LOUDSPEAKER UNIT WITH FRONT ELEMENT

Abstract

Loudspeaker unit (10) with a housing (12) having a circumferential housing rim (14) and a front element (20), with a loudspeaker (30) arranged inside the housing (12), wherein the loudspeaker (30) has a particularly dome-shaped diaphragm (32) arranged behind the front element (20), wherein the front element (20) has a plurality of passage openings (26), the individual passage openings (26) being labyrinthine, characterized in that the front element (20) has several parallel, spaced-apart struts (22) which each have identical cross-sections and each have a right side surface (40) and a left side surface (42), wherein the right side surfaces (40) each have a projecting web (44, 46) at their upper and lower edge regions, which form a central groove (48) in the right side surface (40),wherein the left side surfaces (42) each have a projecting web (50) in the center, which extends a short distance into the groove (48) of the right side surface (40) of an adjacent strut (22), so that a zipper-like structure is formed.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA The invention relates to a loudspeaker unit with a dynamic moving-coil loudspeaker. Such loudspeakers are widely used and can be employed, for example, in the automotive sector, as their relatively simple design allows them to be adapted relatively easily to the respective acoustic and spatial requirements. STATE OF THE ART Dynamic moving-coil loudspeakers are known. Loudspeakers of this type have a magnet pot in which a permanent magnet is arranged. An annular gap exists between the permanent magnet and the magnet pot. A voice coil, to which a diaphragm is attached, extends into this annular gap. The diaphragm covers at least the permanent magnet in a dome shape and is attached to the magnet pot via a surround. According to DE 20 2009 015 115 U1, a lighting device may be present in the area of ​​the surround. This lighting device can make the surround actively illuminate or be passively illuminated, thus enabling visually appealing effects. The loudspeakers themselves are regularly arranged in an enclosure. This enclosure allows for quick and reliable installation of the loudspeakers in various environments. At the same time, the enclosure provides protection against damage from impacts. Further prior art is in JP 000H09327082 A, DE 000000849253 B, DE 000002641253 A1, EP 000000074424 A1, US 000003995125 A, US 000004196791 A, US 020120321121 A1, DE 112010005525 T5, US 020120294120 A1, US 000003306990 A, JP 0000S5696784 U, JP 0000H0257692 U, US 000007886868 B2 and CN 000107231583 A described. PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION Based on this prior art, the invention aimed to provide an improved loudspeaker unit comprising a dynamic moving-coil loudspeaker of the type mentioned above and a housing. The loudspeaker unit according to the invention is defined by the features of main claim 1. Further developments of the invention are the subject of the subsequent claim. The loudspeaker unit according to the invention has a housing with a surrounding housing edge and a front element. A loudspeaker is arranged inside the housing. The loudspeaker's diaphragm, which is particularly dome-shaped, is positioned behind the front element. According to the invention, the front element has a plurality of openings, each arranged in a labyrinthine pattern. Due to the labyrinthine design of the openings, there is no direct connection between the loudspeaker's diaphragm and the outside environment. While this means that sound waves can only escape indirectly—via reflections—it also makes it difficult for foreign objects from the outside to penetrate behind the front element. Without such a front element, these foreign objects—for example, dust, stones, gravel, or even water and other liquids—can strike the diaphragm unimpeded. Depending on the speed of the impacting foreign objects, the loudspeaker diaphragm can be damaged or even destroyed upon impact. However, if the foreign objects must first pass through the labyrinthine openings, their penetration can, in the best-case scenario, be completely prevented. In any case, the speed of the foreign objects as they pass through the openings can be reduced to such an extent that their impact energy is so low that no significant damage can be caused to the diaphragm. The loudspeaker unit according to the invention can therefore be used safely and reliably, particularly outdoors. The front element has several struts, in particular parallel ones spaced apart from each other. The openings would be slot-shaped. To create the labyrinthine structure of the openings, each strut has at least one profiled side surface. Preferably, the struts can have profiled side surfaces on both sides to make the labyrinthine structure of the openings particularly pronounced. Two adjacent struts each have a zipper-like structure on their facing side surfaces. The labyrinthine structure of the front element can thus be particularly pronounced, resulting in especially effective protection of the loudspeaker diaphragm. Further advantages and features of the invention can be found in the features further specified in the claims and in the exemplary embodiments below. List of characters The invention is described and explained in more detail below with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawing. The drawing shows: Fig. 1 a top view of the loudspeaker unit according to the invention; Fig. 2 a cross-section along line A-A of the loudspeaker unit according to Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 a detailed view of the struts of the front element of the loudspeaker unit according to Fig. 2. WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THE INVENTION The loudspeaker unit 10 according to the invention is shown schematically in Figures 1, 2 to 3. The loudspeaker unit 10 has a housing 12 with a circumferential housing rim 14. The housing rim 14 has a mounting flange 16 in sections. The housing rim 14 can be attached to a suitable component via this mounting flange 16 in order to mount the loudspeaker unit 10 at a predetermined location. The housing 12 has a circular front element 20 on its front side. In this example, the front element 20 has a plurality of struts 22. The struts 22 each extend from the edge of the front element 20 to a central strip 24. The central strip 24 runs through the center of the front element 20 and serves to attach the individual struts 22. The struts 22 each run parallel to one another and are spaced a certain distance apart.In this way, the struts form 22 slot-shaped passage openings 26. Inside the housing 10 is a loudspeaker 30. In this example, the loudspeaker 30 is a dynamic moving-coil loudspeaker, as is known from the prior art. In principle, other types of loudspeakers 30 could also be used in the loudspeaker unit 10 according to the invention. The loudspeaker 30 has a dome-shaped diaphragm 32 that curves upwards. This diaphragm 32 is arranged below the front element 20. To protect the diaphragm 32 from damage, the openings 26 in the front element 20 are arranged in a labyrinthine pattern (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). In this example, the individual struts 22 each have identical cross-sections. Each strut 22 has a right side surface 40 and a left side surface 42. In this example, the right side surface 40 has a projecting web 44, 46 at its upper and lower edges. The two projecting webs 44, 46 each form a central groove 48 in the right side surface 40. The left side surface 42 has a projecting web 50 in its center. The central web 50 of the left side surface of each strut 22 projects a short distance into the groove 48 of the right side surface 40 of an adjacent strut 22. This creates a zipper-like structure. This zipper-like structure results in a labyrinthine arrangement of the passage openings 26. The labyrinthine structure shown here ensures that the sound waves are optimally reflected and not absorbed by the front element 20, thus maintaining good sound quality. At the same time, the diaphragm 32 of the loudspeaker 30 is adequately protected from intruding foreign objects. Foreign objects coming from the outside must first overcome the labyrinthine structure before they can strike the diaphragm 32. However, as they pass through the labyrinthine structure, the velocity of the foreign objects is slowed down to such an extent that they can no longer cause damage upon impact with the diaphragm 32. Furthermore, the labyrinthine structure completely prevents most foreign objects from entering the interior of the housing 12. In contrast to the example shown here, other labyrinthine structures of the passage openings 26 could also be realized. Alternatively or additionally, the front element 20 could be designed in a grid-like form, so that point-shaped passage openings 26 would be formed.

Claims

Loudspeaker unit (10) with a housing (12) having a circumferential housing rim (14) and a front element (20), with a loudspeaker (30) arranged inside the housing (12), wherein the loudspeaker (30) has a particularly dome-shaped diaphragm (32) arranged behind the front element (20), wherein the front element (20) has a plurality of passage openings (26), the individual passage openings (26) being labyrinthine, characterized in that the front element (20) has several parallel, spaced-apart struts (22) which each have identical cross-sections and each have a right side surface (40) and a left side surface (42), wherein the right side surfaces (40) each have a projecting web (44, 46) at their upper and lower edge regions, which form a central groove (48) in the right side surface (40).wherein the left side surfaces (42) each have a projecting web (50) in the center, which extends a short distance into the groove (48) of the right side surface (40) of an adjacent strut (22), so that a zipper-like structure is formed. Loudspeaker unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the loudspeaker (30) is designed as a dynamic immersion rinse loudspeaker.

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