Voice transmission system

• US 5,371,804 A
• Filed: 11/15/1991
• Issued: 12/06/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Undersea Sensor Systems, Inc. (Edge Autonomy SLO LLC)
• Original Assignee: Actron Manufacturing Incorporated (SPX Corporation)
• Inventors: Bauer, Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Jason
• Application Number:
  US08/792,804
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 381/169, 381/168, 381/183, 381/187, 381/75, 379/430, 181/22, 181/21, 2/422, 24/17.13, 128/201.19, 411/418, 411/419
• US Class Current: 381/367
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 18/08 Component parts for gas-masks or gas-helmets, e.g. windows, straps, speech transmitters, signal-devices eye-pieces for protective goggles A61F9/02; composition of materials for the windows or other transparent parts A62D7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/083 Special constructions of mouthpieces

Abstract

A voice transmission system for a conventional gas mask or face mask includes a body enclosing a microphone, an amplifier assembly and a speaker. The microphone is mounted within a cavity formed in the body, while the amplifier assembly and speaker are mounted within a main compartment of the body. The microphone, amplifier assembly, speaker and a set of batteries are electrically interconnected. The batteries are enclosed within one or more battery compartments in the body. A mounting assembly having a bracket with threaded, resilient segments is also connected to the body. The resilient segments of the bracket are designed to releasably couple the body to the voice emitter passage of the mask without penetration or structural modification of the mask. The voice transmission system is designed to receive a person'"'"'s voice from a voice diaphragm located in the voice emitter passage of the mask, amplify the voice, and externally transmit the voice through the speaker.

Claims

1. A voice transmission system for a protective mask having a voice emitter passage having an inner end proximate a mouth of a person wearing the mask, and an outer end having a voice diaphragm integral therewith, the voice transmission system comprising:

a body mounting and substantially enclosing a microphone to receive the person'"'"'s voice through the voice diaphragm, an amplifier assembly to amplify the received voice, and a speaker to transmit the amplified voice,

said body further including a battery compartment adapted to contain a battery and having a selectively removable cover to allow access to and replacement of the battery, wherein the battery, amplifier assembly, microphone and speaker are electrically interconnected when the battery is located in the battery compartment, and

a mounting bracket attached to said body, said mounting bracket including a first mounting portion, and the voice emitter passage including a second mounting portion, one of said first or second mounting portions being resiliently deflectable for coupling and uncoupling said body to the voice emitter passage to enable the voice transmission system to receive, amplify and externally transmit the person'"'"'s voice received through the voice diaphragm.

2. The voice transmission system as in claim 1, wherein said mounting portions are adapted to couplingly engage with a predetermined amount of resistance, and adapted to resiliently deflect to uncouple such that said body can be coupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage by forcing said mounting bracket axially inward into the voice emitter passage, and be uncoupled from the outer end of the voice emitter passage by a force applied laterally to the body of the voice transmission system.

3. The voice transmission system as in claim 2, wherein one of said mounting portions includes raised ridges adapted to engage corresponding raised ridges on the other of said mounting portions when said mounting bracket is located within the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

4. The voice transmission system as in claim 3, wherein one of said mounting portions includes a plurality of resiliently deflectable members which deflect to couple and uncouple said mounting bracket to the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

5. The voice transmission system as in claim 4, wherein said resiliently deflectable members comprise resilient arcuate segments separated by grooves.

6. The voice transmission system as in claim 5, wherein said mounting bracket includes a base plate, and said resilient segments are formed in one piece with said base plate and extend outwardly therefrom to cooperatively form a segmented, annular collar.

7. The voice transmission system as in claim 6, wherein said resilient segments have annular ridges, and the voice emitter passage has corresponding threaded segments, said annular ridges on said resilient segments adapted to engage the threaded segments on the voice emitter passage.

8. The voice transmission system as in claim 7, wherein said annular ridges on said resilient segments form threads to enable said mounting bracket to be screwed into and unscrewed from the voice emitter passage of the mask.

9. The voice transmission system as in claim 8, wherein said base plate is attached to said body.

10. The voice transmission system as in claim 9, wherein said base plate is substantially circular in top plan view.

11. The voice transmission system as in claim 10, wherein said body further includes a resilient gasket, said resilient gasket being located within said annular collar to seal said base plate to the voice diaphragm in the voice emitter passage.

12. The voice transmission system as in claim 11, wherein said base plate includes an aperture to enable the person'"'"'s voice to be transmitted through the voice diaphragm to the microphone.

13. The voice transmission system as in claim 12, wherein said aperture in said base plate is configured to at least partially receive a portion of said body which encloses said microphone.

14. The voice transmission system as in claim 13, wherein said amplifier assembly includes a switch assembly, said switch assembly selectively actuating said microphone, speaker and amplifier assembly to receive amplify and externally transmit the user'"'"'s voice.

15. A voice transmission system for use with a protective mask having a voice emitter passage and a voice diaphragm mounted within the voice emitter passage, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body mounting and substantially enclosing an amplifier assembly and a speaker within a main compartment and at least partially enclosing a microphone within a microphone cavity, said amplifier assembly, speaker and microphone being electrically interconnected and selectively actuatable to receive, amplify and transmit a user'"'"'s voice.

a mounting bracket attached to said body, said mounting bracket including a first mounting portion and the voice emitter passage including a second mounting portion, at least one of said first or second mounting portions being resiliently deflectable for coupling and uncoupling said mounting bracket proximate a person'"'"'s mouth without penetrating or structurally modifying the mask to receive, amplify and externally transmit the person'"'"'s voice.

16. The voice transmission system as in claim 15, wherein said mounting portions are adapted to couplingly engage with a predetermined amount of resistance with said mounting bracket located within an outer end of the voice emitter passage, and further adapted to resiliently deflect during uncoupling of said mounting bracket such that said mounting bracket can be coupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage by forcing said mounting bracket axially inward into the voice emitter passage, and can be uncoupled from the outer end of the voice emitter passage by a force applied laterally to the body of the voice transmission system.

17. The voice transmission system as in claim 16, wherein one of said mounting portions includes raised ridges adapted to engage corresponding raised ridges on the other of said mounting portions when said mounting bracket is located within the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

18. The voice transmission system as in claim 17, wherein one of said mounting portions includes a plurality of resiliently deflectable members for coupling and uncoupling said mounting bracket within the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

19. The voice transmission system as in claim 18, wherein said resiliently deflectable members comprise resilient arcuate segments separated by grooves.

20. The voice transmission system as in claim 19, wherein said mounting bracket includes a base plate, and said resilient segments are formed on said base plate and extend outwardly therefrom to cooperatively form a segmented, annular collar.

21. A voice transmission system for a face mask having a voice emitter passage with an inner end proximate a person'"'"'s mouth wearing the mask and an outer end having a voice diaphragm integral therewith, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body at least partially enclosing;

     1) a microphone for receiving a person'"'"'s voice through said voice diaphragm,

     2) an amplifier assembly for amplifying the received voice, and

     3) a speaker for transmitting the amplified voice externally of the mask,

said body further including a battery compartment adapted to contain a battery and having a selectively removable cover to allow access to and replacement of the battery, the battery being electrically interconnected with said microphone, speaker and amplifier assembly when located within said battery compartment, and

a mounting bracket attached to said body, said mounting bracket including a first mounting portion and said voice emitter passage including a second mounting portion, said first mounting portion adapted to engage said second mounting portion with a predetermined amount of resistance to enable said mounting bracket to be coupled and uncoupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

22. The voice transmission system as in claim 21, wherein one of said first or second mounting portions is adapted to resiliently deflect during coupling of said mounting bracket to the outer end of the voice emitter passage, and wherein said mounting portions are adapted to couplingly engage with a predetermined amount of resistance so that said mounting bracket is coupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage, and wherein said mounting portions are adapted to resiliently deflect during uncoupling of said mounting bracket such that said mounting bracket can be coupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage by forcing said mounting bracket axially inward into the voice emitter passage, and can be uncoupled from the outer end of the voice emitter passage when a force is applied to the body of the voice transmission system.

23. The voice transmission system as in claim 22, wherein one of said first or second mounting portions includes raised ridges adapted to engage corresponding raised ridges on the other of said first or second mounting portions when said mounting bracket is coupled to the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

24. The voice transmission system as in claim 23, wherein one of said first or second mounting portions includes a plurality of resiliently deflectable members for coupling and uncoupling said mounting bracket to the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

25. The voice transmission system as in claim 24, wherein said resiliently deflectable members comprise resilient arcuate segments separated by grooves.

26. The voice transmission system as in claim 25, wherein said mounting bracket includes a base plate, and said resilient segments are formed on said base plate and extend outwardly therefrom to cooperatively form a segmented, annular collar.

27. A voice transmission system for use with a protective mask, comprising:

a body mounting and substantially enclosing an amplifier assembly and a speaker within a main compartment and at least partially enclosing a microphone within a microphone cavity, said amplifier assembly, speaker and microphone being electrically interconnected and selectively actuatable to receive, amplify and transmit a user'"'"'s voice, and

a mounting bracket attached to said body and including a resilient mounting portion, the mask including a mask mounting portion for receiving said resilient mounting portion, said resilient mounting portion and said mask mounting portion resiliently cooperating to enable the voice transmission system to be resiliently coupled to the mask, and to be resiliently uncoupled from the mask by a force applied to the body of the voice transmission system, whereby said resilient mounting portion deflects radially inward upon insertion into the mask mounting portion.

28. The voice transmission system as in claim 27, wherein said resilient mounting portion engages said mask mounting portion by resistance when said mounting bracket is coupled to said mask, and said resilient mounting portion resiliently deflects to uncouple from said mounting bracket from the mask such that said mounting bracket can be coupled to an outer end of the voice emitter passage by forcing said mounting bracket axially inward into the voice emitter passage and can be uncoupled by pulling said mounting bracket axially out of said voice emitter passage.

29. The voice transmission system as in claim 28, wherein said resilient mounting portion includes raised ridges adapted to engage cooperating raised ridges on the mask mounting portion when said mounting bracket is coupled to the mask.

30. A voice transmission system for use with a protective mask having a voice emitter passage adjacent the mouth of a person wearing the mask and a voice diaphragm integral therewith, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body substantially enclosing an amplifier assembly and a speaker within a main compartment and partially enclosing a microphone assembly within a microphone cavity such that said microphone assembly has an external portion which is exposed, said amplifier assembly, speaker and microphone assembly being electrically interconnected by an electrical circuit and being selectively actuatable to receive, amplify and transmit a user'"'"'s voice,

said body connected to a portion which cooperates with the mask to couple the voice transmission system to the mask and to position the exposed external portion of the microphone assembly enclosed by the body adjacent the person'"'"'s mouth so that the person'"'"'s voice is guided only by the voice emitter passage through the diaphragm to the microphone assembly which receives, amplifies, and externally transmits the person'"'"'s voice.

31. The voice transmission system as in claim 30, wherein the portion of the body which cooperates with the mask includes a mounting bracket having a resilient mounting portion, said resilient mounting portion resiliently cooperating with the mask to enable the voice transmission system to be coupled to the mask without rotating the body so that the mounting bracket can be coupled to an outer end of the voice emitter passage by forcing the mounting bracket axially inward into the voice emitter passage, and can be uncoupled from the mask without rotating the body, by applying a force to the body of the voice transmission system.

32. The voice transmission system as in claim 30, wherein the body includes a main compartment sidewall which extends outwardly from and is formed integrally with one side of an endwall to define the main compartment, and a microphone cavity sidewall which extends outwardly from and is formed integrally with another side of said endwall to define and position the microphone cavity proximate the voice emitter passage.

33. The voice transmission system as in claim 30, wherein the microphone assembly includes a microphone, foam rubber surrounding a portion of the microphone, and a perforated grill enclosing the microphone in the microphone cavity.

34. The voice transmission system of claim 30 wherein said portion of said body which cooperates with the mask to couple the voice transmission system to the mask is an annular mounting collar.

35. A voice transmission system for a protective face mask having a voice emitter passage forming an extension of the face mask with a voice diaphragm integral therewith, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body mounting and substantially enclosing an amplifier assembly and a speaker within an open-ended main compartment and at least partially enclosing a microphone within a microphone cavity which serves to receive and amplify the person'"'"'s voice, and a battery compartment adapted to contain a battery;

said amplifier assembly, speaker, battery and microphone being interconnected by an electrical circuit; and

a mounting bracket integral with said body, said mounting bracket having a mounting device for removably coupling the voice transmission system to the voice emitter passage to receive, amplify and transmit the person'"'"'s voice received through the voice diaphragm.

36. The voice transmission system as in claim 35, wherein said mounting bracket is connected to said body.

37. A voice transmission system for use with a conventional protective face mask having a voice emitter passage with its inner end proximate a person'"'"'s mouth wearing the mask and its outer end having a voice diaphragm integral therewith, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body mounting and substantially enclosing an amplifier assembly and a speaker within a main compartment and at least partially enclosing a microphone within a microphone cavity;

an electrical circuit interconnecting said amplifier assembly, speaker and microphone with at least one battery, and

a mounting bracket attached to said body, said mounting bracket having a mounting device for removably coupling said voice transmission system to the mask proximate the person'"'"'s mouth without penetrating or structurally modifying the mask.

38. The voice transmission system of claim 37 wherein said mounting device is an annular mounting collar.

39. A voice transmission system for a face mask having a voice emitter passage with its inner end proximate a person'"'"'s mouth wearing the mask and its outer end having a voice diaphragm integral therewith, said voice transmission system comprising:

a body at least partially enclosing;

     1) a microphone for receiving a person'"'"'s voice through said voice diaphragm,

     2) an amplifier assembly for amplifying the received voice, and

     3) a speaker for transmitting the amplified voice externally of the mask,

said body further including a battery compartment adapted to contain a battery, the battery being electrically interconnected with said microphone, speaker and amplifier assembly when located within said battery compartment, and

a mounting bracket attached to said body, said mounting bracket including a first threaded mounting portion and said voice emitter passage including a second threaded mounting portion, said first threaded mounting portion being adapted to engage said second threaded mounting portion to enable said mounting bracket to be coupled to and uncoupled from the outer end of the voice emitter passage without moving the voice diaphragm from the outer end of the voice emitter passage.

40. A voice transmission system for use with a protective mask having a voice emitter passage and a voice diaphragm mounted within the voice emitter passage, said voice transmission system comprising a body selectively and removably coupled to said voice emitter passage without removing the voice diaphragm, said body mounting and at least partially enclosing a microphone, amplifier and speaker which are electrically interconnected with one another, whereby a voice of a user passes through said voice emitter passage and diaphragm to the microphone for amplification and transmission through the speaker.

41. A voice transmission system for use with a protective mask having a voice emitter passage and a voice diaphragm mounted within the voice emitter passage, said voice transmission system comprising,

(i) a body mounting and at least partially enclosing a microphone, amplifier and speaker which are electrically interconnected with one another, and

(ii) an adaptor member disposed intermediate the voice emitter passage and said body, said adaptor member secured at one end to said body and selectively attached at an opposite end to the voice emitter passage without removing the voice diaphragm, whereby a voice of a user passes through said voice emitter passage and diaphragm to the microphone for amplification and transmission through the speaker.