Patent Application
20100183179
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Many portable electronic devices have speakers whose acoustic output level is lower than most users would prefer. This acoustic output problem arises from a number of issues unique to portable electronic devices. First, the power available for the device is from preferably a portable power supply such as a rechargeable lithium ion battery. Since the device is designed to be portable and often carried in the pocket of a user, the size of the battery, and thus the power available, is limited. The more powerful the audio output, the greater the drain on the battery. Also, the size of the speaker and its acoustic amplifier is limited by the desire to make the devices as small and portable as possible.
External speakers and electronic amplifiers for portable electronic devices are available. Unfortunately, these electronic amplifiers require external power or are parasitic devices that drain power from the power supply of the device. In addition, these electronic amplifiers require relatively complex electronic components and are subject to malfunctioning due to short or open circuits in the electronic components.
In light of the above discussed problems with the prior art, what is needed is an improved device and method for increasing the audio output of a portable electronic device.
An embodiment of the present invention is directed toward an acoustic amplifier for use with a portable electronic device having a display, a user input and an audio output that produces audible frequency sound waves. The acoustic amplifier includes a dock for the portable electronic device having a docking chamber with supportive sidewalls that support the device such that the display is visible and the user input accessible when the device is mounted in the dock. The amplifier has an enclosed housing with the dock constructed on an upper surface of the housing. An acoustic waveguide having an input is positioned in the enclosed housing. An opening in the dock corresponds to an entrance of the waveguide and the audio output of the portable electronic device when the device is mounted in the dock such that the audio output is amplified by the acoustic waveguide. The acoustic waveguide has a spiral configuration with a perpendicular cross section that increases substantially exponentially from the entrance to an exit of the acoustic waveguide. A cable access slot is preferably formed in the dock cavity that allows a cable to be coupled to a connector of the portable electronic device when the device is mounted in the dock. The housing preferably consists essentially of an upper molded portion and a lower molded portion.
Another embodiment of the present invention is directed toward an accessory for a portable electronic device having a speaker. The accessory includes a housing having a docking cavity formed therein wherein the docking cavity has supportive sidewalls that are adapted to receive and support the portable electronic device in an upright position. A cable access channel formed in the docking cavity that allows a connector and cable to be coupled to the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is mounted in the docking cavity. An acoustic waveguide having a spiral shaped acoustic chamber is positioned in the housing such that an entrance to the acoustic waveguide corresponds to a hole in the docking cavity that is positioned to correspond to the location of the speaker of the device when the device is mounted in the docking chamber. The entrance to the acoustic chamber preferably has a cross sectional area is approximately the same size as a surface area of the speaker of the device. The exit of the acoustic chamber waveguide corresponds to an exterior opening in a sidewall of the housing. A perpendicular cross sectional area of the acoustic chamber increases approximately exponentially from the acoustic chamber entrance to the acoustic chamber exit. The accessory includes an external power supply connection adapted to receive power from an external power supply, charging circuitry for converting the received power to a charging voltage and an electrical connector in the docking cavity for coupling the charging voltage to the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is mounted in the docking cavity. The housing and the acoustic wave guide are preferably constructed from a translucent polycarbonate plastic formed into a unitary molded upper portion and a unitary molded lower portion.
a) is an illustration of an acoustic waveguide dock adapted to amplify an acoustic output of a mobile phone;
b) is an illustration of the acoustic waveguide dock of
The present invention is directed toward a charging, acoustic amplifier for a portable electronic device that turns the device into a no-power-drain sound system that never needs batteries or adapters.
An acoustic waveguide is a physical structure for guiding sound waves. The duct contains air that supports sound propagation. One example of an acoustic wave guide is a stethoscope. The length of the wave guide is normally of a similar order as the wavelengths of the sound it will be used with, but the dimensions of its cross section are normally smaller than one quarter of the target wavelength. Sound is introduced at one end of the tube by forcing the pressure across the whole cross-section to vary with time. A plane wave will travel down the line at the speed of sound. When the wave reaches the end of the transmission line, behavior depends on what is present at the end of the line.
Referring now to
A hole 12 in the housing 4 corresponds to a position of a speaker 14 on the portable device 10 when the device is mounted in the dock 6. The hole 12 couples the speaker 14 output to a coiled waveguide 16 formed in the housing and shown in more detail in the exploded view of
The dock 6 and housing 4 have a pass-through slot 23 constructed in therein that allows a dock cable to be fed through the housing 4 to the device 10 while the device is mounted in the dock 6. This allows the device 10 to be charged or remotely accessed by a computer while mounted in the dock 6.
The housing 4 and waveguide 16 are preferably constructed from a translucent polycarbonate that allows a user to see the graceful curves of the waveguide that are mathematically designed to amplify the sound output of the device. Most preferably, the housing is constructed from an upper and lower molded polycarbonate portions that are connected with four screws located in the corners of the housing 2 as shown in
Referring now to
The air horn is preferably designed such that the perpendicular cross sectional area of the horn 50 increases exponentially proceeding from the horn entrance 52 to the horn exit 56. The cross sectional area of the horn entrance 52 is selected to approximately correspond to the area of the speaker of the device mounted in the dock on the housing 54. The horn exit 56 is preferably selected to have a cross sectional area that is substantially the same size as the exterior face of the housing 54 on which the horn exit 56 is positioned. The horn 50 is then designed to curve through the housing 54 such that it's perpendicular cross sectional increases approximately exponentially from the horn entrance 52 to the horn exit 56.
Referring now to
Due to the constraints imposed upon the air horn design of
