Method and apparatus for tooth bone conduction microphone

• US 7,269,266 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2003
• Issued: 09/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mayur Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mayur Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Anjanappa, Muniswamappa, Chen, Xia, Babik, Abdo J., Bogacki, Russell E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz; Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US10/745,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20040202344A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,358 Days
• Field of Search: 381/151, 381/150, 381/326, 181/128, 600/25, 607/56, 607/57, 367/131, 367/132
• US Class Current: 381/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 17/02 Microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/13 Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window

Abstract

A tooth microphone apparatus worn in a human mouth that includes a sound transducer element in contact with at least one tooth in mouth, the transducer producing an electrical signal in response to speech and a means for transmitting said electrical signal from the sound transducer to an external apparatus. The sound transducer can be a MEMS accelerometer, and the MEMS accelerometer can be coupled to a signal conditioning circuit for signal conditioning. The signal conditioning circuit can be further coupled to a transmitter. The transmitter can be an RF transmitter of any type, an optical transmitter, or any other type of transmitter. In particular, it can be a bluetooth device or a device that transmits into a Wi-Fi network or any other means of communication. The transmitter is optional.

Claims

1. A tooth microphone apparatus worn in a speaker'"'"'s mouth comprising:

A vibration sensing element directly in contact with at least on tooth in said speaker'"'"'s mouth, wherein said vibration sensing element is responsive to vibration from said tooth caused by speech, said vibration sensing element capable of producing an electrical signal corresponding to said vibration in response to said speech in a high ambient noise environment;

a wireless transmitter transmitting said electrical signal to an apparatus external to said speaker'"'"'s mouth.

2. The tooth apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vibration sensing element is a MEMS accelerometer.

3. The tooth microphone apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a signal condition circuit coupled to said vibration sensing element having a bandwidth of around 8 kHz to around 10 kHz.

4. The tooth microphone apparatus of claim 3 wherein said signal condition circuit is further coupled to said wireless transmitter.

5. The tooth microphone apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vibration sensing element has a noise floor of around 225 microgram per square root hertz or less.

6. The tooth microphone apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vibration sensing element includes a temperature sensor.

7. The tooth microphone apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vibration sensing element can detect a tooth vibration of amplitude around 0.1 micrometer or less.

17. The microphone apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wireless transmitter is a radio transmitter.

8. A method for picking up and transmitting a speaker'"'"'s spoken comprising the steps of:

placing a microphone element in said speaker'"'"'s mouth, said microphone element directly in contact with at least one tooth, said microphone element responding to vibrations of said tooth caused by speech, said microphone element capable of producing an electrical signal representative of said spoken sound in a high ambient noise environment;

coupling a shortwave RF transmitter to said microphone element so that said electrical signal is transmitted to a remote location.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said microphone element is a MEMS accelerometer.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said microphone element has a noise floor of around 225 micro-gram per square root hertz or less.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein said microphone element has a bandwidth of from around 8 kHz to around 10 kHz.

12. A microphone apparatus for capturing speech comprising a MEMS accelerometer directly in contact with at least one tooth in a speaker'"'"'s mouth, wherein said MEMS accelerometer responds to vibration of said tooth caused by speech, said MEMS accelerometer capable of producing an electrical signal representative of speech in a high ambient noise environment, said MEMS accelerometer being coupled to a signal conditioning circuit, said signal conditioning circuit being further coupled to a radio transmitter.

13. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 wherein said radio transmitter is a Wi-Fi transmitter.

14. The microphone apparatus of claim 13 wherein said radio transmitter is a bluetooth device.

15. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a battery also mounted in said speaker'"'"'s mouth.

16. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a tongue-controlled switch.

18. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 wherein said signal conditioning circuit has a bandwidth of between around 8 kHz to around 10 kHz.

19. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 wherein said MEMS accelerometer is responsive to a tooth vibration of around 0.1 micro-meter.

20. The microphone apparatus of claim 12 wherein said MEMS accelerometer has a noise floor of around 225 micro-gram per square root hertz or less.