Seat having sound system with acoustic waveguide

Abstract

A seat having an acoustic waveguide for conveying sound from a remotely mounted loudspeaker to a location in close proximity to an occupant's ears is disclosed. The seat comprises a horizontal seating member upon which an occupant may sit and a loudspeaker located under the seating member for generating sound to be conveyed to the occupant's ears. A back rest member extends upwardly from the seating member and comprises an acoustic waveguide coupled to the loudspeaker for conveying sound to the occupant. The waveguide terminates at an upper location such that a virtual sound source is located in close proximity to the occupant's ears. In its present form, the seat has special application in the amusement ride industry where the conveyance of intelligible sound to occupants may be difficult in view of the noisy environment in which such amusement rides tend to operate. Multiple loudspeakers in combination with specially shaped waveguides may be employed to convey stereo sound to multiple occupants.