DAMPER STRUCTURE FOR SPEAKER SYSTEM

Abstract

A damper structure includes a plurality of first yarns; a plurality of second yarns transversely crossing and alternately overlapping the first yarns respectively in a knitted manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas, wherein the first and second yarns include at least one first or second yarn formed by a single yarn strand; and a fixture layer formed on and enclosing the overlapping areas in such a manner that each of the overlapping areas has a fixed configuration in cross-section.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a damper structure, more particularly to a damper structure that is used in a speaker system and that includes a first or second yarn formed by a single yarn strand.

2. The Prior Arts

Referring to FIG. 1, a damper structure 12 is installed in a typical speaker 1, which operates under the principle that when an alternate current passes through a voice coil 14, an electromagnetic field is generated above the permanent magnet 15 such that the cone diaphragm 11 vibrates due to reciprocal movement of the voice coil 14 in the vertical direction relative to the permanent magnet 15, thereby vibrating the nearby air and hence producing sound. The cone diaphragm 11 is usually connected to the damper structure 12 and the base unit via the suspension plate 13. As illustrated, the damper structure 12 is attached to the voice coil 14 and the cone diaphragm 11 to stabilize vibration of the voice coil 14 and for enhancing the sound quality of the speaker 1. The damper structure 12 is formed by a plurality of coaxial continued coils, each of which has a corrugated configuration in cross section.

In the typical speaker system, the vibration elements, such as the damper structure 12, the cone diaphragm 11 and the suspension plates 13, are generally made from cloth fabric. The main reason for using the cloth fabric is that the cloth is fabricated or knitted from plurality of yarns, each yarn is formed by a plurality of fiber strands to have the proper elasticity and strength. However, the elasticity and strength thereof may loosen after a long period of use and hence leading to deformation and decreasing in the audio output quality of sound from the typical speaker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a damper structure, which can eliminate the problems of loosening elasticity and deformation of the fiber strands within the yarns. Hence, the damper structure of the present invention for used in a speaker system includes a plurality of first yarns; a plurality of second yarns transversely crossing and alternately overlapping the plurality of first yarns respectively in a knitted manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas, wherein the plurality of first and second yarns includes at least one first or second yarn formed by a single yarn strand; and a fixture layer formed on and enclosing the overlapping areas in such a manner that each of the overlapping areas has a fixed configuration in cross-section.

In one embodiment, the plurality of first yarns includes a portion consisting of at least one first yarn formed by a single yarn strand while a remaining portion thereof consists of several pieces of the first yarns, each is formed by several twisted fiber strands.

In one embodiment, the plurality of second yarns includes a portion consisting of at least one second yarn formed by a single yarn strand while a remaining portion thereof consists of several pieces of the second yarns, each is formed by several twisted fiber strands.

Preferably, the fixture layer further encloses entire surface areas of the plurality of first and second yarns in addition to the overlapping areas.

In one embodiment, respective ones of the first and second yarns and the fixture layer are integrally formed with one another at a respective one of the overlapping areas once a heat treatment is conducted thereto.

Preferably, each of the plurality of first and second yarns further includes one encapsulating sheath for sleeving over the single yarn strand. Under this condition, the single yarn strand serves as a core while the encapsulating sheath serves as an external layer enclosing the core from above.

Preferably, the damper structure of the present invention is used as a damper substrate in a speaker system.

Preferably, the damper structure of the present invention is made from cloth fabric, such as cone paper.

Moreover, the damper structure of the present invention is used as a suspension plate for interconnecting a diaphragm to a spider frame of a speaker system.

In the present invention, note that each of the first and second yarns is formed by a single yarn strand rather than several twisted fiber strands. Since the fixture layer encloses the entire areas of the first and second yarns so as to be one-integral piece, the fixture layer will not disengage easily from the single yarn strands of the first and second yarns even after a long period of vibration. In other words, such an arrangement provides high elastic strength to withstand the vibration, thereby eliminating the problems of loosening elasticity and deformation of the fiber strands within the yarns due to long term use, as encountered in the prior art. In addition, the damper structure of the present invention further includes an encapsulating sheath for sleeving over the single yarn strand and since the single yarn strand as well as the encapsulating sheath are produce via the extrusion process, the two respective have a relatively long axial length. The required elasticity of the damper structure of the present invention can be adjusted by varying a ratio amount between the single yarn strand and the numbers of encapsulating sheaths.

Only when the damper structure of the present invention serving as the damper substrate has sufficient elasticity, which, in turn, prevents untimely fatigue and thus provides a larger moving range of the damper structure of the present invention, thereby resulting in a longer service life when compared to that of the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a typical speaker system;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a damper structure of the present invention for employment in a speaker system;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the first embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the second embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the third embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the third embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the fourth embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention for employment in the speaker system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a damper structure of the present invention employed in a speaker system while

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention employed in the speaker system. As illustrated, the damper structure 2A of the present invention has the construction similar to the prior art, is corrugated in cross-section. However, the shape and structure should not be restricted only to the corrugated configuration, any other shapes, such as planar and other geometric figures with symmetric portions can also be employed so long as the damper structure has the strength and proper elasticity to withstand the elastic fatigue and vibration, thereby providing the desired sound quality.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the first embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention employed in the speaker system. As shown, the damper structure 2A according to the present invention includes a plurality of first yarns 21 (generally called warp); a plurality of second yarns 22 (generally called weft) transversely (perpendicularly) crossing and alternately overlapping the plurality of first yarns 21 respectively in a knitted manner or interlaced manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas 23. Note that the plurality of first and second yarns 21, 22 includes at least one first or second yarn formed by a single yarn strand. The material for construction the first and second yarns 21, 22 is the same or different from each other. The material is selected depending on the requirement of the desired sound quality. Preferably, the materials for fabrication of the first and second yarns are selected from petrochemical material and other type of artificial fibers, which are produced through extrusion processes. If two types of materials are blended to fabricate the first and second yarns, the damper structure 2A thus produced accordingly possesses two characteristic of the blended materials. The damper structure 2A of the present invention further includes a fixture layer 24 that is formed on and that encloses the overlapping areas 23 of the first and second yarns 21, 22 in such a manner that each of the overlapping areas 23 has a fixed configuration in cross-section, a detailed description will be further explained in the following paragraphs.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the second embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention. The damper structure 2B accordingly includes a plurality of first yarns 21 and a plurality of second yarns 22 transversely (perpendicularly) crossing and alternately overlapping the plurality of first yarns 21 respectively in a knitted manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas 23. Please note the knitted or interlaced design of the second embodiment is different from that shown in FIG. 4, and that the first and second yarns 21, 22 are alternately disposed along the first and second directions perpendicular to each other prior to conducting the knitting or interlacing operations as stated above. In this embodiment, the plurality of first yarns 21 include a portion consisting of several pieces of first yarns, each first yarn is formed by a single yarn strand while a remaining portion thereof consists of several pieces of the first yarns; each first yarn is formed by several twisted fiber strands. In the same manner, the plurality of second yarns 22 include a portion consisting of several pieces of second yarns, each second yarn is formed by a single yarn strand while a remaining portion thereof consists of several pieces of the second yarns; each second yarn is formed by several twisted fiber strands. The other elements of the second embodiment having the same structure as the previous embodiment are omitted herein for the sake of brevity. It is to note that the second embodiment has even distribution of the first and second yarns 21, 22 in the design when compared to the previous embodiment and hence provides a better sound quality. Note the damper structure 2B is used as a damper substrate in a speaker system. Moreover, the damper structure stated above can be used as a suspension plate for interconnecting a diaphragm to a spider frame of the speaker system.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, wherein FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the third embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention employed in the speaker system while FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the third embodiment of the damper structure of the present invention employed in the speaker system. As illustrated, the damper structure 2C according to the present invention includes a plurality of first yarns 21; a plurality of second yarns 22 transversely (perpendicularly) crossing and alternately overlapping the plurality of first yarns 21 respectively in a knitted manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas 23. Note that each of the first and second yarns 21, 22 is formed by a single yarn strand rather than several twisted fiber strands. The material for construction the first and second yarns 21, 22 is the same or different from each other. The material is selected depending on the requirement of the desired sound quality. Preferably, the materials for fabrication of the first and second yarns are selected from petrochemical material and other type of artificial fibers, which are produced through extrusion processes.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the fixture layer 24 is disposed or encloses the entire surface areas of the first and second yarns 21, 22 as well as the overlapping areas 23 via immersion process. After that a heat treatment is conducted on the assembly of the fixture layer 24, the first and second yarns 21, 22 and the overlapping areas 23 such that once the heat treatment is finished, respective ones of the first and second yarns 21, 22, the fixture layer 24 and a respective one of the overlapping areas 23 are integrally formed with one another and that the assembly 2C has corrugated shape in cross section, hence the fixture layer 24 is prevented from disengagement relative to the first and second yarns 21,22. Since the assembly 2C is a relatively large and long sheet, only a desired section can be cut out therefrom in order to form the damper structure 2C of different sizes. In addition, drying, pressing and trimming processes are also conducted on the assembly 2C, after which those vibration elements, such as the cone diaphragm 11, the damper structure 12 and the suspension plates 13 of FIG. 1, can be constructed by cutting a desired length piece from the assembly 2C. Therefore each vibration element thus constructed is light in weight and possess sufficient elasticity and hence can prolong the service life and simultaneously enhancing the sound quality of the speaker system provided with the damper structure of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, wherein FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the fourth embodiment of the damper structure 2D of the present invention while FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the fourth embodiment of the damper structure 2D of the present invention. The fourth embodiment has the construction structure similar to the third embodiment, except in that each of the plurality of first and second yarns 21, 22 further includes one encapsulating sheath 212 for sleeving over the single yarn strand 211. Under this condition the single yarn strand 211 serves as a core while the encapsulating sheath 212 serves as an external layer enclosing the core, as best shown in FIG. 8. In order to meet the required elasticity and the desired thickness of the damper structure of the present invention, several encapsulating sheaths can be employed so as to be sleeved over one another. In addition, in the present embodiment, the fixture layer 24 encloses the assembly only at the overlapping areas 23 (i.e., the remaining portion of the assembly is not enclosed by the fixture layer 24), thereby saving the material of the fixture layer 24 and simultaneously economizing the manufacture cost as well as the total weight of the damper structure of the present invention. In the same manner, those vibration elements, such as the cone diaphragm 11, the damper structure 12 and the suspension plates 13 of FIG. 1, can be constructed by cutting a desired length piece from the assembly 2D. Therefore each vibration element thus constructed is light in weight, possesses sufficient elasticity and hence enhancing the sound quality of the speaker system provided with the damper structure of the present invention.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangement included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A damper structure comprising:

a plurality of first yarns;

a plurality of second yarns transversely crossing and alternately overlapping said plurality of first yarns respectively in a knitted manner so as to define a plurality of overlapping areas, wherein said plurality of first and second yarns includes at least one first or second yarn formed by a single yarn strand; and

a fixture layer formed on and enclosing said overlapping areas in such a manner that each of said overlapping areas has a fixed configuration in cross-section.

2. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of first yarns includes a portion consisting of at least one first yarn formed by a single yarn strand.

3. The damper structure according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of first yarns further includes a remaining portion consisting of several pieces of said first yarns, each is formed by several twisted fiber strands.

4. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of second yarns includes a portion consisting of at least one second yarn formed by a single yarn strand.

5. The damper structure according to claim 4, wherein said plurality of second yarns further includes a remaining portion consisting of several pieces of said second yarns, each is formed by several twisted fiber strands.

6. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein said fixture layer further encloses entire surface areas of said plurality of first and second yarns in addition to said overlapping areas.

7. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein respective ones of said first and second yarns and said fixture layer are integrally formed with one another at a respective one of said overlapping areas once a heat treatment is conducted thereto.

8. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of first and second yarns further includes one encapsulating sheath for sleeving over said single yarn strand.

9. The damper structure according to claim 8, wherein said single yarn strand serves as a core while said encapsulating sheath serves as an external layer enclosing said core.

10. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein the damper structure is used as a damper substrate in a speaker system.

11. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein the damper structure is made from cloth fabric, such as cone paper.

12. The damper structure according to claim 1, wherein the damper structure is used as a suspension plate for interconnecting a diaphragm to a spider frame of a speaker system.