Electric acoustic converter

• US 5,111,509 A
• Filed: 12/21/1988
• Issued: 05/05/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Shigeo, Takeuchi, Akihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Isen, Forester W.
• Application Number:
  US07/288,028
• Time in Patent Office: 1,231 Days
• Field of Search: 381/159, 381/153, 381/154, 381/156, 381/158, 381/161, 381/182, 381/87, 381/88, 381/89, 381/90, 381/188, 381/205, 181/160, 181/156
• US Class Current: 381/338
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/02 Mechanical acoustic impedances; Impedance matching, e.g. by horns; Acoustic resonators
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2849 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

In the construction of an electric acoustic converter such as a speaker for musical instruments, a tone generating unit arranged near one open end of a resonant tube is accompanied with a partition which has a central through hole and extends across the longitudinal hole of the resonant tube. For complicated modes of resonance and rich acoustic vibration, two or more resonant tubes of different types may be used in combination with one or more tone generating units. Presence of such a partition clearly defines the length of the resonant air columns to be produced in the resonant tube and such clear-cut resonant air columns bring about high resonance sharpness.

Claims

1. An electric acoustic convertor comprising,

a housing,

a plurality of tubes each defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end attached to said housing and a distal end,

a plurality of tone generating units each having a main sound wave emanating face arranged in said housing and a vibratory member for generating sound waves, and

a partition arranged in each of said resonant chambers between said plurality of tone generating units and said distal ends of said resonant chambers, each of said partitions having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of one of said tone generating units to one of said resonant chambers.

2. An electric acoustic convertor as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of said resonant chambers has a first length and at least one other of said resonant chambers has a second length different than said first length.

3. An electric acoustic convertor as claimed in claim 1 wherein in one of said resonant chambers has a first transverse cross-section, and at least one other of said resonant chambers has a second transverse cross-section different from said first transverse cross-section.

4. An electric acoustic convertor as claimed in claim 1 wherein said partition in one of said resonant chambers is arranged at a first spaced distance from said plurality of tone generating units, and said partition in at least one other of said resonant chambers is arranged at a second spaced distance different from said first spaced distance.

5. An electric acoustic convertor comprising,

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end and a distal end,

a tone generating unit arranged in said proximal end and having a vibratory member for generating sound waves and a main sound wave emanating face,

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said tone generating unit and said distal end, said partition having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to said resonant chamber, said partition being integrally connected to said tone generating unit to form a tone generating assembly longitudinally displaceable along said resonant chamber,

a ring fixedly connected to a longitudinal end of said tone generating assembly remote from said partition, said ring having a first tapered face,

a positioning piece fixedly connected internally of said resonant chamber, said positioning piece having a second tapered face in surface contact with said first tapered face on said ring, and

fastening means for detachably fastening said first and second tapered faces together, whereby adjustment of said fastening means causes longitudinal displacement of said tone generating assembly along said resonant chamber.

6. An electric acoustic converter, comprising

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end and a distal end,

a tone generating unit arranged in said proximal end and having a vibratory member for generating sound waves and a main sound wave emanating face, and

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said tone generating unit and said distal end, said partition arranged at a spaced distance from said tone generating unit and having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to said resonant chamber,

said resonant chamber having a transverse cross-section which is substantially constant between said partition and said distal end.

7. An electric acoustic convertor comprising,

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end and a distal end,

a tone generating unit arranged in said proximal end and having a vibratory member for generating sound waves and a main sound wave emanating face, and

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said tone generating unit and said distal end, said partition having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to said resonant chamber,

said resonant chamber including a first portion, a second portion and an intermediate portion arranged between said first and second portions, said first and second portions having substantially equal transverse cross-sections, and said intermediate portion having a transverse cross-section which is substantially larger than said transverse cross-sections of said first and second portions.

8. An electric acoustic convertor comprising,

a housing,

a tone generating unit having a main sound wave emanating face arranged in said housing and a vibratory member for generating sound waves,

a plurality of tubes each defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end attached to said housing and a distal end, and

a partition arranged in each of said resonant chambers between said tone generating unit and said distal ends of said resonant chambers, each of said partitions having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to each of said resonant chambers, said partition in one of said resonant chambers being arranged at a first spaced distance from said tone generating unit, and said partition in at least one other of said resonant chambers being arranged at a second spaced distance different from said first spaced distance.

9. An electric acoustic converter comprising,

a housing,

a plurality of tone generating units each having a main sound wave emanating face arranged in said housing and a vibratory member for generating sound waves,

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end attached to said housing and a distal end, and

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said plurality of tone generating units and said distal end, said partition having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating faces of said plurality of tone generating units to said resonant chamber.

10. An electric acoustic converter, comprising

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end and a distal end,

a tone generating unit arranged in said proximal end and having a vibratory member for generating sound waves and a main sound wave emanating face, and

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said tone generating unit and said distal end, said partition arranged at a spaced distance from said tone generating unit and having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to said resonant chamber.

11. An electric acoustic converter as claimed in claim 10 wherein said resonant chamber has a transverse cross-section which increases from said partition to said distal end.

12. An electric acoustic converter as claimed in claim 10 further comprising a housing disposed about said tone generating unit and a plurality of tubes each defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end attached to said housing and a distal end, and

a partition arranged in each of said resonant chambers between said tone generating unit and said distal ends of said resonant chambers, said partitions arranged at spaced distances from said tone generating unit, each of said partitions having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to each of said resonant chambers.

13. An electric acoustic convertor as claimed in claim 12 wherein one of said resonant chambers has a first length, and at least one other of said resonant chambers has a second length different from said first length.

14. An electric acoustic converter, comprising

a housing,

a tone generating unit having a main sound wave emanating face arranged in said housing and a vibratory member for generating sound waves,

a plurality of tubes each defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end attached to said housing and a distal end, and

a partition arranged in each of said resonant chambers between said tone generating unit and said distal ends of said resonant chambers, each of said partitions having an aperture for passage of said sound wave from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to each of said resonant chambers,

one of said resonant chambers having a first transverse cross-section, and at least one other of said resonant chambers having a second transverse cross-section different from said first transverse cross-section.

15. An electric acoustic convertor comprising,

a tube defining a resonant chamber having a proximal end and a distal end,

a tone generating unit arranged in said proximal end and having a vibratory member for generating sound waves and a main sound wave emanating face, and

a partition arranged in said resonant chamber between said tone generating unit and said distal end and operatively connected to said tone generating unit to form a tone generating assembly longitudinally displaceable along said resonant chamber, said partition having an aperture for passage of said sound waves from said main sound wave emanating face of said tone generating unit to said resonant chamber.