Thermal chimney equipped audio speaker cabinet
AssigneeSTEP Technologies, Inc.
InventorsEnrique M. Stiles, Richard C. Calderwood
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermally conductive chimney tube extends through a loudspeaker cabinet that encloses a volume of air heated by a speaker driver. The open ends of the chimney are outside the cabinet. A column of air within the chimney is in contact with the external ambient air, but sealed off from the enclosed volume of air. As the speaker driver heats the enclosed volume of air, the material of the chimney transfers the heat to the column of air, which rises and carries the heat away into the external ambient air, cooling the inside of the loudspeaker cabinet and thus cooling the speaker driver.
Claims10
A loudspeaker cabinet comprising:
- a cabinet enclosing a volume of air;
- a first speaker driver coupled to the cabinet and being in contact with the enclosed volume of air;
- and
- a first chimney coupled to the cabinet and having an outer surface in contact with the enclosed volume of air and an inner surface in contact with an external ambient;
- the first chimney comprising a hollow tube having two open ends extending through the cabinet, through which the inner surface is in contact with the external ambient.
A loudspeaker cabinet comprising:
- a plurality of panels enclosing a volume of air;
- and
- a tubular chimney passing through at least one of the panels, the chimney including,
- an outer surface which is in direct contact with the enclosed volume of air, and
- an inner surface which is in direct contact with a column of air which is in communication with an external ambient;
- and
- wherein the chimney substantially seals the enclosed volume of air from the column of air.
A method of cooling a volume of air enclosed within a loudspeaker cabinet, the method comprising:
- absorbing heat from the enclosed volume of air into a first tubular chimney which passes through the cabinet so as to have an exterior surface in contact with the enclosed volume of air;
- conducting the absorbed heat from the chimney into a column of air which is disposed within the chimney and in contact with an interior surface of the chimney and with an external ambient, thereby heating the column of air;
- and
- drawing unheated external ambient into an open lower end of the chimney in consequence of the heated column of air rising out an open upper end of the chimney into the external ambient.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.