Analysis and Design of a Novel Concept Gasket to Improve the Reliability of the Balanced Armature Receiver Used in Earphones

Currently, balanced armature (BA) receivers are frequently used in earphones, owing to their small size and superior sound quality. However, the reliability of BA receiver earphones has become a considerable challenge, as they easily fail when subjected to external forces, especially during drop impacts. In addition, the original gasket cannot protect the BA receiver well. Therefore, this article focuses on improving the reliability of BA receiver earphones by designing a novel concept for the gasket. Based on a simplified model and analysis methods, the maximum von Mises stress on the armature with different drop directions and the maximum von Mises stress point must first be determined. The gasket was divided into two parts, one for linking and the other for shock absorption. This article focused on the design of the shock absorption structure. A novel concept gasket was proposed, and the analysis results showed that the gasket improved the shock absorption performance. For demonstrating the validity of the shock absorption performance of the novel concept gasket, three confirmatory experiments were performed: the drop impact test, X-ray photography, and sound performance, which included the sound pressure level and total harmonic distortion. The analysis results were experimentally verified.