Loudspeaker system

• US 4,524,846 A
• Filed: 03/02/1983
• Issued: 06/25/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ronney J. Whitby
• Original Assignee: Ronney J. Whitby
• Inventors: Whitby, Ronney J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hix, L. T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Brian W.
• Application Number:
  US06/471,495
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 181/144, 181/145, 181/152, 181/159, 181/146, 181/182, 181/183, 181/187, 181/192, 181/160, 181/194, 181/DIG. 1, 181/156
• US Class Current: 181/152
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2865 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/30 Combinations of transducers with horns, e.g. with mechanical matching means , i.e. front-loaded hornshorns in general G10K; transducer enclosures or mountings using a back-loaded horn H04R1/2861; application of horns as guiding means to obtain a predetermined directivity characteristic H04R1/345

Abstract

A loudspeaker system has an elliptical stepped mid-range horn above and coplanar with a flared mid-bass horn having disposed therein a pair of tweeters on sidewalls thereof and a woofer in a backwall thereof. The back of the woofer communicates with a folded low frequency bass horn such that low frequency response is loaded from the rear of the diaphram for the woofer driver, thereby eliminating the necessity for further amplification and drivers to obtain fidelity in low frequency response. The low frequency bass section defines a convoluted path for the sound which comes from the interior structure of a folded horn thus creating an acoustical boost for low frequency sound.

Claims

1. A loudspeaker system comprising, in combination:

a mid-range acoustic transformer including a flared, stepped elliptical horn with a mid-range driver therein;

a woofer having a diaphragm;

a mid-bass acoustic horn mounted below said mid-range acoustic transformer, said mid-range bass acoustic horn having said woofer with said diaphragm disposed on a rear wall thereof to provide said diaphragm with a positive operational impedance encountered by front loading, said mid-bass acoustic horn having at least two opposing curved walls;

a low-bass acoustic horn positioned directly beneath said mid-bass acoustic horn and having a folded horn interior section which communicates with rear of said woofer to provide said diaphragm with a negative operational impedance encountered by rear loading, a balance being provided between said positive and negative operational impedances, a lower frequency response being provided to said low-bass acoustic horn by said diaphragm of said woofer; and

a pair of tweeters disposed on said opposing curved walls of said mid-bass acoustic horn, which curved walls disperse high frequency waves from said tweeters.

2. The loudspeaker system according to claim 1, wherein said mid-range acoustic transformer comprises an elliptical stepped horn having a plurality of elliptical steps, each of said steps being substantially at 90°

angles with respect to each successive step so that a series of horn mouths are formed, each successive said mouth being greater in area and responding to and radiating successively greater pass band frequency wave lengths, whereby sound dispersion is greatly increased and an acoustic choke is formed to impede reentry of wave lengths which might be diffracted back into said elliptical horn.

3. The loudspeaker system according to claim 2, wherein said mid-range transformer and said elliptical steps associated therewith form said gradually increasing mouths, said mouths being horizontally oriented and following an exponentially increasing horizontal flare and a vertical flare, all of said steps being at a 90°

angle from the axis of a center line of the horns.

4. The loudspeaker system according to claim 1, wherein said mid-range transformer including said stepped horn is mounted directly above said mid-bass acoustic horn and is aimed in the same direction.

5. The loudspeaker system according to claim 4, wherein said mid-bass acoustic horn has an open front of substantially larger area than said rear wall which has an opening therein adapted to receive said woofer and further having top and bottom walls connecting said rear wall two said open front, said top and bottom walls following a flare curve forwardly, and wherein said at least two opposing curved walls are sidewalls connecting said front opening to said rear wall, said sidewalls following an exponential flare curve forwardly.

6. The loudspeaker system according to claim 5, wherein said mid-bass acoustic horn has in center of rear portions of each of said sidewalls a portal adapted to receive one of said tweeters, each of said tweeters being positioned in respective said portals and being aimed substantially forwardly and inwardly, said tweeters and said woofer being in arcuate relationship equidistant from a center point within said mid-bass acoustic horn thereby establishing a linear time alignment of different frequencies of sound coming from said tweeters and said woofer.

7. The loudspeaker system according to claim 6, wherein said woofer and said opening in said rear wall of said mid-bass acoustic horn are dimentioned to provide the balanced positive and negative operational impedences encountered by said diaphram of said woofer.

8. The loudspeaker system according to claim 7, wherein said sidewalls and said top and bottom walls within said mid-bass acoustic horn and walls of said bass acoustic horn have substantially smooth interior surfaces.

9. A loudspeaker system in which a bass transformer approximates a folded low-bass horn, the system comprising, in combination:

a woofer having a diaphragm;

a mid-bass transformer including a mid bass horn having an open front and providing said diaphragm with a positive operational impedance encountered by front loading;

an upper section of said folded low-bass horn communicating with rear of said woofer and providing said diaphragm with a negative operational impedence encountered by rear loading, a balance being provided between said positive and negative impedences, a lower frequency response being provided to said low-bass horn by said diaphragm of said woofer, said upper section having first and second acoustical portions through which low frequency sound waves generated by rear of said diaphragm in said woofer travel a convoluted path through said portions and are enhanced, said first acoustic portion being defined by baffle means depending from a wall of said upper section and defining dead air space between the rear of said woofer and said baffle means, whereby low frequency sound waves from said woofer excite the dead air space and are repercussed and boosted by said first acoustical portion and directed into said second acoustical portion; and

a lower section of said folded low-bass horn joined to and communicating with said upper section and gradually expanding downwardly and forwardly therefrom, terminating in an acoustic mouth situated directly beneath and coplanar with said open front in said mid-bass acoustic horn.

10. The loudspeaker system according to claim 9, wherein said baffle means comprises first baffle means depending from a top wall of said upper section and directed downwardly and slightly forwardly forming a tapered, necked down dead air space between the rear of said woofer and said first baffle means, whereby low frequency sound waves from said woofer excite the dead air space and are repercussed and boosted by said first acoustical portion and directed downwardly into said second acoustical portion.

11. The loudspeaker system according to claim 10, wherein said second acoustical portion is defined by a downwardly and rearwardly directed sidewall of said upper section and a second baffle means extending upperwardly and rearwardly from said sidewall of said upper section, whereby sound waves directed downwardly from said first acoustical portion are boosted and repercussed upwardly from said second acoustical portion thereafter reflecting off of a top wall of said upper section, being then directed downwardly into said lower section by a rear wall of said upper section and said second baffle means.

12. The loudspeaker system according to claim 11, wherein said lower section has smooth curved inner surfaces contiguous with inner surfaces of said upper section to direct sound waves toward said acoustic mouth of said lower section.

13. The loudspeaker system according to claim 12, wherein said first and said second baffle means are formed from panels of an acoustically absorbant material and completely transverse said upper section and filter out frequences above about 150 HZ.

14. The loudspeaker system according to claim 13, wherein said second baffle means has a thickened base portion with an upwardly and forwardly directed face to reflect sound waves upwardly from said second acoustic portion towards the rear surface of said first baffle means, said first baffle means having a thickened base portion forming a rearwardly and downwardly directed face to reflect sound waves downwardly towards said lower section.

15. The loudspeaker system according to claim 14, wherein said upper section has truncated upper corners forming downwardly directed inner faces to aid in transition of sound waves from said woofer to said acoustical mouth of said lower section.