JP7810235B2 - Speaker grill assemblies and portable wireless communication devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a speaker grill assembly and a portable wireless communication device.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for expelling water that has entered a speaker grill using a BEEP sound.

Patent No. 6040561

However, the function as a sound duct remains impaired until the BEEP sound is output and the water that has entered inside is drained.
An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that allows a dustproof sheet provided on a speaker grill to function as a sound passage while also providing drainage properties for the speaker grill.

According to the present invention, there is provided a speaker grill assembly comprising: a front panel having a speaker grill with a plurality of slits extending parallel to one another; and a dustproof sheet on the inner surface of the front panel that covers a predetermined area including at least the plurality of slits, wherein the front panel has drainage grooves formed on the inner surface of the front panel that extend so as to intersect with the plurality of slits.

According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both the function of the dustproof sheet provided on the speaker grill as a sound passage and the drainage properties of the speaker grill.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handheld transceiver. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the handheld transceiver. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the handheld transceiver as viewed from another angle. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the speaker grill assembly. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the speaker grill. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5 . FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5 . FIG. 2 is a rear view of the speaker grill, showing the state in which the grill-side double-sided tape is placed on the speaker grill. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the speaker grill, showing a state in which a low-water-repellent sheet is placed on the speaker grill. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the speaker grill assembly. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 12 and showing a comparative example.

An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a handheld transceiver 1. Figs. 2 and 3 show exploded perspective views of the handheld transceiver 1. The handheld transceiver 1 is a specific example of a wireless communication device capable of two-way communication.
1 to 3, the handheld transceiver 1 includes a front panel 2, a dustproof sheet 3, a speaker 4, a control board 5, a rear panel 6, and a battery cover 7. The front panel 2 and the rear panel 6 form a housing 8 of the handheld transceiver 1.
The front panel 2 is typically made of resin and includes a speaker grill 9 arranged to face the speaker 4. In FIG. 1 , the speaker grill 9 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The speaker grill 9 is a part of the front panel 2 and is a plate having a plurality of slits 10 that are parallel to one another. In this embodiment, the speaker grill 9 has four slits 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the speaker grill 9 has an inner grill surface 9a that faces the speaker 4 on the inner side of the front panel 2, and an outer grill surface 9b on the opposite side to the inner grill surface 9a, i.e., on the exterior side of the front panel 2.
Hereinafter, the direction in which the multiple slits 10 extend as shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as the "width direction." The direction in which the multiple slits 10 form a row will be referred to as the "up-down direction." The thickness direction of the speaker grill 9, which is perpendicular to both the width direction and the up-down direction, will be referred to as the "front-rear direction." The outer grill surface 9b of the speaker grill 9 shown in Figure 1 corresponds to the front of the speaker grill 9, and the inner grill surface 9a of the speaker grill 9 shown in Figure 3 corresponds to the back of the speaker grill 9.
The front panel 2 has an upper surface 2a and a lower surface 2b. The speaker grill 9 is formed closer to the upper surface 2a of the front panel 2. Hereinafter, the direction in which the upper surface 2a is viewed from the lower surface 2b will be referred to as "
The opposite is referred to as "upper" and "lower".
It is used with the upper surface 2a facing upward.
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the handheld transceiver 1 is constructed by stacking a front panel 2, a dustproof sheet 3, a speaker 4, a control board 5, a rear panel 6, and a battery cover 7 in the order shown.
The front panel 2 and the rear panel 6 are connected to each other to house the dustproof sheet 3, the speaker 4, and the control board 5. The speaker 4 is supported by the control board 5.
is supported by the front panel 2 and the rear panel 6 by being sandwiched between the front panel 2 and the rear panel 6 in the front-rear direction.
As shown in Fig. 3, the dustproof sheet 3 is adhered to the inner surface 9a of the grille so as to cover the plurality of slits 10. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the dustproof sheet 3 is attached to the grille-side double-sided tape 11 and
The assembly includes a low water-repellent sheet 12, a double-sided tape for lamination 13, and a highly water-repellent sheet 14. The grill-side double-sided tape 11, the low water-repellent sheet 12, the double-sided tape for lamination 13, and the highly water-repellent sheet 14 are stacked in this order from the front panel 2 toward the speaker 4. The dustproof sheet 3 is
Functionally, it has a two-layer structure consisting of a low water-repellent sheet 12 and a highly water-repellent sheet 14 .
The low-water-repellent sheet 12 is a sheet having low water repellency and is typically made of polyethylene terephthalate. The contact angle between the low-water-repellent sheet 12 and water is typically less than 90 degrees. The thickness of the low-water-repellent sheet 12 is typically 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm.
The highly water-repellent sheet 14 is a sheet having high water repellency, and is typically made of polyethylene or polypropylene. The contact angle between the highly water-repellent sheet 14 and water is typically 90 degrees or more. The thickness of the highly water-repellent sheet 14 is typically 0.2 mm to 1.0 mm. The highly water-repellent sheet 14 is configured in a mesh shape. This allows the highly water-repellent sheet 14
has a dustproof function that prevents small foreign objects that can pass through the multiple slits 10 from contaminating the diaphragm of the speaker 4, and its mesh-like structure also functions as a sound path for the speaker 4. Furthermore, because the highly water-repellent sheet 14 has high water repellency, a water film is less likely to form on the surface of the highly water-repellent sheet 14, and the function of the highly water-repellent sheet 14 as a sound path is not impaired.
The grill-side double-sided tape 11 is used to adhere the low water-repellent sheet 12 to the inner grill surface 9a of the speaker grill 9. The lamination double-sided tape 13 is used to adhere the high water-repellent sheet 14 to the low water-repellent sheet 12. An adhesive may be used instead of the grill-side double-sided tape 11 and the lamination double-sided tape 13.
In this embodiment, the speaker grill 9 on the front panel 2 and the dustproof sheet 3 form a speaker grill assembly 100 .
Next, the structure of the speaker grill 9 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 4 to 7.
5 is an exploded perspective view of the speaker grill assembly 100.
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in Fig. 5.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the plurality of slits 10 are formed so as to penetrate the speaker grill 9 in the thickness direction of the speaker grill 9, i.e., in the front-rear direction.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a drain groove 15 is formed on the inner surface of the front panel 2.
More specifically, drain grooves 15 are formed on the inner grill surface 9a of the speaker grill 9, extending in the vertical direction so as to intersect with the plurality of slits 10. Specifically, the drain grooves 15 extend so as to penetrate the inner peripheral walls of the plurality of slits 10. Therefore, the internal spaces of the slits 10 and the internal spaces of the drain grooves 15 are connected to each other. The inner bottom surface of the drain grooves 15 is divided by the plurality of slits 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6 , the drain groove 15 has a plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a divided by the plurality of slits 10. All of the plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a are surfaces that are perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction.
As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the speaker grill 9 includes a plurality of thin-walled portions 16. The thin-walled portions 16 are portions that are positioned alternately with the slits 10 in the up-down direction. As shown in Figure 6, the thin-walled portions 16 are portions that are adjacent to the drain grooves 15 in the front-rear direction. That is,
The thin-walled portions 16 are portions that are thinned due to the presence of the drain grooves 15. Therefore, the thickness of each thin-walled portion 16 is smaller than the thickness of the portion of the speaker grill 9 where the drain grooves 15 are not formed. For the sake of convenience, the thin-walled portions 16 will be referred to as thin-walled portions 16a in ascending order below.
, thin-walled portion 16b, thin-walled portion 16c, thin-walled portion 16d, and thin-walled portion 16e. As shown in FIG. 6, the thin-walled portion 16a, thin-walled portion 16b, thin-walled portion 16c, and thin-walled portion 16d are all formed so as to become thinner toward the top. Specifically, the thin-walled portion 16a, thin-walled portion 16
Each of the thin-walled portions 16a, 16b, 16c, and 16d has a V-shaped portion 17 that is convex upward. In other words, the inner wall surface of the slit 10 is formed in a V-shape that is convex upward from the surface located on the lower side of the front panel. With the above configuration, a water film is less likely to form in the slit 10 between the thin-walled portions 16a and 16b, and even if a water film does form in the slit 10 between the thin-walled portions 16a and 16b, the film is easily torn. The same is true for the slit 10 between the thin-walled portions 16b and 16c, the slit 10 between the thin-walled portions 16c and 16d, and the slit 10 between the thin-walled portions 16d and 16e. Therefore, the function of the multiple slits 10 as sound paths is not impaired. Note that the thin-walled portions 16a, 16b, and 16e are not affected by the thin-walled portions 16a, 16b, and 16c.
The thin portion 6c and the thin portion 16d may be formed so as to become thinner toward the bottom.
Next, the dustproof sheet 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8 to 13. FIG.
As shown in Figure 4, the dustproof sheet 3 is typically attached to the inner grill surface 9a of the speaker grill 9 on the front panel 2 in a state in which the grill-side double-sided tape 11, the low water-repellent sheet 12, the lamination double-sided tape 13, and the highly water-repellent sheet 14 are stacked and integrated in this order.
However, for ease of explanation, Fig. 8 illustrates only the grill-side double-sided tape 11 superimposed on the speaker grill 9 to explain the shape of the grill-side double-sided tape 11. Similarly, Fig. 9 illustrates only the low-water-repellent sheet 12 superimposed on the speaker grill 9 to explain the shape of the low-water-repellent sheet 12.
8 shows the grill-side double-sided tape 11 superimposed on the speaker grill 9. As shown in FIG. 8, the grill-side double-sided tape 11 is U-shaped and surrounds the multiple slits 10, opening downward. Specifically, the grill-side double-sided tape 11 includes a first tape portion 11a located on one side of the drainage grooves 15 in the width direction and extending vertically, a second tape portion 11b located on the other side of the drainage grooves 15 in the width direction and extending vertically, and a third tape portion 11c connecting the upper ends of the first tape portion 11a and the second tape portion 11b. In other words, the grill-side double-sided tape 11 is formed in an area excluding the multiple slits 10 and the drainage grooves 15 so as to minimize front-to-back opposition to the multiple slits 10 and the drainage grooves 15.
9 shows the state in which the low water repellent sheet 12 is placed on the speaker grill 9. As shown in FIG. 9, the low water repellent sheet 12 has a plurality of openings 18 corresponding to the plurality of slits 10 so as not to impede the function of the plurality of slits 10 as sound passages.
2 includes a plurality of opposing portions 19 that are opposed to a plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a of the drain groove 15 in the front-rear direction.
The plurality of openings 18 and the plurality of facing portions 19 are positioned alternately in the vertical direction.
The double-sided tape 13 for lamination has a shape identical to that of the low water-repellent sheet 12, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.
10 shows a rear view of the speaker grill assembly 100. As shown in FIG. 10, the highly water-repellent sheet 14 is disposed so as to cover the multiple slits 10.
The drain grooves 15 extend from the inside to the outside of the outer peripheral edge 3 a of the dustproof sheet 3.
The drain groove 15 has an exposed portion 15 b that is not covered by the dustproof sheet 3 .
Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in Fig. 10. In Fig. 11, the thicknesses of all the components constituting the dustproof sheet 3 are exaggerated.
11 , the dustproof sheet 3 includes a plurality of slit opposing portions 20 that respectively face the plurality of slits 10 in the front-rear direction, and a plurality of drain groove opposing portions 21 that respectively face the plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a of the drain grooves 15 in the front-rear direction. The plurality of drain groove opposing portions 21 respectively face the plurality of thin portions 16 in the front-rear direction. The plurality of slit opposing portions 20 and the plurality of drain groove opposing portions 21 are positioned alternately in the up-down direction.
Each slit-facing portion 20 has a single-layer structure made only of the highly water-repellent sheet 14. Therefore, the slit-grill-facing surface 20a of each slit-facing portion 20 on the speaker grill 9 side corresponds to the surface of the highly water-repellent sheet 14 on the speaker grill 9 side. Therefore, the contact angle between water and the slit-grill-facing surface 20a of each slit-facing portion 20 is equal to the contact angle between water and the highly water-repellent sheet 14.
Each drain groove facing portion 21 has a three-layer structure consisting of a highly water-repellent sheet 14, double-sided lamination tape 13, and a low-water-repellent sheet 12. Therefore, the drain groove grill-facing surface 21a on the speaker grill 9 side of each drain groove facing portion 21 corresponds to the surface of the low-water-repellent sheet 12 on the speaker grill 9 side. Therefore, the contact angle between water and the drain groove grill-facing surface 21a of each drain groove facing portion 21 is equal to the contact angle between water and the low-water-repellent sheet 12.
As a result, as shown in Figure 12, the contact angle θ1 between water and the drain groove grill-facing surface 21a of each drain groove-facing portion 21 is smaller than the contact angle θ2 between water and the slit grill-facing surface 20a of each slit-facing portion 20. This makes it possible to achieve both the function of the dustproof sheet 3 provided on the speaker grill 9 as a sound path and the drainage properties of the speaker grill 9. This technical effect will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 12 and 13.
12, when water seeps into the speaker grille 9 from outside through each slit 10 and adheres to the grille-facing surface 20a of each slit-facing portion 20, it turns into nearly spherical droplets W due to the water-repellent properties of the grille-facing surface 20a. In other words, the grille-facing surface 20a of each slit-facing portion 20 is unlikely to become covered in a film of water. Therefore, the function of the multiple slit-facing portions 20 as sound passages is not impaired.
On the other hand, when water that has entered the speaker grill 9 from outside through each slit 10 adheres to the drain groove grill-facing surface 21a of each drain groove-facing portion 21, it turns into water droplets W that spread out in the shape of gentle hills due to the hydrophilicity of the slit grill-facing surface 20a. In other words, the water droplets W that have adhered to the drain groove grill-facing surface 21a of each drain groove-facing portion 21 are unlikely to simultaneously come into contact with the corresponding inner bottom surface 15a of the drain groove 15. This is because the thickness Wd of the water droplets W in the front-to-rear direction is reduced.
Please refer to Fig. 13. Fig. 13 shows a comparative example of this embodiment.
As shown in Fig. 1, in the comparative example, the highly water-repellent sheet 14 and the multiple inner bottom surfaces 15a of the drain grooves 15 face each other in the front-to-back direction. That is, the highly water-repellent sheet 14 and the multiple thin-walled portions 16 face each other in the front-to-back direction. Therefore, due to the water repellency of the highly water-repellent sheet 14, the nearly spherical water droplets W that adhere to the highly water-repellent sheet 14 have a large thickness in the front-to-back direction, and therefore tend to come into contact with any of the thin-walled portions 16 at the same time. When the water droplets W come into contact with the highly water-repellent sheet 14 and any of the thin-walled portions 16 at the same time, even if vibrations in the up-and-down direction are applied to the water droplets W, they are not drained along the drain grooves 15 and tend to remain in place.
In contrast, referring back to FIG. 12, in this embodiment, the water droplets W adhering to the drain groove grill opposing surfaces 21a of the drain groove opposing portions 21 are unlikely to come into contact with the inner surface of the drain groove 15 at the same time.
11, water droplets W move downward through drain groove 15, move from exposed portion 15b of drain groove 15 into housing 8 of handheld transceiver 1, and are then discharged to the outside of handheld transceiver 1 through a drainage channel (not shown).
As shown in Figure 12, the thickness Wd in the front-to-back direction of the water droplets W adhering to the drain groove grill facing surface 21a of each drain groove facing portion 21 is reduced, so there is no need to make the drain groove 15 deep so that the water droplets W do not come into contact with the drain groove grill facing surface 21a of each drain groove facing portion 21 and the inner bottom surface 15a of either of the drain grooves 15 at the same time, which contributes to the compactness of the entire handheld transceiver 1 in the front-to-back direction.
The preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, and the above embodiment has the following features.
The speaker grill assembly 100 includes a front panel 2 having a speaker grill 9 formed with a plurality of slits 10 extending parallel to one another, and a
and a dustproof sheet 3 covering a predetermined area including at least the plurality of slits 10. The front panel 2 has drainage grooves 15 formed on the inner surface of the front panel 2, the drainage grooves 15 extending so as to intersect with the plurality of slits 10, and the bottom surfaces of the formed drainage grooves 15 being divided by the plurality of slits 10 to form a plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a. The surface of the dustproof sheet 3 facing the inner surface of the front panel 2 has a plurality of slit-facing portions 20 at positions facing the plurality of slits 10, respectively, and a plurality of drainage groove-facing portions 21 at positions facing the plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a, respectively. The contact angle θ1 between each drainage groove-facing portion 21 and water is smaller than the contact angle θ2 between each slit-facing portion 20 and water. With the above configuration, each slit-facing portion 20 is less likely to be covered in a film of water, so the function of the plurality of slit-facing portions 20 as sound paths is not impaired,
Furthermore, water droplets W adhering to each drain groove opposing portion 21 are less likely to come into contact with the corresponding inner bottom surface 15a of each drain groove 15 at the same time, which promotes the discharge of water droplets W adhering to each drain groove opposing portion 21. This makes it possible to achieve both the function of the dustproof sheet 3 provided on the speaker grill 9 as a sound path and the drainage properties of the speaker grill 9.
As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the speaker grill assembly 100 includes a speaker grill 9 and a dustproof sheet 3. The speaker grill 9 is disposed so as to face the speaker 4. The speaker grill 9 has a plurality of slits 10 formed therein, which extend parallel to one another. The speaker grill 9 has a grill inner surface 9a facing the speaker 4 and a grill inner surface 9b facing the speaker 4.
The dustproof sheet 3 is adhered to the inner surface 9a of the grill so as to cover the slits 10. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the inner surface 9a of the grill has:
Drainage grooves 15 are formed so as to extend so as to intersect with the plurality of slits 10. The drainage grooves 15 have a plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a divided by the plurality of slits 10. As shown in FIG. 11 , the dustproof sheet 3 has a plurality of slit facing portions 2 that face the plurality of slits 10, respectively.
0, a plurality of drain groove opposing portions 21 opposing the plurality of inner bottom surfaces 15a of the drain grooves 15, respectively;
The plurality of slit facing portions 20 and the plurality of drain groove facing portions 21 are positioned alternately along the longitudinal direction of the drain groove 15. As shown in FIG. 12 , a contact angle θ1 between water and a drain groove grill facing surface 21 a on the speaker grill 9 side of each drain groove facing portion 21 is smaller than a contact angle θ2 between water and a slit grill facing surface 20 a on the speaker grill 9 side of each slit facing portion 20.
According to the above-mentioned configuration, the slit grill facing surface 20a of each slit facing portion 20 is unlikely to be covered with a film of water, so the function of the plurality of slit facing portions 20 as sound paths is not impaired. In addition, water droplets W adhering to the drain groove grill facing surface 21a of each drain groove facing portion 21 are unlikely to come into contact with the corresponding inner bottom surface 15a of the drain groove 15 at the same time, so that the drain groove grill facing surface 21
Therefore, the dustproof sheet 3 provided on the speaker grill 9 can function as a sound passage while the speaker grill 9 has good drainage properties.
11 , the dustproof sheet 3 includes a mesh-like highly water-repellent sheet 14 (first sheet) and a low water-repellent sheet 12 (second sheet) overlaid on the highly water-repellent sheet 14. The dustproof sheet 3 is adhered to the inner surface 9a of the grille such that the low water-repellent sheet 12 is positioned between the highly water-repellent sheet 14 and the speaker grill 9. At each slit-facing portion 20, the highly water-repellent sheet 14 is not covered by the low water-repellent sheet 12 and is exposed on the speaker grill 9 side. At each drain groove-facing portion 21, the highly water-repellent sheet 14 is covered by the low water-repellent sheet 12. With the above configuration, it is possible to inexpensively achieve different contact angles for the dustproof sheet 3 in different locations.
It should be noted that instead of forming the dustproof sheet 3 as a multi-layer structure as in the above embodiment, the dustproof sheet 3
In this case, different surface treatments may be performed on different portions of the dustproof sheet 3 so that the contact angle of the dustproof sheet 3 with water varies from portion to portion.
As shown in FIG. 6 , the speaker grill 9 has a plurality of thin-walled portions 16 adjacent to the drain grooves 15 in the thickness direction of the speaker grill 9 and positioned alternately with the plurality of slits 10 in the longitudinal direction of the drain grooves 15. The plurality of thin-walled portions 16 include a thin-walled portion 16c (first thin-walled portion) and a thin-walled portion 16d (second thin-walled portion) adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the drain grooves 15. The thin-walled portion 16c is formed so that it becomes thinner as it approaches the thin-walled portion 16d. This configuration makes it difficult for a film of water to form in the slits 10 between the thin-walled portion 16c and the thin-walled portion 16d. The same applies to the other slits 10. Therefore, the function of the plurality of slits 10 as sound passages is not impaired.
10, the drain grooves 15 extend from the inside to the outside of the outer periphery 3a of the dustproof sheet 3. With the above-described configuration, the dustproof sheet 3 does not hinder drainage from the drain grooves 15.
The handheld transceiver 1 (portable wireless communication device) includes the above-described speaker grill assembly 100 and a speaker 4 .

1 Handheld transceiver 2 Front panel 2a Upper surface 2b Lower surface 3 Dustproof sheet 3a Outer periphery 4 Speaker 5 Control board 6 Rear panel 7 Battery cover 8 Housing 9 Speaker grill 9a Grill inner surface 9b Grill outer surface 10 Slit 11 Grill side double-sided tape 11a First tape portion 11b Second tape portion 11c Third tape portion 12 Low water-repellent sheet 13 Lamination double-sided tape 14 High water-repellent sheet 15 Drain groove 15a Inner bottom surface 15b Exposed portion 16 Thin portion 16a Thin portion 16b Thin portion 16c Thin portion 16d Thin portion 16e Thin portion 17 V-shaped portion 18 Opening 19 Opposing portion 19a Opposing portion 19b Opposing portion 19c Opposing portion 19d Opposing portion 20 Slit opposing portion 20a Slit grill opposing surface 21 Drain groove opposing portion 21a Drain groove grill facing surface 100 Speaker grill assembly θ1 Contact angle θ2 Contact angle W Water droplet Wd Thickness

Claims (1)

a front panel having a speaker grill with a plurality of slits extending parallel to one another;
a dustproof sheet on the inner surface of the front panel, the dustproof sheet covering a predetermined area including at least the plurality of slits;
the front panel has drainage grooves formed on an inner surface thereof, the drainage grooves extending to intersect with the plurality of slits ;
The dustproof sheet has a two-layer structure consisting of a mesh-like first sheet with high water repellency and a second sheet with low water repellency.
It is made of
The dustproof sheet is formed by passing through the inner surface of the front panel, the second sheet, and then the first sheet.
They are located in order of
Speaker grill assembly.