Space Shaded Constant Beamwidth Transducer Driver Spacing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional loudspeaker designs with constant beamwidth transducers (CBT) suffer from non-uniform response at various listening angles and distances due to attenuation, limiting their effectiveness and consumer appeal.
Innovation Solution
The Space Shaded Constant-Beamwidth Transducer (SSCBT) design replaces attenuation with incremental driver spacing, ensuring each driver operates at maximum volume by adjusting driver density to follow the Legendre shading function, allowing for a constant radiation pattern over a wide frequency range without attenuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If attenuation is used in CBT design to achieve constant beamwidth, then radiation pattern is constant over frequency range, but driver output is reduced and system efficiency is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial parameter (driver spacing) instead of using attenuation to achieve the desired radiation pattern. Drivers are positioned at different distances from the focal point, creating a space-shaded arrangement where closer drivers contribute more to on-axis sound and farther drivers contribute to off-axis sound, achieving constant beamwidth without reducing driver output
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of attenuating driver output to achieve constant beamwidth (the conventional CBT approach), the patent inverts the approach by using spatial positioning to naturally create the desired radiation pattern. The inversion transforms the problem from reducing output to optimizing position, thereby eliminating the energy loss associated with attenuation
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple drivers are used to improve response uniformity, then listening position coverage is improved, but system complexity and component count increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different spatial positions to different drivers based on their function. Drivers are positioned at specific distances from the focal point according to a shading function, where each position provides a specific directional characteristic. This localized spatial arrangement creates uniform response across listening positions without requiring a large number of drivers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional array of uniformly spaced drivers to a three-dimensional space-shaded arrangement. By adding the dimension of varying distances from the focal point, the system achieves constant beamwidth and improved listening position coverage with fewer drivers, reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability
Data Source
AI summary
A loudspeaker described herein have a radiation pattern which is constant over a wide frequency range without requiring any attenuation. The system includes plurality of drivers not uniformly arranged so that the relative velocity of the speaker follows the Legendre shading function. By making the driver density proportional to the Legendre function SSCBT allows each driver to play at max volume. The purpose behind Space Shaded Constant Beamwidth Transducer (SSCBT) is to replace attenuation with incremental spacing between the drivers. Alternatively, the angles each driver is placed by doubling the distance each driver is placed to accomplish the region which is 3 db lower. When the distance is doubled, the angle between each driver increases the further from 0 it is and is consistent with the Legendre function on its surface.