This week the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Samsung that reveals a next generation Galaxy Note Pen that uniquely integrates a new speaker system. When the pen is being stored in the Galaxy Note body, the speaker, which is in the pen shaft, carries sound through the pen and exists at the top of the pen via a new speaker. When the pen is removed for the Note device the sound simply travels from the internal speaker through the pen shaft opening.
Samsung's patent application officially words it this way: the invention covers a main body that provides an accommodation space, a speaker module that outputs sound, and an accessory device configured to be accommodated in the accommodation space.
In a state where the accessory device is accommodated in the accommodation space, the accessory device may provide a passage that transmits the sound output from the speaker module, and in a state where the accessory device is separated from the accommodation space, the accommodation space may provide the passage that transmits the sound output from the speaker module.
The accommodation space or a portion of the accessory device can contribute to the improvement of sound quality by being connected to a resonance space of the speaker module as, for example, a back volume.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of controlling an electronic device that radiates sound through an accommodation space or an accessory device configured to be accommodated in the accommodation space is provided. The method includes an operation of activating a speaker module that outputs sound, an operation of detecting whether the accessory device is accommodated in the accommodation space, and an operation of providing different sound signals to the speaker module depending on whether the accessory device is accommodated.
Although technically Samsung focuses only on the pen speaker system in this patent filing, it would theoretically be another move towards better waterproofing a future Note device. The pen speaker system would replace the speaker grille near the pen slot.
Samsung filed their U.S. patent application for this invention back in March 2016. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
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