MXPA00002259A - Trim panel comprising an integral acoustic system - Google Patents

Abstract

A trim panel, e.g. a roof lining for a vehicle passenger compartment, characterised in that the trim panel comprises an integral acoustic radiator and a vibration exciter mounted on the radiator to launch bending waves into the radiator to cause it to resonate to produce an acoustic output, and means integral with the radiator to define the radiator periphery.

Description

ADJUSTMENT PANEL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to adjustment panels, for example, for the passenger cabin of a vehicle such as a car, and in particular with adjustment panels with incorporated loudspeakers. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Tests have been carried out with different approaches to obtain a reproduction of good quality sounds in vehicles such as automobiles. Conventional good quality piston loudspeakers, with an efficient and satisfactory volume, use large diaphragms excited by magnetic cones that result in a mounting that includes the chassis of the loudspeaker or some baskets of appreciable depth, normally from 6 to 10 cm. Inside a vehicle, the space for the sealed or tuned volume cages that usually occupy cone-type piston loudspeakers is limited. Frequently, the heads of the occupants have to be installed in poor positions, away from the location, for example, in the rear package tray, in the lower panels of the doors, away from the mechanisms that regulate the movement of the windows or at the ends of the board, to complete the sound of the speakers of the doors that do not have an optimal location. Usually the speakers are installed in six conventional positions, in order to solve the problems generated by a bad location due to the need to find a sufficient depth of panel to locate the exciters of the conventional speakers. The rear panel speakers are located behind the passengers, away from the front seats and are affected by the rear glass and the tray. Likewise, these speakers are also too close to the nearest passenger causing an excessive volume level. The speakers mounted on the doors are located in the noisiest part of the car and are affected by vibration, the resonance of the door panel, the transmission of street and engine noise. They are almost inaudible for passengers sitting in the back seat, and are quite deviated from the axis of the occupants of the front seats. Additionally, the legs of an occupant can seriously obstruct their acoustic output. An additional pair of loudspeakers that can be placed on the dashboard is often affected by a poor mounting technique, harming the frequency response and having to withstand the local reflections of the panoramic glass. Its placement is not adequate to ensure a satisfactory spectrum of the two stereo channels. In general, each of these is too close to the nearest occupant. In our international patent application O97 / 09844, these problems are discussed in order to offer greater hearing comfort, reduce installation costs, achieve a higher signal rate with respect to sound, greater efficiency, a stereo sound and channels Multiple more uniform for all occupants of the vehicle, reduce weight, simplify the wiring of the vehicle and significantly improve the sound quality. As described in our international application WO 97/09842 the loudspeakers of the resonating panel of distributed refractive waves employ a diagram which is usually flat and relatively narrow, stimulated by a low excursion, usually electrodynamic low profile electromechanical transducer, although other types are also suitable, including piezo, if the acoustic characteristics of the radiation panel are adjusted satisfactorily to the type of translator and the available amplification. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION From one point of view, the present invention is a vehicle with a passenger compartment, an adjustment panel, for example, a roof covering that covers the passenger compartment and a loudspeaker in the passenger compartment whose characteristic is that the loudspeaker is inside an adjustment panel and comprises an integral resonant acoustic radiator and a vibration exciter assembled on the radiator to send refractive waves to the radiator causing its resonance to produce a sound, and means integral with the radiator and defining the periphery of the radiator. The means of the integral periphery can be molded integrally with the adjustment panel or they can be permanently fixed to the adjustment panel forming an integral part. In the same way, the acoustic radiator can be molded integrally with the adjustment panel or it can be permanently fixed being an integral part. Possibly the means defining the periphery can be molded integrally with the adjustment panel and the acoustic radiator can be permanently fixed to the adjustment panel, for example by means of adhesives, so that it is integrated thereto. The radiator can be made of the same material as the trim panel or it can have a light and rigid panel. The means defining the integral periphery can determine an edge finish with a clamp for the radiator. The clamp edge termination may be formed by a hardened edge integrally molded around the radiator. The radiator can be hardened with one or more edges extended on its surface. The vibration exciter may be inert. The vibration exciter can be electrodynamic. From another perspective, the invention is an adjustment panel, for example the upholstery of the roof of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, whose characteristic is that the adjustment panel comprises an integral acoustic radiator and a vibration exciter assembled on the radiator for throw refraction waves so that they resonate and produce an acoustic sound and integral means with the radiator to define the periphery of the radiator. The radiator may comprise a rigid and lightweight panel. The means defining the integral periphery can determine an edge finish with a clamp for the radiator. The clamp edge termination can be formed by a rigid edge integrally molded around the radiator. The radiator can become rigid with at least one rib extended on its surface. The vibration exciter may be inert. The vibration exciter can be electrodynamic. The adjustment panel may comprise a plurality of resonant radiators. When the trim panel is the upholstery of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, a resonant radiator adjacent to the position of each occupant in the compartment can be placed. For the current invention, it is essential that the area designated for the resonance be of the distributed mode type in the frequency range required. In contrast to other kinds of radiators, for example, the types excited by the proximity of pistons and the local area that essentially have coherent radiation characteristics of point source, the distributed mode type is excited over a significant area and has an output not directional even outside the ends of the axes angles, without a significant frequency variation. The above provides a good radiation pattern for the confined spaces of a passenger cabin of a vehicle. The panel can be adapted to operate, at least partially, under coincident frequencies, and can be adapted to operate mainly or totally under matching frequencies. The entire periphery of the acoustic medium can be clamped or alternatively one or more edges of the medium can be held, for example, a rectangular panel. Total fixation allows the design of the loudspeaker assembly to be predictable in mechanical terms, and also facilitates the creation of a loudspeaker assembly with a relatively robust construction, compared to a resonant panel loudspeaker in which the edges of the panel are free or of resilient suspension. The fixation of the peripheral portion (s) or the (the) edge (s) of the acoustic member can be achieved in any desired manner, for example, rigidly fixing the (the) edge (s) to a frame or the like by adhesive or mechanical means, for example by fixing the edge (s) between the parts of the frame. The edges can also be fixed using molding techniques such as injection molding plastic materials forming the edges of the medium with fenced portions of reinforced edges sufficiently rigid to prevent movement of the edges of the acoustic environment. The co-molding of the acoustic medium and the reinforced edges may be appropriate. These molding techniques can be particularly useful when the acoustic environment is formed as a monolith and can be easily and inexpensively achieved. Therefore, it can be appreciated that the term "fixed edge" has the purpose of understanding all forms of edge restriction. The fixation can also be used to define an acoustic environment with a larger acoustic medium. Thus, a large acoustic panel designed for a medium / low frequency operation can be molded to include a smaller high acoustic frequency panel defined by the perimeter fixed by reinforcement ribs. The fixing action can be designed to achieve the desired mechanical finished impedance to control the reverberation time inside the acoustic environment as an aid to control the frequency response of the member, especially in lower frequency registers, reproducing the proper damping . The acoustic means may be rectangular and the aspect ratio may be as described in the international patent application No. WO97 / 09842; the acoustic medium can have a constant thickness, the refractive rigidity of the acoustic medium can be isotropic. The objective of these measures is to maximize the modal density in the environment for the reasons explained in the international patent application NO. WO97 / 09842. The fixation of the edges of the panel allows the use of panels with a relatively low stiffness, which will help to reduce the fundamental refraction mode of the panel below the possible levels in more rigid panels. This could enhance the behavior of low frequencies. Thus, for example, when the range of rigidity for a practical example of a panel of free edges of the type described in the international patent application No. WO97 / 09842 can be of the order of 0.1 to 50 Nm, the rigidity of an edge panel fixed of the same general type may be higher than O.OOlN. Likewise, when the range of the surface density of said practical example of free edge panels can be from 100 to 1000 g / m 3, the density of the fixed edge panel can exceed 25 g / m 3. However, it will be appreciated that significantly stiffer and / or denser materials can be used for the acoustic panel where low frequency behavior is not a requirement. The consequences that arise from the fixation of edges in acoustic media include: 1.- the frequency of the first mode of refraction (fo) is increased by about ten times, and 2.- three lower modes, which are not present in a panel of Free edges, they become useful. These lower modes can be useful for recovering losses due to the increase in fo. In fact, preliminary tests indicate that for an acoustic panel of certain mechanical characteristics, the fixing of the edges imply a significant gain of the low frequency acoustic energy output. Likewise, the use of panels or materials for panels of relatively low stiffness may allow the coincident frequency to move upward, possibly above the audio band, which may improve the uniformity of the sound direction of the panel. At the same time, with less rigid panels, the modal density can be increased in the lower registers with a consequent improvement in the sound quality. The radiation member can be excited in any of the ways suggested in the international patent application No. W097 / 09842, for example, by means of an inert electro-mechanical exciter device. The or each of the exciters can be programmed to excite the radiation member in any suitable geometric portion of the acoustic member, for example, as described in the international patent application No. W097 / 09842 or other, again with the purpose of optimizing modal density. More than one of these panels can be incorporated in the adjustment panel, for example, the upholstery of the roof of a vehicle. With two panels, these can be located approximately in the center of the front and rear occupants, and both are equally well served. There are several forms of distribution, as follows: 1.- distributed mode panel with wide installed frequency range that operates only as a two-speaker system. 2.- Smaller distributed mode loudspeaker panels for medium and high frequencies located in the roof section that operate in conjunction with conventional cone drivers for low frequencies, for example, rear door and tray or a subwoofer with low sound Box type installed correctly. 3. - A panel of distributed speakers more 'small according to paragraph 2 above, distributed in greater numbers to obtain a much more uniform sound distribution and / or to consider other installations on the roof of the vehicle, for example a sliding roof. The installation can be visible with a simple frame secured with screws or with clips that stand alone, commonly used in car installations. As an alternative, the upholstery of the ceiling can be acoustically transparent in the region of the loudspeaker in a distributed manner, for example, by the choice of materials and / or micro perforations, facilitating the connection of the panel speaker to the back of the upholstery so that the installation is invisible. At the lower frequencies, where the radioactive efficiency of the panel speaker is reduced, the ceiling upholstery can be used to preserve the output of the acoustics. This upholstery can be designed and manufactured to obtain an installed mechanical impedance and low frequency broad band resonances to act as a large area refractory wave radiator adapted to the low frequency range. The distributed-mode panel loudspeaker can be coupled with a docility of termination suited to the perimeter of the speaker opening to extend the influence of the transducer exciter located on the loudspeaker panel in a distributed manner to the acoustically operating region of the ceiling upholstery. At low frequencies, the distributed mode panel is relatively rigid and the primary impedance mechanically coupled at low frequencies is the ceiling upholstery. It can be a lightweight, flexible complex of agglomerated fiber or pulp of good damping, moderate mass and covered with a thin layer of 2 to 4 mm thick acoustic foam and can be covered with a decorative material or with a soft polymer film Perforated. The manufacturing techniques also allow the formation of speakers in a distributed way as an integral component of the ceiling upholstery. In the diagram, the speaker regions are designed and delineated with a suitable perimeter docility, for example, grooves, grooves, interior longitudinal projections, etc. of the structural fund. The panel of distributed mode operates thanks to an additional treatment of the regions of the speaker, such as lamination film, additional reinforcements, impregnation of resins.

The electromechanical vibration exciter can be assembled directly in the region designated as the optimal driving place of the distributed mode or by means of a coupling plate supplying and / or defining mechanical impedances to optimize the frequency characteristics and the refraction between the panel of the medium sharp speaker and the largest coupled radiator. By this means the loudspeakers can be integrated directly into the manufacture of the upholstery of the roof, to provide an added value sub assembly for the manufacturers of parts for automobiles. A region of the ceiling upholstery can be designed for the operation of refractory waves with a film with a shape, an interior longitudinal projection and a suitable geometric design and can be excited directly by means of a low frequency electromechanical exciter while the medium frequencies and loudspeakers can be reproduced by additional speakers in a distributed way, manufactured separately, excited and assembled in acoustically porous openings in the roof covering of relative docility mounted on its frame or perimeter. Additionally, these medium and high frequency distributed mode players can also be integrated into the upholstery with a suitable delineation, a docile periphery and / or local reinforcement techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated with diagrams, by way of example, in the attached diagrams in which: Diagram 1 is a flat perspective of the roof or the upholstery of a car with integral resonance panel loudspeakers; Diagram 2 is a partial transversal perspective on the Y-Y axis of diagram 1; Diagram 2A is an enlarged view of a detail indicated in the circle of diagram 2; Diagram 3 is a plan view of a second execution of the roof or upholstery of the roof for a car; Diagram 4 is a partial lateral transverse perspective of the execution of diagram 2; Diagram 5 is a flat perspective of a third execution of a car roof or roof upholstery; Diagram 6 is a partial lateral transverse perspective of the execution of diagram 5; Diagram 7 is a partial lateral transverse perspective that generally corresponds to that of diagram 6, of another execution of the roof of a car or roof upholstery; Diagram 8 is a partial lateral transversal perspective, which generally corresponds to that of diagram 7, of another execution of the roof of a car or of the upholstery of the roof; and Diagram 9 is a partial lateral transverse perspective, which generally corresponds to that of diagram 6 of another execution of the roof of a car or of the upholstery of the roof. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Diagrams 1 and 2 show an adjustment panel in the form of roof or upholstery of the roof (l) for a car (which does not appear) in which the relative positions of the heads of four passengers are indicated u occupants (2). A ceiling light (3) is provided in the ceiling upholstery (1) near its front end (4). Four similarly distributed acoustic radiation loudspeakers (5) are located, of the type generally described in our international patent application No. PCT / GB96 / 02145 (WO97 / 09842) in the roof upholstery for the respective radiators ( 5) are placed adjacently and slightly in front of the head of each occupant (2). As indicated in Diagrams 2 and 2A, the radiators (5) are formed, for example, molded, integrally with the ceiling upholstery. A transducer or exciter (6) which can be an inert electrodynamic device on the radiator (5) is assembled to throw the refractory waves to the radiator so that it resonates and produces an acoustic output in the manner described in our international patent application No. WO97 / 09842. The edge (7) of each radiator panel is defined by a thin portion of the ceiling upholstery to provide a fixed edge finish on each panel. The thin portion (7) comprises a corrugation (12) extending around the edge of the panel. As indicated, the upholstery of the roof comprises opposite films (8) enclosing a resilient center (9), for example a soft foam. Likewise, the radiator comprises opposite but high performance films 10, which enclose a center 11 which may be of rigid foam or the panel to supply a rigid and lightweight resonant radiation panel. As shown in diagram 2A, the upper film (8) of the upholstery of the ceiling is covered with the lower film (10) of the radiator in the corrugation (12) which allows a strong connection between the radiator and the ceiling covering integrating them. . The diagrams 3 and 4 show an adjustment panel in the form of a roof of an automobile or of the upholstery of the roof (1) which is generally similar to that of diagrams 1 and 2. In this case, a laminate upholstery comprising opposite films (8). ) enclosing a center (9) that is compressed in an area (5) forming a resonant panel loudspeaker, for example, of the type described in the international patent application WO97 / 09842 at a reduced thickness indicated by the darker shading of the material of the center (11) and which is formed during the process of compressing the upholstery of the roof with raised tabs (13) extending from the rear face and forming a panel design (14) as indicated in diagram 3 to give it the desired rigidity to the loudspeaker panel. The edge (7) of the loudspeaker panel is defined by a groove (19) formed by a greater degree of compression of the laminate of the upholstery of the roof and forming a fixed edge. A rearview mirror (15) appears on the front of the roof covering (i). The ceiling upholstery of diagrams 5 and 6 is generally similar to that described in diagrams 3 and 4 except that the panels of the loudspeakers (5) are included by the general thickness of the material of the upholstery of the ceiling and each is formed by slots (19) delimiting and defining the edge (7) of the panel (5) and forming a fixed edge, but without forming a panel of high and rigid tabs. The upholstery of the roof (1) of diagram 7 has vertical formations of tabs (16) that border and define the resonant loudspeakers of panels (5) in the general area of the upholstery of the roof and harden the edges (7) of the respective panel of the loudspeaker (5) to form a fixed edge. The vertical formations of the flanges (16) are formed in any convenient way, for example, by molding and are applied to one side of the upholstery laminate (8, 9), for example, by means of an adhesive to integrate the formation of the tab to a roof upholstery. The upholstery of the roof (1) of diagram 8 is very similar to that of diagram 7 in that it is formed by fixed edges (7) formed by a rigid vertical flange (16) that borders the radiator panel (5) and in this case that area of the center of the ceiling upholstery (9) forming the center of the radiator (11) is compressed to be less thick than the general thickness of the roof upholstery (1) as indicated by darker shading. Also in this embodiment the raised tab (16) is integrally molded with the upholstery of the roof. It will be noted that the area of the radiator (5) that is attached to the flange (16) is reinforced with a rigid sheet (17) of any suitable material applied to a film (8) of the laminate and attached thereto. The upholstery of the roof of diagram 9 comprises a thinner region and defining an acoustically active area of the ceiling upholstery and forming a resonant loudspeaker panel (5) linked by an interval or visible edge on the rear face of the ceiling upholstery and which forms a fixed edge (7), for example of the type defined in WO97 / 09842. The upholstery of the roof can be of the laminated type described above or it can be a fibrous body impregnated in a ream.

INDUSTRIAL USE It will be noted that although the invention was described with particular reference to the upholstery of a car roof, the invention also applies to other vehicles and other objects that require one or more trim panels such as upholstery. The invention also applies to other vehicle adjustment panels, for example to door panels, boards and rear trays.

Claims (25)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the invention as above, property is claimed as contained in the following: REVI ND I CI ONE S 1.- A vehicle that has a passenger compartment, a clothing panel that covers the passenger compartment and a loudspeaker in the passenger compartment, where the loudspeaker is in the vestibule panel and comprises an integral resonant acoustic radiator and an exciter mounted on the radiator to throw bending waves into the radiator to cause it to resonate producing an acoustic output and integral means with the radiator and defining the periphery of the radiator, characterized in that, the garment panel comprises opposite covers that enclose a core that is compressed in part of the panel to form the radiator, so that the radiator has a reduced thickness in comparison with the thickness of the vest panel beyond the radiator.
2. 2. - A vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the radiator comprises a rigid light weight panel.
3. 3. A vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the integral means defines a gripping termination edge for the radiator.
4. 4. A vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that the grip edge termination is coextensive with the means defining the periphery of the integral radiator.
5. 5. - A vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that the gripping edge finish is formed by a stiffening rib surrounding the radiator.
6. 6. - A vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that the termination of the gripping edge is defined by a thick step between the radiator and the garment panel.
7. 7. - A vehicle according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the radiator is made rigid by at least one rib extending on its surface.
8. 8. - A vehicle according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a stiffening sheet is applied to a surface of the radiator.
9. 9. - A vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ation exciter is inertial.
10. 10. - A vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, the ation exciter is electro-dynamic.
11. 11. - A vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, the garment panel is a roof covering.
12. 12. - A garment panel for a vehicle having a passenger compartment wherein the garment panel comprises an integral resonant acoustic radiator and a ation exciter mounted on the radiator to throw bending waves to the radiator to cause it to resonate and produce an acoustic outlet, and means integral with the radiator and defining the periphery of the radiator, characterized in that, the garment panel comprises opposite covers that enclose a core that is compressed in part of the panel to form the radiator, so that the radiator has a reduced thickness compared to the thickness of the clothing panel beyond the radiator.
13. 13. - A garment panel according to claim 12, characterized in that the radiator comprises a rigid light weight panel.
14. 14. - A garment panel according to claim 12, 13, characterized in that the integral means defines an edge finish gripped for the radiator.
15. 15. - A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, the edge edge grip is coextensive with the means defining the periphery of the integral radiator.
16. 16. - A garment panel according to claim 15, characterized in that the gripping edge finish is formed by a stiffening rib surrounding the radiator.
17. 17. - A garment panel according to claim 14, 15, characterized in that the gripping edge finish is defined by a thick step between the radiator and the lining of the garment panel.
18. 18. - A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that the radiator is stiffened by at least one rib extending over its surface.
19. 19. A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 18, characterized by a stiffening sheet applied to a surface of the radiator.
20. 20. A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that the vibration exciter is inertial.
21. 21. A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 20, characterized in that the vibration exciter is electro-dynamic.
22. 22. A garment panel according to one of claims 12 to 21, characterized by a plurality of resonant radiators.
23. 23. - A garment panel according to any of claims 12 to 22, characterized in that the garment panel is a vehicle roof lining for a passenger compartment and a resonant radiator is placed adjacent to each passenger position.
24. 24.- A vehicle that has a passenger compartment, a vestibule panel lining the passenger compartment and a loudspeaker in the passenger compartment, where the loudspeaker is in the vestibule panel and comprises an integral resonant acoustic radiator and an exciter. vibration mounted on the radiator to throw bending waves to the radiator to cause it to resonate and produce an acoustic output and integral means with the radiator and defining the periphery of the radiator, characterized in that the radiator is a distributed mode radiator integrally molded with the panel of clothing.
25. 25.- A vehicle that has a passenger compartment, a vestibule panel that lines the passenger compartment and a loudspeaker in the passenger compartment, where the loudspeaker is in the vestibule panel and comprises an integral resonant acoustic radiator and a vibration exciter mounted on the radiator to release bending waves in the radiator to cause it to resonate and produce an acoustic output and integral means with the radiator and defining the periphery of the radiator, characterized in that the integral medium with the radiator comprises a termination of the radiator. grasped edge formed by a stiffening rib molded integrally around the periphery of the radiator defining the radiator as a panel in a distributed manner.