Sound collecting device minimizing electrical noise

• US 7,317,804 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2005
• Issued: 01/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kinoshita, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei; Xu
• Application Number:
  US11/127,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20050259837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 381/163, 381/92, 381/91, 381/122, 381/162, 381/164
• US Class Current: 381/163
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/351 Environmental parameters, e.g. temperature, ambient light, atmospheric pressure, humidity, used as input for musical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 3/14 using mechanically actuated vibrators with pick-up means G10H3/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/086 Protective screens, e.g. all weather or wind screens

Abstract

A sound collecting device is provided which is designed to minimize adverse effects on an output caused by exposure of an electroacoustic transducer to the air. The device includes an electroacoustic transducer and a vibrating circuit. The transducer is exposed to the air and responsive to input of a sound wave to produce a corresponding acoustic signal. The vibrating circuit vibrates the transducer to shake foreign substances such as dust or drops of water from the transducer. In a modified form, an electromagnetic sensor is provided which measures an electromagnetic noise transmitted to the transducer and which removes the electromagnetic noise from an output of the transducer to produce a noiseless acoustic signal.

Claims

1. A sound collecting device comprising:

a housing;

a sound collecting unit disposed within said housing;

a transducer, installed in said sound collecting unit, which receives both a sound wave and an electromagnetic wave and produces a composite signal denoting a mixture of the sound signal and the electromagnetic wave;

an electromagnetic sensor, installed in said housing adjacent to said sound collecting unit, which receives the electromagnetic wave to produce an electromagnetic signal denoting the electromagnetic wave;

a sensor amplifier which amplifies the electromagnetic signal produced by said electromagnetic sensor;

a transducer vibrating circuit, connected to said transducer in parallel to said sensor amplifier, which vibrates said transducer;

a sensor vibrating circuit, connected to said electromagnetic sensor in parallel to said sensor amplifier, which vibrates said electromagnetic sensor; and

an output circuit which subtracts the electromagnetic signal produced by said electromagnetic sensor from the composite signal produced by said transducer to produce an acoustic signal corresponding to the sound signal.

2. A sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an opening formed in said housing for allowing the electromagnetic wave to enter said electromagnetic sensor from the same direction as that in which the sound wave enters said transducer.

3. A sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a first and a second peak hold circuit, the first peak hold circuit holding a peak of the output from said amplifier to provide a corresponding signal to said output circuit, the second peak hold circuit holding a peak of an output from said sensor amplifier to provide a corresponding signal to said output circuit.

4. A sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a first and a second switch, the first switch selectively establishing and blocking communications between said transducer and said amplifier and between said transducer and said transducer vibrating circuit, the second switch selectively establishing and blocking communications between said electromagnetic sensor and said sensor amplifier and between said electromagnetic sensor and said sensor vibrating circuit.

5. A sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a controller which controls an operation of said transducer vibrating circuit.

6. A sound collecting device as set forth in claim 5, further comprising a controller which controls switching operations of said first and second switches.

7. The sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a first amplifier amplifying the composite signal produced by said transducer;

a second amplifier amplifying the electromagnetic signal produced by said electromagnetic sensor, and

wherein said output circuit is adapted to subtracts the electromagnetic signal amplified by said second amplifier from the composite signal amplified by said first amplifier to produce the acoustic signal.

8. The sound collecting device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said transducer is adapted to receive the sound wave transmitted along a sound wave direction, and said electromagnetic sensor is adapted to receive the electromagnetic wave transmitted along the same direction as the sound wave direction.