MICROPHONE PACKAGING IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE

• US 20090245564A1
• Filed: 12/23/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Howarth, Richard P., Mittleman, Adam D., Seguin, Chad G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,229,153 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/361
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/083 Special constructions of mouthpieces
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

In one aspect, a boot located inside a mobile device holds a microphone. The boot has a straight, front chamber section whose mouth is aligned (vertically and horizontally) with a microphone-associated, acoustic case opening in a sidewall of the outer housing of the device. In another aspect, the front chamber section is defined by a front sidewall on whose outer surface a circumferential rib is formed. This portion of the boot sidewall is disposed within a tube section (which may be formed in the sidewall of the device'"'"'s outer case), to form an acoustic seal around the mouth of the boot. Other embodiments are also described.

Claims

1. A mobile communications device comprising:

an outer case having a sidewall in which a microphone-associated acoustic hole is formed;

a boot located inside the outer case, the boot having a front chamber and rear chamber, wherein the front chamber at one end opens to a mouth of the boot that is aligned with the microphone-associated acoustic hole, and at another end joins the rear chamber, wherein the one end of the front chamber is joined to its another end entirely by a straight section; and

a microphone having a front face in which its input sound port is formed, the microphone being fixed within the rear chamber section such that the front face is essentially perpendicular to the straight section of the boot.

2. The mobile communications device of claim 1 further comprising:

an electrical input/output signal terminal exposed through an opposite, rear face of the microphone.

3. The mobile communications device of claim 1 wherein the boot has a front sidewall that defines the front chamber, the front sidewall extends from the mouth of the boot to the rear chamber, and a circumferential rib formed on an outer surface of the front sidewall.

4. The mobile communications device of claim 3 further comprising:

a tube section having a far end that is aligned with the microphone-associated case opening, the tube section extends inward from the microphone-associated case opening, wherein the portion of the front sidewall of the boot that contains the rib is disposed within the tube section to form an acoustic seal around the mouth of the boot.

5. The mobile communications device of claim 4 wherein the tube section is formed in the sidewall of the outer case.

6. The mobile communications device of claim 5 wherein the tube section is straight end-to-end.

7. The mobile communications device of claim 6 wherein the rib extends continuously around the entire sidewall.

8. The mobile communications device of claim 7 wherein an inner surface region of the tube is smoother and more rigid than the portion of the boot containing the rib, such that the rib is compressed against that inner surface region.

9. The mobile communications device of claim 4 wherein the rib extends continuously around the entire sidewall and is compressed against an inner surface region of the tube.

10. A mobile communications device comprising:

an outer case having a sidewall in which a microphone-associated acoustic hole is formed;

a microphone having an input sound port;

a microphone boot located inside the outer case, a mouth of the boot being aligned with the microphone-associated acoustic hole, the boot having a front chamber and a rear chamber therein, the microphone being fixed in the rear chamber so that its input sound port can receive sound that comes into the device through the hole in the outer case sidewall and through the front chamber,

the microphone boot having a front sidewall that defines the front chamber, the front sidewall extends from the mouth of the boot to the rear chamber, and a circumferential rib formed on an outer surface of the front sidewall; and

a tube section having a far end that is aligned with the microphone-associated case opening, the tube section extends inward from the microphone-associated case opening, wherein the portion of the front sidewall of the boot that contains the rib is disposed within the tube section to form an acoustic seal around the mouth of the boot.

11. The mobile communications device of claim 10 wherein the tube section is formed in the sidewall of the outer case.

12. The mobile communications device of claim 11 wherein the tube section is straight end-to-end.

13. The mobile communications device of claim 12 wherein the rib extends continuously around the entire sidewall.

14. The mobile communications device of claim 13 wherein an inner surface region of the tube is smoother and more rigid than the portion of the boot containing the rib, such that the rib is compressed against that inner surface region.

15. The mobile communications device of claim 10 wherein the rib extends continuously around the entire sidewall and is compressed against an inner surface region of the tube.