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The present invention relates to loudspeakers and to
arrangements for their mounting in apertures in planar support
members, for example ceilings.
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The provision of loudspeakers in an increasing number of
different locations in buildings is becoming desirable. For
example, in domestic buildings, the provision of loudspeakers
forming parts of a sound system is desired in an increasing
number of rooms where the sound system is to be heard. In
many of these rooms, particularly kitchens and bathrooms, it
is not convenient to provide freestanding or wall-mounted
speaker enclosures.
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It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a loudspeaker assembly which includes a loudspeaker
drive unit and which allows convenient and simple mounting in
a planar support member, for example a ceiling.
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According to the present invention, there is provided a
loudspeaker assembly for mounting in an aperture in a planar
support member, for example a wall or a ceiling, the assembly
comprising a mounting member to be received in the aperture
in the planar member and a loudspeaker drive unit to be
received in the mounting member,
the mounting member having means for its retention in a
said aperture in a planar member and having an aperture for
receiving the drive unit,
the mounting member providing a seating for the
loudspeaker drive unit when inserted through the aperture in
the mounting member in a first direction from a first side of
the mounting member, the seating preventing the drive unit
from moving further relative to the mounting member in the
first direction, and
the assembly including a retaining means for retaining
the drive unit in its seating in the mounting member and
preventing its movement in a second, opposite direction.
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Advantageously, the retaining means is accessible from
the first side of the mounting member for removal of the drive
unit therefrom.
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Preferably, the mounting member is annular and the
aperture therein is circular.
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In such a case or otherwise, the seating preferably
comprises a circular or part-circular flange on an internal
surface of the mounting member.
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The retaining means is advantageously a member which is
removable from the mounting member, preferably from the first
side thereof.
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In such a case, the retaining member is conveniently a
resilient part-annular member, such as a circlip, which abuts
the drive unit to prevent its movement in the second direction
and which expends radially to engage an internal surface of
the mounting member.
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Preferably, the drive unit has forward and rearward
circular abutment surfaces, respectively for engagement with
the seating on the mounting member and for engagement by the
retaining means.
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In other embodiments, the retaining means comprises an
adhesive.
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Conveniently, in a loudspeaker assembly according to the
invention, the means for retention of the mounting member in
the aperture comprises first and second spring clips on
opposite sides of the mounting member.
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Advantageously, the assembly includes a grille member
extending over the aperture in the retaining member to cover
the drive unit.
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The mounting member can thus be a type which is used to
form part of a known type of light fitting which commonly uses
a 12V sealed halogen bulb of 50 mm diameter.
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The invention also provides a loudspeaker drive unit for
use in an assembly according to the invention, the drive unit
comprising a chassis supporting a magnet assembly and a
speaker cone, the chassis comprising an outwardly-extending
circular mounting flange having first and second opposed faces
for, respectively, abutment with the seating of a mounting
member of an assembly according to the invention and abutment
by the retaining means of the said mounting member.
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Preferably the mounting flange forms the outermost
portion of the unit.
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Advantageously, the mounting flange has an external
diameter of substantially 50 mm and can thus be received in
a light fitting as mentioned above in substitution for the
bulb of that fitting.
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The invention accordingly also provides a method of
converting a light-fitting of the sealed-halogen type to a
loudspeaker installation, comprising removal of the sealed
lamp from the fitting, disconnection of the lamp from its
electrical supply, provision at the light-fitting of
conductors supplying an audio signal, connection to the
conductors of a drive unit according to the invention and
mounting of the drive unit in the light fitting.
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Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way
of example with reference to the drawings of the
specification, in which:
- Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a loudspeaker
assembly according to the invention;
- Figure 2 is a front perspective view of the loudspeaker
assembly of Figure 1; and
- Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of the loudspeaker
assembly;
- Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the loudspeaker
assembly;
- Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a modified
assembly; and
- Figure 6 is a front perspective view of the assembly of
Figure 5.
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The loudspeaker assembly shown in the drawings comprises
a loudspeaker drive unit 10 and a mounting assembly which
consists of a mounting ring 12, first and second annular
sealing gaskets 14,16 and a retaining circlip 18.
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The mounting ring 12 is circular and has a central
circular aperture 20 of approximately 50 mm diameter which
receives the drive unit 10. The mounting ring 12 has an
annular front surface 22, an external annular flange 24 and
an internal cylindrical surface 26, which together form an
annular recess 28 in the rear of the ring 12. The recess 28
is dimensioned to receive the first sealing gasket 14.
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The mounting ring 12 is formed with a pair of
diametrically opposed rearward extending lugs 30, each of
which carries a spring retaining clip 32. Each retaining clip
32 is formed from a length of wire which is shaped to form a
longer arm 34 and a shorter arm 36 which have between them
torsion spring portions 38 which resist relative movement of
the arms 34,36 towards each other from the position shown in
the drawings. The retaining clips 32 are pivotally mounted
in on tabs (not visible in the drawings) extending into
apertures 42 in the lugs 30 and therefore can pivot through
a restricted arc relative to the lugs 30.
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The mounting ring 12 is also formed internally with a
shoulder 44 which is in two arcuate portions which each extend
through an arc of about 160°. The two portions of the
shoulder 44 provide a seating for the drive unit 10. The
second annular sealing gasket 16 is dimensioned to locate on
the shoulder 44 when the drive unit 10 and mounting ring 12
are assembled.
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The drive unit 10 comprises a conventional loudspeaker
cone 46 which is carried in the usual way by a coil (not
visible in the drawings) which is movable within a gap within
a magnet assembly 48. The cone 46 is attached around its
circumference to a chassis 50 which consists of front and rear
circular rings 52,54 which are joined at intervals by axial
portions 56. The chassis is of metal and die-cast but could
alternatively be of pressed steel or a plastics material. The
front ring 52 is larger in diameter than the rear ring 54 so
that the chassis has an overall shape which is generally
frusto-conical. The outer diameter of the front ring is about
50 mm in this embodiment. The rear ring 54 supports the
magnet assembly 48. Electrical terminals 58 allow for
electrical connections to be made to the drive unit for supply
of an audio signal.
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The drive unit 10 is mounted in the mounting ring 12 by
insertion through the aperture 20 in the rearward direction
from the front side of the ring 12 (from right to left in
figure 1). This movement is continued until the front ring 52
of the drive unit chassis 50 becomes seated on the second
sealing gasket 16 which rests on the shoulder 44. The
shoulder 44 prevents further rearward movement of the drive
unit relative to the mounting ring 12. The drive unit 10 may
now be secured in the mounting ring 12 by means of the
retaining circlip 18 which is first compressed (for example
by use of a pair of circlip pliers) and then inserted into the
circular aperture 20 into a position in which it rests just
in front of the forward edge of the front ring 52 of the
chassis 50 of the loudspeaker drive unit 10. On release, the
retaining circlip 18 expands in diameter to press against the
internal cylindrical surface 26 of the aperture 20 and thereby
retains the loudspeaker drive unit 10 in the mounting ring 12.
This is as shown in figures 2 and 3.
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Mounting of the loudspeaker assembly in an aperture in
a planar support member, for example a ceiling, will now be
described. Mounting may be carried out after the drive
unit 10 has been assembled with the mounting ring 12 as
described above or, alternatively, the mounting ring may first
be secured in the aperture in the planar support member and
the drive unit mounted in the mounting ring subsequently,
again as described above.
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Assuming the former situation, the first annular sealing
gasket 14 is positioned in the recess 28 in the rear of the
mounting ring 12. The assembly of the gasket 14 and mounting
ring 12 is then offered up to the aperture in the ceiling.
The ceiling aperture is circular and around 60 mm in diameter.
In order to allow this, the longer arms 34 of the retaining
clips 32 are manually squeezed towards each other until their
free ends are spaced by a distance which allows them to pass
through the ceiling aperture. Once the longer arms 34 have
passed through the ceiling aperture, the manual grip on the
arms 34 is released. The retaining clips 32 are now
positioned such that the longer arms 34 lie above the surface
of the ceiling and the shorter arms 36 lie below. Further
movement of the mounting assembly into the ceiling aperture
results in the clips 32 first pivoting on their mounting tabs
and, when the longer arms 34 have made contact with the upper
surface of the ceiling, in the shorter arms 36 engaging the
inside surface of the aperture and being pressed inwards
against the bias of the spring portions 38 until they lie
between the inside surface of the aperture and the lugs 30.
In this position the longer arms 34 are pressed against the
upper surface of the ceiling by the bias of the spring
portions 38. The mounting assembly is thus held in the
ceiling aperture with the larger annular sealing gasket 14
compressed between the rearward face of the mounting ring 12,
and the lower surface of the ceiling.
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With the mounting assembly fixed in the ceiling as
described, the loudspeaker drive unit 10 can be inserted into
the mounting ring 12 and secured therein by use of the
retaining circlip 18, as described above. Alternatively, the
drive unit 10 can be first mounted in the mounting ring 12 as
described above and the ring 12 then mounted in the ceiling
aperture as described.
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After having been mounted in the mounting assembly 10 in
the way described, the loudspeaker drive unit 10 can be
released from the mounting ring 12 by contraction of the
retaining circlip 18 until it is released from the mounting
ring 12 and can be withdrawn from the mounting ring in the
forward direction.
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It will be noted that the mounting assembly is suitable
also for receiving a standard 50 mm sealed halogen light bulb
in substitution for the loudspeaker drive unit 10. In this
way, light bulbs and loudspeaker drive units can be freely
exchanged between mounting assemblies mounted or in the way
described above. Also, an existing lighting installation can
be converted into a mounting for a loudspeaker and vice versa.
It is of course necessary in each case for the light bulb or
drive unit to be connected respectively to a suitable 12 volt
electrical power supply or to an audio signal source for the
drive unit.
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Mounting is not restricted to ceilings: the planar
support member can be any suitable support member, for example
a wall.
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The modified assembly shown in figures 5 and 6 of the
drawings differs from that shown in figures 1 to 4 firstly in
that the circlip 18 is omitted together with the second
sealing gasket 16. The drive unit 10 is retained in the
mounting ring 12 by means of adhesive applied to the front
ring 52 of the drive unit chassis 50. Secondly, the front of
the drive unit 10 is covered by a perforate grille member 60
that closes the circular aperture 20 of the mounting member
12. The grille member 60 is retained by reception of ridges
62 on diametrically-opposed tabs 64 in slots 66 in the
mounting member 12. The features of retention of the drive
unit by adhesive and the grille can be provided independently
of each other and with or without the circlip 18: when the
grille is provided without the adhesive, it will, constitute
the retaining means in the absence of the circlip.
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The modified assembly is used in exactly the same as the
unmodified assembly, to convert an existing lighting
installation, or otherwise, as described above.
