Glazing Audio Exciter Mounting for Lightweight Cabin Sound
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing audio systems in vehicles face challenges in achieving lightweight and compact designs with good sound performance while meeting safety standards for passenger cabins.
Innovation Solution
Integration of an audio exciter mounted on a glass sheet or glazing assembly through a hole, utilizing laminated glass with viscoelastic interlayers and a base for vibration transfer, allowing for optimal sound production and compliance with safety standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional speakers are used in vehicle audio systems, then sound performance can be achieved, but the system becomes heavier and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the audio exciter with the existing glass structure by mounting it on the vehicle's glass surfaces (windshield, side windows, rear window). The glass itself becomes the vibrating surface that produces sound, eliminating the need for separate speaker enclosures and mounting structures. This integration achieves weight reduction while maintaining sound performance through the use of the glass as both a structural and acoustic component.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass surfaces in the vehicle serve dual functions: maintaining structural integrity and safety while simultaneously acting as audio radiating surfaces. The audio exciters mounted on these glass surfaces enable the glass to perform both its traditional protective role and a new acoustic function, reducing the need for additional dedicated audio components and thereby reducing overall system weight.
2Length of moving object
If audio exciters are integrated into door panels and trim pieces, then compact size and light weight are achieved, but compliance with safety standards becomes constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The glass surfaces serve multiple functions simultaneously: they maintain vehicle structural integrity for safety compliance, provide mounting surfaces for audio exciters, and act as the primary sound radiating surfaces. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve compactness without compromising safety standard compliance, as the glass is already a required safety component in vehicle construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass acts as an intermediary between the audio exciters and the passenger cabin. By mounting exciters on the glass rather than directly on door panels or trim pieces, the system achieves compact integration while using the glass as a mediator that ensures safety compliance through its inherent structural properties and positioning within the vehicle's safety-critical glazing system.
3Reliability
If the base covers the glass sheet or glazing assembly, then the audio exciter is protected, but the aesthetic appearance and light transmission are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a base that covers the entire glass surface, the invention employs localized protection methods such as adhesive bonding or mechanical fasteners at specific discrete locations. This local approach provides sufficient protection for the audio exciter while minimizing interference with light transmission and maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the glass, as the protective elements are confined to small areas rather than covering the full surface.
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 provides a lightweight and compact audio system with improved sound performance, suitable for vehicles and buildings, ensuring passenger safety and enhanced auditory experience.
Implementation Method 1
Sound generation is triggered by vibrations of the structure to which the exciter is attached via a rigid connection
Implementation Method 2
document WO 2013/164540 describes a glazing comprising a piezoelectric transducer formed of a piezoelectric element located between two electrodes
Implementation Method 3
at least one interlayer film of viscoelastic plastic material, the interlayer film of viscoelastic plastic material preferably being of poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB)
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a glazing unit comprising: – a glass sheet or a glazed assembly (1) comprising at least one hole; and – at least one audio exciter (2) mounted on a base; wherein the base is inserted into the at least one hole in the glass sheet or glazed assembly (1). The invention also relates to methods for manufacturing such a glazing unit.