The present disclosure relates to loud speakers, and more particularly pertains to wireless speakers.
Wireless speaker systems that transmit and receive musical signals over a wireless link are known. Such system may include a music source including a transmitter that transmits a musical signal using a wireless link to a wireless loudspeaker. The wireless loudspeaker may include a receiver configured to receive the music signal and an amplifier to amplify the musical signal and power the wireless louder drivers. The wireless loudspeaker may include a power cord configured to be coupled to a power source (such as a power outlet) to provide power to the wireless loudspeaker. However, the power cord may be undesirable from an aesthetic perspective and/or may increase the risk of injury due to accidental tripping.
The present disclosure related in one embodiment to an apparatus including a housing defining an enclosure. A receiver may be coupled to the housing and may be configured to receive a wireless signal representative of an audio signal. An amplifier may be coupled to the housing and may be configured to amplify the audio signal. At least one electromechanical transducer may be coupled to the housing and the amplifier and configured to generate sound waves. At least one electrical connector may be configured to electrically couple the apparatus to an electrical source to provide electric power to the receiver and the amplifier. The electrical connector may be further configured to mechanically couple and mount the apparatus to the electrical source. As such, the apparatus may eliminate the need for a flexible power cord.
The present disclosure relates in another embodiment to a system including a transmitter and a wireless loudspeaker. The receiver may be configured to send a wireless signal representative of an audio signal from an audio source. The wireless loudspeaker may include a housing defining an enclosure and a receiver coupled to the housing. The receiver may be configured to receive the wireless signal representative of the audio signal which may be amplified by an amplifier coupled to the housing. At least one electromechanical transducer may be coupled to the housing and the amplifier and may be configured to generate sound waves based on the audio signal. At least one electrical connector may be configured to electrically couple the wireless loudspeaker to an electrical source to provide electric power to the receiver and the amplifier. The electrical connector may be further configured to mechanically couple and mount the wireless loudspeaker to the electrical source.
In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure may relate to a method comprising receiving, at a receiver of a wireless loudspeaker, a wireless signal representative of an audio signal from an audio source. The method may also comprise electrically and mechanically coupling the wireless loudspeaker to an electrical source using at least one electrical connector coupled to a housing of the wireless loudspeaker. The electrical connector may be configured to provide electric power to the receiver and the amplifier and to mount the loudspeaker to the electrical source. The method may further comprise generating sound waves using at least one electromechanical transducer coupled to the housing and the amplifier based on the audio signal.
Features and advantage of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description of embodiments consistent therewith, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
The networking module 16 may include a receiver 18 for receiving the signal 11 from the transmitter 13, at least one processor 20 for processing the signal 11 and optionally a transmitter 22. The receiver 18 may be configured to receive any analog or digital wireless signal 11 such as, but not limited to, a signal transmitted over prescribed electromagnetic bands, for example in the 900 MHz range, 2.4 to 2.483 GHz, and/or 5.725 to 5.875 GHz, Bluetooth, infrared, or the like. The receiver 18 may also be configured to receive one or more command signals 17 from a remote controller 19. For example, the command signals 17 may be configured to control one or more functions of the wireless loudspeaker 10 such as, but not limited to, a power on command, power off command, volume command, source command, zone command, and/or adjust one or more properties of the audio such as treble and/or bass control. The processor 20 may include digital and/or analog audio circuitry configured to convert and/or demodulate the signal received from the audio source from a particular signal format (either analog or digital) for amplification. For example, the processor 20 may include an A/D and/or a D/A converter, filter, and the like. The transmitter 22 may optionally rebroadcast one or more signals representing audio signals and/or may transmit a signal back to the transmitter 13 and audio source 15.
At least one power amplifier 24 may be coupled to both the electrical connector 14 and the networking module 16. The power amplifier 24 may be configured to amplify the signal from the networking module 16 to properly drive one or more speakers 26. The power amplifier 24 may be at least partially disposed within and/or coupled to the housing 12 and may optionally include one or more heat sinks or cooling fins 28 configured to dissipate heat generated by the power amplifier 24. The power amplifier 24 may optionally include automatic power circuitry configured to automatically turn the wireless loudspeaker 10 on upon receiving a signal 11 from the transmitter 13 and audio source 15 and may also be configured to automatically turn the wireless loudspeaker 10 off after a predetermined amount of inactivity. While the processor 20 has been described as being part of the networking module 16, the networking module 16 may receive a signal 11 from the transmitter 13 and audio source 15 and transmit the signal to the power amplifier 24 which may then process and amplify the signal.
One or more speakers 26 may be coupled to the housing 12 and may include any electromechanical transducer configured to convert the electrical signal from the power amplifier 24 into sound. For example, one or more of the speakers 26 may include a horn driver, piezoelectric driver, electrostatic driver, ribbon and/or planar magnetic drivers, flat panel driver, heil air motion transducers and the like. According to one embodiment, one or more of the speakers 26 may include an acoustical transducer and overall system as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,720,708 and 7,038,356, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Accordingly, one may employ herein a diaphragm that is curved, at least one support on at least a portion of such diaphragm, and at least one activator operatively coupled to the diaphragm and spaced from the support, where the actuator is configured such that movement of the actuator produced corresponding movement of the diaphragm and the diaphragm movement is amplified with respect to the actuator movement.
The wireless loudspeaker 26 may be coupled to the housing 12 such that the housing 12 forms at least part of an enclosure 29 for the speaker 26. The enclosure 29 may be substantially hermetically sealed to the speaker 26 and/or may include one or more tuned ports 31. At least part of the speaker (for example, the diaphragm or speaker membrane) may include carbon fiber and/or glass fiber. Optionally, the wireless loudspeaker 10 may include one or more light sources 32 (such as, but not limited to, LEDs, incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent lights, or the like) configured to at least partially illuminate part of the speaker 26. According to one embodiment, the speaker 26 may include a diaphragm including a translucent or transparent material such as, but not limited to, film material or glass fibers (e.g., glass fibers made by Owens Corning). In this manner, the wireless loudspeaker 10 may function as a light and/or as a light diffuser. Additionally, the wireless loudspeaker 10 may include a plurality of light sources 32 configured to produce light of various colors. The plurality of light sources 32 may be configured to produce light patterns in response to the audio signal and function as a “light show.”
Turning now to
Referring to
According to one embodiment, the wireless loudspeaker 10,
As mentioned above, the wireless loudspeaker 10 may include one or more electrical connectors 14. For example, the electrical connectors 14 may be formed as an integral or unitary component of the housing 12 as generally shown in
The removable electrical connectors 46 may be rotatably received in the cavity/protrusion 44 such that the wireless loudspeaker 10 may be rotated in a plane substantially parallel to at least a portion of the support surface 40. The removable electrical connectors 46 and/or the cavity 44 may include slip ring or the like configured to maintain electrical continuity between the removable electrical connectors 46 and the cavity 44.
According to another embodiment, the removable electrical connectors 46 may be received in the cavity/protrusion 44 in a predetermined orientation with respect to the housing 12. For example, the removable electrical connectors 46,
Turning now to
Referring now to
The networking module 216 may include a receiver 218 for receiving the signal 211 from the transmitter 213, at least one processor 220 for processing the signal 211 and optionally a transmitter 222. The receiver 218 may be configured to receive any analog or digital wireless signal 211 such as, but not limited to, a signal transmitted over prescribed electromagnetic bands, for example in the 900 MHz range, 2.4 to 2.483 GHz, and/or 5.725 to 5.875 GHz, Bluetooth, infrared, or the like. The receiver 218 may also be configured to receive one or more command signals 217 from a remote controller 219. For example, the command signals 217 may be configured to control one or more functions of the wireless loudspeaker light 210 such as, but not limited to, a power on command, power off command, volume command, source command, zone command, and/or adjust one or more properties of the audio such as treble and/or bass control. The processor 220 may include digital and/or analog audio circuitry configured to convert and/or demodulate the signal 211 transmitted by the transmitter 213 coupled to the audio source 215 from a particular signal format (either analog or digital) for amplification. For example, the processor 220 may include an A/D and/or a D/A converter, filter, and the like. The transmitter 222 may optionally rebroadcast one or more signals representing audio signals and/or may transmit a signal back to the transmitter 213 and/or audio source 215.
At least one power amplifier 224 may be coupled to both the electrical connector 214 and the networking module 216. The power amplifier 224 may be configured to amplify the signal from the networking module 216 to properly drive one or more speakers 226. The power amplifier 224 may be at least partially disposed within and/or coupled to the housing 212 and may optionally include one or more heat sinks or cooling fins 228 configured to dissipate heat generated by the power amplifier 224. The power amplifier 224 may optionally include automatic power circuitry configured to automatically turn the wireless loudspeaker light 210 on upon receiving an appropriate signal from the audio source and may also be configured to automatically turn the wireless loudspeaker light 210 off after a predetermined amount of inactivity. While the processor 220 has been described as being part of the networking module 216, the networking module 216 may receive a signal 211 from the audio source 215 and transmit the signal to the power amplifier 224 which may then process and amplify the signal.
One or more speakers 226 may be coupled to the housing 212 and may include any electromechanical transducer configured to convert the electrical signal from the power amplifier 224 into sound. For example, one or more of the speakers 226 may include a horn driver, piezoelectric driver, electrostatic driver, ribbon and/or planar magnetic drivers, flat panel driver, heil air motion transducers and the like. According to one embodiment, one or more of the speakers 26 may include an acoustical transducer as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,720,708 and 7,038,356, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Accordingly, one may employ herein a diaphragm that is curved, at least one support on at least a portion of such diaphragm, and at least one activator operatively coupled to the diaphragm and spaced from the support, where the actuator is configured such that movement of the actuator produced corresponding movement of the diaphragm and the diaphragm movement is amplified with respect to the actuator movement.
The speaker 226 may be coupled to the housing 212 such that the housing 212 forms at least part of an enclosure 229 for the speaker 226. The enclosure 229 may be substantially hermetically sealed to the speaker 226 and/or may include one or more tuned ports 231. At least part of the speaker (for example, the diaphragm or speaker membrane) may include carbon fiber and/or glass fiber. Optionally, the wireless loudspeaker light 210 may include one or more light sources 232 (such as, but not limited to, LEDs, incandescent light bulbs, compact fluorescent lights, or the like) configured to at least partially illuminate part of the speaker 226. The light source 232 may be either replaceable or non-replaceable.
Turning now to
The wireless loudspeaker light 210 may optionally include a grill, cover, or the like configured to be at least partially disposed over an external surface of the speaker 226. The grill or cover 230 may be generally acoustically transparent may increase the aesthetic appearance of the loudspeaker 210 and/or protection of the loudspeaker 210 (and specifically the speaker 226). The grill 230 may also be substantially translucent or transparent, for example, to allow light emitted from the light source 232 to pass. Additionally, the grill 230 may function as a light diffuser.
Referring now to
According to one embodiment, the wireless loudspeaker light 210,
Turning now to
The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to an apparatus, system or method which must satisfy one or more of any stated or implied object or feature of the present disclosure and should not be limited to the preferred, exemplary, or primary embodiment(s) described herein. The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the present disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as is suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present disclosure when interpreted in accordance with breadth to which it is fairly, legally and equitably entitled.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 60/989,687 and 60/989,700, filed Nov. 21, 2007, both which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/US08/84359 | 11/21/2008 | WO | 00 | 9/13/2010 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60989687 | Nov 2007 | US | |
60989700 | Nov 2007 | US |