Stereo speaker system

• US 4,075,438 A
• Filed: 12/02/1976
• Issued: 02/21/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gary Kappel
• Original Assignee: Gary Kappel
• Inventors: Kappel, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Cooper, William C.
• Application Number:
  US05/746,842
• Time in Patent Office: 446 Days
• Field of Search: 179/146 H
• US Class Current: 381/301
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/023 in a chair, pillow

Abstract

A stereo speaker system with two spaced-apart speaker housings is adapted for mounting on the backrest of a chair by attachment thereto with a universal, adjustable mounting bracket. Each speaker housing is adjustably supported on opposite sides of the space occupied by a person'"'"'s head while sitting in the chair by a support arm adjustably connected to the speaker housing on one end and adjustably connected to the mounting bracket on the opposite end. The mounting bracket has downwardly extending members for gripping the front and rear surfaces of the chair backrest, the space between the front gripping members and the rear gripping members being adustable for removable mounting on the chair and for mounting on a variety of chairs with varying sizes of backrests.

Claims

1. A portable speaker apparatus adapted for attachment to a chair having a backrest portion thereon, comprising:

a speaker housing having a speaker mounted therein;

a mounting bracket including front and rear gripping means having a space therebetween for receiving the backrest portion for removably attaching said mounting bracket to the backrest of the chair, said mounting bracket also including adjustment means for adjusting the space between said front and rear gripping means according to the thickness of the backrest portion of the particular chair on which the speaker apparatus is being attached; and

a support arm connected on one end to said speaker housing and connected on its opposite end to said mounting bracket, said support arm being operative to support said speaker housing in a position forward from the backrest of the chair near the space occupied by a person'"'"'s head when he is sitting in the chair.

2. The speaker apparatus of claim 1, wherein said mounting bracket includes a front portion with a horizontal segment and front gripping means extending downwardly from its forward edge, and a rear portion with a horizontal segment and front gripping means extending downwardly from its rear edge, the horizontal segment of said front portion laying in overlapping relation on said horizontal segment of said rear portion and being adjustably fastened together by said adjustment means.

3. The speaker apparatus of claim 2, wherein said adjustment means includes said horizontal segment of said rear portion with a slotted hole therein, said horizontal segment of said front portion with a hole therein in alignment with said slotted hole through both of said holes to tighten said front portion onto said rear portion to inhibit sliding movement of said front portion in relation to said rear portion.

4. The speaker apparatus of claim 3, wherein the slotted hole in said rear portion includes a narrow upper portion to accommodate the shank of said bolt and a wide lower section to accommodate the head of said bolt, said wide lower portion being recessed deep enough in the lower surface of said rear portion to receive substantially the entire bolt head such that it does not protrude from the lower surface of said rear portion thereby precluding damage to the fabric on the back of the chair, and a nut threadedly received on the shank of the bolt for tightening onto the upper surface of said front portion.

5. The speaker apparatus of claim 2, wherein said adjustment means includes said horizontal segment of said front portion with a hole therein, said horizontal portion of said rear portion with a plurality of internally threaded holes therein in spaced-apart relation to each other, each of said holes in said rear portion being selectively alignable with said hole in said front portion, and a set screw inserted through said hole in said front portion and threadedly received into one of said holes in said rear portion, whereby tightening the head of the set screw onto the upper surface of said front portion precludes said front portion from slidable moving in relation to said rear portion.

6. The speaker apparatus of claim 2, including an elongated rib on the lower surface of said front portion and a corresponding elongated groove in the upper surface of said rear portion, said rib and groove being aligned to coact with each other to maintain front and rear portions in proper alignment and orientation to the back of the chair.

7. The speaker apparatus of claim 2, including first adjustable attachment means for connecting one end of said support arm to said speaker housing and second adjustable attachment means for connecting the opposite end of said support arm to said front portion of said bracket.

8. The speaker apparatus of claim 7, wherein said first adjustable attachment means includes a cylindrical sleeve in said speaker housing with an axial bore extending inwardly from one end for receiving said one end of said support arm, said speaker housing sleeve having an internally threaded radial hole in its lateral side, and a set screw for screwing into said hole and into frictional engaging contact with said support arm to firmly hold said speaker housing in a desired position in relation to said support arm, and said second adjustable attachment means includes a cylindrical sleeve in said front portion of said bracket with an axial bore extending through said sleeve for receiving said opposite end of said support arm, said bracket sleeve having an internally threaded radial hole in the lateral side of said bracket sleeve, and a set screw for screwing into said hole and into frictional engaging contact with said support arm, whereby said support arm can be set and retained in desired positions in relation to said bracket.

9. The speaker apparatus of claim 7, wherein said first adjustable attachment means includes a ball-shaped insert on one end of said support arm and a correspondingly shaped and sized socket in said speaker housing, whereby when said ball-shaped insert is positioned in said speaker socket, said speaker housing can be set in a desired position in relation to said support arm, and said second adjustable attachment means includes a ball-shaped insert on the opposite end of said support arm and a correspondingly shaped and sized socket in said bracket, whereby when said ball-shaped insert is positioned in said bracket socket, said support arm can be set in a desired position in relation to said bracket.

10. The speaker apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of said speaker and bracket sockets is spring-loaded to retain said ball-shaped inserts on said support arm in snug frictional engagement with the walls of said sockets.

11. The speaker apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of said speaker and bracket sockets has an internally threaded radial hole in its wall and a set screw for screwing into said hole and into frictional engaging contact with said ball-shaped insert in said socket for retaining said support arm in desired position in relation to said speaker housing and said bracket.

12. The speaker apparatus of claim 2, wherein said front gripping means includes two rigid spaced-apart members with enough distance therebetween so as to not interfere with a person'"'"'s head when the person is sitting in the chair, and said rear gripping means includes a wide plate member.

13. A stereo speaker system, comprising:

two speaker housings with a speaker in each housing, and adjustable support means attached to each of said housings for supporting said speaker housings in spaced-apart relation on a chair, said support means including clamping means with downwardly extending front gripping members and a downwardly extending rear gripping member for tightly engaging the backrest portion of a chair therebetween, said clamping means being adjustable to vary the space between said front and rear gripping members, whereby said support means can be conventiently mounted on and removed from chairs with different sized and shaped backrests.

14. The stereo speaker system of claim 13, wherein said support means includes two adjustable arms, each of said arms being connected to opposite of said speaker housings, respectively, to support said speaker housings in a range of desired positions in the vicinity of a person'"'"'s head while he is occupying the chair.

15. The stereo speaker system of claim 14, wherein said support means includes a sleeve with a bore extending therethrough with an opening at both ends, each of said speaker housings includes a sleeve with an opening on one end, and each of said arms is attached to opposite of said speaker housings by insertion of one end of said arm into said sleeve in said speaker housing, and each of said arms is attached to said support means by insertion of the opposite end of said arm into said sleeve in said support means.

16. The stereo speaker system of claim 14, wherein each of said speaker housings includes a ball-shaped socket, said support means includes two ball-shaped sockets, each of said arms includes an enlarged ball-shaped insert on each end, and each of said arms is adjustably connected at one end to one of said speaker housings by one of said inserts being positioned in said socket in said housing and is adjustably connected at the opposite end to said support means by the other of said inserts being positioned in said socket in said support means.