Abstract:
A speaker applicable to various electronic devices includes a speaker body including a magnet and a diaphragm having a voice coil interacting with the magnet, the magnet and the diaphragm being sequentially received therein; at least one main hole defined through a rear surface of the speaker where a speaker sound is not output, such that air generated in the speaker according to vibration of the diaphragm is discharged therethrough; and at least one auxiliary air hole defined through a predetermined location of a side surface of the body to communicate with an inside of the body, such that air within the speaker is additionally discharged therethrough.

Description:
PRIORITY  
       [0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to an application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jan. 27, 2006 and assigned Serial No. 2006-8938, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates generally to a speaker applicable to various electronic devices, and in particular, to a speaker with an auxiliary air hole, which is configured to ensure sufficient sound volume and quality by allowing smooth discharge of air generated in the speaker as a result of vibration of a diaphragm.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In general, a speaker is operated by interaction between a magnet on a body having a circular receiving part, and a diaphragm provided with a voice coil installed at a predetermined distance from the magnet. When a drive signal is applied to the voice coil, the coil moves up or down according to a direction of a magnetic force line of the magnet, and the intensity and direction of an electromagnetic force line of the voice coil. At this time, the diaphragm vibrates together with the coil. The operation of the diaphragm is repetitively made and thus sound pressure is generated, so that the speaker outputs a sound within an audible frequency range.  
         [0006]     In response to users&#39; demands, small-sized electronic devices using the aforementioned speakers, such as a mobile terminal, an MP3 player, and the like, are becoming lower in volume and increasing their functionality. As for mobile terminals, a so-called ‘slim phone’ that has a slim profile resulting from minimizing the entire thickness of a device is being released, requiring the miniaturization of various components mounted in such a device.  
         [0007]     When the aforementioned speaker is applied to such a device, a rear surface of the speaker, where no sound is output, is substantially attached to a case frame of the device.  
         [0008]     However, the attachment between the rear surface of the speaker and the case frame of the device causes an inner surface of the case frame to block an air hole that is formed at the rear surface of the speaker and serves to discharge air generated by the vibration of the diaphragm. As a result, the air discharge is hindered, which results in a relative small sound volume and degradation in sound quality.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     An object of the present invention is to substantially solve at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages below. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a speaker with an auxiliary air hole, which is configured to allow smooth sound output and prevent degradation of sound quality while contributing to miniaturization of a device.  
         [0010]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a speaker with an auxiliary air hole, which is configured to allow a sufficient amount of air to be discharged even when a space is not provided between a rear surface of the speaker and a case frame of a device.  
         [0011]     According to an aspect of the present invention, a speaker includes: a speaker body including a magnet and a diaphragm having a voice coil interacting with the magnet, the magnet and the diaphragm being sequentially received therein; at least one main hole defined through a rear surface of the speaker where a speaker sound is not output, such that air generated in the speaker according to vibration of the diaphragm is discharged therethrough; and at least one auxiliary air hole defined through a predetermined location of a side surface of the body to communicate with an inside of the body, such that air within the speaker is additionally discharged therethrough. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a mobile terminal with a speaker according to the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of a speaker according to the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the speaker shown in  FIG. 2 ; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the speaker shown in  FIG. 2  when it is installed on a case frame of a device.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail because they would obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail.  
         [0018]     Although a slide type mobile terminal is illustrated and described herein, the present invention may also be applied to other devices having speakers besides a mobile terminal.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a slide type mobile terminal  1  having a speaker  23  according to the present invention.  
         [0020]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the terminal  1  includes a main body  10 , and a slide body  20  configured to be opened/closed with respect to the main body  10  while sliding over a predetermined distance in a longitudinal direction of the terminal  1 . A keypad assembly  11  serving as a data input unit having a plurality of key buttons is installed on a surface of the main body viewed when the slide body opens the main body  10 . Also, a microphone unit  12  is installed under the keypad assembly  11  to transmit a voice of a user to another party during voice communication.  
         [0021]     A display unit  21  is installed over a predetermined area of the slide body  20 . A predetermined auxiliary keypad assembly  22  is installed under the display unit  21 . The auxiliary keypad assembly  22  has key buttons used mostly when the slide body  20  closes the main body  10 . A speaker  23  configured according to the present invention is installed above the display unit  21  to transmit a voice of another party to the user.  
         [0022]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are rear and front perspective views, respectively, of the speaker  23  according to the present invention. In  FIG. 2 , an internal structure of the speaker  23  is not illustrated. The speaker  23  may include therein a well-known magnet  234 , and a diaphragm including a predetermined voice coil operated at a predetermined distance from the magnet  234 . Also, a voice coil is led out from the speaker  23  and receives an electrical signal.  
         [0023]     The magnet and the diaphragm are sequentially received in a speaker body  231 . Even though a part of the magnet  234  protrudes from a rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  herein, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the part of the magnet  234  protruding outward from the rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  serves to maintain a distance from a terminal case frame  25 , shown in  FIG. 4 , to be discharged later. However, regardless of whether the magnet  234  protrudes from the rear surface  232 , an inner surface  251  of the case frame  25 , shown in  FIG. 4 , should be spaced from the rear surface  232  of the speaker  23  at a predetermined distance in a process of installing the speaker  23 , in order to provide a minimum air discharge space  27 , shown in  FIG. 4 , for main air-holes  233 .  
         [0024]     A plurality of main air holes  233  of predetermined shapes are defined through the rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  at regular intervals. The main air holes  233  communicate with the inside of the speaker body  231  and allow the air generated by the vibration of the diaphragm to be discharged. In  FIG. 2 , a plurality of circular air holes is arranged on the rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  in a predetermined arc at regular intervals.  
         [0025]     A pair of auxiliary air holes  238  is formed at side surfaces of the speaker body  231  to face each other. While the auxiliary air hole  238  is shown in the form of a long hole in  FIG. 2 , the auxiliary air hole  238  may be formed in the form of a plurality of circular holes if there is a sufficient space for the air discharge. Hereinafter, only one auxiliary air hole  238  and an air guide  236  corresponding thereto will be described for the purpose of the simplicity of description. Thus, a reference numeral  239  indicates another air guide that has the same shape and function as an air guide  236  to be described later.  
         [0026]     A plate type air guide  236  of a predetermined length extends from the speaker body  231  around the auxiliary air hole  238 . Preferably, the air guide  236  is formed integrally with the speaker body  231  at the time of molding the speaker body  231 . The air guide  236  serves to guide air discharged from the auxiliary air hole  238  to a sufficiently large space within a device. That is, the air guide  236  guides air discharged from the auxiliary air hole  238  in a different direction from a direction in which the air is discharged from the main air holes  233 , thereby enabling a sufficient amount of air to be discharged.  
         [0027]     The air guide  236  preferably has a recess  237 . A flange higher than the recess  237  can be formed around the recess  237 . Preferably, the flange may be formed toward a sufficiently large space in the device to which air discharged from the auxiliary air hole  238  is guided.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  is a partial sectional view of a speaker  23  installed in case frames  25  and  26  of a device. The speaker  23  can be fixed within the slide body  20 , shown in  FIG. 1 , including the upper case frame  26  and the lower case frame  25 .  
         [0029]     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , an upper surface of the speaker body  231  is closely attached to an inner surface  261  of the case frame  26 . Preferably, the body  231  of the speaker  23  is received in a bushing  263  protruding upward from the inner surface  261  of the upper case frame  26 . Also, a rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  is installed with a predetermined gap or space  27  from an inner surface  251  of the lower case frame  25 . The space  27  is formed naturally by a height of the magnet  234  protruding from the rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231 . However, even if the magnet  234  does not protrude from the rear surface  232 , a sufficient predetermined-sized space  27  should be provided. The space  27  is for ensuring the flow of air discharged from the main air holes  233  formed on the rear surface  232  of the speaker  231 .  
         [0030]     An air discharge path of the speaker  23  formed in the aforementioned manner and installed in the terminal case frames  25  and  26  will now be described. The air generated in the speaker  23  according to the vibration of the diaphragm is discharged through the main air holes  233  of the speaker  231 . The discharged air is provided to a sufficiently large space within the device along the space between the rear surface  232  of the speaker body  231  and the inner surface of the lower case frame  25 .  
         [0031]     At the same time, air is also discharged through the auxiliary air holes  238  formed at side surfaces of the speaker body  231 . The air is guided along a recess surrounded by a flange of the air guide  237  and thus is discharged in a predetermined direction (i.e., in a downward direction in  FIG. 4 ). The auxiliary air hole  238  serves to make the air discharge smooth even when the space  27  between the main air holes  233  and the lower case frame  25  is small.  
         [0032]     A speaker according to the present invention includes a separate auxiliary air hole at its side surface in addition to an existing main hole facing a case frame to discharge the air. Thus, a sufficient amount of air can be discharged without being hindered, and therefore, a smooth sound output and high quality sound can be achieved.  
         [0033]     While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.