Waterproof microphone device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9386364-B2
Application number	US-201314140543-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 26, 2013
Priority date	Dec 27, 2012
Publication date	Jul 5, 2016
Grant date	Jul 5, 2016

Abstract

This waterproof microphone device includes a plurality of microphones, a housing, and a plurality of air-impermeable cover members. The plurality of microphones pick up sound wave and output an audio signal. The housing individually houses the plurality of microphones. The housing includes a plurality of holes. The hole guides sound wave to the microphone. The plurality of air-impermeable cover members are mounted on the housing. The air-impermeable cover member seals off the hole.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A waterproof microphone device, comprising:
a plurality of microphone housing portions housing a plurality of microphones, respectively, each of the plurality of microphone housing portions including a through-hole and an impermeable cover member covering the through-hole to define a space within the each of the plurality of microphone housing portions;
a plurality of cylindrically shaped microphone dampers each disposed in one of the plurality of microphone housing portions and surrounding the respective microphone; and
a plurality of rib portions each disposed between one of the dampers and an inner surface of the respective microphone housing portion with respect to a radial direction of an axis of the through-hole of the respective microphone housing portion, wherein for each of the plurality of rib portions, one of the dampers is disposed on both sides of the rib portion with respect to a radial direction of the axis of the through-hole of the respective microphone housing portion or one of the dampers is disposed on both sides of the rib portion with respect to a parallel direction of the axis of the through-hole of the respective microphone housing portion, the plurality of rib portions configured to adjust an air pressure of the space within each of the plurality of microphone housing portions.

2. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of rib portions include an arc shape first rib portion having a first channel and an arc shape second rib portion having a second channel.

3. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 2 , wherein
the first channel has a same phase of the second channel or a different phase from the second channel.

4. A waterproof microphone device, comprising:
a first microphone including a first sound-picking face through which a sound wave is picked up;
a second microphone including a second sound-picking face through which the sound wave is picked up, the second sound-picking face arranged to face in the same direction as the first sound-picking face;
a first housing portion disposed on an outer side of the first microphone so as to house the first microphone, the first housing portion including a first through-hole arranged to face the first sound-picking face;
a second housing portion disposed on an outer side of the second microphone so as to house the second microphone, the second housing portion including a second through-hole arranged to face the second sound-picking face;
a first air-impermeable cover member mounted on the first housing portion so as to cover the first through-hole and to define a space within the first housing portion;
a second air-impermeable cover member mounted on the second housing portion so as to cover the second through-hole and to define a space within the second housing portion, the second air-impermeable cover member being separate and spaced from the first air-impermeable cover member;
a first cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed in the first housing portion and surrounding the first microphone;
a second cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed in second housing portion and surrounding the second microphone;
a first rib portion disposed between the first cylindrically shaped microphone damper and an inner surface of the first housing portion with respect to a radial direction of an axis of the first through-hole, the first cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed on both sides of the first rib portion with respect to a radial direction of the axis of the first through-hole or the first cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed on both sides of the first rib portion with respect to a parallel direction of the axis of the first through-hole, the first rib portion configured to adjust an air pressure of the space within the first housing portion; and
a second rib portion disposed between the second cylindrically shaped microphone damper and an inner surface of the second housing portion with respect to a radial direction of an axis of the second through-hole, the second cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed on both sides of the second rib portion with respect to a radial direction of the axis of the second through-hole or the second cylindrically shaped microphone damper disposed on both sides of the second rib portion with respect to a parallel direction of the axis of the second through-hole, the second rib portion configured to adjust an air pressure of the space within the second housing portion.

5. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 4 , wherein
each of the first and second air-impermeable cover member is a laminated sheet layer, each of the first and second air-impermeable cover member includes a first sheet and a second sheet, and
a stiffness of the second sheet is higher than a stiffness of the first sheet.

6. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 5 , wherein
the first sheet is disposed so as to face each of the first sound-picking face and the second sound-picking face, and
the second sheet is disposed on a side of the first sheet opposite to each of the first sound-picking face and the second sound-picking face.

7. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 5 , wherein
the first sheet is formed from silicone rubber, and
the second sheet is disposed and is formed from polyethylene terephthalate.

8. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 4 , wherein
a channel is formed in each of the first and second rib portions to release air in each of the spaces within the first and second housing portions, respectively.

9. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a fixing member mounted on a housing having the first housing portion and the second housing portion, each of the first and second cylindrically shaped microphone damper held between the fixing member and each of the first and second housing portions.

10. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a third rib portion disposed between the first cylindrically shaped microphone damper and an inner surface of the first housing portion, the third rib portion configured to adjust an air pressure of the space within the first housing portion; and
a fourth rib portion disposed between the second cylindrically shaped microphone damper and an inner surface of the second housing portion, the fourth rib portion configured to adjust an air pressure of the space within the second housing portion,
wherein the first rib portion has an arc shape and has a first channel, the second rib portion has an arc shape and has a second channel, the third rib portion has an arc shape and has a third channel, and the fourth rib portion has an arc shape and has a fourth channel.

11. The waterproof microphone device according to claim 10 , wherein
the first channel has a same phase of the third channel or a different phase from the third channel, and the second channel has a same phase of the fourth channel or a different phase from the fourth channel.

Assignees

• Panasonic Corp
• Panansonic Intellectual Property Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Aihara Masayuki

Classifications

• G03B17/08

  Waterproof bodies or housings · CPC title

• H04R1/086 Primary

  Protective screens, e.g. all weather or wind screens · CPC title

• G03B31/00

  Associated working of cameras or projectors with sound-recording or sound-reproducing means · CPC title

• H04R2499/11

  Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's · CPC title