Microphone Port With Foreign Material Ingress Protection

• US 20150237431A1
• Filed: 02/18/2014
• Published: 08/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Jeziorek, Peter N., Crosby, Justin D., Goldberg, Michelle R., Nguyen, Trang Thi-Thanh
• Granted Patent: US 9,497,529 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/086 Protective screens, e.g. all weather or wind screens
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/005 using semiconductor materials
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/04 Microphones H04R19/01 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a microphone in a microphone port. A shield may cover a microelectromechanical systems microphone device on a microphone substrate. An opening in the microphone substrate may form a sound port for the microphone. The microphone port may be formed by perforations in the microphone substrate or other layers such as a flexible printed circuit layer, a sheet metal layer, a layer of adhesive, a flexible polymer carrier layer in an adhesive tape, or an electronic device housing. The perforations may be sufficiently small to help resist the intrusions of foreign material such as liquid and dirt into the sound port of the microphone. Larger openings may be formed in other structures such as an electronic device housing. The larger openings may serve as sound passageways for the microphone port while being sufficiently large to resist clogging.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising:

a microphone having a sound port; and

a flexible printed circuit having microperforations that serve as sound passageways for sound passing to the microphone, wherein the microphone is mounted on the flexible printed circuit so that the sound port is aligned with the microperforations.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 further comprising:

an electronic device housing having at least one opening that is aligned with the microperforations.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 further comprising adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to the electronic device housing.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein the microphone is mounted to the flexible printed circuit with solder.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the microphone includes an integrated circuit and a microphone device formed from a microelectromechanical systems microphone device.

6. Apparatus, comprising:

a microphone substrate having a plurality of microperforations;

a microelectromechanical systems microphone device mounted on the substrate in alignment with the microperforations;

an integrated circuit coupled to the microelectromechanical systems microphone device; and

a shield that is soldered to the microphone substrate and that covers the integrated circuit and the microelectromechanical systems microphone device.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 further comprising adhesive with an opening in alignment with the microperforations.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7 further comprising a housing structure, wherein the adhesive attaches the microphone substrate to the housing structure.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 further comprising a flexible printed circuit that is coupled to the microphone substrate, wherein the housing structure comprises an electronic device housing having at least one opening aligned with the opening in the adhesive.

10. Apparatus, comprising:

an electronic device housing having opposing inner and outer surfaces;

a first plurality of openings each of which passes part way from the inner surface into the electronic device housing; and

a second plurality of openings each of which has a larger diameter than the openings of the first plurality of openings and each of which passes part way from the outer surface into the electronic device housing, wherein the second plurality of openings joins with the first plurality of openings to form microphone port sound passageways through the electronic device housing.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10 further comprising a microphone having a sound port in alignment with the first plurality of openings that receives sound through the microphone port sound passageways.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 11 further comprising a flexible printed circuit to which the microphone is mounted, wherein the flexible printed circuit has an opening aligned with the sound port.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12 further comprising a layer of adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to the inner surface of the electronic device housing, wherein the layer of adhesive has an opening aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit.

14. Apparatus, comprising:

a microphone having a sound port;

a flexible printed circuit to which the microphone is mounted, wherein the flexible printed circuit has an opening aligned with the sound port;

a planar member having a plurality of perforations aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit.

15. The apparatus defined in claim 14 further comprising a first layer of adhesive that attaches the flexible printed circuit to the planar member and a second layer of adhesive that attaches the planar member to an electronic device housing.

16. The apparatus defined in claim 15 wherein the first layer of adhesive has an opening that is aligned with the plurality of perforations and wherein the second layer of adhesive has an opening that is aligned with the plurality of perforations.

17. The apparatus defined in claim 16 wherein the planar member comprises a sheet of metal.

18. The apparatus defined in claim 17 wherein the electronic device housing has at least one opening that is aligned with the opening in the second layer of adhesive.

19. The apparatus defined in claim 14 wherein the planar member comprises a layer of adhesive.

20. Apparatus, comprising:

a microphone, having a sound port;

a flexible printed circuit having an opening aligned with the sound port; and

adhesive tape attached to the flexible printed circuit, wherein the adhesive tape has a flexible polymer carrier layer with a plurality of perforations aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit.

21. The apparatus defined in claim 20 wherein the adhesive tape includes an adhesive layer that attaches the flexible polymer carrier layer to the flexible printed circuit.

22. The apparatus defined in claim 21 wherein the adhesive layer has an opening aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit.

23. The apparatus defined in claim 20 further comprising:

an electronic device housing having an opening aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit, wherein the adhesive tape includes a first adhesive layer that attaches the flexible polymer carrier layer to the flexible printed circuit and includes a second adhesive layer that attaches the flexible polymer carrier layer to the electronic device housing and wherein the first adhesive layer has an opening aligned with the opening in the flexible printed circuit and wherein the second adhesive layer has an opening aligned with the opening in the electronic device housing.