Patent Publication Number: US-2023133828-A1

Title: Upright soundbar with projection function

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Chinese Patent Application Serial Number 202122617570.3, filed on Oct. 28, 2021, the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to the technical field of an upright soundbar, particularly to an upright soundbar with projection function. 
     Related Art 
     Because soundbar is an independent sound device and built with a plurality of speakers for different sound fields, many users will buy a soundbar to replace speakers at home TV, so as to get better audio-visual enjoyment. 
     However, current soundbar need to be placed in a horizontal manner or hanging on a wall, so it will take up more space and is not easy to install. On the other hand, when the soundbar is used in corporate meetings, they need to be further connected electrically with devices such as projectors, computers, cameras, etc., and thus there is a problem of system compatibility. In addition, in a limited meeting space, to place the devices such as the soundbar, the projectors, the computers and the cameras not only has a high construction cost, but will also have complex maintenance and repair problems at the same time. 
     In view of this, how to provide a soundbar that can be set up with a small floor space, and can be used as a projector, camera, etc. to save the related installation costs at the same time is a problem that needs to be solved urgently in the industry. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an upright soundbar, which can solve a problem that when a soundbar is placed in a horizontal way or hanging on a wall will take up more space and not easy to install. Meanwhile, the present disclosure can solve a problem of system compatibility when the soundbar is used in corporate meetings, which need to be further connected with devices such as projectors, computers, and cameras. 
     In order to solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure is realized in this way: 
     An upright soundbar with projection function is provided, which comprises: 
     an upright body having a top portion, a bottom portion disposed relative to the top portion, and a receiving space located in the upright body; 
     a projection module, disposed in a first recessed area of the top portion; 
     a camera module, disposed on an end surface of the top portion; 
     a computing module, disposed in the receiving space; and 
     a base, disposed on the bottom portion to support the upright body; 
     wherein a first projection lens of the projection module is tilted, a first projection angle is between a first projection optical axis of the first projection lens and a horizontal line, the first projection angle ranges from 15 degrees to 60 degrees, a projection direction of the projection module and a photography direction of the camera module are reversed with respect to each other, and the upright body is movable along a vertical direction with respect to the base. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the projection module comprises a second projection lens, the second projection lens is tilted in a second recessed area of the top portion, a second projection angle is between a second projection optical axis of the second projection lens and the horizontal line, and the second projection angle ranges from 45 degrees to 80 degrees. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, further comprises a plurality of speakers, wherein the plurality of speakers are disposed on a body end surface of the upright body. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the body end surface is a front-end surface, a left end surface or a right end surface of the upright body. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the plurality of speakers comprise at least one woofer and at least one tweeter. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, further comprises a motor, wherein the motor is disposed in the receiving space, the motor drives the upright body to move a first height along the vertical direction, and the first height ranges from 0 mm to 200 mm. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the projection module is an ultra-short focus projection module. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the camera module is an automatic tracking camera module. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the computing module is a microcomputer host. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, further comprises a plurality of transmission ports, wherein the plurality of transmission ports are disposed at a base end surface of the base, and the base end surface is not covered by the upright body. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, the base is an inverted T-shaped base. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, further comprises a light-emitting ring, wherein the light-emitting ring is disposed around the upright body. 
     In the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure, further comprises a mesh housing, wherein the mesh housing covers the upright body. 
     In the embodiment of the disclosure, the soundbar that originally needs to be placed or suspended in a horizontal manner is changed to a vertical design, so that only a small area of ground space is required to complete an arrangement operation. At the same time, because the upright soundbar with projection function itself already has function of a projector and a camera, it can eliminate compatibility problems when the devices electrically connected to each other, while not having to purchase additional projectors or cameras to save the related device construction costs. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrated herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and form part of the present disclosure. The embodiments of the present disclosure and the description thereof are used to explain the present disclosure and do not constitute an undue limitation of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of an upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic view of the upright soundbar with projection function removing a mesh housing of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic view of a receiving space of the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    to  FIG.  5    are partial enlarged views of a projection module of the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic view of a projection of a first projection lens of the projection module in the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic view of a projection of a second projection lens of the projection module in the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic view of a plurality of transmission ports of the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  9    is a schematic view of an inverted T-shaped base of the upright soundbar with projection function of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical solution in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, and not restrictive of the full scope of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive step based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, are within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1 ,  2  and  3   , an upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure comprises an upright body  110 , a projection module  120 , a camera module  130 , a computing module  140 , and a base  150 . The upright body  110  comprises a top portion  112 , a bottom portion  114  disposed relative to the top portion  112 , and a receiving space  116  located in the upright body  110 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  4  and  5   , a first projection lens  122  of the projection module  120  is tilted. The first projection lens  122  is disposed in a first recessed area  112   a  of the top portion  112 , and the first recessed area  112   a  preferably has a V-shaped depression. The camera module  130  is disposed on an end surface  112   b  of the top portion  112 , and the end surface  112   b  is preferably a front-end surface of the top portion  112 . As shown in  FIG.  3   , the computing module  140  is disposed in the receiving space  116 . The base  150  is disposed on the bottom portion  114  of the upright body  110  to support the upright body  110 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , a first projection angle A 1  is between a first projection optical axis P 1  of the first projection lens  122  and a horizontal line X, the first projection angle A 1  ranges from 15 degrees to 60 degrees such that images projected by the first projection lens  122  is projected in an inclined manner onto a projection screen or wall surface located behind the upright soundbar  100  with the projection function of the present disclosure. 
     In the present disclosure, a projection direction of the projection module  120  and a photography direction of the camera module  130  are reversed with respect to each other as shown in  FIG.  4   . In other words, when a user faces toward the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure to view the images projected by the projection module  120 , the camera module  130  disposed at the end surface  112   b  of the top portion  112  (i.e., the front-end surface) will be able to capture the user&#39;s face for remote video conferencing interaction. Further, as shown in  FIG.  9   , the upright body  110  can be moved along a vertical direction Y relative to the base  150 , thereby allowing the projection module  120  or the camera module  130  to be adjusted to a suitable height for meeting use. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1    again. The projection module  120  may further comprise a second projection lens  124 . The second projection lens  124  is tilted in a second recessed area  112   c  of the top portion  112 , and the second recessed area  112   c  is preferably a smaller V-shaped recess. In detail, as shown in  FIG.  7   , a second projection angle A 2  is between a second projection optical axis P 2  of the second projection lens  124  and the horizontal line X, and the second projection angle A 2  ranges from 45 degrees to 80 degrees, so that the second projection lens  124  can project images on other planes at an angle different from the images of the first projection lens  122 , thus providing more flexibility in use. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2    continuously. The upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure further comprises a plurality of speakers  160 . The plurality of speakers  160  are disposed on a body end surface  118  of the upright body  110 . The body end face  118  may be a front-end surface, a left end surface, or a right end surface of the upright body  110 , and the plurality of speakers  160  comprises at least one woofer and at least one tweeter. In this way, the plurality of speakers  160  can be all disposed on the front-end surface, the left end surface, or the right end surface of the upright body  110 , or disposed on two of the front-end surface, the left end surface, or the right end surface of the upright body  110 , respectively, or disposed on the front-end surface, the left end surface, or the right end surface of the upright body  110 , respectively, depending on design requirements. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG.  2   , the plurality of speakers  160  are disposed on the front-end surface and the left end surface of the upright body  110 , but this is not a limitation. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure further comprises a motor  170 . The motor  170  is disposed in the receiving space  116  so that it can be used to drive the upright body  110  to move a first height H 1  along the vertical direction Y (as shown in  FIG.  9   ), wherein the first height H 1  ranges from 0 mm to 200 mm. That is, the motor  170  can drive the upright body  110  along the vertical direction Y to move between 0 mm and 200 mm according to a height of a conference table, sizes of a projection screen, or a projection plane. 
     In the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure, the projection module  120  is an ultra-short focus projection module and the camera module  130  is an automatic tracking camera module. Therefore, during the video conference, the upright body  110  can be driven by the motor  170  to move to a specific position along the vertical direction Y, so that the projection module  120 , which is the ultra-short focus projection module, and the camera module  130 , which is the automatic tracking camera module, can be adjusted to the most suitable height to complete the projection and video conference needs. 
     An advantage of the projection module  120  being the ultra-short focus projection module is that the upright soundbar  100  with projection function can be placed directly in front of a projection screen or a projection plane, eliminating the need to maintain a proper distance from a projection screen or a projection plane with a conventional projector. The camera module  130  being an automatic tracking camera module facilitates focusing operations during a video conference, ensuring that captured images can be automatically focused on a speaker. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , in the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure, the computing module  140  is a microcomputer host. Therefore, it can be installed in the receiving space  116  of the upright body  110  without affecting an upright shape of the upright soundbar  100  with projection function. In other words, even if the receiving space  116  is equipped with the computing module  140 , the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure can still maintain a slender body design. 
     In addition to assisting in transmission of electrical signals between devices, the computing module  140  can also be linked to a stylus. Thus, when the projected images are drawn by the stylus, the relevant handwriting can be recorded in the projected images through operation of the computing module  140 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS.  8  and  9    continuously. The upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure may further comprise a plurality of transmission ports  180 . The plurality of transmission ports  180  are disposed on a base end surface  152  of the base  150 , and the base end surface  152  is not covered by the upright body  110 . In other words, whether the upright body  110  is supported by the bottom portion  114  and is at a lowest point of movement along the vertical direction Y, or in a process of moving up and down along the vertical direction Y driven by the motor  170 , the upright body  110  does not cover the base end surface  152  of the base  150 , so that it will not affect the plug-in and use of the plurality of transmission ports  180 . The plurality of transmission ports  180  are disposed in the base  150  in addition to help maintain neatness of the conference table, but also to facilitate an arrangement of transmission cables, to avoid accidentally pulling the transmission cables and making the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure fall over. 
     It should be noted that the plurality of transmission ports  180  can be transmission ports such as USB (e.g. type C), power, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc., and can therefore be used for external keyboards, mice and other devices, or for power, video or audio signal transmission. 
     As shown in  FIG.  9   , in a preferred embodiment of the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure, the base  150  is an inverted T-shaped base, which can more firmly support the upright body  110  and effectively prevent the upright body  110  from falling over. 
     The base  150  and the bottom portion  114  of the upright body  110  can be driven by the motor  170  through a transmission method such as a gear or a rack to generate a displacement of the first height H 1 . For example, in  FIG.  8    and  FIG.  9   , a rack  172  may be disposed on a side of the base  150 , and a mating gear (not shown) may be disposed on a corresponding side of the bottom portion  114  of the upright body  110 . When the motor  170  receives a command to drive the gear, a relative movement between the gear and the rack  172  can drive the upright body  110  to move along the vertical direction Y. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  4    again. The upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure further comprises a light-emitting ring  190 . The light-emitting ring  190  is disposed around the upright body  110  for prompting working status of the upright soundbar  100  with projection function. For example, the light-emitting ring  190  can be disposed under the top portion  112  of the upright body  110  to facilitate the user&#39;s identification. When the upright soundbar  100  with projection function is in a mute state, the light-emitting ring  190  can be shown in red, and when the upright soundbar  100  with projection function is in a working state of a video conference, the light-emitting ring  190  can be shown in green. 
     In addition, the light-emitting ring  190  can be further provided with adjustable blinking rate and brightness, thereby prompting more of the working status of the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure, such as sound signal playing, camera module  130  in operation, abnormal received signal, etc. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1    again. The upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure further comprises a mesh housing  200 . The mesh housing  200  has a very small mesh holes and completely covers the upright body  110 , so it can effectively prevent foreign matter from intruding into the receiving space  116  of the upright body  110  and affecting operation of the computing module  140  and the motor  170 . The mesh housing  200  can also provide appropriate protection for the plurality of speakers  160  to prevent the plurality of speakers  160  from being pressed or impacted by external forces during use, which may cause damage. In addition, since the projection module  120 , the camera module  130 , and the computing module  140  generate waste heat during use, the mesh housing  200  also has function of quickly removing the waste heat to ensure that the projection module  120 , the camera module  130 , and the computing module  140  can operate in a proper temperature environment, thereby prolonging service life of components such as the projection module  120 , the camera module  130 , and the computing module  140 . 
     In summary, the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure is to change a soundbar that originally needed to be placed or suspended in a horizontal manner to an upright design, so it only needs a small area of ground space to complete an arrangement operation, and it is convenient for users to move. On the other hand, because the upright soundbar  100  with projection function of the present disclosure already has functions of a projector, a camera, etc., it can avoid compatibility problems when a plurality of devices are electrically connected to each other, and there is no need to purchase additional projectors or cameras to save related device construction costs and subsequent maintenance costs. 
     It is to be understood that the term “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variants thereof, is intended to encompass a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or device of a series of elements not only include those elements but also comprises other elements that are not explicitly listed, or elements that are inherent to such a process, method, article, or device. An element defined by the phrase “comprising a . . . ” does not exclude the presence of the same element in the process, method, article, or device that comprises the element. 
     Although the present disclosure has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it does not intend to limit the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art having regard to this present disclosure that other modifications of the exemplary embodiments beyond those embodiments specifically described here may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are considered within the scope of the disclosure as limited solely by the appended claims.