阅读说明：本技术 至安装表面的基于夹片的扬声器保持装置 (Clip-based speaker retention to a mounting surface ) 是由 W·J·霍恩 P·洛 于 2020-02-21 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文中所公开的技术使得能够使用夹片和凸缘将扬声器保持于安装表面上。在特定实施例中,一种设备包含扬声器,所述扬声器包括大致上椭圆形的扬声器框架。所述设备进一步包括安装表面,所述安装表面包括大致上柱形的凸缘,所述扬声器框架被定位至所述大致上柱形的凸缘中。此外,所述设备包含大致上椭圆形的夹片,所述夹片在所述扬声器框架与所述凸缘的保持边沿之间定位于所述凸缘中。(The techniques disclosed herein enable the use of clips and flanges to hold the speaker on a mounting surface. In a particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a speaker including a substantially elliptical speaker frame. The apparatus further includes a mounting surface including a substantially cylindrical flange into which the speaker frame is positioned. Further, the apparatus includes a substantially oval clip positioned in the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining edge of the flange.)

1. An apparatus having an improved speaker holding device, the apparatus comprising:

a speaker including a substantially elliptical speaker frame;

a mounting surface comprising a generally cylindrical flange in which the speaker frame is positioned; and

a generally oval clip positioned in the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the clip comprises a gap in a perimeter of the clip.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one vibration dampening element positioned in the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the speaker faces the mounting surface and the mounting surface contains at least one opening through which sound generated by the speaker passes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the speaker faces away from the mounting surface, and wherein an opening in the mounting surface allows a portion of the speaker other than the speaker frame to pass through the mounting surface.

6. A method for holding a speaker to a mounting surface, comprising:

positioning a generally elliptical speaker frame of the speaker into a generally cylindrical flange of the mounting surface; and

positioning a substantially oval clip into the flange between the speaker frame and the retaining rim of the flange.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the clip includes a gap in a perimeter of the clip, and positioning the clip comprises:

compressing the clip to reduce the size of the gap such that the clip passes the retaining rim and fits into the flange; and

releasing the clip after the clip is in the flange.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

positioning at least one vibration dampening element in the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the speaker faces the mounting surface and the mounting surface contains at least one opening through which sound generated by the speaker passes.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the speaker faces away from the mounting surface, and wherein an opening in the mounting surface allows a portion of the speaker other than the speaker frame to pass through the mounting surface.

Technical Field

Conventionally, the speaker is held on the mounting surface of the product using a rear support from the rear cover of the product or by tightening a bracket around the periphery of the speaker. In other cases, the speaker is secured to the perimeter of the speaker frame with an adhesive or is secured in the mounting surface by screws through holes in the speaker frame. These above-described examples tend to require many parts (e.g., brackets, washers, screws, etc.), which increases the cost and labor required for assembly. Some of these examples (such as holding the speaker with the back cover of the product) also transmit unwanted vibrations from the speaker to the back cover of the product. These vibrations may cause audio distortion and require more effort to compensate for the loss of fidelity. In addition, vibration to the back cover may cause rattle in other components of the product.

Disclosure of Invention

The techniques disclosed herein enable the use of clips and flanges to hold the speaker on a mounting surface. In a particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a speaker including a substantially elliptical speaker frame. The apparatus further includes a mounting surface including a substantially cylindrical flange into which the speaker frame is positioned. Further, the apparatus includes a substantially oval clip positioned in the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining edge of the flange.

In certain embodiments, the clip includes a gap in a perimeter of the clip. In those embodiments, on each side of the gap, the clip may include tool gripping locations corresponding to tools used to position the clip.

In some embodiments, at least one vibration dampening element is positioned in the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip. In those embodiments, the at least one vibration reduction element may have a similar shape as the loudspeaker frame.

In some embodiments, the speaker faces the mounting surface. In those embodiments, the mounting surface may include at least one opening through which sound generated by the speaker passes.

In some embodiments, the speaker faces away from the mounting surface, and an opening in the mounting surface allows a portion of the speaker other than the speaker frame to pass through the mounting surface.

In certain embodiments, a telephone device includes the mounting surface.

In another embodiment, a method includes positioning a substantially elliptical speaker frame of the speaker into a substantially cylindrical flange of the mounting surface. The method further includes positioning a substantially oval clip into the flange between the speaker frame and a retaining rim of the flange.

In certain embodiments, the clip includes a gap in a perimeter of the clip. In those embodiments, the method may include squeezing the clip to reduce the size of the gap so that the clip passes the rim and fits into the flange, and releasing the clip after the clip is in the flange. Further, in those embodiments, positioning the clip may include grasping the clip on each side of the gap using a positioning tool that grasps onto a grasping location on each side of the gap.

In certain embodiments, the method includes positioning at least one vibration dampening element in the flange to isolate the speaker from the mounting surface and the clip. In those embodiments, the at least one vibration reduction element may have a similar shape as the loudspeaker frame.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows a view of an unassembled loudspeaker holding apparatus in one embodiment.

Fig. 2 shows a view of an assembled loudspeaker holding device in one embodiment.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus in one embodiment.

Fig. 4 shows another cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus in one embodiment.

Fig. 5 shows yet another cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus in one embodiment.

Figure 6 illustrates a clip for a speaker holding apparatus in various embodiments.

Figure 7 shows a phone containing a speaker holding device in one embodiment.

Fig. 8 shows a flow diagram for assembling a loudspeaker holding device in one embodiment.

Detailed Description

The audio speaker retention approach described herein uses fewer parts to assemble, which reduces cost and reduces labor when assembling products containing speakers. Furthermore, the back holding speaker of the product is not used, and therefore vibrations caused by the sound produced by the speaker are not transmitted through the back holding. Instead, the mounting surface on which the speaker is held includes a flange on which the speaker is positioned. The clip retains the speaker within the flange when placed between the speaker frame and the rim of the flange. Thus, to mount the speaker to the mounting surface, only two components are required: the mounting surface itself (with the required flanges) and the clip, as described further below.

Fig. 1 shows a view of an unassembled speaker holding apparatus 100 in one embodiment. The unassembled speaker holding apparatus 100 includes a mounting surface 101, a speaker 102, and a clip 103. The mounting surface 101 has a flange 111, and the flange 111 includes a rim 112. For the purposes of this example, the visible face of the mounting surface 101 is the back face 114, while the face of the mounting surface 101 below its illustrated orientation is the front face 115. This convention of front and back is used because the speaker will typically direct sound outwardly from the front of the mounting surface. However, there may be examples where the speaker will direct sound outward from the back of the mounting surface.

The mounting surface 101 is preferably one-piece, but may also be composed of multiple pieces that are assembled to form the mounting surface 101. For example, the one-piece mounting surface 101 may be produced from an injection molded material such as plastic, may be 3D printed, may be cast, or may be formed using some other manufacturing method. In another example, the flange 111 may be mated to the remainder of the mounting surface 101 using an adhesive or mechanical fasteners. Although the mounting surface 101 is shown as a simple rectangular shape with a flange 111, it should be understood that the mounting surface 101 may be a larger member, such as a panel for a product containing the speaker 102, and thus may take many different shapes.

In this example, the speaker 102 is a circular speaker, but other substantially elliptical shapes may be employed, such as an oval shape, which is another common speaker shape. The shape of the flange 111 (at least the interior thereof) is similar to the shape of the frame 121 of the speaker 102, but larger than the frame 121, in order to position the speaker 102 into the flange 111. Similarly, the mounting surface 101 comprises an opening 113 in the flange 111 in this example, said opening 113 allowing sound generated by the loudspeaker 102 to pass through the mounting surface 101. The size and/or shape of opening 113 must be such that speaker 102 does not pass through mounting surface 101 once speaker 102 is positioned within flange 111. Although the shape of the opening 113 in the mounting surface 101 is similar to the frame 121, in other examples, the opening may take other shapes and/or may contain multiple openings, so long as the shape or arrangement of the multiple openings does not allow the frame 121 to pass through the mounting surface 101 when placed in the flange 111.

The flange 111 comprises a rim 112 at the top of the flange 111, said rim 112 reducing the inner dimension of the flange 111 at the location of the rim 112. In this example, the rim 112 includes six tabs, but in other examples more or fewer tabs of different sizes may be used, so long as the rim 112 is still capable of functioning as described herein. In some cases, the rim 112 may surround the entire flange 111, rather than being divided into tabs as shown. The number and size of the tabs may depend on the material and size of the clip 103 to ensure that the clip 103 may be properly positioned within the flange 111 while still being stiff enough to retain the speaker 102 in the flange 111 after being positioned. In some examples, the diameter of frame 121 may be smaller than the inner diameter of rim 112 to ensure that speaker 102 may be positioned into flange 111, but in other examples, the arrangement of the tabs making up rim 112 may be such that a larger diameter frame 121 may pass through rim 112 in certain orientations.

As mentioned above, clip 103 is positioned within flange 111 after speaker 102 has been placed within flange 111. In particular, clip 103 is shaped similarly to frame 121 and flange 111 such that clip 103 can fit around almost frame 121 of speaker 102 and fit within flange 111 while still being held within flange 111 by rim 112. This allows clip 103 to retain speaker 102 in flange 111 because rim 112 retains clip 103 in flange 111 and clip 103 in turn retains speaker 102 within flange 111. To mount clip 103 under rim 112 and into flange 111, clip 103 is manipulated (e.g., bent, squeezed, flexed, or otherwise deformed) to fit within the diameter of rim 112. Clip 103 is constructed of materials (including certain types of plastics and certain metals): the material causes the clip 103 to return to its original shape at least to the extent necessary to manipulate the clip 103 into seating within the rim 112 when placed in the flange 111. In this example, clip 103 includes a gap in the perimeter of its oval shape to make it easier to manipulate the shape of clip 103 to fit through rim 112. In some applications, the gap forms a so-called C-shaped clip and may be of any size as long as it still allows clip 103 to retain speaker 102 in flange 111. In other examples, clip 103 may not include gaps in its oval shape, perhaps depending on the material composition of clip 103, and still be able to be manipulated to fit under rim 112 and into flange 111.

Fig. 2 shows a view of an assembled loudspeaker holding device 200 in one embodiment. Once the speaker 102 and clip 103 have been positioned in the flange 111 of the mounting surface 101, the assembled speaker holding apparatus 200 represents the unassembled speaker holding apparatus 100. As can be seen in the assembled speaker holding device 200, the speaker 102 is within the flange 111 and the frame 121 does not pass through the opening 113. Clips 103 are tucked under rim 112 and on top of frame 121 to hold speaker 102 within flange 111 and up against mounting surface 101. Preferably, the clips 103 hold the frame 121 sufficiently tightly within the flange 111 such that the frame 121 cannot move within the flange 111 during normal operation of the speaker 102, as otherwise vibrations of the speaker 102 and/or movement of the mounting surface 101 (or the system/device of which the mounting surface 101 is a part) may move the speaker 102 and cause undesirable effects (e.g., rattle, undesirable audio, etc.).

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus 300 in one embodiment. Speaker holding apparatus 300 represents a cross-sectional view through the widest portion of speaker 102 in the assembled speaker holding apparatus 200 with tabs (tab 301 and tab 302) of rim 112 on either side of flange 111. The speaker holding apparatus 300 clearly shows how the mounting surface 101, the speaker 102, and the clip 103 fit together to hold the speaker 102 to the mounting surface 101 in the flange 111. In this example, the diameter of frame 121 is smaller than the opening between tabs 301 and 302, so speaker 102 can be placed into the flange without having to manipulate the orientation of speaker 102 in order to pass through the space between the tabs of rim 112. The diameter of the frame 121 is also greater than the distance across the opening 113 so that the frame 121 does not pass through the mounting surface 101. The clip 103 is placed over the frame 121 and is wide enough on each side to overlap each of the tabs 301 and 302 and the frame 121. Once in place, the clip 103 effectively extends the extent of the rim 112 by reducing the distance across the opening of the rim 112 to prevent the frame 121 from falling out of the flange 111 while the clip 103 remains in place.

As can be seen from the above discussion, only the internal configuration/size of the flange 111 is important for retaining the speaker 102. Thus, although the exterior of the flange 111 is shown as rising straight above the mounting surface 101, other exterior flange configurations may be used. For example, the mounting surface 101 may taper towards the top of the flange 111, or the mounting surface 101 may be thicker to reduce the amount of the flange 111 protruding from the rest of the mounting surface 101 (possibly making the top of the flange 111 flush with the rest of the mounting surface 101).

Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus 400 in one embodiment. The cross-sectional view in this example is similar to that of fig. 3, but the speaker 102 is positioned in the flange 111 in an opposite orientation to the example described above. Although other examples show speaker 102 oriented to direct sound through opening 113 in mounting surface 101, speaker holding apparatus 400 directs sound through the opening between rims 112 of flanges 111. In this example, the back surface 114 may be considered a front surface of the mounting surface 101. The speaker orientation of the speaker 102 in the speaker holding device 400 may be beneficial in such examples: in these examples, the speakers may be replaced frequently, and therefore, easy access to the clips 103 is advantageous. All dimensional requirements of the flange 111, rim 112, clip 103 and frame 121 remain the same as for the speaker holding device 300, but the opening 113 in this example now needs to be large enough to pass the components of the speaker 102. Clip 103 still retains speaker 102 in flange 111 by being placed between rim 112 and frame 121.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a speaker holding apparatus 500 in one embodiment. In this example, the speaker holding apparatus 500 has spacers 501 that help fill the extra space in the flange 111 between the bottom of the mounting surface 101 and the rim 112 that is not occupied by the frame 121 and clips 103. The spacer 501 may have an oval shape similar to the oval shape of the clip 103 and the frame 121 when viewed from above. The spacer 501 may have a similar clearance to that of the clip 103 to help place the spacer 501 within the flange 111. In certain examples, the spacer 501 may be attached within the flange 111 or to the frame 121, and in those examples, the spacer 501 may be divided into different segments, as may the tabs of the rim 112. In some examples, the spacer 501 may include a vibration damping material, such as soft plastic, rubber, foam, etc., that helps to mitigate the transmission of vibrations from the speaker 102 to the mounting surface 101. The use of spacer 501 made of a vibration damping material may be particularly beneficial when the frame 121 is not at least partially covered with a vibration damping material as opposed to a harder material such as metal or plastic. In this example, the spacer 501 is formed around the frame in a cross-sectional view. In other examples, the spacers 501 may have a similar shape to the clips 103, and at least one of them may be placed above and/or below the frame 121. In examples where the frame 121 and clip 103 do not otherwise fill the vertical space between the mounting surface 101 and the rim 112, the use of the spacer 501 may also help prevent the frame 121 and clip 103 from moving in the flange 111. Also, the spacer 501 as shown can fill more space between the edge of the frame 121 and the inside of the flange 111, which will help prevent lateral movement of the speaker 102 inside the flange 111.

Fig. 6 shows clips 601 and 602 for a speaker holding device in various embodiments. Clip 601 and clip 602 are alternative examples of clip 103. Clip 601 and clip 602 include physical features on either side of their respective gaps to manipulate the shape of clip 601 and clip 602 to fit through rim 112 into flange 111. In particular, clip 601 includes holes 611 and 612, and a tool is placed in holes 611 and 612 when clip 601 is positioned in flange 111 or clip 601 is removed from flange 111. For example, a pliers-type tool with tips narrow enough to fit into holes 611 and 612 may be used to squeeze clip 601 to reduce the size of the gap therein, which allows clip 601 to pass through rim 112. The clip 602 includes tabs 621 and 622 on either side of the gap. Tabs 621 and 622 may assist a person in grasping clip 602 to squeeze clip 602 when placing clip 602 into flange 111 or removing clip 602 from flange 111. Alternatively, a tool such as a forceps-type tool may be used to grasp tabs 621 and 622 for placement and removal.

It should be understood that while each of the tab 621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole 612 are disposed immediately adjacent to the gaps in their respective clip 601 and clip 602, the tab 621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole 612 may be positioned elsewhere on the clip 601 and clip 602 so long as the above-described functionality is maintained. Similarly, the gripping location provided by tab 621, tab 622, hole 611, and hole 612 may take forms other than holes and tabs while maintaining the same functionality.

Fig. 7 shows a phone 700 containing a speaker holding device in one embodiment. The phone 700 includes a front panel 701, an earpiece 702, and a dial 703. The handset 702 and dial 703 are common telephone components used for telephony and user input. Panel 701 is an example of mounting surface 101 when incorporated into a larger device. The entirety of panel 701 may be one continuous piece or may be comprised of multiple pieces assembled together. The front of panel 701 is currently seen in fig. 7. The front of the panel 701 is an example of the front face 115 of the mounting surface 101 and contains a speaker cover 704. In this example, speaker cover 704 contains a cross-hatching of the material of panel 701 to allow passage of sound generated by speakers mounted to the back of panel 701 in the manner described herein. Thus, speaker cover 704 is an example of opening 113 from above. In other examples, the speaker cover 704 may be made of a different material than the rest of the faceplate 701 (e.g., may be a mesh insert). Although not shown, a flange similar to flange 111 is present on the back of panel 701 and the speaker is retained therein by a clip similar to clip 103 in a manner similar to that described above in fig. 1-3 and/or 5, the speaker facing outward through speaker cover 704.

Fig. 8 shows a flow chart representing a method 800 for assembling a loudspeaker holding device in one embodiment. Method 800 includes positioning frame 121 of speaker 102 into flange 111 (801). The speaker 102 may be positioned such that the speaker 102 faces the flange 111 and toward the back 114, as shown in fig. 1, 2, 3, and 5, or may be positioned such that the speaker 102 faces away from the flange 111 and away from the back 114. In some examples, spacer(s) 501 may be positioned around frame 121 for vibration damping, filling space, limiting movement, or for some other reason (802).

After positioning speaker 102 (and one or more spacers 501, if used), clip 103 is positioned into flange 111 between frame 121 and rim 112 to retain speaker 102 (and one or more spacers 501, if used) within flange 111 (803). As discussed above, the clip 103 can be squeezed to reduce the size of the gap therein, which reduces the size of the clip 103 enough to pass through the rim 112. Then, once through the rim 112 and into the flange 111, the clip 103 may be released so that the clip 103 may return to a size that retains the clip 103 within the rim 112. In some cases, the clip 103 may be squeezed using a gripping location (such as those shown in fig. 6). Other ways of manipulating clip 103 through rim 112 and into flange 111 may also be used.

Although the above examples focus on holding the audio speaker to the mounting surface, other types of similarly shaped audio members may be held in a similar manner. For example, a microphone having an oval frame similar to the speaker frame described above may be held within the flange of the mounting surface using clips between the frame and the rim of the flange.

The description and drawings contained herein depict specific embodiment(s) of the claimed invention. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, certain conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted. In addition, it is possible to understand some variations from these embodiments that fall within the scope of the invention. It is also to be understood that the above described features may be combined in various ways to form multiple embodiments. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but is only limited by the claims and their equivalents.