US-12621600-B2 - Speaker device with bistable active vent

US12621600B2US 12621600 B2US12621600 B2US 12621600B2US-12621600-B2

Abstract

A speaker device configured to be worn at least partially in a user's ear canal. The speaker device comprises a speaker and an active vent to reduce occlusion of the ear canal. The active vent comprises a passage adapted to provide fluid communication between the ear canal and the user's surroundings when the speaker device is positioned in the ear canal. The active vent comprises a blocking mechanism having a closed state in which the blocking mechanism at least partially blocks the passage, and an open state in which the blocking mechanism blocks the passage less than in the closed state. The active vent further comprises a bistable device adapted to hold the blocking mechanism in the open state and in the closed state. Where the bistable device is unstable when the blocking mechanism is between the open and the closed state. Where the bistable arrangement comprises a bulging element.

Inventors

René Christensen

Assignees

GN HEARING A/S

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231201
Priority Date: 20221216

Claims (20)

1 . A speaker device configured to be worn at least partially in an ear canal or a user, the speaker device comprising: a speaker; an active vent configured to reduce occlusion of the ear canal, where the active vent comprises: a passage that is configured to provide a fluid connection between the ear canal and a surrounding of the user when the speaker device is in the ear canal of the user, a blocking mechanism having a closed state in which the blocking mechanism blocks the passage at least partially, and an open state in which the blocking mechanism does not block the passage or blocks the passage less compared to an amount of passage blocking in the closed state, and a bistable device configured to keep the blocking mechanism in the open state or the closed state; wherein the bistable device comprises a buckling element, wherein the buckling element is configured to transition between a first state in which the buckling element bends towards a first direction, and a second state in which the buckling element bends towards a second direction opposite from the first direction.
2 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the blocking mechanism is unstable when the blocking mechanism is between the open and the closed state.
3 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the blocking mechanism has a center position, wherein the bistable device is configured to drive the blocking mechanism toward the open state when the blocking mechanism is between the open state and the center position, and wherein the bistable device is configured to drive the blocking mechanism toward the closed state when the blocking mechanism is between the center position and the closed state.
4 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the bistable device comprises a first biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the open state.
5 . The speaker device according to claim 4 , wherein the bistable device comprises a second biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the closed state.
6 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the bistable device comprises a biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the closed state.
7 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the active vent comprises an electronic actuator.
8 . The speaker device according to claim 7 , where the electronic actuator comprises a magnetically susceptible material and an electromagnet, and wherein the electronic actuator is configured to drive the blocking mechanism towards the open state or towards the closed state upon activation.
9 . The speaker device according to claim 1 , wherein the blocking mechanism is linearly movable between the open state and the closed state.
10 . An active vent configured to reduce occlusion of an ear canal of a user, the active vent comprising: a passage that is configured to provide a fluid connection between the ear canal and a surrounding of the user when the speaker device is in the ear canal of the user; a blocking mechanism having a closed state in which the blocking mechanism blocks the passage at least partially, and an open state in which the blocking mechanism does not block the passage or blocks the passage less compared to an amount of passage blocking in the closed state; and a bistable device configured to keep the blocking mechanism in the open state or the closed state; wherein the bistable device comprises a buckling element, wherein the buckling element is configured to transition between a first state in which the buckling element bends towards a first direction, and a second state in which the buckling element bends towards a second direction opposite from the first direction.
11 . The active vent according to claim 10 , wherein the blocking mechanism is unstable when the blocking mechanism is between the open and the closed state.
12 . The active vent according to claim 10 , wherein the blocking mechanism has a center position, wherein the bistable device is configured to drive the blocking mechanism toward the open state when the blocking mechanism is between the open state and the center position, and wherein the bistable device is configured to drive the blocking mechanism toward the closed state when the blocking mechanism is between the center position and the closed state.
13 . The active vent according to claim 10 , wherein the bistable device comprises a first biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the open state.
14 . The active vent according to claim 13 , wherein the bistable device comprises a second biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the closed state.
15 . The active vent according to claim 10 , wherein the bistable device comprises a biasing element that drives the blocking mechanism towards the closed state.
16 . The active vent according to claim 10 , further comprising an electronic actuator.
17 . The active vent according to claim 16 , where the electronic actuator comprises a magnetically susceptible material and an electromagnet, and wherein the electronic actuator is configured to drive the blocking mechanism towards the open state or towards the closed state upon activation.
18 . The active vent according to claim 10 , wherein the blocking mechanism is linearly movable between the open state and the closed state.
19 . A device comprising the active vent of claim 10 .
20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the device is a hearing device having a speaker.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Danish Patent Application No. PA 2022 70625 filed on Dec. 16, 2022. The entire disclosure of the above application is expressly incorporated by reference herein. FIELD This disclosure relates to a speaker device with a bistable active vent for reduction of the occlusion effect. BACKGROUND Users of hearing devices, such as earbuds or hearing aids, often experience occlusion, when the ear canal is blocked by the device. This is caused by a build-up of sound pressure in the ear canal. Sounds at low frequencies, such as the user's own voice or chewing sounds, are particularly pronounced, which can be highly annoying for the user. To reduce the occlusion effect, the hearing device can be provided with a vent which provides fluid connection between the ear canal and the outside of the ear canal. This allows the sound pressure in the ear canal to me reduced and the occlusion effect lessened. This however is not always an advantage, since the user in some cases benefits from a high sound pressure, for example if the user wants a more powerful bass when listening to music, or if a hearing aid user needs extra amplification of sound. To achieve the advantages of having a vent and a closed ear canal, the hearing device can be provided with an active vent, which can be opened when a reduction of the occlusion effect is desired and closed when a greater sound pressure is desired. An active vent comprises a blocking device configured for selectively blocking the vent, thereby preventing fluid connection through the vent, or opening the vent to reduce the occlusion effect. A problem in existing active vents is that the blocking device is not actively held in place in the intended position, i.e. open or closed, but is instead passively fixated by friction forces after being driven to the desired position. A reason for this is that the energy consumption is increased by actively fixating the blocking device, and it is almost always desired to keep energy consumption low, particularly for hearing aids, which are designed to be as small as possible and have as long operational time on a battery charge as possible. In current active vents where the blocking device is passively fixated, the user risks that the blocking device changes position if the hearing device is subjected to external forces, such as dropping the hearing device. Additionally, the friction is reduced over time, which further increases the risk of the blocking device changing its intended position. It is an object to provide an active vent where these problems are reduced. SUMMARY In a first aspect, this is achieved by a speaker device adapted to be worn at least partially in a user's ear canal, where the speaker device comprises a speaker and an active vent to reduce occlusion of the ear canal, where the vent comprises a passage that is adapted to providing fluid connection between the ear canal and the user's surroundings when the speaker device is placed in the ear canal, and a blocking mechanism having a closed state in which the blocking mechanism at least partially blocks the passage, and an open state in which the blocking mechanism blocks the passage less than in the closed state, where the active vent further comprises a bistable device adapted to hold the blocking mechanism in the open state and in the closed state, where the bistable device is unstable when the blocking mechanism is between the open and the closed state. In this context, unstable must be understood as meaning that the blocking mechanism in positions between the open and closed state will be driven towards one of the two states by a passive force, e.g. of a permanent magnet, a spring or material stresses, meaning that the blocking mechanism will be in a potential energy well in the open and the closed state and will have to cross an energy barrier to change state. As will be seen from subsequent embodiments, such a potential energy configuration can be provided in different ways. An advantage of one or more of the embodiments described herein is that the bistable device will be stable when the blocking mechanism is in the open or closed state and will have to cross an energy barrier to move between the two, preventing sudden, unwanted switching between states or the blocking mechanism drifting between the open and the closed state. The user will thus achieve greater operational reliability. The vent according to some embodiments described herein will be able to find use in devices that during use block the user's ear canal, so that occlusion can occur. Such devices can be hearing devices designed to create sound in the user's ear canal, e.g. earphones and hearing aids, but it can also be passive devices such as earplugs and hearing protectors. The speaker device can be a headphone configured for placement in a user's ear canal and at the opening of the ear canal. The hearing device can be a hearing aid