Soundbar Mounting with Biased Lock and Orientation Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in securely and conveniently mounting soundbars to flat-screen TVs without the need for tools, while ensuring aesthetic appeal and maintaining audio quality, as existing methods require tools and can damage walls, and alter speaker positions when changing orientations.
Innovation Solution
A soundbar design featuring a housing with biased locks and detents that allow for easy attachment and detachment from a TV, using a 'push and click' mechanism, and an inertial sensor to automatically adjust speaker connections based on orientation, ensuring consistent audio output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If brackets and screws are used to secure the soundbar to the TV, then the soundbar is securely mounted, but tools and installation skills are required and wall damage may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical screw-and-bracket mounting system with a spring-loaded detent mechanism. The detent engages with corresponding features on the soundbar to provide secure mounting without requiring tools or wall penetration, thus maintaining reliability while dramatically improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded detent mechanism is designed to be self-actuating. When the soundbar is positioned near the TV, the spring automatically engages the detent with the mounting features, securing the soundbar without requiring manual tool operation or complex installation procedures by the user.
2Shape
If mounting features are placed on the soundbar surface for tabletop use, then aesthetic appeal is improved, but speaker positions switch when the soundbar is attached to the TV
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a sensor system that dynamically detects the soundbar's orientation (tabletop vs. TV-mounted) and automatically switches the audio channel routing accordingly. This dynamic adaptation ensures that left and right audio channels are correctly assigned to the appropriate speakers regardless of the soundbar's physical orientation, maintaining audio reliability while allowing aesthetic mounting features to be visible.
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
Enables tool-free mounting and detachment of soundbars, maintains aesthetic appeal by concealing mounting features, and automatically adjusts speaker connections for consistent audio performance regardless of orientation, simplifying installation and enhancing user experience.
Implementation Method 1
a biased lock having a locked and an unlocked condition. The biased lock is movable from an unlocked to a locked condition in response to a force applied by a detent, and when the biased lock is in the locked condition, the housing is restrained from moving relative to the detent
Data Source
AI summary
An audio-visual system includes a video monitor, such as a TV, and a soundbar. The soundbar is attachable to the video monitor by displacing a biased lock along a length, width, and/or height axis of the soundbar housing. Fasteners comprising detents are attached to a bottom surface of the video monitor and are spaced apart along a width axis of the video monitor. The soundbar includes a biased lock that comprises an engagement surface of a locking member that is biased in a first direction along a first axis. The detents engage and then disengage from the engagement surface, causing the soundbar to be locked to the detent and restrained from moving relative to the video monitor along one or more of a video monitor height, width, and length axis. The soundbar also has right and left speakers connected to respective right and left channels. When the soundbar sits on a horizontal surface with its upper wall above its lower wall, the right channel is connected to the right speaker, and the left channel is connected to the left speaker. When the soundbar is attached to the video monitor, it is inverted so that the soundbar's normally upper wall is below its normally lower wall. An inertial sensor detects the change in vertical orientation and provides a signal used by a controller that automatically reverses the channel connections so that the right channel is connected to the left speaker, and the left channel is connected to the right speaker.