Patent Publication Number: US-7896327-B2

Title: Positioning mechanism for man-made ear

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to positioning mechanisms and, particularly, to a positioning mechanism for man-made ear. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Many electronic devices, such as speakers, require man-made ears during the process of sound testing. Man-made ears are usually secured on a positioning mechanism, which is located at a preset location and allows the man-made ears to move up and down. Conventional positioning mechanisms for man-made ears are usually designed corresponding to certain types of electronic devices. When the type of the electronic device to be tested is changed, for example, to have a larger size, the positioning mechanism should be redesigned. The preceding scenario is a waste of time and money. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a positioning mechanism for a man-made ear that can adjust the position of the man-made ear in a large range. 
     SUMMARY 
     A positioning mechanism for a man-made ear includes a shaft, a driving device, a rotational arm, a first sliding member, and a second sliding member. The driving device is slidably secured to the shaft by a first fastener. The driving device also has a rotational wheel. The rotational arm has an end secured to the rotational wheel. The first sliding member has a first elongated sliding groove adjustably secured to the rotational arm by a second fastener inserted through the sliding groove. The second sliding member has one or more second elongated sliding grooves perpendicular to the first elongated sliding groove. The second sliding member is adjustably secured to the first sliding member by one or more third fasteners inserted through the second elongated sliding grooves. The second sliding member is configured for securing a man-made ear. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present positioning mechanism for man-made ears can be better understood with references to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present positioning mechanism for man-made ears. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a positioning mechanism for a man-made ear operating according to a present embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a partially exploded view of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the positioning mechanism for a man-made ear of  FIG. 1  in another operating state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail below, with references to the drawings. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a positioning mechanism  100  according to an embodiment includes a shaft  10 , a driving device  20 , a rotational arm  30 , a first sliding member  40 , a second sliding member  50 , a first fastener  60 , a second fastener  70 , and a third fastener  80 . 
     The driving device  20  has a securing portion  21  secured on the shaft  10  by the first fastener  60 . Loosening of the first fastener  60  allows the driving device  20  to move along and rotate about the shaft  10 , and tightening of the first fastener  60  fixes the driving device  20  in a new position. The driving device  20  includes a rotatable wheel  22  that can rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise. In the present embodiment, the driving device  20  is a motor for rotating the rotatable wheel  22 . 
     A first end of the rotational arm  30  is secured on the rotatable wheel  22  so that the rotational arm  30  can rotate along with the rotatable wheel  22 . A second end of the rotational arm  30  opposite to the first end is connected with an end of the first sliding member  40 . In the present embodiment, the rotational arm  30  has two protruding posts  32 ,  33  and a screw hole  31  at the second end. 
     The first sliding member  40  has an elongated sliding groove  41  at the end thereof near the rotational arm  30  and two screw holes  42 ,  43  at another end thereof away from the rotational arm  30 . The sliding groove  41  is configured for receiving the protruding post  32  and  33  of the rotational arm  30 . The first sliding member  40  can be secured to the rotational arm  30  by the second fastener  70 . In the present embodiment, the second fastener  70  is a screw that runs through the sliding groove  41  and engages in the screw hole  31  to secure the first sliding member  40  to the rotational arm  30 . Loosening of the second fastener  70  allows the first sliding member  40  to slide on the second fastener  70 , and tightening of the second fastener  70  fixes the first sliding member  40  in a new position. 
     The second sliding member  50  has two elongated sliding grooves  51 ,  52  at the end thereof near the first sliding member  40 . The second sliding member  50  can be secured to the first sliding member  40  by the third fastener  80 . A man-made ear  1  can be secured on another end of the second sliding member  50  away from the first sliding member  40  for testing an electronic device  90 . In the present embodiment, the third fastener  80  includes two screws  81 ,  82 . The second sliding member  50  can be secured to the first sliding member  40  via the two fastening screws  81 ,  82 , by running the screws  81 ,  82  through the sliding grooves  51 ,  52  and engaging the screws  81 ,  82  into the two screw holes  42 ,  43 , respectively. The sliding grooves  51 ,  52  of the second sliding member  50  are parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the sliding groove  42  of the first sliding member  40  after the second sliding member  50  is secured to the first sliding member  40 . Loosening of the third fastener  80  allows the second sliding member  50  to slide on the third fastener  80 , and tightening of the third fastener  80  fixes the second sliding member  50  in a new position. 
     The man-made ear  1  carried by the positioning mechanism  100  can move freely along with movements of the driving device  20 , the rotational arm  30 , and the first and second sliding members  40 ,  50 . Therefore, when the type of the electronic device to be tested has been changed, the man-made ear  1  can easily match the new type by adjusting the positioning mechanism  100 . Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the rotational arm  30  can move up and down by rotating of the rotatable wheel  22 . 
     While certain embodiments have been described and exemplified above, various other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure. The present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described and exemplified, but is capable of considerable variation and modification without departure from the scope of the appended claims.