PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9820033-B2
Application Number: US-201213630542-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Speaker assembly

Abstract:
Examples of speaker assemblies are described. A speaker assembly according to some embodiments may include a speaker enclosure with a first opening (e.g., a speaker opening) and a second opening (e.g. a bass reflex port), a speaker unit mounted to the enclosure at the first opening, and an acoustic damping mechanism mounted to the enclosure at the second opening. The acoustic damping mechanism may be a dual-layer mesh screen including a first mesh with a first acoustic resistance (AR) for providing acoustic damping, and a second mesh with a second AR lower than the first AR. The second mesh may be nearly acoustically transparent and may serve to increase the stiffness of the first mesh. The first mesh may be bonded to the second mesh, and the dual-layer mesh screen may be coupled to the bass reflex port for reducing noise associated with turbulence at the port.

Claims:
We claim: 
     
       1. A speaker assembly, comprising:
 a speaker enclosure forming a back volume chamber and having walls defining a vent opening; 
 a speaker unit; and 
 a layer of mesh material extending across the vent opening, the layer of mesh material including a first region and a second region, the first region being closer to the walls defining the vent opening than the second region, 
 wherein the vent opening is configured to allow passage of pressure waves generated by the speaker unit to exit the speaker enclosure and wherein the first region has a first acoustic resistance and the second region has a second acoustic resistance different than the first acoustic resistance. 
 
     
     
       2. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the first acoustic resistance ranges from about 16 Rayls to about 75 Rayls, and wherein the second acoustic resistance ranges from about 1 Rayl to about 8 Rayls. 
     
     
       3. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the speaker mount opening is positioned on the same side of the speaker enclosure as the vent opening. 
     
     
       4. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the layer of mesh material is made of a plurality of metal wires, and wherein one or more of the wires have a rectangular transverse cross section. 
     
     
       5. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the layer of mesh material is made of a plurality of metal wires, and wherein a cross-sectional shape or size of one or more of the metal wires varies along a length of the plurality of metal wires. 
     
     
       6. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the layer of mesh material varies along a length of the layer of mesh material. 
     
     
       7. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein a mesh density of the layer of mesh material varies along a length of the layer of mesh material. 
     
     
       8. The speaker assembly of  claim 1 , wherein acoustic resistance of the mesh screen varies along a length of the mesh screen. 
     
     
       9. A damping mechanism configured to cover an opening defined by walls of a speaker enclosure, comprising:
 a layer of mesh material extending across the opening, comprising: 
 a first mesh region corresponding to a central portion of the layer of mesh material and having a first acoustic resistance; and 
 a second mesh region corresponding to a perimeter portion of the mesh screen at least partially surrounding the first mesh region and having a second acoustic resistance that is different than the first acoustic resistance, 
 wherein the second mesh region is closer to the walls defining the opening than the first mesh region. 
 
     
     
       10. The damping mechanism of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the first mesh region has first mesh density; and 
 the second mesh region has a second mesh density that is different than the first mesh density. 
 
     
     
       11. The damping mechanism of  claim 10 , wherein the second mesh density is greater than the first mesh density. 
     
     
       12. The damping mechanism of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the first mesh region has first thickness; and 
 the second mesh region has a second thickness that is different than the first thickness. 
 
     
     
       13. The damping mechanism of  claim 9 , wherein the layer of mesh material comprises:
 a first layer of mesh configured to provide acoustic damping; and 
 a second layer of mesh configured to limit out-of-plane bending of the first layer of mesh when the first layer of mesh is subjected to pressure waves from a speaker coupled to the speaker enclosure. 
 
     
     
       14. The damping mechanism of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the first layer of mesh has a first acoustic resistance and a first stiffness; and 
 the second layer of mesh has a second acoustic resistance that is lower than the first acoustic resistance and a second stiffness that is higher than the first stiffness. 
 
     
     
       15. A speaker assembly, comprising:
 a speaker enclosure having walls defining an opening in the speaker enclosure; and 
 a layer of mesh material extending across the opening, the layer of mesh material comprising: 
 a first mesh region having a first acoustic resistance; and 
 a second mesh region having a second acoustic resistance that is different than the first acoustic resistance, 
 wherein the second mesh region is closer to the walls than the first mesh region. 
 
     
     
       16. The speaker assembly as recited in  claim 15 , wherein an average size of openings defined by the first mesh region is larger than an average size of openings defined by the second mesh region. 
     
     
       17. The speaker assembly as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the layer of mesh material is a first layer of mesh and wherein the damping mechanism further comprises a second layer of mesh configured to limit out-of-plane bending of the first layer of mesh when the first layer of mesh is subjected to pressure waves from the speaker. 
     
     
       18. The speaker assembly as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the first region is positioned within a central portion of the layer of mesh material and the second region is positioned along a periphery of the layer of mesh material.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to speaker assemblies, and more specifically to speakers with ported enclosures. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as desktop computers, computer monitors, laptops, smart phones, mobile gaming devices, and the like, may include audio capability. Generally, audio enabled electronic devices may include one or more microphones for receiving sound inputs and/or one or more speakers for outputting sound. 
     Speakers may generally be enclosed within a speaker enclosure, which may be sealed or ported. As may be known, speakers generate two sets of pressure waves, one forward and one aft of the speaker cone. In this regard and as its name implies, a sealed enclosure (also referred to as a closed box) is an enclosure which isolates the forward pressure waves from the aft waves generated by the speaker. In contrast, a ported enclosure typically includes at least one opening which may enhance the power efficiency of the speaker assembly and/or may aid in the reproduction of low frequency sounds by extending the low frequency range of the speaker enclosure. Thus, speakers adapted for the reproduction of sound at lower audible frequencies (e.g. woofers) are generally enclosed in a ported enclosure. However, while ported enclosures may be generally known in the art, conventional ported enclosures and speaker assemblies with such conventional ported enclosures may have numerous shortcomings, some or all of which may be addressed by the examples described herein. 
     SUMMARY 
     A speaker assembly according to the present disclosure may include a speaker enclosure including a first opening and a second opening with a speaker unit mounted to the enclosure at the first opening and an acoustic damping mechanism mounted to the enclosure at the second opening. The acoustic damping mechanism may be mesh screen, the thickness, density and/or acoustic resistance properties of which may be varied, and which may, in some examples, be configured as a dual-layer mesh. That is, in some embodiments the mesh screen may include a first mesh and a second mesh, the first mesh bonded to the second mesh. The first mesh, which may be a fine mesh, may have a first acoustic resistance, which may range from about 16 Rayls to about 75 Rayls. The second mesh, which may be a coarser mesh, may have an acoustic resistance from about 1 Rayl to about 8 Rayls (e.g., the coarse mesh may be nearly acoustically transparent). In certain examples, the first or fine mesh may be selected to have an acoustic resistance of about 32 Rayls and the second or coarse mesh may be selected to have an acoustic resistance of about 8 Rayls. 
     In some examples, the first mesh may be made of a cloth material and the second mesh may be metallic. Other materials, for example a variety of polymers, may be used for the first and/or second mesh in other examples The second mesh may be formed from a plurality of metal wires, individual ones of which may have virtually any cross-section. In some examples, the metal wires may be circular, square, rectangular or other irregularly shaped cross sections, as may be desired. The cross sectional size and/or shape of the wires may be varied along a length of the wire to tailor the properties, for example the bending stiffness, of the mesh. 
     Electronic devices, such as audio generating device, display devices, and a variety of desktop, portable, or handheld computers may be implemented according to the examples herein to incorporate speaker assemblies as described. In some examples, an electronic device may include a speaker assembly, which include one or more speakers coupled to a speaker enclosure including a port and a mesh mounted across an opening of the port. The electronic device may further include circuitry for generating audio signals and transmitting the audio signals to the speaker. Additional circuitry, such as memory, processors, and display drivers may be included in certain electronic devices according to the present disclosure. The electronic device may also include a housing which substantially encloses the circuitry and the speaker assembly. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device may include a first speaker assembly and a second speaker assembly, which may be implemented according to any of the examples herein. Speaker enclosures of one or more of the speaker assemblies may be regularly shaped (e.g. having a generally box shape) or may be irregularly shaped with the contours of the speaker enclosure being shaped to fit in a cooperating manner within the housing of the electronic device. For example, the housing may include a curved surface and the speaker enclosure of the speaker assembly may be mounted against the housing so as to define an enclosed space between the speakers of the assembly and the curved surface of the housing. Other combinations may be implemented, some of which will be described in further detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several examples in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified schematic cross-sectional illustration of a speaker assembly according to an example of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2A  is a simplified partial cross-sectional view of an inlet of a bass reflex port according to an example of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2B  is a simplified partial cross-sectional view of the inlet of the bass reflex port in  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 2C  is a front view of an example of a mesh screen according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2D  is a front view of another example of a mesh screen according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3A  is a front view of a computing device according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3B  is a side view of a computing device according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a top perspective view of a speaker assembly according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of a method of forming a speaker assembly according to examples of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow diagram of a method of assembling a computing device according to examples of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative examples described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other examples may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are implicitly contemplated herein. 
     The present disclosure relates generally to speaker assemblies, and more specifically to speakers with ported enclosures.  FIG. 1  shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional illustration of a speaker assembly according to one example of the present disclosure. The speaker assembly  100  may include a speaker or speaker unit  110  (e.g. the speaker cone  102  and driver  104 ), a speaker enclosure  120 , and a port  130 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and as described above, the port  130  (also referred to as a vent or bass reflex port) couples the interior  122  and the exterior  124  of the enclosure  120 , allowing the ambient medium, typically air, to flow in and out of the enclosure in response to pressure waves generated by the movement of the speaker cone  102 . The port  130  may have an inlet  135  which may be circular, rectangular, triangular, or have virtually any other shape as may be desired or appropriate for the particular application. 
     In general, as the velocity of the air moving in or out of the port  130  increases, the turbulence of the airflow may also increase, resulting in undesirable noise. In some instances, undesirable turbulence may be reduced by shaping the inlet  135  to smooth air flow over the edges of the inlet. For example, in conventional speakers, the bass reflex port may be rounded at the inlet and/or outlet of the bass reflex port so as to minimize undesirable turbulence. However, tailoring the bass reflex port in this manner may not always be practical. 
     In the alternative or in combination with shaping the inlet and/or outlet, a damping mechanism  140  may be included at the inlet  135 , which may slow down the flow of air and/or smooth out the airflow passing through the inlet of port  130 . The damping mechanism  140  may, in some examples, be implemented as a mesh screen  142 . The damping mechanism (e.g. mesh screen  142 ) may be placed across the inlet  135  substantially flush with exterior surfaces of the enclosure, or in other examples, the mesh screen  142  may be recessed within the port  135 . The mesh screen  142  may include one or more layers, as will be further described. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A-2C , the mesh screen  142  may include a first mesh  145 , which may be selected to have an acoustic resistance sufficient to provide a certain level of acoustic damping. Acoustic resistance, typically measured in Rayls, corresponds generally to the opposition to the flow of sound through an object. In the case of perforated materials (e.g. perforated plates, screens, mesh materials, and the like), the acoustic resistance may decrease as the density of the mesh or perforations decreases (e.g. the size of openings/perforations increases). In some examples, the first mesh  145  may be implemented as a finely woven cloth or fabric, for example a woven polyester, rayon, nylon or other type of cloth or a fabric including other types of polymeric or metallic fibers. The density of the first mesh  145  (also referred to herein as fine mesh) may be selected to result in an acoustic resistance of about 30 to about 40 Rayls. In some instances, the acoustic resistance of the fine mesh may be about 32 Rayls. As will be appreciated, the damping level may depend on many factors, for example the geometry of the enclosure and/or the bass reflex port, the types of drivers, and certain other performance factors. In this regard, the acoustic resistance of the mesh (e.g. first mesh  145 ) may be tailored as needed for the particular application. In some examples, the acoustic resistance of the fine mesh (e.g. first mesh  145 ) may range anywhere between 15 Rayls to about 75 Rayls. 
     While the first mesh  145  (e.g. fine mesh) may advantageously reduce turbulence at the inlet  135  (e.g. by slowing down the flow of air), the fine mesh may be prone to out of plane deflections (as shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 2A ) due to the pressure waves or airflow F, F′. The air may flow in directions across the inlet  135 . Deflections of the mesh  145  caused by the airflow in and out of port  130  may cause audible noise and/or damage the fine mesh, for example resulting in tearing of the fine mesh. Furthermore, as the size of port  130  increases, different modes of vibration of the first mesh  145  (e.g. fine mesh) may be excited, which may cause noise to linger after the speakers are turned off. 
     To reduce or eliminate problems associated with out of plane deflections of the first mesh  154 , a dual-layer mesh configuration may be implemented as described herein and shown in  FIG. 2B . According to some embodiments, a stabilizing layer  150  may be included in the mesh screen  142 . The stabilizing layer  150  may be implemented as a second mesh  155  which is less dense or coarser than the first mesh  145 . In this regard, the second mesh  155  may also be interchangeably referred to as coarse mesh  155 . The coarse mesh  155  may be disposed on either side of the fine mesh (e.g. first mesh  145 ). For example, it may be on the exterior side, or it may be on the opposite or interior side of the fine mesh. Because air travels in and out of the port  130 , the placement of the coarse mesh  155  relative to either of the sides of the fine mesh may not affect the functionality of the mesh screen  142 , and a particular location may, in some instances, be selected for aesthetic reasons. 
     The coarse mesh  155  may be formed from virtually any type of suitable material, such as aluminum, steel, or other metallic materials, ceramics, and plastics, and may be implemented according to a variety of form factors. In some examples, the coarse mesh  155  may be made of a rigid plastic material, such as polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS) blend plastic, which may be configured to provide the desired stiffness in the out-of-plane direction. The coarse mesh  155  may be implemented from a flat sheet of material through which the openings are formed (e.g. a speaker grill configuration). The geometry of the openings  158  (see  FIG. 2C ) of the coarse mesh  155  may be circular, elongated, diamond-shaped, honeycomb or hexagonal, or virtually any other shape or combinations of shapes. In other examples, the mesh may be a woven or coil mesh, formed by weaving or otherwise interlocking strands of metallic or plastic material to define openings  158  of a certain shape and/or size. The density or type of weave may be selected to provide a particular stiffness and/or acoustic resistance, as may be desired or suitable for a particular application. 
       FIG. 2C , which shows a front view of a mesh screen  140  according to one example of the present disclosure, depicts a coarse mesh  155  with generally rhomboid or diamond shaped openings. The fine mesh (e.g. first mesh  145 ) overlaid on one side of the coarse mesh  155  has openings  148  of a smaller size than the size of the openings  158 . In this regard, the first mesh  145  and the second mesh  155  may be configured to offer acoustic resistances with different values. As will be appreciated, and for facilitating this description, the density of the fine mesh  145  and coarse mesh  155  may be exaggerated and as such some or all of the features of the mesh screen  142  may not be to scale. Furthermore, as described the tightness of the weave of each mesh and/corresponding sizes of the opening may be varied and the particular example depicted is provided for illustration purposes only. In some examples, the fine mesh (e.g. first mesh  145 ) or the coarse mesh  155  may have a density of the mesh which varies across one or more dimensions of the mesh. For example, the coarse mesh may be more dense in the middle portion  157  than other portions, such as the perimeter portion  159 . The thickness and/or density of the fine mesh may be varied in a similar manner along a length or width of the fine mesh. As shown in  FIG. 2D , the openings  158 ′ of the mesh screen  142 ′ may vary in size. Larger openings  161  may be located in a central portion  157 ′ of the mesh screen  140 ′ while smaller opening  163  may be located around the perimeter  159 ′. In other examples, the locations of the larger and smaller openings  161 ,  163  may be reversed or distributed according to any other pattern along the surface of the mesh screen  142 ′. 
     In some examples, the coarse mesh  155  may be formed from a plurality of metal strands or wires  156 . The wires  156  may be implemented to have virtually any transverse cross section. In the context of this description the transverse cross section of the wires  156  is meant to be the cross section taken along the direction of the airflow (as shown by the arrows F in  FIGS. 2A-2B ). In some embodiments, one or more of the wires  156  may be circular in cross section. The size of the transverse cross section of one or more of the wires  156  may vary along the length of the wires. The transverse cross sectional shape may also vary. For example, a wire may be circular at the perimeter portion  159  and may be square or rectangular at a central portion. In other embodiments, one or more of the wires  156  may have a non-circular transverse cross section, such as a rectangular cross section. As will be understood, the rectangular wires may be oriented relative to the flow with the long side of the wires generally aligned with the direction of flow. In this manner, a stiffer mesh may be obtained while advantageously achieving lower values of acoustic resistance. The size and shape of the openings  158  and/or size and shape of the individual strands or wires  156  may be tailored in this manner to achieve different acoustic and/or structural performance at different portions of the coarse mesh  155 . As described, the out-of-plane bending stiffness of the coarse mesh  155  may be varied from one portion to another portion of the mesh, while maintaining a nearly acoustically transparent profile of the mesh. Furthermore, stiffening the middle portion  157  of the mesh may also advantageously prevent second and/or third order vibrations of the mesh (see e.g.,  FIG. 2A ). 
     The fine mesh  145  may be welded or bonded to the coarse mesh  155 , for example using an adhesive, and the dual-layer mesh structure (e.g. mesh screen  142 ) may be coupled to the port  130  using an adhesive or other conventional fastening techniques. In some embodiments, the dual-layer mesh structure may be attached to the enclosure  120  using a mesh holder  160 . The mesh holder  160  may be implemented as a pair of plates, each having an aperture  162  with a shape corresponding to the shape of the inlet  135 . The dual-layer mesh may be placed across the aperture and retained between a pair of plates of the mesh holder  160 . The mesh holder and dual-layer mesh secured thereto may be attached to the inlet using an adhesive, mechanical fasteners, or the like. 
     As will be understood, the specific examples of damping mechanisms  140  described herein are provided for illustration and are not to be taken in a limit sense and other variations are possible. For example, the damping mechanism  140  may be implemented as a single mesh screen, which is configured to provide the desired acoustic damping and stiffness when subjected to the pressure waves generated by the speaker. In some instances, the damping mechanism  140  may include a single, generally stiff mesh or grill with low acoustic resistance. The single mesh or grill may be coated with an acoustic damping material, for example by being sprayed with polyurethane foam (e.g. foam rubber) or any other soft polymeric material. The polymeric material sprayed or coated onto the grill may provide acoustic damping while the stiff understructure of the grill prevents flexing of the damping mechanism  140  under the loading of the pressure waves. 
       FIGS. 3A-3B  show an example of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The electronic device  200  may be a computing device, such as a desktop computer or a portable or laptop computer, a handheld media file player or smart phone, and the like. In other examples, the electronic device  200  may be a display device, such as an LCD, LED, or the like, or virtually any other device capable of outputting audio. The electronic device  200 , in this example a computer, may include a housing  210  generally enclosing the internal components of the electronic device  200 , including one or more speaker assemblies  220 ,  220 ′. The electronic device  200  may include other components as may be desired and known in the art, for example a display device  240  and internal circuitry (not shown). The housing  210  may include a speaker grill  230  with a plurality of openings for allowing the pressure waves generated by the one or more speakers  220 ,  220 ′ to be delivered to the exterior of the device  200  and thereby to the user. 
       FIG. 4  shows a speaker assembly  220  according to one example of the present disclosure. The speaker assembly  220  may include one or more speakers  202 ,  204  attached to a speaker enclosure  230  (also referred to as a duct), which may be molded from a rigid plastic, such as PC/ABS, or other suitable materials. In some examples, the speaker enclosure  230  may be configured as a generally rectangular box (see e.g., speaker enclosure  120  of  FIG. 1 ). In other examples, the speaker enclosure or duct may have a complex shape, which may be customized to fit within a particular design space (see e.g. speaker enclosure  220 ). In some examples, it may be desirable to maximize the size and internal volume of the speaker enclosure  230 . The size and shape of the enclosure  230  and/or location of the bass reflex port  222  may be selected based on the electrical and mechanical properties of the one or more speakers attached thereto. The speakers  202 ,  204  (also referred to herein as speaker units) may be selected from any conventional speakers, such as low frequency speakers (e.g. woofers), midrange, or high frequency speakers (e.g. a tweeters). 
     The one or more speakers  202 ,  204  may be incorporated into the speaker assembly  220  according to any of the examples of the present disclosure. For example, a first speaker  202  and/or a second speaker  204  may be mounted to the speaker enclosure  230  through speaker openings  206 ,  206 ′. With the speakers mounted to the enclosure, a generally closed chamber is defined inside the enclosure  230 . As previously described, the enclosure  230  may include another opening  222  (e.g. a port or vent) which allows air or other medium to move in or out of the enclosure  230  when the speaker cones are oscillating responsive to the drivers. Signals may be transmitted to the drivers via one or more cables  209 , which may pass through a hole  206  in the enclosure  230 . In this regard, cable  209  penetrates the enclosure  230  to electrically couple the driver with electronics exterior of the enclosure. In some examples, the cable  209  may be secured against the enclosure  230 , for example by being provided in a groove or channel formed along an exterior surface of the enclosure  230 . 
     The speaker assembly  220  may be mounted to the housing  210  of the device  200  and arranged such that an exterior surface  232  of the enclosure is mounted against the back wall  205  of the housing  210  defining an enclosed space between the speaker and the housing. The speaker, which in this example faces the back wall  205  is provided in acoustic communication with the speaker grill  230 . One or more sealing structures  224 ,  226 , such as foam gaskets, may be used to seal the enclosure against the back wall  205 . For example, the sealing structure  224  (e.g. foam gasket) may be attached to the surface  230  of the enclosure with a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) or another type of adhesive. According to some examples, and as further described below, one or more of the sealing structures may be adapted to aid with the installation of the speaker assembly  220  within the housing  210 . 
     As previously described, the speaker enclosure  230  may include a port or vent  222  (e.g. a bass reflex port) which is spaced apart from the one or more speaker openings  206 ,  206 ′. As will be understood, the bass reflex port may allow pressure waves aft of the speaker cone to travel out of the speaker enclosure  210 , enhancing certain aspects of the performance of the speaker assembly  220 . The bass reflex port need not be coplanar or aligned in any manner relative to the speaker openings and/or speaker cones. In this regard, the bass reflex port can be formed through any one of the walls of the speaker enclosure  230 . In the present example, the port  222  is provided through a side wall of the enclosure  230 . Other locations may be used, in other embodiments. 
     Referring to the example shown in  FIG. 4 , the complexity of the shape of the duct  230  may introduce certain manufacturing challenges, for example making it more difficult to position the duct within the computer housing  210  without damaging sensitive speaker components in the process. As can be appreciated in light of the figures and this description, the duct  230  may need to be inserted in a narrow space defined between the back wall  205  and the chin  215  of the computer housing  210 . As described, the speakers  202 ,  204  may be mounted to the duct  230  such that the speaker cones are exposed to possible contact during the assembly process. In some cases, the speaker cones may be delicate and even a slight pressure on the cone may cause it to collapse or be otherwise damaged. As such, it may be desirable to minimize or eliminate the risk of any other computer components, for example the housing  210 , from coming into contact or scratching the speaker cones. 
     During assembly of the computer  210 , the speaker assembly  220  may be slid into position between the back cover (e.g. back wall  205 ) and chin  210 . However, while sliding the speaker assembly  220  in position, roughness or other features of the mating surfaces may cause the surfaces to tug against one another and may result in unintentional contact with one or more of the speaker cones. To address this problem, a friction reducing mechanism  228  may be used to ease the assembly process. The friction reducing mechanism  228  may be implemented as a lubricated layer applied to one or more surfaces of the sealing structure  224 . In other examples, the friction reducing mechanism  228  may be a film of low-friction material, for example Mylar film, which may be adhered to the sealing structure  224 . Other variations may be used for reducing the friction between the surface contacting and/or sliding against one another during the insertion of the speaker enclosure  230  within the computer housing  210 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a method for forming a speaker assembly according to some examples of the present disclosure. As shown in box  510 , an adhesive may be layered on a surface of a mesh. The mesh may be a coarse mesh as described herein and configured to have acoustic resistance of up to 8 Rayls. The step of layering an adhesive may include spraying the adhesive or depositing a thin layer of the adhesive, for example by using conventional thin film deposition techniques. After the adhesive is layered on the surface of the coarse mesh, a fine mesh may be bonded thereto to form a dual-layer mesh, as shown in box  520 . The step of bonding may include contacting the fine mesh to the coarse mesh, and in some instances applying a pressure to form a secure bond. The dual-layer mesh may be attached to a bass-reflex port of a speaker enclosure, as shown in box  540 . For example, the dual-layer mesh may be adhered or fastened to a perimeter of the port. In other examples, an optional step of coupling the dual-layer mash to a mesh holder may be performed, as shown in dashed box  530 , and the dual-layer mesh may then be attached to the vent using the mesh holder. The step of coupling the dual-layer mash to a mesh holder may include stretching the dual-layer mesh across an aperture of the mesh holder and retaining the dual-layer mesh between first and second plates of the mesh holder. Some of the step describe may be omitted or additional steps may be performed in some examples. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , another method according to examples of the present disclosure will be described. As shown in box  610 , one or more speakers may be coupled to a speaker enclosure. The one or more speakers may include speakers configured to reproduce sounds in the audible range, for example woofers, tweeters and/or midrange speakers. The step of coupling the one or more speakers may include providing connector cables through a hole in the speaker enclosure and/or securing the connector cable within a groove formed on an exterior wall of the speaker enclosure. The speaker enclosure in the present example may be ported, and a damping mechanism may be attached at the vent of the ported enclosure, as shown in box  620 . The damping mechanism may be implemented according to any of the examples herein. In one embodiment, the damping mechanism may be a dual-layer mesh including first and second mesh layers having different acoustic resistance. 
     In a next step or simultaneously, one or more sealing structures, for example foam gaskets or acoustical damping panels or pads may be attached to certain portions of the exterior of the enclosure (see box  630 ), for example for the purpose of sealing the speaker against a housing of an electronic device. The step of attaching sealing structures may include applying a friction reducing layer onto at least one of said sealing structures. The friction reducing layers may be a Mylar film adhered to the sealing structure or a lubricant applied to a surface of the sealing structure. The speaker assembly (e.g. enclosure, speakers, and other components attached thereto) may then be inserted into and attached to the housing of the electronic device, as shown in box  640 . As will be appreciated, additional steps may be added and one or more of the steps recited above may be performed out of sequence or omitted altogether without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     While various aspects and examples have been disclosed herein, other aspects and examples will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and examples disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20120928
Publication Date: 20171114
Grant Date: 20171114
Priority Date: 20120928
Inventors: DIX GORDON R.
MORISHITA MICHAEL K.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "Y10T29/49826", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2201/029", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/15", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/2826", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/15", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/2826", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2201/029", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/026", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y10T29/49826", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 50385246