Patent Publication Number: US-8126182-B2

Title: Sound effect system and wireless audio output device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a sound effect system and a wireless audio output device, and more particularly to a wireless audio output device that can be contained in a portable electronic apparatus, and the portable electronic apparatus can provide a multi-channel sound effect. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  for a schematic view of an embodiment of a conventional sound effect system of a portable computer, a speaker  11  of the sound effect system is installed at the front side of a host  121  of the portable computer  12 , and the design of the sound effect system produces an audio through the speaker  11  with a monophonic channel. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  for a schematic view of another embodiment of a conventional sound effect system of a portable computer, speakers  21  of the sound effect system is installed separately on both left and right sides of a display device  221  of the portable computer  22 , and the design of the sound effect system produces an audio separately from both left and right sides of the speakers  21  to generate a stereo sound effect. 
     In recent years, the portable computer with an enhanced audio/video playback function was developed, and DVD (digital video disc/disk) movies usually have a 5.1 channel surround sound effect that may not be accomplished by the single channel or both left and right channels. 
     To satisfy the requirement of the aforementioned sound effect, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally invented a sound effect system and a wireless audio output device to meet the 5.1 channel surround sound effects. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a sound effect system and a wireless audio output device; particularly a wireless audio output device that can be contained in a portable electronic apparatus and the portable electronic apparatus can provide a 5.1 channel surround sound effect. 
     To achieve the foregoing object, a sound effect system of the invention is used in a portable electronic apparatus for producing an audio, and the portable electronic apparatus has at least one trough. The system comprises a plurality of audio output devices and at least one wireless audio output device. The audio output device is installed to the portable electronic apparatus for receiving an audio signal of the portable electronic apparatus to output an audio. The wireless audio output device is taken out from the trough when the wireless audio output device is in use, and a wireless communication protocol is used for receiving a wireless audio signal transmitted from the portable electronic apparatus. If the wireless audio output device is not in use, the wireless audio output device can be stored in the trough and electrically connected to the portable electronic apparatus, so that the portable electronic apparatus can supply power to charge the wireless audio output device. 
     The wireless audio output device of the invention further comprises a wireless receiver module, an audio output unit, a connector and a power supply module. When the wireless audio output device is in use, the power supply module supplies an operating power to the wireless receiver module and the audio output unit, such that the wireless receiver module can use a wireless communication protocol to receive an external wireless audio signal, and the audio output unit can output an audio based on the external wireless audio signal. If the wireless audio output device is not in use, the connector will be connected to the external power supply interface to receive a power and store the power into the power supply module. 
     In view of the description above, the sound effect system and the wireless audio output device in accordance with the present invention can satisfy the sound effect requirements and accomplish a multi-channel sound effect for the portable electrical apparatus. 
     To make it easier for our examiner to understand the technical characteristics and performance of the present invention, we use preferred embodiments with accompanying drawings for the detailed description of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an embodiment of a sound effect system of a portable electrical apparatus; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of another embodiment of a sound effect system of a portable electrical apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a sound effect system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a sound effect system of another preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a wireless audio output device of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a power supply module of a wireless audio output device of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the description of preferred embodiments for a sound effect system and a wireless audio output device in accordance with the present invention, the same numerals are used for the same elements described in different preferred embodiments. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  for a schematic view of a sound effect system of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system is used in a portable electronic apparatus  31  such as a portable computer for producing an audio, and the portable electrical apparatus  31  has at least one trough  311 . The system comprises a plurality of audio output devices  321 ,  322 ,  323 ,  324  and at least one wireless audio output device  331 ,  332 , wherein the audio output devices  321 ,  322 ,  323 ,  324  are installed to the portable electronic apparatus  31  for receiving an audio signal of the portable electronic apparatus  31  to output an audio. Meanwhile, the audio output devices  321 ,  322  are used for outputting the audio from the left and right channels, and the audio output device  323  is used for outputting the audio from the main channel. Further, the audio output device  324  is used exclusively for a low-frequency channel which is also commonly known as a woofer channel, and the audio output device  324  can be installed at a position  34  or a position  35  of the portable electronic apparatus, and the wireless audio output devices  331 ,  332  are taken out from the trough  311  when they are in use, and a wireless communication protocol is used for receiving a wireless audio signal transmitted from the portable electronic apparatus  31  and outputting an audio through a surround sound channel. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  for a schematic view of a sound effect system of another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wireless audio output devices  331 ,  332  are contained in the trough  311  and electrically connected to the portable electronic apparatus  31  when they are not in use, so that the portable electronic apparatus  31  can supply power for charging the wireless audio output devices  331 ,  332 . 
     In the sound effect system, the trough has a separate first Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) connector, and the wireless audio output device has a second PCMCIA connector corresponding to the first connector. After the PCMCIA connectors are connected, the wireless audio output device is electrically connected to the portable electronic apparatus. Furthermore, the audio output device for the outputs from the left and right channels and the main channel and the wireless audio output devices from the surround sound channels are generally speakers, and the audio output device for the output from the low-frequency channel is generally a low-frequency speaker. Meanwhile, the wireless communication protocol is generally a Bluetooth communication protocol or a wireless network communication protocol. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5  for a schematic view of a wireless audio output device of the present invention, the device comprises a wireless receiver module  51 , an audio output unit  52 , a connector  53  and a power supply module  54 . The wireless audio output device uses a power supply module  54  to supply an operating power to the wireless receiver module  51  and the audio output unit  52 , such that the wireless receiver module  51  can use a wireless communication protocol to receive an external wireless audio signal, and then the audio output unit  52  can output an audio based on the external wireless audio signal. If the wireless audio output device is not in use, the connector  53  will be connected to the external power supply interface for receiving a power and storing the power into the power supply module  54 . The wireless receiver module is generally a Bluetooth module or a wireless local area network (WLAN) module, and the audio output unit is generally a thin film speaker, and the connectors are generally PCMCIA connectors. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  for a schematic view of a power supply module of a wireless audio output device of the present invention, the power supply module  54  has a charging circuit  511  and a battery unit  512 , wherein the charging circuit  511  is connected to a connector for supplying and storing a power to the battery unit  512 . If the power supply module  54  is not charged, then the battery unit  512  will supply the operating power to the wireless receiver module  51  and the audio output unit  52 . 
     While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.