Abstract:
A portable system that provides audio to video displays or monitors includes a bezel with integrated speakers and integrated channels that slide onto the bezel of the monitors. The bezel with integrated speakers does not increase the lateral footprint of the monitor.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1) Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of display technology in general and more particularly to monitors used in computer systems.  
           [0003]    2) Prior Art  
           [0004]    The use of monitors to display information generated in computer systems or other type of television related systems is well known in the prior art. The use of speaker systems to provide audio explaining what is being displayed or accompanying what is being displayed is also well known in the prior art. Probably, the most common type of speaker systems are standalone boxes which usually come in pairs and the user is free to place the boxes wherever the user chooses. Among the drawbacks associated with standalone speaker systems are bulkiness, difficulty in moving them around, etc.  
           [0005]    The prior art has recognized the drawbacks associated with standalone speaker systems and have attempted to solve the problem by incorporating the speaker system in the housing of the monitor when the monitor is being manufactured. Even though this solution is probably a step in the right direction it too has problems. In the first instance monitors with built-in speakers are more expensive than monitors without speakers. The additional cost may adversely affect sales especially to buyers who do not want to pay an extra premium for the speaker systems.  
           [0006]    The prior art has recognized the problems associated with monitors with built-in speakers and has attempted to solve it by providing speaker kits to be used to retrofit monitors. The retrofitting of monitors with speaker kits requires some type of adjustment (mechanical or electrical) to the base monitor. In one solution brackets have to be mounted on the base monitor and the speakers are then attached to the brackets.  
           [0007]    In another solution hooks (mechanical or electrical) to accommodate speaker kits are built into the base model. The hooks usually include built-in wiring and circuits that add additional cost to the base monitor. In addition, the kit can only work with models that have the hooks built in them and is not backward compatible with models having no hooks.  
           [0008]    Probably, a common problem with the prior art solutions is that add-on speakers are attached to the top, bottom or sides of the base monitor resulting in lateral extension of the footprint of the base model. The lateral extension is undesirable in that additional space which may not be available is required. For example, in one configuration termed “checkerboard” multiple flat panel monitors are mounted on a wall. This configuration allows multiple live TV news to be watched simultaneously. In the checkerboard configuration the monitors are placed in close proximity to one another. Therefore, add-on speakers that laterally increase the footprint of monitors could not be used in this checkerboard configuration.  
           [0009]    Another problem with prior art add-on speakers is that the additions unnecessarily limit the motion of the monitor. For example, some monitors are mounted on pedestals which provide several degrees of motion, including rotary, swivel, etc., to the monitor. These motions would be curtailed with an add-on system that attaches to the bottom of the display.  
           [0010]    In view of the above a speaker kit requiring no retrofitting of the base monitor does not limit motion of the base monitor or does not increase the footprint of the base monitor is required.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The present invention solves the above problems by providing a speaker bezel assembly having a “Slip-On” bezel with integrated speakers and channels that slides over the bezel of the base monitor when the speaker assembly is being attached or removed from the base monitor. Because the speaker bezel assembly slides on the monitor bezel when it is being attached and sits snugly (integrated) against the bezel of the monitor when said speaker bezel assembly is in its home position there are no lateral extensions of the base monitor. As a consequence the speaker bezel assembly is suitable for use in the checkerboard configuration of monitors.  
           [0012]    More particularly, the speaker assembly includes a bezel with side members integrally connected to enclose an opening there between. The opening provides the space through which pictures on the display screen of the monitor can be viewed. The bezel includes a pair of integrated channels with each one of the pair being positioned on opposite ones of a pair of the side members. The channels allow the speaker bezel to be slid on the bezel of the display (hereinafter display bezel) and assists in retaining the speaker bezel against the display bezel when the bezel is in its home position. Speakers and associated electronics are also integrated into the bezel. Power cable and signal cables are also, operatively, coupled to the electronics.  
           [0013]    Another benefit is that the bezel mount speaker assembly of the present invention provides backward compatibility in that it can be used without modifying the base monitors.  
           [0014]    Finally, the bezel mount speaker solution does not impede the movement which was built in the base module. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of the integrated speaker assembly being removed or mounted onto a monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 shows a rear perspective view of the integrated speaker assembly partially mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 shows a front perspective view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted (home position) on the monitor according to teachings of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 shows a rear perspective view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 shows a plan front view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 shows a plan side view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8 shows a rear plan view of the integrated speaker assembly fully mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 9, including  9 A- 9 E, shows cross-sectional views of the speaker assembly mounted on the monitor according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 10 shows a front perspective view of the integrated speaker assembly with the speaker system disassembled to show its components according to teachings of the present invention.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 11 shows a top plan view of the integrated speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 12 shows a front plan view of the speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 13 shows a side plan view with signal and power conductors of the speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 14 shows a front perspective view of the speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 15 shows a rear perspective view of the speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 16 shows a schematic of the electrical circuit that drives the speaker.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 17 shows a computer system in which the present invention is used. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0032]    The bezel speaker assembly described herein can be used with any type of monitors. It works well with the flat panel monitors such as the IBM T541A and T560 flat panel monitors, and as such will be described in that environment. However, this should not be construed as a limitation upon the scope of the invention since it is well within the skill of one skilled in the art to make minor changes to the invention described herein and adopt the teachings to other types of monitors. The claims and teachings are intended to cover any type of minor modification to the disclosed invention.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of a computer system in which the present invention can be used. The computer system includes computer  10 , I/O cabling system  12  and I/O devices  14 . The I/O cabling system  12  interconnects the I/O devices  14  to the computer  10 . The I/O devices  14  includes conventional I/O devices such as keyboards, monitors, scanners, pointing devices, etc. These types of I/O devices are well known in the prior art and therefore will not be discussed further. Suffice it to say that the present invention described herein provides a speaker assembly which can be attached to the bezel of the monitor.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly  16  partially mounted to the bezel of a flat panel monitor  18 . For purposes of distinction the bezel in which the speaker systems are integrated are referred to herein as “speaker bezel”. Likewise, the bezel which surrounds the display panel of the flat panel monitor  18  is referred to as the “monitor bezel”.  
         [0035]    Turning to FIG. 2 for the moment, a rear prospective view of the partially mounted speaker bezel assembly  16  and the flat panel monitor  18  are shown. For purposes of description elements which are common are identified by the same numeral in the various views of the drawings. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 the flat panel monitor  18  includes base  20  fixedly connected to pedestal  22 . The monitor housing  18 ′ is coupled by coupling  18 ″ to pedestal  22 . The coupling  18 ″ can take many conventional forms which allows the housing  18 ′ to move relative to pedestal  22  and the base  20 . For example, the motion may be rotary, swivel, etc. These types of coupling that provide motion to the monitor is well known in the prior art and will not be discussed further.  
         [0036]    Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the monitor  18  includes monitor bezel  24  that surrounds the display panel and is connected to housing  18 ′. As will be discussed in more detail herein, the speaker bezel of the integrated bezel speaker system is identical in shape and geometry to the monitor bezel. The speaker bezel is manufactured with surfaces and channels that slide on the surfaces of display bezel  24  in the directions shown by arrow  26  to be seated on the monitor or to be removed from the monitor. As is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to place the integrated bezel speaker assembly onto the flat panel monitor the lower portion of the speaker bezel is aligned with the top of the monitor bezel. The speaker bezel is then slid downwardly in the direction shown by arrow  26  until it reaches the bottom of the monitor whereat it is fully aligned with the monitor bezel and completely covers the monitor bezel from view. The speaker bezel is now placed in juxtaposition with the display bezel that surrounds the display screen of the monitor which can be viewed through the opening of the integrated bezel speaker assembly.  
         [0037]    Turning to FIG. 2 for the moment, a plurality of guide members  28  are fabricated on the back surface of the speaker bezel. As will be explained subsequently, these guides are used to harness wires that are used to interconnect the speakers in the assembly.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIGS. 3 and 4 show front and rear prospective views of the integrated bezel speaker assembly  16  fully seated on the flat panel monitor. It should be noted that when fully seated the bezel speaker assembly is fully integrated with the monitor bezel and extends in the plane perpendicular to that of the viewing screen of the monitor. Surface  18 ′″ of the monitor bezel and surface  16 ′ of the speaker bezel are placed in juxtaposition surrounding the display screen.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIGS. 5 and 6 show front plan view and side plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly fully mounted on the bezel of the flat panel monitor  18 . A plurality of openings  30  are provided in housing  18 ′. The openings  30  provide cooling to the internals of the flat panel monitor  18 . The speaker bezel  16  is fabricated with a flange  16 ′ that contains a plurality of openings through which rotary wheel  32  that adjusts the volume of the speaker protrudes. ON/OFF switch  34  that controls power to the integrated bezel speaker assembly also protrudes through one of the holes in the flange and also collects control support bracket  16 ′. An indicator  36  also protrudes through holes in the control bracket  16 ′ and headphone jack  38  which accepts a headphone cable (not shown) is also provided through the control bracket  16 ′.  
         [0040]    Still referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, controls  40  are provided at the bottom of the flat panel display and are used for controlling the operation of the monitor. The controls are conventional controls and will not be discussed further in this application. As can be seen in FIG. 5, when the integrated bezel speaker assembly is fully seated on the flat panel display the surface (monitor bezel) and surface  16 ′ (speaker bezel) are orientated in juxtaposition surrounding the viewing screen of the monitor. The other surfaces of the monitor bezel are fully coupled by the integrated monitor bezel  16 .  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 8 shows a rear plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly fully mounted on the flat panel monitor. A mesh of lattice opening  24  provides cooling to the internals of the monitor. The speaker bezel  16  is also shown in this plan rear view fully mounted on the flat panel monitor.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 7 shows a top plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly  16  mounted on the flat panel monitor  18 . A plurality of openings  42  provide cooling to the inside components of monitor  18 . The integrated bezel  16  fully covers the monitor bezel in this view. Brackets  44  and  46  are fabricated in the speaker bezel and define the area on the speaker bezel whereat the speaker subassembly (details set forth hereinafter) is mounted. It should be noted that coupler  18 ″, pedestal  22  and base  20  of monitor  18  are also seen from this top plan view.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 9, including FIGS.  9 A- 9 E, shows the cross-section of the speaker bezel assembly and the monitor. FIG. 9A shows section CC and FIG. 9E shows section XO-XO. FIG. 9D, detail C, shows the right side speaker assembly. The components in the right side speaker assembly are captioned “R”. For example, the right speaker is captioned “R speaker” and so forth. The coaction between monitor bezel  120 , monitor housing  118  and speaker bezel  116  are clearly shown. In particular, the speaker bezel  116  has a flat surface and a channel riding against monitor bezel  120 .  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 9C, detail B, shows the left speaker assembly. Each component in the left speaker assembly is captioned with an “L”. For example, the left speaker is captioned “L speaker” and so forth. As with the right side speaker assembly the coaction between speaker bezel  116 , monitor bezel  120  and monitor housing  118  are also shown.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 9B, detail A, shows the coaction between monitor housing  118 , monitor bezel  120  and speaker bezel  116 .  
         [0046]    Having described the integral bezel speaker assembly in combination with the flat panel monitor the integral bezel speaker assembly alone will now be described.  
         [0047]    [0047]FIGS. 10, 14 and  15  show front prospective views and rear prospective view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention. The integrated bezel speaker assembly includes a bezel  44  having a plurality of side members  44 ′ integrally connected and surrounding an opening  46 . When mounted to the bezel of a monitor the opening provides the space through which the flat panel display can be viewed. Preferably the bezel  44  is dye cast from hard rubber or plastic material. For purposes of discussion the right side of the Figures correspond with the right side of someone viewing the Figures. Likewise, the left side of the Figures correspond to the left side of someone viewing the Figures. With this orientation the bezel casting includes a pair of left brackets  48  and  50  and a pair of right brackets  52  and  54 . The left brackets  48  and  50  indicate the area whereat the left speaker assembly, shown disassembled in FIG. 10 and assembled in FIG. 14, is to be mounted.  
         [0048]    Similarly, right brackets  52  and  54  delineate the area in the bezel where the right speaker assembly is to be mounted. Bosses  56  and  58  are fabricated in the areas for the left speaker assembly and the areas for the right speaker assembly. The bosses coact with fastening elements (such as screws, not shown) to hold the other components of the respective speaker assembly firmly against the bezel  44 . A plurality of guide members shown as dots, two of which are identified by numeral  60 , form guides or harnesses through which wires are routed.  
         [0049]    Still referring to FIG. 10, the right side speaker assembly includes volume circuit board  62  on which electrical circuits (to be discussed hereinafter), volume wheel  64 , power switch  66 , LED  68  and a jack receptacle  70  are mounted. The volume circuit board  62  and the enunciated components including electrical circuitry (to be discussed hereinafter) are mounted on the board and the board is firmly attached in the area between brackets  52  and  54 , respectively. The volume wheel  64 , power switch  66 , Light Emitting Diode  68  and the headphone receptacle  70  protrude through appropriate openings provided in the control and connector support bracket  70 . It should be noted that the control support bracket  70  is part of the casting of bezel  44 . The right speaker assembly further includes a right front plate  72 , right speaker frame  74 , right speaker  76 , and right speaker grill  78 . The right speaker  76  is a flat panel speaker driven by magnetic driver  80 . The magnetic driver  80  is coupled to the electrical circuit (to be described hereinafter). Adhesive member  80  connects the right speaker  76  to speaker frame  74 . The speaker frame and attached flat panel speaker is then fixedly connected to the right front plate  72  by screws or any other suitable connectors. The same connectors or others if necessary are used to connect the right front plate  72  to the bezel  44 . A right speaker grill  78  which is a decorative covering coacts with bezel  44  to cover the flat panel speaker and other components forming the right speaker assembly  78  (FIG. 14).  
         [0050]    Still referring to FIG. 10, the left speaker assembly includes an amplifier circuit board  82 , a left front plate  84 , a left speaker frame  86 , a left flat panel speaker  88  with magnetic driver  89  and a left speaker grill  90 . The disassembled components on the left speaker assembly are assembled in a way similar to that described for the right speaker assembly. In the embodiment shown the power amplifier that provides power to the speaker is mounted on a separate circuit board with circuits and is wired to the right side speaker and circuits on the volume circuit board  62 . However, this should not be a limitation on the scope of this invention because it is a designer&#39;s choice to mount all the electric components and circuitry on one circuit board or two circuit boards as is shown in the Figure. The partitioning of the electrical components is a matter of design choice and does not limit the scope of the invention. Turning to FIG. 14 for the moment, the assembled left side speaker assembly and right side speaker assembly and the bezel are shown. The left speaker grill  90  and right speaker grill  78  form decorative covers for the respective speaker assembly.  
         [0051]    It should be noted that although the invention is described as using flat panel speakers this teaching is only illustrative and should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention, since any type of speakers, including but not limited to cone-based transducers, can be used without deviating from the teachings of the present invention.  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 15 shows a rear prospective view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly. Surfaces  92  and  94  ride against the front surface of the monitor bezel when the bezel assembly is attached or removed from the flat panel monitor.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 11 shows a top plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention. The top plan view shows top surface  44 ″ and brackets  50  and  52 . As stated before, brackets  50  and  52  delineate the area whereat the right side speaker assembly and left side speaker assembly are mounted.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 12 shows a front plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention. The view shows opening  46  through which the flat panel display screen is viewed when the integrated bezel speaker assembly is mounted to a flat panel monitor. The right speaker grill  78 , left speaker grill  90 , top front surface  44 ′ and bottom front surface  44 ′ of the speaker bezel is also shown.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 13 shows a right side plan view of the integrated bezel speaker assembly according to the teachings of the present invention. The view shows the controls and bracket  70  with control components (previously described protruding there through. In addition, audio conductor  92  is operatively connected to circuits (to be described hereinafter) on the right circuit board. A molded plug  92 ′ is connected to one end of conductor  92 . The plug  92 ′ coacts with a sound card on a computer or like device to provide audio signals to the speaker system. A power distribution system comprising of molded receptacle  94 , conductors  96 ,  98  and molded plug  100  is also provided. The molded receptacle  98  is attached to a power source to provide a desired voltage. Conductor  98  and molded plug  100  provide power to the monitor on which integrated bezel speaker  16  is mounted. Likewise, conductor  96  provides power to the circuitry on the right circuit board from which it is distributed over suitable cabling to the left speaker assembly.  
         [0056]    The flat panel speakers are based upon conventional technology. Therefore, further description is not warranted.  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 16 shows a schematic for the electrical circuit that drives the flat panel speakers and other components of the integrated speaker assembly. The molded plug  92 ′ connects to a PC output jack (not shown) and provides an analog audio input signal. Power to the circuitry is provided at terminal  112  while terminal  114  provides the output from stereo amplifier  110  that drives a magnet which vibrates the flat panel speaker. Even though any type of stereo amplifier can be used in the circuit arrangement in the preferred embodiment of this invention stereo amplifier  110  is the Phillips TDA 1517 manufactured by Phillips. This particular amplifier has a fixed gain of approximately 20 dB. The ON/OFF LED indicator is coupled through resistor R 1  to an OFF switch and one input of the stereo amplifier. The ON/OFF switch controls the power to the amplifier while the LED tells if the amplifier is on or off. The other functional components of the circuit include high frequency EMC filtering circuit  102 , volume wheel control circuit  104 , low pass filter circuit  106  and high pass filter circuit  108 . The high frequency EMC filtering circuit  102  filters high frequency signals to minimize EMC problems associated with the circuit. The high frequence EMC filtering circuit includes capacitor C 12 , C 11  and C 31  which are coupled to the audio signal input lines and ground potential as shown in the schematic. The volume wheel control circuit  104  includes dual variable resistors VR 1 A and VR 1 B (dual potentiometers) that are coupled to the volume control wheel and control the volume of the speakers. The low pass filter circuit  106  and the high pass filter circuit  108  define the frequency range over which the speakers are permitted to operate. Capacitors C 16  and C 15  in the circuit provide the 3 dB cut-off frequency low pass filter. Likewise, the high pass cut off frequency is controlled by high pass filter circuit  108 . Capacitors C 31  and C 25  in the circuit  108  provide the 3 decibel cut-off frequency for high pass filter. In the preferred embodiment of this invention 0.01 uF is used to filter frequency below 300 MHZ. In the low frequency cut-off filter a 1200 pf for a 3 dB cut-off frequency of 20 kilohertz was used. Table 1 lists values for the components used in FIG. 16. In Table 1 component names are listed on the left-hand side and component values are listed on the right-hand side. For example R 1  is a resistor value 1K ohms and so forth. These values are only examples of a specific embodiment and should not be used to limit the scope or teaching of the present invention.  
                                                                                                             TABLE 1                                   NAME OF COMPONENT   VALUE OF COMPONENT                                        R12, R51, R11   0   ohm           C12, C51, C11   10   pf           R15, R16   4.7K   ohm                R29, R30   not populated                C15, C16   1200   pF           C19, C20   0.22   uF           R16, R17   0   ohm                R19, R20   not populated                C25, Cxx   0.01   uF           C31   100   uF           C26, C27   220   uf           R21, R22   0   ohm           C32   .1   uF           C1   470   uF           R1   1K   ohm                      
 
         [0058]    Based upon the above description and drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the particular embodiments shown and described herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or central characteristics. References to details of particular embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.  
         [0059]    In summary, the speaker system described herein includes the following benefits and advantages:  
         [0060]    1) provide a “slip-on” means to provide an “integrated looking” speaker option  
         [0061]    2) that doesn&#39;t inhibit the monitors degree and range of rotation/skew/movement,  
         [0062]    3) that doesn&#39;t require the addition of mechanical/electrical hooks made in the original flat panel monitor (adding unnecessary additional cost to the monitor),  
         [0063]    4) allowing a customer to configure a 3×3 checkboard of flat panel monitors on a wall, with all the monitors pressed up against one another—whereby this speaker product doesn&#39;t interfere with the adjacent monitor&#39;s image, for example in a company&#39;s lobby or conference room.  
         [0064]    5) aesthetically pleasing by only having 2 wires come out of the speaker product—a power cord (which is very short and mounts to the monitor, so it may not be visible anyway, and the audio signal cable which plugs into the PC&#39;s line-out jack. Having many visible wires attaching the desktop mounted speakers (current art of most PCs) is a common customer complaint, in which we made our invention the way we did, to solve as well.  
         [0065]    6) our invention can be used with any type of speakers including flat panel, Cone technology, etc.  
         [0066]    7) providing the 0 footprint to both the desk and the monitor.