Extendable Speaker System with Telescopic Cylinders
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing speaker systems face challenges in providing high-quality audio with wide frequency response, including low frequencies, while being portable and compact, as they often suffer from distorted sound due to out-of-phase sound waves and require large enclosures for effective sound trapping, making them cumbersome for transport.
Innovation Solution
An extendable speaker system with a base and lid connected via concentric collapsible hollow bodies, featuring a woofer in the base and mid-range or tweeter speakers in the lid, which expands to form an airtight enclosure with friction seals and a spring mechanism to maintain the extended configuration, and a port that can be vented for collapse, allowing for a compact and high-quality audio solution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a large sealed enclosure is used for the woofer speaker, then sound quality at low frequencies is improved, but the size and portability of the speaker system deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The speaker enclosure transitions from a static fixed-size design to a dynamic extendable structure. The telescopic cylinders enable the enclosure to expand to a large volume for optimal sound quality when in use, then collapse to a compact size for portability and storage. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between needing large volume for sound quality and small volume for portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic cylinders are nested within each other in a concentric arrangement, allowing the enclosure to collapse into a compact form factor while maintaining the capability to extend to full size. The nested structure enables the large enclosure volume to be contained within a small transport volume, resolving the portability versus sound quality contradiction.
2Power
If a ported enclosure is used to enhance bass response, then low frequency sound output is improved, but sound distortion increases due to out-of-phase sound waves
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure volume is changed from a fixed small size to a variable large size when extended. This parameter change allows the enclosure to effectively trap and dissipate out-of-phase sound waves at low frequencies, reducing distortion while maintaining strong bass response. The larger volume provides better acoustic performance without the distortion issues of compact ported enclosures.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure dynamically transitions between sealed and ported configurations, and between small and large volumes. When extended, the enclosure operates as a large ported enclosure for optimal bass response with reduced distortion. When collapsed, it operates as a compact sealed enclosure. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between bass power and sound distortion.
3Volume of moving object
If an inflatable or flexible enclosure is used to reduce size, then portability is improved, but reliability and sound quality deteriorate due to susceptibility to damage and limited expansion
Solution Approach 1:
While the patent uses rigid telescopic cylinders rather than flexible materials, the principle of achieving compact collapsed size through structural design is similar. The telescopic cylinders provide a rigid, durable structure that maintains reliability while enabling significant size reduction when collapsed, avoiding the susceptibility to punctures and damage associated with inflatable or flexible enclosures.
Solution Approach 2:
The nested telescopic cylinder structure enables the enclosure to collapse to a fraction of its extended size while maintaining rigid, durable construction. This nested design provides both the compact portability needed and the reliability required, avoiding the damage susceptibility of flexible alternatives.
4Manufacturing precision
If a large ported enclosure is used to trap and dissipate out-of-phase sound, then sound distortion is reduced, but the device becomes cumbersome and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure dynamically transforms between a large extended configuration for optimal sound performance with reduced distortion and a compact collapsed configuration for easy transport. This dynamic size transformation resolves the contradiction between needing large volume for distortion reduction and small volume for transportability.
Solution Approach 2:
The nested telescopic cylinders enable the large enclosure to be collapsed into a compact form factor for transport while maintaining the capability to expand to full size for distortion-free sound performance. The nested structure provides both the large volume needed for sound quality and the compact size needed for ease of transport.
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 system effectively expands to multiple times its collapsed size, providing high-quality audio over a wide frequency range, including low frequencies, while remaining portable and compact, thus addressing the need for both sound quality and transportability.
Implementation Method 1
a spring residing within the speaker enclosure, and the airtight speaker enclosure itself provide a collective force sufficient to maintain the speaker system in an extended configuration
Implementation Method 2
Friction seals between the cylinders, a spring residing within the speaker enclosure, and the airtight speaker enclosure itself provide a collective force sufficient to maintain the speaker system in an extended configuration
Implementation Method 3
The enclosure that resides behind the speaker restricts or prevents sound waves from leaving the speaker system, thereby reducing or eliminating the sound waves that are out of phase
Data Source
AI summary
An extendable speaker system is provided with a base and lid that are connected via a plurality of concentric collapsible hollow bodies such as cylinders. A woofer speaker resides in the base. Mid range or tweeter speakers reside in the lid. The lid is displaced away from the base to expand the speaker system, where the extended cylinders provide an airtight seal between the base and lid forming a woofer speaker enclosure therein. Friction seals between the cylinders, a spring residing within the speaker enclosure, and the airtight speaker enclosure itself provide a collective force sufficient to maintain the speaker system in an extended configuration. A port is opened by depressing a button to vent the enclosure to allow for the speaker system to be collapsed. A locking system is provided to releasably maintain the speaker system in a collapsed configuration.