Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention is broadly concerned with in-wall acoustic speaker enclosures allowing desired speakers to be mounted in a conventional wall between supporting studs. More particularly, the invention is concerned with such enclosures which include an air chamber of predetermined volume so that the acoustic response of the speakers can be optimized in a wall-mounted context. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   Many homeowners desire to create elaborate entertainment centers including advanced stereo equipment and speakers. Traditional floor or wall-mounted speakers can be used in such situations, but many times a more tailored and finished appearance is desired. Therefore, it has been known in the past to mount speakers within walls or ceilings, between adjacent studs. Simple mounting hardware has been provided for these installations, typically nothing more than metallic mounting frame units. 
   High-end speakers are designed to operate with appropriate air volumes, and do not deliver the highest quality sound without sufficient air volume. As can be appreciated, with prior in-wall mounted speakers, the extent of air volume available may be too large or unknown. For example, a given wall may contain wiring, ductwork, wood framing, or other utility components, and exterior walls may contain insulation. Therefore, with the prior in-wall speaker mounts, an important facet of stereo design becomes a matter of chance. 
   A variety of speaker enclosures have been provided in the past, both for in-wall mounting and in other contexts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,020 describes a compact loudspeaker system including an expandable cylindrical enclosure housing respective speakers on each end. The enclosure is telescopically shiftable to vary the acoustic volume of the system. This system is not designed for in-wall mounting and, owing to its expandable nature, would not be suited for this use. Other expandable or variable volume speaker mounting units are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,513,624; 5,644,109; 5,082,084; and 4,439,643. However, none of these units disclose an in-wall speaker enclosure having a predetermined, ideal air volume. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and provides an in-wall speaker enclosure including a housing assembly operable to support one or more speakers and sized to fit between a pair of adjacent wall studs. The enclosure also includes an air chamber of predetermined volume operably coupled and in communication with the housing, and also sized to fit between the adjacent wall studs. Advantageously, the air chamber can be expanded behind an uncut wall to provide a larger speaker air volume without cutting a larger section of wall. The preferred enclosures of the invention allow initial mounting of the housing in a pre-cut wall opening, followed by attachment of the air chamber, all without the need for further wall openings. 
   In particularly preferred forms, the overall enclosure includes a frame which is mounted within a pre-cut wall or ceiling opening and attached to adjacent studs. The speaker housing is then mounted within the frame and includes a lower aperture. The air chamber can be passed through the lower housing aperture and into depending relationship with the housing. Thus, the volume of the housing and the chamber defines a predetermined air volume for the speakers, regardless of the surrounding volume between the studs. This assures that the selected speakers can operate under optimal conditions. The present invention also provides a relatively large combined volume of the housing and the chamber that can be mounted in a wall opening of a relatively smaller size. 
   In preferred forms, the housing should have a width of from about 6-15 inches, so as to fit between standard 16-inch on-center studs. Similarly, the housing should have a depth or thickness of from about 1-3 inches. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective exploded view of a preferred speaker enclosure in accordance with the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the speaker enclosure mounted between adjacent wall studs; 
       FIG. 3  is a vertical sectional view of the speaker enclosure depicted in  FIG. 2  showing the air chamber expanded relative to the housing; and 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3  illustrating the construction of the enclosure. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Turning now to the drawings, an in-wall speaker enclosure  10  is depicted, with reference to a conventional wall having spaced-apart, upright studs  12 , 14 , and wall board  16  spanning the studs  12 , 14 . The enclosure  10  is designed to fit between the studs  12 , 14 , and support a speaker assembly  18  (see  FIG. 3 ) in a recessed condition relative to wall board  16 . The mounting also permits attachment of a conventional decorative grille (not shown) over the speaker assembly  18  to give a neat, finished appearance to the speaker unit. 
   In more detail, the speaker enclosure  10  is made up of three major components, namely a frame  20 , housing  22 , and an expandable air chamber  24 . The frame and housing are of substantially quadrate configuration, and are adapted to interfit as described below. Likewise, the chamber  24  is designed for attachment to housing  22 . 
   Specifically, the frame  20  is an integral metallic unit having a continuous peripheral primary wall  26  as well as an outermost circumscribing lip  28  and an inboard, inwardly projecting support flange  30  having mounting bores  31 . The flange is designed to fit within an opening  32  (seen in  FIG. 1 ) through wall board  16  between the studs  12 , 14 . In particular, the frame fits within the opening  32  with primary wall  26  engaging the side margin of the opening  32  and adjacent portions of the studs  12 , 14 ; the lip  28  overlies and engages the outer face of wall board  16 . The frame  20  may be secured in place by clamps behind the dry wall and the housing and/or by appropriate threaded fasteners (not shown) extending through primary wall  26  and into the studs  12 , 14 . 
   The housing  22  is also of integral metallic construction and includes a pair of spaced sidewalls  34 , 36 , top wall  38 , bottom wall  40  and back wall  42 . As best seen in  FIG. 1 , the bottom wall  40  presents an elongated, rectangular slot-like aperture  44  which is bounded by a short lip  46 . Finally, the housing has a peripheral flange  48  having bores  50  which mate with the bores  31  of support flange  30 . As illustrated, the housing  22  is designed to fit within frame  20 , with flange  48  abutting support flange  30 . Note that the flange  48  is recessed relative to the outer surface of wall board  16 . 
   The air chamber  24  is of open-top, hollow design and includes front and rear walls  52 , 54 , sidewalls  56 , 58 , bottom wall  60  and an uppermost circumscribing lip  62  surrounding and defining an upper opening  64 . The chamber  24  is mounted to housing  22  simply by passing the chamber downwardly through aperture  44  until the lips  46  and  62  interengage. In this fashion, the chamber  24  depends from housing  22  with the hollow interior of the chamber in communication with the interior of housing  22 . Importantly, the air chamber extends from the housing to increase the overall air volume of the enclosure without requiring the opening  32  to be enlarged to accommodate the full expanded length of the housing and air chamber. 
   A speaker assembly  18  is next secured to the enclosure  10 . Referring to  FIG. 3 , a representative assembly  18  includes a baffle  66  with one or more acoustic speakers  68 , 70  mounted on the baffle  66 . The assembly  18  is secured in place by appropriate threaded fasteners (not shown) which extend through the margin of the baffle  66  and into selected ones of the mated bores  50 , 31 . This ensures that the assembly  18  is securely mounted to the enclosure  16 . Again referring to  FIG. 3 , it will be seen that the assembly  18  is recessed relative to the outer surface of wall board  16 . Accordingly, a conventional grille may be removably secured in place over the assembly  18  such that the grille is essentially flush with wall board  16 . This gives the entire assembly a neat and finished appearance. 
   The volume of the hollow interior of the air chamber  24  and the volume of the interior of housing  22  is sized in accordance with the operating characteristics of the speaker assembly  18 . In one embodiment, the air chamber has an interior volume of approximately 0.2 cubic feet and the housing has an interior volume of approximately 0.45 cubic feet for a total volume of 0.65 cubic feet; however, the invention is not limited to these dimensions. 
   It will be appreciated that a number of variations can be made in the enclosure  10  without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the frame and housing need to be quadrate, but could be circular or of any other appropriate shape. Similarly, the size and shape of the chamber  24  can be varied to suit the needs of the user and the acoustic requirements of the speaker(s) to be employed. Also, an upper and lower chamber could also be used if desired. Finally, the frame  20 , housing  22 , and air chamber  24  may be formed of any suitable materials. 
   The inventors hereby state their intent to rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determine and assess the reasonably fair scope of the present invention as pertains to any apparatus not materially departing from but outside the literal scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Technology Category: 5