Abstract:
An electronic device is provided. The electronic device at least comprises a speaker module. The speaker module includes: a speaker module frame having an accommodating hole; a microspeaker accommodated in the accommodating hole; a front cover disposed at a first side of the speaker module frame, a front sound enclosure being formed between the front cover and the speaker module frame, the front cover having a plurality of tone holes; a rear cover disposed at a second side of the speaker module frame, the second side being opposite to the first side, a rear sound enclosure being formed between the rear cover and the speaker module frame.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 93107218, filed on Mar. 18, 2004.  
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention generally relates to a speaker module and a speaker module frame, and more particularly to a speaker module frame, a speaker module, and a electronic device with the speaker module for improving the sound quality.  
         [0004]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     In the modern era, people rely heavily on the electronic products. For example, mobile phones, computers, audio-video products are ubiquitous. I.e., the electronic products are almost indispensable for our daily life. As the electronic technology advances, the new electronic products with more personalized functions have been developed. Among those electronic products, the mobile phones are prevailing because of the advancement of the communication technology. Almost everyone in the urban areas owns a mobile phone.  
         [0006]     As for the mobile phone, the developers have been tried to reduce the weight and the size of the mobile phones so that it can be portable. Further, the developers have also tried to increase the functions and reduce the radiation of the mobile phones. The compact size of the mobile phone is the trend for those developers. However, the elements in the mobile phone are arranged in a manner to reduce the size of the mobile phone. As for the speaker, as the size of the mobile phone gets smaller and smaller, most mobile phone designers are unaware of the advantage of the space in front of and behind the speaker to acquire the better sound quality. Due to the worse design of the sound box, the sound quality is affected seriously. Therefore, how to provide the proper space in front of and behind the speaker to acquire the better sound quality for mobile phone, PDA, smart telephone, or the other handheld electronic devices is an important issue.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a conventional microspeaker in a handheld electronic device. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the conventional microspeaker  100  is disposed inside the handheld electronic device  10 . The case  10  in front of the microspeaker  100  has a plurality of tone holes  12  so that the sound made by the microspeaker  100  can be outputted through the tone holes  12 . To provide the front sound enclosure, the case  10  for disposing the microspeaker  100  has the protruding frame  14 . Traditionally, the microspeaker  100  is attached on the protruding frame  14  via the sealing rubber  20 . To provide the better sound quality by the microspeaker  100 , the space of the front sound enclosure depends on the height h of the protruding frame  14  and the area A of the microspeaker  100 . For example, if the microspeaker  100  requires the front sound enclosure with 300 cm 3 , the multiplication of the area A of the microspeaker  100  the height h of the protruding frame  14  (i.e. A*h) has to be larger than 300 cm 3 .  
         [0008]     However, to follow the trend toward the compact size of the handheld electronic devices, the manufactures will makes the microspeaker  100  much closer to the case  10 , which would significantly reduce the space of the front sound enclosure and thus the sound quality of the microspeaker  100  is being sacrificed. In addition, the microspeaker  100  is attached on the protruding frame  14 . In the handheld electronic device with a compact size, most circuits are disposed in a very limited space, which affects the resonance of sound enclosure of the microspeaker  100  because there is no space around the microspeaker  100  for resonance.  
         [0009]     Therefore, even if the microspeaker  100  has no sound quality issue when tested, when it is installed into the handheld electronic device, the sound quality of the microspeaker  100  will significantly deteriorate due to the improper space arrangement.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention is directed to a speaker module with the built-in front sound enclosure and rear sound enclosure for the clients convenience so that the client can install it into the electronic device without considering the space arrangement.  
         [0011]     The present invention is directed to an electronic device for improving the sound quality of the speaker module of the electronic device.  
         [0012]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a speaker module frame, suitable for disposing a microspeaker therein is provided. The speaker module frame comprises a main portion having an accommodating hole for accommodating the microspeaker; and an extending portion, extending from a side of the main portion to form a fixed resonance space for the microspeaker.  
         [0013]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a speaker module and an electronic device with the speaker module are provided. The speaker module includes a speaker module frame having an accommodating hole; a microspeaker accommodated in the accommodating hole; a front cover disposed at a first side of the speaker module frame, a front sound enclosure being formed between the front cover and the speaker module frame, the front cover having a plurality of tone holes; a rear cover disposed at a second side of the speaker module frame, the second side being opposite to the first side, a rear sound enclosure being formed between the rear cover and the speaker module frame.  
         [0014]     In an embodiment of the present invention, the area of the speaker module frame facing the front sound enclosure is larger than the area of the microspeaker. The speaker module frame includes a plurality of positioning slices extending from a sidewall of the accommodating hole to a center of the accommodating hole for positioning the microspeaker.  
         [0015]     In an embodiment of the present invention, the microspeaker includes a speaker vibration system and a magnetic loop; the speaker vibration system is a vibration film having a coil.  
         [0016]     In light of the above, the frame of speaker module, the speaker module therewith, and the electronic device with the speaker module of the present invention use the extending wall of the frame of the speaker module to form a resonance space in front of the microspeaker. Hence, the present invention can make sure there is a sufficient resonance space when the microspeaker is installed in the electronic device so that the microspeaker can provide a good sound quality.  
         [0017]     The above is a brief description of some deficiencies in the prior art and advantages of the present invention. Other features, advantages and embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, accompanying drawings and appended claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a conventional microspeaker in a handheld electronic device.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2A  is a top view of the frame of the speaker module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2B  is a bottom view of the frame of the speaker module of  FIG. 2A .  
         [0021]      FIG. 2C  is a side view of the speaker module using the frame of  FIG. 2A .  
         [0022]      FIG. 2D  is a front view of the speaker module using the frame of  FIG. 2A  and the microspeaker.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]     The present invention provides a speaker module with the built-in front sound enclosure and rear sound enclosure for the clients convenience so that the client can directly install it into the electronic device without considering the space arrangement.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2A  is a top view of the frame of the speaker module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2B  is a bottom view of the frame of the speaker module of  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 2C  is a side view of the speaker module using the frame of  FIG. 2A .  FIG. 2D  is a front view of the speaker module using the frame of  FIG. 2A  and the microspeaker.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 2A-2D , the speaker module  200  includes a speaker module frame  210 . The speaker module frame  210  is a one piece structure formed by plastic injection molding. The speaker module frame  210  includes a main portion  220  having an accommodating hole and an extending portion  230 . In an embodiment, the shape of the speaker module frame  210  can be a rectangle; the accommodating hole  212  for accommodating a microspeaker  250  is formed by scooping a hole in the main portion  220 . The microspeaker  250  includes a speaker vibration system and a magnetic loop. The speaker vibration system is a vibration film with a coil. The extending portion  230  extends from a side of the main portion  220 . There is a protruding portion  240  around the main portion  220  and the extending portion  230 . The protruding portion  240  encloses a resonance space S 1 . The resonance space S 1  is in front of the accommodating hole  212 . Therefore, when the microspeaker  250  is installed in the accommodating hole  212 , there is a resonance space S 1  in front of the microspeaker  250 . The resonance space S 1  can be the front sound enclosure of the microspeaker  250 . The size of the resonance space S 1  will affect the performance of the speaker module  200 . Hence, the height of the protruding portion  240  depends on the characteristics of the microspeaker  250  in order to provide the best front sound enclosure.  
         [0027]     In addition, the total area of the main portion  220  and the extending portion  230  is larger than the area of the microspeaker  250  so as to obtain a larger resonance space S 1 . This is because the sound wave generated by the microspeaker  250  has a larger area. For a fixed space requirement, if the total area of the main portion  220  and the extending portion  230  is larger, the required height of the protruding portion  240  can be reduced. I.e., the thickness of the speaker module  200  can be reduced in order to follow the trend of compact size for the handheld electronic device.  
         [0028]     The main portion  220  of the speaker module frame  210  also includes a plurality of positioning slices  214  extending from a sidewall of the accommodating hole  212  to a center of the accommodating hole  212  for positioning the microspeaker  250 . They also provide the support for the backside F 2  of the microspeaker  250  to prevent the microspeaker  250  from being out of the accommodating hole  212 . In addition, the space between each positioning slice  214  can form a resonance space S 2 . The resonance space S 2  can be the rear sound enclosure for the microspeaker  250 . The size of the resonance space S 2  depends on the characteristics of the microspeaker  250  in order to provide the best front sound enclosure.  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIG. 2C , the speaker module  200  includes the above speaker frame  210 , the microspeaker  250 , the front cover  270 , and the rear cover  280 . The microspeaker  250  is disposed in the accommodating hole  212 ; the microspeaker  250  has a sound side F 1  and a backside F 2 . The front cover  270  is located in front of the resonance space S 1  of the speaker module frame  210  such as being attached at the top of the protruding portion  240 . The front cover  270  is to prevent the microspeaker  250  from being out of the speaker module  210 . The front cover has a plurality of tone holes  272 . The tone holes  272  are located in front of the accommodating hole  212 . I.e., when the speaker module is assembled, the sound generated by the microspeaker  250  can pass through the tone holes  272  on the front cover  270  to the outside. In addition, another important purpose of the front cover  270  is to form the resonance space S 1  as the front sound enclosure for the microspeaker  250 . This arrangement is to prevent the other elements from affecting the resonance space S 1  after the speaker module  200  is installed in the electronic device.  
         [0030]     In addition, the sound side F 2  of the microspeaker  250  includes a rear cover  280  fixed on the speaker module frame  210  in order to form the resonance space S 2 . The resonance space S 2  can be the rear sound enclosure of the microspeaker  250 . The speaker module frame  210 , the front cover  270 , and the rear cover  280  are fixed together to be the speaker module  200 . This speaker module  200  includes the built-in front sound enclosure and rear sound enclosure for the clients convenience so that the user can install it into the electronic device without considering the space arrangement.  FIG. 2D  is a front view of the speaker module using the frame  210  of  FIG. 2A  and the microspeaker  250 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIGS. 2C and 3 , the electronic device  350  uses the speaker module  200  of  FIG. 2C . The electronic device  350  can be the mobile phone, PDA, smart telephone, or the other handheld electronic devices. The speaker module  200  includes the above speaker frame  210 , the microspeaker  250 , the front cover  270 , and the rear cover  280 , and is disposed in the case  360  of the electronic device  350 . Because there are reserved spaces inside the speaker module  200  for resonance, i.e., the built-in front sound enclosure and rear sound enclosure, the electronic device  350  with the speaker module  200  can provide an excellent sound quality and volume without being affected by the installation of the speaker module  200 .  
         [0032]     In light of the above, the frame of speaker module, the speaker module therewith, and the electronic device with the speaker module of the present invention uses the extending wall of the frame of the speaker module to form a resonance space and adds a front cover and a rear cover to make sure that the space will not be occupied by the other elements. Hence, the speaker module can keep a sufficient resonance space by installing the microspeaker in the speaker module frame first and then installing the front cover and the rear cover in the electronic device. Hence, the present invention can provide a better sound quality than the prior art and can be still compact.  
         [0033]     The above description provides a full and complete description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Various modifications, alternate construction, and equivalent may be made by those skilled in the art without changing the scope or spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the above description and illustrations should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention which is defined by the following claims.