Orientation-Responsive Acoustic Driver Layout for Spatial Sound
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio devices designed for surround sound often compromise the spatial effect by co-locating multiple audio channels in a single cabinet, degrading the immersive experience intended by separate devices.
Innovation Solution
An audio device with a rotatable casing that adjusts the orientation of multiple acoustic drivers to optimize sound output based on the device's position relative to the force of gravity, using a combination of drivers with non-parallel directions of maximum radiation to create acoustic interference arrays that enhance spatial sound distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If multiple acoustic drivers are co-located in a single cabinet, then device complexity is reduced, but spatial sound effect is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rotatable casing that can dynamically change orientation between horizontal and vertical positions, allowing the acoustic drivers to redirect their sound output spatially. This dynamic reconfiguration enables a single device to adapt its sound projection pattern, maintaining spatial effects across different orientations while consolidating multiple drivers into one cabinet.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces rotational movement as an additional degree of freedom, transforming the static spatial arrangement of acoustic drivers into a dynamic one. By rotating the casing around a vertical axis, the drivers can redirect sound in different horizontal directions, effectively adding a rotational dimension to the sound projection geometry.
2Ease of manufacture
If acoustic drivers are fixed in parallel directions, then manufacturing is simplified, but adaptability to different orientations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately arranges acoustic drivers in non-parallel, asymmetric directions (e.g., forward, sideways, and backward at specific angles) rather than uniform parallel orientations. This asymmetric configuration ensures that when the casing rotates to different orientations, each driver contributes to sound projection in a complementary direction, enabling the system to maintain spatial effects across multiple orientations.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable casing design makes the acoustic driver assembly universal, capable of functioning effectively in both horizontal and vertical orientations. The same set of drivers serves multiple spatial functions by redirecting their output through rotation, eliminating the need for orientation-specific driver configurations.
3Device complexity
If a single audio device is used, then device complexity is reduced, but spatial distribution of sound is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable casing enables the single audio device to dynamically expand its spatial coverage by rotating to different orientations. This dynamic repositioning allows the device to project sound across different areas of the room sequentially, effectively increasing its spatial coverage without requiring multiple permanently positioned devices.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for dynamic adjustment of sound output to maintain an immersive spatial effect across different orientations, providing a more engaging listening experience without the need for multiple separate devices.
Implementation Method 1
the plurality of acoustic drivers are operated to form an acoustic interference array. Also, the plurality of acoustic drivers are operated to generate destructive interference in a first direction from the plurality of acoustic drivers
Data Source
AI summary
An audio device incorporates a first acoustic driver having a first direction of maximum acoustic radiation and a second acoustic driver having a second direction of maximum acoustic radiation, where the first and second directions of maximum acoustic radiation are not in parallel, and where the audio device employs the first acoustic driver or the second acoustic driver in acoustically outputting a sound of a predetermined range of frequencies in response to the orientation of the casing of the audio device relative to the direction of the force of gravity.