Sound collection device

• US 9,294,833 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2009
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Corporation
• Inventors: Suenaga, Yuichiro, Ukai, Satoshi, Hosoe, Seiichiro, Oouchi, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Paul, Disler
• Application Number:
  US13/139,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20120014535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,288 Days
• Field of Search: 381/92, 381/356, 381/387, 381/355
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

The invention provides a sound collection device having little error in a desired directivity. The sound collection device includes a unidirectional microphone 12A, a unidirectional microphone 12B, and a unidirectional microphone 12C which are arranged on one plane. Each of the unidirectional microphones has the maximum sensitivity direction directed toward the inside of the arrangement. Each of the unidirectional microphones has a rear surface (direction of the minimum sensitivity) being open acoustically. Since the maximum sensitivity direction of each of the unidirectional microphones is directed toward the inside of the arrangement, the oscillation plane of each of the unidirectional microphones can be positioned substantially at the center of the arrangement. Thus, by adjusting the gain of the sound collected by the respective unidirectional microphones, the directivity can be freely formed on a flat plane with little error.

Claims

1. A sound collection device comprising:

a single integrally-molded body having a plurality of interconnecting parts;

a plurality of unidirectional microphones each fitted on the single integrally-molded body;

a plurality of gain adjustment units configured to adjust gains of sounds collected by the respective plurality of unidirectional microphones; and

an adder configured to add the gain-adjusted sounds to one another,

wherein the plurality of unidirectional microphones are arranged on one plane on a circle,

wherein each of the plurality of interconnecting parts is disposed between a pair of adjacent unidirectional microphones, among the plurality of unidirectional microphones, with no other unidirectional microphone disposed between the pair of adjacent unidirectional microphones,

wherein each of the plurality of unidirectional microphones is disposed so that a maximum sensitivity direction thereof is directed toward one of the plurality of interconnecting parts and intersects a center of the circle.

2. The sound collection device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an auxiliary unidirectional microphone provided at another plane that differs from the one plane,

wherein the maximum sensitivity direction of the auxiliary unidirectional microphone is directed away from the one plane.

3. The sound collection device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an auxiliary unidirectional microphone provided at another plane that differs from the one plane,

wherein the maximum sensitivity direction of the auxiliary unidirectional microphone is directed toward the one plane.

4. The sound collection device according to claim 1, wherein:

the single integrally-molded body is configured as a polygon having vertices, and

the maximum sensitivity direction of each of the unidirectional microphones is directed toward a line of the polygon or inside the polygon.

5. The sound collection device according to claim 4, wherein the circle intersects each of the vertices so that the center of the circle is also a center of the polygon.

6. The sound collection device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of unidirectional microphones are arranged at regular intervals on the circle.

7. The sound collecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a housing on which the single integrally-molded unit is attached.