Rigid Adsorptive Insert for Speaker Back Volume
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable consumer electronics devices with micro speakers face challenges in achieving good low-frequency acoustic performance due to limited back volume, which can be exacerbated by direct incorporation of adsorbent materials causing physical instability and space issues.
Innovation Solution
An audio speaker design featuring a rigid open-pore adsorptive insert formed by bonded adsorptive particles, with interconnected macropores that transport air from the back volume to micropores, providing a stable and efficient way to enhance low-frequency performance without increasing physical size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If loose adsorbent particles are directly incorporated within the back volume, then low-frequency acoustic performance is improved, but physical stability deteriorates and the system becomes susceptible to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous substrate (membrane or foam) that acts as a flexible yet stable matrix to hold adsorbent particles. This substrate provides structural integrity while allowing air molecules to pass through and interact with the adsorbent material, resolving the contradiction between physical stability and acoustic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention creates a composite structure combining a porous substrate with adsorbent particles. The substrate provides mechanical stability while the adsorbent particles provide the acoustic damping function, achieving both physical stability and improved low-frequency response simultaneously.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a secondary enclosure such as a mesh bag is used to package adsorbent particles, then physical stability is improved, but available back volume decreases due to enclosure walls occupying vertical clearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thin porous substrates (membranes or foam sheets) to hold adsorbent particles, replacing bulky mesh bags. These thin substrates provide necessary structural support while occupying minimal vertical clearance, thus preserving maximum back volume for acoustic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of porous substrates allows air to flow freely through the structure without requiring enclosed chambers. This eliminates the need for solid enclosure walls that would occupy valuable back volume, while still providing physical stability for the adsorbent particles.
3Reliability
If the adsorptive insert occupies a large portion of the back volume, then acoustic performance is improved, but the risk of damage from particle shifting increases
Solution Approach 1:
The porous substrate acts as a protective matrix that immobilizes adsorbent particles while allowing them to function. This prevents particle shifting and damage during device handling, while the substrate's porosity allows the particles to occupy and effectively utilize the back volume for acoustic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of substrate plus adsorbent particles creates a mechanically robust assembly that can occupy large back volume without the particles becoming loose. The substrate binds the particles together, eliminating damage risk while maintaining the volume necessary for acoustic performance.
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 improved low-frequency acoustic performance by effectively utilizing the available back volume, producing better sound in smaller form factors or equivalent sound in smaller sizes while maintaining physical stability and minimizing space usage.
Implementation Method 1
The adsorbent material may reduce the spring rate of the speaker by adsorbing and desorbing air molecules as pressure fluctuates within the back volume during sound generation.
Implementation Method 2
The rigid open-pore body includes interconnected macropores that transport air from the speaker back volume to adsorptive micropores in the bonded adsorptive particles during sound generation.
Data Source
AI summary
An audio speaker having an adsorptive insert in a speaker back volume, is disclosed. More particularly, an embodiment includes an adsorptive insert having a rigid open-pore body formed by bonded adsorptive particles. The rigid open-pore body includes interconnected macropores that transport air from the speaker back volume to adsorptive micropores in the bonded adsorptive particles during sound generation. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.