AU2006100627A4 - Speaker surround - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant(s): Augusto Tucci Invention Title: MODULAR SPEAKER ENCLOSURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: I j 2

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MODULAR SPEAKER ENCLOSURE FIELD OF THE INVENTION 00 The present invention relates to a modular speaker enclosure for containing loud speakers for use with home CI theatre systems. In one example, the modular speaker

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enclosure also acts as a support stand for a visual display unit as well as an enclosure for the loudspeakers.

SIn one embodiment the present invention relates to a modular speaker enclosure having cavities for housing separate speaker assemblies and other spaces for housing electronic components of the home theatre system as well as a support for a television receiver.

In another embodiment the present invention relates to a combined T.V. stand and speaker enclosure for housing the individual electronic components of a home theatre system in which the speakers of the theatre system are integrated into the stand so that the one unit houses all of the speakers as well as the other electronic components of the home theatre system thereby providing a single installation in which at least one of the speakers is arranged to direct sound from the side of the speaker to enhance the sound quality of the speaker system.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a modular speaker system in which a number of separate discrete speaker assemblies are arranged in side by side relationship to one another within a speaker cavity formed within the combined stand for the TV and home theatre system and in which there is a separate compartment for another speaker assembly being the base speaker assembly in which the base speaker assembly is isolated from the remainder of the enclosure to reduce or eliminate vibrations being transferred through the H:\cri81\keep\upeci\P61297.doc 28/07/06

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O enclosure, particularly to the TV receiver supported on the stand.

00 In a still further embodiment of the present invention there is provided a modular speaker enclosure for supporting a plasma TV receiver in which there is a speaker assembly located on either side of the enclosure

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in which each assembly has a face containing the loud speaker driver that is arranged at an angle to the front

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10 of the enclosure so as to direct sound from the side of Sthe speaker enclosure, thereby contributing to the spatial separation of the sound.

In another embodiment the present invention relates to a modular speaker system comprising a multitude of individual speaker assemblies containing one or more speakers housed within a single cavity in which the electrical connection to the individual speakers are located wholly within the enclosure containing the speakers so that there are no unsightly wires for connecting the individual speakers to the remainder of the electronic components located outside of the modular speaker system.

Although the present invention will be described with particular reference to one form of a modular speaker enclosure for housing a home theatre system and for supporting a plasma TV receiver, it is to be noted that the present invention is not restricted to the described embodiment but rather the scope of the present invention is broader so as to include other arrangements and forms of the modular speaker enclosure, other forms of the speaker assemblies, other variations of the speaker enclosure for supporting other components, and different applications for the various forms and arrangements of the enclosure of the invention.

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4 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Home theatre systems having a multitude of separate 00 speakers, usually in the form of speaker towers or arrays of speakers, are increasingly replacing the more traditional television set as the major part of home CI entertainment. Home theatre systems require a multitude

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of speakers located at spaced apart locations because there is a multitude of channels produced by the source material and/or amplifier or receiver or similar. In many Ssystems, known as 5.1 systems there are 5 separate and different sound channels or tracks each producing or carrying a component of the overall sound produced by the home theatre system. Different speaker arrangements reproduce sound from different channels. In such systems there is a central main speaker and two sets of side speakers on either side of the central speaker, usually designated front and rear speakers, as auxiliary speakers making the five channels for reproducing sound.

Previously, each speaker was connected individually to the amplifier or receiver of the home theatre system producing the signal for transmission to the speakers to reproduce sound in accordance with the respective channels of the source material, most usually a Digital Video Disc. The various speakers were located in spaced apart locations requiring wires or other electrical connectors to extend collectively at one end from the receiver/amplifier to the individual speakers at the respective other ends. This resulted in unsightly wires being located on the floor of the room in which the home theatre centre was located with the possibility that someone moving about the room could trip over the wires resulting in injury to the person or damage to the equipment or to the surroundings around the equipment. Removing the wires by having in-built speakers within the room is not an option for most people because of the prohibitive cost of installing such speakers in the ceiling, walls or similar. Furthermore, when cleaning the H:\crisl\keep\epeci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 IND 5

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room or similar the wires were required to be removed or moved albeit temporarily to allow cleaning to take place in the immediate vicinity of the speakers and wires.

00 Furthermore, the wires extending from the electronic equipment to the individual speakers were unsightly and detracted from the appearance of the room. Therefore, (Ni there is a need for a home theatre system that dispenses

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with the need for electrical connectors in the form of wires extending from the electronic equipment to all of

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10 the remote speakers located around the room.

Another problem with having a home theatre system is that each speaker needed to be connected electrically to the receiver in the correct manner and correct order so that the phases of the signals of the respective channels being conveyed to the speakers were correct to enable the sound to be reproduced accurately. This required connecting five sets of speakers to the receiver in the correct manner which was time consuming and confusing for the average person purchasing and installing home theatre system themselves. Therefore, there is a need to simplify the connection of the various components comprising the home theatre system by dispensing with most, if not all, of the wires connecting the speakers to each other and to the other components.

In the past it was thought necessary to have spatially separated speakers, i.e. speakers located remote from each other, sometimes significantly remote from each other, such as for example at either side of the front and rear of the room, in order to be able to have satisfactory sound reproduction from the speakers with the required spatial separation so as to produce an acceptable "sound stage" of the speakers. Having a good sound stage allowed good spatial separation of the sound of the respective channels to produce the effect of "surround sound" as well as allowing all in the room to hear acceptable sound H:\cris1\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 r IN- 6

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O quality irrespective of the exact position within the room in which a person was located.

00 It was thought that to achieve the desired good spatial distribution of sound, the individual speakers had to be located spaced apart from one another. Previous attempts (Ni to locate one or more of the speakers within the same

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enclosure or in a small number of enclosures located close to each other suffered from a number of disadvantages.

ID 10 One disadvantage related to the poor spatial separation of Sthe sound as the different speakers were located too close to one another to differentiate the sound from the respective channels. Another disadvantage related to the vibration caused by the speakers. Merely mounting a TV receiver on a stand and locating speakers on or within the stand, particularly base speakers, known as woofers or subwoofers, sometimes resulted in the production of excessive vibration which was detrimental to the performance of the TV receiver and or DVD player or similar and hence the performance of the home theatre system overall. In one example the TV receiver was subjected to excessive vibration which in turn could result in poor reception or poor picture quality or damage to the TV receiver, particularly to expensive plasma TV receivers which use cells of gas excited by an incoming signal to produce a picture. Whilst not wishing to be bound by theory, it was thought that in extreme cases it could be that the excessive vibration could interfere with the operation of the gas cells forming the plasma TV screen, which in some instances could lead to premature failure of the gas cell and accordingly of the TV receiver. Thus, there is a need to provide a single enclosure that can house the speakers, particularly the base speakers and also support a television receiver or other electronic component for producing or transmitting signals and/or sound without producing excessive vibration.

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It has now been surprisingly discovered that generally accurate and satisfactory sound reproduction having acceptable spatial separation without producing excessive 00 vibration can be obtained from a single enclosure having a cavity for housing most of the speakers within the one enclosure in which the speakers have their own speaker C( assembly. If the speaker units or loud speaker drivers

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themselves are located within their own assemblies or compartments so that the individual driver units are ND 10 isolated from each other or at least the sets of driver Sunits forming the sound reproduction of one of the channels are isolated from each other including the base speaker systems by being located in their own assemblies, satisfactory sound reproduction can be achieved.

Furthermore, it has been surprisingly discovered that the quality and acceptability of the sound is further enhanced by angling at least one of the speakers to or towards the side of the unit so that the sound is directed to the side of the enclosure which assists in achieving acceptable sound separation.

Therefore, it is one aim of the present invention to provide a modular speaker enclosure, for use with a home theatre system having a cavity or compartment in which some of the various individual speakers or speaker components are located.

Another aim of the present invention is to provide a multi-speaker modular speaker enclosure having a cavity for receiving selected ones of the individual speakers at prearranged or predetermined locations within the one cavity for locating most of the speakers and a separate compartment for receiving the remaining speaker or speakers.

It is also a further aim of the present invention to provide a combined modular speaker enclosure and H:\cris\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 IN- 8

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television stand within a single enclosure in which at least one speaker is arranged to direct sound from the speaker towards the side of the speaker.

00 Another aim is to provide a modular speaker enclosure in which there is at least reduced transmission of vibration (Ni produced by the speakers to the television receiver

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supported on the enclosure so as to reduce or eliminate the chances of poor picture quality or reception.

N SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a modular speaker enclosure for use with a home theatre unit for supporting a television set on a first part of the enclosure comprising a framework or shell arrangement defining a cavity for receiving a multitude of speaker assemblies therein in which the speaker assemblies are each provided with a front face to which is attached at least one speaker driver unit, wherein at least one speaker assembly is located within the cavity such that at least one face of the at least one speaker assembly to which a speaker drive unit is attached is arranged at an angle to the front of the enclosure so as to direct sound substantially to the side of the unit.

BRIEF DETAILS OF THE INVENTION Typically, the modular speaker enclosure is an enclosure for housing a home theatre system including a visual display unit. More typically, the visual display unit is a television receiver. Even more typically, the television receiver is a plasma TV or similar.

Typically, the modular speaker enclosure is provided with a top shelf upon which the plasma television is supported.

More typically, there are two top shelves substantially H:\cri91\keep\epeci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 IND 9

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spaced apart from each other to dampen or reduce vibration produced by the speakers in use being transmitted to the TV receiver located on the top most shelf. More 00 typically, one of the shelves also forms one wall of the cavity in which the individual speaker assemblies are located.

\O IND More typically, the shelf forming the wall of the cavity can be used to enhance the sound reproduced by the

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10 speakers, or optionally to attenuate vibration Stransmission through the enclosure.

Typically, the modular speaker enclosure is designed for use with a 5.1 system having five discreet sound channels being a centre channel and two left hand side channels and two right hand side channels. More typically, there is a further output from the amplifier/receiver which carries the low or very low base signal to the base speaker assembly. Even more typically, this output is connected to a woofer or subwoofer speaker assembly.

Typically, there are five speaker assemblies located within the cavity provided in the speaker enclosure. More typically, there is a centre speaker assembly, a left hand front speaker assembly, a right hand front speaker assembly, a left hand side speaker assembly and a right hand side speaker assembly. Typically, the different speaker boxes are located within the cavity at defined locations within the enclosures such that one or more of the speakers are arranged to be directed to the side of and/or angled to the front of the enclosure. Even more typically, there are two side angled speaker assemblies.

Even more typically, both the left hand side and the right hand side speaker assemblies are angled or have a portion of the respective assembly angled to the centre speaker assembly. Even more typically, the angle is from about 200 H:\crial\keep\speci\P61297.dOc 28/07/06 10

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to about 260 0 more typically, from about 300 to about 2400 even more typically from about 350 to 2150, most typically at about 600 to about 2100. It is to be noted that a 00 particularly preferred angle is about 350 or 2150 depending upon the method of measuring the angle.

Typically, the speaker enclosure of the present invention

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is provided as a fully assembled unit in which most or all of the speaker assemblies, apart from perhaps the D 10 subwoofer speaker box, is located in situ within the Senclosure. Alternatively, the speaker enclosure can be provided as part assembled in which the framework or structure of the unit is fully or partially assembled and the speaker boxes require insertion into their respective cavities or compartment, including the base speaker.

Alternatively, the speaker enclosure can be provided as a kit requiring full or partial assembly including the speaker assemblies requiring full assembly, partial assembly or no assembly.

Typically, the speaker enclosure is fully pre-wired so that all driver units are connected to a rear terminal panel, jack or similar. Alternatively, the speaker driver units are part wired or requiring some wiring to the rear connector terminal panel.

Typically, the rear terminal panel is a conventional panel having five pairs of terminals or can be a multi-terminal connector, such as a dedicated multi-pin connector requiring one connector only to be connected to the terminal of the enclosure.

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Typically, the speaker enclosure is provided with a separate compartment for housing a further speaker 00 assembly which compartment is different to the cavity housing the multitude of speaker assemblies. More typically, the further speaker assembly is a base speaker (Ni assembly, such as a woofer or subwoofer speaker assembly.

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Even more typically, the base speaker assembly is located within the compartment in such a manner so as to be ND 10 isolated from the remainder of the enclosure so that Svibrations from the further speaker assembly or speaker driver unit of the further speaker assembly is not substantially transmitted to the remainder of the enclosure and/or to the other speaker assemblies and/or to the TV receiver supported on the speaker enclosure thereby reducing or eliminating interference, damage or reduction in picture quality caused by vibration.

Typically, the base speaker assembly is self contained and is moveable within and/or removable from the compartment.

More typically, the base speaker is provided with fixed legs, feet, or other support for the base speaker.

Alternatively, the base speaker enclosure is provided with wheels, castors, skids or the like for supporting the speaker in the compartment whilst allowing the base speaker to be adjustably positioned within the compartment.

Typically, the base speaker assembly is located in alignment with the centre speaker assembly, more typically, in line with the centre speaker, even more typically, along the same centre line but lower than the centre speaker and even more typically, below the position of the centre speaker.

Typically, the compartment for housing the base speaker assembly is formed from two centre upright panels on H:\cris1\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06

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NO 12

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O either side of the compartment and a part of the lower board extending between the two upright centre panels.

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00 DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described by way of non- (Ni limiting example with reference to the accompanying

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drawings in which:

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Figure 1, is a top front perspective view of one Sform of the modular speaker enclosure of the present invention including the base speaker assembly; Figure 2, is an exploded front perspective view of the modular speaker enclosure of Figure 1 showing the individual components but omitting the base speaker assembly; Figure 3, is an exploded rear top perspective view of the modular speaker enclosure of Figure 1 showing the individual components but also omitting the base speaker assembly; Figure 4, is a top side perspective view of the embodiment of the modular speaker enclosure of the present invention showing the shape and location of the individual speaker boxes for fitting into the enclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the drawings there is shown a one form of the modular speaker enclosure of the present invention generally denoted as 2. It is to be noted that this form of the invention is a support stand for a plasma television receiver as well as being a housing for individual speaker assemblies including a base speaker assembly. In one form the modular speaker enclosure is of a generally open frame work construction having a number of open shelves located towards the base of the enclosure on either side of a compartment for housing the base speaker assembly and a H:\crisl\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 ND 13-

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speaker cavity located towards the top of the enclosure for receiving individual speaker assemblies as well as a top shelf arrangement for supporting a plasma TV receiver 00 (not shown).

Enclosure 2 comprises four upright legs, 4a, 4b, 4c and (1 4d, located at spaced apart locations from each other in

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which two legs 4a, 4b are located at or towards one side of speaker enclosure 2 which is the left hand side in the ND 10 illustrated embodiment and legs 4c, 4d are located at or Stowards the other side of speaker enclosure 2, which in the illustrated embodiment is the right hand side. It is to be noted that the speaker enclosure 2 is supported by legs 4 which rest upon the floor of the room in which the speaker enclosure is located, and the legs 4 are used to support the other parts of the enclosure as will be described in more detail later in this specification. If required legs 4 are optionally provided with feet or similar. In one form each leg 4 is of a modular construction or sectionalised construction having a centrally located shaft such as for example, a threaded rod (not shown) extending from one end of the leg to the other end of the leg located internally within the aligned sections of hollow tubes forming the external part of leg 4. The hollow tubular leg sections are made from aluminium or other suitable material. Legs 4 can be provided in sections to support the various shelves and walls that form the enclosure or can be each a single hollow aluminium tube.

A top shelf 6 is provided at the top of enclosure 2 and supported by the top ends of the four legs to form the upper support surface of modular speaker enclosure 2 and is the shelf upon which the visual display unit is supported in use. The top of each leg 4 is provided with a top cap to close the open end of the top hollow tube forming the leg and/or to provide a fitting for engaging H;\cris1\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 ND -14-

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with the internal threaded rod to rigidity and strengthen leg 4. In one embodiment the visual display unit is a television receiver, such as for example, a plasma TV 00 receiver which is generally of a slim line appearance. It is to be noted that whilst the present invention is primarily for supporting a plasma TV receiver, other C( equipment can be supported on top shelf 6 either in place

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of the plasma TV or in addition to the plasma TV.

D 0 In one embodiment, top shelf 6 is made from glass, Spreferably tempered glass, more preferably blackened or smoked tempered glass. In one embodiment (not shown), top shelf 6 is provided with four spaced apart apertures for receiving the top end portions of the upright legs 4 to assist in assembling the modular speaker enclosure, such as for example circular cover plates or top cap discs (not shown). In other embodiments the glass shelf is continuous and is not provided with any fittings but rather rests upon the top ends of the legs or on the top caps provided to close the open ends of the legs, as illustrated in the drawings.

An upper board 8 is provided at the top of the speaker enclosure beneath top shelf 6 to form the top surface of speaker cavity 12. In one form, upper board 8 is preferably opaque and is preferably made from a timber product such as medium density fibre board (MDF) or similar material having strength and tonal qualities making it suitable for use with speaker systems. In some embodiments upper board 8 is designed to selectively vibrate to enhance the sound quality or to modify the sound quality. Also, it is to be noted that in other embodiments upper board 8 acts as a dampening attenuator or dampening interface to reduce or modify the transmission of vibrations from the speaker drive units to the top shelf and to the television receiver. Further, it is to be noted that any suitable material having any H :\crisl\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 15

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suitable appearance or finish can be used to make upper board 8. Upper board 8 is provided with four spaced apart apertures 10 located at spaced apart locations in register 00 with the positions of legs 4 for receiving cylindrical spacer brackets 11 therein to assist in assembling the speaker enclosure and to support upper board 8 on legs 4 (1 at the desired height. Spacer brackets 11 are fixedly

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secured to the top of legs 4 at the desired height by any _suitable fastener or by any suitable means such as for ND 10 example grub screws or similar. In one form brackets 11 Stake the form of inverted cups or similar for fitting over the open ends of the top of legs 4. In other embodiments brackets 11 are flanged circular collars having internally threaded apertures for receiving threaded fasteners, such as grub screws or similar. A lower board 14 is provided at a lower level than upper board 8 to form the lower wall of speaker cavity 12 and to contribute to the sound quality of the speakers when located in cavity 12 and/or to reduce the transmission of vibration from the speakers located in cavity 12. Lower board 14 extends from one side of enclosure 2 to the other side and is supported by legs 4 at the desired height by cylindrical brackets 16 which are attached to legs 4 at the desired height being received through apertures 18 provided in lower board 14 at spaced apart locations in register with the positions of legs 4 so that the legs 4 are received through the apertures 18. Brackets 16 can be the same or similar to brackets 11.

A mesh or grille 20 is provided intermediate upper board 8 and lower board 14 to form the front and both sides of speaker cavity 12. In one form mesh 20 is an open weave fabric carried on a suitable light weight frame of timber or metal that is frictionally fitted to the opening of cavity 12 or otherwise releasably fixed to the enclosure.

Mesh 20 is readily removable from cavity 12 to gain access to the interior of cavity 12 formed within enclosure 2.

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In one form mesh 20 is of a single piece construction from one side of enclosure 2 to the other side as a single unit as illustrated in the drawings. In another form mesh 00 is modular being made up of a multitude of separate frames, in which each frame is covered with its own mesh fabric so that each mesh 20 covers one of the speaker CI assemblies collectively received in cavity 12. In this

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embodiment the multitude of mesh span the front and sides of cavity 12. A rear panel 20 extends from one side of IND 10 enclosure 2 to the other side of enclosure 2 to form the Srear wall of cavity 12. A terminal plate 24 containing electrical connectors is provided in rear panel 20 to allow the speakers to be connected individually to the home theatre system, particularly the amplifier and/or receiver of the system. Thus, cavity 12 is defined by upper board 8 forming the top wall of cavity 12, lower board 14 forming the bottom wall of cavity 12, rear panel forming the rear wall of cavity 12 and mesh 20 forming the front wall and the side walls of cavity 12.

Five separate speaker assemblies 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 are located within speaker cavity 12. It is to be noted that each speaker assembly has its own dedicated cabinet or box in which the respective loud speaker driver units of that assembly are located. In some embodiments a single loud speaker driver unit is located within one box, whereas in other embodiments two or more loud speaker driver units are within one box. Further it is to be noted that each speaker assembly is a separate discreet unit and is designed so as to be located in one location only within the speaker cavity 12. Further, it is to be noted that there are five separate speaker boxes as the speaker enclosure 2 is primarily for use with a 5.1 surround sound reproduction system of the type used for home entertainment systems in which there is a central channel connected to a central speaker, a right and left hand front speaker assembly and a right and left side speaker H:\cri9\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 IN 17

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assembly located to be directed to the respective sides of the enclosure 2.

00 Brackets 36, 38 are provided to fixedly secure each of the speaker boxes in position within speaker cavity 12 if required to securely locate the speaker assemblies within (1 the cavity 12 or to further reduce vibration of the

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speaker boxes to enhance the sound quality of the speaker system. In one embodiment brackets 36, 38 are O 10 frictionally fitted between upper board 8 and lower board S14 whereas in other embodiments brackets 36, 38 are fixedly connected to upper board 8 and lower board 16 to further isolate the sound produced by the respective speaker assemblies by reducing the vibration within boards 8, 14 between adjacent speaker assemblies, and dampening vibrations through the boards or similar.

The individual speaker boxes will now be described in detail. Central speaker box 30 is located centrally within speaker cavity 12 for receiving the central signal for reproducing the centre sound of the 5.1 home theatre sound system. In one embodiment, speaker box 30 is provided with two mid range speakers 40a, 40b and a single high frequency speaker 42 referred to as a tweeter.

Midrange speakers 40a, 40b are received in apertures 44a, 44b and high frequency speaker 12 is received in aperture 46 of box 30, respectively. Speaker box 30 is of a substantially parallelepiped shape and is configured and sized to fit snugly between upper board 8 forming the top wall of cavity 12 and lower board 14 forming the lower wall of cavity 12. If required brackets 38 can be located on either side of central speaker assembly 30 to more securely locate speaker box Speaker boxes 28, 32 are located immediately on the left hand side and right hand side, respectively, of central speaker box 30 for reproducing one channel on the left and H:\cis1\keep\speci\P61297.dQc 28/07/06 IND 18

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one channel on the right of the centre channel, respectively. Each of speaker boxes 28, 32 is of a n- generally parallelepiped shape and is configured and sized 00 to snugly slot in between upper and lower boards 8, 14.

Each of boxes 28, 32 is provided with a single mid range speaker 48 and a single high frequency speaker (Ni Speaker 48 is received in aperture 52 whereas speaker

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is received in aperture 54. If required brackets 36 are provided to securely locate speaker boxes 28, 32 within cavity 12.

Speaker boxes 26, 34 are located at or towards the respective left and right sides of the speaker enclosure 2 and are formed of a generally angular or bent shape having two body portions angularly inclined to one another intermediate their ends in which one side face 80 of each speaker box 26, 34 is angularly inclined to another side face 82 of the speaker box which is the face in which the loud speaker driver units are located. Additionally, one end 82 of each of the speaker boxes 26, 34 are arranged to extend substantially perpendicular to the front face of the speaker enclosure 2. Each of speaker boxes 26, 34 is provided with a single mid range driver 56 and a single high frequency driver 58 received in apertures 60, 62 respectively provided in face 80 of either box. In one embodiment speaker driver units 56, 58 are located in the angled face 80 of the respective speaker box whereas in other embodiments the driver units 56, 58 are located in the perpendicular side faces 82 of the speaker boxes. In a preferred embodiment the angle between angled face and perpendicular face 82 is about 2150 or 350 depending upon the way of measuring this angle.

It is to be noted that locating speakers 60 in angled face 80 allows sound to be directed from the sides of enclosure 2 to assist in providing good quality sound with spatial distribution.

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Further it is to be noted that by angling the face 80 with respect to the remaining faces it is possible to provide a 00 speaker box with the correct capacity for the size of speaker by lengthening the perpendicular side of the speaker box to increase the volume of the box. Thus, the angled speaker box provides the ability to increase the

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volume of the box whilst still keeping the compact dimensions of the box to fit within cavity 12 of enclosure

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2.

Also, it is to be noted further that speaker boxes 28, 32 are located in generally abutting side by side relationship within cavity 12 either with their respective ends abutting against one another or being slightly spaced apart from one another by brackets 38 on either side of speaker box 30 being located between adjacent speaker boxes. However, speaker box 26 does not abut against speaker box 28 nor does speaker box 34 abut against speaker box 32 but rather there is a wedge shaped gap between adjacent boxes on either side of cavity 12 to accommodate legs 4b, 4c located towards the front of speaker enclosure 2 extending upright through cavity 12 to support upper board 6. By having loud speaker driver units 56, 58 positioned to direct their sound in a generally sideways direction the spatial separation of the sound produced by the enclosure is more or less maintained and adds to the quality and accuracy of the sound.

An upright left side centre panel 64 is located to the left of centre of enclosure 2 downwardly depending from the underside of lower board 14 towards the base of enclosure 2 where it is supported on feet 66 located towards the front and rear of enclosure 2.

A similar upright right side panel 68 is located to the right of centre of enclosure 2 downwardly depending from H:\cril\keep\9peci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 20 the underside of lower board 14 in a direction towards the base of enclosure 2 where it is supported on feet 66 located towards the front and rear of enclosure 2.

Two lower glass shelves 70a, 70b, typically made from a combination of wood and glass, are provided beneath lower board 14 on the left hand side of enclosure 2 extending from centre panel 64 towards the left hand side of enclosure 2. The inboard edges of glass shelves 70a,70b are located in spaced apart grooves provided in centre panel 64 to support the inboard side of the shelves and the outboard edges of shelves 70a, 70b are supported on legs 4a, 4b by circular brackets 72a, 72b. A similar arrangement of two shelves 74a, 74b are provided on the right hand side of enclosure 2 supported by two spaced apart grooves in panel 68 along the inboard edge and legs 4c, 4d on the outboard side of both shelves. The electronic components of the home theatre system can be located on shelves 70a, 70b, 74a, 74b so that there is easy and ready connection between the rear terminals of the electronic components and rear terminal panel 22 of enclosure 2 to connect the individual speakers.

A compartment 76 is formed between left panel 64 on one side and right panel 68 on the other side beneath lower board 14. Compartment 76 is for receiving a base speaker assembly 78 having a base speaker drive unit or similar.

Base assembly 78, in one form, rests upon feet or other suitable or convenient supports. It is to be noted that there is a gap surrounding base assembly 78 on both sides and on the top of this assembly as well as at the front and rear. By this arrangement enclosure 2 is isolated from vibrations caused by operation of base assembly 78 and accordingly little or no vibration is transferred to the TV supported on top of the enclosure on glass shelf 6.

When the speaker boxes 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 are installed in H:\crisl\keep\Bpeci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 IN 21

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cavity 12, all of the wires from the individual speaker boxes are connected to terminal connector 24 at the rear of cavity 12. As five pairs of colour coded terminals are 00 provided, it is an easy matter to connect each of the speaker assemblies to the home theatre in the correct order. Alternatively, a dedicated connector incorporating (1 all of the individual connectors could be provided.

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ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION N SAdvantages of the present invention are that the modular speaker enclosure of the present invention can be provided as a single unit in which individual speakers do not require to be electrically connected individually but rather the speakers are prewired to a terminal panel such that the terminal panel only requires connection to the amplifier/receiver in order to connect speakers into the home theatre system.

As the unit is a complete single unit there are no components required for separate connection, nor is there any unsightly wires located around the room.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the unit offers a compact installation in which all speakers are housed within the unit so that there is no need to locate speakers remote from the unit. Furthermore, there is no need to have wires extending from the unit to remote satellite speakers.

The unit of the present invention is more or less portable and/or transportable so that it can be readily moved from one location to another location.

As the speakers of the unit are prewired to a terminal panel there is no need to purchase other wires or interconnects to connect the speaker to the amplifier or H:\cria1\keep\9peci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 22

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receiver.

Another advantage of the present invention is that each 00 speaker assembly can be removed individually for ease of servicing so that if one speaker unit only requires repair that speaker unit need only be removed from the unit which (1 is more readily transportable and also allows the home

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theatre system to be used whilst the speaker has been removed for repair.

D SHaving the modular construction of the present invention allows individual speaker assemblies to be upgraded for better quality sound or more accurate sound reproduction at a later date by merely replacing either the driver units within the same cabinets or replacing the cabinets.

In either event there is no need to replace the frame work or remainder of the modular enclosure since the new speaker boxes or the existing speaker boxes having the upgraded speakers can be merely reinserted into the cavities formed in the home entertainment system.

Quality sound is available from the home theatre unit since each of the speaker assemblies is discreet and isolated from one another so that the sound produced by one assembly does not contaminate or interfere with the sound produced by another assembly, and moreover, the angled speakers at the respective sides contribute to the spatial separation of the sound.

As all of the speaker assemblies are isolated from each other, and more particularly, because the base speaker is isolated from the enclosure there is less chance of vibration being transmitted through the enclosure or to the TV receiver located on top of the enclosure.

It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the invention that many modifications may be made without H:\cris1\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06 ND 23 O departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication 00 is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any (C other country.

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Claims (4)

1. 2. A modular speaker enclosure according to claim 1 further comprising a compartment for housing a further speaker assembly wherein the further speaker assembly is locatable within the compartment in such a manner so as to be isolated from the remainder of the enclosure to reduce or eliminate transmission of vibrations from the further speaker assembly to the enclosure.
2. 3. A modular speaker enclosure according to claim 1 or 2 in which the face of the speaker having an angled face is arranged at an angle of about from 200C to about 260 0 C, preferably from about 30 0 C to about 240 0 C, more preferably at about 35 0 C to 215 0 C to the adjacent face of the speaker assembly forming the side of the speaker assembly.
3. 4. A modular speaker enclosure according to any preceding claim in which there are five separate speaker assemblies locatable in the cavity in addition to the H:\cri9\keep\peci\P61297.doC 28/07/06 I I,. INO 25 further speaker assembly being locatable in the compartment in which two of the five speaker -c assemblies are locatable at or towards the respective 00 sides of the enclosure so as to disperse sound from angled faces of the side speaker assemblies to or towards to the side of the enclosure to enhance the C sound reproduction of the enclosure. NO
4. 5. A modular speaker enclosure according to any preceding IO 10 claim in which the speaker assemblies locatable within Sthe cavity are midrange and high frequency speaker assemblies and the further speaker located in the compartment is a base speaker assembly in which one of the speaker assemblies locatable in the cavity is a central speaker assembly toward the base speaker is locatable in line with the central speaker assembly and a lower level. Dated this 28th day of July 2006 AUGUSTO TUCCI By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia H:\crial\keep\speci\P61297.doc 28/07/06