Linear Speaker Assembly Camouflage via Elongated Phase Plug
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional speaker systems are conspicuous and take up space, making it desirable to camouflage them without compromising sound quality or fidelity.
Innovation Solution
A linear speaker assembly with a single elongated phase plug over multiple speakers, where the phase plug and horn elements are integrated into a housing to blend with the surrounding structure, allowing the speakers to be partially concealed while maintaining sound quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If speakers are housed in an enclosure to camouflage them, then visibility is reduced, but sound quality and fidelity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The speaker system is nested within furniture enclosures such as bookshelves, cabinets, or decorative panels. The speakers are concealed inside these structures while maintaining acoustic performance through carefully designed sound paths that extend from the speakers through the furniture to the environment, allowing camouflage without sacrificing sound quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from conventional front-facing speaker placement to multi-dimensional sound paths that can extend vertically, horizontally, or diagonally through the furniture structure. This allows sound to emerge from unexpected locations within the furniture, maintaining audio fidelity while achieving complete visual camouflage.
2Device complexity
If a single elongated phase plug is used over multiple speakers, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual phase plugs that would normally be required for each speaker are merged into a single elongated phase plug structure that spans across multiple speakers. This unification reduces the total number of components and simplifies the overall assembly structure, while the elongated design maintains the necessary acoustic phase correction for each speaker position.
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 effectively camouflages the speaker system while preserving sound quality, allowing for amplified sound output without visible visibility, suitable for integration into furniture or other structures.
Implementation Method 1
a phase plug is a device inside a compression driver that ensures that the sound from the diaphragm of a speaker has an equal path length to the throat of the horn from all areas of the diaphragm, this prevents cancellation and extends high frequency response
Data Source
AI summary
A linear speaker assembly including a plurality of speakers in side by side relation within a piece of furniture in such a manner that a horn element, a phase plug and other ancillary speaker structure forms a sound path that communicates from the speakers to the environment and the speaker assembly is partially concealed or camouflaged from the casual viewing of an observer. The phase plug and horn element are elongated and are provided along the entire length of the plurality of speakers which comprise a portion of the linear speaker assembly. The phase plug and horn element visually complement the outer portion of the piece of furniture that the plurality of speakers are disposed within. This permits the piece of furniture or other structure to provide amplified sound from a plurality of speakers in side by side relation in such a manner whereby the speaker assembly is substantially camouflaged or not visible.