It is well known to provide headsets for audio communication, the headsets typically having one or two earphones and a microphone, such as a microphone mounted on a boom or a mouthpiece. For headsets having two earphones, the earphones are typically connected via headbands, neckbands or other suitable means. To provide audio from one earphone housing to the other, an electrical connection connects the two earphones. The headsets may furthermore be wired or wireless, where the wireless headsets include a wireless communication hub, whereas the wired headsets connect signals from the headset to a telephone system and vice verse by wire. Typically, the wired connection is provided via a joint.
In order to protect the wires passing through the joint from damage due to twisting, arising from rotation to the joints, typically these joints are fixed joint, i.e. non-rotatable joints, making it cumbersome for a user to adjust the headset to a most favourable position, for example when switching from one ear to another. Furthermore, when putting the headset down and picking it up numerous times a day, the wires may get tangled. Alternatively, the joints may include a mechanical stop to restrict rotation. Such a mechanical stop then acts to limit the travel of the joint to less than a full revolution or to less than 360 degrees. However, failure of the mechanical stop is a common cause for malfunction of the headsets as such stops may simply break off. Furthermore, a joint having a mechanical stop makes it more cumbersome for a headset user to adjust the headset.
It is known in the art to provide a rotatable microphone boom, such as to allow a user to e.g. switch from one ear to another and move the microphone boom to the desired position. Such headsets may have a microphone boom with a mechanical stop to restrict the movement of the microphone boom, however also microphone booms without a mechanical stop, such as disclosed in EP 2 178 275, where the microphone boom is fully rotatable are known in the art.
However, using a rotatable microphone boom is not always advantageously. Typically, the boom is delicate and the rotatable connection can be complex, thereby adding to the costs of the products. Thus, for cost sensitive consumer headsets other ways of optimizing the ergonomics and user friendliness of the headsets must be found. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a headset overcoming one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds