Microphone with improved sound inlet port
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A microphone, comprising:
- a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture leading to said inner volume;
a transducing assembly dividing said inner volume into a front volume and a rear volume, said transducing assembly for converting sound into an electrical signal; and
a plate coupled to said first exterior surface of said housing and including a primary flat wall generally parallel to and spaced away from said first exterior surface, said primary flat wall including a sound inlet port, said plate defining a passageway between said sound inlet port and said aperture for transmitting said sound to said front volume in said housing, said sound inlet port being an opening in said primary flat wall of said plate, being coplanar with an external surface of said primary flat wall and being offset from said aperture in said first exterior surface, said passageway being the only sound path leading through said plate and into said inner volume within said housing.
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Abstract
A microphone comprises a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture leading to the inner volume. The microphone includes a transducing assembly within the housing for converting sound into an electrical signal. A sound inlet plate defines, typically in combination with the first exterior surface, a passageway for transmitting sound to the aperture The passageway receives the sound from an opening in the sound inlet plate. The opening is offset from the location at which the aperture is positioned on the exterior surface. The sound inlet plate is made very thin so that it does not extend substantially away from the housing.
266 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A microphone, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture leading to said inner volume; a transducing assembly dividing said inner volume into a front volume and a rear volume, said transducing assembly for converting sound into an electrical signal; and a plate coupled to said first exterior surface of said housing and including a primary flat wall generally parallel to and spaced away from said first exterior surface, said primary flat wall including a sound inlet port, said plate defining a passageway between said sound inlet port and said aperture for transmitting said sound to said front volume in said housing, said sound inlet port being an opening in said primary flat wall of said plate, being coplanar with an external surface of said primary flat wall and being offset from said aperture in said first exterior surface, said passageway being the only sound path leading through said plate and into said inner volume within said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A microphone, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture leading to said inner volume; a transducing assembly within said housing for converting sound into an electrical signal; and a plate attached to said first exterior surface over said aperture and including a sound inlet port, said plate defining a passageway between said sound inlet port and said aperture for transmitting said sound to said inner volume, said passageway having a portion that transmits said sound in a direction generally parallel with said exterior surface, said plate having a cup-shape with a base wall and at least one wall extending away from said housing, said at least one wall being connected to said base wall, said base wall being spaced away from said first exterior surface of said housing and including said sound inlet port at a region where said base wall is spaced away from said first exterior surface, said sound inlet port being the only sound aperture in said plate for transmitting sound to said inner volume, and said plate protrudes away from said exterior surface of said housing by a distance that is less than 0.5 mm. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electroacoustic transducer, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture therein, said aperture being the only sound aperture that transmits sound into said inner volume; a transducing assembly within said housing for transducing between an acoustic signal and an electrical signal; and a plate located on said first exterior surface and over said aperture, said plate, in combination with said first exterior surface, defines a passageway for transmitting said sound between said aperture and an opening in said plate that is offset from said aperture, said opening being in a wall on said plate that is generally parallel to and spaced away from said exterior surface, said plate protrudes away from said exterior surface of said housing by a distance that is less than about 0.5 mm. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A directional microphone, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with two apertures leading to said inner volume; a transducing assembly dividing said inner volume into a front volume and a rear volume, said transducing assembly for converting sound into an electrical signal; and a plate system coupled to said first exterior surface of said housing and including two sound inlet ports each corresponding to a respective one of said two apertures, said plate system defining two passageways each located between respective ones of said sound inlet ports and respective ones of said apertures for transmitting said sound to said inner volume in said housing, said two passageways being acoustically isolated from each other, said sound inlet ports being openings in at least one wall of said plate system, at least one sound inlet port being offset from said respective one of said two apertures in said first exterior surface, each of said sound inlets ports in said plate system receiving said sound from a sound receptacle of a hearing aid in which said microphone is mounted. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of altering the frequency response of a microphone, comprising:
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selecting a sound inlet plate having a non-planar geometry with a base wall and side walls extending away from said base wall, said side walls and said base wall forming a recess, said recess defines a sound passageway leading to an aperture in a housing of said microphone, said non-planar sound inlet plate having a sound opening in said base wall leading to said passageway, said passageway having a geometry resulting in a certain acoustic inertance; and attaching said sound inlet plate to said housing of said microphone such that said base wall having said sound opening is spaced away from and substantially parallel to said housing in a region of said aperture and said sound opening being coplanar with an external surface of said base wall. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A microphone, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with an aperture leading to said inner volume; a transducing assembly within said housing for converting sound into an electrical signal; a plate attached to said first exterior surface over said aperture and including a sound inlet port, said plate defining a passageway between said sound inlet port and said aperture for transmitting said sound to said inner volume, said passageway having a portion that transmits said sound in a direction generally parallel with said exterior surface; and wherein said aperture is near a corner of said housing and said sound inlet port is offset from said aperture toward a central region of said housing, said sound inlet port being on a wall of said plate that is spaced away from and substantially parallel to said housing and being coplanar with an external surface of said wall of said plate.
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38. A directional microphone, comprising:
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a housing defining an inner volume and including a first exterior surface with two apertures leading to said inner volume; a transducing assembly dividing said inner volume into a front volume and a rear volume, said transducing assembly for converting sound into an electrical signal; and a plate system including two independent plates and coupled to said first exterior surface of said housing, a first plate including one sound inlet port corresponding to one of said two apertures, a second plate including one sound inlet port corresponding to the other of said two apertures, said plate system defining two passageways each located between respective ones of said sound inlet ports and said apertures for transmitting said sound to said inner volume in said housing, said sound inlet ports being openings in at least one wall of said plate system, at least one sound inlet port being offset from said respective one of said two apertures in said first exterior surface.
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Specification