Earpiece with hollow elongated member having a nonlinear portion

摘要

An earpiece may be used to detect sounds from an ear canal of a user. The earpiece may include a microphone assembly and an acoustic pathway that is at least partially defined by a hollow elongated member having a nonlinear portion following a spiraled path. The acoustic pathway fluidly couples the microphone assembly with an ear canal of the user when the earpiece is positioned with respect to the ear of the user. Sounds produced by the user travel from the ear canal through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly. Also, the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to amplify a desired frequency and/or attenuate other, less desirable, frequencies of the sounds produced by the user.

主权项

1. An earpiece, comprising:
a microphone assembly; and an acoustic pathway defined at least in part by a hollow elongated member and configured such that sounds produced by a user travel from an ear canal of the user through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly, the hollow elongated member comprising:
a linear portion extending along a longitudinal axis of the earpiece; anda nonlinear portion following a spiraled path; wherein the spiraled path extends in a two-dimensional plane and the linear portion is joined to the nonlinear portion at a radially most extended point of the nonlinear portion; and wherein the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to modify sounds produced by the user by at least one of:
amplifying a frequency selected for amplification; orattenuating a frequency selected for attenuation.