Modular furniture speaker assembly with reconfigurable transverse members

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11178486-B2
Application number	US-201916696696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 26, 2019
Priority date	Nov 19, 2015
Publication date	Nov 16, 2021
Grant date	Nov 16, 2021

Abstract

An electronic furniture assembly of the present invention comprises: (i) a furniture assembly comprising: (A) a base (e.g., a seat portion), (B) at least one transverse member (e.g., a side, armrest or backrest), and (C) a coupler for selectively coupling the base to the transverse member; and (ii) a speaker system mounted within one or more portions of the furniture assembly. The speaker system comprises one or more speakers mounted within the base and/or the transverse member, hiding the speakers therein, and saving space within a home or office, using the same footprint for both furniture and speakers, providing a high fidelity surround sound system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An audio-enhanced furniture system, comprising:
(i) an assemble-able modular furniture assembly comprising:
(a) one or more bases;
(b) a plurality of transverse members, wherein at least two of the transverse members are audio-enhanced transverse members wherein the at least two audio-enhanced transverse members are selectively coupleable to any of the one or more bases as an armrest or backrest, wherein a height of each of the audio-enhanced transverse members is greater than a height of the one or more bases; and

(ii) a speaker system positioned within the assemble-able modular furniture assembly, the speaker system comprising:
(a) a front left speaker mounted within a first audio-enhanced transverse member;
(b) a front right speaker mounted within a second audio-enhanced transverse member;
(c) a left surround speaker mounted within one of the audio-enhanced transverse members;
(d) a right surround speaker mounted within one of the audio-enhanced transverse members;

wherein the audio-enhanced transverse members can be selectively coupled to the one or more bases in different configurations, to thereby allow a user to selectively move and re-position the front left speaker, the front right speaker, the left surround speaker, and the right surround speaker relative to the one or more bases, in the modular furniture system, such that the audio-enhanced transverse members can be coupled to a same base, in different locations relative to the base.

2. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 1 , wherein the first audio-enhanced transverse member includes both the front left speaker and the left surround speaker mounted therein.

3. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 2 , wherein the second audio-enhanced transverse member includes both the front right speaker and the right surround speaker mounted therein.

4. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 3 , wherein:
both the front left speaker of the first audio-enhanced transverse member and front right speaker of the second audio-enhanced transverse member are inwardly oriented, towards the base to which the first and second audio-enhanced transverse members are coupled; and
both the left surround speaker of the first audio-enhanced transverse member and right surround speaker of the second audio-enhanced transverse member are upwardly oriented.

5. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of transverse members further comprise a third audio-enhanced transverse member, the third audio-enhanced transverse member including an additional speaker mounted therein.

6. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 5 , wherein the speaker mounted in the third audio-enhanced transverse member is a left surround speaker, or a right surround speaker.

7. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 5 , wherein the speaker mounted in the third audio-enhanced transverse member is upwardly oriented, off-centered, in a top side of the third audio-enhanced transverse member.

8. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 7 , further comprising an app or other control interface configured to allow a user to select what channel signal is being sent to the left or right surround speaker within the third audio-enhanced transverse member.

9. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 8 , wherein the app or other control interface is configured to allow the user to select any channel signal selected from right front, left front, right surround, or left surround.

10. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 7 , further comprising a fourth audio-enhanced transverse member, wherein the speaker in the third audio-enhanced transverse member is upwardly oriented, off-centered to the right, in a top side of the third audio-enhanced transverse member, and the speaker in the fourth audio-enhanced transverse member is upwardly oriented, off-centered to the left, in a top side of the third audio-enhanced transverse member.

11. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 5 , wherein the third audio-enhanced transverse member is selectively coupleable to any of the one or more bases as a backrest, providing a surround speaker within said third transverse member, where coupled to any given base.

12. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 1 , wherein each speaker of the speaker system is tuned to compensate for sound being emitted from the speaker through upholstery that covers each audio-enhanced transverse member, behind which each speaker is hidden.

13. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 12 , wherein each speaker of the speaker system is tuned to adjust for sound delay resulting from where each speaker is positioned relative to one another in the furniture system.

14. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of transverse members further comprise third and fourth audio-enhanced transverse members, wherein the speakers mounted within the third and fourth audio-enhanced transverse members are upward facing speakers.

15. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 3 , wherein the right and left surround speakers are upwardly oriented, wherein the audio-enhanced transverse members including such surround speakers are generally in the shape of a rectangular prism including a first face, and an opposite second face, with four sides (front side, rear side, top side and bottom side) therebetween corresponding to a thickness of the transverse member, wherein the left surround and right surround speakers are mounted in the top side of their respective audio-enhanced transverse members, wherein the speakers mounted within such respective audio-enhanced transverse members are off-centered relative to the top side in which they are mounted.

16. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 1 , wherein the speakers mounted within the first and second audio-enhanced transverse members are inwardly facing speakers or front facing speakers.

17. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 1 , wherein each audio-enhanced transverse member is generally in the shape of a rectangular prism including a first face, and an opposite second face, with four sides (front side, rear side, top side and bottom side) therebetween corresponding to a thickness of the transverse member, wherein each speaker of each transverse member is mounted in one of the two faces or one of the four sides of the transverse member.

18. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 17 , wherein the front left speaker is mounted in the first face or the front side of the first transverse member and the front right speaker is mounted in the first face or the front side of the second transverse member.

19. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 17 , wherein a coupling hole is provided in the first face of the first audio-enhanced transverse member, for selectively receiving a coupler for selectively coupling the first audio-enhanced transverse member to one of the one or more bases, the first face being oriented towards the base that the first audio-enhanced transverse member is coupled to.

20. The audio-enhanced furniture system of claim 19 , wherein the first audio-enhanced transverse member is selectively coupleable to any of the one or more bases as an armrest, providing a front left speaker within said first audio-enhanced transverse member, selectively coupleable to the left of the base to which the first audio-enhanced transverse member is selectively coupled.

21. The audio-enhanced furniture system of c

Assignees

• LoveSac Company

Inventors

• Nelson Shawn
• Underwood David
• Kuchler Brian
• Gibson Clint

Classifications

• A47C31/008

  Use of remote controls · CPC title

• H04R2420/07

  Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones · CPC title

• A61H23/0236

  using sonic waves, e.g. using loudspeakers · CPC title

• A47C7/727

  with speakers · CPC title

• H04R1/028 Primary

  associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles · CPC title