JP7523309B2 - Speaker unit mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a speaker unit to a vehicle.

Conventionally, there is known an in-vehicle speaker device that is mounted on a vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle speaker device that is designed to prevent back pressure from being trapped in a sealed space when the speaker unit is driven.

In the in-vehicle speaker device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a duct is provided in part of the vehicle door that connects the interior and exterior of the vehicle, and a speaker unit is attached to the interior opening of this duct. Back pressure generated by driving the speaker unit is released to the outside of the vehicle through the duct. As a result, the inner panel of the door is not subjected to back pressure generated by driving the speaker unit, and rattling noises caused by vibrations in the interior materials of the door can be prevented.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-211999

As in Patent Document 1, if the back pressure is released to the outside of the vehicle through a duct, there is a concern that sound may leak outside the vehicle. There is also a concern that rainwater and dust may get inside the vehicle body through the duct leading to the outside of the vehicle. On the other hand, if the duct leading to the outside of the vehicle is eliminated while avoiding the back pressure being enclosed in an enclosed space, there is a concern that sound may be leaked around from the back side of the speaker, canceling out the low-pitched sounds emitted from the front side of the speaker.

In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a mounting structure for a speaker unit that can appropriately emit sound into the vehicle cabin while suppressing sound leakage to the outside of the vehicle.

In order to achieve the above object, the speaker unit mounting structure of the present invention is a structure for mounting a speaker unit to a vehicle, the speaker unit comprising a speaker and an enclosure that covers the rear surface of the speaker and has an opening for releasing the back pressure of the speaker, the opening facing an internal space of the vehicle that is separated from the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and a sound guide member that forms a sound path that guides the sound emitted from the opening in a direction away from the speaker unit is disposed in the space (first configuration).

In the speaker unit mounting structure of the first configuration described above, the space may be separated from the outside of the vehicle by the body of the vehicle (second configuration).

In the speaker unit mounting structure of the first or second configuration, the speaker unit may have two speakers, and the two speakers may be configured so that their rear sides face each other and are connected by a connecting member (third configuration).

In the speaker unit mounting structure of the third configuration, the enclosure may be cylindrical and extend in a direction in which the back faces of the two speakers face each other, and the opening may be provided on a side of the enclosure (fourth configuration).

In the speaker unit mounting structure of the fourth configuration described above, the vehicle has a center console that is disposed on the floor surface between the left and right sides of the driver's seat and the passenger seat and extends in the front-rear direction, the speaker unit is housed in the center console with the opposing direction facing left and right, and the enclosure may be configured so that the opening faces forward (fifth configuration).

In the speaker unit mounting structure of the fifth configuration above, the sound guide member may be configured (sixth configuration) to form, together with the floor surface, the sound path that guides the sound radiated from the opening upward.

The speaker unit mounting structure of the present invention can appropriately emit sound into the vehicle cabin while suppressing sound leakage to the outside of the vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of a vehicle interior in which a speaker unit is mounted; FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a speaker unit; FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the speaker unit shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of the configuration of a first speaker; Schematic diagram showing the outline of the mounting structure of the speaker unit FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a sound-guiding member; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the function of a sound-guiding member;

Below, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, an XYZ coordinate system is shown as a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system as appropriate. The X direction is parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle, with the +X side being the front side and the -X side being the rear side. The Y direction is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle and corresponds to the left-right direction as seen by the driver sitting in the driver's seat. The +Y side is the right side and the -Y side is the left side. The Z direction is perpendicular to the X and Y directions and corresponds to the up-down direction. The +Z side is the upper side and the -Z side is the lower side. However, these directions are names used simply for explanation and are not intended to limit the actual positional relationships and directions.

＜1. Speaker unit＞
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of an interior 101 of a vehicle 100 to which a speaker unit 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached. In Fig. 1, the seat behind a steering wheel 102 is a driver's seat 103. The seat to the left of the driver's seat 103 is a passenger seat 104.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 has a center console 106 disposed on a floor surface 105 between a driver's seat 103 and a passenger seat 104 in the left-right direction. The center console 106 extends in the front-rear direction. The center console 106 is a box-shaped structure that protrudes upward from the floor surface 105. For example, a shift lever 107 and the like are disposed on the center console 106.

The front part of the center console 106 functions as a wall that forms a space where occupants of the vehicle 100 sitting in the driver's seat 103 or the passenger seat 104 can place their feet. The speaker unit 1 is disposed in the front part of the center console 106. In other words, the speaker unit 1 is disposed at the feet of the occupants sitting in the driver's seat 103 or the passenger seat 104.

Note that the placement location of the speaker unit 1 in this embodiment is an example, and the placement location of the speaker unit 1 may be changed as appropriate. The configuration of the speaker unit 1 described below is also an example, and the placement location of the speaker unit may be changed as appropriate in accordance with changes to the configuration of the speaker unit.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the speaker unit 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the speaker unit 1 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the speaker unit 1 includes a speaker 10 and an enclosure 20. Note that the speaker unit 1 of this embodiment is, as an example, a woofer or subwoofer that mainly outputs low tones.

The speaker unit 1 has two speakers 10. One of the two speakers 10 is a first speaker 10a, and the other is a second speaker 10b. The number of speakers provided in the speaker unit is not limited to two, and may be, for example, a single speaker. In this embodiment, as a preferred embodiment, the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b have the same configuration. For this reason, the configurations of the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b will be described using the first speaker 10a as a representative example.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the first speaker 10a. The first speaker 10a comprises a diaphragm 11, a magnetic circuit 12, and a frame 13. The magnetic circuit 12 vibrates the diaphragm 11. The frame 13 holds the diaphragm 11 and the magnetic circuit 12. In the following description of the speaker 10, the diaphragm 11 side is referred to as the front side, and the magnetic circuit 12 side is referred to as the rear side.

The diaphragm 11 is cone-shaped, with at least its outer edge attached to a frame 13, and a drive coil (voice coil) 14 attached to the apex side, i.e., the back side, of the cone. Both ends of the drive coil 14 are electrically connected to terminals of the first speaker 10a via lead wires (not shown), and an audio signal (electrical signal) is input to the drive coil 14.

A plate 121 made of a magnetic material is attached to the back of the frame 13. The plate 121 is a thin circular ring. A circular magnet 122 is arranged on the back of the plate 121, and a yoke 123 is arranged on the rear surface of the magnet 122. The yoke 123 has a disk-shaped base surface portion 1231 and a center pole portion 1232 that protrudes from the center of the base surface portion 1231 to the front side. The center pole portion 1232 is, for example, cylindrical. The front surface of the base surface portion 1231 of the yoke 123 is attached to the rear surface of the magnet 122. The frame 13, the plate 121, the magnet 122, and the yoke 123 are joined with their centers aligned when viewed from the front. The front surface of the center pole portion 1232 of the yoke 123 is positioned in the same plane as the front surface of the plate 121, and the space between the plate 121 and the center pole portion 1232 forms a magnetic gap 124.

A drive coil 14 is fitted onto the front end of the center pole portion 1232. The drive coil 14 is arranged in a state in which it can move in the axial direction of the center pole portion 1232 (Y direction in FIG. 4). At least a portion of the drive coil 14 is located in the magnetic gap 124, and when an audio signal is input, it vibrates due to the interaction (Lorentz force) between the current due to the audio signal and the magnetic flux of the magnetic gap 124. The vibration of the drive coil 14 causes the diaphragm 11 to vibrate, and the diaphragm 11 vibrates the surrounding air, generating sound according to the audio signal. Vibrations are transmitted to the frame 13 and magnetic circuit 12 due to a reaction caused by the drive coil 14 and diaphragm 11 being driven relative to the frame 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the two speakers 10a, 10b have their rear sides facing each other and are joined by a joining member 30. In detail, the rear face of the yoke 123 of the first speaker 10a faces the rear face of the yoke 123 of the second speaker 10b in the left-right direction. The joining member 30 extends in the left-right direction, with one of the left and right ends fixed to the rear face (left surface) of the yoke 123 of the first speaker 10a and the other of the left and right ends fixed to the rear face (right surface) of the yoke 123 of the second speaker 10b.

The connecting member 30 is made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy, stainless steel, or brass. The connecting member 30 may be made of a synthetic resin with high rigidity. The connecting member 30 is preferably made of a material that transmits low-frequency vibrations sufficiently and does not transmit high-frequency vibrations easily. The connecting member 30 may not be a single member, but may be a combination of multiple parts each made of a different material. In this embodiment, the connecting member 30 is cylindrical and extends in the left-right direction, but is not limited to this, and may be shaped such that the diameter of the center is larger than that of both ends.

In this embodiment, the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b are arranged with their backs facing each other, so when the same audio signal is input to generate sound simultaneously, the two speakers 10a and 10b will vibrate in opposite directions. In this embodiment, the two speakers 10a and 10b are connected by a connecting member 30, so the opposing vibrations of the two speakers 10a and 10b can be offset. In other words, according to the configuration of this embodiment, unnecessary vibrations can be suppressed without adopting a large and heavy enclosure structure, and the occurrence of rattling noise can be suppressed. Also, in this embodiment, the occurrence of rattling noise can be suppressed without placing the speakers in a duct leading to the outside of the vehicle 100.

The enclosure 20 covers the rear faces of the speakers 10. In particular, the enclosure 20 covers the rear faces of the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b. The enclosure 20 is cylindrical and extends in the opposing direction in which the rear faces of the two speakers 10a, 10b face each other. The enclosure 20 covers the connecting member 30 in addition to the rear faces of the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b.

The enclosure 20 is provided with an opening 21 that releases the back pressure of the speaker 10. In this embodiment, the opening 21 is provided on the side of the enclosure 20. With this configuration, it is possible to provide an opening that has the function of releasing back pressure in common for both of the two speakers 10a, 10b, whose rear sides face each other. By providing the opening 21, it is possible to ensure a rear volume for the two speakers 10a, 10b, and to prevent a decrease in bass output.

In detail, the enclosure 20 has a cylindrical enclosure body 20a extending in the left-right direction, and a duct portion 20b protruding forward from the side of the enclosure body. In detail, the enclosure body 20a has a C-shaped cross section because of the duct portion 20b. The enclosure body 20a houses the rear sides of the two speakers 10a, 10b and the connecting member 30.

The duct section 20b is provided over the entire left-right range of the enclosure main body section 20a and over a portion of the circumferential range of the enclosure main body section 20a. The front end of the duct section 20b is open, and the duct section 20b forms the opening 21 described above. The opening 21 is connected to the space inside the enclosure main body section 20a, and allows the back pressure of the two speakers 10a, 10b to escape to the outside of the enclosure 20.

The speaker unit 1 also includes a cushioning material 41 and a spacer member 42. In each of the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b, an annular cushioning material 41 is bonded to the back surface of the frame 13. A spacer member 42 is bonded to the back surface of the cushioning material 41. The cushioning material 41 has elasticity, and when the frame 13 vibrates, the vicinity of the surface in contact with the frame 13 undergoes partial elastic deformation. Therefore, by providing the cushioning material 41, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the frame 13 from being transmitted to the spacer member 42. In this way, the cushioning material 41 is a member that holds the frame 13 and has elasticity that attenuates the vibration transmitted from the frame 13. The cushioning material 41 is made of, for example, a foam such as polyolefin foam (PEF) or a silicone resin. The spacer member 42 constitutes the left and right side walls of the duct portion 20b.

In this embodiment, the speaker 10 is an electrodynamic speaker equipped with a magnetic circuit 12 and a voice coil 14, but the type of speaker is not limited to this. The speaker may be, for example, an electrostatic speaker in which a high-voltage acoustic signal is applied between a fixed electrode and a diaphragm to vibrate the diaphragm with electrostatic force, or a piezoelectric or magnetostrictive speaker in which an actuator equipped with a piezoelectric or magnetostrictive element vibrates the diaphragm. For example, if the speaker is an electrostatic speaker, the fixed electrodes of the two speakers may be faced to each other and connected by a connecting member 30. Also, for example, if the speaker is a piezoelectric or magnetostrictive speaker, the backs of the actuators may be faced to each other and connected by a connecting member 30.

2. Speaker unit mounting structure
A structure for mounting the speaker unit 1 of the present embodiment described above to a vehicle (a mounting structure for the speaker unit) will now be described in detail.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the speaker unit 1 is housed in the center console 106 with the opposing direction of the two speakers 10a and 10b facing each other in the left-right direction. In detail, the speaker unit 1 is disposed inside the center console 106. The center console 106 is provided with two through holes 106a penetrating in the left-right direction. The front side of each of the first speaker 10a and the second speaker 10b is exposed to the interior 101 of the vehicle 100 through the through holes 106a. That is, the diaphragm 11 is exposed to the interior 101 through the through holes 106a. Each of the speakers 10a and 10b may be provided with a cover having a sound hole that covers the diaphragm 11. In this case, the cover may be configured to be exposed to the interior 101 of the vehicle 100 through the through holes 106a.

In this embodiment, as an example, a portion of the front side of the two speakers 10a, 10b protrudes into the interior 101 of the vehicle 100 through the through hole 106a. In such a configuration, it is preferable to place an elastic member to fill the gap between the inner wall of the through hole 106a and the spacer member 42. In addition, it is preferable that the speaker unit 1 is supported by a support member (not shown) that is attached to, for example, the floor surface 105 on the inside of the center console 106.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the mounting structure of the speaker unit 1. Figure 5 shows the speaker unit 1 as viewed from the left (passenger seat 104 side). Also, in Figure 5, the wall material that constitutes the center console 106 is omitted. That is, Figure 5 shows the inside of the center console 106.

As shown in FIG. 5, the opening 21 of the speaker unit 1 faces a space 200 inside the vehicle 100, which is separated from the interior 101 of the vehicle 100. The space 200 is separated from the outside (external space) of the vehicle 100, and in that sense exists inside the vehicle 100. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent sound radiated from the opening 21 from leaking outside the vehicle 100.

In detail, the enclosure 20 has an opening 21 facing forward. This configuration makes it possible to effectively utilize the space 200 between the interior 101 at the front of the vehicle 100 and the outside of the vehicle 100, thereby optimizing the sound emitted from the speaker unit 1.

In detail, the space 200 is separated from the interior 101 by the wall material constituting the center console 106 and the wall material constituting the dashboard 110 of the vehicle 100 (see FIG. 1).

The space 200 is also separated from the outside of the vehicle 100 by the body of the vehicle 100. This allows the space between the interior 101 of the vehicle 100 and the body of the vehicle 100 to be effectively utilized to optimize the sound emitted from the speaker unit 1. In this embodiment, the space 200 is separated from the outside of the vehicle 100 by a floor panel 108 that constitutes the floor surface 105 of the vehicle 100, and a dash panel (toe board) 109 that constitutes the boundary with the engine room.

The floor panel 108 and the dash panel 109 are parts that make up the body of the vehicle 100. A mat may be placed on the upper surface of the floor panel 108. In such a case, the floor panel 108 may be configured to include the mat. In other words, the floor surface 105 may be the upper surface of the mat.

As shown in FIG. 5, a sound guide member 50 is disposed in the space 200 to form a sound path 300 (see FIG. 7) that guides the sound radiated from the opening 21 in a direction away from the speaker unit 1. In other words, the sound guide member 50 is a member that prevents the sound radiated from the opening 21 from returning to the vicinity of the speakers 10a, 10b in the interior 101 of the vehicle 100. This configuration makes it possible to prevent interference between the sound radiated from the opening 21 and the sound radiated from the front of the speakers 10a, 10b. In other words, the speaker unit 1 can appropriately emit sound into the interior 101 of the vehicle 100.

Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the sound guide member 50. The sound guide member 50 can be formed, for example, by processing a metal plate. However, the sound guide member 50 is not limited to being made of metal, and may be made of resin or the like. As shown in Figure 6, the sound guide member 50 has a main body portion 51 and a pair of side wall portions 52.

The main body 51 has a first main body part 51a having a rectangular flat plate shape perpendicular to the up-down direction, a second main body part 51b extending from the front end of the first main body part 51a while curving obliquely upward and forward, and a third main body part 51c having a flat plate shape extending from the front end of the second main body part 51b. The pair of sidewall parts 52 are disposed on the left and right ends of the main body 51 and are flat. Each sidewall part 52 has a first sidewall part 52a extending downward from the first main body part 51a, a second sidewall part 52b extending obliquely downward and forward from the second main body part 51b, and a third sidewall part 52c extending forward from the third main body part 51c.

The sound guide member 50 is attached to the duct portion 20b. For example, screwing or gluing may be used as the attachment method. In detail, the first body portion 51a of the sound guide member 50 is placed on the upper surface of the duct portion 20b. The pair of side wall portions 52 sandwich the duct portion 20b from the left and right. Each side wall portion 52 is configured such that a part of the side wall portion 52 contacts the floor surface 105 constituted by the floor panel 108, and another part of the side wall portion 52 contacts the inner surface 109a of the dash panel 109. More specifically, a part of each side wall portion 52 extends in a direction along the floor surface 105 while contacting the floor surface 105. The other part of each side wall portion 52 extends in a direction along the inner surface 109a while contacting the inner surface 109a of the dash panel 109.

In this embodiment, at least the front end of the lower surface of the duct portion 20b is in contact with the floor surface 105. In addition, in this embodiment, the side wall portion 52 extends only from the upper end of the opening 21 to a position partway down in the vertical direction, but it may be configured to extend from the upper end to the lower end of the opening 21.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining the function of the sound guide member 50. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing a vertical cross section taken at a point corresponding to the center position in the left-right direction of the speaker unit 1. The white arrows in Figure 7 indicate the flow of sound radiated from the opening 21.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sound guide member 50, together with the floor surface 105, forms a sound path 300 that guides the sound radiated from the opening 21 upward. By providing the sound guide member 50, the sound radiated from the opening 21 can be guided upward in the space 200 (upward into the dashboard 110), away from the speaker unit 1.

The sound emitted from the opening 21 includes a sound that is in the opposite phase to the sound emitted from the front side of the speakers 10a and 10b. When the sound emitted from the opening 21 leaks from the space 200 to the room 101 near the speakers 10a and 10b, the leaked sound may cancel out the sound emitted from the front of the speakers 10a and 10b. In this regard, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the sound emitted from the opening 21 is guided upward away from the speaker unit 1 in the space 200, so that even if the sound leaks from the space 200 to the room 101, the position where the sound leakage occurs is a position away from the speakers 10a and 10b. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the sound emitted from the front of the speakers 10a and 10b is canceled by the sound emitted from the opening 21 leaking into the room 101. In other words, it is possible to radiate appropriate sound from the speakers 10a and 10b into the room 101.

In this embodiment, in detail, the sound guide member 50, together with the floor surface 105 and the inner surface 109a of the dash panel 109, forms a sound path 300 that guides the sound radiated from the opening 21 upward. However, which element the sound guide member is paired with to form a sound path that directs sound away from the speaker unit 1 may be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the space in which the speaker unit 1 is placed. In some cases, the sound guide member alone may be configured to form a sound path that directs sound radiated from the opening 21 away from the speaker unit 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) 400 is placed above the speaker unit 1 in the space 200. Due to the presence of the HVAC 400, sound emitted from the opening 21 is less likely to wrap around to the rear and is instead guided upward within the dashboard 110. Taking this into consideration, the sound guide member 50 extends upward only to the bottom of the HVAC 400. However, for example, if there is no large structure such as the HVAC 400, the sound guide member 50 may be configured to extend upward from the position shown in FIG. 7.

In addition, in this embodiment, the sound guide member 50 is attached to the speaker unit 1, but the sound guide member 50 may be attached to a structure other than the speaker unit 1 arranged in the space 200. For example, the sound guide member 50 may be attached to the HVAC 400.

In addition, in this embodiment, the speaker unit 1 is configured to be placed in the space in front of the vehicle 100, but this is not intended to be limiting. For example, the speaker unit may be placed in another space, such as the rear or side of the vehicle 100. Even in such a case, by using a sound-guiding member configured as described above, good sound can be emitted from the speaker unit.

<3. Important points to note>
In addition to the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the various technical features disclosed in this specification can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the technical creation. In other words, the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive, and the technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the description of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, and should be understood to include all modifications that fall within the meaning and scope of the claims. In addition, the multiple embodiments and modifications shown in this specification may be implemented in appropriate combinations to the extent possible.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 speaker unit 10 speaker 10a first speaker 10b second speaker 20 enclosure 21 opening 30 coupling member 50 sound guide member 100 vehicle 101 interior 108 floor panel (part of the vehicle body)
109...Dash panel (part of the vehicle body)
200...Space 300...Sound path

Claims (5)

A speaker and
an enclosure that covers a rear surface of the speaker and has an opening for releasing back pressure of the speaker;
A structure for mounting a speaker unit comprising:
The opening is directed toward an interior space of the vehicle that is partitioned from an interior of the vehicle,
a sound guide member is disposed in the space to form a sound path that guides the sound radiated from the opening in a direction away from the speaker unit ;
The vehicle has a center console disposed on a floor surface between a driver's seat and a passenger seat in a left-right direction and extending in a front-rear direction,
The speaker unit is accommodated in the center console,
The enclosure has the opening facing forward,
The sound-guiding member, together with the floor surface, forms the sound path that guides the sound radiated from the opening upward. The speaker unit mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the space is separated from the outside of the vehicle by the body of the vehicle. The speaker unit includes two speakers.
3. The speaker unit mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the two speakers are joined together by a joining member with their rear sides facing each other. The enclosure is tubular and extends in a direction in which the rear faces of the two speakers face each other,
4. The speaker unit mounting structure according to claim 3, wherein the opening is provided in a side surface of the enclosure. 5. The speaker unit mounting structure according to claim 4, wherein the speaker unit is accommodated in the center console with the opposing direction facing the left-right direction.

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