Speaker Systems For Off-Road Vehicles, ATVs, UTVs, Watercraft, and Motorcycles

Abstract

Speaker systems are provided, particularly for mounting in vehicles, such as off-road vehicles, ATVs, UTVs, watercraft and motorcycles. The speaker systems include a linear array of speakers, a housing encasing a backside thereof, and a mounting clamp for coupling to the housing. In some configurations, a speaker system may include a sliding track for receiving a mounting. In some cases, a speaker system may be coupled to a main battery of a vehicle, but is operationally independent from the vehicle. In addition or alternatively, a speaker system may be coupled to a roll over cage and/or a windshield frame of a vehicle.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A vehicle comprising:
 a main battery; and   a speaker system coupled to the main battery, wherein the speaker system encases backsides of one or more speakers, at least one amplifier and an audio signal source, and wherein the speaker system is operationally independent from the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , further comprising a roll over cage and/or a windshield frame, wherein the speaker system is suspended from a bar of the roll over cage or from an upper bar of the windshield frame. 
     
     
         3 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the speaker system comprises:
 a first linear array of speakers arranged side by side;   a second linear array of speakers arranged side by side; and   a housing encasing backsides of the first and second linear arrays of speakers, wherein the first and second linear arrays of speakers are respectively arranged on opposing sides of a midline of the housing and such that front sides of each of the speakers in the first and second linear arrays of speakers are collectively aligned in a Euclidean plane.   
     
     
         4 . The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the speaker system comprises one or more packages of RGB (red, green, and blue) light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         5 . The vehicle of  claim 4 , wherein the speaker system further comprises a controller for changing colors emitted by the one or more packages of RGB light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         6 . The vehicle of  claim 4 , wherein the speaker system comprises a single electrical cable extending from the housing comprising a power wire, a ground wire, and wires to power the one or more packages of RGB light emitting diodes. 
     
     
         7 . A vehicle, comprising:
 a roll over cage and/or a windshield frame; and   a speaker system suspended from a bar of the roll over cage or from an upper bar of the windshield frame, wherein the speaker system comprises:
 a first linear array of speakers arranged side by side; 
 a second linear array of speakers arranged side by side; and 
 a housing encasing backsides of the first and second linear arrays of speakers, wherein the first and second linear arrays of speakers are respectively arranged on opposing sides of a midline of the housing and such that front sides of each of the speakers in the first and second linear arrays of speakers are collectively aligned in an Euclidean plane. 
   
     
     
         8 . The vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the speaker system is suspended forward of driver and passenger seats of the vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The vehicle of  claim 8 , wherein the speaker system is suspended such that front sides of the first and second linear arrays of speakers are facing a rear of the vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the housing comprises a substantially uniform depth spanning opposing lateral sides of the housing, and wherein the substantially uniform depth is a dimension in a direction from a plane comprising a front side of the first and second linear arrays of speakers to a plane comprising the backsides of the first and second linear array of speakers. 
     
     
         11 . The vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the speaker system further comprises a sliding track along an exterior of the housing, and wherein the speaker system is suspended from the bar of the roll over cage or from the upper bar of the windshield frame by a mounting clamp disposed in the sliding track. 
     
     
         12 . The vehicle of  claim 7 , wherein the speaker system is coupled to a main battery of the vehicle, and wherein the speaker system is operationally independent from the vehicle. 
     
     
         13 . A speaker system, comprising:
 a linear array of speakers; and   a housing encasing a backside of the linear array of speakers, wherein the housing comprises:
 a sliding track along an exterior surface of the housing for receiving a mounting; and 
 a substantially uniform depth spanning opposing lateral sides of the linear array of speakers, wherein the substantially uniform depth is a dimension in a direction from a plane comprising a front side of the linear array of speakers to a plane comprising the backside of the linear array of speakers. 
   
     
     
         14 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , wherein the substantially uniform depth vertically spans at least one-third a height of the speaker system. 
     
     
         15 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , wherein the linear array of speakers comprises a first linear array of speakers arranged side by side and a second linear array of speakers arranged side by side, and wherein the first and second linear arrays of speakers are respectively arranged on opposing sides of a midline of the housing and such that front sides of each of the speakers in the first and second linear arrays of speakers are collectively aligned in an Euclidean plane 
     
     
         16 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , further comprising light emitting diodes arranged along a side of the speaker system comprising the front sides of the speakers. 
     
     
         17 . The speaker system of  claim 16 , wherein the light emitting diodes comprise a strip of light emitting diodes aligned with an upper edge of the housing and/or light emitting diodes arranged central to one of the linear array of speakers 
     
     
         18 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , further comprising receptacles along opposing sides of the housing for receiving mounting brackets. 
     
     
         19 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , further comprising a pipe-mounting clamp for coupling to the housing and/or L-shaped mounting brackets for coupling to the housing. 
     
     
         20 . The speaker system of  claim 13 , wherein the housing comprises a planar backside which is parallel to a front side of the linear array of speakers and has a height at least one-third of the height of the front side of the linear array of speakers.