Electronic apparatus equipped with a microphone

• US 7,616,260 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2005
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kano, Shinichi, Sadatsuki, Koichi, Tsujimoto, Tokusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): WHIPKEY, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US11/248,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20060109997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: 348/373, 348/375, 348/376, 348/374, 381/91, 381/355, 381/360, 381/26
• US Class Current: 348/376
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/08 Mouthpieces; Microphones; Attachments therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's

Abstract

An electronic apparatus including: an enclosure constituting an outer case of the apparatus; a receiving recess, formed of a bottom wall and a side wall uprising from a circumference of the bottom wall, disposed on the enclosure as opened outward; a holding member, formed of a vibration relaxing material capable of relaxing vibrations, received in the receiving recess; a supporting piece for supporting the holding member within the receiving recess such that a space is secured between the holding member and the bottom wall; a recess for microphone formed on a face, facing outward, of the holding member as opened outward, in a condition of the holding member being supported by the supporting piece within the receiving recess; a microphone inserted into the recess for microphone; and a grill disposed to cover a side of the holding member facing outward, in a condition of the holding member being supported by the supporting piece within the receiving recess, the grill being provided with a plurality of through holes made in its portions facing the microphones.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus equipped with a microphone comprising:

an enclosure constituting an outer case of said electronic apparatus;

a receiving recess formed in the enclosure, the receiving recess including a bottom wall and a side wall uprising from a circumference of the bottom wall;

a holding member received in said receiving recess, said holding member being formed of a vibration relaxing material;

a supporting piece for supporting said holding member within said receiving recess such that a space is secured between said holding member and said bottom wall;

a plurality of microphone recesses formed on an outward face of said holding member, said outward face being curved around an cylindrical axis that is parallel to an optical axis of said electronic apparatus;

a microphone inserted into each of said microphone recesses; and

a grill disposed to cover said outward face of said holding member.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a circumferential portion of said holding member is fit into the side wall of said receiving recess.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said microphone recesses are disposed apart from each other such that four of said microphones are disposed at front, rear, left, and right positions around the holding member, respectively.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said enclosure includes an enclosure main body and a split member integrally attached to said enclosure main body, and said receiving recess is provided within said split member.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electronic apparatus is an image pickup apparatus, the optical axis of said image pickup apparatus extends in front and rear directions in which the front is defined as a side toward a photographic subject, a plurality of said microphone recesses are disposed at a circumferential portion of said holding member and spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction, and said plurality of microphones are disposed on the outward face around the cylindrical axis parallel to said optical axis, by virtue of the disposition of said microphone recesses.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electronic apparatus is an image pickup apparatus, the optical axis of said image pickup apparatus extends in front and rear directions in which the front is defined as a side toward a photographic subject, four of said microphone recesses are disposed in front, rears, left, and right positions of said holding member, respectively, and four microphones are disposed in said four microphone recesses in the outward face of said holding member, around the cylindrical axis parallel to said optical axis.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said grill is disposed on a cylindrical surface around the cylindrical axis parallel to said optical axis.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electronic apparatus is an image pickup apparatus, the optical axis of said image pickup apparatus extends in front and rear directions in which the front is defined as a side toward a photographic subject, and said grill is disposed on a cylindrical surface around the cylindrical axis parallel to said optical axis.

9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said supporting piece and said grill are each made of a conductive material, and

a coil spring made of a conductive material is disposed within a hole passing through said holding member, and said coil spring is compressed between said supporting piece and said grill.