TWM668537U - A ball that can play sound - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention discloses a sphere capable of playing sound, which includes a sphere portion; a speaker portion disposed on the sphere portion; a storage portion storing a plurality of first audio data; and a control portion connected to the speaker portion and the storage portion in a wired or wireless manner, respectively, for reading any of the first audio data from the storage portion, and playing the sound in a form perceivable to human hearing by the speaker portion. Accordingly, this invention is capable of playing music, sound or sound effects, etc., and is relatively small in size, convenient and portable, and can be used in different occasions.

Description

A ball that can play sound

This work is related to audio equipment, specifically a sphere that can play sound.

Traditional speakers are mostly rectangular or columnar in design, and are bulky and inconvenient to carry. Furthermore, traditional speakers usually rely on physical buttons or have complex control panels, which are difficult to use for users who are not familiar with the equipment. In addition, traditional speakers generally lack voice control and smart connection functions, and cannot be conveniently operated by voice. In view of this, improvement is urgently needed.

The main purpose of this creation is to provide a sound-playing sphere that can play music, sounds or sound effects, etc., and has a small size, is convenient and portable, and can be used in different occasions.

Therefore, in order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the sound-playing sphere provided by the invention includes a spherical portion; a speaker portion, which is disposed on the spherical portion; a storage portion, which stores data of a plurality of first audio signals; and a control portion, which is connected to the speaker portion and the storage portion in a wired or wireless manner, respectively, and is used to read the data of any one of the first audio signals from the storage portion, and play the data in a form perceptible to human hearing by the speaker portion.

In one embodiment, the sphere further includes a wireless connection portion, which is disposed on the sphere portion and electrically connected to the control portion. The wireless connection portion is used to receive external data from an external device, and the external data includes a first instruction or a second audio signal. The control portion performs operations such as playing, stopping, switching, or adjusting the volume of the first audio signal or the second audio signal according to the received first instruction. Accordingly, the sphere provided by the invention can be wirelessly connected to the external device, and the user can use the external device to intuitively and conveniently operate.

In one embodiment, the first audio is music, sound effect or voice, and the second audio is music, sound effect or voice.

In one embodiment, the sphere further includes a voice control unit, which is disposed on the sphere and electrically connected to the control unit, for receiving an external sound and transmitting it to the control unit for analysis to obtain a second instruction, and the control unit can operate according to the second instruction. Thus, through the setting of the voice control unit, the sphere receives and executes the user's voice control instruction, realizing the voice control function, which not only improves the convenience of operation, but also reduces the dependence on physical buttons, and achieves the purpose of intelligence.

In one embodiment, the second instruction is an operation of playing, stopping, switching or adjusting the volume of the first audio or the second audio.

In one embodiment, the vocal part is a speaker.

In one embodiment, the control unit is a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a computing device, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, or a graphics processing unit (GPU).

In one embodiment, the storage unit has a database, which is a hard disk (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD) or a server (Database Server) for storing the data of the first audio signals.

In one embodiment, the spherical part has a spherical inner shell, a spherical outer shell and an intermediate layer. The spherical inner shell is disposed in the spherical outer shell, and the intermediate layer is between the spherical inner shell and the spherical outer shell.

In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the spherical outer shell is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the spherical inner shell, so that a gap space is formed between the spherical inner shell and the spherical outer shell, and the intermediate layer is a fluid and fills the gap space.

Below, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3. The sound-playing sphere 10 disclosed in the preferred embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a sphere portion 11, a storage portion 12, at least one speaker portion 13, a control portion 14, a wireless connection portion 15 and a voice control portion 16.

The spherical body 11 has a spherical inner shell 111, a spherical outer shell 112 and an intermediate layer 113, wherein the spherical outer shell 112 is made of a transparent plastic material to allow light to pass through. The spherical inner shell 111 is disposed in the spherical outer shell 112, and the inner diameter of the spherical outer shell 112 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the spherical inner shell 111, so that a gap space is formed between the spherical inner shell 111 and the spherical outer shell 112. The intermediate layer 113 is between the spherical inner shell 111 and the spherical outer shell 112. Specifically, the intermediate layer 113 is a fluid and fills the gap space, so that the outer surface of the spherical inner shell 111 does not directly contact the inner wall surface of the spherical outer shell 112. The fluid refers to a liquid, such as water or oil. In addition, the spherical inner shell 111 can also be driven by a power element 19 to rotate relative to the spherical outer shell 112, and the power element 19 includes a motor and a transmission assembly (not shown), and the output end of the transmission assembly is connected to the spherical inner shell 111, thereby providing power for the rotation of the spherical inner shell 111 and controlling the rotation speed of the spherical inner shell 111.

The outer surface of the spherical inner shell 111 is provided with a pattern, which is the appearance of celestial objects (such as the earth, Mars, Saturn, etc.), sports objects (such as basketballs, footballs) and other spherical objects, such as earth plates, oceans, clouds, etc. The pattern can be drawn or displayed using an electronic paper display, LCD display, LED display or internal projection display.

The spherical part 11 is used as a base for loading other components. For example, the spherical part 11 is equipped with the storage part 12, the speaker part 13, the control part 14, the wireless connection part 15 and the voice control part 16. Any one or all of them can be loaded in the internal space of the spherical inner shell 111, and of course, they can also be partially or completely installed in a suitable position outside the spherical part 11. In addition, the overall size of the spherical part 11 is a spherical object with a diameter of 10 cm to 20 cm, which makes the overall volume small, convenient and portable, and suitable for use in different occasions.

The storage unit 12 has a database, which is a hard disk (HDD), a solid state hard disk (SSD) or a server (Database Server), for storing data of a plurality of first audio signals, that is, each of the first audio signals is stored as binary data, and the first audio signals are music, sound effects, voices or other types of sound signals.

The speaker 13 is a speaker, which is appropriately arranged on the spherical part 11. For example, the speaker is installed by installing the sound-generating part of the speaker, i.e., the voice coil, diaphragm, and sound unit, etc., in the spherical inner shell 111, and the other parts of the speaker, i.e., the outer frame, port, and outer cover of the speaker, etc., are arranged on the outer surface of the spherical inner shell 111 to serve as a sound diffusion hole or an opening designed to optimize sound propagation. In other possible implementations, the number of the speaker 13 can also be plural, and they are arranged separately on the spherical part 11 to emit sound in different directions, and the effect of 360-degree omnidirectional sound generation can be achieved through appropriate position arrangement.

The control unit 14 is a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a computing device, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor, a graphic processing unit (GPU), other similar devices with computing functions or any combination of groups thereof, which is connected to the speaker unit 13 and the storage unit 12 in a wired or wireless manner (such as Bluetooth) to read the data of any one of the first audio signals from the storage unit 12 and play it in a form that is perceptible to human hearing by the speaker unit 13.

The wireless connection unit 15 is electrically connected to the control unit 14, and can receive external data from an external device 20 in a wireless manner (such as Bluetooth), and the external data includes a first instruction or a second audio signal. The control unit 14 performs the operation of playing, stopping, switching or adjusting the volume of the first audio signal or the second audio signal according to the received first instruction. The external device 20 is a mobile phone, a tablet, a desktop computer or a laptop computer, which is convenient for the user to operate using a mobile phone application (App) or related software to issue the first instruction. The second audio signal is music, sound effects, voice or other types of sound signals that are different from the first audio signal preset in the storage unit 12. For example, the user can directly transmit the second audio signal to the speaker 13 of the sphere 10 through a mobile phone for playback without storing it in the storage unit 12; or the user can store the second audio signal in the storage unit 12 and then read the second audio signal in the storage unit 12 for playback.

The voice control unit 16 is a microphone, which is electrically connected to the control unit 14, and is used to receive an external sound and transmit it to the control unit 14 for analysis to obtain a second instruction, which is an operation of playing, stopping, switching or adjusting the volume of the first audio or the second audio. The control unit 14 performs related operations according to the second instruction, wherein the external sound is a voice instruction issued by a user. In addition, the voice control unit 16 can also be a device or program built into the external device 20, which can also receive and process the external sound of the user, and transmit the generated instruction to the control unit 14 to perform the corresponding operation. Accordingly, through the setting of the voice control unit 16, the sphere 10 receives and executes the user's voice control instructions, realizing the voice control function. In addition to improving the convenience of operation, it also reduces the dependence on physical buttons and achieves the purpose of intelligence.

In addition, the sphere 10 further includes a power supply unit 17 and a frame 18, wherein the power supply unit 17 has a battery, which is disposed in the spherical inner shell 111 and is electrically connected to the power element 19, the storage unit 12, the speaker unit 13, the control unit 14, the wireless connection unit 15 and the voice control unit 16 to provide energy for their operation. Furthermore, the power supply unit 17 may also have a solar module, and the spherical inner shell 111 may be partially or entirely light-transmissive, so that the solar module can absorb external light and convert it into electrical energy. In addition, in other possible implementations, the power supply unit 17 can also use a charging cable or a wire to connect to an external power source to charge or supply power in a contact manner, or supply power or charge by known wireless charging technology.

The frame 18 is composed of a plurality of rods 181 and a base 182, and is used to carry the spherical portion 11. In other possible implementations, other forms of carrying objects, such as a display stand, etc., can also be used.

Accordingly, the feasible embodiments of the present invention described above do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the description and diagrams of the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention and are hereby stated.

10: sphere 11: sphere part 111: spherical inner shell 112: spherical outer shell 113: intermediate layer 12: storage part 13: speaker part 14: control part 15: wireless connection part 16: voice control part 17: power supply part 18: frame 181: rod 182: base 19: power element 20: external device

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a sound-playing sphere of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG1 along the section line 2-2. FIG3 is a system block diagram related to FIG1.

12: Storage Department

13: Voice

14: Control Department

15: Wireless connection unit

16: Voice Control Department

17: Power supply department

19: Power components

20: External devices

Claims (10)

A sphere capable of playing sound comprises: a spherical part; a speaker part disposed on the spherical part; a storage part storing data of a plurality of first audio signals; a control part connected to the speaker part and the storage part respectively in a wired or wireless manner, for reading the data of any one of the first audio signals from the storage part, and playing the data in a form perceptible to human hearing by the speaker part. The sound-playing sphere as described in claim 1 further includes a wireless connection portion, which is disposed on the sphere portion and electrically connected to the control portion. The wireless connection portion is used to receive external data from an external device, and the external data includes a first instruction or a second audio signal. The control portion performs the operation of playing, stopping, switching or adjusting the volume of the first audio signal or the second audio signal according to the received first instruction. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 2, wherein the first audio signal is music, sound effect or voice, and the second audio signal is music, sound effect or voice. The sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 2 or 3 further includes a sound control portion disposed on the sphere portion and electrically connected to the control portion for receiving an external sound and transmitting it to the control portion for analysis to obtain a second instruction, and the control portion can perform operations according to the second instruction. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 4, wherein the second instruction is an operation of playing, stopping, switching or adjusting the volume of the first audio or the second audio. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the vocal part is a speaker. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the control unit is a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a computing device, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor or a graphics processing unit (GPU). The sound-playing sphere as described in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the storage unit has a database, which is a hard disk (HDD), a solid state hard disk (SSD) or a server (Database Server) for storing the data of the first audio signals. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the spherical portion has a spherical inner shell, a spherical outer shell and an intermediate layer, the spherical inner shell is disposed inside the spherical outer shell, and the intermediate layer is between the spherical inner shell and the spherical outer shell. A sphere capable of playing sound as described in claim 9, wherein the inner diameter of the spherical outer shell is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the spherical inner shell, so that a gap space is formed between the spherical inner shell and the spherical outer shell, and the intermediate layer is a fluid and fills the gap space.

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