Patent Application
20250132109
Audio performance of speakers in portable computer devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc.) is an important aspect of user experience. As portable computer devices continue to get smaller, there is less space for audio speakers presenting challenges to maintain audio performance.
In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. The figures are not necessarily to scale. Instead, the thickness of the layers or regions may be enlarged in the drawings. Although the figures show layers and regions with clean lines and boundaries, some or all of these lines and/or boundaries may be idealized. In reality, the boundaries and/or lines may be unobservable, blended, and/or irregular.
Industrial design of electronic devices relates to the visual design or appearance of devices while providing the functionality needed for a positive user experience. An important consideration in the industrial design of laptops (among other types of electronic devices) is the placement of speaker ports (e.g., speaker vents, speaker holes, speaker ducts). A clean appearance with reduced holes on C and D covers of a laptop (e.g., the front and back covers of the base portion containing the keyboard) has become an increasingly important design consideration for thin and light-weight devices. Another design consideration that is becoming increasingly important is the size of laptop keyboards. Specifically, there is growing demand for keyboards that extend towards and/or up to the outer (lateral) edges of a laptop base in 13-inch and narrow bezel 14-inch thin and light devices to improve typing experience. In the past, a common location for speakers in a laptop was on either side of a keyboard with porting vents in the C cover. However, this traditional approach does not satisfy either of the above-noted design considerations. On the other hand, direct porting of speakers (which is usually achieved through the C cover on laptops) is important to provide good speaker treble response (e.g., response at sound frequencies greater than 10 kHz) for quality user experience.
There are different known approaches to eliminate or reduce the appearance of holes in the C cover while still attempting to provide reasonable sound quality. One known approach involves positioning speakers in the base of a laptop close to the hinge that connects the base to the lid with holes for speaker porting facing away from a user and towards the hinge and/or the lid attached thereto. In this arrangement, the holes are less visible to the user. However, the location of the holes results in sounds from the speakers having to reflect off the open lid to reach the speaker, which can reduce the sound quality, especially at relatively high frequencies. Another challenge with this approach is that it requires speakers to be positioned at locations that are commonly needed for fans and/or associated vents to cool the electronic device.
Another known approach is to position speakers underneath the keyboard with the soundwaves passing through the narrow gaps between the keys of the keyboard. However, this approach presents challenges due to the way keys are shaped. Typically, a key on a keyboard includes a keycap that contains a cavity that faces downward to cover or partially enclose an associated switch assembly. Thus, soundwaves produced by a speaker positioned underneath a keyboard are directed towards and into the cavity of the keycap before being forced around the keycap and through the gap between adjacent keys. The cavity of the keycap produces standing waves and resonance that can impact the single pressure level (SPL) response and/or result in distortion of the sound, thereby lowering the sound quality.
Examples disclosed herein improve the sound quality relative to existing approaches with porting vents contained in the keycaps of keys on a keyboard below which a speaker is located. By porting the speakers directly through the keycaps, the problems of standing waves and resonance caused by the cavity on the underside of the keycap are avoided. More particularly, in some examples, the total harmonic resonance (THDN) is less than or equal to approximately 5% with a minimum frequency response of at least 12 kHz. Further, in some examples, the holes in the keycaps for the speaker porting are positioned on the sidewalls of the keycaps facing towards a user to provide for direct porting without the need for the soundwaves to reflect off the screen or other part of a laptop lid.
In the illustrated example, the electronic device 100 includes one or more speakers (e.g., a first speaker 122 and a second speaker 124) positioned underneath (e.g., behind) one or more keys 126 of the keyboard 118. That is, the speakers 122, 124 are positioned between the keyboard 118 and the D cover 116 (e.g., the bottom cover) of the electronic device 100. That the speakers 122, 124 are buried underneath the keyboard 118 is the reason the speakers 122, 124 are represented by dashed lines in the illustrated example of
In this example, each hole 204 is associated with a different key 126 of the keyboard 118. As such, in this example, each hole 204 contains and/or is associated with a corresponding keycap 206. In some examples, as shown, the keycaps 206 are slightly smaller than (e.g., fit within) the holes 204, but are larger than (e.g., cover) the apertures 207 within the recessed surfaces 205 in the holes 204. In other examples, the keycaps 206 may be larger than (e.g., to completely cover) the holes 204. In some example, multiple keycaps 206 can cover different portions of the same hole 204 in the baseplate 202. In some examples, the baseplate 202 includes a single hole 204 for all the keys 126. In some examples, the baseplate 202 is omitted entirely. Each keycap 206 covers (e.g., extends over top of) and is operatively coupled to an underlying switch assembly 208 (or switch for short) aligned with and protruding through the corresponding hole 204 (and the associated aperture 207) in the baseplate 202 of the keyboard 118. Thus, when a keycap 206 is pressed down by a user, the keycap 206 presses down the switch assembly 208 to trigger an electrical signal associated with the corresponding key 126.
As shown in the illustrated example of
Based on the position of the first speaker 122, as shown in
In some examples, the openings 302 in the keycaps 206 are positioned adjacent to (e.g., aligned with) the area of the keycaps 206 that overlap the first speaker 122. Thus, as shown in
When the keycaps 206 are pressed down, the openings 302 are pushed towards the baseplate 202 (e.g., towards the recessed surface 205). In some situations, this can reduce the size of the area through which soundwaves are able to vent, which may negatively impact the sound quality. Accordingly, in some examples, the first speaker 122 is positioned underneath keys 126 that a user is not expected to use (e.g., press) very often to reduce the impact of the user pressing such keys on sound quality perceived by the user. Thus, in this example, the first speaker 122 is aligned with a function key (e.g., the F12 key) and a power key (e.g., an on/off key). However, the first speaker 122 can be aligned with any other key(s) 126 of the keyboard in addition to or instead of the function keys and/or the power key.
Providing speakers underneath the keyboard 118 with direct porting, as disclosed herein, provides several advantages over known electronic devices. Specifically, many known high-end devices include four speakers including two woofers and two tweeters for high fidelity audio. Often, the two tweeters are positioned on either side of a keyboard with direct porting through the C cover with the larger woofers placed near the battery with side porting. With speakers under the keyboard 118, as in disclosed examples, a similar performance to such known high-end devices can be achieved with only two full range speakers. This is possible because the position of such speakers (underneath a keyboard) allows for larger speakers (for quality bass performance) and direct porting (for quality treble performance). Furthermore, examples disclosed herein eliminate the need for speakers on either side of the keyboard, thereby enabling a larger keyboard and a cleaner appearance. Further still, examples disclosed herein eliminate the need for the side porting of woofers, thereby providing more space to exhaust air from a fan used to cool the electronic device.
As shown in
In the illustrated example, a first opening 402 (corresponding to a first one of the openings 302 shown in
In some examples, first and second meshes 410, 412 fill, cover, and/or extend across the respective first and second openings 402, 404. The meshes 410, 412 serve to prevent foreign substances (particulates, liquids, etc.) from passing through the openings 402, 404 and into the cavity 502. Further, the meshes 410, 412 can also reduce the visibility of the openings 402, 404 for a cleaner appearance. In some examples, as shown in
In some examples, the baseplate 202 includes a duct 516 (e.g., a hole, an opening, a vent, a port, etc.) to facilitate soundwaves from a speaker 602 (shown in
As detailed above, teachings disclosed herein can be implemented using existing designs keys on a keyboard. That is, examples disclosed herein do not require any significant redesign of keycaps (aside from the inclusion of the openings 402, 404) or of the switch assemblies 208. Furthermore, teachings disclosed herein can be used in combination with existing techniques to provide backlighting for keys of a keyboard. Specifically, one approach for backlit keys is to include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) underneath each keycap.
Another approach for backlit keys is with a backlight assembly that globally illuminates a group of multiple (e.g., all) keys of a keyboard.
“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation of any kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc., may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including” are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form such as A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) B with C, or (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities, etc., the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities, etc., the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B.
As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”, etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” object, as used herein, refers to one or more of that object. The terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more”, and “at least one” are used interchangeably herein. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements, or actions may be implemented by, e.g., the same entity or object. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and the inclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous.
As used herein, unless otherwise stated, the term “above” describes the relationship of two parts relative to Earth. A first part is above a second part, if the second part has at least one part between Earth and the first part. Likewise, as used herein, a first part is “below” a second part when the first part is closer to the Earth than the second part. As noted above, a first part can be above or below a second part with one or more of: other parts therebetween, without other parts therebetween, with the first and second parts touching, or without the first and second parts being in direct contact with one another.
As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, film, area, region, or plate) is in any way on (e.g., positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, indicates that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween.
As used herein, connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and joined) may include intermediate members between the elements referenced by the connection reference and/or relative movement between those elements unless otherwise indicated. As such, connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and/or in fixed relation to each other. As used herein, stating that any part is in “contact” with another part is defined to mean that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., are used herein without imputing or otherwise indicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in a list, and/or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and/or arbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for identifying those elements distinctly within the context of the discussion (e.g., within a claim) in which the elements might, for example, otherwise share a same name.
As used herein, “approximately” and “about” modify their subjects/values to recognize the potential presence of variations that occur in real world applications. For example, “approximately” and “about” may modify dimensions that may not be exact due to manufacturing tolerances and/or other real world imperfections as will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art. For example, “approximately” and “about” may indicate such dimensions may be within a tolerance range of +/−10% unless otherwise specified herein.
As used herein “substantially real time” refers to occurrence in a near instantaneous manner recognizing there may be real world delays for computing time, transmission, etc. Thus, unless otherwise specified, “substantially real time” refers to real time+1 second.
As used herein, the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.
As used herein, “programmable circuitry” is defined to include (i) one or more special purpose electrical circuits (e.g., an application specific circuit (ASIC)) structured to perform specific operation(s) and including one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g., electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors), and/or (ii) one or more general purpose semiconductor-based electrical circuits programmable with instructions to perform specific functions(s) and/or operation(s) and including one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g., electrical hardware implemented by one or more transistors). Examples of programmable circuitry include programmable microprocessors such as Central Processor Units (CPUs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and/or functions, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that may be programmed with second instructions to cause configuration and/or structuring of the FPGAs to instantiate one or more operations and/or functions corresponding to the first instructions, Graphics Processor Units (GPUs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and/or functions, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and/or functions, XPUs, Network Processing Units (NPUs) one or more microcontrollers that may execute first instructions to perform one or more operations and/or functions and/or integrated circuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). For example, an XPU may be implemented by a heterogeneous computing system including multiple types of programmable circuitry (e.g., one or more FPGAs, one or more CPUs, one or more GPUs, one or more NPUs, one or more DSPs, etc., and/or any combination(s) thereof), and orchestration technology (e.g., application programming interface(s) (API(s)) that may assign computing task(s) to whichever one(s) of the multiple types of programmable circuitry is/are suited and available to perform the computing task(s).
As used herein integrated circuit/circuitry is defined as one or more semiconductor packages containing one or more circuit elements such as transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, current paths, diodes, etc. For example an integrated circuit may be implemented as one or more of an ASIC, an FPGA, a chip, a microchip, programmable circuitry, a semiconductor substrate coupling multiple circuit elements, a system on chip (SoC), etc.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods have been disclosed that enable improved sound quality with few speakers in electronic devices that have a cleaner industrial design with fewer and/or smaller visible holes for speaker porting. Fewer speakers is achieved by employing larger speakers where there is more space underneath a keyboard rather than multiple smaller woofers and tweeters are different locations. Further, by positioning the speakers underneath, this eliminates speaker porting through the C cover for a cleaner appearance. Instead, speaker porting is achieved through openings in keycaps of one or more keys of the keyboard. This provides for direct porting while avoiding concerns of standing waves and sound distortion that can arise by attempting to port the speakers around the keycaps, thereby achieving higher quality sound that other known approaches.
Further examples and combinations thereof include the following:
The following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description by this reference. Although certain example systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all systems, apparatus, articles of manufacture, and methods fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.
