Patent Publication Number: US-11653130-B1

Title: Sound system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
     This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 17/076,258 filed Oct. 21, 2020, which is a continuation-in-part for application Ser. No. 16/657,345 filed on Oct. 18, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 15/954,184 filed on Apr. 16, 2018, for which priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/486,223, filed on Apr. 17, 2017, which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to sound technology, more particularly, to a speaker directed to interact with the human body. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Entertainment has become an integrated part of our culture. Movies, television shows and video games each have carved out a following with people of all walks of life. The goal in any form of entertainment is to create an experience that is as close as possible to the fantasy created on the film or computer. One aspect is the visual effects. Here they make what we see to be as close as possible to the real world. Other aspects are what we feel through our body and hear through our ears, and some of what we “hear” is actually what we feel through pressure changes on our skin. With that, the audio interface between the body and the chair, or other furniture that is supporting the body, is a vitally important part of the entertainment experience, including in a theater or at home. 
     Low frequency sound may produce both a tactile and auditory response from the body, especially if properly done. The body&#39;s perception of sound and vibration may be hard wired to the brain, thus eliminating the need for the brain to spend time processing that information. This time delay due to mental processing may be required with visual stimuli. The patellar reflex used by physicians by sharply contacting the patella tendon under the knee is an example. The brain does not need to invest much to process that information in order for the muscle to contract and move the foot. Also, if someone scares you by producing a loud noise or unexpectedly touching you, or both, will cause a rapid response compared to seeing something, even something potentially dangerous. The visual response can result in the person freezing or not moving until the brain decides what to do. 
     The variation in processing visual input as compared to auditory and tactile stimuli may also be determined by the time it takes for the stimuli to reach the body. Sound travels at 767 mph. Light travels at 670×10 6  mph or almost a million times faster. That alone would suggest that the combination of sound pressure, to provide both auditory and a tactile response, and visual light should not originate in the same location relative to the user if the end result is a realistic sensory experience of audio, tactile and visual stimuli. Visual stimulus originating from a hundred yards away will reach the eye in 3.05×10 −7  sec (0.000305 milliseconds) compared to a sound wave, which would take about 0.267 seconds to travel the same distance. 
     It should, therefore, be appreciated that there is a need for a speaker capable of producing a low frequency output to produce a high pressure area that the user may be positioned to optimally take advantage of this high pressure area, which may also reduce unwanted sound to the rest of the room. The present invention fulfills this need and others. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention may include a sound system of the type including a speaker, including a front member with an elongate open portion with a top end and a bottom end and a speaker support with the speaker mounted to the speaker support. The speaker support may be coupled to the front member with a front of the speaker facing the front member and the front of the speaker substantially aligned with the bottom end of the elongate open portion. The bottom end of the elongate open portion may be positioned adjacent to a lower portion of the back of the torso of a user and the top end of the open portion is positioned higher near the back of the torso of the user. 
     The speaker may be a low frequency producing speaker adapted to produce sound energy below 200 Hz, or even below 100 Hz. A back of the speaker may not be enclosed in a speaker box, whereby sound energy emitted from the back of the speaker may be substantially free to travel away from the back of the speaker. The speaker support and the front member may be manufactured from a single piece of material. 
     A vent may be provided which may be continuous with the open portion. The vent may provide a continuation of the open portion through to an end of the open portion. The vent may be positioned at the top end of the open portion. 
     The speaker, speaker support and the front member may be provided in a backpack with the open portion of the front member facing toward a pair of shoulder straps of the backpack. Alternatively, the speaker, speaker support and the front member may all be positioned in a seatback of a chair. The front of the speaker may be substantially aligned with a lower portion of the torso of a user seated in the chair and the open portion of the front member may face toward the user seated in the chair. A back of the speaker may be not enclosed in a box, whereby sound energy emitted from the back of the speaker may be substantially free to travel away from the back of the speaker outside of the chair. 
     The speaker, speaker support and the front member may all be positioned in a speaker pillow, the speaker pillow may include a front cushion positioned adjacent to the open portion of the front member, the front cushion may provide a pliable support against the back of the user. The speaker pillow may further include a rear cushion which may provide support to a back of the speaker. The rear cushion may be coupled to the speaker support. A back of the speaker may be not enclosed in a box, whereby sound energy emitted from the back of the speaker may be substantially free to travel away from the back of the speaker and through the speaker pillow. 
     For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain advantages of the invention have been described herein. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages can be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. 
     All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed. These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiments and drawings, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment(s) disclosed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings, in which: 
         FIG.  1    is an isometric view of a media chair, presented in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is an isometric view of a media chair presented in  FIG.  1   , with the cushion removed and cut in half to show the shape of the cushion. 
         FIG.  3    is an isometric view of the media chair as presented in  FIG.  1   , with the cushion removed as well as the front and some of the side edges of the chair frame. 
         FIG.  4    is an isometric view of the media chair as presented in  FIG.  3   , with the seat bottom frame support removed to show the long vent extension and the short vent extension. 
         FIG.  5    is a front view of a media chair as presented in  FIG.  1    showing the location of section line  6 - 6 . 
         FIG.  6    is side sectioned view of a media chair as presented in  FIG.  5    cut along section line  6 - 6 . 
         FIG.  7    is an isometric view of a media chair with the cushion removed and a front chamber and a speaker positioned in the seat bottom of the media chair. 
         FIG.  8    is an isometric view of a media chair with the cushion removed and a front chamber positioned in the seat bottom and seat back of the media chair, with the speaker in the seat back. 
         FIG.  9    is an isometric view of a media chair with the cushion removed and a front chamber positioned primarily in the seat back of the media chair, with the speaker in the seat back. 
         FIG.  10    is an isometric view of a media chair as shown in  FIG.  2    with the vent port removed. 
         FIG.  11    is an isometric view of a bass coupler device for use with a media chair. 
         FIG.  12    is a front isometric view of a frame for a media chair to be used with the bass coupler device of  FIG.  11   . 
         FIG.  13    is a rear isometric view of a frame for a media chair to be used with the bass coupler device of  FIG.  11   . 
         FIG.  14    is a front isometric view of a frame for a media chair with the bass coupler device of  FIG.  11    incorporated therein. 
         FIG.  15    is a rear isometric view of a frame for a media chair with the bass coupler device of  FIG.  11    incorporated therein. 
         FIG.  16    is a front view of the frame for a media chair of  FIG.  14    showing the location of section line  17 - 17 . 
         FIG.  17    is a side sectioned view of the frame for the media chair of  FIG.  16    and cut along section line  17 - 17 . 
         FIG.  18    is a rear isometric view of the frame for the media chair of  FIG.  14    with the bass coupler device slightly displaced from the rest of the chair frame. 
         FIG.  19    is a front view of the frame for a media chair of  FIG.  18    showing the location of section line  20 - 20 . 
         FIG.  20    is a side sectioned view of the frame for the media chair of  FIG.  19    and cut along section line  20 - 20  showing the displacement of the bass coupler from the frame and noted by the dimension “x”. 
         FIG.  21    is an isometric view of the media chair with the bass coupler of  FIG.  14    with a seat cushion positioned adjacent to the chair. 
         FIG.  22    is an isometric view of the media chair of  FIG.  21    with the seat cushion positioned on the chair frame. 
         FIG.  23    is a front view of the frame for a media chair of  FIG.  22    showing the location of section line  24 - 24 . 
         FIG.  24    is a side sectioned view of the media chair frame of  FIG.  23    and cut along section line  24 - 24 . 
         FIG.  25    is an isometric view of a media chair in the form of a sofa or other chair suitable for supporting more than one person at a time. 
         FIG.  26    is a front view of the media chair of  FIG.  25   . 
         FIG.  27    is a sectioned view of the media chair of  FIG.  26    cut along the section line  27 - 27 . 
         FIG.  28    is an isometric view of the media chair of  FIG.  25    with the cushion displaced from the rest of the chair. 
         FIG.  29    is an isometric view of a bass coupler speaker produced in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG.  30    is a front view of the speaker of  FIG.  29    shown with the front covers of the port duct removed. 
         FIG.  31    is a section view cut along line  31 - 31  of  FIG.  30   . 
         FIG.  32    is a section view cut alone line  32 - 32  of  FIG.  30   . 
         FIG.  33    is a right front orthogonal view of an alternative version of the invention wherein the back of the speaker is open. 
         FIG.  34    is a left rear orthogonal view of the speaker as shown in  FIG.  33   . 
         FIG.  35    is a right front orthogonal view of the speaker in  FIG.  33    with a vent at the top of the open portion. 
         FIG.  36    is a left rear orthogonal view of the speaker in  FIG.  35   . 
         FIG.  37    is a left rear orthogonal partially exploded view of a backpack speaker assembly with the speaker shown as it may assemble into the backpack. 
         FIG.  38    is a right front orthogonal view of the backpack speaker in  FIG.  37    with a portion of backpack removed to show the location of the speaker assembly in the backpack. 
         FIG.  39    is a left rear orthogonal view of a speaker chair with the speaker assembly positioned on a back portion of the chair. 
         FIG.  40    is a front view of the speaker chair in  FIG.  39   . 
         FIG.  41    is a left side view of the speaker chair shown in  FIG.  40   . 
         FIG.  42    is a partially exploded view of a speaker pillow with the speaker assembly positioned between an optional front cushion and an optional rear cushion. 
         FIG.  43    is a rear view of an assembled version of the speaker pillow of  FIG.  42   . 
         FIG.  44    is a section view of the speaker cushion of  FIG.  43    cut along line  44 - 44 . 
         FIG.  45    is a side view of a chair with a speaker in the bottom of the chair, the speaker not including a speaker box. 
         FIG.  46    is a left rear orthogonal view of a speaker chair with the speaker assembly positioned on a back portion of the chair, with the front of the speaker facing back, away from a user that may be seated in the speaker chair. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to the illustrative drawings, and particularly to  FIGS.  1 - 2   , there is shown a media chair  30 . A seat cushion  32  may be provided so as to provide a comfortable seat bottom  34 , which may support the hips and upper legs of a user and a seat back  36 , which may support the torso of the user. 
     The view of the seat cushion  32  in  FIG.  2    is shown to be cut in half so as to better illustrate an embodiment of the seat cushion  32 . The seat cushion  32  may include a seat pad  38 , which may include the seat bottom  34  and the seat back  36 . A side flange  40  may be provided on one or both sides of the seat pad  38 . The side flange  40  may be fastened to the side frames  42  of the seat frame  44 , to secure the seat cushion  32  to the seat frame  44 . 
     The seat frame  44  may be comprised of two side frames  42  connected to a first surface  46 . The first surface  46  may include a seat bottom frame support  48  and the seat back frame support  50 , together creating a substantially continuous surface connected to the side frames  42 . One or more seat supports  52  may be mounted to the side frames  42  and positioned away from the seat bottom frame support  48  and the seat back frame support  50 , thus defining a second surface  54 . The area between the first surface  46  and the second surface  54  and bounded by the side frames  42 , may define a front chamber  56 . In this embodiment, the front chamber  56  may include a continuous area under the seat bottom  34  and behind the seat back  36  of the seat cushion  32 . 
     A speaker  58  may be provided in the seat bottom frame support  48  with the speaker cone  60  positioned in the front chamber  56 . When sound energy is driven into the front chamber  56  by way of the speaker  58 , the front chamber  56  may show an increase in gas pressure as compared to the ambient pressure outside of the front chamber  56  of the seat frame  44 . This increase in gas pressure in the front chamber  56  may be directed through the seat cushion  32  and directly into a user seated on the seat cushion  32 . 
     An area of increased pressure, such as that may be produced by the speaker  58  by the sound pressure or sound energy provided into the front chamber  56 , may be referred to as a plenum. This plenum may also be created in a room by a speaker that produces sound energy at or below 200 Hz, and optionally below 100 Hz. The inefficiency with creating a plenum that is the size of a room may be illustrated by the power necessary to drive the low-frequency subwoofer to a level to produce an adequate plenum. A movie theater may use multiple low frequency speakers, requiring several thousand watts. This is necessary because that sound energy must fill the entire room in order to create a plenum for the user in a chair to experience not only the auditory stimulus from the speaker but also the tactile stimulation on the skin. With a system as shown and described herein, a single speaker  58  may need only an input of 10 to 30 watts to provide the user with a much greater stimulus compared to potentially thousands of watts necessary to fill an entire room. By placing the user directly in, or directly adjacent to, the plenum created by the speaker  58 , the energy from the speaker  58  is much more impactful to the user relative to trying to create a plenum in a large room in which the occupants take up only a small portion of the volume of that room. 
     Another advantage to creating an individual plenum for each user is the reduction of wasted sound energy that may then disturb others. In a home theater, for example, there may be other members of the household that are not in the theater. If hundreds, if not thousands of watts of power are pumped into the home theater room to attempt to achieve the same stimulus to the user as would be the case with an individual plenum for each user, other members of the household may be disrupted by the unnecessary sound energy emanating from the home theater room. With the present invention, one or more chairs may be provided, each with their own speaker  58  positioned to create an individual plenum for each user. Also, only the seats that have a user seated in it need to be powered at all, and those that are powered only require a relatively minimal amount of power to drive each individual speaker  58 , thus saving money and resources by not wasting power. 
     As is shown in  FIGS.  3 - 8   , additional details of this embodiment of the media chair  30  are shown. In  FIG.  3    one of the side frames  42  has been removed to better show the front chamber  56  and some of the components. The seat bottom frame support  48  is shown in this embodiment to be positioned between the second surface  54  and the seat base  62 . The space between the seat bottom frame support  48  and the seat base  62  may define a back chamber  64 . The back chamber  64  may have fluid access to and from the front chamber  56  by way of a vent port  66 . As is shown in  FIG.  4   , the seat bottom frame support  48  has been removed to show the location of the speaker  58  relative to a long vent extension  68 . The long vent extension  68  may provide a continuous surface contacting both the seat base  62  and the seat bottom frame support  48 . The long vent extension  68  may have a long dimension greater than the diameter of the speaker  58 . The long vent extension  68  may also provide structural support to the media chair  30 . The long vent extension  68  may be positioned such that a surface of the long vent extension  68  may be continuous with a first edge  70  of the vent port  66 , located in the seat bottom frame support  48 . 
     A short vent extension  72  may be positioned substantially parallel to the long vent extension  68 . The short vent extension  72  may include a surface that is continuous with a second edge  74  of the vent port  66 . The combination of the long vent extension  68  and the short vent extension  72  may be defined as a port duct  73  and may provide a fluid pathway for the movement of air, or any other gas, from the front chamber  56  to the back chamber  64  by way of the vent port  66  and displace any turbulent flow away from the speaker  58 . 
     The purpose of the vent port  66  has some advantages, including increasing sound pressure provided by the low-frequency speaker  58  as compared to a system that does not have a vent port  66 . The vent port  66  is not considered mandatory relative to the novelty of the disclosed invention. As such, a version of the media chair  30  is shown in  FIG.  10    which does not have a vent port  66 . The vent port  66  allows sound pressure to be redirected from the rear of the speaker cone  60  and adds it to the sound coming from the front of the speaker, making the bass louder. Another advantage to the use of a vent port  66  is that the airflow provided to the speaker  58  keeps the speaker  58  cooler, which may increase the lifespan of the speaker  58 . 
     For some types of music the user may want a bass sound without a vent port. In that case, it may be desirable to not use a vent port  66 , as is shown in  FIG.  10   . In that an advantage to the placement of the user in, or adjacent to, the plenum generated by the speaker  58  and the reduction in power necessary to provide the intended auditory and tactile stimulation to the user from the speaker  58 , it is expected that most users may prefer the greater stimulus provided to the user by a system which includes a vent port  66 . As such, the majority of the disclosure will include a vent port  66 , though it is understood that the vent port  66  is not a mandatory element of the invention. 
     In many embodiments of the present invention, the media chair  30  may include one or more seat supports  52  which may be physically connected to each of the two side frames  42 . The seat supports  52  are intended to be substantially rigid in that they may be capable of supporting the weight of a user, yet be somewhat acoustically invisible. As shown throughout this disclosure, the seat supports  52  are depicted as straps of minimal width. This reduced cross-section may allow for the sound energy created by the speaker  58  to be transferred through the seat cushion  32  and to the user. It is understood that the seat supports  52  in this form, or any number of variations, could also be incorporated into the construction of the seat cushion  32 . Throughout this disclosure the seat supports  52  are shown separate from the seat cushion  32  so as to help define the location of the second surface  54  of the seat frame  44 . 
     As is shown in  FIGS.  5 - 6   , a front view of the media chair  30  is shown in  FIG.  5    and a section line  6 - 6  is also provided in this view.  FIG.  6    shows a depiction of the media chair  30  cut along the section line  6 - 6 . The speaker  58  may include a speaker cone  60 , which may be present in the front chamber  56  of the media chair  30 . The speaker  58  may also include a speaker body  76 , which may be provided in the back chamber  64  of the media chair  30 . The long vent extension  68  may be provided in the back chamber  64  and be continuous with both the seat bottom frame support  48  and the seat base  62 . 
     The front chamber  56  may see an increase in gas pressure when the speaker  58  is being driven, thus increasing the sound energy in the front chamber  56 . A series of gas pressure lines  78  have been used to illustrate an example of the flow of sound energy from the speaker  58  throughout the front chamber  56 . These gas pressure lines  78  are for illustrative purposes only and intended to show an increase in sound pressure, or sound energy, inside the front chamber  56  relative to outside the media chair  30 . This increased pressure area of the front chamber  56  may move through seat cushion  32  and therefore transfer to a user sitting on the seat cushion  32 , as the permeability to sound energy of the seat cushion  32  may be greater than that of the rest of the seat frame  44 . The result may be an extension of the plenum created by the speaker  58  through the seat cushion  32  and therefore engulfing a user sitting on the seat cushion  32 , thereby transferring some of the sound energy directly into the user, rather than have it enter the room, bounce off a wall and then make it back to the user. 
     For the purposes of this disclosure the term “gas pressure” may be analogous with “air pressure” in that the state of the current technology uses air to carry the sound energy produced by the speaker  58 . It is understood that at some time in the future it may become advantageous to alter the makeup of the gas from simply ambient air to another compressible fluid or a combination that may prove to be more efficient with the process of transmitting sound energy. For this purpose, the term “gas pressure” is used to include all compressible fluids, including air. 
     The plenum created by the speaker  58  may include the area under the seat bottom  34 , behind the seat back  36  of the seat cushion  32  when assembled onto the seat frame  44 , or both as shown, or be compartmentalized to one or the other.  FIG.  7    shows a media chair  30  with the speaker  58  in the seat frame  44  where the plenum may be primarily directed to the area under the seat bottom  34  when the seat cushion  32  is assembled onto the seat frame  44 . As noted earlier, one or more seat supports  52  may be used to provide a minimalist structural support for the seat cushion  32  and allow the plenum area to be partially confined by the front chamber  56 . In this embodiment, the back of the seat frame  44  may include a seat back front support  80 . The seat back front support  80  may provide direct support for the back of the seat cushion  32 , thus eliminating the need for seat supports  52  on the inside of the seat back  36 . By doing so, the plenum area, and therefore the front chamber  56  may not extend into the seat back  36 , and may be primarily confined to the seat bottom  34  of the seat cushion  32  when assembled. The sound energy produced in the front chamber  56  may also be directed to the user by the seat back  36 . 
     It may also be desirable to place the speaker  58  in the back of the seat frame  44  as opposed to under the seat bottom  34  of the seat cushion  32 . A version of this embodiment is shown in  FIG.  8   . The speaker  58  may be positioned in a lower portion of the seat frame  44  so that sound energy produced by the speaker  58  may not only fill the space between the seat supports  52  on the back of the seat frame  44 , but also in the bottom of the seat frame  44 . This thereby defining the front chamber  56  to include the area behind the seat back  36  and under the seat bottom  34  of the seat cushion  32 . A vent port  66  may also be included in the seat back front support  80  to provide ventilation to the back of the speaker  58 , as previously noted. 
     In many of the embodiments a set of high, middle or full range frequency speakers  82  may also be provided, and located in the back of the seat frame  44 , or any number of other locations. These higher frequency speakers  82  may be positioned adjacent to the user&#39;s ears when seated in the chair  30  or positioned in the armrests to produce a sound stage in front of the user&#39;s ears. The higher frequency speakers  82  may perform in a manner that is common for higher frequency speakers  82  and work outside of the plenum provided by the speaker  58  in the front chamber  56 . 
     Another embodiment of the present invention  30  is shown in  FIG.  9   . In this embodiment, as shown previously, the speaker  58  may be provided in the back portion of the seat frame  44 , and may include a vent port  66  near the speaker  58 . One or more seat supports  52  may be used to offer a substantially audio invisible support for the back of the seat cushion  32  when positioned on the seat frame  44 . In this embodiment, the bottom of the seat frame  44  may include a seat bottom top support  84 , providing direct support for the seat bottom  34  of the seat cushion  32 . The presence of the seat bottom top support  84  may restrict the front chamber  56  to the back portion of the seat frame  44  and therefore the plenum area may not include the area under the seat bottom  34  of the cushion  32 . 
     The use of the vent port  66  has been shown and discussed previously. In some embodiments it may be desirable to not include a vent port  66 . An example of this embodiment is shown in  FIG.  10   . The media chair  30  may include a seat frame  44  with a pair of side frames  42 . The speaker  58  is shown here to be in the bottom portion of the seat frame  44 , but it could also be in the back portion of the seat frame  44 , as may be shown in  FIG.  8   , but without the vent port  66 . The seat bottom frame support  48  may be provided to support the speaker  58  so as to provide a front chamber  56  in the bottom portion and the back portion of the seat frame  44 . In this embodiment, the seat bottom frame support  48  does not include a vent port  66 . The absence of the vent port  66  may restrict airflow to the back of the speaker  58 , which may be desirable for some types of music. In that case, it may be desirable to not include a vent port  66 , as is shown here. 
     An alternative embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS.  11 - 24   . In these figures an existing chair, sofa or any number of other types of furniture may be used in conjunction with a bass coupler  86  to achieve similar results as with the media chair  30  as previously disclosed.  FIG.  11    shows a bass coupler  86  with a speaker  58  mounted to a speaker support  88 , which may be housed within a box frame  90 . The speaker support  88  may include a vent port  66  positioned adjacent to the speaker  58  as previously shown and described. The box frame  90  may include a pair of sidewalls  92  and a back wall  94 , the combination comprising a front chamber  56 , which may assist in producing a plenum area when the speaker  58  produces sound energy. The box frame  90  may include an open end  96 , which may be placed adjacent to a chair or other furniture where a user may be seated. This combination may extend the plenum area to the user sitting in the chair, in a manner as previously disclosed. 
     A coupler chair  98  may also be constructed in such a manner to efficiently take advantage of the directional output of the sound energy from the speaker  58  to the user seated in the coupler chair  98 . An example is shown in  FIGS.  12 - 13   . The coupler chair  98  may include two side frames  42 , which may be coupled to a back frame  100 . The back frame  100  may include an open area  102 . The open area  102  may be covered by a substantially invisible acoustic material, such as a mesh or a series of rods, in that the sound energy may pass through or around these structural elements with little or no obstruction to the sound energy. For the purposes of this disclosure the open area  102  will be depicted as a completely open section in the back frame  100 . A seat base  104  may also be provided, such that the combination of the seat base  104  and the back frame  100  may support a seat cushion  32  and a user on that cushion  32 . 
     In  FIGS.  14 - 17    the bass coupler  86  has been positioned in the coupler chair  98  such that the front chamber  56  of the bass coupler  86  is adjacent to and substantially aligned with the open area  102  of the coupler chair  98 . In this way, the front chamber  56  of the bass coupler  86  may be extended through the open area  102  of the coupler chair  98  such that the sound energy generated by the speaker  58  may pass through the coupler chair  98  and to a user seated on the coupler chair  98 . 
     One advantage to having the bass coupler  86  being unique from the coupler chair  98  is that the bass coupler  86  may not be required to be in direct contact with the back of the coupler chair  98 . This is illustrated in  FIGS.  17 - 20   . In this embodiment, the bass coupler  86  may be displaced from the back frame  100 , as noted by the dimension “x”. Not only may the power input to the speaker  58  be altered according to the desire of the user, but an alternative form of altering the amount of sound energy generated by the speaker  58  which would pass through the open area  102 , and therefore to the user positioned on the coupler chair  98 , may be to effectively “unseal” the connection between a front portion of the bass coupler  86  and the back frame  100 , as shown here. By creating a space between the base coupler  86  and the back frame  100  of the coupler chair  98 , a portion of the acoustic or sound energy generated by the speaker  58  may escape into the room by way of the gap provided between the bass coupler  86  and the back frame  100  of the coupler chair  98 . This energy loss into the room would then not be directed through the open area  102  of the back frame  100  of the coupler chair  98 , and therefore not be transferred to the user seated in the coupler chair  98 . 
     As previously noted, a seat cushion  32  may be provided on the coupler chair  98 . This is illustrated in  FIGS.  21 - 24   . The seat cushion  32  may take a variety of forms, but is shown here to include a seat bottom  34  and a seatback  36 . The seat bottom  34  may be supported by the seat base  104  and the seat back  36  may be supported by the back frame  100 . The seat cushion  32  may be comprised of the material that allows sound energy to pass through with minimal interference. As such, the front chamber  56 , through the open area  102 , may be in direct contact with a portion of the seat cushion  32 . The sound energy, as illustrated by the gas pressure lines  78  may be directed toward the seat cushion  32  and therefore to the user positioned on the seat cushion  32 . This embodiment shows the plenum area as generated by the speaker  58  to be positioned near the middle back of the seat back  36 . This is only one possibility and could also be positioned in any number of other locations including the seat bottom  34 , as shown in previous embodiments. 
     In some cases more than one user may be positioned on a single media chair  30 ′. One example of this is shown in  FIGS.  25 - 28   . A seat cushion  32 ′ may be elongated as compared to the previous embodiments, but the seat cushion  32 ′ may still include a seat bottom  34  and a seat back  36 , as previously disclosed. The media chair  30 ′ may include a seat frame  44 ′ with a speaker  58  positioned such that the speaker cone  60  may be directed toward the front chamber  56 . As previously shown and described, the front chamber  56  may include an area behind the seat cushion  32 ′. The seat cushion  32 ′ may be supported by one or more seat supports  52 ′. In this embodiment, a series of seat supports  52 ′ may be shown as structural elements coupled to the seat frame  44 ′ and positioned adjacent to the seat cushion  32 ′, in this instance, supporting the seat back  36  and the seat bottom  34  of the seat cushion  32 ′. 
     One or more speakers  58  may be positioned within the seat frame  44 ′. In this embodiment, the speaker  58  may be coupled to the bottom frame support  48 ′ at substantially the center portion of the bottom frame support  48 ′. A vent port  66  may be located adjacent to the speaker  58 , thereby facilitating airflow between the front chamber  56  and the speaker body  76 . 
     The speaker  58  may produce a plenum in the front chamber  56 , for which the sound energy, or sound pressure, illustrated by the gas pressure lines  78 , may be directed toward the seat cushion  32 ′ and therefore the one or more users seated on the seat cushion  32 ′. This may be due to the minimal resistance to energy flow of the sound energy in the direction of the seat cushion  32 ′ as compared to the substantially closed structure on the backside of the seat frame  44 ′ and seat base  62 ′. As previously disclosed, this may increase the sound energy passed to the user, or users and do so in a more efficient manner as compared to placing a speaker somewhere else in the room and further removed from the users. 
     An alternative embodiment of the bass coupler  86 ′ is shown in  FIG.  29   . The version of the bass coupler  86 ′ may be more compact and less complex to manufacture as compared to the bass coupler  86  as shown in  FIG.  11   . The version as shown in  FIG.  11    may be used to connect to a specific type and construction of coupler chair  98 , as shown in  FIGS.  12 - 24   . The alternative version of the bass coupler  86 ′ may be positioned in many locations including on or near the back or outside of any chair, furniture, bed. The bass coupler  86 ′ may be mounted under the seat cushion of a chair, or even placed in a backpack or even coupled directly to the user. The bass coupler  86 ′ can also be inserted inside any type of furniture. The bass coupler  86 ′ is shown in a basic rectangular shape, however, it can also be designed in any shape including circular, round, etc. As long as the open end  96  of the front chamber  56  is positioned toward the user, be that the back, lower hip area, under the legs or any other location, the transfer of sound energy produced by the speaker  58  in the front chamber  56  may be experienced by the user. 
     Detail of this alternative embodiment of the bass coupler  86 ′ is shown in detail in  FIGS.  29 - 32   . The box frame  90 ′ of the bass coupler  86 ′ may support the speaker  58  by way of the speaker support  88 . The port duct  73 ′ may be arranged as a truncated “U” shape in which an intake port  106  may be positioned directly below the speaker  58 . The port duct  73 ′ may funnel sound energy, as illustrated by the gas pressure lines  78 , from the intake port  106  around to the side of the speaker support  88  and upward proximate to a side of the speaker  58  to the vent port  66 . This may allow a portion of the high pressure gas to cycle back to the back side of the speaker  58  to the back chamber  64 . Behind the speaker body  76  portion of the speaker  58 , the back wall  94  may be used to help direct the sound energy, which passed through the vent port  66 , to be used by the speaker  58  in the back chamber  64 . The box frame  90 ′ may include a pair of side walls  92 ′ and a pair of end walls  110 , each extending beyond the speaker support  88  to define the front chamber  56 . In a preferred embodiment the volume of the back chamber  64  may be approximately twice that of the volume of the front chamber  56 . 
     With reference to  FIGS.  33 - 36   , an alternative preferred embodiment of a speaker assembly  112  is shown. In the previous embodiments, a back chamber  64  was utilized in which the back of the speaker  58  was enclosed by the box, to create a speaker box, which aided to envelope the speaker  58 . Enclosing the back of the speaker  58  has some advantages or disadvantages, depending on the intended goal. The sound pressure waves generated out of the back of the speaker  58  may be substantially equal to, but 180° out of phase, from the sound pressure generated from the front of the speaker  58 . In an open space, with no speaker box, these sound pressure waves may cancel each other by a natural process called phase cancelation, thus reducing the sound energy that enters the room. If the goal is to fill the air with these low frequency sound waves, the previously shown embodiments, with a speaker box, may be desirable. If the intention is to direct the sound pressure to an individual user, it may be desirable to take advantage of the phase cancelation effect of a speaker  58 , in which the back portion of the speaker  58  may be open to the room and not enclosed in a type of speaker box. This may enable a user to fully experience the sound energy from the front of the speaker  58  before it may be canceled by the sound energy emitted from the back of the speaker  58 , thereby without disturbing other people in the area. 
     The previous embodiments may include a speaker support  88 , as may be utilized here, to support the speaker  58 . A front member  114  may be coupled to the speaker support  88 . The front member  114  may include an open portion  116 , which may act as a plenum, serving to direct the sound energy from the front of the speaker  58 . The open portion  116  may be confined to the boundary of the front member  114 , or the open portion  116  may extend beyond the size of the front member  114 , thereby providing a vent  118 . The vent  118  may provide the ability of some of the sound energy generated from the front of the speaker  58 , that travels through the plenum defined by the open portion  116 , to escape from the plenum through the vent  118 . More detail of the possible benefits of the vent  118  will be discussed later in this disclosure. In these embodiments the front member  114  and the speaker support  88  are shown to be two separate structures that are connected together. This may be the optimal method of separately manufacturing these elements of the speaker assembly  112  and then combining them together, but it is understood that a single piece of material could be manufactured that would function as both the speaker support  88  and the front member  114  together. 
     One application of the speaker assembly  112  may be to use it in a backpack  120 . This is illustrated in  FIGS.  37 - 38   . The intended purpose of the speaker assembly  112  may be to provide a concentrated flow of sound energy to a specific user while minimizing the sound energy to others nearby. This embodiment of the backpack speaker  122  may provide an idealized example of this technology. As previously noted, sound pressure or energy generated from the back of the speaker  58  may be substantially equal to but 180° out of phase from the sound waves generated from the front of the speaker  58 . If the back of the speaker  58  is not enclosed in a speaker box and these sound waves are able to move out into the immediate area, virtually unencumbered due to the absence of the speaker box, the sound may cancel the sound produced out of the front of the speaker  58  after they pass beyond the user wearing the backpack speaker  122 . 
     This phase cancelation process may occur in the immediate area, thus minimizing any disruption to others in the area that do not want to listen to the user&#39;s music or other audio content. The user, on the other hand, may be positioned directly in front of the plenum defined by the open portion  116 . With the speaker backpack  122  on the user&#39;s back, the plenum may be the thickness of the backpack material away from the user&#39;s skin. The shape of the plenum, as defined by the open portion  116 , may be shaped to resemble the torso of a user, in that it may be taller than it is wide, and thus be elongate in shape. Also, the plenum may be positioned directly adjacent to the spine of the user. This may maximize the sensitivity of the user to the sound energy, thus maximizing the effectiveness of providing sound energy to the user and not to other people nearby. The plenum, as defined by the open portion  116 , may be limited in width to be narrower than the width of the back of an average person. By doing so, if the user leans back against the front member  114 , the user&#39;s back may be less likely to restrict the sound pressure from coming out of the open portion  116 . If the back of the user “falls into” the open portion  116 , this may disrupt the function of the plenum to generate pressure to distribute sound energy to the body of the user. 
     The vent  118  may be positioned at the top of the backpack speaker  122 . The vent  118  may be used to provide a release of some of the sound pressure from the open portion  116  that may be restricted by the body of the user. In some cases the vent  118 , as positioned here toward the head of the user, may also direct a portion of the sound pressure upward toward the head, and therefore the ears, of the user. This may enhance the listening experience of the user, in addition to the direct energy transferred to the back of the upper torso of the user through the plenum. 
     The material of the backpack  120  may be any commonly used material suitable for a backpack, such as nylon, cotton or similar pliable materials. It may be desirable that the material on at least the side of the backpack  120  that contacts the body of the user, may be made of a waterproof or water resistant material, such as nylon. Waterproof materials are likely less porous and may provide a slight backpressure between the speaker  58  and the outside of the backpack  120  in the form of the speaker backpack  122 . This backpressure may cause the material of the backpack  120  in the speaker backpack  122  next to the body of the user to vibrate as a result of the sound energy produced by the speaker  58 . This vibration of the material may provide an additional sensory stimulation to the user in the form of a tactile stimulation, thereby enhancing the audio experience of the user. 
     In  FIGS.  39 - 41    a chair  124  is shown with a speaker  58  as part of the speaker assembly  112  positioned in the back of the chair  124 . In this embodiment the back of the speaker  58  is exposed to the room, as previously discussed with speaker assembly  112  positioned in the backpack  120  to provide the speaker backpack  122 . The backpack  120  of the speaker backpack  122  had a back cloth portion that covered the back of the speaker  58 , but as stated, the material similar to the back of the backpack  120  may be used to let the sound energy pass through. This may enable the phase cancelation process that was previously discussed. Likewise, the chair  124  may include a cover over the back of the speaker  58 , but this is not intended to be a speaker box as previously disclosed in earlier embodiments herein. As with the speaker backpack  122 , any cover over the back of the speaker  58  in the chair  124  may allow the sound energy to pass through with little interference. 
     The location of the speaker  58  in the chair  124  is depicted to be at a lower portion of the back of the chair  124 . This is consistent with the previous embodiments of the speaker assembly  112 . The intention is that the sound energy from the speaker  58  may be directed toward the lower spine of the user and pass up toward the head of the user, some of that energy potentially exiting through the vent  118 . Again, the vent  118  may be positioned toward the top of the back  126  of the chair  124 , which may be near the head of a user sitting in the chair  124 . In this embodiment, the speaker assembly  112  may be inserted into a pocket  128  on the back  126  of the chair  124 . Likewise, the speaker assembly  112  may be received into the back  126  of the chair  124  with little or none of the back of the speaker  58  visible from the back  126  of the chair  124 . Again, it may be preferable that any materials that may be used to cover the back of the speaker  58  provide a minimal interference with the sound energy emanating from the back of the speaker  58 . 
     Another application of the speaker assembly  112  is as a speaker pillow  130 . In  FIGS.  42 - 44    a speaker pillow  130  is shown as it may be produced to provide the desired attributes of the invention. The speaker assembly  112  may be positioned between a front cushion  132  and a rear cushion  134 . The front cushion  132  may be constructed of a foam material such as a polyurethane or polypropylene foam. The front cushion  132  may be covered with a waterproof or water resistant material (not shown). The speaker assembly  112 , as previously disclosed, may be received by a cutout  136  in the front cushion  132 . This cutout  136  may act to help secure the speaker assembly  112  into position relative to the front cushion  132 . This detail is not considered critical to the novelty of the invention, but may be considered a part of the preferred embodiment. The front cushion  132  may include a cushion opening  138  which may coincide with the location of the vent  118  in the speaker assembly  112 . Though the material used to construct the front cushion  132  is not considered to be restrictive to passage of sound energy, the absence of any material in this location may be beneficial for the energy flow through the vent  118 . 
     The speaker pillow  130  may include a lumbar support  140 . The lumbar support  140  may have a comfort affect for the user in a seated position, but also people would inherently understand the lumbar support  140  is located toward the bottom of the speaker pillow  130 . The speaker  58  may be positioned adjacent to the lumbar support  140 , thereby orienting the speaker pillow  130  such that the speaker  58  may be located at the lower portion of the spine of the user. This is consistent with the previous embodiments using the speaker backpack  122  and the chair  124  in the preceding figures. The open portion  116  may then be positioned adjacent to the spine of the user with the vent  118  facing up in the direction of the head of the user. This embodiment may provide a shorter height of the speaker assembly  112  as compared to the chair  124 , but the general purpose and orientation of the structures are consistent in each of the embodiments where the speaker  58  is substantially open to the back, or not otherwise enclosed. 
     The rear cushion  134  may or may not be used. The rear cushion  134  is shown here to include a cushion hole  142 . The cushion hole  142  may be used to receive a portion of the back of the speaker  58  of the speaker assembly  112 . This may help locate and secure the location of the rear cushion  134  to the speaker assembly  112  and at the same time reduce any interference to sound energy produced by the speaker  58  out of the back of the speaker  58 . As previously noted, the unimpeded or minimally impeded sound energy flow from the back of the speaker  58  may be valuable to allow for phase cancelation of sound waves on the sides of the speaker assembly  112 . This may be desirable in reducing unwanted sound by not disturbing others in the room while allowing the user to enjoy the sound energy directed at the user from the front of the speaker  58 . 
     An alternative embodiment of a speaker chair is shown in  FIG.  45   . In this embodiment the speaker  58  may be positioned on the seat bottom  144 . A similar speaker assembly  112  may be used as previously disclosed, only positioned on or near the seat bottom  144  rather than the seat back  126 . In this figure, the speaker  58  may be positioned nearer to the seat back  126  than to the front  146  of the seat bottom  144 . In this way the sound energy produced by the speaker  58  may be directed closer to the spine of the user seated with the user&#39;s back against the seat back  126 . The speaker  58  may also be positioned farther forward on the seat bottom  144 , as deemed desirable by different chair bodies, speaker assemblies and the power output of the speaker  58 . 
     In  FIG.  46    an alternative to the preferred embodiment is shown. Here the speaker  58  is reversed from that as shown in  FIG.  39   , in that what is generally considered to be the front portion  148  of the speaker  58  is positioned away from where a user would be seated in the chair  124 ′. In some speakers, especially low frequency or bass speakers, the sound energy that is produced out of the front portion  148  of the speaker  58  may be substantially equal to the sound energy that is produced out of the back of the speaker  58 , therefore the speaker  58  may function similarly facing either direction in the chair  124 ′. In some cases it may be desirable to reverse the speaker  58  relative to the chair  124 ′, as is shown in  FIG.  46   . In this example, the lumbar area  150  of the chair  124 ′ may be thicker than some other portions of the seat back  126  of the chair  124 ′. Given that many bass speakers may have a significant thickness, the space in this lumbar area  150  may be used to house a good portion of the thickness of the speaker  58  without the speaker  58  extending out the back of the chair  124 ′ while still directing a significant amount of bass energy toward the user seated in the chair  124 ′. A cover (not shown) could be used to cover the seat back  126 , thereby virtually eliminating the outline of the speaker  58  in the chair  124 ′ as viewed from the back without adding any material thickness to the seat back  126 . This may not only be more aesthetically pleasing but it may save in shipping and storage space required for the chair  124 ′. 
     The foregoing detailed description of the present invention is provided for purposes of illustration, and it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiment shown. The embodiments may provide different capabilities and benefits, depending on the configuration used to implement key features of the invention.