DESCRIPΠON WEARABLE AUDIO EQUIPMENT
The present invention relates to audio equipment. In particular, the invention relates to audio equipment which may be worn by the user.
Wearable audio equipment is known. For example, personal cassette recorders (or personal stereos) and radios are often provided with a clip to enable them to be attached to a belt worn by the user.
Radios incorporated into baseball caps are also known. These radios commonly have "in ear" speakers attached to radio circuitry fitted in one side of the cap. Volume and frequency controls are provided on the cap and the radio is powered by batteries fitted in a second side of the cap.
Items of known wearable equipment suffer from the disadvantages that they are cumbersome when attached to a belt and they require continued expenditure for the replacement of batteries. In addition, it can be difficult to obtain batteries in some parts of the world.
It is an aim of the present invention to alleviate some of the problems associated with known equipment.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided wearable audio equipment comprising audio circuitry, at least one speaker device, mounting means for mounting the equipment to the head of a user and a solar cell arrangement for powering the audio circuitry.
Such a device has the advantages that it is worn on the head and so does not inhibit movement of the body, and that it is not necessary to replace batteries. It is therefore more environmentally friendly and ongoing expense is reduced.
Preferably, the equipment comprises two speakers adapted to be placed one over
each ear of a user.
Advantageously, the equipment further comprises a rechargeable cell/ battery attached to the solar cell arrangement and the audio circuitry and adapted to power the circuitry when insufficient power is generated by the solar cell, and adapted to be recharged by the solar cell, and further comprising means for preventing the cell/battery from discharging into the solar cell.
Preferably, the mounting means comprises a band adapted to be fitted across the top of the head of the user.
The mounting means may be adapted to be moveable from the top of the head of the user to the front of the head of the user, for shading the user's eyes.
Preferably, the length of the mounting means is adjustable. This would enable the equipment to be adjusted to fit heads of different sizes.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the audio circuitry comprises radio circuitry. The audio circuitry may additionally or alternatively comprise other circuitry to enable the equipment to serve as a mini-disc player, an MP3 player, a telecommunications device or the like.
An aerial may advantageously be provided which may, for example, be adapted to be housed within the headband or to be placed around the neck of the user.
The solar cell arrangement preferably comprises one or more solar panels built into the headband for generating electrical current to power the audio circuitry.
In some embodiments, current generated by the solar panel or panels can also be used for powering electrical audio equipment carried elsewhere on the body of the user, such as around the wearer's waist.
The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a section on line III-III in Fig. 2; and
Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic section on live IV-IV of Fig 3.
Figure 1 shows a wearable radio having two speakers 4, 5 mounted in speaker housings 2, 3 attached to either end of a substantially 'U' - shaped band 6. Attached to the band 6 is a part 8 which in this embodiment, extends forwards and backwards from the band 6 and houses a solar cell array 10 which provides an electrical current to power radio circuitry (not shown) contained within speaker housings 2, 3. The radio circuitry can be of a conventional nature and is therefore not described in detail herein. A frequency control 12 is provided on one speaker housing 2 and an on-off switch 14 and a band selector 16 are provided on the other speaker housing 4. The frequency control 12 may be, for example, a slider, rotary knob or push-button scanner.
One or more rechargeable batteries (not shown), such as for example a nickel metal hydride type battery, are contained within one or both of the speaker housings 2, 3 and is/are electrically connected in a manner known per se to the solar cell array 10 and the radio circuitry such that when the radio is switched on, the solar cell array 10 powers the radio unless there is insufficient light, when the battery provides an alternative source of power, and when the radio is switched off, the solar cell 10 charges the battery. Even when the radio is switched on, part of the current provided by the solar cell may in some cases be used to charge the battery. The battery is prevented in a known manner from discharging into the solar cell 10.
An aerial 18 is attached to the speaker housings 2, 3 and in this case is formed in
a loop which may be worn around the neck of the user.
The part 8 housing the solar cell array 10 is made of an opaque plastics material. In some embodiments, however, a front section of the part 8 not containing any solar cells may be made of a tinted translucent plastics material, enabling the wearable radio to serve additionally as a sun visor or sunglasses.
In an alternative embodiment, the solar cell may be detachable from the part 8 and may be placed in direct sunlight while the user remains in shade.
In any of these embodiments, either or both speaker housings 2, 3 may be provided with a socket (not shown), e.g. a 3.5mm stereo jack socket, which may be used to enable the user to listen to external audio equipment, e.g. a personal stereo, a mini-disc player, tape player, a telecommunications device or the like.
Further embodiments may comprise simply a pair of speakers carried by a headband and a solar panel arrangement in or carried by the headband. In this case, the solar panel can be selectably connectible via a fly-lead to other electronic equipment carried elsewhere on the body eg. a waist-mounted radio or tape player, whereby the solar panel arrangement provides at least some of the electrical power required by that electronic equipment.
The shape of the part 8 housing the solar cell panel 10 need not be as shown in the drawing can be given any shape to comply with aesthetic tastes provided only that sufficient solar cells can be housed to provide the required operating current for the audio equipment.
In some embodiments, the user's body can itself be used to act as at least part of the aerial. Figure 2 shows such an embodiment. In this embodiment a , thin wire arrangement 20 can be incorporated into the speaker housings, which in this case comprise the resilient annular pad structures 22 used conventionally in some headphone earpieces
to at least partially surround or overlap the user's ear . The thin wire 20 is woven into the material of the resilient annular pads 22, or their covers, whereby the user's ears are contacted by the thin wires 20 to form a coupling between the aerial circuit of the equipment and the user's body. It has been found that this boosts the available signal sufficiently for the loop-type aerial sometimes to be redundant. Each thin wire 20 can be in a single loop or multiple loops around the ear-facing surface of the speaker housing.
In the Figure 2 embodiment, the part 8a housing the solar cells 10 has a narrower configuration compared to that of Figure 1. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the aerial 18a is contained in serpentine fashion within a duct 24 disposed in the headband part 8a below the solar cell array 10a. The duct 24 can also provide a housing for carrying speaker and, if necessary, power lines 26 between the two speaker housings 2a, 3a. The wires 18a, 26 can be moulded into the duct, can be loose in the duct or simply adhered to the surface of the duct to hold them in place.
The use of a flexible duct 24 can assist in making the headset adjustable to suit different head sizes.