CA1335308C - Speaker - Google Patents
SpeakerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1335308C CA1335308C CA000616655A CA616655A CA1335308C CA 1335308 C CA1335308 C CA 1335308C CA 000616655 A CA000616655 A CA 000616655A CA 616655 A CA616655 A CA 616655A CA 1335308 C CA1335308 C CA 1335308C
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- diaphragm
- speaker
- enclosure
- voice coil
- sound pressure
- Prior art date
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Abstract
A speaker which is thin but which is capable of providing high-fidelity reproduction and ensuring a suitable level of sound pressure even when it is brought close to a wall. A closed chamber is formed in the rear of a part of a diphragm mounted in an enclosure, and an open chamber is formed in the rear of the other part of the diaphragm. The phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm is increased as large as possible by using an acoustic duct for the sound radiated through the open cavity, thereby minimizing cancellation of sounds and improving the sound pressure level.
Description
This application is a division of copending application 547,123, filed Septe~ber 17, 1987.
This invention relates to a speaker which is thin but which can provide high-fidelity reproduction.
The present invention will be illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rear-opening speaker system mounted on a wall and a sound passage formed therebetween;
O Fig. 2 is a graph of a sound pressure frequency characteristics of the rear-opening speaker system mounted on the wall with respect to a parameter which is the distance between the speaker and the wall;
Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional ~iew of a speaker system and a sound passage, the system having a port formed at the rear of an enclosure;
Fig. 4 is a graph of the relationship between the output sound pressure levels and the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear of the speaker;
O Fig. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a thin speaker system having a phase difference;
Fig. 6 is a graph of the relationship between additional mass and the area of a diaphragm;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a speaker in which the principle of the present invention is illustrated;
Fig. 8 is a graph of changes in the output sound pressure in accordance with the ratio of a closed-system portion and an opened-system portion of the diaphragm;
S ~
1 3353~8 Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a spea~er which represents a first embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.s 10 and ll are cross-sectional views of essential parts of second and third embodiments of the present lnvention;
Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodi-ment of the present invention;
Fig. 1~ is a graph of sound pressure frequency charac-teristics of the fourth embodiment;
Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 15A is a front view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the sixth embodi-ment;
Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a seventh embodi-ment of the present invention;
Fig. 17A is a front view of an eighth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 17B is a cross-sectional view of the eighth embod-iment of the present invention;
Fig. 18 is a front view of a ninth embodiment of the present invention in which the positions at-which voice coils are -fixed to the diaphragm are indicated;
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Fig. 19 is a graph of the characteristics of the ninth embodiment;
`-- 1 335308 Fig. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tenth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.s 21A and 21B are enlarged cross-sectional views of essential parts of the tenth ~ iment;
Fig.s 22A and 22B are graphs of the sound pressure fre-quency characteristics and the distortion frequency characteris-tics of the tenth embodiment;
Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of the speaker in accordance with the present invention, which illustrates the state in which a voice coil is connected to a diaphragm; and Fig. 24 is a side view of the voice coil cap and voice coil shown in Fig. 23.
There are great demands for speakers which are thin but can provide high-fidelity reproduction because of their space-saving characteristics. It is not very difficult to make a spea-ker thinner while maint~;ning its performance in middle- and high-ranges of frequencies above several hundred Hz. However, in the reproduction of low frequencies below several hundred Hz, it is not possible to ensure an adequate sound pressure level unless the volume velocity of the diaphragm is increased. However, in a speaker system using a closed type enclosure, the stiffness of the enclosure SB (given by SB = ~OCO2S2/V, where ~ o: density of air; CO: speed of sound; S: area of diaphragm; and V: volume 3~ of enclosure) is increased, so that the lowest resonance fre-qeuncy fOB (given by foB = 2~ ~(Sg ~ SD)/M, where SD:
stiffness of vibration system; and M: mass of vibration system including additional masses) of the system when the diaphragm is attached to the enclosure is increased; and the sound pressure level in the low-frequency range is thus reduced. To reduce the value of fOB, M may be increased or (SB ~ SD) may be reduced.
However, if M is increased, the sound pressure level is reduced.
Therefore, there is no alternative but to reduce (SB + SD). If S
is made constant, fOB cannot be reduced because SB SD, since v is small in the thin speaker system. If S is reduced, it is neceC~ary to increase the amplitude of the diaphragm in order to maintain a certain volume velocity. This may cause an increase distortion.
For these reasons, conventional thin speaker systems are usually provided with rear-opening type enclosures. A system of this type will now be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, a diaphragm 1 is connected to an enclosure 3f by an edge 2. The drive system, etc., are omitted in order to sim-plify the description. Such a speaker system was mounted on a rigid wall 4, and the axial ~n~ pressure frequency characteris-tics obtained by varying the distance d ~e~een the system and the rigid wall 4 were measured. The results of these measure-ments are shown in Fig. 2. As is clear from Fig. 2, the sound pressure level in the low-frequency range increases as the dis-tance d increases. This is because a sound A which is radiatedfrom the front surface of the diaphragm and a sound B which is radiated from the rear surface achieve opposite phases at a mea-suring point P, and so cAncel each other, as the speaker system is brought closer to the rigid wall. Therefore, this speaker system cannot ensure a desired reproduction sound pressure level unless it is spaced away from the wall by so to 60 cm. This speaker system is thin but it cannot realize any space-saving effect.
To overcome this problem of the rear-opening enclosure, a type of system has been proposed in which an acoustic duct is formed so as to improve the phase difference (at best, equalize the phases) be~7een the sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces at the measuring point, even when the system is made in close contact with a rigid wall. Fig. 3 shows this type of sys-tem. An enclosure 3g has an opening 6 which ensures that a sound radiated from the rear surface of the diaphragm passes through the duct 6 then through an acoustic passage 7 which is fonmed be~.7een the enclosure 3g and a rigid wall 4, thereafter being radiated toward the front. The sound pressure level is thereby improved h~cAll~e the phase difference between the sounds-radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm is increased by a phase corresponding to a distance ~, which should be compared with that displayed in the above-described example.
If, in this method, the area of the diaphragm is increased in order to reduce the amplitude of the diaphragm, a mass Ma in the gap be~ee,l the rear side of the enclosure and the rigid wall (Ma ( SD )2~ , where SD: area of diaphragm; Sp:
area of opening; and Mp: mass of air ln acoustic duct) is increased, thereby reducing the output sound pressure level.
The present invention in consideration of the above-described problems provides a speaker which is thin but which is capable of providing high-fidelity reproduction and ensuring a suitable level of sound pressure even when it is brought into close contact with a wall.
To this end, present invention provides a speaker in which a closed rhAmher is provided for a part of a diaphragm mounted in an enclosure, and an open ch. ~her iS provided for the other part of the diaphragm.
In this construction, the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm is increased as large as possible by using an acoustic duct for the sound radiated through the open chamber, thereby minimizing the cAncellation of colln~c and improving the sound pressure level.
Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention _ 5 _ there is provided a speaker of the direct radiator-type compris-ing an enclosure, a diaphragm connected to said enclosure, and at least one voice coil unit connected to said diaphragm, wherein a part of said diaphragm connected to said enclosure forms a closed-type construction, and the other part of said diaphragm forms an open-system having an opening. Suitably the speaker further comprises an acoustic duct, wherein sound radiated from said opening to the rear of said enclosure is radiated to the front of said speaker through said acoustic duct.-In one embodiment of the present invention said openingis formed in a rear plate of said enclosure, and a stepped por-tion is formed on said rear plate, and wherein, said speaker is mounted on a wall so that said rear plate is brought close to said wall, an acoustic duct is formed by said wall and said stepped portion on said real plate. Suitably the sectlonal area of sald acoustic duct gradually increases as it approaches the outlet of sound. Desirably a plate corresponding to said wall is fixed to said enclosure at the rear of said rear plate.
In another embodiment of the present invention a plu-rality of voice coil units for driving said diaphragm at a plu-rality of points are disposed on said diaphragm, and wherein the drivlng force of each of said voice coil units is weighted.
Suitably said diaphragm is separated into at least two indepen-dent diaphragms which respectively form open and closed systems and which are driven by voice coil units. Desirably said voice coil unit is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicin-ity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free reso-nance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode arerestrained. Suitably an opening is formed in a rear plate of said enclosure; sound is radiated to the rear of said enclosure;
and a gap between said rear plate of said enclosure and a wall is utilized as an acoustic duct; and wherein the peripheral edge of said opening which corresponds to an inlet of said acoustic duct and the other peripheral edge of said rear plate which corre-- 1 33530~
sponds to an outlet of said acoustic duct are curved smoothly or tapered. Desirably said voice coil unit has a cylindrical ring having a plurality of projections on its cylindrical wall, and a flat end portion formed at its one end; and a voice-coil bobbin having yLOu~ of slits of different depths formed at lts--one end mated with the other end of said ring, said voice coil bobbin being adapted for driving said diaphragm through said cylindrical ring, wherein said pro~ections are inserted into and fixed to said one of said groups of slits, and wherein said flat end por-tion is fixed to one surface of said diaphragm.
In another aspect of the present lnvention there isprovided a speaker of the direct radiator-type type having a diaphragm, a part of said diaphragm forming a closed system, and the other part of said diaphragm forming an open system, said speaker comprising a plurality of voice coils disposed on said diaphragm and adapted for driving said diaphragm at a plurality of points thereon. Suitably the driving force of each of said voice coils for driving said diaphragm is weighted. Desirably the driving force per unlt area Nc/Sc of said closed system obtained by dividing the total driving force Nc of at least one of said voice coils disposed on said closed-system portion of said diaphragm ~y the area of said open-system diaphragm portion SC is set to be larger than the driving force per unit area No/So of said open system obtained by dividing the total driving force No of at least one of said voice coils disposed on said open-sys-tem portion of said diaphragm by the area of said open-system diaphragm portion S0.
In a further aspect thereof the present invention pro-vides a speaker having at least one closed-type speaker unit and at least one open-type speaker unit each having an independent diaphragm mounted in the same enclosure, said open-type speaker unit having an opening formed in a rear plate of said enclosure, said speaker comprising a duct through which sound radiated from said opening is radiated to the front of said speaker. Suitably said open-type speaker unit is formed generally at the center of said enclosure, and said closed-type speaker unit is formed at a peripheral portion of-said enclosure, and wherein said opening is fonmed in said rear plate of said enclosure generally at the cen-ter thereof. Desirably said enclosure has a stepped portion onits rear surface so that, when said enclosure is mounted on a wall in close contact therewith, an acoustic duct is formed by said wall and by said stepped portion. Suitably said acoustic duct is fonmed integrally with said enclosure.
In a still further aspect thereof the present invention provldes a speaker havlng an opening formed in a rear plate of an enclosure through which sound-is radiated to the rear of said enclosure, and an acoustic duct formed of a gap between said rear plate of said enclosure and a wall, wherein the peripheral edge of-said opening which co.L~ponds to an inlet of said acoustic duct and the outer peripheral edge of said rear plate which cor-responds to an outlet of said acoustic duct are curved smoothly or tapered.
In a further aspect thereof the present invention pro-vides a speaker comprising a magnetic circuit having an annular magnetic gap fonmed by an annular magnet and top and bottom plates fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of said annular mag-net; a voice coil suspended in said annular magnetic gap by adamper; and a flat rectangular diaphragm supported at its outer periphery by an edge on a frame; wherein said voice coil is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicinity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode in the longitudinal direction of said diaphragm are restrained.
Preferred embo~ nts of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The principle of the speaker in accordance with the - 7a -present invention will first be described.
As mentioned above, the output sound pressure level is reduced because the sound radiated from the rear side of the speaker is reflected by the wall so as to c~ncel the sound radi-ated from the front surface of the speaker. It is possible to assume that, if the phase of the sound radiated from the rear slde could be changed to a certain degree by some means, the out-put sound pressure level could be improved in accordance with this degree of change. It is possible to examine the change in sound pressure level by assuming that a sound radiation front having the opposite phase is formed around the speaker and the phase of this sound is changed. The result of this is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 is a graph of the relationship between the sound pressure levels and the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm. As shown in Fig. 4, a slight change in the phase causes a large increase in the output sound - 7b -1 pressure level. If a speaker box is formed in the rear of the diaphragm so as to cover the entire area of the rear surface of the diaphragm, and if an opening is formed in the rear plate of this spe~ker box, a phase ~
difference is created between sounds which are radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the ~iAphragm provided that the size of the spe~ker box is large, even though the box has a small thickness. Therefore, the provision of this speaker box enables the output sound pressure level to be improved.
However, if, in this case, the area of the ~i~phragm is increased so as to limit the amplitude of the diaphragm in order to reduce the thickness of the speaker, the disadvantages which will be described below are experienced. Fig. 5 shows an equivalent circuit of such a speaker. As can be understood from Fig. 5, the mass which is effective in the gap between the rear of the speaker box and the wall is multiplied by a transformation ratio n squared, and is added to the mass of the diaphragm.
The present invention has been achieved by further studying this speaker, as described below.
It is easy for the central portion of the ~iAphragm to increase the output sound pressure by creating a certain phase difference, but it is easy for the peripheral portion thereof to cancel the sounds radiated from its front and rear surfaces since the length of the passage for the sound radiated from the 1 rear is small. ~owever, it is necessary to reduce the area of the diaphragm in order to el;~in~te this defect.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between additional mass --and the area of the diaphragm when the diaphragm is S disposed at the center of a speaker box of 1 x 1 x 0.05 m.
As shown in Fig. 6, the additional mass is certainly reduced if the area of the diaphragm is reduced. How-ever, in this case, the diaphragm vibrates by a large amplitude, resulting in a solution which is not practical for the design of a thin speaker. For instance, if the area S is 0.07 m , the amplitude must be about 10 mm to achieve a practical maximum output sound pressure of 110 dB at 1 m.
If a portion about the center of a diaphragm 8, shown in Fig. 7, has a small area and a rear-opening system so as to reduce the load while the r~m~ining portion, including a peripheral portion of the diaphragm, forms a closed system so as to prevent the cancellation of sound, the entire area of a speaker box 9 can be utilized for the area of the diaphragm so that the thickness of the speaker is reduced while a large output sound pressure at a low amplitude is ensured.
Fig. 8 shows changes in the output sound pressure when the balance between the rear-opening-system portion and the closed-system portion is varied. As shown in Fig. 8, for a given size of box, there is a solution which ensures suitable values of both fO and the output sound pressure level.
g 1 Fig. 9 shows a speaker which represents an embodiment of the present invention in which a speaker unit having a diaphragm 12 of 0.8 x 0.3 m is attached to an enclosure of 1 x 1 x 0.05 m. Four magnetic circuit-s which provide driving forces are attached to the diaphragm 12. The magnetic circuits are constituted by magnets 15, 15', 15", and 15-"'; lower platesl4,¦4', 14 n ~ and ! 4"'; and upper plates 10, 10', 10 n ~ and 10"'.
In the magnetic gaps of the magnetic circuit, driving forces are generated by voice coils 6, 6', 6~, and !6"' The interior of the enclosure is partitioned by a woofer frame 20 and an internal edge 17, and is separated into a closed enclosure portion 19 and a rear opening 13.
In the speaker constructed in this manner, sound generated from the rear surface of a peripheral portion of the diaphragm 12, which contributes most to the cancellation of sound at the front side, is radiated into the closed enclosure portion 19, and sound generated from the rear surface of the central portion of the diaphragm, which contributes only slightly to the cancellation at the front side, is radiated through the rear hole 13. It is therefore possible to realize a speaker which can maintain its output sound pressure - 25 level when it is mounted on a wall.
A stepped portion may be formed in the rear plate of the enclosure in such a manner that an acoustic duct is formed by this stepped portion and the wall when 1 3353~8 1 the speaker is mounted on the wall. This acoustic duct may be formed in such a manner that the cross section of the duct expands as it approaches the outlet opening of the duct. Otherwise, a plate which acts as a wall-may be previously fixed to the rear side of the speaker.
As described above, the present inventionrealizes a speaker which can maintain its output sound pressure level when it is mounted on a wall and which can be adapted for two kinds of use such as one in which it is mounted on a wall and one in which it is free-standing, since it can exhibit its basic performance even when separated from the wall.
Fig. 10 shows a speaker which represents a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 10, the speaker has a diaphragm 21, an edge 22, a speaker box 23, an intern~l edge 24, a partition plate 25, a closed space 28, and an open space 29, and the fundamental construction of this speaker is substan-tially the same as that shown in Fig. 9. A portion 21c of the diaphragm 21 forms a closed system of the ~ phragm 21, and a portion 21p form an open system of the diaphragm 21. In this embodiment, the areas of the portions 21c and 21p forming these two systems are approximately equal to each other. The speaker is further provided with a driver unit 26 which is attached to the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21, and driver units 27a and 27b which are attached to the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm 21. In 1 Fig. 10, the frame of the speaker is omitted in order to avoid complications.
In this embodiment, the diaphragm 21 has one drive point in the o~e., system portion 21p, and two ~
drive points in the closed-system portion 21c. Since the areas of the closed-system portion 21c and the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21 are sub-stantially the same, the driving force per unit area of the ~iA~hragm 21 applied to the closed-system portion 21c is twice as large as that applied to the open-system portion 21p. It is thereby possible to enable suitable piston moitons of the diagram although, during low-frequency reproduction, the vibration amplitude of the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm is basically less than that of the open-system portion 21p because of the large stiffness of the closed system due to the existence of the closed space 28.
The present invention will be further described below with respect to other embodiments thereof in conjunction with the correspon~ing drawings.
Fig. 11 shows a third embodiment of the present invention which differs from that shown in Fig.
10 in that two driver units 26a and 26b are provided on the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21. In this embodiment, the areas of the open-system portion 21p and the closed-system portion 21c are approximately equal to each other, but the driving forces of the driver units 26a and 26b are weighted so as to realize 1 suitable piston motions of the diaphragm 21. That is, the driving force of the driver units 27a and 27b for driving the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm 21 is set to be larger than that of the S driver units 26a and 26b for driving the open-system portion 21p so that the difference of the stiffnesses for the open-system portion 21p and the closed-system portion 21c at the time of low-frequency reproduction is canceled; and the amplitudes of the portions 21c and 21p of the diaphragm 21 are generally equalized, thereby realizing piston motions of the diaphragm.
To provide a difference between the driving forces per unit area of the closed-system portion and the open-system portion of the diaphragm, the number of driver units 26a and 26b are selected in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, and the driving forces of the driver units are weighted. ~owever, the ratio of the areas of the open- and closed-system portions may be changed for this purpose within the design limitations.
This invention relates to a speaker which is thin but which can provide high-fidelity reproduction.
The present invention will be illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rear-opening speaker system mounted on a wall and a sound passage formed therebetween;
O Fig. 2 is a graph of a sound pressure frequency characteristics of the rear-opening speaker system mounted on the wall with respect to a parameter which is the distance between the speaker and the wall;
Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional ~iew of a speaker system and a sound passage, the system having a port formed at the rear of an enclosure;
Fig. 4 is a graph of the relationship between the output sound pressure levels and the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear of the speaker;
O Fig. 5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a thin speaker system having a phase difference;
Fig. 6 is a graph of the relationship between additional mass and the area of a diaphragm;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a speaker in which the principle of the present invention is illustrated;
Fig. 8 is a graph of changes in the output sound pressure in accordance with the ratio of a closed-system portion and an opened-system portion of the diaphragm;
S ~
1 3353~8 Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a spea~er which represents a first embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.s 10 and ll are cross-sectional views of essential parts of second and third embodiments of the present lnvention;
Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodi-ment of the present invention;
Fig. 1~ is a graph of sound pressure frequency charac-teristics of the fourth embodiment;
Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 15A is a front view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the sixth embodi-ment;
Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a seventh embodi-ment of the present invention;
Fig. 17A is a front view of an eighth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 17B is a cross-sectional view of the eighth embod-iment of the present invention;
Fig. 18 is a front view of a ninth embodiment of the present invention in which the positions at-which voice coils are -fixed to the diaphragm are indicated;
.
Fig. 19 is a graph of the characteristics of the ninth embodiment;
`-- 1 335308 Fig. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tenth embodiment of the present invention;
Fig.s 21A and 21B are enlarged cross-sectional views of essential parts of the tenth ~ iment;
Fig.s 22A and 22B are graphs of the sound pressure fre-quency characteristics and the distortion frequency characteris-tics of the tenth embodiment;
Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part of the speaker in accordance with the present invention, which illustrates the state in which a voice coil is connected to a diaphragm; and Fig. 24 is a side view of the voice coil cap and voice coil shown in Fig. 23.
There are great demands for speakers which are thin but can provide high-fidelity reproduction because of their space-saving characteristics. It is not very difficult to make a spea-ker thinner while maint~;ning its performance in middle- and high-ranges of frequencies above several hundred Hz. However, in the reproduction of low frequencies below several hundred Hz, it is not possible to ensure an adequate sound pressure level unless the volume velocity of the diaphragm is increased. However, in a speaker system using a closed type enclosure, the stiffness of the enclosure SB (given by SB = ~OCO2S2/V, where ~ o: density of air; CO: speed of sound; S: area of diaphragm; and V: volume 3~ of enclosure) is increased, so that the lowest resonance fre-qeuncy fOB (given by foB = 2~ ~(Sg ~ SD)/M, where SD:
stiffness of vibration system; and M: mass of vibration system including additional masses) of the system when the diaphragm is attached to the enclosure is increased; and the sound pressure level in the low-frequency range is thus reduced. To reduce the value of fOB, M may be increased or (SB ~ SD) may be reduced.
However, if M is increased, the sound pressure level is reduced.
Therefore, there is no alternative but to reduce (SB + SD). If S
is made constant, fOB cannot be reduced because SB SD, since v is small in the thin speaker system. If S is reduced, it is neceC~ary to increase the amplitude of the diaphragm in order to maintain a certain volume velocity. This may cause an increase distortion.
For these reasons, conventional thin speaker systems are usually provided with rear-opening type enclosures. A system of this type will now be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, a diaphragm 1 is connected to an enclosure 3f by an edge 2. The drive system, etc., are omitted in order to sim-plify the description. Such a speaker system was mounted on a rigid wall 4, and the axial ~n~ pressure frequency characteris-tics obtained by varying the distance d ~e~een the system and the rigid wall 4 were measured. The results of these measure-ments are shown in Fig. 2. As is clear from Fig. 2, the sound pressure level in the low-frequency range increases as the dis-tance d increases. This is because a sound A which is radiatedfrom the front surface of the diaphragm and a sound B which is radiated from the rear surface achieve opposite phases at a mea-suring point P, and so cAncel each other, as the speaker system is brought closer to the rigid wall. Therefore, this speaker system cannot ensure a desired reproduction sound pressure level unless it is spaced away from the wall by so to 60 cm. This speaker system is thin but it cannot realize any space-saving effect.
To overcome this problem of the rear-opening enclosure, a type of system has been proposed in which an acoustic duct is formed so as to improve the phase difference (at best, equalize the phases) be~7een the sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces at the measuring point, even when the system is made in close contact with a rigid wall. Fig. 3 shows this type of sys-tem. An enclosure 3g has an opening 6 which ensures that a sound radiated from the rear surface of the diaphragm passes through the duct 6 then through an acoustic passage 7 which is fonmed be~.7een the enclosure 3g and a rigid wall 4, thereafter being radiated toward the front. The sound pressure level is thereby improved h~cAll~e the phase difference between the sounds-radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm is increased by a phase corresponding to a distance ~, which should be compared with that displayed in the above-described example.
If, in this method, the area of the diaphragm is increased in order to reduce the amplitude of the diaphragm, a mass Ma in the gap be~ee,l the rear side of the enclosure and the rigid wall (Ma ( SD )2~ , where SD: area of diaphragm; Sp:
area of opening; and Mp: mass of air ln acoustic duct) is increased, thereby reducing the output sound pressure level.
The present invention in consideration of the above-described problems provides a speaker which is thin but which is capable of providing high-fidelity reproduction and ensuring a suitable level of sound pressure even when it is brought into close contact with a wall.
To this end, present invention provides a speaker in which a closed rhAmher is provided for a part of a diaphragm mounted in an enclosure, and an open ch. ~her iS provided for the other part of the diaphragm.
In this construction, the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm is increased as large as possible by using an acoustic duct for the sound radiated through the open chamber, thereby minimizing the cAncellation of colln~c and improving the sound pressure level.
Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention _ 5 _ there is provided a speaker of the direct radiator-type compris-ing an enclosure, a diaphragm connected to said enclosure, and at least one voice coil unit connected to said diaphragm, wherein a part of said diaphragm connected to said enclosure forms a closed-type construction, and the other part of said diaphragm forms an open-system having an opening. Suitably the speaker further comprises an acoustic duct, wherein sound radiated from said opening to the rear of said enclosure is radiated to the front of said speaker through said acoustic duct.-In one embodiment of the present invention said openingis formed in a rear plate of said enclosure, and a stepped por-tion is formed on said rear plate, and wherein, said speaker is mounted on a wall so that said rear plate is brought close to said wall, an acoustic duct is formed by said wall and said stepped portion on said real plate. Suitably the sectlonal area of sald acoustic duct gradually increases as it approaches the outlet of sound. Desirably a plate corresponding to said wall is fixed to said enclosure at the rear of said rear plate.
In another embodiment of the present invention a plu-rality of voice coil units for driving said diaphragm at a plu-rality of points are disposed on said diaphragm, and wherein the drivlng force of each of said voice coil units is weighted.
Suitably said diaphragm is separated into at least two indepen-dent diaphragms which respectively form open and closed systems and which are driven by voice coil units. Desirably said voice coil unit is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicin-ity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free reso-nance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode arerestrained. Suitably an opening is formed in a rear plate of said enclosure; sound is radiated to the rear of said enclosure;
and a gap between said rear plate of said enclosure and a wall is utilized as an acoustic duct; and wherein the peripheral edge of said opening which corresponds to an inlet of said acoustic duct and the other peripheral edge of said rear plate which corre-- 1 33530~
sponds to an outlet of said acoustic duct are curved smoothly or tapered. Desirably said voice coil unit has a cylindrical ring having a plurality of projections on its cylindrical wall, and a flat end portion formed at its one end; and a voice-coil bobbin having yLOu~ of slits of different depths formed at lts--one end mated with the other end of said ring, said voice coil bobbin being adapted for driving said diaphragm through said cylindrical ring, wherein said pro~ections are inserted into and fixed to said one of said groups of slits, and wherein said flat end por-tion is fixed to one surface of said diaphragm.
In another aspect of the present lnvention there isprovided a speaker of the direct radiator-type type having a diaphragm, a part of said diaphragm forming a closed system, and the other part of said diaphragm forming an open system, said speaker comprising a plurality of voice coils disposed on said diaphragm and adapted for driving said diaphragm at a plurality of points thereon. Suitably the driving force of each of said voice coils for driving said diaphragm is weighted. Desirably the driving force per unlt area Nc/Sc of said closed system obtained by dividing the total driving force Nc of at least one of said voice coils disposed on said closed-system portion of said diaphragm ~y the area of said open-system diaphragm portion SC is set to be larger than the driving force per unit area No/So of said open system obtained by dividing the total driving force No of at least one of said voice coils disposed on said open-sys-tem portion of said diaphragm by the area of said open-system diaphragm portion S0.
In a further aspect thereof the present invention pro-vides a speaker having at least one closed-type speaker unit and at least one open-type speaker unit each having an independent diaphragm mounted in the same enclosure, said open-type speaker unit having an opening formed in a rear plate of said enclosure, said speaker comprising a duct through which sound radiated from said opening is radiated to the front of said speaker. Suitably said open-type speaker unit is formed generally at the center of said enclosure, and said closed-type speaker unit is formed at a peripheral portion of-said enclosure, and wherein said opening is fonmed in said rear plate of said enclosure generally at the cen-ter thereof. Desirably said enclosure has a stepped portion onits rear surface so that, when said enclosure is mounted on a wall in close contact therewith, an acoustic duct is formed by said wall and by said stepped portion. Suitably said acoustic duct is fonmed integrally with said enclosure.
In a still further aspect thereof the present invention provldes a speaker havlng an opening formed in a rear plate of an enclosure through which sound-is radiated to the rear of said enclosure, and an acoustic duct formed of a gap between said rear plate of said enclosure and a wall, wherein the peripheral edge of-said opening which co.L~ponds to an inlet of said acoustic duct and the outer peripheral edge of said rear plate which cor-responds to an outlet of said acoustic duct are curved smoothly or tapered.
In a further aspect thereof the present invention pro-vides a speaker comprising a magnetic circuit having an annular magnetic gap fonmed by an annular magnet and top and bottom plates fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of said annular mag-net; a voice coil suspended in said annular magnetic gap by adamper; and a flat rectangular diaphragm supported at its outer periphery by an edge on a frame; wherein said voice coil is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicinity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode in the longitudinal direction of said diaphragm are restrained.
Preferred embo~ nts of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The principle of the speaker in accordance with the - 7a -present invention will first be described.
As mentioned above, the output sound pressure level is reduced because the sound radiated from the rear side of the speaker is reflected by the wall so as to c~ncel the sound radi-ated from the front surface of the speaker. It is possible to assume that, if the phase of the sound radiated from the rear slde could be changed to a certain degree by some means, the out-put sound pressure level could be improved in accordance with this degree of change. It is possible to examine the change in sound pressure level by assuming that a sound radiation front having the opposite phase is formed around the speaker and the phase of this sound is changed. The result of this is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4 is a graph of the relationship between the sound pressure levels and the phase difference between sounds radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the diaphragm. As shown in Fig. 4, a slight change in the phase causes a large increase in the output sound - 7b -1 pressure level. If a speaker box is formed in the rear of the diaphragm so as to cover the entire area of the rear surface of the diaphragm, and if an opening is formed in the rear plate of this spe~ker box, a phase ~
difference is created between sounds which are radiated from the front and rear surfaces of the ~iAphragm provided that the size of the spe~ker box is large, even though the box has a small thickness. Therefore, the provision of this speaker box enables the output sound pressure level to be improved.
However, if, in this case, the area of the ~i~phragm is increased so as to limit the amplitude of the diaphragm in order to reduce the thickness of the speaker, the disadvantages which will be described below are experienced. Fig. 5 shows an equivalent circuit of such a speaker. As can be understood from Fig. 5, the mass which is effective in the gap between the rear of the speaker box and the wall is multiplied by a transformation ratio n squared, and is added to the mass of the diaphragm.
The present invention has been achieved by further studying this speaker, as described below.
It is easy for the central portion of the ~iAphragm to increase the output sound pressure by creating a certain phase difference, but it is easy for the peripheral portion thereof to cancel the sounds radiated from its front and rear surfaces since the length of the passage for the sound radiated from the 1 rear is small. ~owever, it is necessary to reduce the area of the diaphragm in order to el;~in~te this defect.
Fig. 6 shows the relationship between additional mass --and the area of the diaphragm when the diaphragm is S disposed at the center of a speaker box of 1 x 1 x 0.05 m.
As shown in Fig. 6, the additional mass is certainly reduced if the area of the diaphragm is reduced. How-ever, in this case, the diaphragm vibrates by a large amplitude, resulting in a solution which is not practical for the design of a thin speaker. For instance, if the area S is 0.07 m , the amplitude must be about 10 mm to achieve a practical maximum output sound pressure of 110 dB at 1 m.
If a portion about the center of a diaphragm 8, shown in Fig. 7, has a small area and a rear-opening system so as to reduce the load while the r~m~ining portion, including a peripheral portion of the diaphragm, forms a closed system so as to prevent the cancellation of sound, the entire area of a speaker box 9 can be utilized for the area of the diaphragm so that the thickness of the speaker is reduced while a large output sound pressure at a low amplitude is ensured.
Fig. 8 shows changes in the output sound pressure when the balance between the rear-opening-system portion and the closed-system portion is varied. As shown in Fig. 8, for a given size of box, there is a solution which ensures suitable values of both fO and the output sound pressure level.
g 1 Fig. 9 shows a speaker which represents an embodiment of the present invention in which a speaker unit having a diaphragm 12 of 0.8 x 0.3 m is attached to an enclosure of 1 x 1 x 0.05 m. Four magnetic circuit-s which provide driving forces are attached to the diaphragm 12. The magnetic circuits are constituted by magnets 15, 15', 15", and 15-"'; lower platesl4,¦4', 14 n ~ and ! 4"'; and upper plates 10, 10', 10 n ~ and 10"'.
In the magnetic gaps of the magnetic circuit, driving forces are generated by voice coils 6, 6', 6~, and !6"' The interior of the enclosure is partitioned by a woofer frame 20 and an internal edge 17, and is separated into a closed enclosure portion 19 and a rear opening 13.
In the speaker constructed in this manner, sound generated from the rear surface of a peripheral portion of the diaphragm 12, which contributes most to the cancellation of sound at the front side, is radiated into the closed enclosure portion 19, and sound generated from the rear surface of the central portion of the diaphragm, which contributes only slightly to the cancellation at the front side, is radiated through the rear hole 13. It is therefore possible to realize a speaker which can maintain its output sound pressure - 25 level when it is mounted on a wall.
A stepped portion may be formed in the rear plate of the enclosure in such a manner that an acoustic duct is formed by this stepped portion and the wall when 1 3353~8 1 the speaker is mounted on the wall. This acoustic duct may be formed in such a manner that the cross section of the duct expands as it approaches the outlet opening of the duct. Otherwise, a plate which acts as a wall-may be previously fixed to the rear side of the speaker.
As described above, the present inventionrealizes a speaker which can maintain its output sound pressure level when it is mounted on a wall and which can be adapted for two kinds of use such as one in which it is mounted on a wall and one in which it is free-standing, since it can exhibit its basic performance even when separated from the wall.
Fig. 10 shows a speaker which represents a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 10, the speaker has a diaphragm 21, an edge 22, a speaker box 23, an intern~l edge 24, a partition plate 25, a closed space 28, and an open space 29, and the fundamental construction of this speaker is substan-tially the same as that shown in Fig. 9. A portion 21c of the diaphragm 21 forms a closed system of the ~ phragm 21, and a portion 21p form an open system of the diaphragm 21. In this embodiment, the areas of the portions 21c and 21p forming these two systems are approximately equal to each other. The speaker is further provided with a driver unit 26 which is attached to the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21, and driver units 27a and 27b which are attached to the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm 21. In 1 Fig. 10, the frame of the speaker is omitted in order to avoid complications.
In this embodiment, the diaphragm 21 has one drive point in the o~e., system portion 21p, and two ~
drive points in the closed-system portion 21c. Since the areas of the closed-system portion 21c and the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21 are sub-stantially the same, the driving force per unit area of the ~iA~hragm 21 applied to the closed-system portion 21c is twice as large as that applied to the open-system portion 21p. It is thereby possible to enable suitable piston moitons of the diagram although, during low-frequency reproduction, the vibration amplitude of the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm is basically less than that of the open-system portion 21p because of the large stiffness of the closed system due to the existence of the closed space 28.
The present invention will be further described below with respect to other embodiments thereof in conjunction with the correspon~ing drawings.
Fig. 11 shows a third embodiment of the present invention which differs from that shown in Fig.
10 in that two driver units 26a and 26b are provided on the open-system portion 21p of the diaphragm 21. In this embodiment, the areas of the open-system portion 21p and the closed-system portion 21c are approximately equal to each other, but the driving forces of the driver units 26a and 26b are weighted so as to realize 1 suitable piston motions of the diaphragm 21. That is, the driving force of the driver units 27a and 27b for driving the closed-system portion 21c of the diaphragm 21 is set to be larger than that of the S driver units 26a and 26b for driving the open-system portion 21p so that the difference of the stiffnesses for the open-system portion 21p and the closed-system portion 21c at the time of low-frequency reproduction is canceled; and the amplitudes of the portions 21c and 21p of the diaphragm 21 are generally equalized, thereby realizing piston motions of the diaphragm.
To provide a difference between the driving forces per unit area of the closed-system portion and the open-system portion of the diaphragm, the number of driver units 26a and 26b are selected in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, and the driving forces of the driver units are weighted. ~owever, the ratio of the areas of the open- and closed-system portions may be changed for this purpose within the design limitations.
2~ In the direct radiator-type speaker in accordance with this embodiment in which a part of the diaphragm forms a closed system and the other part forms an open system, the diaphragm has a plurality of drive points; and each of the driving forces is weighted or the disposition of drive points is selected suitably, so that the driving force per unit area of the closed-system portion of the diaphragm is increased relative to that of the open-system portion, thereby enabling 1 suitable piston-motion vibrations of the diaphragm at the tLme of low-frequency reproduction.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described below with reference to Figs. 12-and 13. As shown in Fig. 12, a speaker which representsthe fourth embodiment is provided with enclosures 30 of 1 x 1 x O.06 m, diaphragms 3la and 31b of 30 x 17 cm and a diaphragm 31c of 30 x 46 cm. ~ach of the diaphragms is formed of a member which is made of a cellular material, which has a thickness of 8 mm and which is sandwiched between aluminum surfacing members.
A closed enclosure is formed in the rear of the diaphragm 31a, and a rear-opening enclosure having an opening 36 is formed in the rear of the central diaphragm 31c.
The diaphragms are dirven by four voice coils 38.
This speaker also has edges 32, and magnetic circuits 39 for driving the voice coils 38 respectively.
Fig. 13 shows sound pressure frequency characteristics of this embodiment. If the diaphragm is formed in one united body as in the case of a tradi-tional unit, the loads on the rear surfaces of the closed-system portion and the open-system portion differ from each other so that concentration of stress occurs in the vicinity of the bonn~ry between the closed-system portion and the open-system portion, resulting in distortions and peaks and dips on the sound pressure frequency characteristic curve which is exemplified by the curve A in Fig. 13. The characteristics of the 1 3353~8 1 independently-driven diaphragm in accordance with the present invention exhibit only small degrees of peaks and dips, as exemplified by the curve B in Fig. 13, compared with the characteristic indicated by the curve S A in Fig. 13. In addition, the frequency response range of the diaphragm in accordance with the present invention is e~r~n~ed.
In this embodiment, the diaphragms are rectangular, but the present invention is effective irrespective of the shape of the diaphragm. It is possible to realize the same effect by a speaker which has, as shown in Fig. 14, coaxial ~;~p~ragms 33 and 34 connected to an enclosure 30a by an edge 32a and in which an open chamber having an opening 36a is formed at the rear of the central portion; and a closed chamber is formed at the rear of the peripheral portion.
If the size of the enclosure is so small that it is not possible to provide an adequate phase difference between the sound radiated from the front surface and the sound radiated through a port formed at the rear plate of the speaker, the speaker may be designed to be advantageous in such a manner that, as shown in Figs.
15A and lSB, an enclosure 33c is provided with an opening 36c; diaphragms 35 and 37 are supported by edges 32c on the enclosure; and a crosspiece is attached to the enclosure so as to form an acoustic duct 40 between the rear surface of the enclosure and a rigid wall 4, thereby radiating sound from the port to the front of 1 3353~8 l the speaker via the acoustic duct 40. It goes without saying that, as shown in Fig. 16, the acoustic duct 40 may be formed so as to be integral with an enclosure 30b instead of utilizing the surface of the wall.
To limit the thickness of the enclosure, the speaker may otherwise be constructed in such a manner that, as shown in Figs. l?A and 17B, diaphragms 44 and 45 are supported by edges 43 on the central portion of an enclosure 42; and an acoustic duct 47 which communicates with an opening 46 is formed in side portions of the enclosure 42 such as to encircle this central portion.
These arrangements not only eliminate the need to closely attach the enclosure to the rigid wall but also enable the speaker to be mounted on the wall no matter how the irregularity of the wall surface.
In accordance with the present invention,-as described above, diaphragms are provided to form a rear-opening system and a closed system independently, so that the piston-vibration range of the diaphragm is remarkably expanded; the frequency characteristic curve is flattened; the ratio of distortion is reduced.
Moreover, the thickness and the weight of the diaphragm assembly can be reduced since each diaphragm has a reduced size and, hence, an improved flexural rigidity.
Therefore, the output sound pressure level is increased.
In addition, the degree of freedom in disposing the ~;~phragm is increased, thereby making the assembly work easier.
1 A ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 18 and 19. The features of this e~o~iment reside in the fixation of voice coils on the diaphragm. Voice -S coils, each of which is susp~n~e~ by a damper in an annular gap of a magnetic circuit formed between a top plate and a bottom plate fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of an annular magnet, are fixed to a flat rectangular diaphragm at the points or in the vicinity thereof at which-both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode of the diaphragm in the longitll~in direction thereof are restrained. The diaphragm is supported at its outer periphery by an edge or the like on a frame.
For the resonance in the longitll~;n~l direc-tion alone in this construction, it is possible to substitute the resonance form of an opposite-end-free rod for that of the flat rectangular diaphragm. A
forced vibration displacement ~ by a concentrated driving force Fxei~t is expressed by PSI m ~2m - ~2 m m ~.... (1) where p: density;
s: sectional area of rod;
Q: length of rod;
~m(x)~m(y): criterion function which represents 1 33530~
vibration form; and ~: angular velocity.
1 When the rod is driven at four points xl, x2, X3 and X4, the forced vibration displacement ~ is ~sQ ~ 2 2 {FXl~m( 1) Fx3~m(X3) m x3 m(x3) + Fx4m(x4)}m(y)ei~t ,,,,, (2) and thé driving method which is free of the occurrence of vibrations of the primary and secondary modes (no -5 asymmetrical mode vibration occurs since the rod is driven symmetrically about the center thereof. Accord-ingly, they are called the primary and seCo~ry resonance modes in low-degree resonance modes other than asymmetrical modes.) is to obtain the four points xl, x2, X3 and X4 which satisfy the equation:
xl~m(Xl~ ~ Fx2m(X2) ~ Fx m(X3) x4~m(X4) .................................... (3) Since the rod is driven symmetrically about the center thereof by the same magnitudes of forces, F = F = F = F = F ..... (4) xl x2 X3 X4 x is formed.
1 ( 1) ~1 (X2) ~ ~ X2) + ~l (l-xl) = o ,,, (5 2 1 ~2(X2) + ~3(1~X2) ~ ~3(1-xl) = O .. (6) 1 Driving points xl and x2 which satisfy both Equations (5) and (6) are obtained as follows:
Xl = 0.1130 X2 = 0'37775 ~ ..... (7) x3 (1 - x2) = 0.62225 x4 (1 - xl) = 0.8870 According to the present invention, the diaphragm is driven at the points represented by Equations (7).
Therefore, there is no possibility of vibrations of the primary or secondary resonance mode. The piston-motion range of the diaphragm is thereby eYp~n~ed, and the sound pressure frequency characteristic curve is flattened.
The method in accordance with this embodiment may be applied to each of the above-described embodiments.
This embodiment will be further described in detail with reference to Figs. 18 and 19.
As shown in Fig. 18, four voice coils 51, 52, 53 and 54 are attached to a diaphragm 50 at the points or in the vicinity thereof at which both free resonances of the primary resonance mode and of the secondary resonance mode of the diaphragm 50 in the longitudinal 1 direction are restrained, that is, the points that are located, if the width of the diaphragm 50 is W, at distances of 0.113W, 0.37775W, 0.62225W, and 0.8870W
from the end of the diaphragm S0. --These values represent the ratios of the distances of points on the diaphragm to lengthwise dimension of the ~iAr~agm. Since the voice coils are fixed to the diaphragm at the positions defined by the values shown in Equations (7), any one of the resonances of the primary resonance mode and the seco~ry resonance mode can be restrained.
Fig. 19 shows the results of calculations of the vibration form on the basis of a finite element method when the diaphragm is driven at the points which satisfy Equations (7). The solid line indicates the state before the occurrence of deformation, and the broken line indicates the state after the occurrence of deformation. As is also understood from Fig. 19, the vibrations of the diaphragm of the primary and secondary reson~nce modes are restrained so that the diaphragm exhibits piston motions. Thus, the present invention can provide a flat rectangular speaker which has flat and smooth sound pressure frequency characteristics.
In the above-described embodiments, peripheral edges of the opening formed in the rear plate the enclosure are angular, but they may be surfaces which are smoothly curved or tapered surfaces, such as those shown in Fig. 20, which will be described below concretely.
~ 33~30~
, 1 Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a speaker which represents a tenth embodiment of the present invention and in which some parts are omitted. The speaker shown in Fig. 20 has a diaphragm 61 of 30 x 80 cm formed of a member which is made of a cellular material, which has a thickness of 8 mm and which is sandwiched between aluminum-surfacing members.~ The diaphragm 61 is supported by an edge 63 on a 1 m square enclosure 62 having a thickness of 6 cm. A~ the rear of a peripheral portion of the diaphragm 61 is formed a closed-type construction which is defined by this portion of the diaphragm, a rear plate 62a of the enclosure, an intern~l plate 64 extending from the enclosure rear plate 62a, and an internal edge 65 inter-posed between the top of the internal plate 64 and adiametral intermediate portion of the diaphragm 61.
At the rear of a central portion 61b of the ~i~phragm 61 is formed an open-type construction which has a gap 67 between this central portion 61b and the internal plate 64 and communicates with the space formed at the rear of the enclosure rear plate 62a through a duct 66, which is encircled by the internal plate 64, and which communicates with the gap 67 at its front end and opens at its rear end in the rear plate 62a. The duct 66 communicates with the outside through a gap 68 which is formed between the enclosure rear plate 62a and a wall 69. An outer peripheral edge 70 of the throat of the duct 66 and an outer peripheral edge 71 1 of the ~outh of the duct 66 are curved smoothly or tapered, and an outer peripheral edge 72 of the enclosure rear plate 62 facing the wall 69 is also curved smoothly or tapered. The diaphragm 61 is driven by four voice coils ~not shown) at the positions that correspond to the nodes of the primary and secondary normal resonance modes in the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm.
In this system, air in the gap 67 between the central portion 61b of the diaphragm 61 and the internal plate 64 is compressed and expanded by the vibration of the diaphragm 61 so as to cause air flows A in the direction of progress of sound waves, as indicated by the arr~ws A in Fig. 2A. These air flows A pass through the duct 66 and the gap 68 which serves as an acoustic duct communicating with the outside. When the air flows A pass over the peripheral edges 70 and-71 of the throat and the mouth of the duct 66 and over the outer peripheral edge 72 of the enclosure rear plate 62a, there is no possibility of occurrence of vortexes.
Therefore, the occurrence of distortion due to wind noise can be limited, thereby enabling high-fidelity repro-duction.
Figs. 22A and 22B show sound pressure frequency characteristic and a distortion frequency characteristic of this speaker in which the sectional area of the duct 66 is 230 cm ; the height of the duct is 4 cm; the curvature of each of the opening peripheral edges 70 and 1 71 and the outer peripheral edge 72 is Rzo; and the gap 68 defined between the speaker and the wall 69 when the speaker is mounted on the wall is 1 cm. The distortion frequency characteristic of a speaker having angular portions 73 which have not been rounded is indicated by the broken line in Fig. 22B. As is clear from Fig. 22B, the level of distortion of this-speaker is higher than that of this embodiment of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiments, the diaphragm and the driving units may be connected to each other by using a fixing method or fixing structure which will be described below with reference to Figs. 23 and 24. Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a diaphragm and a voice coil which are fixed to each other, and Fig. 24 is a side view of the voice coil cap and voice coil shcwn in Fig. 23.
The structure shown in Figs. 23 and 24 includes a flat diaphragm 81, a voice coil cap 82 which has a flat end surface of a flange portion con-nected to the surface of the flat diaphragm 81 and which has a plurality of projections 84 formed on the outer periphery of a cylindrical portion and inserted into ~lOuyS of slits 86 formed at one end of a voice oil bobbin 83, and the voice coil bobbin 83 which is inserted into a magnetic gap (not sh~wn3 and around which a voice coil 85 is wound. The groups of slits 86 comprise a plurality of opposed pairs of slits formed 1 at the end of the voice coil bobbin 83 to different depths. It is preferable for the projections 84 to be disposed at regular intervais.
The voice coil cap 82 is inserted into and ~
fixed to the voice coil bobbin 83. At this time, one of the groups of slits 86 at the end of the voice coil bobbin 83 having a depth which minimizes the gap between the voice coil cap and the diaphragm is selected, and the pro3ections 84 of the voice coil gap 82 are inserted into a group of slits selected to the ends thereof. The voice coil cap 82 is thereafter fixed to the voice coil bobbin 83. The number of slits in each group is three to four which is preferred in terms of - balance. Accordingly, the total number of slits is obtained by multiplying this number by the number of steps of adjusting the depth. That is, if the number of projections 84 is four and if three different depths are provided, the total number of slits is 4 x 3 = 12.
The speaker thus constructed operates as described below. A driving force is generated in accordance with an audio current which flows through the voice coil 85, and it is transmitted to the flat diaphragm 81 via the voice coil bobbin 83 and the voice coil cap 82, thereby generating sound.
In accordance with the present invention, as described above, when the plurality of projections 84, which are formed at one end of the cylindrical portion of the voice coil cap having the flat end surface at the -1 other end, are inserted into one of the groups of slits 86 formed at the corresponding end of the voice coil bobbin 83 so as to fix the voice coil cap to the voice coil bobbin, a group of slits having a depth which minimize the gap between the surface of the diaphragm and the flat end surface of the voice coil cap can be selected from the groups of slits 86. It is therefore possible to minimize a gap between the surface of the diaphragm and the flat end surface of the voice coil 1~ cap due to a tolerance of the length of the voice coil bobbin and a tolerance of the position at which the damper is attached to the voice coil bobbin. It is thereby possible to prevent any abnormal noise such as buzzing caused by such a gap, thereby realizing a speaker improved in reliability and having good acoustic charac-teristics.
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described below with reference to Figs. 12-and 13. As shown in Fig. 12, a speaker which representsthe fourth embodiment is provided with enclosures 30 of 1 x 1 x O.06 m, diaphragms 3la and 31b of 30 x 17 cm and a diaphragm 31c of 30 x 46 cm. ~ach of the diaphragms is formed of a member which is made of a cellular material, which has a thickness of 8 mm and which is sandwiched between aluminum surfacing members.
A closed enclosure is formed in the rear of the diaphragm 31a, and a rear-opening enclosure having an opening 36 is formed in the rear of the central diaphragm 31c.
The diaphragms are dirven by four voice coils 38.
This speaker also has edges 32, and magnetic circuits 39 for driving the voice coils 38 respectively.
Fig. 13 shows sound pressure frequency characteristics of this embodiment. If the diaphragm is formed in one united body as in the case of a tradi-tional unit, the loads on the rear surfaces of the closed-system portion and the open-system portion differ from each other so that concentration of stress occurs in the vicinity of the bonn~ry between the closed-system portion and the open-system portion, resulting in distortions and peaks and dips on the sound pressure frequency characteristic curve which is exemplified by the curve A in Fig. 13. The characteristics of the 1 3353~8 1 independently-driven diaphragm in accordance with the present invention exhibit only small degrees of peaks and dips, as exemplified by the curve B in Fig. 13, compared with the characteristic indicated by the curve S A in Fig. 13. In addition, the frequency response range of the diaphragm in accordance with the present invention is e~r~n~ed.
In this embodiment, the diaphragms are rectangular, but the present invention is effective irrespective of the shape of the diaphragm. It is possible to realize the same effect by a speaker which has, as shown in Fig. 14, coaxial ~;~p~ragms 33 and 34 connected to an enclosure 30a by an edge 32a and in which an open chamber having an opening 36a is formed at the rear of the central portion; and a closed chamber is formed at the rear of the peripheral portion.
If the size of the enclosure is so small that it is not possible to provide an adequate phase difference between the sound radiated from the front surface and the sound radiated through a port formed at the rear plate of the speaker, the speaker may be designed to be advantageous in such a manner that, as shown in Figs.
15A and lSB, an enclosure 33c is provided with an opening 36c; diaphragms 35 and 37 are supported by edges 32c on the enclosure; and a crosspiece is attached to the enclosure so as to form an acoustic duct 40 between the rear surface of the enclosure and a rigid wall 4, thereby radiating sound from the port to the front of 1 3353~8 l the speaker via the acoustic duct 40. It goes without saying that, as shown in Fig. 16, the acoustic duct 40 may be formed so as to be integral with an enclosure 30b instead of utilizing the surface of the wall.
To limit the thickness of the enclosure, the speaker may otherwise be constructed in such a manner that, as shown in Figs. l?A and 17B, diaphragms 44 and 45 are supported by edges 43 on the central portion of an enclosure 42; and an acoustic duct 47 which communicates with an opening 46 is formed in side portions of the enclosure 42 such as to encircle this central portion.
These arrangements not only eliminate the need to closely attach the enclosure to the rigid wall but also enable the speaker to be mounted on the wall no matter how the irregularity of the wall surface.
In accordance with the present invention,-as described above, diaphragms are provided to form a rear-opening system and a closed system independently, so that the piston-vibration range of the diaphragm is remarkably expanded; the frequency characteristic curve is flattened; the ratio of distortion is reduced.
Moreover, the thickness and the weight of the diaphragm assembly can be reduced since each diaphragm has a reduced size and, hence, an improved flexural rigidity.
Therefore, the output sound pressure level is increased.
In addition, the degree of freedom in disposing the ~;~phragm is increased, thereby making the assembly work easier.
1 A ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 18 and 19. The features of this e~o~iment reside in the fixation of voice coils on the diaphragm. Voice -S coils, each of which is susp~n~e~ by a damper in an annular gap of a magnetic circuit formed between a top plate and a bottom plate fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of an annular magnet, are fixed to a flat rectangular diaphragm at the points or in the vicinity thereof at which-both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode of the diaphragm in the longitll~in direction thereof are restrained. The diaphragm is supported at its outer periphery by an edge or the like on a frame.
For the resonance in the longitll~;n~l direc-tion alone in this construction, it is possible to substitute the resonance form of an opposite-end-free rod for that of the flat rectangular diaphragm. A
forced vibration displacement ~ by a concentrated driving force Fxei~t is expressed by PSI m ~2m - ~2 m m ~.... (1) where p: density;
s: sectional area of rod;
Q: length of rod;
~m(x)~m(y): criterion function which represents 1 33530~
vibration form; and ~: angular velocity.
1 When the rod is driven at four points xl, x2, X3 and X4, the forced vibration displacement ~ is ~sQ ~ 2 2 {FXl~m( 1) Fx3~m(X3) m x3 m(x3) + Fx4m(x4)}m(y)ei~t ,,,,, (2) and thé driving method which is free of the occurrence of vibrations of the primary and secondary modes (no -5 asymmetrical mode vibration occurs since the rod is driven symmetrically about the center thereof. Accord-ingly, they are called the primary and seCo~ry resonance modes in low-degree resonance modes other than asymmetrical modes.) is to obtain the four points xl, x2, X3 and X4 which satisfy the equation:
xl~m(Xl~ ~ Fx2m(X2) ~ Fx m(X3) x4~m(X4) .................................... (3) Since the rod is driven symmetrically about the center thereof by the same magnitudes of forces, F = F = F = F = F ..... (4) xl x2 X3 X4 x is formed.
1 ( 1) ~1 (X2) ~ ~ X2) + ~l (l-xl) = o ,,, (5 2 1 ~2(X2) + ~3(1~X2) ~ ~3(1-xl) = O .. (6) 1 Driving points xl and x2 which satisfy both Equations (5) and (6) are obtained as follows:
Xl = 0.1130 X2 = 0'37775 ~ ..... (7) x3 (1 - x2) = 0.62225 x4 (1 - xl) = 0.8870 According to the present invention, the diaphragm is driven at the points represented by Equations (7).
Therefore, there is no possibility of vibrations of the primary or secondary resonance mode. The piston-motion range of the diaphragm is thereby eYp~n~ed, and the sound pressure frequency characteristic curve is flattened.
The method in accordance with this embodiment may be applied to each of the above-described embodiments.
This embodiment will be further described in detail with reference to Figs. 18 and 19.
As shown in Fig. 18, four voice coils 51, 52, 53 and 54 are attached to a diaphragm 50 at the points or in the vicinity thereof at which both free resonances of the primary resonance mode and of the secondary resonance mode of the diaphragm 50 in the longitudinal 1 direction are restrained, that is, the points that are located, if the width of the diaphragm 50 is W, at distances of 0.113W, 0.37775W, 0.62225W, and 0.8870W
from the end of the diaphragm S0. --These values represent the ratios of the distances of points on the diaphragm to lengthwise dimension of the ~iAr~agm. Since the voice coils are fixed to the diaphragm at the positions defined by the values shown in Equations (7), any one of the resonances of the primary resonance mode and the seco~ry resonance mode can be restrained.
Fig. 19 shows the results of calculations of the vibration form on the basis of a finite element method when the diaphragm is driven at the points which satisfy Equations (7). The solid line indicates the state before the occurrence of deformation, and the broken line indicates the state after the occurrence of deformation. As is also understood from Fig. 19, the vibrations of the diaphragm of the primary and secondary reson~nce modes are restrained so that the diaphragm exhibits piston motions. Thus, the present invention can provide a flat rectangular speaker which has flat and smooth sound pressure frequency characteristics.
In the above-described embodiments, peripheral edges of the opening formed in the rear plate the enclosure are angular, but they may be surfaces which are smoothly curved or tapered surfaces, such as those shown in Fig. 20, which will be described below concretely.
~ 33~30~
, 1 Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a speaker which represents a tenth embodiment of the present invention and in which some parts are omitted. The speaker shown in Fig. 20 has a diaphragm 61 of 30 x 80 cm formed of a member which is made of a cellular material, which has a thickness of 8 mm and which is sandwiched between aluminum-surfacing members.~ The diaphragm 61 is supported by an edge 63 on a 1 m square enclosure 62 having a thickness of 6 cm. A~ the rear of a peripheral portion of the diaphragm 61 is formed a closed-type construction which is defined by this portion of the diaphragm, a rear plate 62a of the enclosure, an intern~l plate 64 extending from the enclosure rear plate 62a, and an internal edge 65 inter-posed between the top of the internal plate 64 and adiametral intermediate portion of the diaphragm 61.
At the rear of a central portion 61b of the ~i~phragm 61 is formed an open-type construction which has a gap 67 between this central portion 61b and the internal plate 64 and communicates with the space formed at the rear of the enclosure rear plate 62a through a duct 66, which is encircled by the internal plate 64, and which communicates with the gap 67 at its front end and opens at its rear end in the rear plate 62a. The duct 66 communicates with the outside through a gap 68 which is formed between the enclosure rear plate 62a and a wall 69. An outer peripheral edge 70 of the throat of the duct 66 and an outer peripheral edge 71 1 of the ~outh of the duct 66 are curved smoothly or tapered, and an outer peripheral edge 72 of the enclosure rear plate 62 facing the wall 69 is also curved smoothly or tapered. The diaphragm 61 is driven by four voice coils ~not shown) at the positions that correspond to the nodes of the primary and secondary normal resonance modes in the longitudinal direction of the diaphragm.
In this system, air in the gap 67 between the central portion 61b of the diaphragm 61 and the internal plate 64 is compressed and expanded by the vibration of the diaphragm 61 so as to cause air flows A in the direction of progress of sound waves, as indicated by the arr~ws A in Fig. 2A. These air flows A pass through the duct 66 and the gap 68 which serves as an acoustic duct communicating with the outside. When the air flows A pass over the peripheral edges 70 and-71 of the throat and the mouth of the duct 66 and over the outer peripheral edge 72 of the enclosure rear plate 62a, there is no possibility of occurrence of vortexes.
Therefore, the occurrence of distortion due to wind noise can be limited, thereby enabling high-fidelity repro-duction.
Figs. 22A and 22B show sound pressure frequency characteristic and a distortion frequency characteristic of this speaker in which the sectional area of the duct 66 is 230 cm ; the height of the duct is 4 cm; the curvature of each of the opening peripheral edges 70 and 1 71 and the outer peripheral edge 72 is Rzo; and the gap 68 defined between the speaker and the wall 69 when the speaker is mounted on the wall is 1 cm. The distortion frequency characteristic of a speaker having angular portions 73 which have not been rounded is indicated by the broken line in Fig. 22B. As is clear from Fig. 22B, the level of distortion of this-speaker is higher than that of this embodiment of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiments, the diaphragm and the driving units may be connected to each other by using a fixing method or fixing structure which will be described below with reference to Figs. 23 and 24. Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a diaphragm and a voice coil which are fixed to each other, and Fig. 24 is a side view of the voice coil cap and voice coil shcwn in Fig. 23.
The structure shown in Figs. 23 and 24 includes a flat diaphragm 81, a voice coil cap 82 which has a flat end surface of a flange portion con-nected to the surface of the flat diaphragm 81 and which has a plurality of projections 84 formed on the outer periphery of a cylindrical portion and inserted into ~lOuyS of slits 86 formed at one end of a voice oil bobbin 83, and the voice coil bobbin 83 which is inserted into a magnetic gap (not sh~wn3 and around which a voice coil 85 is wound. The groups of slits 86 comprise a plurality of opposed pairs of slits formed 1 at the end of the voice coil bobbin 83 to different depths. It is preferable for the projections 84 to be disposed at regular intervais.
The voice coil cap 82 is inserted into and ~
fixed to the voice coil bobbin 83. At this time, one of the groups of slits 86 at the end of the voice coil bobbin 83 having a depth which minimizes the gap between the voice coil cap and the diaphragm is selected, and the pro3ections 84 of the voice coil gap 82 are inserted into a group of slits selected to the ends thereof. The voice coil cap 82 is thereafter fixed to the voice coil bobbin 83. The number of slits in each group is three to four which is preferred in terms of - balance. Accordingly, the total number of slits is obtained by multiplying this number by the number of steps of adjusting the depth. That is, if the number of projections 84 is four and if three different depths are provided, the total number of slits is 4 x 3 = 12.
The speaker thus constructed operates as described below. A driving force is generated in accordance with an audio current which flows through the voice coil 85, and it is transmitted to the flat diaphragm 81 via the voice coil bobbin 83 and the voice coil cap 82, thereby generating sound.
In accordance with the present invention, as described above, when the plurality of projections 84, which are formed at one end of the cylindrical portion of the voice coil cap having the flat end surface at the -1 other end, are inserted into one of the groups of slits 86 formed at the corresponding end of the voice coil bobbin 83 so as to fix the voice coil cap to the voice coil bobbin, a group of slits having a depth which minimize the gap between the surface of the diaphragm and the flat end surface of the voice coil cap can be selected from the groups of slits 86. It is therefore possible to minimize a gap between the surface of the diaphragm and the flat end surface of the voice coil 1~ cap due to a tolerance of the length of the voice coil bobbin and a tolerance of the position at which the damper is attached to the voice coil bobbin. It is thereby possible to prevent any abnormal noise such as buzzing caused by such a gap, thereby realizing a speaker improved in reliability and having good acoustic charac-teristics.
Claims
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A speaker comprising: a magnetic circuit having an annular magnetic gap formed by an annular magnet and top and bottom plates fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of said annular magnet; a voice coil suspended in said annular magnetic gap by a damper; and a flat rectangular diaphragm supported at its outer periphery by an edge on a frame;
wherein said voice coil is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicinity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode in the longitudinal direction of said diaphragm are restrained.
wherein said voice coil is fixed to said diaphragm at a point or in the vicinity thereof at which both vibrations of the primary free resonance mode and those of the secondary free resonance mode in the longitudinal direction of said diaphragm are restrained.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000616655A CA1335308C (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1993-06-07 | Speaker |
Applications Claiming Priority (14)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP61223149A JPH0773398B2 (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1986-09-19 | Speaker system |
| JP223149/86 | 1986-09-19 | ||
| JP61248726A JPH0748918B2 (en) | 1986-10-20 | 1986-10-20 | Speaker |
| JP248726/86 | 1986-10-20 | ||
| JP282501/86 | 1986-11-27 | ||
| JP28250186A JPS63136798A (en) | 1986-11-27 | 1986-11-27 | Speaker system |
| JP61304326A JP2558667B2 (en) | 1986-12-19 | 1986-12-19 | Rectangular flat speaker |
| JP304326/86 | 1986-12-19 | ||
| JP80015/87 | 1987-04-01 | ||
| JP8001587A JPS63246097A (en) | 1987-04-01 | 1987-04-01 | Speaker device |
| JP96502/87 | 1987-04-20 | ||
| JP9650287A JPS63261999A (en) | 1987-04-20 | 1987-04-20 | Planar speaker |
| CA000547123A CA1322042C (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1987-09-17 | Speaker |
| CA000616655A CA1335308C (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1993-06-07 | Speaker |
Related Parent Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000547123A Division CA1322042C (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1987-09-17 | Speaker |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1335308C true CA1335308C (en) | 1995-04-18 |
Family
ID=27560920
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000616655A Expired - Fee Related CA1335308C (en) | 1986-09-19 | 1993-06-07 | Speaker |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1335308C (en) |
-
1993
- 1993-06-07 CA CA000616655A patent/CA1335308C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |