System and method for high reliability sound production

• US 8,989,397 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Degimax, LLC
• Original Assignee: Degimax, LLC
• Inventors: Lee, Kyounghee
• Primary Examiner(s): VILLECCO, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US13/740,491
• Publication Number:
  US 20140198920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 381/55, 381/58, 381/59, 381/335, 381/91, 381/96, 381/117, 381/123, 381/401, 381/407, 381/409, 340/507, 340/508
• US Class Current: 381/59
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/06 Monitoring of the line circuits, e.g. signalling of line faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/003 of the moving-coil type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 9/063 using a plurality of acoustic drivers H04R1/24 and H04R1/403 take precedence

Abstract

A system and method are provided for creating a loudspeaker system with low failure rate of sound production. The system uses a loudspeaker with more than one voice coil, a circuit to detect breakage of a voice coil and a switching circuit to steer the system input signal to a remaining good voice coil.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a loudspeaker comprising at least two voice coils and a bobbin, wherein the at least two voice coils are wrapped around the same bobbin;

a circuit comprising an input coupled to the at least two voice coils and configured to detect breakage of at least one of the voice coils; and

a switching circuit configured to switch an input signal on the input to a remaining good voice coil.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is further configured to generate a voice coil broken notification.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is further configured to detect breakage of at least one of the voice coils by monitoring voice coil current.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is further configured to determine breakage of at least one of the voice coils by monitoring voice coil impedance.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is further configured to determine breakage of at least one of the voice coils by monitoring speaker sound output level with a microphone.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit further comprises an amplifier and is further configured to determine breakage of at least one of the voice coils by monitoring a supply current to the amplifier.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit further comprises at least one amplifier and wherein the switching circuit is configured to selectively enable and disable the at least one amplifier.

8. A system, comprising:

a loudspeaker comprising at least two voice coils and a bobbin, wherein the at least two voice coils are wrapped around the same bobbin and share a same two contacts;

a circuit configured to detect breakage of the voice coils;

and a voice coil broken notification output.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the circuit is further configured to detect breakage of at least one of the voice coils by monitoring voice coil current.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the circuit is further configured to detect breakage of the voice coils by measuring voice coil impedance.

11. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving an input signal to a loudspeaker comprising at least two voice coils and a bobbin, wherein the at least two voice coils are wrapped around the bobbin;

detecting breakage of one of the at least two voice coils of the loudspeaker; and

upon detecting breakage, switching the input signal to a remaining good voice coil.

12. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having data stored thereon representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of:

measuring an impedance of a number of coils connected in parallel, wherein the number of coils are wrapped around the same bobbin; and

based on the measured impedance, providing a notification if one or more of the coils are broken.

13. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having data stored thereon representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps of:

detecting breakage of one of a plurality of voice coils, wherein the plurality of voice coils are wrapped around the same bobbin; and

upon detecting breakage of one of the plurality of voice coils, switching an input signal to a remaining good voice coil.