Speaker configuration for a portable electronic device

A portable electronic device including a housing with a speaker configuration disposed therein, the speaker configuration comprising:

• a speaker diaphragm having a front side and a rear side, the speaker being affixed to an inside surface of a wall of the housing with the front side of the speaker diaphragm facing the wall;
• an active vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the active vent, the active vent controlling the upper frequency extent of the frequency response;
• a chamber disposed in the wall of the housing directly above the active vent, the chamber tuning the acoustic response of the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm propagating through the active vent;
• a passive vent subtending a larger area than the active vent, the passive vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves present at the listener's ear due to the active vent can propagate through the housing and then to the outside world;
• a first diffuser placed above the chamber, the first diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm through the active vent to outside of the housing within an ear placement region;
• and
• a second diffuser placed above the passive vent, the second diffuser placed in close proximity to the first diffuser, the first and second diffuser defining an active port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the active vent, the second diffuser and housing defining a passive port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the passive vent,
• the active and passive ports being acoustically coupled within the ear placement region to provide a larger usable ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration than would be available from an active and passive vent alone.

A portable electronic device including a housing with a speaker configuration disposed therein, the speaker configuration comprising:

• a speaker diaphragm having a front side and a rear side, the speaker being affixed to an inside surface of a wall of the housing with the front side of the speaker diaphragm facing the wall;
• an active vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the active vent;
• a passive vent having a longer acoustic length from the speaker diaphragm than the active vent, the passive vent disposed in the wall such that acoustic waves produced by the rear side of the speaker diaphragm can propagate through the passive vent;
• a first diffuser placed above the chamber, the first diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the front side of the speaker diaphragm through the active vent to outside of the housing within an ear placement region;
• and
• a second diffuser placed above the passive vent, the second diffuser dispersing the acoustic waves produced by the rear side of the speaker diaphragm to outside of the housing within the ear placement region, the first and second diffuser defining an active port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the active vent and having a large cross-sectional area than the active vent, the second diffuser and housing defining a passive port therebetween being acoustically coupled to the passive vent,
• the active and passive ports being proximate to each other and acoustically coupled within the ear placement region to provide a larger usable ear placement region for a user of the portable electronic device to obtain a more uniform frequency response from the speaker configuration than would be available an active vent alone.