A variety of housing form factors are used in communication devices. Two popular form factors in use in today's radios are the tub-style form factor and the cup-style form factor. Typically, tub-style housings are assembled front to back while cup-style housings are assembled in a sleeve type fashion with one piece sliding into another. Tub-style housings usually require larger interfaces than cup-style housings. The smaller interfaces used in cup-style housings provide a full enclosure to the device. The full enclosure of the cup-style housing provides a preferred form factor for ruggedness but provides limited access for assembly.
In both tub and cup-style housings, a good acoustic seal is needed between the speaker and front housing to avoid leaks and maintain audio integrity. The cup-style housing presents several challenges when it comes to acoustic porting, because it needs to be assembled in one axis but provide an acoustic seal in another axis. For example, sliding a silicone rubber seal (often used to improve the acoustic and environmental seal between the speaker and housing) down the inside front housing may cause damage by folding the seal, lifting already present adhesives. Furthermore, the limited access of a cup-style housing makes the use of springs, clips, and screws for mounting a transducer to the front housing highly impractical.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved acoustic seal assembly. In particular, an acoustic seal that would facilitate cup-style housing assembly would be highly beneficial.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds