LOUD SPEAKER MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT

Abstract: The apparatus describes a loudspeaker (112) mounting arrangement particularly suitable for in-car handsfree telephones. A jointed connection means links (110) the speaker to a clamp (108). The clamp (108) attaches to the support stems (104) of a vehicle seat (102). A suitable arrangement is a telescopically expanding rod with concave ends for fixing between the stems. The speaker (112), ideally distributed mode, lies behind the vehicle seat (102).

Description: LOUD SPEAKER MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT This invention relates to a loud speaker mounting arrangement Such equipment often takes the form of a headset which the user can wear which incorporates both earphones and a microphone The difficulty with such an arrangement is that if it is worn all the time while driving this becomes somewhat uncomfortable after a time and there is the matter of the fact that over a journey taking an hour or more, the phone may only be in use for a few minutes Thus people are not encouraged to wear the equipment However, to put it on for use while actually driving is probably more dangerous than using the telephone as it is Other proposals have been made using loud speakers but there are problems with providing suitable places for placing More complex systems can be integrated into the vehicle audio system, but the cost of such an arrangement is significant According to a first aspect of the invention, a loudspeaker mounting arrangement comprises a loud speaker unit, mounting means enabling mounting of the unit on the back of a vehicle seat and jointed connection mans between the loud speaker unit and the mounting means Preferably the mounting means is designed to enable mounting on a seat headrest Where the headrest has a pair of upright supports, the mounting means may be adapted to be attached to the supports The mounting means may comprise a telescopically arranged fixing bar having recesses in the region of the ends of the bar for receiving the upright supports The telescopic parts of the fixing bar may be spring biassed to a position which causes retention of the upright supports in the recesses In a second aspect, the present invention provides an in-car audio reproduction apparatus comprising a loudspeaker attached to a mounting means, the mounting means comprising at least one engagement point adapted for engagement with a support stem of the vehicle headrest It is preferred if there are two engagement points, thus enabling the mounting means to attach to the usual two support stems of the vehicle headrest In this case, the engagement means can comprise outward facing concave recesses, preferably biassed apart They can, for example, be ends of a telescopically arranged fixing bar as set out above An alternative engagement point is a clamp The speaker is preferable a distributed mode loudspeaker These are described in WO-A-97/09842, and offer significant advantages in this context due to their thin nature It is preferred that the mounting means is arranged such that the speaker depends therefrom behind the vehicle seat The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which - Figure 1 is a schematic view of a loudspeaker mounting arrangement in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view of the fixing bar of the arrangement of Figure 1 in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing a fixing bar in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, Figure 4 is a side view of a third embodiment of the invention, Figure 5 is a view from the rear of the embodiment of figure 4, and Figure 6 is a top view of the embodiment of figures 4 and 5 Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown a flat panel or distributed mode loudspeaker unit 1 which is to be carried by the two uprights 3 of the driver's seat headrest 5 of a car The unit is intended to provide a hands-free arrangement for a mobile phone To this end the loudspeaker unit is carried on an arm 7 which is attached by means of a swivel joint 9 to a fixing bar 1 1 Details of two forms of fixing bar will be described hereafter with reference to Figures 2 and 3 The loudspeaker unit 1 comprises a frame 13 carrying a transmission board 15 for the transmission of sound through a grille 17 Fitted at the top of the unit is a built-in microphone 17 Wiring for the transmission board 15 and the microphone 17 are carried through the arm 7 to the fixing bar 1 1 and from the fixing bar 1 1 it takes the form of an interface cable 19 connected to a mobile phone connector 21 The power supply for the unit is provided by a cable 23 to a plug 25 for connection to the car cigar lighter Two forms of fixing bar 1 1 will now be considered in more detail. A first form of fixing bar 1 1 comprises two sleeves 31 and 33, each open at one end, the open end of sleeve 3 1 being telescopically inserted into the open end of the sleeve 33 The sleeves 31 and 33 are biassed apart to their maximum extent by a spring 35 acting on the insides of the closed ends of the sleeves The closed ends of the sleeves 31 and 33 are formed with recesses 37 intended to receive the uprights 3 of the headrest At the rear of the sleeve 33 is a connection 39 forming part of the joint 9 for the arm 7 carrying the loudspeaker unit 1 This connection 39 extends beyond the end of the sleeve 33 so as to leave the joint 9 clear of the uprights 3 To attach the loudspeaker to the uprights 3 of the headrest 5, the two sleeves 31 and 33 are pushed towards each other, reducing the length of the fixing bar to a length which is less than the spacing between the two uprights 3 The fixing bar 11 can then be placed between the uprights 3 and orientated such that the recesses 37 are aligned to receive the uprights 3 The sleeves 31 and 33 are gently released so that the spring 35 will push them apart and ensure that the recesses 37 are tightly engaged with the uprights 3 The cables 19 and 20 can then be connected and the loudspeaker/microphone unit is ready for use. In use, the position of the loudspeaker unit can be adjusted by moving the unit about the pivot joint 9 To remove the unit from the headrest, the cables 19 and 23 are first disconnected and then the sleeves 31 and 33 are again pushed together to reduce the length of the fixing bar 11 so that it can easily be removed from the uprights 3 A second form of fixing bar 11 comprises two sleeves 41 and 43, each open at one end, the open end of sleeve 41 being telescopically inserted into the open end of the sleeve 43 Unlike in the first form, the sleeves 41 and 43 are pulled together by a spring 45 positively connected to the insides of the closed ends of the sleeve The closed ends of the sleeves 41 and 43 are formed with L-shaped recesses 47 having sideways facing openings 49 intended to receive the uprights 3 of the headrest 5 At the rear of the sleeve 43 is a connection 51 forming part of the joint 9 for the arm 7 carrying the loudspeaker unit 1 This connection 51 extends beyond the end of the sleeve 43 so as to leave the joint 9 clear of the uprights 3 To attach the loudspeaker unit to the uprights 3 of the headrest 5, the two sleeves 41 and 43 are pulled apart until the openings 49 of the recesses 47 are aligned with the uprights 3, whereupon, the fixing bar 11 is moved forward so that the uprights 3 enter the recesses 47 Once the uprights are in place in the recesses 47, the sleeves 41 and 43 are released causing the fixing bar 1 1 to reduce in length and cause the uprights 3 to enter the base of the L of the recesses 47 and be retained by the overhang 53 of the recesses The cables 19 and 20 can then be connected and the loudspeaker/microphone unit is ready for use To remove the unit from the headrest, the cables 19 and 23 are first disconnected and then the sleeves 31 and 33 are again pulled apart to bring the uprights 3 into line with the openings 49 of the recesses 47 so that the fixing bar 1 1 can easily be removed from the uprights 3 These forms of fixing units are particularly easy to connect and disconnect As a result, they are preferred However, other forms of fixing such as simple clamps can also be used If the unit is not to be used with a mobile phone but with a stereo playing unit, the microphone could be dispensed with and a second loudspeaker unit could be mounted on the other end of the fixing bar Figures 4 to 6 illustrate a second form of the invention, allowing an alternative loudspeaker positioning Once again, the mount attaches to a vehicle seat 102, specifically to the two stems 104 that support the headrest 106 The engagement with the stems 104 can be by any of the forms described and/or illustrated above, but is again preferably as that illustrated in figure 2 or figure 3 Thus, this arrangement involves an engagement means 108 which attaches to the stems 104, and from the rear of which extends a body portion 1 10 This can contain any necessary electrical apparatus, and also serves as a spacer to distance the rear thereof from the seat 102 At the rear lower edge, a speaker panel 112 is hinged at 114 This contains a distributed mode speaker, and can therefore be very thin As such, it can fit easily in the space between the seat 102 and a rear passenger behind A protrusion 116 on the speaker panel 1 12 allows space for the necessary transducer of the distributed mode loudspeaker (see WO-A-97/09842) and also spaces the panel 1 12 from the rear of the seatback It has been found that positioning of the speaker in this way still offers good audio reproduction at volume levels that can be heard clearly and distinctly by the driver, despite the fact that the seat lies between the driver and the speaker. In addition, this arrangement employs the available space within a vehicle in an extremely efficient manner It will be appreciated that the above described embodiments are susceptible to modifications or additions without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the joint 9, instead of being a straight hinge as shown, can be a ball-type joint allowing a universal movement of the unit.

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement comprising a loud speaker unit, mounting means enabling mounting of the unit on the back of a vehicle seat and jointed connection means between the loud speaker unit and the mounting means 2 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 1 which is adapted to enable mounting on a seat headrest 3 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 2 in which the headrest has a pair of upright supports 4 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 3 in which the mounting means is adapted to be attached to the supports 5 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 4 in which the mounting means comprises a telescopically arranged fixing bar having recesses in the region of the ends of the bar for receiving the upright supports 6 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 5 in which the telescopic parts of the fixing bar are biassed to a position which causes retention of the upright supports in the recesses 7 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 6 in which the biassing is by a spring 8 A loudspeaker mounting arrangement according to Claim 6 in which the biassing is by a compression spring 9 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus comprising a loudspeaker attached to a mounting means, the mounting means comprising at least one engagement point adapted for engagement with a support stem of the vehicle headrest 10 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 9, in which there are two engagement points, thus enabling the mounting means to attach to two support stems of the vehicle headrest 11 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 10 in which the engagement means comprises outward facing concave recesses 12 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 1 1 in which the engagement means are biassed apart 13 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 10 in which the mounting means comprises a telescopically arranged fixing bar having recesses in the region of the ends of the bar for receiving the upright supports 14. An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 11 in which the telescopic parts of the fixing bar are biassed to a position which causes retention of the upright supports in the recesses 15 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 12 in which the biassing is by a spring 16 An in-car audio reproduction apparatus according to Claim 12 in which the biassing is by compression spring. 17 Apparatus according to any preceding claim in which the speaker is a distributed mode loudspeaker 18 Apparatus according to any preceding claim adapted such that the speaker depends therefrom behind the vehicle seat 19 Apparatus substantially as any one described herein with reference to and/or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings

Inventors: PARMLEY CHARLES, PARMLEY, CHARLES
Applicants: HOSIDEN BESSON LTD, PARMLEY CHARLES, HOSIDEN BESSON LIMITED, PARMLEY, CHARLES
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B60R11
IPC codes: B60R11, H04R7