Dyson Files Patent for Headphones with Built-in Air Purifier

(From: Dyson)
(From: Dyson)

It would provide clear sound and clearer air at the same time.

(From: Dyson)
(From: Dyson)

Dyson isn’t a name you’d normally hear mentioned in the same breath as audio products, but if a filed patent is anything to believe, we may be seeing the company combine one of its special pieces of tech with its own headphones soon.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg, which also shared the early designs you see here. Dyson, known for home gadgets with high-tech designs, plans to integrate its popular air purifier technology with headphones. It’s destined to become a “wearable air purifier.”

Planned in the Past but Only Coming to Light Now

The handy gadget would include an air filter and nozzle on top of the usual headphone drivers and earcups. This would be a great complement to face masks; while your mouth and nose are covered, the headphones would purify the air around your head.

Plans for such a product were already made known by Dyson in 2018:

“We’re constantly creating disruptive solutions to problems, which means we file a lot of patents,” a Dyson spokesman told Bloomberg two years ago. “If and when a product is ready we’ll happily go through it but until then we don’t comment on our patents.”
(From: Dyson)
(From: Dyson)

Dyson does seem to care about taking air purification wherever you go, and headphones would let you do that in style. “Air pollution is an increasing problem and a variety of air pollutants have known or suspected harmful effects on human health,” the patent explains.

A more detailed explanation extracted from the patent details how exactly the air purification would work and what it would take to make it happen:

”Both earcups contain a motor that’s connected to a fan-like propeller measuring 35-40mm. Each spin at about 12,000 rpm to draw about 1.4 liters of air per second into the headphones through a filter that particles cannot penetrate. The filtered air then journeys down each side of the mouthpiece, meeting in the middle, where a perforated air vent jets about 2.4 liters per second of clean oxygen toward the wearer’s mouth.”

Bloomberg notes that there’s no mention of how a battery would fit and turn this into wireless headphones. We should learn more as Dyson announces additional details in the coming months, hopefully.

Entering Uncharted Territory

Although the headphone market is already jam packed with competitive brands like Sennheiser and Sony, Dyson feels that there’s demand for such a dual-purpose device. Citizens in Asia, in particular, are becoming increasingly careful with the purity of air around them. Offering a stylish yet practical solution would kill two birds with one stone.

Offering a stylish yet practical solution would kill two birds with one stone.

As usual, patents like this should be taken with a grain of salt. Dyson is known for filing patents for products that never hit the consumer market. For reference, the company’s electric car never came to fruition after lots of planning and money put into it.

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