Loudspeaker system

Claim 2

A loudspeaker system comprising, means defining a substantially fluid tight enclosure having generally parallel back and front panels, high compliance woofer means secured to said front panel facing outward from said enclosure for radiating energy directly into a listening area, a source of at least first and second upper frequency radiated beams supported on the top of said enclosure outside said enclosure and oriented for radiating energy having rearward components and oppositely directed sideward components comprising first and second loudspeakers respectively facing rearwards and sidewards to opposite sides, a pair of input terminals, means for connecting said woofer means to said input terminals, and frequency sensitive passive attenuating means for coupling said loudspeakers in phase to said input terminals for transmitting signals from said input terminals to said source only above a predetermined low frequency while providing said loudspeakers more energy as a function of increasing frequency to coact with said woofer means to establish for said loudspeaker system a substantially uniform radiated power response as a function of frequency when normally positioned in a room with said back panel adjacent and substantially parallel to a wall and said front panel facing the listening area.

Claim 3

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said woofer means and said source comprise means for radiating sound energy over a predetermined common range of middle frequencies, said woofer comprising means for exclusively radiating sound energy below said common range.

Claim 4

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 2 and further comprising means for establishing the radiation of more sound energy from said source than from said woofer means in said predetermined common range.

Claim 5

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 3 wherein the ratio of the energy radiated by said source to that radiated by said woofer means in said common frequency range is of the order 2.5:1.

Claim 6

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising, acoustical attenuating means between said source and said front edge for attenuating upper frequency energy directed toward the front of said loudspeaker system from said source while being acoustically transparent to low frequency energy radiated by said woofer means.

Claim 7

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said source comprises first and second small loudspeakers seated on said top with their axes pointing in a direction having a rearward component and opposed sideward components.

Claim 8

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 6 wherein the angle between each of said axes and the plane of said front panel is within the range of 30*-45*.

Claim 9

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 7 and further comprising fiberglass acoustical attenuating means between said small loudspeakers and said front edge for attenuating upper frequency energy directed toward the front of said loudspeaker system from said small loudspeakers while transmitting low frequEncy energy produced by said woofer means.

Claim 10

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 8 and further comprising a top cover of said loudspeaker system above said small loudspeakers, and means for covering the sides of the region between the latter top and said top of the enclosure with material that is optically opaque and acoustically transparent.

Claim 11

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 9 and further comprising front corner posts between the front corners of said tops and a back plate between the centers of the back edges of said tops for supporting the latter top on said top of the enclosure while presenting a substantially acoustically transparent opening to said first and second beams.

Claim 12

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising, frequency sensitive passive attenuating means for coupling said source to said input terminals while imparting progressively less attenuation with increasing frequency.

Claim 13

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising, the parallel combination of an inductor and resistor between said woofer means and one of said input terminals for slightly attenuating signals within a predetermined middle range of frequencies.

Claim 14

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 12 wherein said predetermined range is substantially 100 to 800 Hz.

Claim 15

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the value of said inductance is within the range of 1 to 4 millihenries and that of said resistor is within the range of 2.2 - 8 ohms and said woofer means has a nominal impedance of substantially 4 ohms.

Claim 16

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said source is located closely adjacent to the front edge of said top.

Claim 17

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said woofer means and said source comprise means for radiating sound energy over a predetermined common range of middle frequencies, said woofer comprising means for exclusively radiating sound energy below said common range.

Claim 18

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 1 having only three loudspeaker drivers, one of which is said woofer means and the second and third of which are said first and second loudspeakers respectively. 18 A loudspeaker system comprising, means including woofer means defining a substantially fluid-tight enclosure, said woofer means being for radiating acoustical energy having spectral components at least in the low range of audio frequencies below a predetermined crossover frequency, first and second like upper frequency driver means with means for attenuating rear radiation therefrom supported upon but outside said enclosure and having their axes pointing toward opposite sidewards directions for radiating acoustical energy having spectral components in the upper range of audio frequencies above said predetermined crossover frequency toward opposite sides of said enclosure, the region to the side of each of said upper frequency driver means being substantially completely acoustically transparent, said first and second upper frequency driver means being connected together for cophasally radiating substantially the same signal, an input terminal pair for receiving an audio electrical signal, and crossover network means for coupling energy from said input terminal pair with spectral components below and above said predetermined crossover frequency to said woofer means and the connected-together upper frequency driver means respectively while substantially blocking spectral components below said predetermined crossover frequency from the latter driver means including means for coupling to said first and second like upper frequency driver means more energy as a function of frequency to establish the on-axis pressure response thereof increasing with increasing frequency to coact with said woofer means to establish for said loudspeaker system a radiated pOwer response as a function of frequency when normally positioned in a room that approaches uniformity more nearly than if said on-axis response were substantially uniform.

Claim 19

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 18 having only three loudspeaker drivers, one of which is said woofer means and the second and third of which are said first and second upper frequency driver means respectively.

Claim 20

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said means defining a substantially fluid-tight enclosure has generally parallel back and front panels with said woofer means being high compliance and secured to said front panel facing outward from said enclosure whereby said loudspeaker system is normally positioned in a room with said back panel adjacent a wall and said front panel facing the listening area.

Claim 21

A loudspeaker system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said means for coupling comprises a resistively shunted capacitor connected intermediate said connected together upper frequency driver means and said input terminal pair.