Search

EP-4734785-A1 - SPEAKER SYSTEM FOR A HELMET

EP4734785A1EP 4734785 A1EP4734785 A1EP 4734785A1EP-4734785-A1

Abstract

A helmet speaker system includes a helmet shell (102) with a helmet impact liner (104) inside the helmet shell. A hole (110) is formed in the helmet impact liner (104), the hole penetrating through the helmet impact liner (104). A speaker (130) is fixed in the hole (110). A space (108) formed between the helmet impact liner (104) and the interior sidewall of the helmet shell (102) is directly acoustically connected to a rear portion of the speaker (130) fixed in the hole (110). The speaker is configured to use the space to produce improved sound, particularly with respect to low frequency sound.

Inventors

  • PFAFFINGER, Gerhard Rudolf
  • CHRISTOPH, Markus Ewald

Assignees

  • Cardo Systems, Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240627

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A helmet, comprising: a helmet shell; a helmet impact liner disposed inside the helmet shell, the helmet impact liner having an interior side configured to face an interior of the helmet and an exterior side configured to face the helmet shell; a hole formed in the helmet impact liner, the hole connecting the interior side and the exterior side of the helmet impact liner; a speaker disposed in the hole, wherein a rear portion of the speaker is acoustically directly coupled through a cavity in the hole with the exterior side of the helmet impact liner, and a front portion of the speaker is acoustically directly coupled with the interior side of the helmet impact liner; and a space formed between at least a part of an interior sidewall of the helmet shell and the exterior side of the helmet impact liner, wherein the space is acoustically directly coupled with the rear portion of the speaker.
  2. 2. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the speaker is sealed to the hole in an airtight manner.
  3. 3. The helmet of claim 1, wherein the speaker is mounted to the helmet impact liner by a speaker mount.
  4. 4. The helmet of claim 1, further comprising: a speaker grill disposed on the front portion of the speaker; a microphone mount disposed on the speaker grill adjacent to the speaker; and a microphone disposed in the microphone mount.
  5. 5. The helmet of claim 4, wherein the microphone mount is integrated into a rear face of the speaker grill such that the microphone mount is configured to hold the microphone so that the microphone faces towards the speaker.
  6. 6. The helmet of claim 4, further comprising an acoustically transparent fabric covering a front of the speaker grill.
  7. 7. The helmet of claim 4, wherein the microphone mount is positioned such that the microphone in the microphone mount is disposed within 10 millimeters of a center of an ear canal entrance of a user when the helmet is worn by the user.
  8. 8. The helmet of claim 4, wherein the speaker grill comprises an opening centered around the microphone mount.
  9. 9. The helmet of claim 4, further comprising a single or multi-channel controller operatively connected to the speaker and the microphone, the controller configured to control the speaker to produce sound based on inputs from the microphone to actively cancel noise.
  10. 10. The helmet of claim 9, wherein producing sound based on the inputs from the microphone actively cancels noise without negatively affecting a useful signal.
  11. 11. The helmet of claim 4, wherein the speaker includes a membrane with a peak region and a valley region, further wherein the microphone mount is disposed adjacent to the valley region of the membrane.
  12. 12. The helmet of claim 4, further comprising acoustically transparent foam disposed on a front portion of the speaker grill; and wherein the acoustically transparent foam comprises an opening with a radius of at least 5 millimeters, the opening centered around the microphone.
  13. 13. The helmet of claim 1, further comprising a spacer disposed between the helmet impact liner and the helmet shell, the spacer configured to space the exterior side of the helmet impact liner from the interior sidewall of the helmet shell to at least partially form the space.
  14. 14. The helmet of claim 1, further comprising one or more notches formed in the helmet impact liner adjacent to the hole shaped to prevent the speaker from contacting the helmet impact liner.
  15. 15. A method of improving bass response of a speaker disposed in a helmet, the method comprising: forming a hole through a helmet impact liner; mounting the speaker in the hole such that a rear portion of the speaker is acoustically directly linked with an exterior side of the helmet impact liner; forming a space between at least part of the exterior side of the helmet impact liner and an interior side of a helmet shell when mounting the helmet impact liner to the interior side of a helmet shell; directly acoustically coupling the space and a rear portion of the speaker mounted in the hole; and configuring the speaker to produce sound, wherein sound emitted from the rear portion of the speaker passed through the hole into the space.
  16. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: mounting a speaker grill on a front portion of the speaker, wherein the speaker grill includes a microphone mount; and mounting a microphone in the microphone mount.
  17. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the microphone mount is disposed on the rear face of the speaker grill such that the microphone mount is configured to hold the microphone so that the microphone faces towards the speaker.
  18. 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising placing a spacer between the helmet impact liner and the interior side of the helmet shell to form the space.
  19. 19. The method of claim 15, wherein mounting the speaker further comprises airtight sealing the speaker to the helmet impact liner such that a front portion of the speaker is not directly acoustically connected to the rear portion of the speaker through the hole.
  20. 20. The method of claim 16 further comprising: providing a single or multi-channel controller operatively connected to the speaker, the controller configured to control the speaker to produce sound based on inputs from the microphone to actively cancel noise.

Description

SPEAKER SYSTEM FOR A HELMET [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/523,538, filed June 27, 2023, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND [0002] This disclosure relates to the field of speaker systems integrated into helmets. Specifically, this disclosure is related to improving sound quality of speaker systems that are integrated into the interior of a helmet. [0003] Helmets are widely used safety devices intended to protect the head of a user from an impact. They are used in a various activities, including motorsports, bicycling, snow sports, construction activities, and industrial use. Helmets typically have a hard outer shell and some form of liner or padding in the interior side wall of the helmet that improves comfort and fit for the user, as well as improving helmet impact absorption. Many helmets are designed to enclose the ears of the user inside the helmet. In these types of helmets, and in other helmets used in high-noise environments, a speaker system can be placed inside the helmet to create sounds for the user. The speaker system is typically placed in a recess formed in the liner sized to accept the speaker. This recess is a closed space without any openings or holes in the liner. These speakers can be used to play music, for wireless communication, and to implement active noise canceling to protect the user’s hearing. [0004] However, the available space to place the speaker in a helmet is limited, and thus the speakers are generally limited to a relatively small size. Further, helmets are mostly mobile devices, which means any electronics devices integrated into the helmet, such as the speaker, must be battery powered. This limits the overall power available to the speaker. Finally, the mounting of the speaker in a closed recess conforming to the shape of the speaker restricts the ability for the speaker to emit sound properly. This issue is exacerbated by a noise cancellation issue that generally occurs when speakers are not mounted to a closed speaker box (as is the case with atypical helmet speaker). The rear of a speaker emits the same sound as the front of as speaker, but 180 degrees out of phase. When the speaker is simply placed in a recess, the out of phase sounds emitted by each side of the speaker at least partially cancel out, reducing sound emitted. This is usually addressed by reducing the sound emitted by the rear portion by the use of sound deadening elements like foams, but this solution is undesirable because it only partially addresses the problem and adds weight and complexity. [0005] These factors generally mean that speakers in helmets do not have adequate sound quality. This is especially the case with low frequency or bass response of the speaker system. Bass response is generally linked to speaker size, where larger speakers result in improved bass response. The small size and limited power of helmet speakers reduces bass response. Thus, there is a need to improve the bass response of helmet speakers without affecting helmet size or power requirements. [0006] A solution to this issue is to use ear cups or cushions placed inside the helmet that form a sealed chamber around the ear, much like over-ear headphones. These systems do have improved bass response, but they have several disadvantages. First, they rely on a good seal between the ear cup and the user’s head, which can be difficult to achieve in real-word conditions due to variables in helmet fit and use. Second, the cushions must be in direct, sealing contact with the user’s head, which combined with the sealed ear cup chamber, can cause heat to build up and decrease user comfort. Finally, the ear cup can provide excess passive sound reduction, which is regulated in some jurisdictions. Thus, there remains the need for an improved helmet speaker system that does not rely on an ear cushion. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] In a first embodiment, a helmet includes a helmet shell, and a helmet impact liner inside the helmet shell, the helmet impact liner having an interior side configured to face the interior of the helmet and an exterior side configured to face the exterior of the helmet. A hole is formed in the helmet impact liner connecting the interior side and the exterior side. A speaker is disposed in the hole, with a rear portion of the speaker acoustically directly linked through a cavity in the hole with the exterior side of the helmet impact liner, and a front portion of the speaker in acoustically directly linked with the interior side of the helmet impact liner. A space is formed between at least a part of an interior side wall of the helmet shell and the exterior side of the helmet impact liner, with the space being acoustically directly linked with the speaker. [0008] In a second embodiment, a method of improving bass response of a speaker disposed in a helmet includes forming a hole through a helmet impact liner and