Patent Publication Number: US-11395054-B2

Title: Speaker module

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2018/124433, filed on Dec. 27, 2018, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201811368270.2, filed on Nov. 16, 2018, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an electro-acoustic conversion apparatus, and more specifically, to a speaker module provided with an in-built static-electricity-removing apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As a result of static electricity, existing speaker modules tends to be damaged in use or suffer from poor performance due to interference. The speaker module generates static electricity for the reasons that: on one hand, the module housing itself will also generate weak current during application or work, and static electricity accumulates continuously and generates a higher voltage when it is released, which easily damages internal components of the module housing and causes product failure; and on the other hand, the other electronic elements or the other internal structures of the electronic device connected to the speaker module may also generate static electricity, which are conducted into the speaker module through contact with the housing. If the static electricity in the module housing cannot be discharged in time, it will cause damage to some fragile electronic parts inside. The approach for removing static electricity in the prior art is essentially to weld a steel sheet outside the speaker housing and then discharge static electricity through the steel sheet, but this approach has the following problems. 
     Firstly, during external welding of the steel sheet, the housing is likely to be damaged due to high temperature and thus has an impact on appearance thereof. 
     Secondly, during external welding of the steel sheet, it is not easy to determine welding position and welding angle for the steel sheet. This may cause poor assembly accuracy and has an impact on product yield. 
     In addition, the approach of externally welding the steel sheet may cause weld marks at a rear end of the steel sheet after welding and assembly, resulting in a poor overall appearance. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide a new technical solution to solve the above technical problems. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a new technical solution for a speaker module. 
     According to the first aspect of the disclosure, a speaker module is provided, comprising a module middle housing and a module upper housing disposed on the module middle housing, the module upper housing is provided thereon with an injection-molded steel sheet and the module middle housing is provided thereon with an in-built static-electricity-removing structure; 
     the static-electricity-removing structure comprises a conductive plastic member and a metal insert connected with the conductive plastic member, the metal insert being injection molded in the module middle housing; 
     the conductive plastic member is fixed on the module middle housing by means of secondary injection molding, and is configured for conduction with an external device; and 
     the metal insert is connected with the injection-molded steel sheet. 
     Optionally, the conductive plastic member comprises a body and a cantilever, the module middle housing has a part for arranging the metal insert and the part forms a boss, the body is fixed on the boss of the module middle housing by means of secondary injection molding, and the cantilever is connected at one end thereof with an upper surface of the body. 
     Optionally, the metal insert comprises two parallel short arms and a long arm connecting the two parallel short arms, the long arm being injection molded in the boss; one of the short arms is a first short arm and the other is a second short arm; the second short arm is connected with the conductive plastic member, and the first short arm is connected with the injection-molded steel sheet. 
     Optionally, the first short arm is exposed from a bottom surface of the boss, and the second short arm is exposed from an upper surface of the boss. 
     Optionally, the second short arm has an upper surface being flush with an upper surface of the boss. 
     Optionally, the speaker module further comprises a module lower housing, the module lower housing is arranged on a side of the module middle housing opposite to the module upper housing and is provided with a through hole at a position corresponding to the boss, and the body is fitted to the through hole. 
     Optionally, the cantilever extends with one end thereof to an outside of a module lower housing. 
     Optionally, the injection-molded steel sheet is provided with a groove at a position where the injection-molded steel sheet is connected with the metal insert, and the metal insert is clamped in the groove. 
     Optionally, the module middle housing is provided with a partition plate for separating a front acoustic cavity and a rear acoustic cavity, and the boss is provided on the partition plate. 
     According to another aspect of the present application, an electronic device is provided, comprising the speaker module described in any one of the above technical solutions. 
     The beneficial effect of the present invention is that: by mounting the conductive plastic member on the middle housing by means of injection molding, the present invention is able to simplify a product structure, optimize a product appearance, achieve the purpose of removing static electricity, and improve the yield of the product. In the prior art, the use of externally welded steel sheets will affect the accuracy and yield of the product. Therefore, the technical task to be achieved or the technical problem to be solved by the present invention has never been thought of or anticipated by those skilled in the art, so the present invention is a new technical solution. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings incorporated in the specification and constituting a part of the specification show embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description thereof, serve to explain the principle of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  is an overall schematic structure diagram of an embodiment of a speaker module of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top schematic structure diagram of an embodiment of a speaker module of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an A-A cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a speaker module of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic structural diagram of the static-electricity-removing structure of an embodiment of a speaker module of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be needed that: unless specifically stated otherwise, the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention. 
     The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is actually merely illustrative, and in no way serves as any limitation on the invention and its application or use. 
     The technologies, methods, and devices known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant fields may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods, and devices should be regarded as part of the specification. 
     In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values should be interpreted as exemplary only and not as limitations. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiment may have different values. 
     It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following figures, so once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent figures. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a speaker module is provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The speaker module comprises a module middle housing  2  and a module upper housing  1  disposed on the module middle housing  2 , wherein the module upper housing  1  is provided thereon with an injection-molded steel sheet and the module middle housing is provided thereon with an in-built static-electricity-removing structure; the static-electricity-removing structure comprises a conductive plastic member and a metal insert connected with the conductive plastic member, and the metal insert is injection molded in the module middle housing; the conductive plastic member is fixed on the module middle housing by means of secondary injection molding, and the conductive plastic member is configured for conduction with an external device; the metal insert is connected with the injection-molded steel sheet. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the module middle housing  2  of the speaker module is made by one injection molding, and the static-electricity-removing structure connects the injection-molded steel sheet to the housing of the device through the metal insert  22  and the conductive plastic member  21 . The static electricity on the injection-molded steel sheet are first conducted to the metal insert  22 , then conducted from the metal insert  22  to the conductive plastic member, and finally conducted to the housing of the external device through the cantilever  212  of the conductive plastic member  21 . When a user holds the device by a hand, the static electricity on the housing are conducted to the ground through the human body. 
     The conductive plastic member  21  is fixed on the module middle housing  2  by means of secondary injection molding. Compared with the means of welding the steel sheet, the solution of the present application adopts the conductive plastic member  21 , which is directly fixed on the middle housing by means of secondary injection molding of the mold during processing, avoiding the process of additional installation for the conductive plastic member. Meanwhile, it can be well controlled in terms of the position and the shape of the conductive plastic member  21 , and obtain the produced product with a good precision and a high yield rate. 
     In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the conductive plastic member  21  comprises a body  211  and a cantilever  212 , a part of the module middle housing  2  for arranging the metal insert  22  forms a boss  23 , the body  211  is fixed on the boss  23  of the module middle housing  2  by means of secondary injection molding, and an end of the cantilever  212  is connected with an upper surface of the body  211 . 
     Further, the top of the boss  23  is correspondingly provided with a recessed part for cooperating with the arrangement of the body  211  of the conductive plastic member. 
     After the installation is completed, the cantilever  212  and a surface of the module lower housing  3  are positioned at a set angle. The cantilever  212  is fixed on the body  211  at one end thereof, and is parallel to the surface of the lower housing with a small section of an end at the free end thereof. The parallel structure of this section facilitates the cantilever  212  to fully contact and connect with the external conductive housing after being assembled, and to better discharge the static electricity. 
     In another optional embodiment of the present invention, the metal insert  22  includes two parallel short arms and a long arm connecting the two short arms, for example, the long arm  223  is perpendicular to the short arms. The long arm is injection molded in the boss  23 . One of the short arms is the first short arm  221  and the other is the second short arm  222 . The first short arm  221  is exposed from the bottom surface of the boss  23 , and the second short arm  222  is exposed from the upper surface of the boss  23 . An upper surface of the second short arm  222  is flush with the upper surface of the boss  23 . 
     The metal insert  22  functions to connect the injection-molded steel sheet and the conductive plastic member  21 , such that the static electricity on the injection-molded steel sheet is conducted to the conductive plastic member  21 , and then is led out from the conductive plastic member  21  to the outer housing. 
     Further, referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first short arm  221  of the metal insert is connected with the injection-molded steel sheet  12 . For example, the first short arm  221  is connected to the injection-molded steel sheet  12  by welding, conductive adhesive bonding or the like. The second short arm  222  is connected to the body of the conductive plastic member  21 . For example, the conductive plastic member  21  is directly connected with the second short arm  222  during the injection molding. 
     The metal insert  22  is fixed inside the boss  23  by means of injection molding, the vertically arranged long arm  223  is embedded in the boss  23 , and the two short arms extend from the upper and lower surfaces of the boss and are respectively in contact with the injection-molded steel sheet  12  and the conductive plastic member  21 . 
     In addition, the upper surface of the second short arm  222  is flush with the upper surface of the boss  23  or slightly protrudes from the upper surface of the boss  23 , which may achieve the connection with the conductive plastic member  21 . 
     When the upper surface of the second short arm  222  is flush with the upper surface of the boss  23 , it saves space, which is beneficial to reduce the thickness of the overall device and to make the product thinner and lighter. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the speaker module further comprises a module lower housing, wherein the module lower housing  3  is arranged on a side of the module middle housing  2  opposite to the module upper housing  1 , and is provided with a through hole at a position corresponding to the boss  23 . The body  211  of the conductive plastic member  21  is fitted and installed in the through hole. 
     The through hole has a size compatible with the size of the boss  23 , so that the boss is just clamped at the through hole during installation for fixing. 
     In addition, the upper part of the boss  23  exposes the surface of the module lower housing  3 . The cantilever  211  of the conductive plastic member  21  is located outside the module lower housing  3 , and is used to discharge the static electricity after being connected to the housing of the external device. That is, the module lower housing  3  is installed on the module middle housing  2 , the upper part of the boss  23  extends out of the through hole, the upper surface extends beyond the upper surface of the module lower housing  3  and the cantilever  212  of the conductive plastic member  21  also extends beyond the through hole, which facilitate the connection with the outer housing. 
     In another optional embodiment of the present invention, a groove  11  is provided at a position where the injection-molded steel sheet  12  of the module upper housing  1  is connected with the metal insert  22 , and the metal insert is clamped in the groove  11 . 
     The groove  11 , on the one hand, may assist in installation and fixation, and on the other hand, may play a role of limiting and meanwhile ensure the closer contact between the metal insert and the injection-molded steel sheet. 
     In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the speaker module further comprises a diaphragm assembly  4  and a magnetic circuit assembly  5  arranged between the module lower housing  3  and the module middle housing  2 . 
     Although some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail through examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration and not for limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be understood by a person skilled in the art that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims.