Sound-producing arrangement for a motor vehicle

Details Sound-producing arrangement for a motor vehicle Sound-producing arrangement for a motor vehicle

1999-10-25

2001-10-30

Harvey, Minsun Oh (Department: 2644)

Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices

Vehicle

C181S141000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06310958

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a sound-producing arrangement for motor vehicles having a bass speaker and a hollow acoustic conductor connected to the bass speaker.
It has long been sought to make optimum use of the existing space in a motor vehicle to increase the comfort or convenience of the motor vehicle. To this end, various efforts have been undertaken to design components more compactly or, if possible, to move them into regions of the vehicle in which the structural design provides available space.
Thus, it has been proposed that the bulky bass speaker in a sound producing arrangement be located outside the passenger compartment. The structural modification required for this is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrfit No. 33 17 518 in which the bass speaker has an opening to which an acoustic conductor in the form of a pipe is coupled. The sound waves generated in the speaker can be directionally conducted to by this pipe to a remote location. To increase the usable space in the passenger compartment, it has therefore been proposed that the speaker be arranged in another dry area of the vehicle, where the electrical lines of the speaker are protected against troublesome moisture. Such an arrangement is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,175 in which an acoustic sound generating member is located in the vehicle trunk and an acoustic conductor through which sound is conducted into the passenger compartment is provided between the vehicle seat and the vehicle frame. One disadvantage of this proposed arrangement it is that the usable space gained in the passenger compartment is obtained at the expense of usable space in another dry area such as, for example, the trunk. Since the loading volume of the trunk is also a measure of the comfort or convenience of a motor vehicle, moving the speaker out of the passenger compartment into another dry area only results in a displacement and not in an increase in the comfort or convenience of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sound producing arrangement for a motor vehicle which overcomes disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sound-producing arrangement for a motor vehicle in which the existing vehicle space is used in an improved way to increase vehicle comfort and convenience.
These and other objects of the invention are attained by locating a bass speaker in a wet area of the vehicle and providing an acoustic conductor between the bass speaker and the dry area of the vehicle which is mounted in gas-tight relation to the dry area of the vehicle thereby increasing the overall available space in the dry area, i.e., passenger compartment and trunk. The resulting increase in vehicle comfort and convenience is produced either directly by an increase in the freedom of movement in the passenger compartment or by the ability to use the added available space for additional convenience-enhancing components.
In a preferred embodiment, the electrical lines for each speaker are mounted in the acoustic conductor to protect them from spray and atmospheric moisture, the lines preferably being fastened to the inner walls of the acoustic conductor.
Depending upon the frequency to which the bass speakers are tuned, the acoustic conductors preferably have a length of about 0.2 m to about 0.5 m. In addition, one or more of the amplifiers for the bass speaker or speakers may be mounted in water and gas-tight sealed relation directly on the speaker or speakers, the electrical contacts to the amplifier being located inside the speaker. If the amplifier includes a cooling component such as a portion with fins it is preferably directed into the wet area of the vehicle so that heat generated by the amplifier can be effectively dissipated.
In an especially advantageous arrangement, the bass speaker is located in a bumper for the vehicle since vehicle bumpers have a relatively large unused volume. Alternatively it may be mounted in the engine compartment.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5170435 (1992-12-01), Rosen et al.
patent: 5218175 (1993-06-01), Scarlatta
patent: 5397866 (1995-03-01), Lyons et al.
patent: 5822439 (1998-10-01), Sakiyama et al.
patent: 3317518 (1984-11-01), None
patent: 0712758 (1996-05-01), None
patent: 4334636 (1992-11-01), None

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