Implantable microphone with shaped chamber
First Claim
1. An implantable microphone, comprising:
- a housing;
a diaphragm sealably positioned across a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber and wherein said diaphragm defines a reference plane;
a pressure sensitive element operatively interconnected to said chamber for detecting pressure fluctuations and generating an output signal, said output signal being operative to actuate an actuator of a hearing instrument; and
wherein a depth of said recessed surfaces varies relative to said reference plane across at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface and wherein said chamber has a first volume when said diaphragm is in a static non-deflected position and wherein said chamber has a second volume when said diaphragm is deflected in response to a predetermined pressure differential, and wherein a ratio of said second volume divided by said first volume is less than 0.4.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An implantable microphone is disclosed having an external diaphragm and housing that forming chamber capable of being pressurized by deformational movement of the diaphragm induced by pressure waves (e.g., acoustic signals) propagating through overlying tissue. The chamber is shaped such that the volume of the chamber upon deflection of the diaphragm is reduced compared to a static volume of the chamber (i.e., volume of the chamber with no diaphragm deflection). As a result, the change in pressure within the chamber for a given diaphragm displacement is greater than it would be within a chamber having a cylindrical volume, leading to greater microphone sensitivity. In one arrangement, the chamber is shaped such that it is deeper at its center than at its edges, for example, to form a conical or paraboloidal volume.
54 Citations
42 Claims
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1. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a housing; a diaphragm sealably positioned across a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber and wherein said diaphragm defines a reference plane; a pressure sensitive element operatively interconnected to said chamber for detecting pressure fluctuations and generating an output signal, said output signal being operative to actuate an actuator of a hearing instrument; and wherein a depth of said recessed surfaces varies relative to said reference plane across at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface and wherein said chamber has a first volume when said diaphragm is in a static non-deflected position and wherein said chamber has a second volume when said diaphragm is deflected in response to a predetermined pressure differential, and wherein a ratio of said second volume divided by said first volume is less than 0.4. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a housing; a diaphragm sealably positioned over a surface of said housing to define a chamber therebetween, said chamber having a first volume when said diaphragm is in a static position; a pressure sensitive element operatively interconnected to said chamber for detecting pressure fluctuations and generating an audio output signal; and wherein said chamber has a second volume when said diaphragm is deflected in response to a predetermined pressure differential, and wherein a ratio of said second volume divided by said first volume is less than 0.4. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a recessed surface that increases from a first depth between about 0.0 inches and about 0.0010 inches at a peripheral edge of said recessed surface to a second depth between about 0.0020 inches and 0.0050 inches at mid-point of said recessed surface; a diaphragm sealably positioned across said recessed surface, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber, and wherein said diaphragm defines a reference plane from which said first and second depths are measured; and a pressure sensitive element operatively interconnected to said chamber for detecting pressure fluctuations and generating an output signal, said output signal being operative to actuate an actuator of a hearing instrument. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification