Patent Application
20170099547
The present invention relates to speaker structure and more particularly, to a self-cooling loudspeaker, which has airflow control members and air passages for airflows.
When a loudspeaker works reproduces a sound via a voice coil built therein, the voice coil becomes a source of heat in the loudspeaker. The voice coil heats up as the electric current flows through. Part of the heat generated by the voice coil is transferred to the air and other members of the loudspeaker around the voice coil. Materials of which the members of the loudspeaker are made exhibit a poor thermal conductivity, e.g. the magnetic members of the loudspeaker. As the heat transfers to these members, the heat is not effectively liberated but it is rather stored in these members over time.
The heat stored in these members of the loudspeaker increases the temperature of the loudspeaker. The high temperature handled by the loudspeaker during sound reproduction may cause critical issues, such as high power compression, demagnetization of the magnet members, and moreover it can damage some of the members of the loudspeaker leading to a severe loudspeaker failure.
A solution for this problem is to equip extra pieces made of material having good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, to the loudspeaker in strategic places, and with specific shapes, so that the efficiency of heat dissipation in the loudspeaker increases. These pieces are so called heat sinks.
Heat sinks help dissipate heat, however, in some circumstances this is not enough and the heat released by the heat sinks into the adjacent air needs also to be moved, so that the temperature in the loudspeaker can be further reduced.
Apart from choosing materials which can handle high temperature, another conventional solution that can help the loudspeaker to achieve a good power handing is to pierce the structure of the loudspeaker at specific areas so that the hot air can be released from cavities of the loudspeaker. However, the expelled hot air stays in the surroundings of the loudspeaker. The hot air that was removed may come back into the loudspeaker again without a proper control of the airflows.
The invention provides a self-cooling loudspeaker which can control airflows and the paths of the airflows such that only air from cool regions flow into the loudspeaker while hot air remains outside of the loudspeaker.
More particularly, the invention provides a loudspeaker being capable of self-cooling while reproducing sound. The loudspeaker comprises a frame, a diaphragm portion connected to the frame via a surround, an elastic member connected to the frame, a voice coil connected to the diaphragm portion, a magnet assembly connected to the frame, and first and second airflow control members disposed therein for regulating flows produced during the reproducing sound process.
In order to fully comprehend the features and efficacy of the present invention, a detailed description is described by the following substantial embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The description is as below.
Referring to
The frame 30 of the loudspeaker 1 as a cartridge may be constructed of a stiff anti-vibrational material, e.g. steel baskets and frames are commonly made of steel or cast aluminum or plastic. The frame 30 includes a first basket 31 and a second basket 32. Along the contour of the second basket 32, there is a second air passage 33 extending from the intersection of the first and second baskets 31, 32 to the magnet assembly 70. The first air flow control member 80 is disposed at one of the distal ends of the second air passage 33 which is near the first basket 31.
The diaphragm portion 20 includes a dome 21 which is adjacent to a cone 22. The dome, also called a dust-cup 21, and cone 22 together form the diaphragm portion 20. The dome 21 and cone 22 can be made by well damped materials such as silk or paper. At the edge of the cone 22, the diaphragm portion 20 is connected to the frame 30 by the surround 40, which could be made from a flexible and fatigue resistant material such as a rubber. Besides, the frame 30 of the loudspeaker 1 is connected to the diaphragm portion 20 by the elastic member 50 which is near the first airflow control member 80 (the elastic member 50 can be connected to the frame 30 by the coil former 61). Conventionally, the elastic member 50 is called a spider. In such a manner, the surround 40 and the elastic member 50 can limit the diaphragm portion 20 to a linear movement relative to the frame 30 of the loudspeaker 1. The linear movement in the
A coil former 61 is connected to the diaphragm portion 20 near the intersection of the cone 22 and dome 21. The voice coil 60 is attached to the coil former 61. The space under the elastic member 50 and surrounded by the elastic member 50, the second basket 32, the coil former 61, and the voice coil 60 is a second region S2 of the loudspeaker 1. Also, the second air passage 33 is in the second region S2.
The magnet assembly 70 of the loudspeaker 1 comprises a top plate 71, a magnet 72, and a yoke portion 73 with a U shape. The magnet 72 is a substantially annular member having a central opening 74 disposed between the top plate 71 and the yoke portion 73. The yoke portion 73 includes a space for the voice coil 60 disposed therein and forms a first air passage 34 which defines an intercommunication between the second region S2 and a third region S3 which extends between the dome 21 of the diaphragm portion 20 and the top plate 71 of the magnet assembly 70.
The second airflow control member 90 is disposed in the central opening 74 of the magnet assembly 70. Under the second airflow control member 90 and the yoke portion 73 of the magnet assemble 70 is a fourth region S4.
In the embodiment, the first and second airflow control members 80, 90 are one-way air valves for regulating the transference of air during sound reproduction from the first region S1 to the fourth region S4. That is, the first airflow control member 80 only allows a flow of air from the first region S1 to the second region S2 via the second air passage 33. The second airflow control member 90 only allows a flow of air from the third region S3 to the fourth region S4 via the central hole 74 of the magnet assembly 70.
Referring to
During the upward moves of the loudspeaker 1 as shown in
In a similar method, during the downward moves of the loudspeaker 1 as shown in
Although two first airflow control members 80 and one airflow control member 90 are used in the embodiment, one skilled in the art can depend on the size of the loudspeaker, number and type of the valves and how much and how efficiently the airflows are wanted to be controlled in order to determine an appropriate number and location of airflow control members.
The present invention is disclosed by the preferred embodiment in the aforementioned description; however, it is contemplated for one skilled at the art that the embodiments are applied only for an illustration of the present invention rather than are interpreted as a limitation for the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the various substantial alternation or replacement equivalent to these embodiments shall be considered as being covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be defined by the claims.
