Acoustic assembly for an electronic device

• US 10,536,761 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2018
• Issued: 01/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mittleman, Adam, Howarth, Richard P., Seguin, Chad
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Minh Loan
• Application Number:
  US15/993,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20180279028A1
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/18 Telephone sets specially adapted for use in ships, mines, or other places exposed to adverse environment H04M1/19 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/02 Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein H04R1/28 takes precedence ; attachments for microphones H04R1/08; mounting of transducers in earpieces H04R1/1075
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/023 Screens for loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/025 Arrangements for fixing loudspeaker transducers, e.g. in a box, furniture
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/026 Supports for loudspeaker casings
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/04 Structural association of microphone with electric circuitry therefor in deaf-aid sets H04R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/086 Protective screens, e.g. all weather or wind screens
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/28 Transducer mountings or enclosures modified by provision of mechanical or acoustic impedances, e.g. resonator, damping means combinations of transducers with horns, i.e. front-loaded horns H04R1/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2807 Enclosures comprising vibrating or resonating arrangements for the reduction of undesired resonances or vibrations H04R1/2869
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

A portable electronic device may have acoustic ports such as microphone and speaker ports. Acoustic devices such as microphones and speakers may be associated with the acoustic ports. An acoustic port may have an opening between an interior and exterior of the portable electronic device. The opening may be covered by a metal mesh. An acoustic fabric may be interposed between the metal mesh and the opening. The opening may be formed from a hole in a glass member having outer and inner chamfers. A microphone boot may be provided that forms front and rear radial seals with a housing of the device and a microphone unit respectively. The microphone boot may also form multiple face seals with the microphone unit. A speaker for the speaker port may be enclosed in a sealed speaker enclosure. The speaker enclosure may have a pressure-equalizing vent slit covered with an acoustic mesh.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a device housing comprising integrally formed sidewalls that cooperatively form a front opening;

a display assembly comprising a cover glass disposed within and filling the front opening, the cover glass defining a speaker opening; and

a speaker coupled to an interior facing surface of the cover glass adjacent to the speaker opening.

2. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more layers of mesh extending across the speaker opening defined by the cover glass.

3. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more layers of mesh are positioned between the speaker and the speaker opening.

4. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 2, wherein the one or more layers of mesh comprise polyester.

5. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein a portion of the interior facing surface of the cover glass is coated with a layer of black ink.

6. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a ring shaped adhesive film that defines a portion of an acoustic pathway extending between the speaker and the speaker opening.

7. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the speaker opening has a substantially larger width than height.

8. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 1, wherein the display assembly further comprises a display unit and a touch sensor disposed between the cover glass and the display unit.

9. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 8, wherein the speaker is adhesively coupled to the interior surface of the cover glass.

10. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a device housing defining a front opening;

an optically transparent cover disposed within the front opening and defining an opening forming a speaker port;

a display unit coupled to an interior facing surface of the optically transparent cover; and

a speaker coupled to the interior facing surface of the optically transparent cover.

11. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the speaker is adjacent to the display unit.

12. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, further comprising a ring-shaped layer arranged around a periphery of the opening forming the speaker port and disposed between the optically transparent cover and the speaker.

13. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the optically transparent cover is a cover glass with optically opaque ink covering a portion of the interior facing surface of the cover glass that surrounds the opening forming the speaker port.

14. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 10, wherein the device housing comprises a plurality of side walls that cooperatively define the front opening.

15. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 14, wherein the device housing further comprises a bottom wall integrally formed with the plurality of side walls.

16. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a device housing; and

a display assembly arranged along an exterior surface of the device housing, the display assembly comprising;

a cover glass defining an opening forming a speaker port;

a speaker coupled to an interior facing surface of the cover glass; and

a display unit coupled to the interior facing surface of the cover glass.

17. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the display unit is a liquid crystal display.

18. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the display assembly further comprises a frame coupled to the interior facing surface of the cover glass and extending along a periphery of the cover glass.

19. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, further comprising a printed circuit board disposed within the device housing.

20. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 16, wherein the speaker is a first speaker and the portable electronic device further comprises a second speaker coupled to a sidewall of the device housing.