Compact electroacoustic transducer and loudspeaker system and method of use thereof

Abstract

An improved compact electroacoustic transducer and loudspeaker system. The electroacoustic transducer (or array of electroacoustic transducers) can generate a desired sound by the use of pressurized airflow. The electroacoustic transducer does not have frames (unlike prior electroacoustic transducers) and an electrically conductive membrane is now supported by a pair of non-conductive vent members.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing electroacoustic transducer card stacks comprising the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of panel stacks, wherein the step of forming a panel stack in the plurality of panel stacks comprises (i) bonding a first side of an electrically conductive stator panel comprising a plurality of electrically conductive stators to a first side of a first vent member panel comprising a plurality of first vent members, (ii) bonding a first side of a electrically conductive membrane to the second side of the first vent member panel while maintaining the electrically conductive membrane under tension, wherein the step of bonding the first side of the electrically conductive membrane to the second side of the first vent member panel comprises applying a force to the electrically conductive membrane to maintain the electrically conductive membrane under tension, and (iii) bonding a first side of a second vent member panel to the second side of the electrically conductive membrane, wherein before the step of bonding the first side of the second vent member panel to the second side of the electrically conductive membrane, the application of the force to the electrically conductive membrane is discontinued.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) the electrically conductive stator panel comprising at least 10 electrically conductive stators; (b) the first vent member panel comprising at least 10 first vent members; (c) the second vent member panel comprising at least 10 second vent members; and (d) the step of cutting the bonded stack of panel stacks to create the plurality of electroacoustic transducer card stacks creates at least 10 electroacoustic transducer cards.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the bonding comprises bonding with epoxy.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising curing the epoxy before the step of cutting the bonded stack of panel stacks.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first vent members in the plurality of first vent member panels and each of the second vent members in the plurality of second vent member panels is an electrical insulator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the thickness of each of the first vent members in the plurality of first vent member panels and each of the second vent members in the plurality of second vent member panels is between 0.1 mm and 1 mm.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein after the application of the force to the electrically conductive membrane is discontinued and before the step of bonding the first side of the second vent member panel to the second side of the electrically conductive membrane, the electrically conductive membrane is cut to remove any excess electrically conductive material.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of forming plurality of panel stacks occurs in the absence of bonding a frame to the panel of stacks in the plurality of panel stacks.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising stacking and bonding the panel stacks in the plurality of panel stacks to form a bonded stack of panel stacks, wherein, for adjacent panel stacks in the bonded stack of panel stacks, the second side of the second vent member panel of a first adjacent panel stack in the two adjacent panel stacks is bonded to the second side of the electrically conductive stator panel of a second adjacent panel stack in the two adjacent panel stacks.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of stacking and bonding the panel stacks in the plurality of panel stacks comprises stacking and bonding at least 10 panel stacks.

11. A method of manufacturing electroacoustic transducer card stacks comprising the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of panel stacks, wherein the step of forming a panel stack in the plurality of panel stacks comprises (i) bonding a first side of an electrically conductive stator panel comprising a plurality of electrically conductive stators to a first side of a first vent member panel comprising a plurality of first vent members, (ii) bonding a first side of a electrically conductive membrane to the second side of the first vent member panel while maintaining the electrically conductive membrane under tension, and (iii) bonding a first side of a second vent member panel to the second side of the electrically conductive membrane; (b) stacking and bonding the panel stacks in the plurality of panel stacks to form a bonded stack of panel stacks, wherein, for adjacent panel stacks in the bonded stack of panel stacks, the second side of the second vent member panel of a first adjacent panel stack in the two adjacent panel stacks is bonded to the second side of the electrically conductive stator panel of a second adjacent panel stack in the two adjacent panel stacks; and (c) cutting the bonded stack of panel stacks to create a plurality of electroacoustic transducer card stacks, wherein (i) the conductive membranes are each movable along a first axis, (ii) the cutting of the bonded stack of panel stack cuts the first vent member panel to form a plurality of first vent fingers arranged so that air can flow between the plurality of first vent fingers along a second axis, and (iii) the first axis and the second axis are substantially perpendicular.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the cutting of the bonded stack of panel stack cuts the second vent member panel to form a plurality of second vent fingers arranged so that air can flow between the plurality of second vent fingers along the second axis.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising stacking and bonding at least some of the plurality of the electroacoustic transducer card stacks after the step of cutting.

14. A method of manufacturing electroacoustic transducer card stacks comprising the steps of: (a) forming a plurality of panel stacks, wherein the step of forming a panel stack in the plurality of panel stacks comprises (i) bonding a first side of an electrically conductive stator panel comprising a plurality of electrically conductive stators to a first side of a first vent member panel comprising a plurality of first vent members, (ii) bonding a first side of a electrically conductive membrane to the second side of the first vent member panel while maintaining the electrically conductive membrane under tension, and (iii) bonding a first side of a second vent member panel to the second side of the electrically conductive membrane; and (b) cutting each of the panel stacks in the plurality of panel stacks to create a plurality of electroacoustic transducer cards, wherein for each panel stack (i) the conductive membranes are each movable along a first axis, (ii) the cutting of the panel stack cuts the first vent member panel to form a plurality of first vent fingers arranged so that air can flow between the plurality of first vent fingers along a second axis, and (iii) the first axis and the second axis are substantially perpendicular.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A-1E (which are reproduced from the Pinkerton '615 Application) depict an electrically conductive membrane pump/transducer that utilizes an array of electrically conductive membrane pumps that cause a membrane to move in phase. FIGS. 1A-1B depict cross-section views of the pump/transducer. FIGS. 1C-1E depict overhead views of the pump/transducer.

(2) FIG. 2 (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '615 Application) depicts an electrically conductive membrane pump/transducer that has a stacked array of electrically conductive membrane pumps.

(3) FIG. 3 (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '615 Application) depicts an electrically conductive membrane pump/transducer that utilizes an array of electrically conductive membrane pumps that operates without a membrane or piston.

(4) FIG. 4 (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '615 Application) depicts an electrically conductive membrane pump/transducer 3100 that utilizes an array of electrically conductive membrane pumps and that also includes an electrostatic speaker.

(5) FIG. 5 (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '615 Application) depicts an electrically conductive membrane pump/transducer 3200 that utilizes an array of electrically conductive membrane pumps that cause a membrane to move in phase and that also includes an electrostatic speaker.

(6) FIG. 6A (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '715 Application) illustrates an electroacoustic transducer (“ET,” which is also referred to as a “pump card”) and its solid stator.

(7) FIG. 6B (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '715 Application) is a magnified view of the electroacoustic transducer of FIG. 6A.

(8) FIG. 6C (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '715 Application) illustrates the electroacoustic transducer of FIG. 6A having a single stator card before trimming off the vent fingers.

(9) FIG. 7 (which is reproduced from the Pinkerton '715 Application) is exploded view of the electroacoustic transducer of FIG. 6A.

(10) FIG. 8A illustrates an exploded view of an improved electroacoustic transducer of the present invention.

(11) FIG. 8B illustrates the improved electroacoustic transducer shown in FIG. 8A in fabricated form.

(12) FIG. 9 illustrates panels that can be used in a process by which the improved electroacoustic transducer of the present invention can be manufactured.

(13) FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate a four-card stack of the improved electroacoustic transducers of the present invention and the airflow that results from membrane displacement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(14) The present invention relates to a loudspeaker having an improved pump cards that each include an array of electrically conductive membrane transducers (such as polyester-metal membrane pumps). The array of electrically conductive membrane transducers combine to generate the desired sound by the use of pressurized airflow. These are improved over the earlier pump cards in that they do not have the frames, and are now supported by a pair of vent members.

(15) FIG. 8A illustrates an exploded view of an electroacoustic transducer 801 that has two pump cards. This is similar to the electroacoustic transducer 1601 shown in FIG. 7. However, electroacoustic transducer 801 does not have metal frames 1701 and 1705. I.e., the double stack cards of electroacoustic transducer 801 lack any frames.

(16) From top to bottom: FIG. 8 shows a first non-conductive vent member 802 (with its 23 vent fingers), a first electrically conductive membrane 803, a second non-conductive vent member 804, a first solid metal stator 805, a third non-conductive vent member 806, a second electrically conductive membrane 807, a fourth non-conductive vent member 808, and a second solid metal stator 809. As before, these parts can be joined together with epoxy, double-sided tape, sheet adhesive or any other suitable bonding process. FIG. 8B shows the electroacoustic transducer 801 after its parts (as shown in FIG. 8A) have been bonded together.

(17) The membranes (membranes 803 and 807) are supported by the pair of non-conductive vent membranes above and below the membrane. For example, first non-conductive vent member 802 supports a portion of a first electrically conductive membrane 803 and second non-conductive vent member 804 supports the other portion of first electrically conductive membrane 803. No non-conductive vent by itself can support the electrically conductive membrane.

(18) This absence of the frames from electroacoustic transducer 801 was significant and provided advantageous and unexpected results. The frames in the earlier pump cards (such as the electroacoustic transducer 1601 shown in FIG. 7) were expensive, difficult to make (the metal spans being both thin and narrow) and also had a tendency of causing electrical arcs to the stator. By removing the frames, the electrical arcing has been eliminated in electroacoustic transducer 801.

(19) FIG. 9 illustrates panels that can be used in a process by which the improved electroacoustic transducer of the present invention can be manufactured.

(20) Panels 902, 904, 906, and 908 (which can also be referred to as “vent panels”), each contain a plurality of non-conductive vent members on them that are properly aligned. As illustrated in FIG. 9, there are five sets of non-conductive vent members per panel.

(21) Panels 905 and 909 (which can also be referred to as “stator panels”), each contain a plurality of solid metal stators that are aligned similar to non-conductive vent members of panels 902, 904, 906, and 908 so that when placed together the vent panels and stator panels align with one another.

(22) Sheets 903 and 907 are membrane material.

(23) The panels are aligned as shown in FIG. 9 and then bonded together (with the membranes being held in high tension).

(24) Since cards without steel frames are mechanically weaker than cards with frames, the panels 902, 904-906, and 908-909 (particularly the wide portion of the outer frame of the panels) provide added strength during the manufacturing process by partially supporting the mechanical load of the highly tensioned membranes 903 and 907 as several layers of material are bonded together. Once several layers of panels have been built up and the epoxy has cured (giving each panel added strength), individual card stacks can be cut out of the panels and assembled into complete stacks. Such stacks have been described in the Pinkerton '488 Application, the Pinkerton '615 Application, and the Pinkerton '715 Application. For example, 10 card layers can be bonded in panel form before cutting the cards out of the panel (which produces five 10-card stacks). About 10 of these 10 card mini-stacks are then bonded together to make a complete 100 card stack.

(25) FIGS. 10A-10B illustrate a four-card stack 1001 of the improved electroacoustic transducers of the present invention and the airflow that results from membrane displacement. Focusing on the pump card that is the second from the top of four card stack 1001, this includes a first solid metal stator 1005, a first non-conductive vent member 1006, a first electrically conductive membrane 1007, a second non-conductive vent member 1008, and a second solid metal stator 1009. In FIG. 10A, the membrane 1007 is deflected away from first stator 1005 and toward second stator 1009, which draws the fluid (i.e., air) into the pump card in vents 1010 of first vent member 1006 and expels the fluid (i.e., air) from the pump card in vents 1011 of second vent member 1008. In FIG. 10B, the membrane 1007 is deflected toward first stator 1005 and away from second stator 1009, which expels the fluid (i.e., air) from the pump card in vents 1010 of first vent member 1006 and draws the fluid (i.e., air) into the pump card in vents 1011 of second vent member 1008.

(26) As a result, the electroacoustic transducers of the present invention no longer arc, are lighter, smaller and much lower cost in that, excluding the membrane (which is incidental in cost compared to the other parts of the pump card), two of the five main parts have been eliminated.

(27) These alterations in the design of the transducers of the present invention resulted in unexpected, remarkable, and dramatic improvements in performance of the loudspeaker systems of the present invention, while also lowering weight and manufacturing cost.

(28) While embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and teachings of the invention. The embodiments described and the examples provided herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to be limiting. Many variations and modifications of the invention disclosed herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. The scope of protection is not limited by the description set out above, but is only limited by the claims which follow, that scope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.

(29) The disclosures of all patents, patent applications, and publications cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, to the extent that they provide exemplary, procedural, or other details supplementary to those set forth herein.

(30) Amounts and other numerical data may be presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and should be interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. For example, a numerical range of approximately 1 to approximately 4.5 should be interpreted to include not only the explicitly recited limits of 1 to approximately 4.5, but also to include individual numerals such as 2, 3, 4, and sub-ranges such as 1 to 3, 2 to 4, etc. The same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value, such as “less than approximately 4.5,” which should be interpreted to include all of the above-recited values and ranges. Further, such an interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristic being described.

(31) Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the presently disclosed subject matter belongs. Although any methods, devices, and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the presently disclosed subject matter, representative methods, devices, and materials are now described.

(32) Following long-standing patent law convention, the terms “a” and “an” mean “one or more” when used in this application, including the claims.

(33) Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in this specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the presently disclosed subject matter.

(34) As used herein, the term “about” and “substantially” when referring to a value or to an amount of mass, weight, time, volume, concentration or percentage is meant to encompass variations of in some embodiments ±20%, in some embodiments ±10%, in some embodiments ±5%, in some embodiments ±1%, in some embodiments ±0.5%, and in some embodiments ±0.1% from the specified amount, as such variations are appropriate to perform the disclosed method.

(35) As used herein, the term “substantially perpendicular” and “substantially parallel” is meant to encompass variations of in some embodiments within ±10° of the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively, in some embodiments within ±5° of the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively, in some embodiments within ±1° of the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively, and in some embodiments within ±0.5° of the perpendicular and parallel directions, respectively.

(36) As used herein, the term “and/or” when used in the context of a listing of entities, refers to the entities being present singly or in combination. Thus, for example, the phrase “A, B, C, and/or D” includes A, B, C, and D individually, but also includes any and all combinations and subcombinations of A, B, C, and D.