Speaker Enclosure

Abstract

A speaker enclosure including an elongated upright hollow housing having a sound reinforcing port in a bottom panel thereof with the interior of the housing being substantially unobstructed between a speaker element mounted in the upper part thereof and the bottom panel. The housing is supported with the bottom panel in spaced relation to a supporting surface and with the port in communication with ambient air.

Description

This invention relates to speaker enclosures or housings. More particularly, this invention relates to a speaker housing having bass note reinforcing portions in a lower portion of the housing.

An object of this invention is to provide a speaker housing in which a lower plate of the housing cooperates with an underlying floor to reinforce bass notes produced by a speaker carried in the housing.

Briefly, this invention provides a speaker housing which includes a hollow chamber in an upper portion of which a speaker cone is mounted. The lower end of the chamber is closed by a bottom plate which is parallel to a supporting surface and supported in spaced relation above the supporting surface. An opening in the bottom plate provides a bass reinforcing port. The portion of the bottom plate surrounding the opening cooperates with the supporting surface to provide a bass reinforcing air column. The chamber is unobstructed between the cone and the bottom plate, and the air column inside the chamber also helps reinforce the sound output of the speaker housing.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains from the following detailed description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a speaker housing constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention, a fabric facing thereof being partly broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the speaker housing shown in FIG. 1, the fabric facing being partly broken away;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the speaker housing illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view in transverse section taken on the line 4--4 in FIG. 3.

In the following detailed description and the drawings, like reference characters indicate like parts.

In FIGS. 1-4 inclusive is shown a speaker housing 11 constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention. The housing 11 (FIG. 1) includes side panels 12, 13, 14 (FIG. 3) and 16, which can be similar in construction. Each side panel includes downwardly extending leg portions, the leg portions of the side panel 12 being indicated at 112 and 212. Leg portions of the side panel 13 are indicated at 113 and 213 in FIG. 4. Leg portions of the side panel 14 are indicated at 114 and 214. Leg portions of the side panel 16 are indicated at 116 and 216.

In the upper portion of each side panel is provided an outwardly facing opening, the opening in the side panel 12 (FIG. 1) being indicated at 312 in FIG. 1. Th opening in the side panel 13 is indicated at 313, the opening in the side panel 14 (FIG. 4) is indicated at 314, and the opening in the side panel 16 (FIG. 2) is indicated at 316. Upright or side edges of the side panels are mitered and attached together to form a box-like enclosure. A top panel 18 is attached to the upper ends of the side panels to close the top of the housing 11. A bottom panel 19 is mounted between the side panels 12, 13, 14 and 16 above the leg portions thereof. Edges of the bottom panel are received in slots (FIG. 4) in the side panels, the slot in the side panel 14 being indicated at 414. The bottom panel is provided with a central port opening or bore 22 with the bottom panel 19 being supported in spaced relation to a supporting surface or floor 221 (FIGS. 2 and 4) on which the speaker housing 11 stands.

Annular speaker mounting boards 23 and 24 (FIG. 4) are attached to the inner faces of the side panels 12 and 14, overlying the openings 312 and 314, respectively. Speaker cones or elements 26 and 27 are mounted on the speaker mounting boards 23 and 24, respectively. Opening cover boards 28 and 29 are attached to the inner faces of the side panels 13 and 16 to cover and close the openings 313 and 316 thereof. The interior of the housing 11 is unobstructed between the speaker cones 26 and 27 and the bottom panel 19, as indicated most clearly in FIG. 4. An appropriate sound transmitting decorative fabric outer facing 31 (FIGS. 1 and 2) can be attached to outer faces of the side panels.

When the speaker cones are energized, the speaker housing provides a plurality of sound reinforcing air columns. A first sound reinforcing air column is provided inside the housing between the bottom panel 19 and the top panel 18. A second sound reinforcing air column is provided inside the opening 22 in the bottom panel 19. A third sound reinforcing air colum is provided between the bottom panel 19 and the floor 221. These air columns can be tuned by varying the dimensions of the speaker housing, the diameter or size of the opening 22 in the bottom panel 19, the area of the bottom panel 19 surrounding the opening 22, the thickness of the bottom panel 19 and the height of the legs or height of the bottom panel 19 above the floor 221. All of these air columns are in communication with ambient air and provide response surrounding the speaker housing because the port opening 22 is in communication with air surrounding the housing through spaces between the leg portions of the side panels.

The speaker housing dimensions can vary over wide ranges depending on the type of frequencies which it is desired to reinforce and the space demands of a room or the like in which the speaker housing is mounted. A typical speaker housing of my invention, which is shown in the drawings, can be approximately thirty-two inches tall with the bottom panel 19 being 1/2 inch thick with a circular opening 22 of a diameter of 5 inches being provided centrally thereof and the width of each of the side panels being 8 1/2 inches, and the height of the lower face of the bottom panel 19 above the floor 221 being 1 inch. This speaker housing provides an excellent reinforcement of audible base notes.

The speaker housing shown in the drawings and described above includes two cones mounted on opposite side panels of the housing. However, if desired, additional speaker cones can be mounted on the other side panels at the openings thereof. The mountings of the additional speaker cones can be similar to the mounting of the speaker cones shown. On the other hand, a single speaker cone can be employed instead of the two speaker cones shown.

The side panels and the top and bottom panels can be attached together adhesively. The speaker cones can be attached to the speaker boards 23 and 24 adhesively or by use of appropriate fasteners (not shown), and the speaker mounting boards can be adhesively attached to the inner faces of the side panels.

Although the height of the bottom panel 19 above the floor 221 in the illustrated embodiment of the invention is approximately 1 inch, the spacing of the bottom panel above the floor 221 can be varied by varying the length of the leg portions of the side panels. Good results in the audible range have been secured with speaker housings in which the height of the bottom panel above the floor is as great as 2 inches or as little as 1/8 inch and for heights within this range.

The speaker housing construction illustrated in the drawings and described above is subject to structural modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters patent is:

1. A speaker enclosure which comprises an elongated upright hollow housing having side panels and a top panel attached to the side panels and closing the top of the housing, four side panels each having an opening adjacent said top panel, means for supporting a pair of speaker elements in an upper portion of the housing, each in registry with an opening in a respective side panel of a first pair of side panels, a second pair of side panels, a pair of cover boards each substantially thinner than a respective side panel and closing the opening in a respective side panel of said second pair, the housing including a bottom panel extending transversely of the housing and closing a lower end of the housing, there being a sound reinforcing port in the bottom panel with the interior of the housing being substantially unobstructed between the speaker element and the bottom panel, and means for supporting the housing with the bottom panel in spaced relation to a supporting surface and with the port in communication with ambient air.

2. A speaker enclosure as in claim 1 wherein the housing supporting means supports the housing with the bottom panel parallel to the supporting surface.

3. A speaker enclosure as in claim 2 wherein the housing supporting means supports the housing with the bottom panel spaced between 1/8 inch and 2 inches above the supporting surface.

4. A speaker enclosure as in claim 2 wherein the housing supporting means supports the housing with the bottom panel spaced approximately one inch above the supporting surface.