwise be arranged parallel to the non-spring containing inflated chambers. Still another alternative would be to have all the chambers around the bubble circumference be both inflatable and containing a flat spring.
As can be seen, the center of the bubble 12 is open and forms sound tube 24 by which sound is conducted from the transducer, into the user's ear canal, and directed toward the tympanic membrane.
While the use of a springs, either flat or coil as described above, are preferred as the resilient member, the same result may be achieved by the use of pressurized chambers which can be inflated and deflated to furl and unfurl a portion of the bubble 12.
An additional optional feature of the disclosed ear device 10 is that it may be used to clean ear wax (cerumen) from the user's ear. To accomplish this, the bubble 12 is constructed with an outer coating or texture which is readily adhered to by ear wax. Examples of such a texture would be, without limitation, ridges, bumps, grooves or even a fibrous surface texture. Examples of a suitable coating would include cotton fibers, linen fibers, polyester or other synthetic fibers, or a combination of these or other suitable materials. These fibers may also be impregnated with cleaning solutions for the purpose of softening/dissolving the cerumen.
In use, the ear device 10 with special surface coating or surface texture would be inflated into the user's ear canal. Once fully inflated, it may be necessary to give the special solutions time to work, then the device 10 can then be removed, either by deflating or by pulling directly out without deflating. Upon removal the surface of the device 10 pulls ear wax out of the ear. This cleaning system may be used with or without the audio listening component of the device.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are possible examples of implementations merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles for the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without substantially departing from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention, and protected by the following claims.
The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants' contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.
Claims
1. An ear device comprising:
- a base capable of positioning proximate a user's ear canal;
- a bubble attached to the base and capable of inflation and deflation; and
- an inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the bubble during inflation of the bubble;
- wherein the bubble automatically extends into the user's ear canal during inflation and retracts from the user's ear canal during deflation.
2. The ear device of claim 1, further comprising an inflating air source coupled to an end of the inflation tube.
3. The ear device of claim 2, wherein the inflating air source comprises a diaphonic valve.
4. The ear device of claim 1, wherein the bubble is substantially cylindrical.
5. The ear device of claim 4, wherein the cylindrical bubble is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers.
6. The ear device of claim 4, wherein the cylindrical bubble is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers and at least one non-inflatable section interspersed therein.
7. The ear device of claim 1, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble.
8. The ear device of claim 4, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble.
9. The ear device of claim 6, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a non-inflatable section of the bubble.
10. The ear device of claim 8, further comprising a sound tube positioned within the cylindrical bubble.
11. The ear device of claim 10, wherein the at least one resilient member comprises a coil spring positioned within the sound tube.
12. The ear device of claim 7, wherein the at least one resilient member comprises at least one flat spring.
13. The ear device of claim 9, wherein the at least one resilient member comprises at least one flat spring.
14. The ear device of claim 1, further comprising a cerumen removing mechanism.
15. The ear device of claim 14, wherein the cerumen removing mechanism comprises a textured outer surface on the bubble.
16. The ear device of claim 14, wherein the cerumen removing mechanism comprises a coating on an outer surface of the bubble.
17. The ear device of claim 16, wherein the coating comprises fibers selected from the group consisting of cotton fibers, linen fibers, polyester fibers, synthetic fibers, and any combination thereof.
18. The ear device of claim 17, wherein the fibers are impregnated with a cleaning solution.
19. The ear device of claim 18, wherein the cleaning solution comprises a cerumen softening or dissolving solution.
20. The ear device of claim 1, wherein the bubble automatically inserts into the ear canal on inflation.
21. The ear device of claim 7, wherein the resilient member facilitates folding of the bubble inward upon deflation.
22. The ear device of claim 7, wherein the resilient member facilitates rolling of the bubble inward upon deflation.
23. The ear device of claim 11, wherein the coil spring pulls at least a portion of the bubble into the sound tube upon deflation.
24. The ear device of claim 10, further comprising an audio transducer coupled to the base.
25. An ear device comprising:
- a base capable of being positioned proximate a user's ear canal;
- a cylindrical bubble attached to the base and comprised of a plurality of inflatable chambers each capable of simultaneous inflation and deflation;
- an inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the inflatable chambers of the bubble during inflation of the inflatable chambers; and
- an air source coupled to the inflation tube for supplying inflation air during inflation of the inflatable chambers;
- wherein the bubble automatically extends into the user's ear canal during inflation and retracts from the user's ear canal during deflation.
26. The ear device of claim 25, wherein the bubble further comprises at least one non-inflatable section interspersed with the inflatable chambers.
27. The ear device of claim 25, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble.
28. The ear device of claim 26, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a non-inflatable section of the bubble.
29. The ear device of claim 27, further comprising a sound tube positioned within the cylindrical bubble.
30. The ear device of claim 29, wherein the at least one resilient member comprises a coil spring positioned within the sound tube.
31. The ear device of claim 28, wherein the at least one resilient member comprises at least one flat spring.
32. An audio system ear device comprising:
- a base capable of positioning proximate a user's ear canal;
- a bubble attached to the base and having an outer surface capable of inflation and deflation;
- an inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the bubble during inflation of the bubble;
- an air source coupled to the inflation tube for supplying inflation air during inflation of the bubble;
- a sound tube positioned within the bubble and having an open end coupled to the outer surface of the bubble; and
- an audio source coupled to the sound tube;
- wherein the bubble and sound tube automatically extend into the user's ear canal during inflation and retracts from the user's ear canal during deflation.
33. The audio system of claim 32, wherein the air source comprises a diaphonic valve.
34. The audio system of claim 32, wherein the bubble is substantially cylindrical.
35. The audio system of claim 34, wherein the cylindrical bubble is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers.
36. The audio system of claim 34, wherein the cylindrical bubble is comprised of a plurality of adjacently adjoined inflatable chambers and at least one non-inflatable section interspersed therein.
37. The audio system of claim 32, further comprising at least one resilient member attached to a portion of the bubble.
38. An ear cleaning device comprising:
- a base capable of positioning proximate a user's ear canal;
- a bubble attached to the base and having an outer surface capable of inflation and deflation;
- a cerumen removing mechanism attached to the outer surface of the bubble;
- an inflation tube for delivering inflating air to the bubble during inflation of the bubble; and
- an air source coupled to the inflation tube for supplying inflation air during inflation of the bubble;
- wherein the bubble automatically extends into the user's ear canal during inflation and retracts from the user's ear canal during deflation.
39. The ear cleaning device of claim 38, wherein the cerumen removing mechanism comprises a textured outer surface.
40. The ear cleaning device of claim 38, wherein the cerumen removing mechanism comprises a coating on an outer surface.
41. The ear cleaning device of claim 40, wherein the coating comprises fibers selected from the group consisting of cotton fibers, linen fibers, polyester fibers, synthetic fibers, and any combination thereof.
42. The ear cleaning device of claim 41, wherein the fibers are impregnated with a cleaning solution.
43. The ear cleaning device of claim 42, wherein the cleaning solution comprises a cerumen softening or dissolving solution.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 13, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 22, 2011
Applicant: Asius Technologies, LLC (Beaverton, OR)
Inventors: Stephen D. Ambrose (Longmont, CO), Samuel P. Gido (Hadley, MA), Robert B. Schulein (Schaumburg, IL)
Application Number: 13/086,138
International Classification: H04R 1/10 (20060101); A61F 11/00 (20060101);