RECEIVER ACOUSTIC SYSTEM

• US 20090247244A1
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Howarth, Richard P., Mittleman, Adam D., Jenks, Kenneth A., Seguin, Chad G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,130 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/575.100
• 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

Abstract

A mobile communications device has an outer housing with a front wall in which an acoustic opening is formed. A tub is disposed inside the housing, wherein an acoustic opening is formed in a bottom of the tub and is positioned to be aligned with the acoustic opening in the outer housing. A receiver is disposed within the tub so that a sound port hole of the receiver faces an inside face of the tub and is aligned with the acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub. A plate piece is disposed between an inside face of the housing and the face of the receiver in which the sound port hole is formed. An acoustic opening is formed in the plate piece and positioned to be aligned with the sound port hole of the receiver and the acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub. Other embodiments are also described.

Claims

1. A mobile communications device comprising:

an outer housing having a front wall in which an acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole, is formed;

a tub disposed inside the housing so that an outside face of the tub faces forward, wherein an acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole, is formed in a bottom of the tub and is positioned to be aligned with the acoustic opening in the outer housing;

a receiver disposed within the tub so that a sound port hole of the receiver faces an inside face of the tub and is aligned with the acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub; and

a plate piece disposed between an inside face of the housing and the face of the receiver in which the sound port hole is formed, wherein an acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole, is formed in the plate piece and positioned to be aligned with the sound port hole of the receiver and the acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub.

2. The mobile communications device of claim 1 wherein the plate piece is a metal piece and the tub is made of plastic.

3. The mobile communications device of claim 2 wherein the plate piece is insert molded in the bottom of the tub.

4. The mobile communications device of claim 1 wherein the plate piece is embedded in the bottom of the tub.

5. The mobile communications device of claim 1 wherein an outside face of the tub visually hides the receiver except for the sound port hole.

6. The mobile communications device of claim 1 further comprising a stack of components for packaging the receiver, wherein the stack includes a gasket, a mesh, and a grille disposed in the following sequence, beginning with the receiver and moving forward:

the receiver, the gasket, the bottom of the tub, the mesh, the grill, and the front wall of the outer housing.

7. A mobile communications device comprising:

an outer housing having a front wall in which a first acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole, is formed;

a tub disposed inside the outer housing so that an outside face of the tub faces forward, wherein a second acoustic opening and a separate, acoustic control leak opening, both being face-to-face holes, are formed in a bottom of the tub and positioned to be aligned with the acoustic opening in the outer housing; and

a receiver disposed within the tub so that a sound port hole of the receiver faces an inside face of the tub and is aligned with the first and second acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 7 further comprising an acoustic gasket sandwiched between the face of the receiver in which the sound port hole is formed and the inside face of the tub,

wherein the separate, acoustic control leak opening is located outside the perimeter of the acoustic gasket.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 7 further comprising a stack of components for packaging the receiver, wherein the stack includes a gasket, a mesh, and a grille disposed in the following sequence, beginning with the receiver and moving forward:

the receiver, the gasket, the bottom of the tub, the mesh, the grill, and the front wall of the outer housing.

10. A mobile communications device comprising:

an outer housing having a front wall in which a first acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole, is formed;

a tub disposed inside the outer housing so that an outside face of the tub faces forward, wherein a second acoustic opening being a face-to-face hole is formed in a bottom of the tub and positioned to be aligned with the first acoustic opening in the outer housing;

a receiver disposed within the tub so that a sound port hole of the receiver faces an inside face of the tub and is aligned with the first and second acoustic openings in the outer housing and in the tub; and

a retention clip having a horizontal middle section between first and second vertical curved sections, the horizontal middle section pushing against and thereby holding the receiver in a fixed position within the tub while the first and second vertical curved sections are hooked onto the tub.

11. The mobile communications device of claim 10 further comprising a printed flexible circuit, PFC, having a conductive pad that provides power to operate the receiver or delivers an input electrical audio signal to the receiver, wherein the pad is in electrical contact with a spring contact of the receiver that is exposed on a rear face of the receiver.

12. The mobile communications device of claim 11 wherein the spring contact of the receiver is compressed while making contact with the pad, by application of a mechanical force to the PFC applied by the retention clip.

13. A method for manufacturing a mobile communications device, comprising:

a) producing a design of a tub, the tub to be disposed inside a housing of a mobile communications device so that a first acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole that is formed in a bottom of the tub, is aligned with a second acoustic opening in the housing, wherein a receiver is to be disposed within the tub so that a sound port hole of the receiver is aligned with the first and second acoustic openings;

b) producing a design of a plate piece, the plate piece to be disposed between the housing and the receiver so that a third acoustic opening, being a face-to-face hole that is formed in the plate piece, is aligned with the sound port hole of the receiver and the first and second acoustic openings;

c) modifying the design of the plate piece to tune the experienced acoustic output from the receiver in the mobile device;

d) making a plate piece in accordance with the modified design;

e) making a tub in accordance with the tub design; and

f) combining the made plate piece and the made tub into the housing of the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein in e), the tub is molded, and in f), the made plate piece is insert molded with the tub.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

installing the receiver into the made tub, after the made plate piece has been inserted molded with the tub.