Improved Speaker Assembly and System for a Vehicle

Abstract

The present application discloses a speaker assembly for use in a vehicle, the vehicle including a cabin and one or more cabin walls, the speaker assembly including a plurality of drivers assembled to a common housing, the common housing including a vent tube that travels through the cabin wall of the vehicle such that one side of the speaker assembly is in acoustic communication with a volume of air exterior to the cabin of the vehicle and the other side of the speaker assembly is in acoustic communication with the air within the cabin of the vehicle.

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to low-frequency loudspeakers (woofers and subwoofers) for use in vehicles. Background Art

[0002] The space available for loudspeakers in a vehicle is very limited, so woofers and subwoofers need to be able to fit into small or irregular spaces. Additionally, the loudspeaker assembly needs to be small compared to the enclosures of typical woofers or subwoofers to minimize cost and weight. Attempts have been made to overcome this problem. One arrangement in the prior art is to use the vehicle's trunk as the enclosure for the loudspeaker assembly. However, due to the porous or flexible construction material, this arrangement has the drawback of leaking into the cabin from the trunk, resulting in poor sound quality. Another arrangement in the prior art is to use an infinite baffle topology by venting to the outside air, but due to the size and shape of the loudspeaker assembly, this arrangement is limited to a certain number of possible locations for mounting the loudspeaker assembly.

[0003] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an arrangement that improves or at least alleviates one or more of the above problems or provides an alternative.

[0004] It is further desirable to provide greater flexibility in terms of the location of the loudspeaker assembly, as well as greater flexibility in terms of changes in vent tube size, enclosure size, and driver parameters without loss of sound quality.

[0005] The citation of patent documents or other materials given herein as prior art should not be taken as an admission or suggestion that the document or material is known, or that the information it contains forms part of the common general knowledge as of the priority date of any claim. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a loudspeaker assembly for use in a vehicle, the vehicle including a cabin and one or more cabin walls, the loudspeaker assembly including a plurality of drivers assembled into a common enclosure, the common enclosure including one or more vent tubes that travel through the cabin wall of the vehicle such that one side of the loudspeaker assembly is in acoustic communication with a volume of air outside the cabin of the vehicle and the other side of the loudspeaker assembly is in acoustic communication with the air inside the cabin of the vehicle.

[0007] Preferably, the volume of air is air outside the vehicle. The volume of air may be greater than 200 liters. For example, the volume of air may be between 200 liters and the volume of the atmosphere. A volume of at least 200 liters ensures optimal efficiency at the lowest frequencies received by the loudspeaker system.

[0008] The common housing may include a single compartment having a passageway leading to the ventilation duct, and one or more drivers are housed within the compartment. The common housing may also include one or more compartments, where each driver is housed in a separate compartment.

[0009] Preferably, the compartments have equivalent passageways leading to the ventilation duct. Additionally, the compartments may have equal dimensions, and the drivers may be equidistant from one or more of the ventilation ducts. In one embodiment, the ventilation ducts from multiple compartments may be a common ventilation duct. In another embodiment, there may be a single ventilation duct or multiple ventilation ducts passing through the cabin wall of the vehicle.

[0010] Advantageously, providing a common ventilation duct maximizes the mixing of sound, such that there are options for applying distortion cancellation. It should be appreciated that this arrangement can still work with nearby ventilation ducts if they are within a quarter wavelength of the highest frequency.

[0011] In one embodiment, in operation, the drivers are driven in different phases, which remain constant within the operating frequency band in accordance with the technique disclosed in the applicant's US20180255391, which is incorporated herein by reference. The applicant's US20180255391 regenerates an audio signal as a multi-phase adjusted signal that cancels the harmonics caused by the amplifiers and drivers when traveling through the respective amplifiers and drivers and undergoing acoustic recombining. The present invention utilizes a common ventilation duct to enhance the noise cancellation due to improved signal acoustic mixing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The present invention will now be described in further detail by reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the particularity of the drawings does not replace the generality of the foregoing description of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a vehicle showing a speaker assembly installed in the vehicle according to the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic front view showing a basic speaker assembly according to the present invention, where the drivers share a common compartment;

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic front view showing a basic speaker assembly according to the present invention, where the drivers have separate compartments;

[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic side view showing a basic speaker assembly assembled to a single panel wall according to the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5is a schematic side view showing a basic speaker assembly installed in a double-panel wall according to the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation duct in one embodiment;

[0019] Figure 7 is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation duct in another embodiment;

[0020] Figure 8 is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation duct in another embodiment;

[0021] Figure 9 is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation duct in another embodiment;

[0022] Figure 10 is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and two ventilation ducts in another embodiment;

[0023] Figure 11 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the present invention with three drivers in a three-dimensional shape. Detailed Description

[0024] Definitions

[0025] A compartment refers to the passenger compartment or listening environment inside a vehicle.

[0026] A common enclosure refers to an enclosure with one or more speaker compartments.

[0027] The compartment wall includes a wall constructed of a single panel and a double-panel wall constructed of an inner skin and an outer skin with a cavity therebetween, and may include a floor, a ceiling, a firewall, side walls, or any peripheral boundary that interfaces with the external environment.

[0028] The inner skin refers to the compartment-side panel of the double-panel wall and may include a steel plate, a composite polymer plate, a steel plate with a fabric lining, etc.

[0029] The outer skin refers to the panel of the double-panel wall that interfaces with the air outside the vehicle and is most commonly made of steel.

[0030] Figure 1is a cross-sectional view of vehicle A, which shows a speaker assembly B installed in vehicle A according to the present invention. The speaker assembly B radiates sound into the internal air E in the vehicle cabin C and, in operation, radiates to the ventilation opening (reflected wave) via a ventilation duct G leading to the external air F. The length of the ventilation duct G can be changed according to the thickness of the panel on the vehicle, and this length passes through and extends beyond, for example, 30 cm. In Figure 1 the position of the speaker assembly B is shown in the floor D for the sake of illustration, but it should be realized that the speaker assembly B can be similarly installed in any cabin wall according to the definition provided above.

[0031] Figure 2 is a schematic view showing a front view of the speaker assembly 1. The speaker assembly is provided in a cabin [not shown] of the vehicle. The speaker assembly 1 includes a housing 2 equipped with four drivers 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d in a common compartment 5, and the common compartment has an acoustic passage leading to the ventilation duct 4. The ventilation duct 4 travels through the boundary of the cabin [not shown] wall to the air outside the vehicle. Although four drivers are shown, it should be realized that any number of drivers can be used to meet the installation situation.

[0032] Figure 3 is a schematic view showing a front view of the speaker assembly 10. The speaker assembly 10 includes a housing 11 having four compartments 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d. Each compartment is equipped with a driver 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d. The ventilation duct 14 travels from the cabin through the boundary of the cabin wall to the air outside the vehicle, as described in reference Figure 1 The ventilation duct includes a first end and a second end. The first end of the ventilation duct interfaces with the housing 11 such that the air in each of the compartments 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d has an equivalent acoustic passage leading to the ventilation duct 14. In a preferred embodiment, the compartments 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d have equal volumes and the drivers are equidistant from the ventilation duct. Any number of drivers can be provided, each driver having its own compartment. For the sake of understanding, Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the square corners, planar-shaped housings 5, 11a to 11d with square corners, only for the purpose of illustration. It should be realized that the housings 11a to 11d can be shaped to match the contour of the vehicle panel and can be shaped in other ways for styling purposes.

[0033] Figure 4It is a schematic side view showing a basic speaker assembly 30 assembled to a cabin wall 31 inside a vehicle [not shown]. In this case, the cabin wall 31 is a single panel wall. The low-profile housing 32 is ventilated to the outside air of the vehicle via a ventilation pipe 34. Only square corners of the housing 32 are shown for illustrative purposes and can be shaped into a more attractive shape.

[0034] Figure 5 It is a schematic side view showing a basic speaker assembly 40 integrated into a cabin wall 45 of a vehicle. The cabin wall 45 has an inner skin 42 and an outer skin 41. In this case, the cabin wall 45 can be considered a double-panel wall. The housing 42 is ventilated to the outside air of the vehicle via a ventilation pipe 44. It should be realized that the cavity of the inner wall can be used as a default housing, assuming the cavity is well-sealed and the inner and outer skins are rigid.

[0035] Figure 6 It is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the junction of the ventilation pipe 51 of the speaker assembly 50 is provided through a separate compartment 52. In this embodiment, the ventilation pipe 51 simply abuts against the compartment 52 such that each compartment has an equivalent passage leading to the ventilation pipe 51. The ventilation pipe 51 can be flared at one or both ends as shown in Figure 6 to prevent air noise.

[0036] Figure 7 It is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ventilation pipe 62 of the speaker assembly 60 is in junction with a separate compartment 61. In this embodiment, the ventilation pipe 62 abuts against the compartment 61 and is divided along its length to provide separate paths for ventilating each compartment.

[0037] Figure 8 It is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ventilation pipe 72 of the speaker assembly 70 is in junction with a separate compartment 71. Figure 7 The arrangement shown in Figure 6 is substantially the same as that in

[0038] Figure 9 It is a schematic view showing the junction between multiple compartments and a common ventilation pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the ventilation pipe 82 of the speaker assembly 80 is in junction with a separate compartment 81, whereby the ventilation pipe 82 is bifurcated such that the ventilation pipe 82 is divided into two additional ventilation pipes 83 and 84 for forming separate channels 82a and 82b leading out from each compartment respectively.

[0039] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the junction between a plurality of compartments and two ventilation ducts according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the two ventilation ducts 92a, 92b of the speaker assembly 90 are in junction with separate compartments 91, whereby the ventilation ducts 92a, 92b separate the separate channels 94a and 94b led out from each compartment respectively.

[0040] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which three drivers are provided in a three-dimensional shape (although it should be realized that more than three drivers can be used according to the application). Advantageously, the present invention provides the ability to conform to the shape of an existing vehicle panel. This is not possible for large drivers because the drivers require a flat surface for mounting. In Figure 11 in, the speaker assembly 100 is adapted to a bend in the cabin wall 102 in Figure 11 by using three small drivers 101 instead of a single larger driver to allow the assembly to easily conform to the wall regardless of the shape of the wall 102. Obviously, this principle can be extended or applied in a variety of configurations.

[0041] Any number of small drivers can be used to replace a single larger driver. If the drivers are driven by a common amplifier and maintain the same total driver impedance as a single driver, four drivers can be connected in a series-parallel configuration. Regardless of the number of drivers used, another option is to use a single small amplifier to drive them.

[0042] In a further improvement, the drivers can be driven in different phases, and the different phases remain constant within the range of the operating frequency band consistent with the technology disclosed in US20180255391. The present invention provides a means to improve the operation of the technology of US20180255391 by assisting in mixing the sound radiation from each driver.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art should realize that many alternatives, modifications, and changes are possible in view of the foregoing description. Therefore, the present invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and changes that may fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosed invention.

Claims

1. A loudspeaker assembly for use in a vehicle, the vehicle including a cabin and one or more cabin walls, the loudspeaker assembly including a plurality of drivers assembled to a common housing, the common housing including one or more vent tubes that travel through the cabin wall of the vehicle such that one side of the loudspeaker assembly is in acoustic communication with a volume of air external to the cabin of the vehicle and the other side of the loudspeaker assembly is in acoustic communication with the air within the cabin of the vehicle.

2. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, the volume of air is air external to the vehicle.

3. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, the volume of air is greater than 200 liters.

4. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, the common housing further includes a compartment having a passage leading to one or more of the vent tubes, and one or more of the drivers are housed within the compartment.

5. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, the common housing further includes one or more compartments, and each driver is housed in a separate compartment.

6. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, each compartment has an equivalent passage leading to one or more of the vent tubes.

7. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, each compartment has equal dimensions, and the drivers are equidistant from one or more of the vent tubes.

8. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, in operation, the drivers are driven in different phases that remain constant within the operating frequency band.

9. The loudspeaker assembly according to claim 1, wherein, the common housing further includes a plurality of compartments, and each driver is housed in a separate compartment, and the vent tubes from the plurality of compartments are common vent tubes.

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