Patent Publication Number: US-11381904-B2

Title: Sound transmission holder and related speaker assembly electronic device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a sound transmission holder and a related speaker assembly and a related electronic device, and more particularly, to a sound transmission holder with a sound generating function and a waterproof function and a related speaker assembly and a related electronic device. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     A conventional speaker device disposes two speaker units respectively on two sound penetrating holes formed on a casing of the speaker device to provide two-channel efficacy. The plurality of speaker units has expensive cost and wastes inner space of the speaker device. The speaker unit is directly adhered to the casing to provide the waterproof function; if the casing is redesigned due to change of outward appearance, the speaker unit may be difficult to accurately assemble with the resigned casing, so that the waterproof function is decreased or damaged accordingly. The resigned casing can include, but not be limited to, an inner surface changed from a continuous plane to an intermittent plane, or the inner surface changed from a smooth surface to an uneven surface, or the inner surface changed into smaller dimensions. In addition, a sound box of the conventional speaker device which is cooperated with the speaker unit has drawbacks of smaller space and an irregular shape due to mechanical design constraint of the conventional speaker device, and thus the speaker unit cannot provide preferred high frequency and low frequency efficacy. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a sound transmission holder with a sound generating function and a waterproof function and a related speaker assembly and a related electronic device for solving above drawbacks. 
     According to the claimed invention, a sound transmission holder of transmitting a sound signal output by a sound generating unit is disclosed. The sound transmission holder includes a frame body, a first bridging portion, a second bridging portion and an accommodating portion. The frame body has a first section, a second section and a third section. The first section and the second section are disposed on two opposite sides of the third section. The first section, the second section and the third section are hollow and connected to each other. The first bridging portion is one hollow structure disposed on the first section. The second bridging portion is another hollow structure disposed on the second section. The first bridging portion and the second bridging portion abut against an external casing and are connected to the inner space of the frame body. The accommodating portion is disposed on the third section, and the sound generating unit is connected to the accommodating portion. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first section, the second section and the third section are connected to form a sound transmission portion. The sound transmission portion has two opening ends opposite to each other, and a width of the first section is wider than a width of the third section. 
     According to the claimed invention, the accommodating portion is disposed on a first surface of the third section. The sound transmission holder further includes a sound box disposed on a second surface of the third section opposite to the first surface. 
     According to the claimed invention, the sound transmission holder further includes a covering portion disposed on the third section and adapted to cover the sound generating unit. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first bridging portion includes a waterproof contacting surface and an orientation abutting surface. The waterproof contacting surface contacts an inner wall of the external casing, and the orientation abutting surface abuts another inner wall of the external casing. An angle between a planar normal vector of the waterproof contacting surface and a planar normal vector of the orientation abutting surface is ranged between 30˜75 degrees. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first bridging portion includes an annular protruding part disposed on the waterproof contacting surface and adapted to contact an annular slot of the external casing. 
     According to the claimed invention, the sound transmission holder further includes a first positioning portion disposed on one of the frame body and the accommodating portion, and adapted to engage with a second positioning portion of the external casing. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first bridging portion includes a stretching section. 
     According to the claimed invention, the first section includes a locking part and an adhesive leaking part, and the adhesive leaking part is disposed on the locking part and adjacent to the first bridging portion. 
     According to the claimed invention, the frame body further has a wire arrangement structure comprising at least one of a plank part and a bending part and adapted to constrain a signal transmission wire of the sound generating unit. 
     According to the claimed invention, an electronic device with a sound generating and waterproofing function includes a casing and a speaker assembly. The casing has an accommodating space. A first sound penetrating hole and a second sound penetrating hole of the casing are connected to the accommodating space. The speaker assembly includes a sound generating unit and a sound transmission holder. The sound transmission holder is disposed inside the accommodating space. The sound transmission holder includes a frame body, a first bridging portion, a second bridging portion and an accommodating portion. The frame body has a first section, a second section and a third section. The first section and the second section are disposed on two opposite sides of the third section. The first section, the second section and the third section are hollow and connected to each other. The first bridging portion is one hollow structure disposed on the first section and aligns with the first sound penetrating hole. The second bridging portion is another hollow structure disposed on the second section and aligns with the second sound penetrating hole. The first bridging portion and the second bridging portion abut against an inner wall of the casing. The accommodating portion is disposed on the third section, and the sound generating unit is connected to the accommodating portion. 
     According to the claimed invention, a speaker assembly includes a sound generating unit and a sound transmission holder. The sound transmission holder is assembled with the sound generating unit for transmitting a sound signal output by the sound generating unit. The sound transmission holder includes a frame body, a first bridging portion, a second bridging portion and an accommodating portion. The frame body has a first section, a second section and a third section. The first section and the second section are disposed on two opposite sides of the third section. The first section, the second section and the third section are hollow and connected to each other. The first bridging portion is one hollow structure disposed around the first section. The second bridging portion is another hollow structure disposed around the second section. The first bridging portion and the second bridging portion abut against an external casing. The accommodating portion is disposed on the third section, and the sound generating unit is connected to the accommodating portion, so that the sound signal is transmitted to the first bridging portion and the second bridging portion through the frame body. 
     The sound transmission holder and the related speaker assembly and the related electronic device of the present disclosure can design the sound transmission portion on the frame body, and the sound transmission portion can be connected to the sound penetrating holes of the casing via the bridging portions, so that one sound generating unit can provide multichannel sound efficacy. The bridging portion and the frame body can be integrated monolithically, or can be two independent components assembled with each other. The frame body of the sound transmission holder can have the sound box with the smooth shape and the covering portion for enlarging the sealed space, and therefore the sound generating unit can provide the preferred high frequency efficacy and the preferred low frequency efficacy. The bridging portion of the sound transmission holder can design the specific inclined angle of the waterproof contacting surface and the orientation abutting surface, and further dispose the annular protruding part on the bridging portion for providing the preferred waterproof efficacy of the sound transmission holder. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  are diagrams of a sound transmission holder in different views according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a right side of the sound transmission holder shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a part of the electronic device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged diagram of an area shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of the sound transmission holder according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is an exploded diagram of an electronic device  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the electronic device  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device  10  can include a casing  12 , a sound generating unit  14  and a sound transmission holder  16 . The sound generating unit  14  can be assembled with the sound transmission holder  16  to form a speaker assembly  80 . The casing  12  can have an accommodating space  18  used to accommodate the sound generating unit  14  and the sound transmission holder  16 . The sound generating unit  14  can be a loudspeaker. The present disclosure can guide a sound signal output by the sound generating unit  14  to several sound penetrating holes formed on the casing  12  via the sound transmission holder  16 . In the embodiment, the casing  12  can have a first sound penetrating hole  20  and a second sound penetrating hole  22  connected to the accommodating space  18 . A number of the sound penetrating hole on the casing  12  is not limited to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , which depends on a design demand. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  are diagrams of the sound transmission holder  16  in different views according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a right side of the sound transmission holder  16  shown in  FIG. 4 . The sound transmission holder  16  can include a frame body  24 , a first bridging portion  26 , a second bridging portion  28  and an accommodating portion  30 . The frame body  24  can have a sound transmission portion  32 . Two opening ends  78  (which are shown in  FIG. 6 ) of the sound transmission portion  32  can be respectively connected to the first sound penetrating hole  20  of the casing  12  via the first bridging portion  26  and the second sound penetrating hole  22  of the casing  12  via the second bridging portion  28 . The frame body  24  can be divided into a first section  34 , a second section  36  and a third section  38 . The first section  34  and the second section  36  can be respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the third section  38 . It should be mentioned that the first section  34 , the second section  36  and the third section  38  can be connected to each other, so that an inner space connected between the first section  34 , the second section  36  and the third section  38  of can be hollow for forming the sound transmission portion  32 . 
     The first bridging portion  26  can be disposed around the first section  34 . The second bridging portion  28  can be disposed around the second section  36 . When the sound transmission holder  16  is disposed inside the casing  12 , the first bridging portion  26  can align with the first sound penetrating hole  20 , and the second bridging portion  28  can align with the second sound penetrating hole  22 . The first bridging portion  26  and the second bridging portion  28  can be preferably made of material with resilient deformation and recovery property. The first bridging portion  26  and the second bridging portion  28  can respectively abut against two opposite inner walls  40  and  42  of the casing  12 , so as to fix position of the frame body  24 , and further to fill a gap between the casing  12  and the sound transmission holder  16  for preventing the electronic device  10  from being damaged by liquid via the said gap. The accommodating portion  30  can be disposed on the third section  38  and adapted to accommodate the sound generating unit  14 . The sound signal of the sound generating unit  14  can be transmitted into the sound transmission portion  32  of the frame body  24  through the accommodating portion  30 , and then transmitted to outward of the electronic device  10  via the first sound penetrating hole  20  and the second sound penetrating hole  22  by passing the first bridging portion  26  and the second bridging portion  28 . 
     In other possible embodiments, a number and position of the bridging portion are not limited to the first bridging portion  26  and the second bridging portion  28  of the foresaid embodiment. For example, the frame body may be designed as T-type, and the sound transmission holder can include three bridging portions respectively disposed on three ends of the T-type frame body for providing three sound sending directions. Further, the frame body may be designed as X-type, and the sound transmission holder can include four bridging portions respectively disposed on four ends of the X-type frame body for providing four sound sending directions; variation of the frame body and the sound transmission holder can depend on an actual demand. 
     In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first section  34  and the second section  36  of the frame body  24  preferably can be symmetric structures with the same dimensions, which depend on the actual application; in some possible embodiments, the dimensions and a shape of the first section  34  may be different from the dimensions and the shape of the second section  36 . For example, if the first section  34  and the second section  36  are the symmetric structures with the same dimensions, the frame body  24  can be designed as H-type; if the first section  34  and the second section  36  both have long lower ends and short upper ends, the frame body  24  can be designed as U-type. In addition, a width D 1  of the first section  34  and a width D 2  of the second section  36  preferably can be greater or wider than a width D 3  of the third section  38 , and a central line C 1  of the first section  34  and a central line C 2  of the second section  36  preferably can align with or be close to a central line C 3  of the third section  38 ; that is to say, the first section  34  (or the second section  36 ) can be connected to center of the third section  38 , and stretched from the center to two opposite sides (such as a right side and a left side, or an upper side and a lower side) of the third section  38 , so that the structural dimensions of the first section  34  (or the second section  36 ) can be greater than the structural dimensions of the third section  38 . 
     The third section  38  can have a first surface  44  and a second surface  46  opposite to each other. The accommodating portion  30  can be disposed on the first surface  44 , and a sound box  48  of the sound transmission holder  16  can be disposed on the second surface  46 . The sound box  48  may be a chamber with smooth space and a regular shape, such as a square structure or a rectangular structure. The sound box  48  can avoid the sound signal from being affected by echo due to scattering or reflection, so as to effectively improve high frequency efficacy of the sound signal. Besides, the sound transmission holder  16  can further include a covering portion  50  disposed on the first surface  44  of the third section  38  and adapted to cover the sound generating unit  14 . The covering portion  50  can be designed for providing a sealed chamber, and an inner volume of the sealed chamber can be preferably greater than or equal to five cubic centimeter for effectively increasing low frequency efficacy of the sound signal. 
     The covering portion  50  can be the sealed chamber connected to the third section  38  and used to cover the sound generating unit  14  to achieve sealed efficacy. Further, the covering portion  50  may be an unsealed chamber with an opening; when the sound transmission holder  16  is disposed inside the casing  12 , the covering portion  50  can abut against an inner surface of the casing  12 , and the opening of the covering portion  50  (which means the unsealed chamber) can be sheltered by the casing  12  to provide the sealed efficacy. In addition to the embodiment of disposing the covering portion  50  on the third section  38 , the covering portion  50  may be optionally disposed on position of the casing  12  relevant to the sound generating unit  14  and/or the accommodating portion  30 . The covering portion  50  disposed on the casing  12  can be the sealed space or the unsealed space, which has structural design similar to the embodiment of disposing the covering portion  50  on the third section  38 , and a detailed description can be omitted herein for simplicity. 
     The sound transmission holder  16  can further include a first positioning portion  52  disposed on the frame body  24  or the accommodating portion  30 . The casing  12  can include a second positioning portion  54  disposed on somewhere relevant to the first positioning portion  52 . When the sound transmission holder  16  is disposed inside the casing  12 , the first positioning portion  52  can be engaged with the second positioning portion  54  to provide the foolproof and constraining function. In the embodiment, the first positioning portion  52  can be a clamp structure, and the second positioning portion  54  can be a slide bar structure. The first positioning portion  52  can clamp and slide relative to the second positioning portion  54 . An actual application of the first positioning portion  52  and the second positioning portion  54  is not limited to the foresaid embodiment; for example, the first positioning portion  52  can be the slide bar structure and then the second positioning portion  54  can be the clamp structure, or the first positioning portion  52  and the second positioning portion  54  can be formed by other structures. 
     The first bridging portion  26  and/or the second bridging portion  28  of the sound transmission holder  16  can optionally include a stretching section  56 . The present disclosure may smear adhesive over an inner surface of the first bridging portion  26  (or the second bridging portion  28 ), and the first bridging portion  26  (or the second bridging portion  28 ) can be adhered to the first section  34  (or the second section  36 ) of the frame body  24 . When the inner surface of the first bridging portion  26  (or the second bridging portion  28 ) has the adhesive, the stretching section  56  may have no adhesive and can be touched by a user; further, the stretching section  56  may have the adhesive and be adhered to the first section  34  and the second section  36 . The frame body  24  can further include a wire arrangement structure  58  used to fix a signal transmission wire  66  of the sound generating unit  14 . The wire arrangement structure  58  may have at least one of a plank part  581  and a bending part  582 . The plank part  581  can constrain a movement of the signal transmission wire  66 . The bending part  582  can prevent the signal transmission wire  66  from being separated from the frame body  24 . 
     The sound transmission holder  16  can dispose one or several locking parts  60  on the first section  34  and the second section  36  of the frame body  24 . The present disclosure can utilize a fixing component  64  to pass through the locking part  60  and lock into a corresponding locked hole (which is not shown in the figures) of the casing  12 , to ensure that the sound transmission holder  16  can be tightly installed inside casing  12 . The fixing component  64  can be a screw or a bolt or any component with the same or similar function. Each locking part  60  can optionally have an adhesive leaking part  62  adjacent to the first bridging portion  26  or the second bridging portion  28 . When the first bridging portion  26  (or the second bridging portion  28 ) is smeared by the adhesive and disposed on the frame body  24 , some adhesive may be leaked into a gap between the first bridging portion  26  (or the second bridging portion  28 ) and the frame body  24  and then flow into the locking part  60 . If the leaked adhesive is not removed from the locking part  60 , the fixing component  64  may not pass through the locking part  60  due to the dried leaked adhesive, so that the redundant leaked adhesive can be removed via the adhesive leaking part  62 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a part of the electronic device  10  according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 7  is an enlarged diagram of an area A shown in  FIG. 6 . As an example of the first bridging portion  26 , the first bridging portion  26  can have a waterproof contacting surface  68  and an orientation abutting surface  70 . The waterproof contacting surface  68  can contact against the inner wall  40  adjacent to the first sound penetrating hole  20 . The orientation abutting surface  70  can abut against other inner wall  72  of the casing  12 . An angle between a planar normal vector V 1  of the waterproof contacting surface  68  and a planar normal vector V 2  of the orientation abutting surface  70  can be preferably ranged between 30˜75 degrees; for example, the preferred angle can be set as 55 degrees. Any angle smaller than 90 degrees can provide the suitable waterproof efficacy; however, an actual value of the said angle depends on the actual demand. 
     Besides, as the example of the first bridging portion  26 , the first bridging portion  26  can include an annular protruding part  74  disposed on the waterproof contacting surface  68 , and the casing  12  can include an annular slot  76 . When the sound transmission holder  16  is disposed inside the casing  12 , the waterproof contacting surface  68  of the first bridging portion  26  can contact against the inner wall  40  of the casing  12 , and the annular protruding part  74  can abut against the annular slot  76  to prevent the electronic device  10  from being leaked by liquid through some small gap between the sound transmission holder  16  and the casing  12 . In the embodiment, one annular protruding part  74  is disposed on the first bridging portion  26 , and a number of the annular protruding part  74  is not limited to the foresaid embodiment; for example, a plurality of annular protruding parts  74  having different radial dimensions can be disposed on the first bridging portion  26 . In the embodiment, a height H of the annular protruding part  74  preferably can be ranged between 25˜30 percent of a thickness T of the first bridging portion  26 , and a width W of the annular protruding part  74  preferably can be greater than or equal to one millimeter; an actual value of the height and the width of the annular protruding part  74  can be set according to the design demand. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a diagram of the sound transmission holder  16 ′ according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, elements having the same numerals as one of the foresaid embodiment have the same structures and functions, and a detailed description can be omitted herein for simplicity. Difference between this embodiment and the foresaid embodiment is: a height of the covering portion  50 ′ of the sound transmission holder  16 ′ can be smaller than the height of the covering portion  50 , so that the sound transmission holder  16 ′ can be disposed inside a narrow space for applying to the thin-type electronic device. 
     In conclusion, the sound transmission holder and the related speaker assembly and the related electronic device of the present disclosure can design the sound transmission portion on the frame body, and the sound transmission portion can be connected to the sound penetrating holes of the casing via the bridging portions, so that one sound generating unit can provide multichannel sound efficacy. The bridging portion and the frame body can be integrated monolithically, or can be two independent components assembled with each other. The frame body of the sound transmission holder can have the sound box with the smooth shape and the covering portion for enlarging the sealed space, and therefore the sound generating unit can provide the preferred high frequency efficacy and the preferred low frequency efficacy. The bridging portion of the sound transmission holder can design the specific inclined angle of the waterproof contacting surface and the orientation abutting surface, and further dispose the annular protruding part on the bridging portion for providing the preferred waterproof efficacy of the sound transmission holder. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.