LOUDSPEAKER MEMBRANE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME VIA SPRAY COATING PROCESS

• US 20170129143A1
• Filed: 09/30/2016
• Published: 05/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SSI New Material (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Sound Solutions International Company, Ltd. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lembacher, Christian, Otto, Gustav, Thurner, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 10,710,282 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/003 characterised by the choice of material
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/02 for making articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 41/365 Construction of spray-up equipment, e.g. spray-up guns spraying apparatus in general B05B
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/56 using mechanical means or mechanical connections, e.g. form-fits
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2021/003 Thermoplastic elastomers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2083/00 Use of polymers having silicon, with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon only, in the main chain, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0001 having particular acoustical properties
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3418 Loud speakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 7/04 Plane diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 9/06 Loudspeakers

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a membrane for an electro-acoustic transducer through spray coating of a liquid elastomer solution is provided. The method includes spraying the liquid elastomer solution, which may comprise a silicone, onto a mold having the desired membrane geometry, allowing the solution to cure and remove the membrane from the mold. The mold can be configured to hold other components of an electro-acoustic transducer that will be attached to the membrane after the curing step. Also provided is a membrane for an electro-acoustic transducer comprised of an elastomer and made using spray coating of a liquid elastomer solution.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a membrane for an electro-acoustic transducer, the method comprising the steps of:

spray coating one or more layers of a liquid elastomer solution on a mold having a desired membrane geometry;

allowing the liquid elastomer to cure; and

removing the cured elastomer in the shape of the membrane off the mold.

2. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the liquid elastomer is a silicone.

3. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the liquid elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer.

4. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the spray-coating is achieved using an ultrasonic spray nozzle.

5. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the liquid elastomer solution includes a liquid elastomer and a solvent.

6. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the spray-coating steps only includes one thin layer of the liquid elastomer being spray-coated on the mold before the liquid elastomer is allowed to cure, and the spray-coating step and the curing step are repeated until the thickness of the membrane is a desired thickness.

7. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the mold is heated to a pre-determined temperature prior to the spray-coating step.

8. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein the mold comprises one or more recesses configured to accept a component of an electro-acoustic transducer.

9. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 8, further including the step of placing a component of an electro-acoustic transducer into the one or more recesses in the mold before the spray-coating step, and wherein the component of an electro-acoustic transducer is adhered to the cured elastomer after the removal step without the use of an adhesive.

10. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 9, wherein the component of an electro-acoustic transducer is one of a frame, a voice coil, a stiffening plate and a wire loop.

11. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, further including, after at least one layer of a liquid elastomer solution is spray coated on the mold and allowed to cure, the steps of placing a stiffing plate on the mold and spray coating one or more layers of the liquid elastomer solution on the mold and the stiffening plate, and allowing the liquid elastomer to cure.

12. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, wherein more than one layer of a liquid elastomer solution is spray coated on the mold, wherein one or more of the layers are of different liquid elastomer solutions having different mechanical and/or electrical properties when cured.

13. The method of manufacturing a membrane according to claim 1, further comprising the step of spray coating one or more layers of a non-elastomer thermoplastic solution on the mold.

14. A membrane for an electroacoustic transducer, the membrane comprising one or more spray-coated layers of an elastomer.

15. The membrane according to claim 14, the membrane comprising more than one spray-coated layer of an elastomer, the layers being of different elastomer materials having different mechanical properties.

16. The membrane according to claim 14, further comprising one or more spray-coated layers of a non-elastomer thermoplastic.

17. The membrane according to claim 14, wherein the membrane is affixed to one or more components of an electroacoustic transducer through curing of the one or more spray coated layers of an elastomer.

18. The membrane according to claim 17, wherein the one or more components of an electroacoustic transducer is one of a voice coil, a frame, a stiffening plate and a wire loop.

19. The membrane according to claim 14, wherein the membrane has a thickness of less than 100 μ

m.