This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-190568, filed Sep. 1, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a television or an electronic device comprising a speaker.
There are conventionally electronic devices, for example, notebook type portable computers, which comprise speaker units at right and left sides thereof.
For such electronic devices, the sound quality can be a factor which determines the competitive strength of the device in the market, and therefore there is always the need for improving the sound quality and the improvement of the quality of the sound output from the device is required.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate the embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention.
Various embodiments will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In general, according to one embodiment, a television includes a housing further including a pair of corner portions and an enclosed space on an inner side thereof, a pair of speaker boxes housed in the enclosed space in vicinities of the corner portions, a pair of speakers housed in the speaker boxes respectively in a direction which crosses a thickness direction of the housing, and the housing further includes a pair of first opening portion provided in vicinities of the speaker boxes and a second opening portion located between the pair of first opening portion and communicated to the enclosed space, and each of the speaker boxes further includes a first duct to guide sounds from a first side of the respective speaker to the respective first opening portion and a second duct to guide sounds from a second side of the respective speaker towards the enclosed space.
An embodiment of a television which is an example of an electronic device will now be described with reference to
As shown in
The main body unit 12 comprises a housing 14 formed of, for example, a synthetic resin. Further, the main body unit 12 comprises, inside the housing 14, a display panel 15 (display device, display module or display unit), a pair of speaker boxes (speaker units, sounding units, boxes, support units or housings) 16, a total of two speakers 17 (a pair of speakers) each housed in the respective speaker box 16, a system substrate connected to the display panel 15 to comprehensively control the entire television set, a tuner substrate and a power circuit board. In this embodiment, the display panel 15 comprises, for example, a liquid crystal panel having a rectangular plate shape, but it may be some other type of display panel such as a plasma display panel or an organic EL panel.
The housing 14 comprises a plurality of corner portions (corners, corner sections, end portions, edge portions or peripheral portions) 18, and an enclosed space 21 hermetically (substantially hermetically) sealed provided inside the housing 14 (space defined by closed regions or walls, space in which the ventilation is maintained low, region closed from the exterior of the housing, or region all of whose surfaces are enclosed by the inner walls of the housing and parts, etc.) The pair of speaker boxes 16 are housed inside the enclosed space 21 of the housing 14. As shown in
The housing 14 comprises a first case 22 (mask, the first housing or the first member) having a frame shape to cover the front surface of the display panel 15, and a second case 23 (cover, the second housing or the second member) to cover the rear surface of the display panel 15. It should be noted here that the first case 22 is a section viewed by the user mainly, whereas the second case 23 is located on an opposite side to the first case 22 and therefore is a section which cannot be easily viewed from the user. The housing 14 comprises the enclosed space 21 in the inside thereof at a position closed to the front direction F. The surroundings of the enclosed space 21 are defined by, for example, the first case 22, the second case 23 and a projecting portion (projection, surrounding portion, surrounding wall, wall, side portion, surface or region) 24 which projects from the second case 23. The projecting portion 24 is an example of the member which defines the surroundings of the enclosed space 21, and it is not limited to the type projecting from the second case 23, but it may be projecting from the first case 22 or may be detachable.
As shown in
The second case 23 comprises the pair of first opening portion 27 each provided in the vicinity of the respective one of the speaker boxes 16 (that is, in the vicinity of the respective one of the corner portions 18). Each of the first opening portion 27 extends in a direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14.
Each of the speaker boxes 16 comprises a support unit 30 which supports the speaker 17, a first duct (guiding unit, communicating portion, member surrounding one surface or circumferential surface, or a member extending towards the respective first opening portion 27) 31 which guides sounds from a first face 17A of the speaker 17 to the respective first opening portion 27, and a second duct (guiding unit, communicating portion, member surrounding one surface or circumferential surface, or a member extending towards the enclosed space 21) 32 which guides sounds from a second face 17B, which is on the opposite side to the first face 17A of the speaker 17, towards the enclosed space 21. The structure of each of the speakers 17, the structure of each of the speaker boxes 16, and the peripheral structure of the speaker boxes 16 are similar to those of the second embodiment, and therefore the detailed explanations for the structures will be provided in the description of the second embodiment.
Next, the operation of the speaker box 16 of the present embodiment will now be described. In this embodiment, the sounds output from the first side 17A of the speaker 17 are guided through the first duct 31 and transmitted to the outside of the housing 14 via the first opening portion 27. Here, the sounds guided through the first duct 31 and released from the first opening portion 27 are mainly sounds of high pitches and middle pitches, which relatively have directivity (for example, frequencies of several hundreds Hz or higher). On the other hand, the sounds output from the second side 17B of the speaker 17 are guided through the second duct 32 and released into the enclosed space 21 of the housing 14, and the sounds resonate within the enclosed space 21. Then, the sounds output from the right and left speaker boxes 16 (the second duct 32) are synthesized within the enclosed space 21 and boosted. The sounds guided into the enclosed space 21 are of low pitches, (for example, frequencies of several hundreds Hz or less). The most of the sounds boosted within the enclosed space 21 are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25 provided in the first case 22 (note that the sounds are propagated to the outside through some other holes as well formed in the housing 14).
It should be noted here that in the present embodiment, the sounds of low pitches are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25, but it is alternatively possible to make the enclosed space 21 into a complete (or substantially complete) hermetical state, and propagate sounds to the outside by vibrating the housing 14 itself.
According to the first embodiment, the television 11 comprises the housing 14 further comprising a pair of corner portions 18A and the enclosed space 21, a pair of speaker boxes 16 housed in the enclosed space 21 in the vicinities of the corner portions 18, and a pair of speakers 17 housed in the speaker boxes 16 in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and the housing 14 further contains a pair of first opening portion 27 provided in the vicinities of the speaker boxes 16, respectively, and the second opening portion 25 located between the pair of first opening portion 27 and communicated to the enclosed space 21, each of the speaker boxes 16 further comprising the first duct 31 which guides sounds from the first side 17A of the respective speaker 17 to the respective first opening portion 27, and the second duct 32 which guides sounds from the second side 17B, which is on the opposite side to the first side 17A of the respective speaker 17, towards the enclosed space 21.
With this structure, each of the speakers 17 is provided in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and thus the diameter of the speakers 17 provided in the housing 14 can be made larger. In order to produce a high-quality sound, it is desirable that the speakers 17 should have a round shape and a proper size. Therefore, with the above-described structure, a high-quality sound can be realized without increasing the thickness dimension of the housing 14.
Further, with the above-described structure, the sounds from the first side 17A of the respective speaker 17 can be released directly to the outside of the housing 14 via the first duct 31. Additionally, the sounds from the second side 17B of the respective speaker 17 are guided via the second duct 32 into the enclosed space 21, in which, mainly, sounds of low pitches can be resonated. The sounds of the low pitches released from the second duct 32 of each of the speaker boxes 16 are synthesized and boosted within the enclosed space 21, and then the sounds are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the sounds are output via two different pathways, and therefore a solid sound can be produced, thereby achieving a high-quality sound.
Apart from the above, the details for each part are similar to those of the second embodiment, and therefore they will be described in the descriptions of the second embodiment, which follow.
Next, the second embodiment of the electronic device will now be described with reference to
As shown in
In this embodiment, the display panel 15 comprises, for example, a liquid crystal panel having a square (substantially square or rectangular) plate shape, but it may be some other type of display panel such as a plasma display panel or an organic EL panel.
The main body unit 12 comprises a housing (housing structural unit, assembly part or enclosure unit) 14 formed of a metal, for example, a magnesium alloy, a keyboard (data entry unit, entry accepting unit, reception unit, operation unit, operation area, interface unit, data entry module, unit or part) 45 and a touch pad (data entry unit, entry accepting unit, reception unit, operation unit, operation area, interface unit, data entry module, unit, part, face or region where a touch sensor functions) 46, which are attached to the housing 14, and touch pad buttons (data entry unit, entry accepting unit, reception unit, operation unit, operation area, interface unit, data entry module, unit, part or button) 47 provided in the housing 14 in the vicinity of the touch pad 46. As shown in
As shown in
The housing 14 comprises in its inside the enclosed space 21 at the position close to the front direction F. The enclosed space 21 is provided at a position (front end portion of the housing 14 or end portion or edge portion on the opposite side to the end portion where the hinge is provided) on an inner side of the palm rest portion (wall, face or region on the opposite side to the hinge or display with respect to the keyboard) 54. The surroundings of the enclosed space 21 are defined (enclosed) by, for example, the first case 22 and the second case 23 of the housing 14 and the battery unit 52. The battery unit 52 is an example of the members which define the surroundings of the enclosed space 21, but it suffices if it is a part or structure including a portion, wall, face or area having a shape to cover from the first case 22 over to the second case 23 within the housing 14, or it may be, for example, a standing wall projecting from the inside of the housing 14 or a wall structured by placing a plurality of parts densely. The pair of speaker boxes 16 are housed within the enclosed space 21.
Each of the speakers 17 is placed in the respective speaker box 16 in a direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14. The speakers 17 have a round shape and a diameter of, for example, about 16 mm to 20 mm in size.
The first case 22 comprises the keyboard 45 attached to substantially a central portion thereof (position surrounded by the peripheral portion), and the palm rest portion 54, touch pad 46 and touch pad buttons 47 provided at positions closer to the front direction F than the keyboard 45. The first case 22 comprises the second opening portion 25 communicating to the enclosed space 21 and the touch pad buttons 47 are arranged in an inner side of the second opening portion 25. As shown in
The first case 22 comprises portions (face, inner surface, wall, region) 55 each of which faces the respective one of the speaker boxes 16 (portions each of which opposes the respective one of the speaker boxes 16) and a plurality of reinforcing ribs (projections, reinforcing portions, lattice portions, supporting portions or supports) 26 projecting towards the inner side (the enclosed space 21). The plurality of reinforcing ribs 26 are arranged in a honeycomb shape (hexagon) and placed mainly at the respective positions corresponding to the palm rest portion 54. It should be noted that the arrangement of the ribs 26 is designed to have a honeycomb shape, but the ribs may be arranged to form some other shape, for example, a lattice, as long as they can form a structure can ensure a rigidity of the housing 14, a rigidity against warping and a deformation inhibition function to a certain degree.
As shown in
The second case 23 comprises a pair of first opening portion 27 in vicinities of a pair of corner portions 18a and also vicinities of the pair of speaker boxes 16. The first opening portion 27 are provided in the second case 23 which cannot be easily viewed from the user, but located in the front direction F on the so-called user side. The first opening portion 27 are provided in a curved portion of the second case 23 close to the front direction F (curved, designed curve) (see
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In order to realize such a structure, in this embodiment, the parts (parts having such a shape projecting from the surface such as surface mounting side parts) to be disposed on that one side of the printed circuit board 51 are arranged to match with the inner edge shape of each of the holes 64A while avoiding the surface opposing the portions surrounded by the holes 64 to make a crossbeam-like shape.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Further, rubber legs which support the housing 14 are located directly underneath tall connectors (RGB connector and LAN connector), respectively. With this structure, the housing 14 can be inclined towards the front side. In the posture in which the housing 14 is inclined towards the front side, it can make it further difficult for the sound in the second region 60 to propagate to the user side. (That is, the keyboard and printed circuit board, which serve as sound insulating members located between the second region 60 and user, can be directed towards the user.)
As shown in
Each of the speaker boxes 16 is provided on the front side F of the housing 14. Each of the speaker boxes 16 is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin, such as to contain each respective speaker 17 inside. Each of the speaker boxes 16 is positioned with respect to the first case 22 of the housing 14 via a positioning pin 56, and fixed with, for example, a screw (fixing tool, secure portion, stopper position or fixing portion) or the like. As shown in
A wall (a part) of the first duct 31 comprises the portion 55 of the first case 22 of the housing 14, which faces the speaker box 16. With this structure, to be more accurate, each speaker box 16 comprises a groove portion (opening portion, recess portion, projection portion, standing wall portion or wall portion) 61 which constitutes some other wall (other portion) of the first duct 31. The groove portion 61 comprises an elastic member (member having low rigidity, flexible member or deformable or displaceable member) 62 which defines the circumference thereof and a wall portion (face portion) 63 which constitute (serves also as) a part of the second duct 32. The elastic member 62 is adhered to the wall portion 63. The elastic member 62 is formed of, for example, sponge here, but it may be some other type of elastic member such as a rubber. Each speaker box 16 is brought into butt-contact with the portion 55 of the first case 22 via the elastic member 62. The second duct is formed to have a pipe shape.
Subsequently, with reference to
It should be noted here that in the present embodiment, the sounds of low pitches are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25, but it is alternatively possible to make the enclosed space 21 into a complete hermetical state, and propagate sounds to the outside by vibrating the housing 14 itself.
According to the second embodiment, the portable computer 41 comprises the housing 14 further comprising a pair of corner portions 18A, a pair of speaker boxes 16 housed in the housing 14 in the vicinities of the corner portions 18, and a pair of speakers 17 housed in the speaker boxes 16 in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and the housing 14 further contains a pair of first opening portions 27 provided in the vicinities of the speaker boxes 16, respectively, and the second opening portion 25 located between the pair of first opening portions 27, each of the speaker boxes 16 further comprising the first duct 31 which guides sounds from the respective speaker 17 to the respective first opening portion 27, and the second duct 32 which guides sounds from the respective speaker 17 towards the second opening portion 25.
With this structure, each of the speakers 17 is provided in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and thus the diameter of the speakers 17 provided in the housing 14 can be made larger. In order to produce a high-quality sound, it is desirable that the speakers 17 should have a round shape and a proper size. Therefore, with the above-described structure, a high-quality sound can be realized without increasing the thickness dimension of the housing 14.
Further, with the above-described structure, the sounds from the respective speaker 17 can be released directly to the outside of the housing 14 via the first duct 31. Additionally, the sounds from the respective speaker 17 are guided via the second duct 32 into the enclosed space 21, in which, mainly, sounds of low pitches can be resonated. The sounds of the low pitches released from the second duct of each of the speaker boxes 16 are synthesized and boosted within the enclosed space 21, and then the sounds are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the sounds are output via two different pathways to the outside of the housing 14, and therefore a solid sound can be produced, thereby achieving a high-quality sound.
Further, the housing 14 comprises the portion 55 which faces the speaker box 16, and the portion 55 forms a wall (a part) of the first duct 31. Each speaker box 16 comprises a groove portion 61 which constitutes some other wall of the first duct 31. With this structure, the housing 14 can serve also as one of the wall portions of the first duct 31. With this structure, the thickness of the speaker boxes 16 can be reduced as compared to the case where both of the first duct 31 and the second duct 32 are provided in the respective speaker box 16. Therefore, the housing 14 can be further thinned.
Furthermore, the groove portion 61 comprises the elastic member 62 which defines the circumference thereof and is brought into butt-contact with the portion 55. With this structure, the vibration of each speaker box 16 resulting when generating sounds can be absorbed by the elastic member 62. Thus, the vibration generated by each speaker box 16 is not directly propagated to the housing 14, thereby preventing the creation of chattering in the housing 14. Thus, it is possible to prevent the degradation of the quality of the portable computer 41. (In other words, an upscale image can be given to the portable computer 41.)
The portable computer 41 comprises a member provided within the housing 14 such as to define the surrounding of the enclosed space 21. With this structure, it is possible to prevent the leakage of sound from the enclosed space 21, and thus sounds of low pitches can be boosted (by resonation) in the enclosed space 21, thereby achieving a high quality sound.
Further, the housing 14 comprises the first case 22 provided at a position to be viewed by the user, and the second case 23 provided at an opposite side to the first case 22, and the first opening portion 27 is provided in the second case 23. With this structure, the first opening portions 27 can be hidden such as not to be easily seen from the user's side, thereby making it possible to improve the appearance of the portable computer 41.
The first opening portions 27 each extend in the direction which crosses the thickness direction of the housing 14. In recent years, the profile of the housing 14 of the portable computer 14 has been significantly reduced, and therefore with this structure as well, the first opening portions 27 can be hidden such as not to be easily seen from the user's side, thereby making it possible to further improve the appearance of the portable computer 41.
Furthermore, the housing 14 comprises the ribs 26 projecting towards the enclosed space 21 at positions off of the portions 55. With this structure, it is possible to prevent the ribs 26 from interfering with the transmission of sounds in the first duct 31, thereby achieving a sound effect as designed. Further, the interference between the ribs 26 and the speaker boxes 16 can be prevented, which can contribute to the reduction of the profile of the housing 14.
Moreover, the enclosed space 21 is provided at a position on an inner side of the palm rest portion 54 provided in the housing 14. With this structure, the space enclosed at section on an inner side of the palm rest portion 54 can be effectively utilized as a section where sounds are resonated. In this manner, a high quality sound can be realized without particularly increasing the space. Further, the first opening portions 27 are provided on the user's of the second case 23. With this arrangement, the sounds output from the first opening portions 27 are efficiently propagated to the user, thereby making it possible to realize a high quality sound in this way as well. Further, the first opening portions 27 are never blocked with the hands of the user.
Next, the third embodiment of the electronic device will now be described with reference to
The tablet-type portable computer 71 comprises a housing 14 formed of a metal, for example, a magnesium alloy, and a touch panel type display 15 provided inside the housing 14 such as to expose a part thereof to the outside. As shown in
As shown in
The first case 22 comprises portions 55 each of which faces the respective one of the speaker boxes 16, a second opening portion 25 formed by providing, for example, a plurality of minute through-holes collectively in one area, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 26 projecting towards the inner side (the enclosed space 21). The second opening portion 25 is located at a position between a pair of first opening portion 27, which will be later described, and is communicated to the enclosed space 21. The plurality of reinforcing ribs 26 are formed on the inner surface of the first case 22 and arranged to form a honeycomb shape (hexagon). Further, as in the second embodiment, this embodiment employs the arrangement that the plurality of ribs, 26 are provided at positions off of the portions 55 and they are not provided in the portions 55 which face respectively the speaker boxes 16.
The second case 23 comprises the pair of first opening portion 27 each provided in the vicinity of the respective one of the pair of corner portions 18A and also in the vicinity of the respective one of speaker boxes 16. The first opening portion 27 are provided in the second case 23 which cannot be easily viewed from the user, but they are located on the down side D, which is on the user's side when used in the hand of the user. The first opening portions 27 each extend in the direction which crosses the thickness direction of the housing 14. Further, the second case 23 comprises air inlet and outlet opening 72 for a fan unit 53 at a position on the upper side U of the housing 14 (see
Each of the speaker boxes 16 is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin, such as to contain each respective speaker 17 inside. Each speaker box 16 comprises a support portion 30 which supports the respective speaker 17, a first duct 31 which guides the sound from a first side 17A (front side) of the speaker 17 towards the respective first opening portion 27, and a second duct 32 which guides the sound from a second side 17B (rear side) of the speaker 17 towards the enclosed space 21 and the second opening portion 25 communicating thereto.
A part of the first duct 31 comprises the portion 55 of the first case 22 of the housing 14, which faces the speaker box 16. With this structure, to be more accurate, each speaker box 16 comprises a groove portion 61 which constitutes some other portion of the first duct 31. The groove portion 61 comprises an elastic member 62 which defines the circumference thereof and a wall portion 63 which constitute (serves also as) a part of the second duct 32. The elastic member 62 is adhered to the wall portion 63. The elastic member 62 is formed of, for example, sponge here, but it may be some other type of elastic member such as a rubber. The second duct is formed to have a pipe shape.
The operation of the speaker boxes 16 according to this embodiment is similar to that of the second embodiment. It should be noted here that in the present embodiment, the sounds of low pitches are propagated to the outside of the housing 14 through the second opening portion 25, but it is alternatively possible to make the enclosed space 21 into a complete hermetical state, and propagate sounds to the outside by vibrating the housing 14 itself.
According to the third embodiment, the portable computer 71 comprises the housing 14 further comprising a pair of corner portions 18A, a pair of speaker boxes 16 housed in the housing 14 in the vicinities of the corner portions 18, and a pair of speakers 17 housed in the speaker boxes 16 in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and the housing 14 further contains a pair of first opening portion 27 provided in the vicinities of the speaker boxes 16, respectively, and the second opening portion 25 located between the pair of first opening portion 27, each of the speaker boxes 16 further comprising the first duct 31 which guides sounds from the respective speaker 17 to the respective first opening portion 27, and the second duct 32 which guides sounds from the respective speakers towards the second opening portion 25.
With this structure, each of the speakers 17 is provided in the direction which crosses the thickness direction T of the housing 14, and thus the diameter of the speakers 17 provided in the housing 14 can be made larger. Further, the sounds from the respective speaker 17 can be released directly to the outside of the housing 14 via the first duct 31. Additionally, the sounds from the respective speaker 17 are guided via the second duct 32 into the enclosed space 21, in which, mainly, sounds of low pitches can be resonated. In this manner, the sounds are output via two different pathways to the outside of the housing 14, and therefore a solid sound can be produced, thereby achieving a high-quality sound.
Note that the electronic device is not limited to the television 11, the portable computer 41 and 71 described in the above-provided embodiments, but it can be naturally carried out in the form of some other type of electronic devices such a mobile phones and electronic book readers which electronically display books, images and the like.
Further, the electronic device is not limited direclty to the above-described embodiment, but it can be realized while remodifying the structural elements thereof within the scope where the essence thereof remains. Furthermore, various types of embodiments can be achieved by combining or rearranging various structural elements disclosed in the embodiment appropriately. For example, some of the structural elements may be deleted from the entire structure disclosed in the embodiment. Further, structural elements of various versions may be combined together as needed.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-190568 | Sep 2011 | JP | national |