Apparatuses and methods consistent with embodiments of the disclosure relate to an improved sound output device to reduce sound quality degradation and a display device including the same.
A display device may refer to a device which displays an image by receiving an image signal, and includes a television, a monitor, etc.
In recent years, to have a maximized screen size and a minimized overall size of the display device, a display has been designed to have a slim thickness with minimal or no bezel.
The display device of this design may include a speaker to output sound to the outside in a state of being hidden in the display.
There is a problem of a need for a sound output device capable of improving response characteristics of an output sound.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide a sound output device capable of improving response characteristics of an output sound by controlling destructive interference of the sound generated from a speaker.
According to embodiments of the disclosure, a sound output device is provided. The sound output device includes a speaker configured to generate sound; a guide tube formed in a shape of a hollow tube, the guide tube configured to receive the sound generated from the speaker, through an end of the guide tube, and output the received sound; and a waveguide disposed between the speaker and the guide tube. The waveguide includes a throat tube configured to connect the speaker and the guide tube to each other, and formed in a shape of a hollow tube, and at least one path change structure configured to adjust a predetermined frequency band of the sound in a process of transmitting the sound generated from the speaker to the guide tube.
According to embodiments of the disclosure, a display device is provided. The display device includes a display configured to display an image; and at least one sound output device disposed at one side of the display. The at least one sound output device includes a speaker configured to generate sound, a guide tube formed in a shape of a hollow tube, the guide tube configured to receive the sound generated from the speaker, through an end of the guide tube, and output the received sound, and a waveguide disposed between the speaker and the guide tube. The waveguide includes at least one path change structure configured to adjust a predetermined frequency band of the sound in a process of transmitting the sound generated from the speaker to the guide tube.
The example embodiments described below are illustratively provided to assist in understanding of the disclosure, and it is to be understood that embodiments of the disclosure may be variously modified and executed. However, when detailed description for known functions or components related to the disclosure may obscure the gist of the disclosure, the detailed description and concrete illustration may be omitted. Further, the accompanying drawings are not illustrated to scale, and sizes of some of components may be exaggerated to assist in the understanding of the disclosure.
Terms used in the specification, ‘first’, ‘second’ and the like may be used to describe various components, and the components are not to be interpreted to be limited to the terms. These terms may be used to differentiate one component from other components. For example, a ‘first’ component may be named a ‘second’ component and the ‘second’ component may also be similarly named the ‘first’ component, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Terms used in the embodiments of the disclosure may be interpreted to have meanings that are generally known to those skilled in the art unless defined otherwise.
In addition, terms such as ‘fore end’, ‘rear end’, ‘upper portion’, ‘lower portion’, ‘upper end’, ‘lower end’ and the like used in the disclosure are defined based on the drawings. The shapes and positions of respective components are not limited to these terms.
Referring to
The speaker 110 may serve to generate sound, and the sound generated from the speaker 110 may be transmitted to the guide tube 150 through the waveguide 130.
The speaker 110 may have a first side surface 110a smaller than a second side surface 110b as a display device 1 (see
The speaker 110 may be formed in an oval type having an oval cross section to secure a maximum opening surface compared to an area of a vibration plate 115 to be described below. Meanwhile, the speaker 110 according to an embodiment in the disclosure is described as the oval type having the oval cross section, but is not limited thereto. The speaker 110 may be formed in a rectangular bar type having a cross section in which the second side surface 110b is formed longer than the first side surface 110a.
The speaker 110 may extend a reproduction band as compared to a speaker having a conventional square cross section.
The waveguide 130 may serve to transmit the sound generated from the speaker 110 to the guide tube 150, and adjust a predetermined frequency band of the sound in a process of transmitting the sound generated from the speaker 110 to the guide tube 150.
The waveguide 130 may reduce interference caused by a mode depending on a length of the speaker 110, i.e. the interference occurring in the speaker 110 having the second side surface 110b formed in an elongated shape.
In detail, the speaker 110 may have the second side surface 110b formed in the elongated shape, interference may thus be caused by the mode depending on the length of the second side surface 110b of the speaker 110. This interference may degrade response characteristics of a certain frequency. The waveguide 130 may include a path change member 135 (see
The other end of the waveguide 130 may be connected to one end of the guide tube 150.
The guide tube 150 may include a plurality of radiation holes 150a in at least one surface thereof to allow sound to be radiated to the outside in a longitudinal direction of the guide tube 150. The plurality of radiation holes 150a may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval.
It is described that the radiation holes 150a are formed in at least one surface of the guide tube 150, but are not limited thereto. Such radiation holes 150a may not be formed in the guide tube 150, and the sound may be output through the other end of the guide tube 150, that may be open. The guide tube 150 may be formed in various shapes to receive the sound generated from the speaker 110 and to output the received sound.
The guide tube 150 may partially radiate the sound through each of the radiation holes 150a in a process of passing the sound transmitted through the waveguide 130 through the guide tube 150.
The guide tube 150 may have the other end formed to be open. The sound output device 100 may further include a cap 170 covering the other end of the open guide tube 150.
As such, the sound output device according to an embodiment in the disclosure may improve degradation of acoustic characteristics by improving the response characteristics of the output sound.
Referring to
The voice coil 111 may be formed by winding a coil coated with an insulating layer and an adhesive layer on a conductor such as copper, aluminum or the like. The voice coil 111 may be disposed between the magnet 113 and a lower yoke 112. The voice coil 111 may generate the sound by transmitting vibration to the vibration plate 115, the vibration generated by an interaction between an electric field generated by a current flow and a magnetic field generated by the magnet 113.
An alternating current (AC) signal having various frequency bands may be input to the voice coil 111. In case that an alternating current is input to the voice coil 111, a force may act on the voice coil 111. Due to this force, the vibration plate 115 attached to the voice coil 111 may be vibrated with a signal of an audible frequency band, thereby generating the sound.
The waveguide 130 may be disposed between the speaker 110 and the guide tube 150. The waveguide 130 may include a throat tube 131 and at least one path change member 135.
The throat tube 131 may be disposed between the speaker 110 and the guide tube 150. The throat tube 131 may have one end at which the speaker 110 is disposed and the other end to which one end of the guide tube 150 is connected.
The throat tube 131 may be formed in a shape of a hollow tube. An inside of the throat tube 131 may have a gradually increasing width. Accordingly, the throat tube 131 may guide the sound generated from the speaker 110 to the guide tube 150 and may reduce noise which may occur due to a sudden pressure change.
A throat 131a of the throat tube 131 may have a smaller length than the vibration plate 115 of the speaker 110.
The path change member 135 may be configured to adjust a predetermined frequency band of the sound in the process of transmitting the sound generated from the speaker 110 to the guide tube 150, and the path change member 135 may have one end at which the speaker 110 is disposed.
The path change member 135 may be disposed outside the throat tube 131. In detail, the throat tube 131 may be positioned at a center of the other end of the speaker 110, and the path change member 135 may be positioned at upper and lower ends of the other end of the speaker 110.
A plurality of the path change member 135 may be disposed outside the throat tube 131. A first path change member 135a and a second path change member 135b may be symmetrical to each other, the first path change member 135a positioned at an upper end of the other end of the speaker 110 and the second path change member 135b positioned at a lower end of the other end of the speaker 110.
Here, the first path change member 135a and the second path change member 135b may have configurations identical to each other. The second path change member 135b may thus be understood from the description of the first path change member 135a.
The first path change member 135a may have one end opened to be connected to the speaker 110 and another end that is closed and opposite to the one end.
An inlet 136 may be formed at the one end of the first path change member 135a, and through the inlet 136, the sound generated from the speaker 110 may be introduced into the first path change member 135a.
The first path change member 135a may include a plurality of slits (e.g. a plurality of a first slit 137 and a plurality of a second slit 138) to extend a movement path of sound introduced into the first path change member 135a.
The plurality of slits may be arranged to be spaced apart parallel to each other in a direction from the one end of the first path change member 135a toward the other end thereof. In addition, the plurality of slits may extend perpendicular to the direction from the one end of the first path change member 135a toward the other end thereof.
The plurality of slits may alternately protrude from both sidewalls between the one end and the other end of the first path change member 135a. In detail, the first slit 137 may protrude from an upper wall 132a of the first path change member 135a. The second slit 138 may protrude from a lower wall 132b of the first path change member 135a alternately with the first slit 137.
The first slit 137 may extend from the upper wall 132a to be spaced apart from the lower wall 132b, and the second slit 138 may extend from the lower wall 132b to be spaced apart from the upper wall 132a.
An extension path 139, through which the sound may move, may be formed in the first path change member 135a by the plurality of slits (e.g. the plurality of the first slit 137, and the plurality of the second slit 138). The plurality of slits may be arranged to form a single extension path 139, through which sound may move, in the first path change member 135a.
The extension path 139 may be formed in a zigzag pattern, and thus have a length longer than that of the second side surface 110b of the speaker 110.
In this case, the path change member 135 may include a material such as a sound absorbing material to further extend the path through which the sound moves. In detail, outer surfaces of the plurality of the first slit 137 and the plurality of the second slit 138 forming the extension path 139 may further include the sound absorbing material.
The sound absorbing material may be a material capable of absorbing sound. In detail, the sound absorbing material may be various materials such as cloth, woven, polymer, and the like.
The movement path of the sound introduced into the path change member 135 is described below in detail with reference to
Referring to
Some of the sound generated from the speaker 110 may be introduced into one end of the second path change member 135b. The sound introduced into the second path change member 135b through the inlet 136 may move to the other end along the extension path 139, and may be reflected at the other end, which is closed, to move back toward the inlet 136 along the extension path 139.
Meanwhile, the rest of the sound generated from the speaker 110 may be introduced into the throat tube 131 and move to the guide tube 150.
A movement distance of the sound introduced into the path change member 135 and moved along the extension path 139 may be a longer than a movement distance of the sound through the throat tube 131. In this manner, the path change member 135 may extend a movement path of some of the sounds generated from the speaker 110.
The path change member 135 may shift a specific frequency band in which interference occurs due to the sound having the extended movement path. The path change member 135 may shift the specific frequency band in which the interference occurs out of an audible region. Accordingly, the sound output device 100 may have reduced degradation of acoustic characteristics.
Referring to
A first line A0 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device in case that 70° is a measurement angle, and a second line B0 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device in case that 0° is the measurement angle.
Here, as illustrated in
Referring to the first line A0 and the second line B0, the response characteristics of the frequency at which the interference occurs may become worse due to the interference occurring due to the length of an end of the speaker.
Sound quality degradation may occur at a specific frequency due to destructive interference caused by the length of the end of the speaker. In detail, the sound pressure of a specific frequency of 5 k [Hz] may be lowered by the interference.
As the length of the end of the speaker increases, the sound output device may have a lower frequency band in which the sound quality degradation occurs.
Meanwhile, referring to
A first line A1 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device 100 in case that 70° is the measurement angle, and a second line B1 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device 100 in case that 0° is the measurement angle.
In the sound output device 100 according to an embodiment in the disclosure, an even frequency response may be shown in a frequency band between 20 [Hz] and 20 k [Hz] without significant sound quality degradation.
The path change member 135 may shift the specific frequency band in which the interference occurs to a lower frequency band by extending the length of the path through which the sound moves. As a result, it is possible to avoid the interference at 5k [Hz], which is a frequency band easily recognized by the user.
Referring to
Referring to
Even in a case that the throat tube 231 is disposed at the upper portion of the speaker 110, the interference may degrade the response characteristics of a specific frequency.
The waveguide 230 may include path change members to minimize the interference caused by the longitudinal mode of the speaker 110.
The path change members may include a first path change member 240 positioned above the throat tube 231 and a second path change member 250 positioned below the throat tube 231.
One ends of the first path change member 240, which are adjacent to the speaker 110, may be at the upper end of the speaker 110 and the upper end of the throat tube 231, respectively, and one ends of the second path change member 250, which are adjacent to the speaker 110, may be formed at the lower end of the speaker 110 and the lower end of the throat tube 231, respectively.
Accordingly, an extension path 249 formed in the first path change member 240 may be shorter than an extension path 259 formed in the second path change member 250.
Referring to
Even in a case that the throat tube 331 is disposed at the lower portion of the speaker 110, the interference may degrade the response characteristics of a specific frequency. The waveguide 330 may include path change members to minimize the interference caused by the longitudinal mode of the speaker 110.
The path change members may include a first path change member 340 positioned above the throat tube 331 and a second path change member 350 positioned below the throat tube 331.
One ends of the first path change member 340, which are adjacent to the speaker 110, may be at an upper end of the speaker 110 and the upper end of the throat tube 331, respectively, and one ends of the second path change member 350, which are adjacent to the speaker 110, may be at the lower end of the speaker 110 and the lower end of the throat tube 331, respectively.
Accordingly, an extension path 349 formed in the first path change member 340 may be longer than an extension path 359 formed in the second path change member 350.
Referring to
Referring to
The throat tube 531 may be disposed between the speaker 110 and the guide tube 150. The throat tube 531 may have one end at which the speaker 110 is disposed and another end to which one end of the guide tube 150 is connected.
The throat tube 531 may be formed in a shape of a hollow tube. An inside of the throat tube 531 may have a gradually decreasing width.
The path change member 535 may adjust the predetermined frequency band of the sound in the process of transmitting the sound generated from the speaker 110 to the guide tube 150, and the path change member 535 may have one end at which the speaker 110 is disposed.
The path change member 535 may be disposed in the throat tube 531. In detail, the path change member 535 may be disposed at a center in the throat tube 531.
The path change member 535 may be formed in a quadrangular shape. In detail, the path change member 535 may be formed in a rhombus shape, and each vertex thereof may have a predetermined curvature.
The path change member 535 may be formed in various shapes. The path change member 535 may be set in length, height, size, and shape to shift the specific frequency at which interference occurs. In detail, the path change member 535 may be formed in a round or oval shape or the like.
The path change member 535 may be disposed to be spaced apart from a sidewall of the throat tube 531 to allow sound to move through a space between the path change member 535 and the throat tube 531. The space between the path change member 535 and the sidewall of the throat tube 531 may form an extension path 539 through which the sound moves.
The path change member 535 may be disposed in such a manner that a vertex toward the speaker 110 of the path change member 535 is positioned at the center of the other end of the speaker 110.
The path change member 535 may adjust a predetermined band of the sound generated from the speaker 110. The sound generated from the speaker 110 may have a movement path detoured by the path change member 535 to adjust the predetermined band of the sound to another band.
In this case, in order to further reduce a wavelength through the path change member 535, the path change member 535 may include a material such as a sound absorbing material or the like. In detail, an outer surface of the path change member 535 forming the extension path 539 may further include the sound absorbing material.
The sound absorbing material may be a material capable of absorbing sound. In detail, the sound absorbing material may be various materials such as cloth, woven, polymer, and the like.
Referring to
In detail, the wavelength of the sound generated from the speaker 110 may be reduced to ¼ λ. The frequency may be increased as the wavelength of the sound is reduced. The path change member 535 may thus shift the specific frequency band in which the interference occurs out of the audible region. Accordingly, the sound output device 500 may reduce degradation of acoustic characteristics.
Referring to
A first line A2 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device 500 in a case that 70° is the measurement angle, and a second line B2 illustrates a frequency-sound pressure of the sound output from the sound output device 500 in a case that 0° is the measurement angle.
In the sound output device 500 according to an embodiment in the disclosure, the path change member 535 may shift a frequency band in which interference occurs, and thus the interference may occur out of a frequency band to be used.
The path change member 535 may reduce the wavelength to shift the specific frequency band in which the interference occurs to a higher frequency band. As a result, it is possible to avoid the interference at 5k [Hz], which is a frequency band easily recognized by the user.
Referring to
The display device 1 may include a display 10 configured to display an image; and a sound output device 100 disposed at one side of the display 10.
The sound output device 100 may be disposed at an upper portion of a rear surface of the display 10 and used as a surround speaker. In detail, the sound output device 100 may receive a drive signal from an amplifier (not illustrated) of the display device 1 and output a sound corresponding to the received drive signal. The amplifier may also be implemented in the sound output device 100.
In addition, the display device 1 may include a pair of front speakers (not illustrated) disposed at both sides of a lower portion of the display 10, and a woofer speaker (not illustrated) generating low-range sound.
The sound output device 100 may be used as a directional speaker and a pair of the sound output device 100 may be disposed at the display 10 to be symmetrical to each other. The pair of the sound output device 100 may output sound in both side directions of the display 10. Here, an image may be displayed on a front surface of the display 10, the sound output device 100 may be disposed at a rear side of the display 10 which is invisible to a viewer.
The sound output device 100 is described to be disposed at the upper portion of the display 10, but is not limited thereto, and the sound output device 100 may be disposed at the upper portion, the lower portion, or a center portion of the display 10 depending on a design.
In addition, even though illustrated and described to be disposed only at the display device 1, the sound output device 100 may be implemented to operate as a separate device independent from the display 10. In this case, the sound output device 100 may be referred to as a sound bar or a speaker device.
Hereinabove, non-limiting example embodiments in the disclosure are described. It is to be understood that terms used herein are provided to describe non-limiting example embodiments in the disclosure rather than limiting the disclosure. Various modifications and alternations to embodiments of the disclosure may be made according to the contents described above.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2019-0110502 | Sep 2019 | KR | national |
This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/685,690, filed on Mar. 3, 2022, which is a bypass Continuation Application of PCT Application No. PCT/KR2019/017836, filed on Dec. 16, 2019, which claims priority to Korean Application No. 10-2019-0110502, filed in the Korean Patent Office on Sep. 6, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17685690 | Mar 2022 | US |
Child | 18663774 | US | |
Parent | PCT/KR2019/017836 | Dec 2019 | WO |
Child | 17685690 | US |