Abstract:
A speaker module of a portable communication device includes a shell and a speaker module. The speaker module includes a speaker, a base and a wall. The wall connects with the base. The shell has two half shells. The shell and the wall define an acoustic cavity when the two half shells are connected. Consequently, the acoustic cavity is defined alongside the speaker, which reduces entire height of the speaker module. The entire height of the communication device can be also reduced to meet the demands of thin, light and compact features for the communication device.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a speaker module of a portable communication device, and more particularly to a speaker module of a portable communication device having an acoustic cavity positioned alongside the speaker.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     The trend of miniaturizing portable communication devices, such as mobile phones or PDA (personal digital assistant), is unstoppable. Thus, the speaker in the portable communication device must be minified.  
         [0005]     Speakers have different structures and sizes for different purposes. An acoustic cavity is used to improve the whole volume of the speakers. Within a reasonable range, the bigger the volume of the acoustic cavity is, the greater the whole sound volume of the speaker is.  
         [0006]     In a conventional speaker structure, the acoustic cavity is placed above the diaphragm. Thus, the entire height of the speaker must include the height of the acoustic cavity. For miniaturization of the portable communication device, the volume of the acoustic cavity of the conventional speaker is reduced relatively. However, the entire height of the speaker can&#39;t be reduced, and the sound performance of the conventional speaker is thus restricted.  
         [0007]     The above-mentioned conventional speaker of the portable communication device needs bigger mounting space and assembling structures. The cost and manufacturing processes of fabricating the portable communication device are generally high. Since the portable communication device and the speaker module need to be mass-produced, the cost accumulated is considerable.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     An objective of the present invention is to provide a speaker module of a portable communication device, which can reduce the entire height of the portable communication device.  
         [0009]     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a speaker module, which can increase the sound performance. Hence, the positioning structures for the speaker module in the portable communication device are simple to assemble. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view (from top) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view (from bottom) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3 ( a ) is a bottom view of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3 ( b ) is a side view of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3 ( c ) is a top view of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4 ( a ) is an exploded perspective view (from top) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4 ( b ) is a perspective view (from top) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5 ( a ) is an exploded perspective view (from bottom) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5 ( b ) is a perspective view (from bottom) of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a plot of frequency-response curves of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention and a conventional speaker. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]     Reference is now made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0022]     While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as original, it is believed that the invention is better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.  
         [0023]     Reference is made to  FIG. 1 , which is an exploded perspective view of a speaker module of a portable communication device in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A portable communication device includes a shell  100 , which includes a first half-shell  110  and a second half-shell  120 .  
         [0024]     The first half-shell  110  includes at least one acoustic hole  111 . The second half-shell  120  includes a second recess  121 .  
         [0025]     The acoustic hole  111  allows the sound produced by a speaker module  200  transmitting out of the shell  100 . While assembling the speaker module  200  inside the shell  100 , the second recess  121  simply positions the speaker module  200  for steady state.  
         [0026]     Reference is made to  FIG. 2 , which is an exploded perspective view of a speaker module of a portable communication device of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The first half-shell  110  includes a first recess  112 .  
         [0027]     While assembling the speaker module  200  into the shell  100 , the recesses  111 ,  112  simply hold the speaker module  200  in position for quickly and convenient assembling process.  
         [0028]     Reference is made to FIGS.  3 ( a ),  3 ( b ) and  3 ( c ), which illustrate a bottom view, a side view and a top view of a speaker module of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention respectively. The speaker module  200  includes a speaker  210 , a base  220  and a wall  230 .  
         [0029]     The speaker  210  is mounted on the base  220 . The wall  230  is connected to the base  220  integrally. For example, the base  220  and the wall  230  can be made simultaneously by plastic injection molding process.  
         [0030]     Reference is made to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  together; the wall  230 , the first half-shell  110  and the second half-shell  120  define a hollow acoustic cavity  231  when the two half-shell  110 ,  120  are connected to each other. The acoustic cavity  231  communicates with the acoustic hole  111 , which allows sound resonated in the acoustic cavity  231  being transmitted out of the shell  100   20  through the hole  111 .  
         [0031]     Reference is made to  FIG. 4 ( a ), which is an exploded perspective view of a speaker module of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The speaker module  200  includes a first sealing member  240  and a second sealing member  250 .  
         [0032]     The first sealing member  240  can be attached on a first surrounding edge  211  of the wall  230  and the base  220  and is positioned between and squeezed by the first half-shell  110  and the wall  230  and the base  220 . Likewise, the second sealing member  250  can be attached on a second surrounding edge  222  of the wall  230  and is positioned between and squeezed by the second half-shell  120  and the wall  230  (reference is made to  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0033]     The first sealing member  240  and the second sealing member  250  are good sound absorption materials or sound insulation materials, such as sponge or the like. Therefore, using the sealing members  240 ,  250  will prevent the sound inside the acoustic cavity from leaking, which increases sound performance.  
         [0034]     Reference is made to  FIG. 4 ( b ), which is an exploded perspective view of a speaker module of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The speaker  210  includes a sound producing surface  211 . The position of the sound producing surface  211  is different from the acoustic hole  111  (reference is made to  FIG. 1 ). The sound produced from the sound producing surface  211  passes through the acoustic cavity  231  and is transmitted out of the shell  100  via the acoustic hole  111 . Thus, the speaker module  200  has a feature that the sound is transmitted toward the side of the speaker  210 .  
         [0035]     Reference is made to  FIG. 5 ( a ), which is an exploded perspective view of a speaker module of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The second sealing member  250  can be attached on the second surrounding edge  222 , and then is positioned between the second half-shell  120  and the wall  230  (reference is made to  FIG. 2 ).  FIG. 5 ( b ) is a perspective view of a speaker module of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention (an oblique bottom view of the speaker module), illustrating the bottom structure of the base  220  and the second sealing member  250  attached on the wall  230 .  
         [0036]     The speaker  210 , the base  220  and the wall  230  can be assembled in proper order or connected integrally to produce the speaker module  200 .  
         [0037]     Reference is made to  FIG. 6 , illustrating that the frequency-response curve of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention is obviously higher than the conventional speaker module in the range from 1,000 Hz to 10,000 Hz (shown as a dotted circle). Thus, the sound volume of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention is larger than the conventional speaker module, too.  
         [0038]     According to the composition and the embodiments above, there are many advantages of the present invention over the prior art, such as:  
         [0039]     1. The acoustic cavity is defined at the side of the speaker for improving sound effects of the speaker module, which renders the speaker module thin and compact. While assembling the speaker module into a portable communication device, it can be matched with a slimmer shell to reduce the entire height of the portable communication device.  
         [0040]     2. Manufacturing the speaker, base and wall is simplified because the base and the wall are plastic molded parts. The manufacturing process can be done by means of injection molding, which can lower cost and enhance durability of the speaker module effectively.  
         [0041]     3. When the speaker module is assembled into a shell of a portable communication device, the recesses in the shell help position the speaker module in the shell. The yield of production can be raised and the amount of bad products can be decreased.  
         [0042]     4. Because of the side acoustic cavity for the speaker, the volume of the acoustic cavity can be bigger than the conventional one. The bigger volume of the acoustic cavity can improve the sound performance effectively.  
         [0043]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.