Implantable microphone with shaped chamber
First Claim
1. An implantable microphone, comprising:
- a housing;
a diaphragm sealably positioned across and spaced from a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber therebetween 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 perpendicular distance between said reference plane and said recessed surface, over at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface, increases as a function of a horizontal distance from a peripheral edge of said recessed surface.
2 Assignments
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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.
51 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a housing; a diaphragm sealably positioned across and spaced from a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber therebetween 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 perpendicular distance between said reference plane and said recessed surface, over at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface, increases as a function of a horizontal distance from a peripheral edge of said recessed surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a housing; a diaphragm sealably positioned across and spaced from a recessed surface of the housing, wherein said recessed surface and said diaphragm collectively define a chamber therebetween and wherein said diaphragm defines a reference plane; 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, wherein a perpendicular distance between said reference plane and said recessed surface, over at least a portion of a width of said recessed surface, increases as a function of a horizontal distance from a peripheral edge of said recessed surface, wherein a diameter of said recessed surface is less than 30 mm. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An implantable microphone, comprising:
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a chamber at least in part established by a diaphragm and a surface that is recessed from the diaphragm; and a pressure sensitive apparatus configured to generate an output signal indicative of a pressure fluctuation sensed thereby, wherein a geometric center of a location of pressure communication between the pressure sensitive apparatus is offset from a geometric center of the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification