Loudspeaker Enclosure Reflex Port Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional loudspeaker enclosures require additional manufacturing steps and can create acoustical discontinuities due to reflex ports being placed near the sound sources, leading to suboptimal sound reproduction and increased manufacturing complexity.
Innovation Solution
A loudspeaker enclosure design where the reflex port is formed as an integral inner wall section during molding, extending from the end sections and terminating with a plate that secures the driver, allowing the port to open away from the drivers and eliminating the need for subsequent manufacturing steps, thereby enhancing sound reproduction and enclosure rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If reflex ports are formed in subsequent manufacturing steps by attaching tubular members, then the ports can be added after enclosure assembly, but this increases manufacturing complexity and assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The reflex port former is merged with the end section as an integral inner wall section, both being formed by the same injection molding process. This eliminates the need for separate manufacturing steps to attach tubular members, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining the functional benefits of reflex ports
2Ease of manufacture
If reflex ports open to the front baffle near the drivers, then the ports can be easily integrated, but this creates acoustical discontinuities and diffraction that degrade sound quality
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of opening the reflex port to the front baffle near the drivers, the port is inverted to open to the rear of the enclosure. The reflex port former extends from the end section rearward, creating a port that exhausts pressure away from the sound sources, eliminating acoustical discontinuities and diffraction while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
3Ease of operation
If junction structures are used to form the enclosure, then assembly is straightforward, but the structures are limited to prismatic shapes and require extensive assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosing sections are merged with the end sections as integral parts, both formed by the same injection molding process. This creates a unified enclosure structure that eliminates multiple assembly steps while enabling complex arched shapes that would be difficult to achieve with separate junction structures
4Strength
If pressure casted aluminum is used for molded structures, then strength and heat conductivity are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases compared to junction structures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the manufacturing parameter from pressure casting to injection molding, achieving similar strength benefits while simplifying the manufacturing process. The injection molded enclosure with integrated reflex port former maintains structural integrity while reducing manufacturing complexity compared to pressure casted aluminum enclosures
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides an improved loudspeaker enclosure comprising two opposing end sections (110, 300) arranged at a distance from each other and enclosing sections (120, 130, 140) which connect the end sections (110, 300) over said distance, wherein the inner volume of the enclosure is defined by said sections (110, 120, 130, 140, 300). The enclosure (1) also has a reflex port (160) which comprises a reflex opening (162) which is provided to the enclosure (1) and adapted to exhaust internal pressure from the inner volume to outside the enclosure (1). The reflex port (160) further comprises an inner reflex port former (150) which connects the inner volume of the enclosure (1) to the reflex opening (162) for forming the reflex port (160). The reflex port former (150) is formed by molding as an integral inner wall section which extends inwards from the inner surface of either end section (110, 300). On the other hand the reflex port former (150) extends adjacent to an enclosing section (120) which at least partially surrounds the reflex port former (150) such that the reflex port (160) is formed to a space between the reflex port former (150) and the adjacent enclosing section (120). The reflex port former extends over a portion of the axial dimension of the loudspeaker enclosure and surrounds the inner portion of a driver. The reflex port is terminated in axial direction by a terminating plate provided to inside the enclosure such that the reflex port is formed to a space defined by a reflex port former, an enclosing side section and the terminating plate. The terminating plate secures the driver to the enclosure.