Abstract: A small and highly efficient loudspeaker, capable of handling high power, yet capable of being manufactured at reasonable cost, uses energy absorbing surfaces on a rear side of its diaphragm and as part of an enclosure that is integrated with its frame.

Abstract: A small and highly efficient loudspeaker, capable of handling high power, yet capable of being manufactured at reasonable cost, uses energy absorbing surfaces on a rear side of its diaphragm and as part of an enclosure that is integrated with its frame.

Abstract: An acoustic driver has a voice coil in which adjacent turns of the coil are spaced apart. The driver is placed at one end of a foam-lined, elongated structure, such as a tube. An opposing end of the structure is, in one embodiment, enclosed by a wall that is connected to the structure by a suspension so that it moves in sympathy with the driver. In another embodiment, the structure cooperates with the acoustic driver to form one or more restrictive passageways confined around the driver's motor and an inner surface of the structure. The passageway(s) couple a volume of air in the structure to the exterior of the structure in a manner that reduces the transmission of acoustic energy without creating alternating pressure within the structure that interferes with the movement of the voice coil's diaphragm, at its maximum points of excursion.

Abstract: A small and highly efficient loudspeaker, capable of handling high power, yet capable of being manufactured at reasonable cost, uses energy absorbing surfaces on a rear side of its diaphragm and as part of an enclosure that is integrated with its frame.

Abstract: An acoustic driver has a voice coil in which adjacent turns of the coil are spaced apart. The driver is placed at one end of a foam-lined, elongated structure, such as a tube. An opposing end of the structure is, in one embodiment, enclosed by a wall that is connected to the structure by a suspension so that it moves in sympathy with the driver. In another embodiment, the structure cooperates with the acoustic driver to form one or more restrictive passageways confined around the driver's motor and an inner surface of the structure. The passageway(s) couple a volume of air in the structure to the exterior of the structure in a manner that reduces the transmission of acoustic energy without creating alternating pressure within the structure that interferes with the movement of the voice coil's diaphragm, at its maximum points of excursion.

Abstract: A loudspeaker having a flux gap defined by central pole and a magnet surrounding the central pole, includes a plurality of low-friction ridges extending from an outer surface of a the central pole. A voice coil, connected to the loudspeaker's diaphragm, is free to reciprocate within the flux gap. The ridges are linear and run generally in an axial direction, along a length of the pole where the voice coil reciprocates. Instead of rubbing directly against a metal pole, which has relatively high friction, the voice coil will rub against the ridges, thus reducing some of the noise that would otherwise occur due to rubbing. The voice coil includes a relatively stiff structure, created in part with a ceramic or epoxy material, that is coupled to a diaphragm, and a relatively flexible multiple layer structure at the terminating free end having dampening properties.

Abstract: An acoustic driver has a voice coil in which adjacent turns of the coil are spaced apart. The driver is placed at one end of a foam-lined, elongated structure, such as a tube. An opposing end of the structure is, in one embodiment, enclosed by a wall that is connected to the structure by a suspension so that it moves in sympathy with the driver. In another embodiment, the structure cooperates with the acoustic driver to form one or more restrictive passageways confined around the driver's motor and an inner surface of the structure. The passageway(s) couple a volume of air in the structure to the exterior of the structure in a manner that reduces the transmission of acoustic energy without creating alternating pressure within the structure that interferes with the movement of the voice coil's diaphragm, at its maximum points of excursion.

Abstract: A loudspeaker having a flux gap defined by central pole and a magnet surrounding the central pole, includes a plurality of low-friction ridges extending from an outer surface of a the central pole. A voice coil, connected to the loudspeaker's diaphragm, is free to reciprocate within the flux gap. The ridges are linear and run generally in an axial direction, along a length of the pole where the voice coil reciprocates. Instead of rubbing directly against a metal pole, which has relatively high friction, the voice coil will rub against the ridges, thus reducing some of the noise that would otherwise occur due to rubbing. The voice coil includes a relatively stiff structure, created in part with a ceramic or epoxy material, that is coupled to a diaphragm, and a relatively flexible multiple layer structure at the terminating free end having dampening properties.

Abstract: A broad band loudspeaker (101) includes a diaphragm (103) driven by coil assembly (125) centered on a pole (131) of a magnet assembly (133) by a low-friction guide (127) depending from a lower end the coil assembly, and a low-friction guide mounted on an upper end of the pole (131). A suspension (107) for the diaphragm (103) includes two or more parallel, resilient suspension members (115a, 115b), extending between the diaphragm (103) and frame (105) and mounted through a pair of resilient mounting pads (119a, 119b, 125a, 125b). The lower guide (127) includes a flexible portion (151a) which acts like a flapper valve of a pump to create a current of cooling air past down the inside of the coil assembly (125), up the outside of the coil assembly and then out of flux gap (130).

Abstract: Improvements are disclosed in a loudspeaker of the type having a speaker cone assembly which is reciprocated by a current-carrying voice coil suspended in a constant magnetic field. The constant magnetic field is generated in an annular flux gap formed by a magnetic assembly which includes a cylindrical center pole and an outer pole defining the annular flux gap therebetween. An antifriction bearing which adjoins the voice coil and slidably moves on the cylindrical center pole provides an essentially infinite compliance rear suspension for the speaker cone assembly. The principal improvement of the disclosed loudspeaker is characterized by shock absorbing bumpers which confine the excursions of the speaker cone assembly within a defined range with minimum noise generation and without reducing the compliance of the rear suspension.

Abstract: A dynamic loudspeaker which operates over a wide band of audio frequencies is disclosed. The speaker includes a speaker cone and voice coil structure of very low mass. A configuration of ribs on the cone and dust cap is important to both high and low frequency performance. The rear suspension for the speaker is a bearing on the voice coil structure. The bearing encircles and slides on the magnetic center pole of the speaker. A method of fabricating the low mass coil structure is disclosed, including forming the bearing surface by heat shrinkage of a low friction tape.

Abstract: A dynamic loudspeaker which operates over a wide band of audio frequencies is disclosed. The speaker includes a speaker cone and voice coil structure of very low mass. A configuration of ribs on the cone and dust cap is important to both high and low frequency performance. The rear suspension for the speaker is a bearing on the voice coil structure. The bearing encircles and slides on the magnetic center pole of the speaker. A method of fabricating the low mass coil structure is disclosed, including forming the bearing surface by heat shrinkage of a low friction tape.

Abstract: A loudspeaker is constructed by circumferentially bonding a magnetic assembly in coaxial alignment rearward within a frame and installing an acoustic radiator assembly at a forward end of the frame, the acoustic radiator assembly having a cylindrical member about which a voice coil is wound, the cylindrical member extending rearward into an annular flux gap in the magnetic assembly such that the voice coil is disposed in proper alignment within the annular flux gap by virtue of the cylindrical member bearing against a mating surface of the magnetic assembly, thereby bringing the acoustic radiator assembly into substantially coaxial alignment with respect to the frame to facilitate suspension thereof at the forward end of the frame.

Abstract: A dynamic loudspeaker which operates over a wide band of audio frequencies is disclosed. The speaker includes a speaker cone and voice coil structure of very low mass. A configuration of ribs on the cone and dust cap is important to both high and low frequency performance. The rear suspension for the speaker is a bearing on the voice coil structure. The bearing encircles and slides on the magnetic center pole of the speaker. A method of fabricating the low mass coil structure is disclosed, including forming the bearing surface by heat shrinkage of a low friction tape.

Abstract: A speaker assembly for mounting in an oval acoustic baffle opening such as the rear deck of an automobile comprises an oval unitary tuned port and frame for a moving voice coil loudspeaker.

Abstract: A dynamic loudspeaker which operates over a wide band of audio frequencies is disclosed. The speaker includes a speaker cone and voice coil structure of very low mass. A configuration of ribs on the cone and dust cap is important to both high and low frequency performance. The rear suspension for the speaker is a bearing on the voice coil structure. The bearing encircles and slides on the magnetic center pole of the speaker. A method of fabricating the low mass coil structure is disclosed, including forming the bearing surface by heat shrinkage of a low friction tape.

Abstract: A very small audio speaker is described which has a broad-band electrical-mechanical transducer, a broad-band mechanical-air-transducer, and a special suspension system which combine to produce a substantially flat frequency response over substantially the entire audio range from about 50 Hz to about 18,000 Hz.The broad-band electrical-mechanical transducer has either a voice coil with two axially spaced subsections, or a magnetic field with two axially spaced subsections, with the other being continuous between two effective boundaries. Each subsection of the coil, for example, is generally centered on the boundary of the magnetic flux field so that as one subsection moves into the flux field, the other subsection moves out of the flux field at the same rate, thus maintaining a linear force as the coil reciprocates through a much longer distance than is possible using conventional continuous coil and magnetic structures.