The present invention relates to a loudspeaker comprising a frame, a movable diaphragm which oscillates around a position of rest, and a suspension for mounting the diaphragm to the frame, the suspension comprising a first flexible surround portion and a second flexible surround portion.

A conventional loudspeaker consists of a diaphragm, a moving voice coil secured to the diaphragm in a central area, a magnet motor gap system into which the moving voice coil is inserted, the coil being centered in the gap of the magnet motor system, a frame supporting the magnet system and enclosing the diaphragm on one half side thereof, an flexible surround portion secured to the frame and to an etch area of the diaphragm, and a centering device, i.e. a spider, fixed to the frame and secured to the central part of the diaphragm.

In a conventional cone loudspeaker the guiding of the movable diaphragm is realized by a double mechanical guiding system which consists of the flexible deformable surround portion which is secured to the frame in an edge area of the diaphragm, and of a spider which guides the oscillation movement of the moving voice coil and of the diaphragm mounted to the coil. The excursion of the moving system is generally limited by the maximum mechanical deformation of the spider. The stiffness of the suspension system is the sum of the stiffness of the flexible surround portion and of the stiffness of the spider.

Furthermore, loudspeakers can be divided into several categories. First of all, there are loudspeakers which are designed to produce low frequencies, which are called woofers. In these loudspeakers the diaphragm is large and has an important excursion. Furthermore, there are loudspeakers that are designed to produce high frequencies, which are called tweeters. The tweeters comprise smaller diaphragms which oscillated at a smaller range of excursion. Last but not least there exist loudspeakers which are designed for medium frequencies, which are also called mediums.

For these different kinds of loudspeakers different magnet systems and different guiding systems are known.

Woofers, e.g., normally comprise a conically shaped diaphragm and a double mechanical guiding system consisting of the surround portion and of the spider as mentioned above. This double mechanical guiding system is necessary in order to be able to properly guide the oscillating voice coil even at important excursions.

Tweeters, however, in which the excursions of the moving diaphragm and the associated voice coil are less important, use guiding systems which consist only of the flexible surround portion. The use of spiders for the guiding mechanism is not necessary in tweeter loudspeakers.

In a conventional cone loudspeaker the suspension system has several drawbacks. First of all, the linearity of the spider is not very good as there are parasite hysteresis effects and as the mechanical properties of the spider fatigue during use. Furthermore, the linearity of the flexible surround portion for fixing the diaphragm to the frame is not very good, as the geometry of this suspension is not symmetric, what means that the oscillation around the position of rest does not produce the same restoring forces in an anterior and posterior direction.

In order to obtain a loudspeaker having a good sound quality, it is important that, inter alia, the suspension system is linear, i.e., that the restoring force is directly proportional to the excursion. Furthermore, the suspension system should be symmetric, i.e. an excursion in the posterior and anterior direction of the loudspeaker should have the same restoring forces.

The mechanical behavior of the suspension system at maximum excursions is difficult to control, as a good compromise between the linearity of the spider and the restoring force at maximum excursion is difficult to obtain. Generally, the loudspeaker works in a closed or vented box. At important excursions of the moving system the internal pressure in the box modifies the geometry of the flexible surround portion and creates acoustical distortions.

DE 197 25 373 discloses a linear magnet system of a loudspeaker consisting of four magnetically axially polarized permanent magnetic discs and of two soft magnetic intermediate discs and at least one electric drive coil. The two inner and two outer permanent magnet discs are arranged such that their geometric center axes coincide. In the radial direction uneven magnetic poles oppose each other. The electrical coil is fitted between the outer disc inner diameter and the inner disc outer diameter.

In order to obtain a symmetrical suspension system US 3 684 052 discloses a loudspeaker in which a diaphragm is supported at its marginal edge on the frame by means of a suspension which consists of an angular, hollow member of rubber-like flexible material, which has a substantially circular shape in cross-section. This suspension is connected at its inside periphery to said marginal edge of the diaphragm and at its outside periphery to the frame.

This hollow suspension has several drawbacks. First of all, the suspension forms a closed space in which a certain amount of air is enclosed. This air contained in the tubular suspension member has several disadvantages. First of all, loudspeakers are used in many different environments, .e.g, in cars. It can happen that these loudspeakers are exposed to the sun or subjected to heat. The expansion of the heated air inside the closed suspension could damage the suspension, when the temperature rises up to about 40 to 60 °C. As the air volume depends on the temperature of the air inside the suspension, the sound quality of the loudspeaker depends on the ambient temperature of the loudspeaker.

Furthermore the above-mentioned suspension system is not linear. At high excursions of the diaphragm the air comprised in the closed box is much more compressed, what results in high restoring forces at maximum excursions of the voice coil.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a loudspeaker having a substantially linear and symmetrical suspension system which improves the sound quality of the loudspeaker.

The present invention meets the aforementioned need by providing a loudspeaker as claimed in claim 1.

Dependent claims are directed on features of preferred embodiments of the invention.

According to an important aspect of the present invention, the suspension is air-permeable, since either the first or the second flexible surround portion is air-permeable. Due to this air-permeability, the problems of the closed suspension system as described above can be overcome.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first flexible surround portion is convex-shaped and the second flexible surround portion is concave-shaped.

A closed space is generated between the first flexible surround portion and the second flexible surround portion, which is substantially delimited by the first and by the second flexible surround portions. The air-permeability of one of the two portions of the suspension consisting of the two surround portions allows to establish a pneumatic air leak in the closed space defined between the first and the second flexible surround portions. Due to this air permeability the air between the two flexible surround portions is not completely enclosed any more, so that during the oscillation movement of the diaphragm the flexible surround portions can follow the oscillation movement of the diaphragm more easily. The stiffness of the suspension system at high excursion is much less than it would be the case if the suspension were not air-permeable.

According to a preferred embodiment, the enclosed space has an angular shape which is due to the geometry of the two flexible surround portions, the first being convex-shaped, the second being concave-shaped.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, either the first or the second flexible surround portion is air-permeable. It should be understood that only one of the surround portions should be air-permeable. In the case that the two flexible surround portions are air-permeable, a passage for the air from the anterior side of the loudspeaker to the inside of the loudspeaker would be provided. As a consequence, a proper functioning of the loudspeaker would not be possible.

According to a preferred embodiment, the suspension system comprises holes. These holes allow the air-permeability of the suspension and can establish the pneumatic air leak in the closed space defined between the first and the second flexible surround portions.

According to the present invention, either the first or the second surround portion could comprise the holes.

According to another embodiment of the present invention the suspension system could be made of air-permeable material of only one surround portion. This air-permeable or porous material could also establish the pneumatic air leak in the closed space. It should be understood that the air-permeable material could also be combined with the holes. The material used a porous material can be optimized to obtain the best stiffness/displacement characteristic of the suspension system.

According to a preferred embodiment either the first or the second surround portion could be made of air-permeable material. As mentioned above, it should be avoided that the first and the second surround portion are air-permeable, what would cause a passage for the air from the closed or vented loudspeaker box to the anterior side of the loudspeaker.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the first flexible surround portion exerts a first restoring force on the diaphragm in case of an oscillation of the diaphragm, and the second flexible surround portion exerts a second restoring force on the diaphragm in case of an oscillation of the diaphragm, wherein the first and the second surround portion are arranged relatively to each other such that the resultant force resulting from the first and the second restoring force on the diaphragm is substantially symmetrical to the position of rest. Due to the relative symmetric arrangement of the two surround portions a symmetry of excursion depending on the applied force around a position of rest can be obtained. Due to this symmetry of excursion of the diaphragm, the acoustical distortions can be minimized.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the material of one surround portion comprising air-permeable material and/or holes relative to the material of the other surround portion comprising neither air-permeable material nor holes is chosen such that the resultant force is symmetrical to the position of rest. Since the two surround portions are not identical any more, the material of the surround portions can be chosen such that the fact that one surround portion is different from the other due to the air-permeability is compensated by using different materials, a different geometrical shape, and/or a different thickness of the suspension.

The suspension with its two surround portions can be built of two separate elements, the first flexible surround portion and the second flexible surround portion. However, the suspension could also be a one-piece element comprising the two surround portions.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first flexible surround portion, at its first edge, is attached to a first side of an edge area of the diaphragm, and the second surround portion, at its first edge, is attached to the other side of that edge area of the diaphragm.

The second flexible surround portion can be attached, at its second edge, to the frame, and the first surround portion, at its second edge, can be attached to the second surround portion.

However, the second flexible surround portion can be attached, at its second edge, to the frame, and the first surround portion can be attached, at its second edge, to the frame as well.

According to a preferred embodiment, the two flexible surround portions are arranged symmetrically to each other. With this symmetrical arrangement the symmetry of the suspension can be obtained.

In another embodiment of the present invention the two flexible surround portions can be arranged symmetrically to an axis defined by the junction of the two flexible surround portions to the diaphragm and by the junction of the two flexible surround portions to the frame.

With this arrangement a symmetric restoring force around the position of rest can also be obtained.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the loudspeaker could further comprise a resilient centering device, i.e. a spider, for centering a voice coil which drives the movable diaphragm. This resilient centering device could comprise a predetermined compliance which is chosen such that, even at maximal excursion of the voice coil, the centering device does substantially not attenuate the oscillation movement of the voice coil. In other words, this spider could be designed only to improve the guiding of the moving system so as to have a very low stiffness. The double surround portion system with its two flexible surround portions can fulfill the suspension function of a spider, if the spider has no dampening properties. The spider can be chosen such that the dampening characteristics are only obtained by the double suspension arrangement, and not by the spider any more. The spider will only guide the movement of the moving system. A suspension system with a better linearity and a behaviour at maximal excursion, which is better than in conventional suspension systems, can be obtained. The pneumatic compressor effect of the holes in the flexible surround portion allows a better control of the displacement of the moving system at maximal excursions than does a spider, and independently of its stiffness/displacement characteristic. This is especially useful in cone loudspeakers used for low frequencies. These loudspeakers must have a spider in order to guide the movement of the diaphragm and of the voice coil. In other loudspeaker systems, however, the spider can be completely omitted.

In prior art loudspeakers without the use of a spider, the application was limited to high frequencies. This meant, that only tweeters could be used having a guiding system which only consisted of the surround portion.

Due to the double surround portions the guiding abilities of the suspension are remarkably improved. In conclusion, a guiding of the moving parts can also be obtained at higher excursions of the diaphragm.

This double guiding effect of the two surround portions with their air permeability allows the use of geometric loudspeaker arrangements which were not possible before.

Prior art tweeter loudspeakers without a spider are not restricted to high frequencies any more. According to the present invention loudspeakers without a spider can also be used for boomers in a frequency range down to 20 Hz.

With the two different surround portions a further component is obtained in order to control the frequency characteristic of the loudspeaker.

First of all, due to the symmetry of the suspension the harmonic distortions can be reduced by 50 % in comparison to a suspension consisting of only one single non-symmetric surround portion. Furthermore, the second surround portion provides another characteristic and, therefore, a much wider range for the control of the frequency characteristic of the loudspeaker, since due to the second surround portion another parameter influencing the frequency characteristic is obtained.

A further aspect of a good sound quality of a loudspeaker is the fact that the magnetic field in which the voice coil is position should be as homogeneous as possible. The magnetic field should be homogeneous over the whole range of excursion of the coil. According to a preferred embodiment, the loudspeaker comprises a magnet system which comprises at least two annular permanent magnets and a least two annular pole pieces. In a preferred embodiment, the magnet system comprises four annular coaxial permanent magnets, two inner annular permanent magnets being superimposed and having a first diameter D1, the other two annular outer permanent magnets being superimposed and having a diameter D2 larger than D1. One polar piece lies between respectively two annular permanent magnets. On the posterior side a further polar piece is provided joining the permanent magnets. As will be explained with reference to the drawings, a regular and symmetrical magnetic field can be obtained at the location of the voice coil.

In a further embodiment, the voice coil can be arranged in an air gap which is delimited by the outer border of the two inner annular permanent magnets with their diameter D1 and the outer border of the respective first annular polar piece and by the inner border of the two other outer annular permanent magnets with their diameter D2 and by the inner border of the respective second annular polar piece. In this air gap the magnetic field is homogeneous and regular in the space where the coil is oscillating. With this arrangement the force exerted on the coil mainly depends on the current in the coil and not on the magnetic field which is constant over the whole region in which the coil can oscillate.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the magnet system could also comprise one permanent magnet and at least two polar pieces and a voice coil positioned in a gap of the magnet system, the magnet system comprising a groove which is at least partially filled with electricity conducting material. The groove could be arranged substantially perpendicular to the main axis of the loudspeaker and opens to the gap. For a detailed description of the magnet system comprising the groove reference is made to the French patent application, filed on February 13, 2002, having the application number 0 201 782 in the name of Harman International. In this application the magnet system comprising the groove is described in more detail. This magnet system is incorporated herein by reference, so that it could be used in the loudspeaker according to the present invention.

This magnet system could be used together with a loudspeaker comprising a suspension system without a spider, as mentioned above, for example for medium applications. As will be seen from the following description of the accompanying drawings, this loudspeaker could have a diaphragm with a dome-shape.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the loudspeaker comprises a decompression hole coaxial to the main axis of the loudspeaker. This decompression hole is provided in the magnet system. The diameter of this decompression hole is preferably D1. This means that the diameter of the decompression hole corresponds to the inner diameter of the two inner annular permanent magnets, or the inner diameter of the inner annular polar piece in dependence of the magnet motor system. The magnet system is, therefore, annularly shaped and comprises a hole of diameter D1 in the middle of the magnet system. This decompression hole allows another improvement of the sound quality of the loudspeaker, as the sound waves emitted to the inside of the loudspeaker are not reflected from the magnet system of the loudspeaker and will therefore not interfere with the waves emitted to the front of the loudspeaker. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the decompression hole is terminated by a box which has a cylindrical shape with a diameter D1. This box can be filled with dampening material in order to damp down the acoustic waves emitted to the posterior of the loudspeaker.

Other applications and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the specification and the drawings.

• Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a loudspeaker comprising a suspension system used in prior art loudspeakers;
• Fig. 2a shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a loudspeaker according to the present invention,
• Fig. 2b shows an enlarged part of the suspension system of Fig. 2a;
• Fig. 3 shows a mechanical simulation of the surround portion stiffness/displacement characteristic of a surround system comprising single or double surround portion;
• Fig. 4 shows a mechanical measurement of a stiffness/displacement characteristic of a surround portion system comprising holes in the second surround portion;
• Fig. 5 shows a magnet system which can be used in a loudspeaker according to the present invention;
• Fig. 6 shows the magnetic flux obtained by the magnet system of Fig. 5;
• Fig. 7 shows another magnet system which could be used with a loudspeaker according to the present invention;
• Figures 8 and 9 show further embodiments of loudspeakers according to the present invention; and
• Fig. 10 shows the magnet system of the loudspeaker of Fig. 8 in further detail.

Fig. 1 shows a conventional cone loudspeaker which is known in the art. This loudspeaker 1' comprises a diaphragm 2 which is mounted to a frame 3. The diaphragm 2 is mounted to this frame 3 by a first flexible surround portion 4'. The loudspeaker further comprises a spider 5' for guiding the oscillation movement of the diaphragm 2 and a voice coil 6 which is inserted into an air gap 7 of a magnet system 8. This magnet system 8 comprises a permanent magnet 9 which, in the present case, is annularly shaped. On the anterior side of the permanent magnet 9 there is a polar piece 10 for guiding the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet 9. On the posterior side of the permanent magnet 9 there is the polar piece 11 which has an extension 12 near the axis A of the loudspeaker. The coil 6 oscillates in the air gap between the polar pieces 10 and 12 in accordance with the current flowing in the coil windings. The coil 6 is mounted to the diaphragm 2, so that the diaphragm oscillates in accordance with the current in the coil. This oscillation movement is damped down due to the suspension system consisting of the flexible surround portion 4' and the spider 5'.

However, the arrangement of the first flexible surround portion 4' does not provide a linear stiffness/displacement characteristic of the first flexible surround portions. In Figure 3, the surround portion stiffness of one flexible surround portion as shown in Fig. 1 is shown for different coil positions. The continuous line shows the stiffness for the case that the diaphragm is attached to the frame 3 by the first flexible surround portion 4' as shown in Fig. 1. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the stiffness of the suspension is not symmetrical, a positive or negative excursion of the coil does not produce the same effects on the diaphragm.

In Fig. 2 a loudspeaker 13 according to the present invention is shown. The loudspeaker 13 corresponds to loudspeaker 1 shown in Fig. 1 so that features already mentioned as to Fig. 1 are not explained in detail any more. As can be seen from Fig. 2a, the suspension system according to the present invention comprises the first flexible surround portion 4 which, at its first edge 14, is attached to a first side of an edge area of the diaphragm 2. At a second edge 15 the first flexible surround portion 4 is attached to a concave-shaped second flexible surround portion 16. This second flexible surround portion 16 is, at its second edge 17, attached to the frame 3 of the loudspeaker, whereas a first edge 18 of the second flexible surround portion is attached to the other side of the edge area of the diaphragm 2.

It should be understood that the second edge 15 of the first flexible surround portion could also be attached directly to the frame 3 itself, e.g., if there is a protrusion on the frame where, on either side of the protrusion, the edge of either surround portions could be attached to. Inside the convex-shaped first flexible surround portion 4 and the concave-shaped second flexible surround portion 16 a closed space 19 is generated.

As can be seen particularly from Fig. 2b, the second flexible surround portion 16 comprises holes 20 which establish a pneumatic air leak in the closed space defined between the first and second surround portions. These holes serve as a passage for the air between the two flexible surround portions, when the diaphragm is oscillating. It should be understood that the dimensions and the positions of the holes can be optimized to obtain the best working of the loudspeaker. Furthermore, instead of holes a porous material could be used. However, the porous material could also be used in combination with the holes. Furthermore, the holes and/or the porous material could be present in the first flexible surround portion 4 instead of in the second flexible surround portion 16. As can be seen from a simulation shown in Fig. 3, the provision of two surround portions, the first surround portion with its convex shape and the second surround portion with its concave shape, allow a surround portion stiffness which is much more symmetric than it is the case with only one surround portion as can be seen by the dashed line of Fig. 3. Fig. 4 shows a measurement of the stiffness by using a suspension system as shown in Figures 2a and 2b, the suspension consisting of the first flexible surround portion 4, and of the second flexible surround portion 16 comprising holes, which provide a stiffness which is shown in Fig. 4. From Fig. 4 it can be deduced that due to the holes provided in the second surround portion the stiffness is almost constant over the whole range of coil position. Furthermore, the stiffness is symmetric around the position of rest. In conclusion it has to be underlined that the vented suspension system with two surround portions in combination with the holes allows to obtain a flat stiffness/ displacement characteristic which is symmetric for larger excursions of the moving parts. These two features contribute to a good sound quality of the loudspeaker of the present invention. By using the suspension system as shown in Fig. 2 the suspension of the spider of Fig. 2a can be chosen such that the spider has a low stiffness and a very good linearity and does only guide the movement of the diaphragm and of the coil. With its low stiffness it does not contribute to the damping down of the oscillation.

If the loudspeaker works in a closed or vented box, the suspension system with the two flexible surround portions allows the optimization of the geometry of the suspension system, so that at high excursions of the diaphragm the acoustical surround portion distortions can be minimized because of the internal pressure of the air volume between the two flexible surround portions. The internal air volume of the two surround portions 4, 16 avoids its deformation. This improvement is not possible with a conventional suspension as shown in Fig. 1.

The surround system with its two surround portions could comprise two different pieces as shown in the present embodiment, however it could also be formed as a one-piece element.

In Fig. 5 a magnet system that could be used together with a loudspeaker of the present invention is shown. This magnet system provides a very homogeneous magnetic field for the coil to which the diaphragm is fixed. The magnet system 8 of Fig. 5 comprises four annular coaxial permanent magnets 31, 32, 33 and 34. The magnetic rings are all aligned coaxially to an axis A. The permanent magnets 31 and 34 are disposed at a first radius R1 corresponding to a first diameter D = 2R1, the permanent magnets 32, 33 being located at a second radius R2 corresponding to the diameter D2 = 2R2. The two inner and the two outer permanent magnets are arranged geometrically and magnetically so that their geometric center axes A coincide. In the axial direction from anterior to posterior the magnetic poles of the inner two magnets are minus, plus, plus, minus. The magnetic poles from anterior to posterior of the outer permanent magnet ring is plus, minus, minus, plus. With this arrangement uneven magnetic poles oppose each other in the radial direction. These permanent magnets, which could be neodynium magnets, sandwich at the inner diameter R1 a first annular polar piece 35 and at R2 a second annular polar piece 36. On the posterior side the magnet system 8 is terminated by a polar piece 37. Between the permanent magnets 31 and 32, 34 and 33, and between the polar pieces 35 and 36 an air gap 38 is provided in which the voice coil 6 is positioned which is connected to the diaphragm (not shown). In the position of rest, the voice coil 6 is positioned in the neighbourhood of the polar pieces 35 and 36. As can be seen in Fig. 6, with the special arrangement of the permanent magnets 31 to 34 and the polar pieces 35 to 37, the magnetic flux in the air gap 38, especially in the area near the coil 6, is very homogeneous, so that the oscillating coil oscillates in the homogeneous part of the magnetic field.

As can be seen in Fig. 5, the magnets and the polar pieces are not configured as discs, but as annular rings. As shown in Fig. 5 a bore with a radius R1 is provided coaxially in the magnetic system. With this decompression hole 39 the back-wave irradiated by the diaphragm (not shown) will not be refracted by the magnets and the polar pieces, but will continue to travel to the posterior side of the loudspeaker. In case of discs, the refracted wave would interfere with sound waves emitted to the anterior of the loudspeaker, so that the acoustic quality of the irradiated waves would be deteriorated.

The magnet system shown in Fig. 5 could also comprise a groove as mentioned in the French patent application having the number 0 201 782, filed in the name of Harman International. This groove could be situated in the middle of the polar pieces 35 and/or 36 next to the voice coil. In this groove an electrically conductive ring is provided. For a detailed description of the groove and its advantages reference is made to this French application.

In Fig. 7 another magnet system, which could be used in the loudspeaker according to the present invention, is shown. This magnet system of Fig. 7 comprises two annular permanent magnets 41 and 42. Furthermore, a polar piece 43 is sandwiched between the two permanent magnets 41 and 42. A further polar piece 44 is situated on the posterior side of the magnet system. This polar piece 44 comprises an extension 45 parallel to the axis, which terminates at the anterior side of the magnet system. Between the extension 45 and the polar piece 43 and the two permanent magnets 41 and 42 an air gap 46 is provided in which the voice coil 6 is situated. This air gap 46 is delimited by the inner border of the polar piece 43 and the magnets 41 and 42 at R4 and by the outer edge of the extension 45, the inner border of which is situated at radius R3. With this system a homogeneous magnetic field can be obtained in the air gap 46, therefore contributing to the sound quality of the loudspeaker. Just like the magnet system of Fig. 5, this magnet system also comprises a decompression hole with the diameter D3 = 2 R3.

The polar piece 43 and/ or the extension 45 could also be provided with a groove comprising the conductive ring as described in the above-mentioned French patent application.

In Fig. 8 another embodiment of a loudspeaker according to the present invention is shown. This dome loudspeaker 50 comprises - as does the loudspeaker shown in Figures 2a and 2b - a double surround system comprising the first flexible surround portion 4 and the second flexible surround portion 16. The first and the second flexible surround portions 4 and 16 are attached to the frame 3 as already explained in combination with Fig. 2. Furthermore, the second flexible surround portion 16 comprises holes 20 which cannot be seen in the arrangement of Fig. 8. The two flexible surround portions 4 and 16 are attached to a diaphragm 51 which, in this case, is convex-shaped. The diaphragm 51 is in connection with the voice coil 6. The voice coil 6 is connected to the diaphragm 51 by a support 52 which comprises holes 53. These holes 53 are part of the prior art loudspeakers and help the ventilation of the system, when the diaphragm 51 is oscillating. The magnet system 54 comprises a decompression hole 55 symmetrical to the axis A. By this decompression hole the diffraction of the sound wave emitted to the interior of the loudspeaker can be prevented as mentioned above. The magnet system 54 further comprises a permanent magnet 56 as well as two polar pieces 57 and 58. The polar piece 57 has at its outer edge an extension 70 which terminates in a truncated form on the anterior side of the magnet system. Again, an air gap 59 is provided between the polar pieces 57 and 58 and the magnet 56, in which the voice coil 6 can oscillate. As will be described later with reference to Fig. 10, a groove 80 is provided which is filled with an electrically conducting material. In the prior art, the loudspeakers shown in Fig. 8 were built as tweeters, i.e. they could only be used for high frequencies and low excursions, as the use of a spider in this magnet system is not possible. According to the present invention, however, the loudspeaker comprising a dome-shaped diaphragm can also be used as a boomer down to a frequency of, e.g., 20 Hz. This is possible due to the better guiding abilities of the suspension system according to the present invention comprising the first surround portion and the second surround portions. This double surround portion system is able to guide the moving diaphragm and the voice coil even at higher excursions.

In Fig. 9 another embodiment of the present invention is shown. The loudspeaker 60 comprises the suspension system of the present invention, comprising the first flexible surround portion 4 and the second flexible surround portion 16. The loudspeaker further comprises a diaphragm 61 and a magnet system which corresponds to the system shown in Fig. 5, i.e., the system comprising the permanent magnets 31 to 34 and the polar pieces 35 to 37. In the air gap 38 the voice coil 6 is positioned. The system further comprises the decompression hole with a diameter D1, which is terminated by a box 65 which has a cylindrical shape with a diameter D1. In this box dampening material (not shown) could be provided which will attenuate the back-wave emitted to the posterior side of the loudspeaker.

The loudspeaker shown in Fig. 9 could, e.g., be incorporated into a dashboard 66 of a vehicle. However, the shown loudspeakers could be used in any other arrangements.

The loudspeaker shown in Fig. 9 does not comprise a spider for guiding the movement of the voice coil, either. As mentioned in Fig. 8, the double surround portion guiding system allows the use of the loudspeaker shown in Fig. 9 as a boomer which was not possible with the prior art suspension system.

In Fig. 10 the magnet system in the loudspeaker of Fig. 8 is shown in more detail. This magnet system is described in more detail in the above-mentioned French patent application filed by Harman International on February 13, 2002, to which reference is made.

In this magnet system the permanent magnet 56 is sandwiched between the polar pieces 57 and 58. The polar piece 57 has at its outer edge an extension 70 which terminates in a truncated form shown by the dashed line 71. The air gap 59 is delimited by the outer radius of the polar piece 58, the outer radius of the permanent magnet 56 and by the inner radius of the extension 70 of the polar piece 57. The extension 70 can also terminate on the anterior side of the magnet system by a substantially flat plane. The polar piece 58 comprises the groove 80 which is arranged in the middle of the voice coil 6 and which comprises in the inside thereof electricity conducting material, such as, e.g., copper or carbon. The polar piece can be a one-piece element as shown in Fig. 10, but it can also be made of two separate parts as shown in Fig. 8, wherein the second part of the polar piece 58 delimits the groove 80 on the anterior side.

As shown by the dashed line, the polar piece 58 could also have a truncated form.

As shown in Fig. 10 the voice coil has a height HB which is smaller than E1 + C + E2 and larger than C. The anterior end of the groove is a distance E2 from the upper side of the polar piece 58, the groove comprising the electrically conductive material has a width C and ends at a distance E1 of the lower side of the polar piece 58. For further details reference is made to the above-mentioned French patent application. Due to this groove a homogeneous magnetic field can be obtained even if the coil 6 in the gap is oscillating.

In conclusion, with the loudspeaker according to the present invention, a loudspeaker having a better linearity with a flat and symmetric stiffness/displacement characteristic of the coil can be obtained, so that the sound quality of the loudspeaker can be improved. It should be understood that the different features described in the different embodiments could also be combined in various ways. This suspension system in combination with the different magnet systems explained above provides a loudspeaker having a linear magnet system with a cancellation of the back-wave with an improved suspension system. Furthermore, due to the improved suspension system loudspeakers without a spider can be used at low frequencies.