This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-139874, filed Jun. 18, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a television apparatus and an electronic device.
There have been known electronic devices that house a speaker inside the housing and that emit sound produced from the speaker to the outside of the housing. Some of such electronic devices comprise a speaker holder that holds a speaker and that is installed in the housing with an engagement mechanism. Speakers are relatively easily installed in such electronic devices.
Electronic devices are required to favorably emit sound produced from the speaker to the outside of the housing.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention.
In general, according to one embodiment, a television apparatus comprises a housing, a skeletal member, a speaker, a speaker holder, and a sound guiding mechanism. The housing is provided with an emission opening. The skeletal member is configured to be housed in the housing and fixed to the housing. The speaker is configured to be arranged inside the housing. The speaker holder is configured to be attached to the skeletal member with an engagement mechanism while holding the speaker. The sound guiding mechanism comprises the speaker holder, and is configured to guide sound produced from the speaker to the emission opening.
According to another embodiment, an electronic device comprises a housing, a skeletal member, a speaker, a speaker holder, and a sound guiding mechanism. The housing is provided with an emission opening. The skeletal member is configured to be housed in the housing and fixed to the housing. The speaker is configured to be arranged inside the housing. The speaker holder is configured to be attached to the skeletal member with an engagement mechanism while holding the speaker. The sound guiding mechanism comprises the speaker holder, and is configured to guide sound produced from the speaker to the emission opening.
In embodiments described below, identical constituent elements are referred to by the same reference numerals, and repetition is avoided in the explanation of such constituent elements. In the accompanying drawings, “UP” represents the upper side in the operating state.
As illustrated in
The stand 2 has a base 2a and a leg 2b that upwardly extends from the base 2a to the rear side of the central portion of the main body 3. The tail end (rear end) (not illustrated) of a housing 3a of the main body 3 is rotatably supported by the fore-end (not illustrated) of the leg 2b via a hinge mechanism (not illustrated) including, for example, ball joints or universal joints.
The main body 3 comprises a housing 3a, a display panel 4 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a circuit board (not illustrated), and a speaker 10 (see
The housing 3a is formed in a rectangular flat shape and has the opening 3c formed in the front surface 3b thereof. A mask 3d and a case 3e are joined to constitute the housing 3a. The housing 3a comprises a rear wall 3f, a front wall 3g that lies at the front of the rear wall 3f and faces the rear wall 3f, and a peripheral wall 3h that connects the periphery of the rear wall 3f with the periphery of the front wall 3g. The opening 3c is formed in the front wall 3g.
As illustrated in
The circuit board is arranged at the rear side (back) of the inner plate 11, that is, the rear side of the display panel 4 and is housed in the housing 3a. The circuit board is fixed to the rear wall 3f of the housing 3a via a screw or the like (not illustrated). The circuit board, components (not illustrated) mounted on the circuit board, and other components constitute a circuit board assembly.
The display panel 4 is formed in the shape of a thin and flat rectangular parallelepiped along the front-back direction (perpendicular direction to the plane of paper of
As illustrated in
The speaker holder 12 is a component that holds the speaker 10 and that is separately provided from the housing 3a and the inner plate 11. The speaker holder 12 is arranged inside the housing 3a at one side thereof. The speaker holder 12 is attached to a rear surface 11b of the inner plate 11 with an engagement mechanism 13 while holding the speaker 10. The speaker holder 12 is made of an elastic material and thus has elasticity. The speaker holder 12 is a molded component in which components are integrally molded. In the present embodiment, the elastic material is a rubber such as ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM). However, the elastic material is not limited to the rubber and may be resin or the like other than the rubber. The speaker holder 12 holds the speaker 10 by the fit between them.
As illustrated in
The extension 12b is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape smaller than that of the main body 12a and forms a level difference at a connection with the main body 12a. The extension 12b is formed in a tubular shape. While an inlet 12h as an opening at one end of the extension 12b is communicated with the inside of the main body 12a, an outlet 12i as an opening at the other end is communicated with the emission opening 3i of the housing 3a. The extension 12b functions as a duct.
The speaker holder 12 constitutes, together with the inner plate 11, a sound guiding mechanism 14 that guides the sound produced from the speaker 10 to the emission opening 3i. In other words, the sound guiding mechanism 14 comprises the speaker holder 12 and guides the sound produced from the speaker 10 to the emission opening 3i. The sound guiding mechanism 14 also functions as a sound insulating member that inhibits the sound produced from the rear surface of the speaker 10 from creeping to the front surface (front) of the speaker 10.
The inside space of the sound guiding mechanism 14, except the outlet 12i, is substantially sealed to be a box structure. The sound guiding mechanism 14 guides the sound (sound wave) produced from the speaker 10 to the air chamber 12g. Thus, the sound produced from the speaker 10 is emitted to the emission opening 3i of the housing 3a.
As illustrated in
As described above, in the present embodiment, the sound guiding mechanism 14 comprising the speaker holder 12 guides the sound produced from the speaker 10 to the emission opening 3i. Accordingly, the sound guiding mechanism 14 allows the sound produced from the speaker 10 to be more favorably emitted to the outside of the housings 3a. In the present embodiment, a portion of the speaker holder 12 serves also as the sound guiding mechanism 14, and thus, the structure of the television apparatus 1 can be simplified as compared with the structure in which the sound guiding mechanism 14 includes only members except for the speaker holder 12.
In the present embodiment, the speaker holder 12 is attached to the inner plate 11 as a skeletal member with the engagement mechanism 13 while holding the speaker 10. Therefore, the vibration of the speaker 10 can be inhibited from being directly transmitted to the housing 3a. Accordingly, the housing 3a can be inhibited from generating unusual noises. Thus, the sound produced from the speaker 10 can be emitted to the outside of the housings 3a without being disturbed by the unusual noises. Consequently, the sound produced from the speaker 10 can be more favorably emitted to the outside of the housings 3a.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, the speaker holder 12 comprises the air chamber 12g and thus can enhance the sound quality of the speaker 10.
As illustrated in
The PC 20 can be used in a first usage pattern illustrated in
In the first main body 21, a display panel 25 such as LCD that is a display device having a touch panel 24 on the front surface (a display screen 25a), push button mechanisms 26, and the like are provided in an exposed manner on a front surface 21b that is the external surface of a housing 21a. On the other hand, in the second main body 22, a display panel 28 such as LCD that is a display device having a touch panel 27 on the front surface (a display screen 28a), a push button mechanism 29, and the like are provided in an exposed manner on a front surface 22b that is the external surface of a housing 22a. The second main body 22 also comprises a built-in speaker 50 (see
In the open states illustrated in
The joint 23 connects the first main body 21 with the second main body 22 and is configured separately from the first main body 21 and the second main body 22. The joint 23 connects an end portion 21c at the base end of the first main body 21 with an end portion 22c at the base end of the second main body 22. Rectangular notches 21e and 22e each having a long opening along the longitudinal direction of end edges 21d and 22d of the end portions 21c and 22c, respectively, and a shallow depth are formed at the center in the longitudinal direction, except at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Half of the joint 23 is inserted in the notch 21e and the remaining half thereof is inserted in the notch 22e. A length L of the joint 23 is set to be slightly shorter than the width of the notches 21e and 22e. Moreover, a width W of the joint 23 is set to be substantially equal to the total thickness of the first main body 21 and the second main body 22 that are closed together in the folded state.
The first main body 21 and the joint 23 are connected to be relatively rotatable around a rotation axis Ax1 via a first hinge mechanism 30A. Similarly, the second main body 22 and the joint 23 are connected to be relatively rotatable around a rotation axis Ax2 via a second hinge mechanism 30B. The rotation axes Ax1 and Ax2 lie parallel to each other. In the present embodiment, the first hinge mechanism 30A and the second hinge mechanism 30B are interlocked so that the relative rotation angle around the rotation axis Ax1 of the first main body 21 with respect to the joint 23 is identical to the relative rotation angle around the rotation axis Ax2 of the second main body 22 with respect to the joint 23. However, the two relative rotation directions with respect to the joint 23 are opposite to each other. Thus, when a user opens either one of the first main body 21 and the second main body 22 relative to the joint 23, the PC 20 falls into the open state. On the other hand, when the user closes either one of the first main body 21 and the second main body 22 relative to the joint 23, the PC 20 falls into the folded state. Moreover, when a user opens both the first main body 21 and the second main body 22, the PC 20 falls into the open state. On the other hand, when a user closes both the first main body 21 and the second main body 22, the PC 20 falls into the folded state.
As illustrated in
Each of the display panels 25 and 28 is formed in the shape of a flat rectangular parallelepiped. The display panels 25 and 28 receive display signals from control circuits configured with the electronic components or the like that are mounted on the circuit board 31a and display video including still images and moving images. Also in the present embodiment, light that represents the video displayed on the display screens 25a and 28a of the display panels 25 and 28 is output anteriorly through the colorless and transparent touch panels 24 and 27, respectively. The control circuits in the PC 20 comprise a controller, a storage module (such as a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a hard disk drive (HDD)), an interface circuit, and various controllers.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
An opening 36k from which a portion of the second circuit board 51 is exposed to the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 (to the speaker 50) is formed in the extension 36b. The opening 36k is communicated with the inside of the speaker holder 60. A harness 63 (see
As illustrated in
The speaker holder 60 is a component that holds the speaker 50 and that is separately provided from the housing 22a and the inner plate 36. The speaker holder 60 is arranged inside the housing 22a at one side thereof and is attached to the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 as a supporting surface. The speaker holder 60 is made of an elastic material and thus has elasticity. The speaker holder 60 is a molded component in which components are integrally molded. In the present embodiment, the elastic material is a rubber such as ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM). However, the elastic material is not limited to the rubber and may be resin or the like, other than the rubber. The speaker holder 60 holds the speaker 50 by the fit between them.
As illustrated in
The main body 60c comprises a stepped cylindrical fitting portion 60h and a covering wall 60i that covers a portion of the rear surface of the fitting portion 60h and is connected to the fitting portion 60h.
A portion of the fitting portion 60h extends to the inner plate 36 to constitute a leg 60j, and the leg 60j constitutes the side wall 60b of the speaker holder 60. A circular concave portion 60k is formed at the inner periphery of the fitting portion 60h, and the concave portion 60k and a circular fitting piece 50d formed at the extension 50b of the speaker 50 are fitted together.
The covering wall 60i constitutes the rear wall 22e. The covering wall 60i abuts the rear surface of the speaker 50. A first harness inserting opening 60m through which the harness 63 passes is formed in the covering wall 60i. In addition to the first harness inserting opening 60m, an opening 60n is formed in the covering wall 60i.
A first air chamber 60p is formed inside the main body 60c. The first air chamber 60p serves as a sound field for sound produced from the speaker 50. The first air chamber 60p is blocked by the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 as a supporting surface and the second circuit board 51.
Two fixing pieces 60q constituting the engagement mechanism 62 are connected to the main body 60c. These fixing pieces 60q extend from the covering wall 60i of the main body 60c to the outside of the fitting portion 60h. Fitting holes 60r are formed at the fore-ends of the fixing pieces 60q, and the pins 36h are fitted into the fitting holes 60r. As illustrated in
A grooved path 60t communicated with the outlet 60g and the emission opening 22j is formed in the extension 60d. As illustrated in
The expanded portion 60e constitute the rear wall 60a and the side wall 60b of the speaker holder 60. A second air chamber 60v is formed inside the expanded portion 60e. The second air chamber 60v is blocked by the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 as a supporting surface and the second circuit board 51. The first air chamber 60p is communicated with the second air chamber 60v and serves as a sound field for sound produced from the speaker 50. A notch 60w is formed in the expanded portion 60e, and a connector 70 (see
The speaker holder 60 constitutes, together with the inner plate 36 and the second circuit board 51, the sound guiding mechanism 90 that guides the sound produced from the speaker 50 to the emission opening 22j. In other words, the sound guiding mechanism 90 comprises the speaker holder 60 and guides the sound produced from the speaker 50 to the emission opening 22j. The sound guiding mechanism 90 comprises the inner plate 36 and the second circuit board 51 as at least one of the housing members. The speaker holder 60 is apart from the inner surface of the housing 22a.
The inside space of the sound guiding mechanism 90, except the outlet 60g, is substantially sealed to be a box structure. The sound guiding mechanism 90 guides the sound (sound wave) produced from the speaker 50 to the air chamber 12g. Thus, the sound produced from the speaker 50 is emitted to the emission opening 22j of the housing. The speaker holder 60 also functions as a sound insulating member that inhibits the sound produced from the rear surface of the speaker 50 from creeping to the front surface of the speaker 50.
As described above, the inner plate 36 has the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 as a supporting surface and the pair of pins 36h as an engaging portion. The speaker holder 60 is arranged at a position between the inner plate 36 and the housing 22a and lies at a fixing position where the speaker holder 60 abuts the rear surface 36c of the inner plate 36 and is engaged with the pins 36h. A gap e (
A filter member 66 covers the emission opening 22j. The filter member 66 is, for example, nonwoven fabric and is fixed to the inner surface of the housing 22a by bonding or the like.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As described above, in the present embodiment, the sound guiding mechanism 90 comprising the speaker holder 60 guides the sound produced from the speaker 50 to the emission opening 22j. Accordingly, the sound guiding mechanism 90 allows the sound produced from the speaker 50 to be more favorably emitted to the outside of the housings 22a. In the present embodiment, a portion of the speaker holder 60 serves also as the sound guiding mechanism 90, and thus, the structure of the PC 20 can be simplified as compared with the structure in which the sound guiding mechanism 90 includes only members except for the speaker holder 60.
In the present embodiment, the speaker holder 60 is attached to the inner plate 36 as a skeletal member with the engagement mechanism 62 while holding the speaker 50. Therefore, the vibration of the speaker 50 can be inhibited from being transmitted to the housing 22a. Accordingly, the housing 22a can be inhibited from generating unusual noises. Thus, the sound produced from the speaker 50 is emitted to the outside of the housings 22a without being disturbed by the unusual noises. In other words, the sound produced from the speaker 50 can be more favorably emitted to the outside of the housings 22a.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, the first and the second air chambers 60p and 60v that are provided in the speaker holder 60 can enhance the sound quality of the speaker 50.
In the present embodiment, the speaker holder 60 has elasticity. Therefore, the speaker holder 60 can come in contact with the inner plate 36, which can inhibit sound leakage generating from a gap between the speaker holder 60 and the inner plate 36.
In the present embodiment, the pin abutting portion 60s that is at least a portion of the speaker holder 60 is formed along the inner plate 36 as a housing member constituting the sound guiding mechanism 90 and abuts the inner plate 36 (pin 36h). Therefore, the speaker holder 60 can come in contact with the inner plate 36, which can inhibit sound leakage generating from a gap between the speaker holder 60 and the inner plate 36.
In the present embodiment, the ribs 36i are provided at the inner plate 36 constituting the sound guiding mechanism 90, and the engaging holes 60u engaged with the ribs 36i are formed in the speaker holder 60. This structure can inhibit the deformation of the inner plate 36.
In the present embodiment, the inner plate 36 as a skeletal member has the rear surface 36c as a supporting surface and the pins 36h as engaging portions. The speaker holder 60 is arranged at a position between the inner plate 36 and the housing 22a and lies at a fixing position where the speaker holder 60 abuts the rear surface 36c and is engaged with the pins 36h. A gap is formed between the speaker holder 60 and the housing 22a when the speaker holder 60 lies at the fixing position. When the speaker holder 60 moves from the fixing position toward the housing 22a, the housing 22a abuts the speaker holder 60 to restrict the movement of the speaker holder 60. Therefore, the speaker holder 60 can be inhibited from being largely displaced in the housing 22a.
In the present embodiment, the inner plate 36 as a skeletal member has the rear surface 36c as a supporting surface abutting the speaker holder 60. The opening 36k communicated with the inside of the speaker holder 60 is provided at the rear surface 36c. The second circuit board 51 is arranged so as to face the opening 36k and be overlapped with the opposite surface of the rear surface 36c (the front surface 36d) of the inner plate 36. The second circuit board 51 and the inner plate 36 are bonded with each other by the double-faced tape 61 that is a bonding member positioning between the second circuit board 51 and the inner plate 36. Thus, sound leakage generating from a gap between second circuit board 51 and the inner plate 36 can be inhibited.
As illustrated in
Such a structure allows the speaker holder 60 to be inhibited from being displaced in the housing 22a.
As described above, according to each of the embodiments, television apparatuses and electronic devices that can favorably emit sound produced from the speakers to the outside of the housings can be obtained.
While the abovementioned embodiments are described as being applied to a television apparatus and a notebook PC having two display screens, the embodiments may also be applicable to other electronic devices having at least a single display screen such as computers (notebook computers or desktop computers), personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartbooks, smartphones, or cellular phones, having a single display screen.
Moreover, regarding the display device, the display screen, the display panel, the housing, the circuit board, the second circuit board, the inner plate, the speaker, the speaker holder, the electronic component, the fan, the pin, the rib, and the like, the specifications (method, structure, shape, material, size, number, direction, type, arrangement, etc.) can be suitably modified.
The various modules of the systems described herein can be implemented as software applications, hardware and/or software modules, or components on one or more computers, such as servers. While the various modules are illustrated separately, they may share some or all of the same underlying logic or code.
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 |
---|---|---|---|
2010-139874 | Jun 2010 | JP | national |