Patent Publication Number: US-9407984-B2

Title: Method and apparatus for adjusting sound quality

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of U.S.A. provisional application Ser. No. 61/446,055, filed on Feb. 24, 2011. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an electronic apparatus with a speaker and a method for providing a sound system of the electronic apparatus, and more particularly to an electronic apparatus with a bracket and a speaker and method for providing a sound system of the electronic apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With the development of the science and technology, the use of a portable electronic apparatus (e.g. a mobile phone, a tablet computer, etc.) already becomes more and more popular. Different from a common electronic apparatus, for the sake of portability, the shape of the portable electronic apparatus is usually designed to be light, thin, and small. Accordingly, the size of the speaker embedded in the portable electronic apparatus also decreases gradually. However, due to decrease of the size of the embedded speaker, the sound quality usually becomes worse, so some users who have high requirements for the sound quality become unsatisfied. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides an electronic apparatus with a bracket and a speaker. A sound mode of the electronic apparatus may be switched between two modes to adjust acoustic middle range sound quality and acoustic bass sound quality of the electronic apparatus respectively. 
     The present disclosure provides a method for providing a sound system of an electronic apparatus. By changing the placement position of a bracket of the electronic apparatus, acoustic middle range sound quality and acoustic bass sound quality of the electronic apparatus may be respectively adjusted. 
     The application discloses an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus includes a housing, a speaker and a bracket. The housing has a space and a channel, and the space and the channel couples with each other. The speaker is disposed in the space. The bracket has a first end coupled to the channel. The bracket is movable relative to the housing. 
     The application discloses a method for providing a sound system of an electronic apparatus. The method includes positioning a speaker of the electronic apparatus in a space of a housing of the electronic apparatus. The method further includes coupling a bracket to a channel of the housing. The space and the channel are coupled with each other. The bracket is movable relative to the housing. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bracket is placed in the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sound pressure level of an acoustic middle range sound from the electronic apparatus with the bracket is increased comparing with a sound pressure level of the acoustic middle range sound from an electronic apparatus without the bracket. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a gap is formed between the bracket and the channel when the bracket is placed in the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a resonant frequency of a middle range boost of the electronic apparatus depends on the volume of the gap. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an inner chamber is formed between the bracket and the speaker when the bracket is placed in the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the resonant frequency of the middle range boost of the electronic apparatus is represented by f 0 . 
               f   0     =       1     2   ⁢   π       ⁢         1   LC       .             
L is an inductance value equal to
 
                 1.21   ×     L   K           W   K     ×   D       ,         
C is a capacitance value equal to
 
               V     1.21   ×   343       ,         
D is a numerical portion of the volume of the gap, W K  is a numerical portion of the width of the bracket, L K  is a numerical portion of the length of the bracket, V is a numerical portion of the volume of the inner chamber.
 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus further comprises a hinge coupling the bracket to the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus further comprises a spring coupling the bracket to the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the length of the channel is more than twice as much as the length of the space. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel is placed along a midline of the housing. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel is placed at one end of the housing. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus further comprises a touch screen to be used as an interface for operating the electronic apparatus. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bracket further comprises a second end which is movable between a first position in the channel to a second position away from the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second end which is moved away from the channel and forming an angle between the bracket and housing, the relationship between the angle and distance between a user is represented by 
               s   2     =         r   2     +     t   2     -     2   ×   r   ×   t   ×   cos   ⁢           ⁢   φ   ⁢           ⁢   and   ⁢           ⁢   φ       =       π   2     +     θ   .               
r is a distance from the speaker to a top of the housing, s is a distance from the top to the ear of the user, t is a distance from the speaker to the ear of the user, φ is an included angle between the bracket and a sound path from the speaker to the ear of the user, and θ is an included angle between the bracket and the housing.
 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sound pressure level of an acoustic bass range sound from electronic apparatus with the second end of the bracket moved to the second position is increased comparing with a sound pressure level of the acoustic bass range sound from an electronic apparatus without the bracket. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises positioning the second end of the bracket from the first position in the channel to the second position away from the channel. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises placing the bracket in the channel. A gap is formed between the bracket and the channel, and an inner chamber is formed between the bracket and the speaker. 
     Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, by changing the placement position of the bracket of the electronic apparatus, acoustic middle range sound quality and acoustic bass sound quality of the electronic apparatus are adjusted respectively. 
     In order to make the aforementioned and other objectives and advantages of the present disclosure comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional schematic view of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 1  when a bracket of the electronic apparatus is closed. 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view along a dashed line A-A′ of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged view at a position P of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an equivalent circuit diagram of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a three-dimensional schematic view when the bracket of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 2  is translated or moved to a second position. 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view along a dashed line B-B′ of the electronic apparatus in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a sound diffraction situation of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a sound frequency response graph of an electronic apparatus in opened position and closed position referred to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may include a variety of aspects that may not be listed below. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  as an exploded view of an electronic apparatus  100  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus  100  comprises a housing  110 , a speaker  120  and a bracket  130 . The housing  110  comprises a space  112  and a channel  114 . The space  112  is coupled to the channel  114 . The speaker  120  is placed in the space  112  and capable of generating sound waves. The speaker may be piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, electrostatic, ribbon magnetic, planar magnetic, bending wave, distributed mode, or flat panel speaker. The speaker  120  may comprise an array of speakers for sound producing. The bracket  130  may be a stand or bracket made out of metal, polymer, plastic or combination of such with structuring or texturing at surface of bracket. The bracket  130  may be contoured to follow the shape of housing  110 . The present disclosure describes the electronic apparatus  100  as mobile, portable or handheld electronic device, such as a tablet computer, or mobile phone. Additionally, the channel  114  mentioned above may be formed at any location of the housing  110 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the channel  114  may be placed along a midline of the housing  110 . That is, the channel  114  has equal distances away from the left side and the right side of the housing  110 . However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other words, the distance between the channel  114  and the left side of the housing  110  may be greater or less than the distance between the channel  114  and the right side of the housing  110 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the width W G  of the channel  114  may be equal to or greater than the width W R  of the space  112 . In addition, the length L G  of the channel  114  is greater than the length L R  of the space  112 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the length L G  of the channel  114  is more than twice as much as the length L R  of the space  112 . 
     Please refer the  FIG. 2  as a three-dimensional schematic view when the bracket  130  of the electronic apparatus  100  is closed, the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114  and has a first end  134  and a second end  136 . The first end  134  and the second end  136  may be opposite to each other. When the bracket  130  is closed and the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114 , both the first end  134  and the second end  136  are placed in the channel  114 , and the electronic apparatus  100  is adjusted to a first mode. As a user usually closes the bracket  130  during a call, the first mode may also be referred to as a voice mode. 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view along a dashed line A-A′ of the electronic apparatus  100  in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged view at a position P of the electronic apparatus  100  in  FIG. 3 . In an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the bracket  130  of the electronic apparatus  100  is translated to close to the channel  114 , a gap D is formed between the bracket  130  and the housing  110 . The gap D may be greater than 0.1 millimeter. Additionally, as the volume of the space  112  is greater than the volume of the speaker  120 , when the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114 , an inner chamber  122  is formed between the bracket  130  and the speaker  120 . The sound generated by the speaker  120  resonates between the bracket  130  and the housing  110  through the inner chamber  122  to the gap D. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 5  as an equivalent circuit diagram of an electronic apparatus  100  in  FIG. 3 , which represents an equivalent circuit of the electronic apparatus  100  when the bracket  130  is closed. A signal source Sc represents an electronic signal received by the speaker  120 . C represents an equivalent capacitance value of the inner chamber  122 . L represents an equivalent inductance value between the bracket  130  and the housing  110 . R represents a resistance value when the sound transmitted to the air. The size of the inner chamber  122  affects the value of the capacitance value C. The size of the gap D affects the value of the inductance value L. The equivalent circuit of the electronic apparatus  100  is a resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) oscillator circuit. The resonant frequency of the middle range boost of the electronic apparatus  100  is represented by f 0 , f 0  is equal to 
               1     2   ⁢   π       ⁢         1   LC       .           
The middle range is the most significant part of the audible sound spectrum, the region where the most fundamentals emitted by musical instruments and, most importantly, human voice, lie. This region contains most sounds which are the most familiar to the human ear, and where discrepancies from faithful reproduction are most easily observed. It is therefore paramount that a middle range driver of good quality be capable of low-distortion reproduction. Therefore, it is important to achieve a good quality of middle range frequency for reproducing the human voice when user is on the phone. The resonant frequency f 0  of the middle range boost of the electronic apparatus  100  depends on the value of the gap D. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, during the design of the electronic apparatus  100 , the resonant frequency f 0  of the middle range boost of the electronic apparatus  100  is at 6 kHz by setting the size of the gap D, so that the electronic apparatus  100  has a desirable voice and music performance.
 
     In addition, the inductance value L is equal to 
                 1.21   ×     L   K           W   K     ×   D       ,         
and the unit thereof is the Henry. D is a numerical portion of the volume of the gap D in the unit of cubic meters. The capacitance value C is equal to
 
               V     1.21   ×   343       ,         
and the unit thereof is Farad. W K  is a numerical portion of the width of the bracket  130  in the unit of meter. L K  is a numerical portion of the length of the bracket  130  in the unit of meter. V is a numerical portion of the volume of the inner chamber  122  in the unit of cubic meters. Therefore, the greater the gap D is, the higher the resonant frequency f 0  of the middle range boost of the electronic apparatus  100  is.
 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 6  is as a three-dimensional schematic view when the bracket  130  of the electronic apparatus  100  is translated or moved to a second position P 2 . The first end  134  is coupled to the housing  110  and is capable of rotating along an axis  132 . The second end  136  is capable of moving from a first position P 1  in the channel  114  to the second position P 2  away from the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 . When the bracket  130  is opened so that the second end  136  is moved to second position P 2  out of the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 , the electronic apparatus  100  is adjusted to a second mode for producing sound. As an angle is formed between the bracket  130  and the housing  110 , the electronic apparatus  100  may stand on a surface of an object (e.g. a table). The user usually opens the bracket  130  when playing a multimedia file (e.g. a music file, a video file, etc.), so the second mode may also be referred to as a multimedia mode. The sound quality of the electronic apparatus  100  may be adjusted by changing the placement position of the bracket  130 , and the housing  110 , the speaker  120  and the bracket  130  may be regarded as a sound system of the electronic apparatus  100 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 7  as a sectional view along a dashed line B-B′ of the electronic apparatus  100  in  FIG. 6 . When the bracket  130  is opened so that the second end  136  is removed from the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 , as an angle is formed between the bracket  130  and the housing  110 , the electronic apparatus  100  may stand on a surface  150  of an object (e.g. a table). The bracket  130  may comprise a bearing or hinge  138  for connecting the first end  134  in a manner that the first end  134  is capable of rotating along the axis  132 . A spring  140  may be coupled to the bearing or hinge  138  with the channel  114  so the bracket  130  may be put out of the channel  114  by the spring force when in open position. In addition, the bearing or hinge  138  may be replaced by other connectors. The sound generated by the speaker  120  is transmitted through the inner chamber  122  to the surface  150 . As the surface  150  reflects the sound generated by the speaker  120 , when the bracket  130  is opened and stands on the surface  150 , the user hears the indirect sound reflected by the surface  150 . Therefore, the sound pressure level of the acoustic bass sent by the electronic apparatus  100  is increased. Bass is low frequency or range sound. In popular music, the bass part most often provides harmonic and rhythmic support, such that bass is important for playing multimedia sound. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 8  as it illustrates a sound diffraction situation of the electronic apparatus  100 . In this embodiment, a sound path from the speaker  120  to the ear X of a user may be simulated as a sound isolation wall. If the sound pressure of the speaker  120  is P i  and the sound pressure at the ear X of the user is P o , the relationship between sound pressures P i  and P o  may be represented by Equation (1) in the following: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       ( 
                       
                         
                           P 
                           o 
                         
                         
                           P 
                           i 
                         
                       
                       ) 
                     
                     dB 
                   
                   = 
                   
                     
                       - 
                       20 
                     
                     × 
                     
                       
                         log 
                         10 
                       
                       ⁡ 
                       
                         ( 
                         
                           3 
                           + 
                           
                             40 
                             × 
                             
                               
                                 r 
                                 + 
                                 s 
                                 - 
                                 t 
                               
                               343.15 
                             
                             × 
                             f 
                           
                         
                         ) 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   1 
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     The unit of the ratio between the sound pressures P i  and P o  is decibel (dB), f is the frequency of the signal source Sc, r is a distance from the speaker  120  to a top E of the housing  110 , s is a distance from the top E to the ear X of the user, and t is a distance from the speaker  120  to the ear X of the user. The unit of the distances r, s and t is meter. According to Equation (1), when the frequency of the signal source Sc increases, the sound pressure P o  decreases, so Equation (1) may be regarded as a bass boost equation. As may be seen, when the bracket  130  is opened, the sound pressure level of the acoustic bass sent by the electronic apparatus  100  may be increased. 
     In addition, it is assumed that the bracket  130  is perpendicular to the surface  150 . An included angle between the bracket  130  and the housing is θ. An included angle between the sound path and the bracket  130  is φ. Therefore, the relationships of the distances r, s, t and the included angles θ, φ are represented by Equations (2), (3): 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     s 
                     2 
                   
                   = 
                   
                     
                       r 
                       2 
                     
                     + 
                     
                       t 
                       2 
                     
                     - 
                     
                       2 
                       × 
                       r 
                       × 
                       t 
                       × 
                       cos 
                       ⁢ 
                       
                           
                       
                       ⁢ 
                       φ 
                     
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   2 
                   ) 
                 
               
             
             
               
                 
                   φ 
                   = 
                   
                     
                       π 
                       2 
                     
                     + 
                     θ 
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   3 
                   ) 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     Please refer to  FIG. 9  as a sound frequency response graph of an electronic apparatus  100  in opened position and closed position referred to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 6 . The horizontal axis represents a frequency of a sound generated by the electronic apparatus  100 . The vertical axis represents a sound pressure level corresponding to each frequency of a sound generated by the electronic apparatus  100  in unit of decibel (dB). A frequency response curve  92  is a sound frequency response curve of the electronic apparatus  100  measured when the bracket  130  is closed as shown in  FIG. 2 . The frequency response curve  94  is a sound frequency response curve of the electronic apparatus  100  measured when the bracket  130  is opened as shown in  FIG. 6 . The frequency response curve  96  is a sound frequency response curve of an electronic apparatus without the use of the bracket  130 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the frequency response curve  92  has a middle range boost B 1 , which represents that when the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114 , a sound pressure level of the acoustic middle range sound sent by the electronic apparatus  100  is increased. In other words, when the second end  136  of the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114 , the sound pressure level of the acoustic middle range sound sent by the electronic apparatus  100  is falls within a first range R 1 . When the second end  136  is removed from the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 , the sound pressure level of the acoustic middle range sound sent by the electronic apparatus  100  falls within a second range R 2 . The first range R 1  is higher than the second range R 2 . In addition, the frequency response curve  94  has a bass boost B 2 , which represents that when the second end  136  is removed from the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 , a sound pressure level of an acoustic bass sent by the electronic apparatus  100  is increased. In other words, when the second end  136  of the bracket  130  is placed in the channel  114 , the sound pressure level of an acoustic bass sent by the electronic apparatus  100  falls within a third range R 3 . When the second end  136  is removed from the channel  114  due to the rotation of the first end  134 , the sound pressure level of the acoustic bass sent by the electronic apparatus  100  falls within a fourth range R 4 . The third range R 3  is lower than the fourth range R 4 . In such a manner, the sound mode of the electronic apparatus may be switched between two modes, so that the acoustic middle range sound quality and acoustic bass sound quality of the electronic apparatus may be respectively adjusted. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus  100  is a mobile phone or a tablet computer. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic apparatus  100  may further include a touch screen to be used as an interface for the user to operate the electronic apparatus  100 . 
     The embodiments of the present disclosure, by changing a placement position of a bracket of the electronic apparatus, the acoustic middle range sound quality and acoustic bass sound quality of the electronic apparatus are respectively adjusted. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.