Patent Grant
10841692
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0140871 filed on Nov. 15, 2018 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to a display apparatus, and more particularly to a display apparatus capable of providing high-quality sound.
Most display apparatuses include internal loudspeakers to output sound together with an image.
Recently, display apparatuses are being manufactured in a slim type. However, the display apparatuses being a slim type lead to a poor condition for producing high quality sound. In particular, it is difficult to provide quality sound with a sound field effect.
A directional loudspeaker may be used to make the sound field effect better in a slim display device.
However, even when the directional loudspeaker is used in a display apparatus, sound output from the directional loudspeaker may be confined or reflected within the housing of the display apparatus. For this reason, directionality of sound and the sound field effect may be deteriorated and other related problems of poor sound quality occurs.
An aspect of one or more embodiments is to provide a display apparatus for providing high-quality sound.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a display apparatus including: a display configured to display an image; a housing configured to support the display; a loudspeaker provided between the display and the housing and configured to output sound; and a sound guide provided on the loudspeaker and configured to guide the sound output by the loudspeaker. The sound guide may include comprise: a directional emitter including: an internal space extending in a first output direction of the sound; and a plurality of holes arranged in the output direction on a first surface facing a second output direction different from the first output direction; and one pair of directional guides protruding from the first surface, the plurality of holes of the directional emitter being interposed between the one pair of directional guides, the one pair of directional guides approaching each other in the second output.
The one pair of directional guides may be symmetrical to each other.
The housing may include vents through which the sound output from the loudspeaker passes to an exterior of the housing.
An edge of at least one of the one pair of directional guides may extend in the second output direction.
The sound guide may be disposed to be tilted by a predetermined angle toward the vents with respect to the second output direction.
The first surface may correspond to an upper surface of the directional guide. A first side surface and a second side surface of the directional guide, which are adjacent to the first surface and face each other to form the internal space, may have different heights in the second output direction.
The one pair of directional guides may include: a first directional guide; and a second directional guide. The first directional guide, provided closer to the vents than the second directional guide, may have a shorter length than the second directional guide in the second output direction.
The one pair of directional guides may include: a first directional guide; and a second directional guide. The first directional guide, provided closer to the vents than the second directional guide, may have a longer length than the second directional guide in the second output direction.
At least one of the one pair of directional guides may be concave or convex.
At least one of the one pair of directional guides may include a bent portion.
The one pair of directional guides and the vents may be integrally provided.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a display apparatus including a housing configured to support a display displaying an image and comprising a plurality of gaps; a loudspeaker provided in the housing and configured to output sound through the plurality of gaps; and a sound guide configured to guide the sound output by the loudspeaker to the plurality of gaps. The sound guide may include: a directional emitter configured to guide the sound in a first direction and including a plurality of holes arranged on a first surface of the sound guide, the plurality of holes facing a second direction different from the first direction; a first directional guide; and a second directional guide, the first directional guide and the second directional guide protruding from the first surface toward the plurality of gaps. The first directional guide and the second directional guide configured to further change the sound transmitted through the plurality of holes in the second direction toward the plurality of gaps.
An edge of one of the first directional guide and the second directional guide may extend in the second direction beyond an edge of the other one of the first directional guide and the second directional guide.
The sound guide may be tilted with respect to the second direction by a predetermined angle toward the plurality of gaps.
At least one of the first directional guide and the second directional guide may be concave or convex.
At least one of the first directional guide and the second directional guide may include a bent portion.
The first directional guide, the second directional guide and the plurality of gaps may be integrally provided.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a display apparatus including: a housing configured to support a display displaying an image and comprising vents; a loudspeaker provided in the housing and configured to output sound through the vents of the housing; and a sound guide configured to guide the sound output by the loudspeaker to the vents. The sound guide may include: a directional emitter configured to guide the sound in a first direction and comprising a plurality of holes arranged on a first surface of the sound guide, the plurality of holes facing a second direction being perpendicular from the first direction; a first directional guide; and a second directional guide, the first directional guide and the second directional guide protruding from the first surface toward the vents. The sound guide is tilted with respect to the second direction toward the vents.
The above and/or the aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals or signs represent components performing substantially the same function. In the drawings, the size of each component may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. However, the technical spirit, fundamental configuration, and effects of the inventive concept are not limited to configurations or effects described in the following embodiments. In describing the disclosure, detailed description of a well-known art or configuration related to the disclosure will be omitted when it is deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the disclosure.
The terms including ordinal numbers, such as “first” and “second,” are used only for distinguishing one element from other elements. Singular expressions, unless clearly defined otherwise in context, include plural expressions. It should be understood that the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” etc. do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. In embodiments of the disclosure, the terms including “upper portion,” “lower portion,” “left side,” “right side,” “upper surface,” and “lower surface” are defined on the basis of the drawings, and the shape or location of each component is not limited by the terms. Also, in embodiments of the disclosure, at least one of a plurality of elements indicates all the elements, each of the elements, or all combinations of the elements.
The display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes a display 100 capable of displaying an image, a housing 200 which supports the display 100, and a loudspeaker 300 which is provided in a space inside the display apparatus 1 between the display 100 and the housing 200 and capable of outputting sound. However, the configuration of the display apparatus 1 shown in
The display 100 displays an image. The display 100 may employ any method of displaying an image, and there is no limitation in implementing the display 100. The display 100 may be implemented as, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a surface-conduction electron-emitter display, a carbon nanotube display, a nanocrystal display, or the like. When the display 100 is implemented with an LCD, the display 100 includes an LCD panel, a backlight unit which provides light to the LCD panel, a panel driver, and the like. Alternatively, the display 100 may be implemented as an OLED panel which is a self-light emitting device without a backlight unit.
The housing 200 supports the display 100. Also, the housing 200 may be provided to accommodate other components (e.g., a power supply, a driving circuit, and a controller) which cause an image to be displayed on the display 100 and may provide the appearance of the display apparatus 1. The housing 200 may be formed of, for example, a plastic material. However, the material of the housing 200 is not limited to the plastic material and may include a metal material or the like by way of another example. The housing 200 may include a stand 201 which supports the display 100 from below.
The loudspeaker 300 is provided in the space between the display 100 and the housing 200 and outputs sound. The loudspeaker 300 may include front loudspeakers 301 and surround sound loudspeakers 302. In particular, the surround sound loudspeakers 302 may include a directional emitter 410 (
The loudspeaker 300 may include a driver unit which drives the loudspeaker 300 to generate sound. A plurality of driver units may be provided according to a channel or frequency of an audio signal input to the loudspeaker 300. The driver units may include an electromagnet which receives an electrical signal and generates magnetic force and a diaphragm which is vibrated by the electromagnet and generates sound.
The sound output from the loudspeaker 300 may reach to a user of the display apparatus 1 directly or indirectly. Sound output from the front loudspeakers 301 may directly reach to the user of the display apparatus 1. The front loudspeakers 301 may be disposed in the display apparatus 1 so that sound may be output in a frontward direction of the display apparatus 1, but the arrangement of the front loudspeakers 301 is not limited thereto. For example, when the display apparatus 1 has a slim design, the front loudspeakers 301 may be disposed in the display apparatus 1 facing downward as shown in
The sound output from the surround sound loudspeakers 302 may be indirectly provided to the user of the display apparatus 1. For example, as shown in
The loudspeaker 300 of the display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure is provided in the space provided between the display 100 and the housing 200 and outputs sound. Accordingly, when the sound output from the loudspeaker 300 is confined (i.e., bottled-up) or reflected within the housing 200, energy of sound emitted to the outside of the display apparatus 1, specifically, to the outside of the housing 200, is reduced, a sound field effect is deteriorated, and so on, thereby causing poor sound quality. For example, as shown in
Meanwhile, vents 202, i.e., openings through which the sound output from the loudspeaker 300 passes to reach the exterior of the housing 200, may be formed in the housing 200. As shown in
When the direction of sound output from the loudspeaker 300 differs from the direction of the vents 202, sound quality may be deteriorated as mentioned above. For example, as shown in
The configuration of the display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure for solving the problem of sound quality deterioration will be described below with reference to
The display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes the sound guide 400. The sound guide 400 is provided on the output side of the loudspeaker 300 and guides sound output from the loudspeaker 300. As shown in
The sound guide 400 includes the directional emitter 410 and a directional guide 420.
The directional emitter 410 has an internal space which extends along an output direction of the sound being output from the loudspeaker 300. The internal space of the directional emitter 410 is not limited to a specific cross-sectional shape. For example, the internal space of the directional emitter 410 may be given in a cylindrical shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, or another shape, which has a predetermined length in the output direction of sound being output from the loudspeaker 300.
In a first surface 411 of the directional emitter 410 facing a direction in which the output direction of sound output from the loudspeaker 300 is bent, a plurality of holes 412 are arranged along the output direction of sound.
According to the directional emitter 410 having the above-described structure, the sound which is output from the loudspeaker 300, passed through the directional emitter 410, and transmitted through the plurality of holes 412 of the first surface 411 has directivity in a direction in which the sound is output through the plurality of holes 412. Specifically, sound waves output from the loudspeaker 300 are transmitted with a time lag in the process of passing through the plurality of holes 412 of the directional emitter 410 arranged along the output direction of the sound being output from the loudspeaker 300. The sound waves transmitted with the time lag interfere with each other destructively or constructively and as a result have directivity in a direction in which the sound waves are output through the plurality of holes 412, for example, a direction A of
There is no limitation in the overall shape of the directional emitter 410, the arrangement of the plurality of holes 412, the size of each hole 412, and the like. For example, the directional emitter 410 has a cross-sectional area which may be constant along the output direction of the sound being output from the loudspeaker 300 or may gradually increase or decrease in the longitudinal direction (i.e., the output direction of the sound being output from the loudspeaker 300). Also, the plurality of holes 412 may or may not be formed at regular intervals, and the size of each hole 412 may gradually increase or decrease. For convenience of description, it is assumed below that the cross-sectional area of the directional emitter 410 gradually decreases in the longitudinal direction, the size of each of the plurality of holes 412 increases in the longitudinal direction, and the plurality of holes 412 are provided at regular intervals as shown in
Meanwhile, the sound guide 400 includes one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 respectively extending from two sides 413 and 414 of the first surface 411 between which the plurality of holes 412 of the directional emitter 410 are interposed. The one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 approach closer to each other in the propagation direction (or the sound output direction) of sound output through the plurality of holes 412. Each of the one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 may be provided in the form of a plate which has a length corresponding to the length of the two sides 413 and 414 of the first surface 411 of the directional emitter 410 (in the longitudinal direction), but the length and shape of the directional guide 420 is not limited thereto. Alternatively, for example, one of the one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 may be omitted. For convenience of description, it is assumed below that the one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 are both provided, and the individual directional guides 421 and 422 included in the one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 are also referred to as a first directional guide 421 and a second directional guide 422.
According to the directional guide 420 having the above structure, the directivity of the output sound is obtained in a certain direction. As the sound output from the loudspeaker 300 passes through the directional emitter 410, the degree of concentration of the sound further increases after passing through the directional guide 420. Accordingly, the amount of the output sound being confined or reflected within the housing 200 or another component in the housing 200 may be reduced. Consequently, the energy of sound emitted to the outside of the display apparatus 1 is increased, and the quality of sound output from the display apparatus 1 is improved.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the one pair of directional guides 421 and 422 may be provided in a symmetrical arrangement. For example, as shown in
According to this structure of the embodiment in
Alternatively, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, an edge 424 (
When the vents 202 are provided as a plurality of gaps 202a, 202b, 202c, 202d and 202e being arranged side by side, one of the one pair of directional guides 420 closer to the vents 202 may indicate a directional guide closer to a gap (e.g., 202e of
According to this structure, because the direction of sound output from the loudspeaker 300 is changed toward the vents 202 of the housing 200, the opening direction of the housing vents 202 and the output direction of sound become identical or similar to each other. Therefore, the output sound passed through the directional guides 420 is easily emitted through the vents 202 of the housing 200, and it is possible to reduce the amount of the output sound being confined or reflected within the housing 200. Consequently, the quality of the output sound is improved.
Meanwhile, the first directional guide 421 and the second directional guide 422 may have the reverse shapes from each other. In other words, the first directional guide 421 may have the above-described shape of the second directional guide 422, and the second directional guide 422 may have the above-described shape of the first directional guide 421. In particular, according to the arrangement and shape of the vents 202, the first directional guide 421 and the second directional guide 422 may have the reverse shapes. Also, embodiments in which the output direction of the output sound passed through the directional guides 420 is identical or similar to the opening direction of the housing vents 202 have been mainly described above, but embodiments of the disclosure are not limited thereto. Embodiments of the disclosure may also include the reverse structure in which acoustic energy output toward the display 100 is reflected by the display 100 and directed toward the vents 202 of the housing 200. This is the same for all embodiments to be described below.
Effects of the above embodiments will be described in detail with reference to
As described above, when the sound output from the loudspeaker 300 is passed through the directional emitter 410 and transmitted to the plurality of holes 412, the sound has directivity in a direction in which the sound is output through the plurality of holes 412, that is, a direction (a direction D of
Effects of the changed in sound output direction will be described by comparing the display apparatus 1 according to this embodiment with a display apparatus 1 of
On the contrary, when the vents 202 provided in the housing 200 are directed as shown in
When the vents 202 are provided in a diagonal direction (a direction C′ of
An embodiment has been described above in which the edge 424 of the second directional guide 422 is oriented in the propagation direction of the sound output through the plurality of holes 412. However, the extension direction of the edge 424 of the second directional guide 422 is not limited thereto and may be changed without limitations. In particular, the extension direction of the edge 424 of the second directional guide 422 may be identified according to the direction of the vents 202.
Meanwhile, an embodiment has been described above in which the direction of the output sound is changed through the structure of the edge 424 (
In the above-described embodiments, the propagation direction of sound output through the directional guide 420 is changed by directing the edge 424 of the second directional guide 422 in the propagation direction of the sound output through the plurality of holes 412. Unlike the above-described embodiment, in this embodiment, the loudspeaker 300 and the sound guide 400 may be tilted by a certain angle toward the vents 202 of the housing 200 as shown in
According to this structure, it is possible to reduce a proportion of the output sound confined or reflected within the housing 200 by changing the output direction of sound according to the direction of the vents 202. Accordingly, the deterioration of sound quality is reduced to improve the sound quality.
Alternatively, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the output direction of sound may be changed by tilting the first surface 411 of the directional emitter 410, in which the plurality of holes 412 are provided, by a certain angle (toward the vents 202). This will be described with reference to
In the display apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosure, the first surface 411 in which the plurality of holes 412 are provided as an upper surface of the directional emitter 410 of the sound guide 400, and a first side surface 415 and a second side surface 416 of the directional emitter which are adjacent to the first surface 411 and face each other to form an internal space of the directional emitter 410 have different heights. In other words, according to this embodiment, because the first side surface 415 and the second side surface 416, that is, two side surfaces adjacent to the first surface 411 in which the plurality of holes 412 are provided, have different heights, the first surface 411 is formed to tilt by a certain angle. Accordingly, the propagation direction of sound output through the plurality of holes 412 provided in the first surface 411 (a direction F of
According to this structure, it is possible to reduce a proportion of sound confined or reflected within the housing 200 by changing the output direction of sound according to the direction of the vents 202. Accordingly, the deterioration of sound quality is reduced so that the sound quality may be improved.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the length of the first directional guide 421, which is closer to the vents 202, between the one pair of directional guides 420 may be shorter than the length of the second direction guide 422.
According to this structure, because the direction of the sound output from the loudspeaker 300 is changed toward the vents 202 of the housing 200, a proportion of the sound confined or reflected within the housing 200 may be reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the deterioration of sound quality and improve surround effects.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, at least one of the one pair of directional guides 420 may be concave or convex.
According to these structures, it is possible to employ the directional guides 420 in an appropriate shape according to the arrangement of other components in the housing 200, the desired degree of concentration of the output sound, the degree of a directional change, the orientation of the directional guide 420, the shape of the directional guide 420, and/or the like. Therefore, the degree of freedom of designing the directional guides 420 and the suitability of the directional guides 420 are improved.
According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the directional guides 420 and the vents 202 may be integrally provided. For example, at least one directional guide 421 of the one pair of directional guides 420 may extend to come in contact with a vent 202 of the housing 200 and be integrally formed with the vent 202.
According to this structure, sound which is lost, confined, or reflected within the path from the directional guides 420 to the vents 202 of the housing 200 is hardly present or remarkably reduced so that the quality of output sound is improved.
As described above, according to the disclosure, it is possible to provide high-quality surround sound to a user of a display apparatus.
According to the disclosure, output sound whose directivity is obtained in a certain direction while the sound output from a loudspeaker passes through a directional emitter further increases in the degree of concentration after passing through a directional guide. Accordingly, the amount of the output sound being confined or reflected within a housing or another component in the housing may be reduced. Consequently, the energy of sound emitted to the outside of a display apparatus is increased, and the quality of sound output from the display apparatus is improved.
According to the disclosure, it is possible to further increase the degree of concentration of output sound passed through the plurality of holes.
According to the disclosure, it is possible to reduce the amount of sound output from a loudspeaker being confined or reflected within a housing by changing the direction of the output sound so that the quality of output sound is improved.
According to the disclosure, it is possible to reduce a proportion of sound confined or reflected within a housing of a display apparatus by changing the output direction of sound according to the direction of vents. Accordingly, it is possible to improve sound quality by reducing deterioration of sound quality.
According to the disclosure, it is possible to employ a directional guide in an appropriate shape according to the arrangement of other components in a housing of a display apparatus, the desired degree of concentration of output sound, the degree of a directional change, the orientation of a directional guide, the shape of the directional guide, and/or the like. Therefore, the degree of freedom of designing the directional guide and the suitability of the directional guide are improved.
According to the disclosure, sound which is confined, or reflected within the path from a directional guide to vents of a housing is hardly present or remarkably reduced so that the quality of output sound is improved.
Although embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made therein without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2018-0140871 | Nov 2018 | KR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8638973 | Hayashi et al. | Jan 2014 | B2 |
| 8768405 | Fukazawa et al. | Jul 2014 | B2 |
| 9459654 | Horiuchi | Oct 2016 | B2 |
| 9930286 | Hamadate | Mar 2018 | B2 |
| 20090080681 | Hamada et al. | Mar 2009 | A1 |
| 20090274329 | Ickler | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20110305359 | Ikeda et al. | Dec 2011 | A1 |
| 20130028464 | Hayashi et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
| 20130114844 | Fukazawa et al. | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20130329927 | Samarakoon | Dec 2013 | A1 |
| 20140247959 | Yamanaka et al. | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20150053497 | Horiuchi | Feb 2015 | A1 |
| 20150326816 | Hamadate | Nov 2015 | A1 |
| 20180167724 | Jung et al. | Jun 2018 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-059874 | Feb 2000 | JP |
| 10-2018-0066923 | Jun 2018 | KR |
| 10-2019-0021602 | Mar 2019 | KR |
| WO-2016134861 | Sep 2016 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Holland, K., et al., “A Low-Cost End-Fire Acoustic Radiator”, Jul./Aug. 1991, J. Audio Eng. Soc, vol. 39, No. 7/8, p. 540-550, 11 pages total. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion (PCT/ISA/210 and PCT/ISA/237), dated Apr. 20, 2020 by International Searching Authority in International Application No. PCT/KR2019/014874. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200162810 A1 | May 2020 | US |
