Cooling techniques to improve thermal performance of electroacoustic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10104761-B1
Application number	US-201715634740-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jun 27, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2017
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

A loudspeaker assembly comprises an enclosure having a first end and a second end, the first end including an opening; an acoustic driver at the second end of the enclosure; an acoustic volume between the first end and the second of the enclosure; a circuit board at the first end of the enclosure; a firebox covering the opening at the first end of the enclosure, the firebox providing a convection flow path in the acoustic volume over heat-generating components of the circuit board; and a heat sink extending from the circuit board in a direction away from the acoustic volume for providing a conduction flow path through the circuit board.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A loudspeaker assembly, comprising:
an enclosure having a first end and a second end, the first end including an opening;
an acoustic driver at the second end of the enclosure;
an acoustic volume between the first end and the second of the enclosure;
a circuit board at the first end of the enclosure;
a firebox covering the opening at the first end of the enclosure and further positioned over the circuit board, the firebox providing a natural or forced convection flow path in the acoustic volume over heat-generating components of the circuit board; and
a heat sink extending from the circuit board in a direction away from and external to the acoustic volume for providing a conduction flow path through the circuit board, wherein a portion of the heat sink extends through the opening at the first end of the enclosure, and wherein the circuit board is between the heat sink and the acoustic driver.

2. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 1 , wherein the circuit board includes a printed circuit board, and wherein the printed circuit board has a first side including a first set of electronic components surrounded by the firebox.

3. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 2 , wherein the first set of electronic components are cooled by both the convection flow path and the conduction flow path.

4. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 3 , wherein the printed circuit board has a second side opposite the first side facing the acoustic volume and including a second set of electronic components, and wherein the second set of electronic components are cooled by the conduction flow path.

5. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 4 , wherein the second set of electronic components produce heat than the first set of electronic components, and face the acoustic volume for cooling by both the convection flow path and the conduction flow path.

6. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 1 , wherein the firebox includes a plurality of vents that surround a surface of the circuit board having the heat-generating components and draw air from the convection path in the acoustic volume to cool the heat-generating components on the circuit board, wherein the heat-generating components of the circuit board are between the vents and the opening at the first end of the enclosure.

7. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 1 , further comprising at least one acoustic port that draws cooler air from an external environment, wherein the convection flow path extends from the at least one acoustic port at the second end of the enclosure through the acoustic volume to the circuit board, and the conduction flow path is at the first end of the enclosure.

8. The loudspeaker assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the circuit board and the firebox separate the internal acoustic chamber from an external environment.

9. A system for cooling a loudspeaker assembly, comprising:
a firebox about a set of heat-generating components in an acoustic volume of the loudspeaker assembly;
at least one acoustic port at an opposite end of the acoustic volume than the firebox that draws cooler air from an external environment into the acoustic volume, wherein a natural or forced convection flow path extends from the at least one acoustic port at the opposite end of the acoustic volume than the firebox and through the acoustic volume and the firebox box to the heat-generating components; and
a heat sink between the heat-generating components and the external environment for providing conduction flow path for the heat-generating components from the acoustic volume to the external environment, wherein the heat-generating components are between the heat sink and the at least one acoustic port.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the firebox includes a plurality of vents that surround a surface of a circuit board having the heat-generating components and draw air from the convection flow path in the acoustic volume to cool the heat-generating components on the circuit board.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the heat-generating components of the circuit board include a first set of electronic components surrounded by the firebox that is cooled by both the convection flow path and the conduction flow path.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the heat-generating components of the circuit board include a second set of electronic components on an opposite side of the circuit board as the first set of electronic components, and are cooled by the conduction flow path.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the circuit board and the firebox separate the internal acoustic chamber from the external environment.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the firebox and at least a portion of the circuit board separate the acoustic volume from the external environment so that heat generated by the heat-generating components inside the acoustic volume escapes only from the at least one acoustic port.

15. A method for cooling a loudspeaker assembly, comprising:
forming, in an acoustic volume of the loudspeaker assembly, a convection flow path from an acoustic port at one side of the acoustic volume to a plurality of vents in a firebox at another side of the acoustic volume;
forming a natural or forced conduction flow path from heat-generating components of a circuit board the loudspeaker assembly to a heat sink on an opposite side of the circuit board as the acoustic volume, wherein the vents in the firebox are positioned over the heat-generating components, and wherein the heat-generating components are positioned between the heat sink and the acoustic port; and
cooling the electronic components of the loudspeaker assembly by both the conduction flow path and the convection flow path.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the firebox surrounds the heat-generating components of the circuit board and provides for the convection flow path in the acoustic volume over the heat-generating components of the circuit board.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the vents of the firebox surround a surface of the circuit board and draw air from the convection path in the acoustic volume to cool the heat-generating components.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the heat sink extends from the circuit board in a direction away from the acoustic volume for providing the conduction flow path through the circuit board.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the heat-generating components of the circuit board include a first set of electronic components on one side of the circuit board facing the acoustic volume that is cooled by both the convection and conduction flow paths, and further include a second set of electronic components on an opposite side of the circuit board as the first set of electronic components that is cooled by the conduction flow path.

Assignees

• Bose Corp

Inventors

• Macdonald Thomas E
• Brousseau Kevin

Classifications

• H04R1/025

  Arrangements for fixing loudspeaker transducers, e.g. in a box, furniture · CPC title

• H04R27/00 Primary

  Public address systems (circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; {monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007}; amplifiers H03F) · CPC title

• H04R3/007

  Protection circuits for transducers · CPC title

• H04R1/02

  Casings; Cabinets {; Supports therefor;} Mountings therein (H04R1/28 takes precedence {; attachments for microphones H04R1/08; mounting of transducers in earpieces H04R1/1075}) · CPC title

• H05K1/0203 Primary

  Cooling of mounted components (H05K1/0272 takes precedence) · CPC title