Patent Application
20070189560
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound generator module, a sound generating structure, and an electronic device, the latter two utilizing the sound generator module. More specifically, the present invention relates to a reduction in thickness and an improvement in mountability of the module.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Known examples of acoustic conversion electronic components used in cellular phones include the dynamic type utilizing electromagnetic induction and the piezoelectric type utilizing a piezoelectric phenomenon. Among them, the dynamic-type acoustic conversion electronic component comprises, for example, a vibration plate made of a resin such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a coil as a driving source, a magnet surrounding the coil, and a case or a cover made of a metal such as stainless steel. Hence it has a complicated structure and a larger number of parts. Further, the dynamic-type acoustic conversion electronic component must have a certain thickness due to the presence of the coil, and it cannot be said as being suitable for a thickness reduction.
On the other hand, the piezoelectric-type acoustic conversion electronic component employs a piezoelectric vibration plate for conversion to sounds, and a case or a cover as a structure for supporting the piezoelectric vibration plate. In a piezoelectric vibration plate (piezoelectric sound generator) such as a piezoelectric speaker, for example, a piezoelectric element is bonded to at least one principal surface of the vibration plate, and the edge of the vibration plate is attached to the case or the cover. The vibration plate is formed of a metal plate made of, e.g., stainless steel or a resin plate made of, e.g., PET. The piezoelectric element is made of a piezoelectric ceramic such as PZT (piezoelectric (lead) zirconate titanate). The case or the cover is made of a metal such as stainless steel, or a resin such as PPS. The case or the cover is also employed to form an acoustic space for the piezoelectric sound generator. In some examples, only a double-faced tape ring is employed to not only fix the piezoelectric vibration plate, but also to form the acoustic space without employing the case or the cover.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2002-223497 and 2003-158794, for example, disclose piezoelectric acoustic devices each of which is supported by a stepped portion formed in a frame or a case.
The above-described piezoelectric sound generators are generally mounted in housings of electronic devices. More specifically, the piezoelectric sound generator is bonded to an inner surface of the housing of the electronic device so as to provide a structure in which sounds are produced through a hole (sound output hole) formed in an inner housing of the piezoelectric sound generator. Examples of such mounting are described in a piezoelectric sound producer of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-150697 and in a portable communication terminal of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-77346.
Further, in order to effectively use a mount space, it is proposed to bond a piezoelectric sound generator to another electronic component (e.g., a liquid crystal display) (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-117201), or to mount a module, which is constituted by an electronic component containing a piezoelectric sound generator therein, within a housing of an electronic device, thus providing a structure in which sounds are produced through a sound output hole formed in the housing.
Each of the above-described piezoelectric sound generators has a simple structure and a small number of parts and is able to reduce weight. In addition, a thickness reduction can also be realized if the amplitude of the piezoelectric vibration plate is ensured. However, those piezoelectric sound generators have disadvantages as follows. With the construction in which the stepped portion is formed in the case or the frame, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2002-223497 and 2003-158794, the case itself has a certain thickness and a substantial reduction in thickness cannot be realized. Also, a mold, etc. are required to form the case. When the piezoelectric sound generator is mounted inside the housing of the electronic device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 10-150697 and 2002-77346, an acoustic space has to be set on the housing side. Further, in order to introduce sounds laterally of the piezoelectric sound generator, a passage for guiding the sounds to the housing has to be set separately.
When the piezoelectric sound generator is bonded to another electronic component as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-117201, it is required to adjust an acoustic space and to separately provide a structure for guiding sounds to the front side. Further, when the module constituted by the electronic component containing the piezoelectric sound generator therein is mounted within the housing of the electronic device, it is also required to previously set an acoustic space in the module. Therefore, if the acoustic space is previously set on the piezoelectric sound generator side, such an arrangement is advantageous from the viewpoints of ensuring good sound pressure characteristics, realizing a thickness reduction, and improving mountability.
In view of the above-mentioned state of the art, one object of t certain inventive aspects is to provide a piezoelectric sound generator module which has a reduced thickness and superior mountability while ensuring good sound pressure characteristics. Another object is to provide a sound generating structure and an electronic device each of which utilizes the sound generator module.
To achieve the above objects, the sound generator module according to certain inventive aspects comprises a piezoelectric vibration plate including a piezoelectric element on a principal surface of a vibration plate; a holding member holding the piezoelectric vibration plate; and an acoustic space forming member forming an acoustic space for the piezoelectric element, wherein the holding member and the acoustic space forming member are bonded to each other.
According to one of primary aspects of the present invention, the acoustic space forming member includes at least one sound guide path in continuity with the acoustic space. According to another aspect, assuming a width of the sound guide path to be W and a diameter of the piezoelectric vibration plate to be φ, the relationship of (½)φ≦W≦φ is satisfied. According to still another aspect, assuming a thickness of the acoustic space forming member to be t, the relationship of 0.2 mm≦t≦4.0 mm is satisfied.
Certain inventive aspects have features as follows: (1) the holding member and the acoustic space forming member are made of the same material; (2) at least one of the holding member and the acoustic space forming member is a resin film; (3) the resin film is made of PET; and (4) at least one of the holding member and the acoustic space forming member is a yielding film. According to still another aspect, a plurality of piezoelectric vibration plates are arranged corresponding to a pair of the holding member and the acoustic space forming member.
The sound generating structure according to inventive aspect is a sound generating structure utilizing the sound generator module according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein a sound output hole is formed in a housing to which is directly or indirectly mounted the sound generator module.
One inventive aspect relates to an electronic device including the sound generator module or the sound generating structure described above. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of certain inventive aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description and the attached drawings.
According to certain inventive aspects, since the holding member for holding the piezoelectric vibration plate and the acoustic space forming member for forming the acoustic space for the piezoelectric vibration plate are each in the form of a film and the sound generator module is constituted by bonding those members to each other, a production process can be facilitated and the thickness of the sound generator module can be reduced. Also, since the sound generator module includes the acoustic space in itself, good sound pressure characteristics can be ensured and mountability can be improved.
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
The piezoelectric element 20 has a structure in which piezoelectric layers 22A and 22B each made of a piezoelectric ceramic, e.g., PZT, and electrode layers 24A-24C and 26A-26C are alternately laminated such that the electrode layers are opposed to each other with the piezoelectric layers sandwiched between the electrode layers. Conductive layers made of, e.g., Ag or an Ag/Pd alloy, are employed as the electrode layers 24A-24C and 26A-26C. More specifically, a pair of electrode layers 24A and 26A supplied with signal voltages having different polarities are formed on one principal surface (upper surface as viewed in
Through-holes 28A and 30A are formed in the piezoelectric layer 22A, and through-holes 28B and 30B are formed in the piezoelectric layer 22B. On the other hand, at the adjacently opposed edges of the second electrode layers 24B and 26B, projections 32 and 34 are each formed to project into the semicircular area on the other side beyond the division line 36. Incidentally, the through-holes 28A, 30A, 28B and 30B are formed at positions deviated from the division line 36. Thus, the electrode layers 24A-24C are almost linearly electrically connected to each other in the direction of thickness with the provision of the through-holes 28A and 28B and the projection 32 such that the electrode layers 24A-24C are all held at a common potential. Also, the electrode layers 26A-26C are almost linearly electrically connected to each other in the direction of thickness with the provision of the through-holes 30A and 30B and the projection 34 such that the electrode layers 26A-26C are all held at a common potential. Further, by using a conductive adhesive (not shown), the electrode layer 24C is bonded to and contacted with one conductor pattern 16 formed on one principal surface of the insulating plate 15, and the electrode layer 26C is bonded to and contacted with the other conductor pattern 18 thereon. Though not shown, the piezoelectric element 40 having the same structure as the piezoelectric element 20 is disposed on the other principal surface of the insulating plate 15, and the piezoelectric layers 20 and 40 are electrically conductible to each other between the front and back sides of the vibration plate 14.
In the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 thus constructed, electrodes are led out by lead wires (not shown) from lead-out portions 16A and 18A of the conductor patterns 16 and 18, which serve as lead-out electrodes, through an electrical connecting portion 38, shown in
The holding member 50 for holding the thus-constructed piezoelectric vibration plate 12 will be described below. The holding member 50 is in the form of a film and, in this embodiment, it is formed of a resin film made of, e.g., PET. A substantially circular window 52 is formed nearly at the center of the holding member 50 so as not to prevent vibration of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, and a lead-out portion 54 is formed at a position corresponding to the electrode lead-out portion of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 in a continuous relation to the window 52. The diameter of the window 52 is set to be smaller than that of the vibration plate 14 of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, but larger than that of the piezoelectric element 20. The window 52 and the lead-out portion 54 are formed, for example, by punching the resin film. An adhesive tape 56 having adhesive layers on both sides is attached to the back surface of the holding member 50, thus enabling the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 and the acoustic space forming member 60 to be bonded to the holding member 50. The thickness of the holding member 50 is set to be larger than that of the piezoelectric element 20 such that, when the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is bonded, the surface of the piezoelectric element 20 will not project out through the window 52.
The acoustic space forming member 60 forming the laminated structure together with the holding member 50 is in the form of a film and, in this embodiment, it is made of the same material as the holding member 50. A substantially circular acoustic space 62 is formed nearly at the center of the acoustic space forming member 60. Further, a lead-out portion 64 in continuity with the acoustic space 62 and a sound guide path 66 for guiding generated sounds to the exterior are formed in the acoustic space forming member 60. The diameter of the acoustic space 62 is substantially the same as that of the vibration plate 14 of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 and is larger than that of the piezoelectric element 40. The sound guide path 66 is extended to reach the edge of the acoustic space forming member 60. Although the lead-out portion 64 and the sound guide path 66 are formed to extend in substantially orthogonal directions in the illustrated example, the sound guide path 66 may be formed at any position so long as it reaches the edge of the acoustic space forming member 60. The acoustic space 62, the lead-out portion 64, and the sound guide path 66 are formed, for example, by punching a resin film. As in the holding member 50, an adhesive tape 68 having adhesive layers on both sides is attached to the back surface of the acoustic space forming member 60.
The procedures for mounting the sound generator module of this embodiment will be described below. The piezoelectric elements 20 and 40 are bonded to the front and back sides of the vibration plate 14, thereby forming the piezoelectric vibration plate 12. The piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is bonded to the back surface of the holding member 50 by the adhesive tape 56. Then, the acoustic space forming member 60 is also bonded to the back surface of the holding member 50 by the adhesive tape 56. The electrodes led out from the upper surface of the vibration plate 14 are connected to, e.g., lead wires (not shown) in the electrical connecting portion 38. The sound generator module 10 thus constituted is attached to a principal surface 92 of the housing 90 of the electric device on the inner side, as shown in
The width of the sound output hole 66 will be described below with reference to
More specifically, when the width W of the sound guide path is changed to W=(¼)φ, W=(½)φ and W=φ in the direction indicated by an arrow F1 in
Assuming here that average sound pressure within the practical band, shown in
As seen from Table 1, a sound pressure level at which the difference is perceptible in the acoustic sense is generally regarded to be 3 dB or more. Therefore, a satisfactory sound pressure characteristic range can be given by −3<sound pressure difference D<+3 [dB], and a required range of the sound guide path width W can be defined correspondingly. A maximum width WMAX and a minimum width WMIN are determined based on many measurement results and are substantially given as follows:
maximum width WMAX=diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 Equation 1
minimum width WMIN=(½)φ Equation 2
Accordingly, good sound pressure characteristics can be obtained by setting the width W of the sound guide path to satisfy the relationship of (½)φ≦W≦φ.
The thickness t of a front air chamber (see
First, as shown in
Assuming here that average sound pressure within the practical band, shown in
maximum thickness tMAX of the front air chamber=4 mm Equation 3
minimum thickness tMIN of the front air chamber=0.2 mm Equation 4
Accordingly, by setting the thickness t of the front air chamber to fall between 0.2 mm and 4 mm, i.e., to satisfy the relationship of 0.2 mm≦t≦4 mm, the average sound pressure can be increased and the sound pressure can be flattened, thus resulting in good sound pressure characteristics. Additionally, the width of the front air chamber is set equal to the diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12. If the width of the front air chamber is smaller than the diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, it is difficult to obtain the desired characteristics. When the width of the front air chamber is larger than the diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, the obtained characteristics are the same as those when the width of the front air chamber is equal to the diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12.
More specifically, assuming the thickness of the front air chamber to be t and the diameter of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 to be φ, the amplitude of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is approximately expressed by 5.5e−7×φ4. In the case of 0<t<5.5e−7×φ4, therefore, when the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is vibrated, it contacts with the principal surface 92 of the housing 90 on the inner side, whereby the sound pressure is reduced. Also, in the case of 5.5e−7×φ4<t<0.2 mm, even with the vibration of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, the sounds are not sufficiently transmitted to the side surface 94 of the housing 90 because of the front air chamber being too narrow, whereby the sound pressure is reduced. Further, in the case of 4 mm<t, the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is positioned far away from the sound guide path 66, whereby the overall sound pressure is reduced. Thus, when 0.2 mm≦t≦4 mm is satisfied, the generated sounds from the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 are sufficiently outputted to the side surface 94 of the housing 90 and a flat characteristic is obtained. For example, when the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 has the diameter φ=20 mm, its amplitude is 0.088 mm. In that case, good sound pressure characteristics can be obtained by setting the thickness t of the front air chamber to fall within the above-mentioned range.
The first embodiment constituted as described above has, among others, the following advantages.
(1) Since the holding member 50 for holding the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 and the acoustic space forming member 60 including the acoustic space 62 for the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 are each in the form of a film and they are bonded to each other, the thickness of the sound generator module 10 can be reduced. Also, since those members are easily subjected to work, a production process is facilitated.
(2) Since the acoustic space 62 is provided in the sound generator module 10, the sound pressure characteristics can be ensured by the sound generator module. Also, since there is no need of setting the acoustic space on the housing 90 side, the sound generator module 10 can be mounted alone to the housing 90, etc. As a result, an improvement of mountability and a thickness reduction can be realized.
(3) Since the holding member 50 and the acoustic space forming member 60 are bonded to each other by the adhesive tape 56 and the acoustic space forming member 60 and the housing 90 are bonded to each other by the adhesive tape 68, assembly of the sound generator module 10 and its mounting to the housing 90 are facilitated.
(4) Since the electrodes can be led out from one surface of the vibration plate 14 of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12, the presence of the electrode leading-out region does not impede realization of the thickness reduction.
(5) Since the holding member 50 and the acoustic space forming member 60 are formed of a common resin film, the cost can be cut correspondingly.
(6) By setting the diameter φ of the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 and the width W of the sound guide path 66 to satisfy (½)φ≦W≦φ and setting the thickness t of the front air chamber formed between the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 and the housing 90 to satisfy 0.2 mm≦t≦4 mm, good sound pressure characteristics can be obtained.
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
A sound generator module 100 of this second embodiment has a basic structure similar to that of the first embodiment except for that a holding member 102 for holding the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 is formed of a film having a yielding property, such as PORON. As with the holding member 50 in the first embodiment, the holding member 102 has a window 104 and a lead-out portion 106 formed therein, and an adhesive tape 108 is attached to the back surface of the holding member 102. By utilizing the yielding film to form the holding member 102, it is possible to absorb minute irregularities and dimensional errors. Therefore, close contact with a housing, etc. can be ensured just by pressing the sound generator module against it with no need of separately preparing another yielding material. The other operation and advantages of this second embodiment are basically the same as those in the first embodiment. While the holding member 102 is made of the yielding material in this second embodiment, the acoustic space forming member 60 may be made of the yielding material as required.
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
Each of the piezoelectric vibration plates 12A and 12B has the same structure as the piezoelectric vibration plate 12 in the first embodiment. More specifically, the piezoelectric vibration plate 12A includes piezoelectric elements 20A and 40A on the front and back sides of a vibration plate 14A, and the piezoelectric vibration plate 12B includes piezoelectric elements 20B and 40B on the front and back sides of a vibration plate 14B. Electrodes are led out from the piezoelectric vibration plates 12A and 12B through electrical connecting portions 38A and 38B. Further, the holding member 122 has windows 124A and 124B and lead-out portions 126A and 126B which correspond respectively to the piezoelectric vibration plates 12A and 12B, and an adhesive tape 128 is attached to the back surface of the holding member 122. The acoustic space forming member 130 has acoustic spaces 132A and 132B, lead-out portions 134A and 134B, and sound guide paths 136A and 136B which correspond respectively to the piezoelectric vibration plates 12A and 12B. The sound guide paths 136A and 136B are formed to reach opposed edges of the acoustic space forming member 130, respectively. The holding member 122 and the acoustic space forming member 130 are each formed of, e.g., a resin film.
On the other hand, the housing 90 in which is mounted the sound generator module 120 of this embodiment has sound output holes 96A and 96B formed in a pair of side surfaces 94 of the housing 90. In the sound generator module 120, one sound guide path 136A is communicated with one sound output hole 96A, and the other sound guide path 136B is communicated with the other sound output hole 96B. The structure of this embodiment is suitable, by way of example, for the case where 2-channel sounds are reproduced in a stereophonic system, etc. The basic operation and advantages of this third embodiment are similar to those of the above-described embodiments.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
The liquid crystal display is constituted by a liquid crystal (liquid crystal unit) 192 including a backlight, a front cover (not shown), a back cover 194, and so on, those covers housing the liquid crystal 192. A vent hole 196 is formed in the back cover 194. Further, in this fifth embodiment, a sound output hole 98 is formed in a bottom surface 92 of the housing 90. The sound generator module 180 is mounted to be positioned between the inner surface of the back cover 194 and the back surface of the liquid crystal 192 by using the adhesive tapes 190 and 198. In the illustrated example, the sound generator module 180 is mounted to slightly project out of the edge of the liquid crystal 192 such that sounds are outputted to the exterior through the sound output hole 98 formed in the bottom surface 92 of the housing 90. By using the sound generator module as in this embodiment, the sound generator module can also be easily mounted to, e.g., the electronic component in the housing. Incidentally, as shown in
A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, modifications may be made as follows:
(1) The materials, the shapes and the dimensions are described, by way of example, in the embodiments, and they can be appropriately modified as a matter of design choice.
(2) Each of the piezoelectric vibration plates 12, 12A and 12B may be of a unimorph or bimorph structure. The laminated structure of the piezoelectric element, the connection pattern of the inner electrodes, the lead-out structure, etc. can also be appropriately modified as required.
(3) The electrode leading-out structure described above in the first embodiment is merely one example, and it may be constructed as shown in
(4) The housing 90 and the back cover 194 are also described, by way of example, in the above embodiments. The sound generator module can be mounted to any structural member that is used to fix, protect, or seal-off a component disposed inside an electronic device, without being necessarily limited to a component positioned on the outermost side.
(5) The liquid crystal display described in the above embodiment is merely one example, and the sound generator module may be integrally mounted to a battery case or another case for fixing an electronic component.
6) The piezoelectric vibration plate may be attached to the holding member and the acoustic space forming member by any suitable method such as bonding and pressing. This point is similarly applied to attachment of the sound generator module to the housing and the electronic component.
(7) Preferred application examples include various kinds of electronic devices, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a voice recorder, a PC (personal computer), and a digital audio unit.
According to certain embodiments, the holding member for holding the piezoelectric vibration plate and the acoustic space forming member for forming the acoustic space for the piezoelectric vibration plate are each in the form of a film, and they are bonded to each other to constitute the sound generator module, thus obtaining good sound pressure characteristics. Therefore, these embodiments can be applied to applications requiring a thin sound generator module. In particular, they can be suitably practiced in providing sound generator modules mounted in light-weight and small electronic devices, such as a cellular phone.
The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention may be practiced in many ways. It should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the device or process illustrated may be made by those skilled in the technology without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-380506 | Dec 2005 | JP | national |
