Invisible headliner microphone

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11638077-B2
Application number	US-202117393008-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2021
Priority date	May 25, 2018
Publication date	Apr 25, 2023
Grant date	Apr 25, 2023

Abstract

A microphone assembly includes a shaft element that is configured to be received in an opening defined by a base substrate layer of a headliner. The shaft element defines an air path. The microphone assembly includes a microphone element mounted on a circuit board within a housing. The microphone element is aligned with the air path such that the air path directs sound from the cabin to the microphone element. A vehicle cabin side of the headliner is covered by an acoustically transparent layer such that the microphone assembly is not visible within the vehicle cabin.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A headliner assembly for a vehicle comprising:
a headliner comprised of an acoustically transparent layer that is exposed to a cabin of the vehicle and a base substrate layer defining a first opening; and
a microphone assembly including a housing that defines an integrally-formed hollow shaft element that is configured to be received by the first opening to define an air path, and a microphone element mounted to a circuit board and aligned with the air path such that the air path directs sound from the cabin to the microphone element,
wherein the circuit board defines a second opening that is axially aligned with the microphone element such that the air path directs sound from the cabin through the second opening and to the microphone element.

2. The headliner assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a gasket element installed between the circuit board and the shaft element and extending the air path.

3. The headliner assembly of claim 2 , wherein an inner surface of the gasket element is conically-shaped with a radius that matches that of the shaft element at a contact point with the shaft element and that decreases toward the circuit board.

4. The headliner assembly of claim 1 , wherein the shaft element defines a conically-shaped inner surface.

5. The headliner assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second opening of the circuit board is axially aligned with the first opening of the base substrate layer.

6. The headliner assembly of claim 5 , wherein the circuit board defines a second opening that is axially aligned with the microphone element such that the air path directs sound from the cabin through the second opening and to the microphone element.

7. The headliner assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second opening of the circuit board is aligned with the first opening of the base substrate layer.

8. A headliner assembly for a vehicle comprising:
a headliner comprised of an acoustically transparent layer that is exposed to a cabin of the vehicle and a base substrate layer defining a first opening;
a microphone assembly including a housing that defines an integrally-formed hollow shaft element that is configured to be received by the first opening to define an air path, and a microphone element mounted to a circuit board and aligned with the air path such that the air path directs sound from the cabin to the microphone element; and
a gasket element installed between the circuit board and the shaft element and extending the air path,
wherein an inner surface of the gasket element is conically-shaped with a radius that matches that of the shaft element at a contact point with the shaft element and that decreases toward the circuit board.

9. The headliner assembly of claim 8 , wherein the shaft element defines a conically-shaped inner surface.

Assignees

• Harman Becker Automotive Systems Gmbh

Inventors

• Riemann Marco Salvatore
• Krajewski Darin
• Avram Marian
• Dobos Viktor

Classifications

• H04R2499/13

  Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles · CPC title

• H04R1/08 Primary

  Mouthpieces; {Microphones;} Attachments therefor · CPC title

• H04R1/222

  for microphones (H04R1/24, H04R1/26 take precedence) · CPC title

• H04R1/083 Primary

  Special constructions of mouthpieces · CPC title

• B60R11/0247

  for microphones or earphones · CPC title