Patent Application
20250113129
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The disclosure relates to home audio devices and more particularly pertains to a new home audio device for retrofitting speakers into unused outlet boxes in a building which are in electrical communication with an audio source for emitting audio from the audio source throughout the building. The device includes a plurality of wall plates that each has a plurality of sound holes and a plurality of speakers that are mountable to the wall plates. The device includes a central circuit box that is in electrical communication with each of the speakers and an audio source thereby facilitating the plurality of speakers to emit audio from the audio source.
The prior art relates to home audio devices including a variety of audio systems that can be incorporated into a structure that each includes speakers and a means of routing an audio signal from an audio source to each of the speakers. In no instance does the prior art disclose a home audio device that includes a plurality of wall plates that each has a plurality of sound holes and a plurality of speakers that are attachable to a respective wall plate and a central circuit box that is in electrical communication between each of the speakers and an audio source for emitting audio from the audio source throughout a building.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a plurality of outlet boxes that is each integrated into a respective wall in a building. A plurality of wall plates is provided and each of the plurality of wall plates has a plurality of sound holes to pass sound through the wall plates. Additionally, each of the plurality of wall plates is mountable to a respective one of the plurality of outlet boxes. A plurality of speakers is each attachable to a respective wall plate to emit audible sound outwardly through the plurality of sound holes in the respective wall plate. A central circuit box is integrated into the building and the central circuit box is in electrical communication between each of the plurality of speakers and an audio source thereby facilitating audio from the audio source to be audible throughout the building.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A plurality of wall plates 24 is provided and each of the plurality of wall plates 24 has a plurality of sound holes 26 to pass sound through the wall plates 24 and each of the plurality of wall plates 24 is mountable to a respective one of the plurality of outlet boxes 12. Each of the plurality of wall plates 24 has a pair of fastener holes 28 which each extends through a front surface 30 and a back surface 32 of a respective wall plate 24 and each of the sound holes 26 in a respective wall plate 24 extends through the front surface 30 and the back surface 32 of the respective wall plate 24. The plurality of sound holes 26 in each of the plurality of wall plates 24 is arranged in a plurality of lines radiating outwardly from a central point such that the plurality of sound holes 26 in each of the plurality of wall plates 24 defines a circular shape.
The plurality of sound holes 26 in each of the plurality of wall plates 24 is centrally located on the wall plates 24 and each of the pair of fastener holes 28 in a respective wall plate 24 is positioned between the plurality of sound holes 26 in the respective wall plate 24 and a respective one of a top edge 34 and a bottom edge 36 of the respective wall plate 24. Additionally, each of the pair of fastener holes 28 in a respective wall plate 24 is aligned with a respective one of the fastener wells 22 in a respective one of the outlet boxes 12 when the respective wall plate 24 is positioned over the respective outlet box 12. As is shown in
A plurality of speakers 48 is provided and each of the plurality of speakers 48 is attached to a respective one of the plurality of wall plates 24. In this way the plurality of speakers 48 can emit audible sound outwardly through the plurality of sound holes 26 in the respective wall plate 24. Additionally, each of the plurality of speakers 48 has an input port 50. Each of the plurality of speakers 48 comprises a conical housing 52 that has a rear end 54 and a front end 56. The conical housing 52 flares outwardly between the rear end 54 and the front end 56 and each of the rear end 54 and the front end 56 is planar. The input port 50 is recessed into the rear end 54 of the conical housing 52 and the input port 50 may comprise an ethernet port, a telephony port or other type of input port 50 that would commonly be associated with communications. Each of the speakers 48 includes a diaphragm 58 that is integrated into the front end 56 to emit audible sound outwardly from the conical housing 52 and the diaphragm 58 is in electrical communication with the input port 50. Each of the speakers 48 includes an adhesive strip 60 that is applied to the front end 56 of the conical housing 52 which surrounds the diaphragm 58 and which adhesively engages the back surface 32 of the respective wall plate 24 for mounting the speaker 48 to the wall plate 24.
A central circuit box 62 is provided and the central circuit box 62 is integrated into the building 16. The central circuit box 62 is in electrical communication with the input port 50 on each of the plurality of speakers 48. The central circuit box 62 is in electrical communication with an audio source 64 thereby facilitating the central circuit box 62 to communicate an audio signal to each of the plurality of speakers 48. In this way the plurality of speakers 48 facilitate audio from the audio source 64 to be audible throughout the building 16. Additionally, the central circuit box 62 has a plurality of outputs 66 and an input 68 and each of the plurality of outputs 66 is in electrical communication with the input 68. The audio source 64 may comprise a home stereo system or the like which has an analog output and does not employ wireless connectivity.
A plurality of output conductors 70 is included and each of the plurality of output conductors 70 is electrically coupled between a respective one of the plurality of outputs 66 on the central circuit box 62 and the input port 50 on a respective one of the plurality of speakers 48. An input conductor 72 is electrically coupled between the input 68 on the central circuit box 62 and an output 74 of the audio source 64 thereby facilitating the output 74 of the audio source 64 to be in electrical communication with the input port 50 of each of the plurality of speakers 48. The input conductor 72 extends through the aperture 42 in the input wall plate 40 thereby facilitating the input conductor 72 to be electrically coupled to the output of the audio source 64. As is most clearly shown in
In use, the central circuit box 62 is installed in a desired location within the building 16 and each of the output conductors 70 is routed between the central circuit box 62 and a respective one of the plurality of outlet boxes 12 such that the output plug on each of the output conductors 70 is positioned inside of the respective outlet box 12. The input conductor 72 is routed between the central circuit box 62 and the input wall plate 40 such that the input conductor 72 extends through the aperture 42 in the input wall plate 40. The output plug 76 on each of the output conductors 70 is mated to the input port 50 on a respective speaker 48 and each of the wall plates 24 is mounted to a respective outlet box 12. The adhesive strip 60 on the conical housing 52 of each of the plurality of speakers 48 is adhered to the back surface 32 of a respective one of the wall plates 24 such that the speaker 48 is aligned with the plurality of sound holes 26 in the respective wall plate 24. Furthermore, each of the wall plates 24 is attached to a respective outlet box 12 such that each of the speakers 48 is positioned within the respective outlet box 12. The input conductor 72 is electrically coupled to the output 74 of the audio source 64 to facilitate each of the plurality of speakers 48 to emit audible sounds outwardly through the plurality of sound holes 26 in the respective wall plate 24.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
