Acoustic chambers damped with plural resonant chambers, and related systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10397693-B1
Application number	US-201815917426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Mar 9, 2018
Priority date	Mar 9, 2018
Publication date	Aug 27, 2019
Grant date	Aug 27, 2019

Abstract

An acoustic enclosure has a housing at least partially defining an acoustic chamber for an acoustic radiator. The housing defines an acoustic port from the acoustic chamber to a surrounding environment. An acoustic resonator has a first resonant chamber and a second resonant chamber. The acoustic resonator also has a first duct to acoustically couple the first resonant chamber with the acoustic chamber and a second duct to acoustically couple the second resonant chamber with the first resonant chamber. An electronic device can have an electro-acoustic transducer. Circuitry in the electronic device can drive the electro-acoustic transducer to emit sound over a selected frequency bandwidth. Damping provided by the first and the second resonant chambers can de-emphasize one or more frequencies and/or extend a frequency response of the acoustic enclosure to improve perceived sound quality emitted by the electronic device.

First claim

We currently claim:

1. An acoustic enclosure comprising:
a housing at least partially defining an acoustic chamber for an acoustic radiator, wherein the housing further defines an acoustic port from the acoustic chamber to a surrounding environment;
an acoustic resonator having a first resonant chamber and a second resonant chamber, wherein the acoustic resonator comprises a first duct to acoustically couple the first resonant chamber with the acoustic chamber and a second duct to acoustically couple the second resonant chamber with the first resonant chamber.

2. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein the acoustic resonator is arranged to resonate at a frequency corresponding to a quarter-wavelength resonance of the acoustic chamber to extend a frequency bandwidth of sound emitted within the acoustic chamber.

3. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein the first acoustic duct defines a contraction region positioned between the acoustic chamber and the first resonant chamber.

4. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 3 , wherein the second acoustic duct defines a contraction region positioned between the first resonant chamber and the second resonant chamber.

5. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises an acoustic chassis, wherein the acoustic chassis defines a pair of longitudinally spaced-apart wall segments defining a gap therebetween and a recessed region corresponding to the resonator, wherein the wall segments and the gap are positioned between the recessed region and the acoustic chamber and arranged to define a contraction region between the acoustic chamber and the first resonant chamber of the resonator.

6. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 5 , further comprising an insert matingly engageable with the acoustic chassis to segregate the recessed region and to define the second resonant chamber between the insert and a corresponding segregated portion of the recessed region, wherein the insert defines the second duct.

7. An acoustic enclosure according to claim 1 , wherein the acoustic resonator comprises a first acoustic resonator and the acoustic enclosure further comprises a second acoustic resonator acoustically coupled with the acoustic chamber.

8. A loudspeaker assembly comprising:
an acoustic radiator having a first major surface and an opposed second major surface;
a housing defining an acoustic chamber positioned adjacent, and at least partially bounded by, the first major surface of the acoustic radiator, wherein the housing further defines an acoustic port from the acoustic chamber to a surrounding environment;
an acoustic resonator having a first resonant chamber and a second resonant chamber, wherein the acoustic resonator comprises a first duct to acoustically couple the first resonant chamber with the acoustic chamber and a second duct to acoustically couple the second resonant chamber with the first resonant chamber.

9. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the second major surface of the acoustic radiator defines a boundary of an adjacent region, wherein the adjacent region is acoustically decoupled from the acoustic chamber, the first resonant chamber, the second resonant chamber, or a combination thereof.

10. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the first duct defines a contraction region positioned between the acoustic chamber and the first resonant chamber.

11. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the second duct defines a contraction region positioned between the first resonant chamber and the second resonant chamber.

12. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , further comprising an insert defining a wall separating the first resonant chamber from the second resonant chamber, wherein the second duct comprises an aperture extending through the wall from the first resonant chamber to the second resonant chamber.

13. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , further comprising a wall positioned between the acoustic chamber and the first resonant chamber, wherein the wall defines an open gap, and wherein the first acoustic duct comprises the open gap.

14. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the acoustic resonator comprises a first acoustic resonator, wherein the loudspeaker assembly further comprises a second acoustic resonator.

15. A loudspeaker assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the acoustic resonator is arranged to resonate at a frequency corresponding to a quarter-wavelength resonance of the acoustic chamber to extend a frequency bandwidth of sound emitted by the acoustic radiator.

16. An electronic device, comprising:
an electro-acoustic transducer;
circuitry to drive the electro-acoustic transducer to emit sound over a selected frequency bandwidth;
a ported acoustic chamber positioned adjacent the electro-acoustic transducer; and
an acoustic resonator having a first resonant chamber and a second resonant chamber, wherein the first resonant chamber is acoustically coupled with and positioned between the acoustic chamber and the second resonant chamber.

17. An electronic device according to claim 16 , wherein the acoustic resonator is arranged to resonate at a frequency corresponding to a quarter-wavelength resonance of the ported acoustic chamber to extend a frequency bandwidth of sound emitted by the electronic device compared to the selected frequency bandwidth emitted by the electro-acoustic transducer.

18. An electronic device according to claim 16 , wherein the acoustic resonator comprises a first acoustic resonator, the electronic device comprising a second acoustic resonator.

19. An electronic device according to claim 18 , wherein the second acoustic resonator comprises a corresponding first resonant chamber and a corresponding second resonant chamber, wherein the first resonant chamber corresponding to the second acoustic radiator acoustically couples with and is positioned between the acoustic chamber and the second resonant chamber corresponding to the second acoustic resonator.

20. An electronic device according to claim 16 , further comprising a wall positioned between the acoustic chamber and the first resonant chamber, wherein an opening extends through the wall to acoustically couple the acoustic chamber with the first resonant chamber, wherein the electronic device further comprises another wall positioned between the first resonant chamber and the second resonant chamber, wherein an opening extends through the other wall to acoustically couple the first resonant chamber with the second resonant chamber.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Tao Hongdan
• Grazian Anthony P
• Wilk Christopher
• Donarski Matthew A
• Newman Michael J
• Ilkorur Onur I

Classifications

• H03H9/25

  Constructional features of resonators using surface acoustic waves {(devices for manipulating acoustic surface waves in general G10K11/36)} · CPC title

• H03H9/02535

  of surface acoustic wave devices · CPC title

• H04R2400/11

  Aspects regarding the frame of loudspeaker transducers · CPC title

• H04R9/06

  Loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R9/02

  Details · CPC title