Electronic device

• US 9,197,966 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Umehara, Masanori, Imamura, Motonori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCKINNEY, ANGELICA M
• Application Number:
  US14/361,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20150078588A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/00 Piezoelectric transducers; Electrostrictive transducers piezoelectric or electrostrictive elements in general H10N30/00; details of piezoelectric or electrostrictive motors, generators or positioners H10N30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/15 Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 7/045 using the distributed mode principle, i.e. whereby the acoustic radiation is emanated from uniformly distributed free bending wave vibration induced in a stiff panel and not from pistonic motion

Abstract

The electronic device can effectively suppress a reduction in sound pressure and an increase in the distortion factor. The electronic device (1) includes a piezoelectric element (30), a panel (10) supporting the piezoelectric element (30), and a housing (60) holding the panel (10). The electronic device (1) causes the panel (10) to generate air-conducted sound and vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body. A buffer material (90) is disposed between the panel (10) and the housing (60).

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a piezoelectric element;

a panel supporting the piezoelectric element;

a display unit attached by the panel;

a housing holding the panel, wherein the electronic device generates vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body in contact with the panel and air-conducted sound by bending the panel directly by the piezoelectric element; and

a buffer material between an inner surface of the display unit that is opposite to a surface of the display unit that the panel is attached and an inner surface of the housing that is opposite to a side of the panel facing the display unit,

wherein the piezoelectric element is elongated in shape and has a length longer than a width thereof, and the buffer material is disposed outwards of outermost edges of the piezoelectric element in a longitudinal direction along a length direction of the piezoelectric element.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein both the piezoelectric element and the buffer material are disposed at one end of the panel in one direction in plan view.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the buffer material becomes thinner with increasing distance from the piezoelectric element towards the other end of the panel.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the piezoelectric element is rectangular in plan view.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the buffer material is disposed further towards the other end of the panel in the one direction than the piezoelectric element.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer material is adhered to only one of the panel and the housing.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the housing includes sheet metal as an insert member.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the housing comprises a first housing portion and a second housing portion that is located inward from the first housing portion and includes the sheet metal.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a display unit is held by the panel, and the buffer material is in contact with the display unit.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the buffer material is in a pressed state before vibration of the piezoelectric element.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is rectangular in plan view, and a length of two opposing sides of the housing is equal to or greater than a length from an antitragus to an inferior antihelix crus.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein a length of the other two opposing sides of the housing is equal to or greater than a length from a tragus to an antihelix.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element is fixedly joined to the housing by a joining member.

14. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the joining member is a non-heat hardening adhesive.

15. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the joining member is double-sided tape.

16. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the panel is joined to the housing by a joining member.

17. The electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the joining member is a non-heat hardening adhesive.

18. The electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the joining member is double-sided tape.

19. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the panel constitutes a portion or an entirety of any one of a display unit, an input unit, and a cover for the display unit.

20. The electronic device according to claim 19, wherein a fixed portion of the piezoelectric element in the panel is positioned outside of a region of the panel overlapping the display unit in plan view.

21. The electronic device according to claim 19, wherein the display unit is fixed to the panel from inside the housing.