US3475066A - Speaker cabinet - Google Patents

Description

3, 'IILIBILLIVNG'SLEY ETAI! 3,475,966

SPEAKER CABINET Fil ed Aug. 50, 1965 IN VENT OR. BILLINGSLEY ARL D. BILLINGSLEY IVAN United States Patent 3,475,066 SPEAKER CABINET Ivan L. Billingsley, 6330 Knox Court, Denver, Colo. 80221, and Earl D. Billingsley, 5641 DeMott, Commerce City, Colo. 80022 Filed Aug. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 487,963 Int. Cl. Hk 5/02; A47b 81/06; H04r 7/16 US. Cl. 3127 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable, lightweight cabinet takes the form of a generally oval-shaped, rigid shell having front and rear face panels joined together by upper and lower brace boards and a relatively thin one-piece skin circumscribing the peripheral edges of the front and rear face panels. The shell is so constructed and arranged as to provide top and bottom, flat horizontal wall portions joined with outer semi-circular sidewall portions for the purpose of enclosing a pair of loud speakers in side-by-side relation within the shell and an amplifier mounted inside of the rear face panel intermediately between the speakers.

This invention relates to speaker cabinets and more particularly to high fidelity, stereophonic effect cabinets for multiple speakers and amplifier means.

Portable speakers and amplifiers are used extensively for musical instruments, particularly for hand held string or reed-type instruments. The components that are commonly available are separate speaker and separate amplifier units. Additionally, available speakers, to produce a quality tone, have been large and heavy, particularly for stereophonic effects which require at least two separate speakers in their individual cabinets. Also, a separate amplifier has heretofore been necessary, which, of course, increases the number of individual components required for each musical instrument. The current trend toward stereophonic sound effects for even small combos has considerably increased the cost of equipment for the musician and has increased the amount of paraphernalia which must be transported by the musicians.

According to the present invention, we provide a portable, lightweight speaker-amplifier cabinet for electrically amplified musical instruments and the like. The cabinet utilizes a shell construction with minimum structural elements and in which the skin of the cabinet is one of the basic construction elements for strength. The design is compact with minimum unused space, but it gives high fidelity reproduction of amplified sounds and provides a broad frequency response.

In a preferred embodiment, two wooden faces of substantial oval shape are secured together with a one-piece Formica side or skin extending around the edges of said faces. Speakers are enclosed in side-by-side opposed relation to one another and an amplifier is mounted between the units of the speakers, with the controls for the amplifier accessible from the top of the cabinet. The design reduces the volume of the cabinet to a practical minimum, and still provides the necessary elements for a speaker-amplifier cabinet.

Included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is an economical, simplified speaker-amplifier cabinet which has a minimum volume for housing necessary components to produce high fidelity and sterophonic sounds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unitary construction for a dual speaker-amplifier cabinet which is lightweight and yet sturdy enough to withstand substantial abuse.

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Another object of the invention is to provide a lightweight, minimum volume cabinet for loud speakers which eliminates spurious resonance and provides an effective or stereophonic speaker enclosure to facilitate mounting of a pair of speakers in side-by-side relation therein with amplifier means positioned between the speakers.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention may be readily ascertained by referring to the following description and appended illustrations in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred form of speaker according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the speaker of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the speaker;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the system taken along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed fragmentary view of an assembly structure for the speaker system of the invention.

In the preferred form of cabinet shown in the drawings, a front face 10 and a rear face 12 of curvilinear or generally oval shape are secured in spaced parallel relation by a single one-piece sheet of Formica 14 which extends around the periphery of the faces. Each face has outer generally semi-circular ends or side edges joined with flat horizontal top and bottom straight edge portions. For example, the rear face, FIGURE 3, includes rounded peripheral ends 16 and 18 and upper and lower straight peripheral edge portions 20* and 22. An upper, planar brace member 24 extends between the front and rear faces, and a lower brace member 26, likewise, extends between the front and the rear faces to support the Formica sheet 14 as well as to support the faces in spaced apart relation, and results in the formation of a generally oval-shaped rigid enclosure defined by flat horizontal top and bottom wall portions between the upper and lower edges 20 and 22, and the top and bottom wall portions are joined with outer semi-circular sidewall portions between the rounded peripheral ends 16 and 18. The front and back faces may be made of plywood, veneer, solid boards or the like. The brace boards may, also, be plywood or plank. Plywood or veneers are preferable since they are light and strong. The Formica sheet is attached to the bottom brace by means which includes feet 30 screwed or otherwise attached through the Formica into the bottom brace. This aids in holding the Formica on the bottom brace, and the feet provide pads for supporting the cabinet.

The Formica is attached to the front and back faces by means of moldings 35, shown in FIGURE 5, where the moldings 35 extend completely around the outer periphery of each of the front and back faces. Such moldings are normally aluminum and are bendable to fit snugly against the periphery of the front and back faces and defines external grooves arranged in facing relation for insertion of opposite sides of the Formica sheet. The moldings are held into the faces by means of nails 36, screws, or other fastening means, FIGURE 5, spaced around the periphery thereof attaching the molding in place on the cabinet. The edges of Formica then fit in the recurved portion or external groove of the moldings. The Formica skin is a one-piece sheet with the two ends coming together on the bottom of the cabinet. The Formica is placed in the molding grooves and curved to conform with the periphery of the front and back faces and to define an outer skin of generally oval shape. The joint of Formica sheet on the bottom is held together with screws 38, shown in FIGURE 4. A handle 40 may be attached to the top by means of screws or the like extending through the Formica into the upper brace member. The skin is held in position by screws 25 going through the front and back faces into the edges of the top and bottom brace boards. The skin is shown adhered to the top brace board by a suitable adhesive and to the bottom board by the screws 38.

The upper brace 24 is provided with an opening which registers with an opening 31 in the top of the Formica to allow access to a series of knobs 33 for controlling an amplifier 37. The amplifier is suspended from the upper brace 24 and extends downwardly intermediately between speakers 42 and 44 along the rear face 12. The speakers are attached in juxtaposed relation to the front face and extend rearwardly toward the back face. The front face is provided with openings 46 and 48 exposing the enlarged sound cones of the speakers so that sound from the speakers 42 and 44- is emitted from the cabinet. Grid cloth 50 covers the front face, protecting the speaker cones. In turn the back face 12 is provided with reduced opennigs 45 and 47 being aligned to accommodate the backs of the speakers 42 and 44, and where necessary to permit the back of the speakers to project rearwardly through the back face of the cabinet.

A series of plug jacks and switches 32, not otherwise identified as such since they are not part of the invention, may be mounted in the back face. These provide means for attachment to power, other speakers, etc. The front face, also, may be provided with openings, not shown, for tweeters and the like where desired.

The cabinet is easily adapted in size to different sizes of speakers, for example, 10, 12, 15, 20 inch speakers or the like, and in general the cabinet, for economy, should be designed for the particular size of speakers so that the openings provide for the largest speaker possible for the particular face piece. It is possible, however, to design a larger face piece and use smaller speakers, although economy is not generally realized. The side piece or skin which has been designated as Formica may be any of the available thin, sheet-type resin or plastic coverings used for various types of furniture, such as tables, bars, booths and generally furniture pieces having flat surfaces. The Formica or other resin sheets are hard surfaced and essentially stiff, but may be bent on large radii. Being stiff, the one piece oval skin provides a structural member rigidly supporting the front and back faces together when secured in the molding as above described. The cabinet with the minimum of structural elements is rigid, is strong and is quite light for the amount of volume provided. The front and back faces and the brace members are generally chosen in a range of inch plywood, veneer or the like to provide adequate structure for supporting the amplifier and the speakers.

While the invention has been illustrated by reference to a specific embodiment, there is no intent to limit the spirit or the scope of the invention to the precise details so set forth except as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A lightweight portable cabinet for two substantially equal size loud speakers and an amplifier comprising a complementary front and a rear face each of generally oval shape; upper and lower brace boards extending between said faces; a molding with a groove extending around the periphery of each face with the groove of each positioned to face the groove in the molding on the opposite face; means for securing said molding to said faces; a relatively thin one-piece skin mounted in the groove in said molding and extending completely around the periphery of said faces forming a generally oval-shaped, rigid enclosure defined by flat horizontal top and bottom wall portions joined with outer semi-circular sidewall portions; and means for securing each said brace board to said faces for securing said skin in place on said molding on said faces.

2. A cabinet according to claim 1 wherein the width of said oval is slightly greater than the combined width of the speakers to be housed in the cabinet.

3. A lightweight portable cabinet for two substantially equal size loud speakers and an amplifier comprising a complementary wooden front and a rear wooden face each of generally oval shape; upper and lower brace :boards extending between said faces; an aluminum molding having an external groove extending around the periphery of each face with the groove of each positioned to face the groove in the molding on the opposite face; means for securing said molding on the opposite face; means for securing said molding to said faces; a relatively thin, one-piece Formcia skin mounted in the groove in said molding and extending completely around the periphery of said faces forming a generally oval-shaped, rigid enclosure defined by flat horizontal top and bottom wall portions joined with outer rounded peripheral sidewall portions; means for securing said brace boards to said faces for securing said skin in said grooves in said moldings; a handle mounted on the top wall portion of said cabinet and feet members secured to the bottom wall portion of said cabinet opposite said handle.

4. A lightweight, portable speaker cabinet comprising in combination complementary front and rear face panels each of generally oval shape including brace means supporting said face panels in spaced parallel relation to one another, an outer peripheral one-piece skin member circumscribing the peripheral edges of said front and rear face panels to form a generally oval-shaped, rigid enclosure defined lby flat horizontal top and bottom wall portions joined with outer rounded peripheral sidewall portions, a pair of loud speakers being mounted in sideby-side relation within the enclosure formed between said front and rear face panels, and an amplifier extending intermediately between said speakers along said rear face panel.

5. A speaker cabinet according to claim 4 in which said front face panel includes a pair of enlarged circular speaker openings disposed in side-by-side relation to one another and in inner spaced concentric relation to the outer rounded peripheral side-wall portions, and said rear face panel includes a pair of openings of reduced size being axially aligned with the speaker openings on said front face panel, and said speakers having enlarged circular sound cones being attached to said front face panel over said front speaker openings.

6. A speaker cabinet according to claim 4, said cabinet further including a molding with a groove extending around the periphery of each of said face panels, the groove for each molding being positioned to face the groove in the molding of the opposite face panel, said skin member being defined by a relatively thin, one-piece resin sheet mounted in the grooves of said molding to circumscribe the peripheral edges of said front and rear face panels, and said brace means being defined by upper and lower brace boards extending between said faces including means for securing said braces to said face panels whereby to hold said skin member in place.

7. A lightweight portable speaker cabinet comprising in combination complementary front and rear face panels each of generally oval shape including brace means supporting said face panels in spaced parallel relation to one another, an outer peripheral one-piece skin member circumscribing the peripheral edges of said front and rear panels to form a generally oval-shaped, rigid enclosure defined by fiat horizontal top and bottom wall portions joined with outer rounded peripheral sidewall portions, said front face panel including a pair of enlarged circular speaker openings in side by side relation to one another and in inner spaced concentric relation to the outer rounded peripheral side wall portions and said rear face panel includes a pair of openings of reduced size being axially aligned with said speaker openings on said front face panel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 14,892 12/1947 Simons 312-7 X 2,629,764- 2/1953 Wiley 174-35 (Other references on following page) 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Barker 312-7 Davis 190-41 Kotkins 190-41 Geyh 312-7 Huff 312-7 Gellman 181-31 Stowell 181-31 6 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,121,956 8/1956 France.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner 5 S. J. THOMSKY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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