DESCRIPTION Field of the invention. The invention relates to in-ear headphones comprising ear plugs that accommodate loudspeakers and wires connected thereto, which wires are connected with one end to a connecting plug for the loudspeakers to be connected to an audio appliance, which in-ear headphones further include a zipper which comprises two elongated strips of fabric tape which are connected to each other by means of interlocking teeth with a slider, where each of the wires is connected to one of the strips of fabric tape of the zipper. By closing or opening the zipper, the length of the parts of the wires that are separated from each other can be reduced or increased.

In lieu of being connected to each other over the entire length by means of a zipper, the elongated strips of fabric tape may also be combined to each other over a first distance without a zipper and over a second distance by means of a zipper.

State of the art

In-ear headphones of this type are known from EP 1 489 820 A. In these known in-ear headphones a free part of the wires extends between each ear plug and the zipper. These free parts of the wires may undesirably catch on something during use or be mixed up with each other, the more so if the in-ear headphones are not worn but, for example, put away in a coat pocket. Summary of the invention

It is an object of the invention to provide in-ear headphones of the type defined in the opening paragraph where the wires cannot be mixed up with each other less easily and where during use there is a slimmer chance of the wires catching on something. For this purpose, the in-ear headphones according to the invention are characterised in that between each ear plug and the zipper an elongated sleeve is present which is affixed with one end to one of the strips of fabric tape of the zipper and through which one of the wires is passed. These sleeves are more rigid than the wires and can hence lead the wires in the right direction to the ear plugs during use. Furthermore, the chance of the wires being mixed up with each other if the in-ear headphones are not worn is reduced because a smaller length of the wires is free.

An embodiment of the in-car headphones according to the invention is characterised in that a free portion of each wire extends between the ear plug and the other ends of the sleeve. As a result, the ear plugs have sufficient freedom to be inserted into the ear without any hindrance and no parts of the sleeves come into contact with the ear in an annoying manner.

A further embodiment of the in-ear headphones according to the invention is characterised in that a suspension means is affixed to the slider of the zipper by which suspension means the zipper can be attached to a garment. By fixing the hook (to the rear? due to a patent) to the pull tab of the slider and hooking it onto a garment, the user can single- handedly reduce the distance over which the earplug wires are free from each other in a simple manner by pulling at the lower part of the zipper, so that the wires of the earplugs can be worn more tightly. In reverse, it is just as simple to pull at the upper part of the zipper (this is the non-closed part of the zipper) to increase single-handedly the distance over which the earplug wires are free from each other. As a result of the zipper mechanism the wires then continue to be in the desired position without the need for carrying out an additional operation, so that the in-ear headphones can be worn in a relaxed manner. This reduces the chance of the wires being mixed up with each other or undesirably catching on something because they hang free to a lesser extent. In addition, the zipper and part of the wires are suspended from a garment (or accessory) the user is wearing and not from the earplugs so that, in consequence, the ears of the user need to carry less weight and the wearing of the in- ear headphones is rendered more comfortable.

A still further embodiment of the in-ear headphones according to the invention is characterised in that to one side of the slider a pull tab is affixed and the suspension means is affixed to the other side of the slider than the side to which the pull tab is affixed. In this manner the zipper can continue to be used in customary fashion and the pull tab, after the zipper has been opened to a large or limited extent, need not be reversed first to be hooked on a garment.

Yet a further embodiment of the in-ear headphones according to the invention is characterised in that the suspension means is formed by a hook which is affixed with one end to the slider and with the other end is positioned before the interlocked part of the zipper, so that during use the garment is positioned between the interlocked part of the zipper and the hook. In consequence, the suspension means of the in-ear headphones is not visible during wearing and the slider can move less during wearing because it is clamped directly against the garment (or accessory).

Brief description of the drawings

The following description relating to the appended drawings, the whole given by way of non-limiting example of the in-ear headphones according to the invention, will provide better understanding of how the invention can be realized, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of an embodiment of the in-ear headphones according to the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a rear elevation of the in-ear headphones shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 shows the zipper with hook of the in-ear headphones shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Detailed description of the drawings Figs. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the in-ear headphones according to the invention in front elevation and rear elevation, respectively. The in-ear headphones 1 have two earplugs 3 accommodating loudspeakers. Wires 5 are connected to these loudspeakers. To the other ends of the wires is connected a connecting plug 7 by which the loudspeakers can be connected to an audio appliance.

The in-ear headphones 1 further include a zipper 9 comprising two elongated strips of fabric tape 11 which are connected to each other by means of a slider 15 and teeth. Each strip of fabric tape 11 is extended by a fabric sleeve 13 through which one of the wires 5 is passed. The wires are affixed to the strips of fabric tape 11 in one way or other. For example, the free longitudinal edges of the strips 11 are folded together and sewn to the rest of the strips while the wires are passed through these folded parts. Each strip of fabric tape comprises a strip of metalic or plastic plates with teeth on one side and recesses on the other. These plates can be meshed together or separated by pulling at a tab 1 positioned at the front of the slider 17. When pulling the zipper the teeth are hooked over the top of the opposing row of teeth. The recesses in the next plates keep the zipper closed. A suspension means is affixed to the back of the slider of the zipper by which suspension means the zipper can be attached to a garment (see Fig. 2). This suspension means is formed by a hook 21 which is affixed with one end to the slider and with the other end is present in front of the locked part 15 A of the zipper (see Fig. 3), so that during use the garment 23 is positioned between the locked part 15A of the zipper and the hook 21. For illustrative purposes Fig. 3 gives a detailed representation of the zipper 9 with hook 21 of the in-ear headphones.

Albeit in the foregoing disclosure the invention has been explained with reference to the drawing figures, it should be pointed out that the invention is by no means restricted to the embodiments shown in the drawing figures. The invention also pertains to all embodiments deviating from the embodiments shown in the drawing figures within the spirit and scope defined by the claims.