Speaker configuration for a portable electronic device

• US 6,785,395 B1
• Filed: 06/02/2003
• Issued: 08/31/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barabolak, Mark A., Davis, Giles T., Arneson, Theodore R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Huyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): PENDLETON, DIONNE
• Application Number:
  US10/452,336
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 381/334-338, 381/396, 381/395, 381/388, 381/398, 381/152, 381/345, 381/386, 381/391, 381/182, 381/412, 381/420, 381/348, 381/349-351, 381/371, 381/372, 381/417, 381/160, 381/346, 381/347, 381/357, 293/94, 455/90.3, 455/575.1, 340/388.1, 340/391.1, 181/155, 181/156, 181/145, 379/431, 379/432, 379/433, 379/430, 379/433.62
• US Class Current: 381/334
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/03 Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1091 Details not provided for in groups H04R1/1008 - H04R1/1083
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2834 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2842 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2849 for loudspeaker transducers

Abstract

A portable device includes a speaker with an active vent fed by a front of a speaker diaphragm and a larger passive vent fed by a rear of the speaker diaphragm. The outputs of the active and passive vents are acoustically coupled to respective active and passive ports, coupled together outside of the housing within an ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration over a larger region of a user'"'"'s ear placement possibilities than would be available with the active vent alone. This is accomplished by a close acoustic coupling of the ports in combination with diverse porting of active and passive acoustic signals. The passive path also serves to relieve pressure near a user'"'"'s ear to improve signal quality.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device including a housing with a speaker configuration disposed therein, the speaker configuration comprising:

a speaker diaphragm having a front side and a rear side, the speaker being affixed to an inside surface of a wall of the housing with the front side of the speaker diaphragm facing the wall;

an active vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the active vent;

a passive vent disposed in the wall such that resultant acoustic waves at the listener from the active vent can propagate through the passive vent;

a first diffuser placed above the active vent, the first diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves of produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm to outside of the housing within an ear placement region; and

a second diffuser placed above the passive vent, the second diffuser placed in close proximity to the first diffuser, the first and second diffuser defining an active port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the active vent, the second diffuser and housing defining a passive port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the passive vent,

the active and passive ports, being acoustically coupled within the ear placement region to provide a larger usable ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration than would be available from an active vent and passive vent alone.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the active vent has a smaller cross-sectional area than the active port.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a chamber disposed between the active vent and active port to tune the frequency response of the speaker configuration.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising third porting that couples to a passive acoustic path to relieve excessive low-frequency acoustic pressure between the ear placement region and the user'"'"'s ear.

5. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the active vent and active port set a high frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration and the passive vent and passive port lower a lower frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration.

6. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the passive port is a gap porting through the housing that substantially surrounds the first port.

7. The portable electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the first port is a circular gap through the housing, and the second port forms a concentric circle about the first port.

8. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a portable radiotelephone.

9. A portable electronic device including a housing with a speaker configuration disposed therein, the speaker configuration comprising:

a speaker diaphragm having a front side and a rear side, the speaker being affixed to an inside surface of a wall of the housing with the front side of the speaker diaphragm facing the wall;

an active vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the active vent, the active vent controlling the upper frequency extent of the frequency response;

a chamber disposed in the wall of the housing directly above the active vent, the chamber tuning the acoustic response of the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm propagating through the active vent;

a passive vent subtending a larger area than the active vent, the passive vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves present at the listener'"'"'s ear due to the active vent can propagate through the housing and then to the outside world;

a first diffuser placed above the chamber, the first diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm through the active vent to outside of the housing within an ear placement region; and

a second diffuser placed above the passive vent, the second diffuser placed in close proximity to the first diffuser, the first and second diffuser defining an active port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the active vent, the second diffuser and housing defining a passive port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the passive vent,

the active and passive ports being acoustically coupled within the ear placement region to provide a larger usable ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration than would be available from an active and passive vent alone.

10. The portable electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the active vent has a smaller cross-sectional area than the active port.

11. The portable electronic device according to claim 9, further comprising third porting that couples a passive acoustic path to relieve excessive low-frequency acoustic pressure between the ear placement region and the user'"'"'s ear.

12. The portable electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the active vent and active port set a high frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration and the passive vent and passive port lower a lower frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration to provide a substantially uniform frequency response.

13. The portable electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the passive port is a gap porting through the housing that substantially surrounds the first port and is proximate thereto.

14. The portable electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the first port is a circular gap through the housing, and the second port forms a concentric circle about the first port.

15. A portable electronic device including a housing with a speaker configuration disposed therein, the speaker configuration comprising:

a speaker diaphragm having a front side and a rear side, the speaker being affixed to an inside surface of a wall of the housing with the front side of the speaker diaphragm facing the wall;

an active vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the active vent;

a passive vent having a longer acoustic length from the speaker diaphragm than the active vent, the passive vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the rear side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the passive vent;

a first diffuser placed above the chamber, the first diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm through the active vent to outside of the housing within an ear placement region; and

a second diffuser placed above the passive vent, the second diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the rear side of the speaker diaphragm to outside of the housing within the ear placement region, the first and second diffuser defining an active port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the active vent and having a large cross-sectional area than the active vent, the second diffuser and housing defining a passive port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the passive vent,

the active and passive ports being proximate to each other and acoustically coupled within the ear placement region to provide a larger usable ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration than would be available an active vent alone.

16. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising a chamber disposed in the wall of the housing directly above the active vent, the chamber tuning the acoustic response of the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm propagating through the active vent.

17. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, further comprising third porting that couples to a passive acoustic path to relieve excessive low-frequency acoustic pressure between the ear placement region and the user'"'"'s ear.

18. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the active vent and active port set a high frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration and the passive vent and passive port lower a lower frequency portion of the frequency response of the speaker configuration to provide a substantially uniform frequency response.

19. The portable electronic device according to claim 15, wherein the passive port is a gap porting through the housing that substantially surrounds the first port.

20. The portable electronic device according to claim 19, wherein the first port is a circular gap through the housing, and the second port forms a concentric circle about the first port.