Patent Publication Number: US-2023133664-A1

Title: Passive radiator assembly

Description:
FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a speaker system, and more particularly to a passive radiator assembly for a speaker system. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  and  2   , Chinese Patent No. 107404693 discloses two conventional passive radiators  100 ,  200 . The first conventional passive radiator  100  (see  FIG.  1   ) has a vibrating portion  101 , and two suspension rings  102  connected to and surrounding the vibrating portion  101 . Such double suspension structure (i.e., the suspension rings  102 ) allows for high excursion but susceptible to nonlinear motion (e.g., wobbling). The second conventional passive radiator  200  has top and bottom diaphragms  201 ,  202 , each of which has a suspension ring  203 . Having a dual layer structure (i.e., two diaphragms), the second conventional passive radiator  200  is sturdier than the first conventional passive radiator  100 . However, since the top and bottom diaphragms  201 ,  202  are not connected to each other, their movements are independent and still susceptible to nonlinear motion. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, the object of the disclosure is to provide a passive radiator assembly that can alleviate the drawback of the prior art. 
     According to the disclosure, the passive radiator assembly includes a surrounding unit and an inner radiator cone. The surrounding unit includes a top layer surrounding an axis, and a bottom layer being spaced apart from and disposed under the top layer, and surrounding the axis. The inner radiator cone interconnects the top layer and the bottom layer of the surrounding unit. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG.  1    is a sectional view of a conventional passive radiator disclosed in Chinese Patent No. 107404693 A; 
         FIG.  2    is a sectional view of another conventional passive radiator disclosed in Chinese Patent No. 107404693 A; 
         FIG.  3    is a sectional view of an embodiment of a passive radiator assembly according to the disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a sectional view of a first variation of the embodiment; 
         FIG.  5    is a sectional view of a second variation of the embodiment; and 
         FIG.  6    is a sectional view of a third variation of the embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , an embodiment of a passive radiator assembly according to the disclosure is adapted for use in a speaker system (not shown), and includes a surrounding unit  1 , an inner radiator cone  2  and an outer radiator cone  3 . 
     The surrounding unit  1  includes a top layer  11  that surrounds an axis (A), and a bottom layer  12  that is spaced apart from and disposed under the top layer  11 , and that surrounds the axis (A). 
     The top layer  11  of the surrounding unit I has an annular inner surrounding member  111  that is concave towards the bottom layer  12 , and an outer surrounding member  112  that is spaced apart from and surrounds the inner surrounding member  111 , and that is concave towards the bottom layer  12 . The bottom layer  12  of the surrounding unit  1  has an inner surrounding member  121  that is concave towards the top layer  11 , and an outer surrounding member  122  that is spaced apart from and surrounds the inner surrounding member  121 , and that is concave towards the top layer  11 . 
     The inner radiator cone  2  interconnects the top layer  11  and the bottom layer  12  of the surrounding unit  1 . Specifically, the inner radiator cone  2  is connected to an inner periphery of the top layer  11  and an inner periphery of the bottom layer  12  of the surrounding unit 
     The outer radiator cone  3  is connected to the top layer  11  of the surrounding unit  1 , and is disposed above the inner radiator cone  2  along the axis (A). The outer radiator cone  3  has a bowl-shaped portion  31  and a connecting portion  32 . 
     The howl-shaped portion  31  of the outer radiator cone  3  has a middle segment  311  that is spaced apart from the inner radiator cone  2 , and an outer segment  312  that extends outwardly and upwardly from a periphery of the middle segment  311 , and that is disposed directly above the top layer  11  of the surrounding unit  1 . The outer segment  312  of the concave portion  31  covers a major portion of the top layer  11  of the surrounding unit  1 , which maximizes the effective radiating surface area. 
     The connecting portion  32  of the outer radiator cone  3  is shaped as a hollow vertical cylinder, and has an open upper end connected to the bowl-shaped portion  31 , and a closed lower end connected to the top layer  11  of the surrounding unit  1 . 
     It should be noted that, in term of providing the same benefit of allowing for high excursion, the inner surrounding member  111 ,  121  and the outer surrounding member  112 ,  122  of each of the top and bottom layers  11 ,  12  are not limited to being concave toward each other in the present embodiment. 
     For example, referring to  FIGS.  4  to  6   , in a first variation of the embodiment (see  FIG.  4   ), the inner and outer surrounding members  111 ′,  112 ′ of the top layer  11  are convex (curving upwardly) instead of being concave. Similarly, in a second variation of the embodiment (see  FIG.  5   ), the inner and outer surrounding members  121 ′,  122 ′ of the bottom layer  12  are convex, and finally in a third variation of the embodiment (see  FIG.  6   ), the inner and outer surrounding members  111 ″,  112 ″,  121 ″,  122 ″ of both of top the bottom layers  11 ,  12  are convex. 
     In sum, the passive radiator assembly of the present disclosure has benefits as follows. 
     By virtue of the inner and outer surrounding members  111 ,  121 ,  112 ,  122  of the top and bottom layers  11 ,  12  and the inner radiator cone  2  interconnecting the top and bottom layers  11 ,  12 , the present embodiment of the passive radiator assembly allows for high excursion with minimal nonlinear motion (e.g., wobbling). In addition, the bowl-shaped portion  31  of the outer radiator cone  3  not only has great structural strength and rigidity, but maximizes the effective radiating surface area of the embodiment, thereby enabling higher sound pressure. 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments maybe practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.