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GooglePatent applicationAudio & voiceInterest 3/10

Google patents curved sound tunnels to route audio around cameras

This filing describes a specific shape for the internal air path that carries sound from a speaker to the outside of a phone or tablet. The channel uses a triangular start and a curved wall to guide sound waves around other internal parts, like a camera, without blocking them.

Why it mattersIt is a routine engineering tweak to fit speakers and cameras into tight spaces, likely improving sound quality in future devices.

In the filing’s own words

An acoustic structure for an electronic device routes audio from an internal audio driver to an external environment. The acoustic structure includes an acoustic channel fluidly coupling the internal audio driver to an acoustic outlet located at a periphery of a housing. The acoustic channel includes an inlet adjacent to the audio driver having a triangular shape and extends at an oblique angle toward the acoustic outlet to route acoustic waves around an adjacent internal space. The acoustic channel comprises asymmetric lateral boundaries, featuring a substantially straight first wall and a spaced apart second wall having a curved profile. The curved profile is characterized by alternating positive and negative curvatures. This geometric configuration facilitates the fluid dynamic routing of acoustic waves from an offset internal position, directing the acoustic output to manage sound intensity distribution and acoustic energy transmission.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a housing; a display assembly coupled to the housing; an acoustic outlet defined at a periphery of the electronic device; a camera disposed within the housing; an audio driver disposed within the housing and laterally offset from the camera; and an acoustic channel defined within the housing and fluidly coupling the audio driver to the acoustic outlet, the acoustic channel comprising: an inlet opening adjacent to the audio driver, the inlet opening having a substantially triangular shape; a first wall extending from the inlet opening toward the acoustic outlet; and a second wall spaced apart from the first wall, the second wall disposed between the camera and the first wall, the first wall being substantially straight and the second wall comprising a curved profile.

Facts

Company
Google (Google LLC)
Official title
Acoustic Transmission Channel for an Electronic Device
Publication number
US20260270611A1
Application number
19657446
Filed
Apr 24, 2026
Published
Sep 10, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
10

Classified under

H04R 1/345 Electricity & electronicsG06F 1/1688 Physics & computingG06F 1/181 Physics & computingH04R 2499/11 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.