U.S. patent application number 12/502214 was filed with the patent office on 2010-05-20 for prefabricated speaker enclosure assembly.
This patent application is currently assigned to Scosche Industries,Inc.. Invention is credited to Peter Butcher, Jack DeBiasio, Joe Garretson.
Application Number | 20100122867 12/502214 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36696781 |
Filed Date | 2010-05-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100122867 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Butcher; Peter ; et
al. |
May 20, 2010 |
Prefabricated Speaker Enclosure Assembly
Abstract
A method of assembling a prefabricated speaker enclosure and an
assembly including left and right side panels, top, front, bottom,
and rear panels each having an inner surface with a left channel
configured to receive the left side panel and a right channel
configured to receive the right, side panel, and a continuous
material extending along an outer surface of the top, front,
bottom, and rear panels to form a living hinge at each point where
two of the top, front, bottom, and rear panels meet.
Inventors: |
Butcher; Peter; (Simi
Valley, CA) ; Garretson; Joe; (Simi Valley, CA)
; DeBiasio; Jack; (Moorpark, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Arent Fox LLP
555 West Fifth Street, 48th Floor
Los Angeles
CA
90013
US
|
Assignee: |
Scosche Industries,Inc.
Oxnard
CA
|
Family ID: |
36696781 |
Appl. No.: |
12/502214 |
Filed: |
July 13, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11041523 |
Jan 24, 2005 |
|
|
|
12502214 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
181/199 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R 1/021 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
181/199 |
International
Class: |
A47B 81/06 20060101
A47B081/06 |
Claims
1. A speaker enclosure assembly, comprising: first and second side
panels; top, front, bottom, and rear panels, each having an inner
surface with a first channel configured to receive the first side
panel and a second channel configured to receive the second side
panel; and a continuous material extending along an outer surface
of the top, front, bottom, and rear panels to form a living
hinge.
2. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and
second side panels each comprises a tapered edge.
3. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 2 wherein the first
channel in the rear panel is configured to receive the tapered edge
of the first side panel, and the second channel in the rear panel
is configured to receive the tapered edge of the second side
panel.
4. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the
top; front, bottom, and rear panels has its first channel extending
along an edge and its second channel extending along an opposite
edge.
5. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels comprises a first adhesive tape
strip disposed in its respective first channel and a second
adhesive tape strip disposed in its respective second channel.
6. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels comprises opposite edges
substantially perpendicular to the its respective first and second
channels, each of the edges having an outward taper extending from
its respective inner surface to its respective outer surface.
7. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein the continuous
material comprises carpet.
8. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein a first one of
the living hinges is formed between the front and bottom panel, a
second one of the living hinges is formed between the bottom and
the rear panel, and a third one of the living hinges is formed
between the rear and top panel.
9. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 further comprising a
speaker and grill, the front panel having a hole to accommodate the
speaker and the grill.
10. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and
second side panels are configured to not be removable from the
channels unless at least one of the top, front, bottom and rear
panels is repositioned.
11. A speaker enclosure assembly, comprising: first and second side
panels; and a panel strip having top, front, bottom, and rear
panels attached by a continuous material that forms a living hinge,
each of the top, front, bottom, and rear panels having an inner
surface with a first channel configured to receive the first side
panel and a second channel configured to receive the second side
panel.
12. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein the first
and second side panels each comprises a tapered edge.
13. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 12 wherein the first
channel in the rear panel is configured to receive the tapered edge
of the first side panel, and the second channel in the rear panel
is configured to receive the tapered edge of the second side
panel.
14. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels has its first channel extending
along an edge and its second channel extending along an opposite
edge.
15. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels comprises a first adhesive tape
strip disposed in its respective first channel and a second
adhesive tape strip disposed in its respective second channel.
16. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels comprises opposite edges
substantially perpendicular to the its respective first and second
channels, each of the edges having an outward taper extending from
its respective inner surface to its respective outer surface.
17. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein the
continuous material comprises carpet.
18. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 further comprising a
speaker and grill, the front panel having a hole to accommodate the
speaker and the grill.
19. The speaker enclosure assembly of claim 11 wherein the first
and second side panels are configured to not be removable from the
channels unless at least one of the top, front, bottom and rear
panels is repositioned
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/041,523, filed on Jan. 24, 2005, in the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, and claims the benefit thereof, which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] This disclosure relates generally to speaker enclosures, and
more particularly, to prefabricated speaker enclosure
assemblies.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] In most loudspeaker systems, speakers are usually housed in
a speaker enclosure. Speaker enclosures serve a number of
functions. On their most basic level, they make it easier to set up
the speakers. With an enclosure, all the speaker components can be
kept in one unit and placed in their respective optimal positions
so as to produce a high quality sound.
[0006] It is generally known that speakers transmit sound waves by
translating electrical signals into physical vibrations. To reduce
undesired vibrations and maximize the sound quality, enclosures are
usually built with heavy wood or other solid material that can
effectively absorb the speaker's vibration. Because speakers
require exterior means by which to vibrate, most speaker enclosures
are designed to provide hollow space within themselves. Such design
occupies a large space and becomes problematic when shipping or
storing speaker enclosures
[0007] Prefabricated speaker enclosures are designed to address the
problem. However, most prefabricated speaker enclosures some in
multiple pieces and/or are designed so that assembly is not
intuitive to most average users. Accordingly, there is a need in
the art for a prefabricated speaker enclosure that can be assembled
by the end user with ease and speed.
SUMMARY
[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, a speaker enclosure
assembly includes left and right side panels, top, front, bottom,
and rear panels each having an inner surface with a left channel
configured to receive the left side panel and a right channel
configured to receive the right side panel, and a continuous
material extending along an outer surface of the top, front,
bottom, and rear panels to form a living hinge at each point where
two of the top, front, bottom, and rear panels meet.
[0009] In another aspect of the present invention, a speaker
enclosure assembly includes left and right side panels, and a panel
strip having top, front, bottom, and rear panels attached by a
continuous material that forms a living hinge at each point where
two of the top, front, bottom, and rear panels meet, each of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels having an inner surface with a
left channel configured to receive the left side panel and a right
channel configured to receive the right side panel.
[0010] In a further aspect of the present invention, a method of
assembling a speaker enclosure, the speaker enclosure having left
and right side panels, and a panel strip, the panel strip having
top, front, bottom, and rear panels attached by a continuous
material that forms a living hinge at each point where two of the
top, front, bottom, and rear panels meet, each of the top, front,
bottom, and rear panels having an inner surface with left and right
channels, the method includes inserting the left side panel into
the left channel, inserting the right side panel into the right
channel, and forming the speaker enclosure by folding the panel
strip at the living hinges.
[0011] It is understood that other aspects of the present invention
will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the
following detailed description, wherein various embodiments of the
invention are shown and described by way of illustration. As will
be realized, the invention is capable of other and different
embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in
various other respects, all without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and
detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature
and not as restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0012] Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals
indicate like parts throughout the several views, the several
aspects of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not
by way of limitation, in detail in the figures, wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the prefabricated
speaker enclosure.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an assembled speaker
enclosure.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a speaker enclosure being
assembled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0016] The detailed description set forth below in connection with
the appended drawings is intended as a description of various
embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to
represent the only embodiments described herein. The detailed
description includes specific details for the purpose of providing
a comprehensive understanding of the present invention. However, it
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present
invention may be practiced without these specific details.
[0017] The present prefabricated speaker enclosure is designed to
facilitate effective shipping and storage. A prefabricated speaker
enclosure comes partially assembled in an unfolded manner so as to
increase the surface area in a given space. It allows enclosures to
stack on top of each other, increasing the surface area/volume
ratios. Accordingly, the prefabricated design allows a larger
number of speaker enclosures to be shipped and stored in a given
space.
[0018] Further, the prefabricated speaker enclosure is designed so
that the end user can assemble it with ease and speed. The present
invention has a minimum number of parts necessary to assemble a
speaker enclosure. Each part is designed so that assembly is simple
and self-evident.
[0019] Various embodiments of a prefabricated speaker enclosure
will now be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the speaker enclosure
assembly 10 may include a left side panel 22, a right side panel
24, a top panel 12, a front panel 14, a bottom panel 16, and a rear
panel 18. Through a continuous material 40 that extends along the
outer surfaces of the panels 12b, 14b, 16b, 18b, the top 12, front
14, bottom 16, and rear 18 panels may come in one panel strip
100.
[0020] The continuous material 40 may be designed so as to form a
number of living hinges. A first living hinge 13 may be at a point
where the top panel 12 and the front panel 14 meet; a second living
hinge 15 may be at a point where the front panel 14 and the bottom
panel 16 meet; and a third living hinge 17 may be at a point where
the bottom panel 16 and the rear panel 18 meet.
[0021] The continuous material 40 can be made of any material that
allows formation of the living hinges 13, 15, 17. Such materials
may include, but not limited to, carpet, rubber, and plastic. It
may be that the end user wishes to match the material 40 of his/her
speaker enclosure with the environment in which the enclosure will
be placed. For example, if the speaker is to be used in an
automobile trunk, the end user may wish to have a carpeted material
on his/her speaker enclosure to match the carpet on the trunk of
his/her car. Other users may wish to have plastic material for
aesthetic reasons or rubber material for additional water
resistance.
[0022] On the inner surface 12a, 14a, 16a, 18a of the top 12, front
14, bottom 16, and rear 18 panels, a channel 20 may run
longitudinally along the length of the panel strip 100 near one
edge 12e, 14e, 16e, 18e. The channel 20 may be designed to receive
the left side panel 22. A similar channel 30 may be constructed to
receive the right side panel 24 near the opposite edge 12f, 14f,
16f, 18f.
[0023] The left and right side panels 22, 24 may each have at least
one tapered edge 23, 25, respectively. The left channel 20 in the
front panel 14 may be configured to receive the tapered edge 23 of
the left side panel 22, and the right channel 30 in the front panel
14 may be configured to receive the tapered edge 25 of the right
side panel 24.
[0024] Each of the top 12, front 14, bottom 16, and rear 18 panels
may have first and second edges. The top panel 12 may have a first
edge 12c which may substantially be in contact with the second edge
18d of the rear panel 18 once the panel strip 100 is folded at the
living hinges 13, 15, 17. Similarly, the second edge 12d of the top
panel 12 may substantially be in contact with the first edge 14c of
the front panel 14; the second edge 14d of the front panel 14 may
substantially be in contact with the first edge 16c of the bottom
panel 16; and the second edge 16d of the bottom panel 16 may
substantially be in contact with the first edge 18c of the rear
panel 18.
[0025] The first and second edges of each panel may be
substantially perpendicular to their respective left 20 and right
30 channels and have an outward taper extending from its respective
inner surface to its respective outer surface. For example, the
first edge 12c of the top panel 12 may have an outward taper
extending from the inner surface 12a of the top panel 12 to its
outer surface 12b. Similarly, the first edge 14c of the front panel
14 may have an outward taper extending from the inner surface 14a
of the front panel 14 to its outer surface 14b, and the first edge
16c of the bottom panel 16 may have an outward taper extending from
the inner surface 16a of the bottom panel 16 to its outer surface
16b Finally, the first edge of 18c of the rear panel 18 may have an
outward taper extending from the inner surface 18a of the rear
panel 18 to its outer surface 18b. Accordingly, it may be that the
inner surface area of the top 12, front 14, bottom 16, and rear 18
panels is smaller than the surface area of their respective outer
surfaces.
[0026] It may be that the front panel 14 has a hole to accommodate
`a speaker (not shown) and a grill (not shown).
[0027] As additional security, the channels 20, 30 may be
pre-disposed to an adhesive material, such as a strip of adhesive
tape or glue. When securing the left 22 and right 24 side panels in
the left 20 and right 30 channels, the end use may apply an
adhesive material in the left channel 20 and the right channel 30
before inserting the left 22 and right 24 side panels in the left
20 and right 30 channels and folding the panel 100 at the living
hinges 13, 15, 17. The adhesive material may include, but not
limited to, a strip of adhesive tape or glue.
[0028] In an embodiment where an adhesive tape is used, such tape
may be double-sided with its adhesive coating exposed only after
its release liner is peeled off One side of the double-sided
adhesive tape may be mounted to the channels 20, 30, while the
other side still has its release liner, intact. The end user may
simply peel off the release liner on the other side of the
double-sided adhesive tape just before assembling the speaker
enclosure.
[0029] Double-sided adhesive tape may also be mounted inside the
living hinges 13, 15, 17. For example, a strip of double-sided
adhesive tape may be mounted to the second edge 12d of the top
panel 12 and/or to the first edge 14c of the front panel 14, so
that when the second edge 12d and the first edge 14c come
substantially close to be in contact, the tape may provide
additional security. Similarly, a strip of double-sided adhesive
tape may be mounted to the second edge 14d of the front panel 14
and/or the first edge 16c of the bottom panel 16. When the second
edge 14d and the first edge 16c come substantially close to be in
contact, the tape may provide additional security. Finally, a strip
of double-sided adhesive tape may be mounted to the second edge 16d
of the bottom panel 16 and/or the first edge 18c of the rear panel
18. When the second edge 16d and the first edge 18c come
substantially close to be in contact, the tape may provide
additional security.
[0030] Further, a strip of double-sided adhesive tape may be
mounted to the second edge 18d of the rear panel 18 and/or the
first edge 12c of the top panel 12. When the second edge 18d and
the first edge 12c come substantially close to be in contact, the
tape may provide additional security.
[0031] To provide additional security, the end user may use
fastening materials, including, but not limited to, nuts and bolts,
nails.
[0032] FIG. 2 shows the assembly in process. In FIG. 2, The left
side panel 22 and right side panel 24 have been already inserted
into the left 20 and right 30 channels of the bottom panel 16,
respectively. Further, the panel strip 100 has been folded at the
second living hinge 15 where the front panel 14 and the bottom
panel 16 meet, bringing the second edge 14d of the front panel 14
substantially in contact with the first edge 16c of the bottom
panel 16.
[0033] FIG. 2 further depicts the panel strip 100 in motion to
complete the folding at the first living hinge 13, where the top
panel 12 and the front panel 14 meet. The folding at the first
living hinge 13 may bring the second edge 12d of the top panel 12
substantially in contact with the first edge 14c of the front panel
14. Further, the left 20 and right 30 channels on the inner surface
12a of the top panel 12 may receive the left 22 and right 24 side
panels, respectively. Specifically, the left channel 20 on the
inner surface 12a of the top panel 12 may receive the top edge 22d
of the left side panel 22. Similarly, the right channel 30 on the
inner surface 12a of the top panel 12 may receive the top edge 24d
of the right side panel 24.
[0034] The assembly may be completed by folding the panel strip 100
at the third living hinge 17 where the bottom panel 16 and the rear
panel 18 meet. The folding at the third living hinge 17 may bring
the second edge 18d of the rear panel 18 substantially in contact
with the first edge 12c of the top panel 12. Further, the left 20
and right 30 channels on the inner surface 18a of the rear panel 18
may receive the left 22 and right 24 side panels, respectively.
Specifically, the left channel 20 on, the inner surface 18a of the
rear panel 18 may receive the rear edge 22c of the left side panel
22. Similarly, the right channel 30 on the inner surface 18a of the
rear panel 18 may receive the top edge 24d of the right side panel
24.
[0035] FIG. 3 shows an speaker enclosure after the assembly, is
completed.
[0036] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is
provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the
present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will
be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic
principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments
without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus,
the present invention is not intended to be limited to the
embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope
consistent with the claims, wherein reference to an element in the
singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless
specifically so stated, but rather "one or more." All structural
and functional equivalents to the elements of the various
embodiments described throughout this disclosure that are known or
later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are
expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be
encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is
intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such
disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is
to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth
paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase
"means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is
recited using the phrase "step for."
* * * * *