Simulated ear for receiving a microphone

A dummy head for the use of picking up aural signals to generate binaural-sound signals, comprising;

• a pair of simulated ears having a structure generally the same as the contour of a normal human ear, each of said simulated ears including an auditory canal for receiving a microphone therein, and a single smooth three-dimensional curved surface extending radially in all directions from the mouth of said auditory canal to the perimeter of said simulated ear for concentrating sounds to said microphone, the inner surface of said auditory canal being continuous with said single smooth three-dimensional curved surface so that the junction area therebetween is smoothly curved.

An artificial pinna comprising a structure generally having the same contour as a human pinna and having a hole therein for receiving therein a microphone, and a single smooth three-dimensional concave, non-undulating surface extending radially in all directions from the open end of said hole to the perimeter thereof for concentrating sounds to said microphone without constituting an acoustic filter for said microphone, the inner surface of said hole being continuous with said single smooth three-dimensional concave, non-undulating surface so that the junction area therebetween is smoothly curved.

A simulated ear having a structure generally the same as the contour of a normal human ear for receiving a microphone comprising:

• (a) an auditory canal for receiving said microphone;
• and
• (b) a single smooth three-dimensional curved surface extending radially in all directions from the mouth of said auditory canal to the perimeter of said ear for concentrating sounds to said microphone, the inner surface of said auditory canal being continuous with said single smooth three-dimensional curved surface so that the junction area therebetween is smoothly curved, whereby undulations on the interior of a normal human ear are not included and the simulated ear has an amplitude in the 8-12 kHz frequency range that is approximately the same as in the 100-500 Hz frequency range.

In a simulated human ear, a simulated pinna having an exterior contour generally the same as the exterior contour of a human pinna and an interior contour that differs from that of a normal human pinna by having the undulating surfaces of a normal human pinna replaced by a single smooth three-dimensional curved surface that extends radially in all directions from an interior canal remote from the exterior contour to the exterior contour, the canal being positioned and shaped to be substantially the same as a normal human auditory canal acoustically coupled to the normal human pinna, the inner surface of the canal being continuous with said single smooth three-dimensional curved surface so that the junction area therebetween is smoothly curved.