Loudspeaker having a passive radiator

• US 9,426,548 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2015
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Treefrog Developments Incorporated (Otter Products LLC)
• Original Assignee: Treefrog Developments Incorporated (Otter Products LLC)
• Inventors: Rayner, Gary A., Larsen, James C.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US14/708,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20150245122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/02 Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein H04R1/28 takes precedence ; attachments for microphones H04R1/08; mounting of transducers in earpieces H04R1/1075
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2834 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2896 for loudspeaker transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/00 Circuits for transducers , loudspeakers or microphones

Abstract

A loudspeaker includes a rigid enclosure, and a sound projecting region formed in a wall of the rigid enclosure. The sound projecting region includes one or more active driver speakers rigidly connected with the rigid enclosure, the active driver speakers to project sound outward from the sound projecting region and to reflect sound waves within the rigid enclosure. The loudspeaker includes flexible inner surrounds that frame each active driver speaker, and a passive radiator at least partially around the active driver speakers and connected between the inner surround and a flexible outer surround. The outer surround is connected with the rigid enclosure. Electronic circuitry of the loudspeaker includes an audio data receiver to receive audio data, one or more processors to process the audio data, and an amplifier to amplify the processed audio data for playback by the one or more active driver speakers.

Claims

1. A loudspeaker comprising:

a rigid enclosure having an outer wall; and

a sound projecting region formed in the outer wall of the rigid enclosure, the sound projecting region comprising;

a structural support frame securely fixed to the rigid enclosure,

one or more active driver speakers each having a voice coil assembly, each voice coil assembly including a permanent magnet and a voice coil movable within the voice coil assembly, each voice coil assembly being rigidly connected with the rigid enclosure to limit movement of the voice coil assembly relative to the rigid enclosure, each active driver speaker further having a driver diaphragm configured to be driven by the corresponding voice coil to project sound waves outward from the rigid enclosure via a front surface of the respective driver diaphragm and to modulate air within the rigid enclosure via rear surfaces of the respective driver diaphragm,

an inner surround for each active driver speaker that respectively frames each active driver speaker, the inner surround being formed of a first flexible material,

a passive radiator disposed at least partially surrounding each of the active driver speakers, the passive radiator having an opening for each active driver speaker, each opening having an inner edge connected to a respective one of the inner surrounds, the passive radiator having a rigid diaphragm with surface area and a mass that together are configured to tune the passive radiator to have a resonant frequency below a frequency range reproduced by the one or more active driver speakers, the passive radiator configured to enhance at least low-frequency sound waves of the active driver speaker, and

an outer surround formed of a second flexible material, the outer surround being connected between a perimeter edge of the passive radiator and the structural support frame of the sound projecting region; and

electronic circuitry including;

an audio data receiver configured to receive audio data from an external transmitter;

one or more processors configured to process the received audio data; and

an amplifier configured to amplify the processed audio data for playback by the one or more active speaker drivers.

2. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, wherein the loudspeaker includes two active driver speakers, one of the two active driver speakers having a structure different from a structure of the other of the two driver speakers, the structure of the one driver speaker configured to reproduce a frequency range different from a frequency range reproduced by the structure of the other driver speaker.

3. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, further comprising a battery compartment for holding a battery, and wherein the electronic circuitry further includes components configured to receive power from the battery for operation of at least the one or more processors and the amplifier.

4. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, wherein the audio data receiver is configured to wirelessly receive packetized audio data.

5. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, wherein the loudspeaker includes at least two active driver speakers, and the electronic circuitry is configured to receive multi-channel audio data and provide a respective channel of the multi-channel audio data to each of the at least two active driver speakers.

6. The loudspeaker according to claim 5, wherein the electronic circuitry further includes:

a first mixer configured to mix together each channel of the multi-channel audio data to provide a first mixed audio signal;

a low-pass filter configured to attenuate frequencies above a first predetermined frequency threshold in the first mixed audio signal to provide a low-pass filtered audio signal;

for each channel of the multi-channel audio data, a high-pass filter configured to attenuate frequencies in said each channel that are above a second predetermined frequency threshold to provide respective high-pass filtered audio signals; and

for each channel of the multi-channel audio data, a second mixer configured to mix a respective one of the high-pass filtered audio signals and the low-pass filtered audio signal to produce a respective processed audio channel.

7. The loudspeaker according to claim 6, wherein the loudspeaker is configured to produce audio from one channel of the plurality of processed audio channels, and wherein the electronic circuitry further comprises a wireless transmitter configured to transmit, to an external loudspeaker, at least one other channel of the plurality of processed audio channels.

8. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, further comprising at least one microphone.

9. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuitry is further configured to transmit, to an external wireless communication device, status information representing at least one of a unique identifier, a battery power level, audio playback volume, and proximity data.

10. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuitry is further configured to receive control signals from an external wireless device, the control signals including at least one of a power setting and a signal processing profile, wherein the electronic circuitry is configured to change audio playback based on the control signal.

11. The loudspeaker according to claim 1, further comprising a visual notification unit to provide notifications to a user, the notifications including at least one of indication of power status, battery level, communication type, and communication status.

12. The loudspeaker according to claim 11, wherein the visual notification unit is a display screen, and the electronic circuitry further includes a driver for the display screen and a metadata processor, the metadata processor configured to extract metadata from the received audio data and cause the metadata to be displayed on the display screen.

13. The loudspeaker according to claim 12, wherein the electronic circuitry is further configured to control at least one of powering the device, changing loudness, changing tone, and input selection.

14. The loudspeaker according to claim 13, wherein the electronic circuitry further includes at least one physical control accessible on an exterior of the loudspeaker, the at least one physical control to effect the at least one of powering the device, changing loudness, changing tone, and input selection.

15. A loudspeaker system comprising:

a plurality of loudspeakers, each loudspeaker including a rigid enclosure having an outer wall and a sound projecting region formed in the outer wall of the rigid enclosure, the sound projecting region of each loudspeaker comprising;

a structural support frame securely fixed to the respective rigid enclosure,

one or more active driver speakers each having a voice coil assembly, each voice coil assembly including a permanent magnet and a voice coil movable within the voice coil assembly, each voice coil assembly being rigidly connected with the rigid enclosure to limit movement of the voice coil assembly relative to the rigid enclosure, each active driver speaker further having a driver diaphragm configured to be driven by the corresponding voice coil to project sound waves outward from the rigid enclosure via a front surface of the respective driver diaphragms and to modulate air within the rigid enclosure via rear surfaces of the respective driver diaphragms,

an inner surround for each active driver speaker that respectively frames each active driver speaker, the inner surround being formed of a first flexible material, and

a passive radiator disposed at least partially surrounding each of the active driver speakers, the passive radiator having an opening for each active driver speaker, each opening having an inner edge connected to a respective one of the inner surrounds, and a perimeter edge of the passive radiator connected to an outer surround formed of a second flexible material, the outer surround being connected with the structural support frame of the sound projecting region, the passive radiator having a rigid diaphragm with surface area and a mass that together are configured to tune the passive radiator to have a resonant frequency below a frequency range reproduced by the one or more active driver speakers, the passive radiator configured to enhance at least low-frequency sound waves of the active driver speaker; and

electronic circuitry including;

an audio data receiver configured to receive audio data from an external transmitter,

one or more processors configured to process the received audio data, and

an amplifier configured to amplify the processed audio data for playback by the one or more active speaker drivers;

wherein

the electronic circuitry of at least one loudspeaker of the plurality of loudspeakers further includes communication circuitry configured to receive, from at least one of the other loudspeakers of the plurality of loudspeakers, at least one of an identity, proximity data, and location data for the at least one other loudspeaker of the plurality of loudspeakers, and to receive listening position location data, and

the one or more processors of the at least one loudspeaker of the plurality of loudspeakers are configured to calculate and apply at least one of a relative loudness level and an equalization setting for the at least one loudspeaker based on the received at least one of identity, proximity data and location data from the other loudspeakers.

16. The loudspeaker system according to claim 15, wherein the one or more processors of the at least one loudspeaker calculate at least one of a respective relative loudness level and equalization setting for each of the other loudspeakers, and the communication circuitry is further configured to transmit the respective at least one of the calculated loudness level and equalization setting to the corresponding other loudspeakers.