Portable computer electrical grounding and audio system architectures

An audio system for a portable computer, comprising:

• a keyboard assembly including a plurality of keys coupled to a housing;
• an audio source located within the housing and positioned below the keyboard assembly, wherein the audio source is configured to emit sound waves that are primarily propagated via sound transmission paths through the keyboard assembly and between gaps between the keys and the housing;
• and
• an equalizer adapted to adjust the electrical signals sent to the audio source, wherein one or more equalizer settings are selected to account for sound absorption and amplification characteristics of sound waves along the sound transmission paths, and wherein a first equalizer setting decreases a sound level of a frequency of a sound wave that produces an unwanted vibration in the housing.

An audio system for a portable computer, comprising:

• a keyboard assembly including a plurality of keys coupled to a housing;
• an audio source located within the housing and positioned below the keyboard assembly, wherein the audio source is configured to emit sound waves that are primarily propagated via sound transmission paths through the keyboard assembly and between gaps between the keys and the housing;
• and
• a chamber including an exit port and an entrance port acoustically coupled to the audio source, wherein dimensions of the chamber are selected to enhance a frequency response of one or more frequencies emitted from the audio source.

An audio system for a portable computer, comprising:

• a keyboard assembly including a plurality of keys coupled to a housing;
• an audio source located within the housing and positioned below the keyboard assembly, wherein the audio source is configured to emit sound waves that are primarily propagated via sound transmission paths through the keyboard assembly and between gaps between the keys and the housing;
• and
• an equalizer adapted to adjust the electrical signals sent to the audio source, wherein one or more equalizer settings are selected to account for sound absorption and amplification characteristics of sound waves along the sound transmission paths, wherein a first equalizer setting increases a sound level of a first frequency sound wave absorbed along the sound transmission paths, and wherein a second equalizer setting decreases a sound level of a second frequency sound wave absorbed along the sound transmission paths.

A laptop computer, comprising:

• an outer housing configured to enclose and support a plurality of internal components, said outer housing being composed of predominantly one or more electrically non-conducting materials;
• a main logic board located within said outer housing, said main logic board having a primary processing unit coupled thereto;
• a keyboard assembly including a plurality of keys coupled to said outer housing;
• at least one audio source located within said outer housing and positioned below the keyboard assembly, wherein the at least one audio source is configured to emit sound waves that are propagated via sound transmission paths through the keyboard assembly and between gaps between the keys and the housing;
• and
• a chamber including an exit port and an entrance port acoustically coupled to the audio source, wherein dimensions of the chamber are selected to enhance a frequency response of one or more frequencies emitted from the audio source.