US 7,065,224 B2 · Microphone for a hearing aid or listening device with improved internal damping and foreign material protection

Abstract

A microphone and method for dampening the frequency response of the microphone by disposing a dampening frame in a rear volume of the microphone. The microphone generally includes a housing, a diaphragm, a damping frame, and a backplate. The diaphragm rests on embossments in the housing, and a damping frame including a damping slit cut into an inner edge of the damping frame is positioned against the diaphragm. The backplate is positioned adjacent the damping frame to define an aperture which allows air to escape from the area between the backplate and the diaphragm into the rear volume of the microphone, thus dampening the frequency response of the microphone. The method includes the steps of aligning a sheet of diaphragms with a sheet of damping frames, curing these two sheets to form a carrier sheet having a plurality of subassemblies, singulating each subassembly, installing a backplate onto each subassembly to form a cartridge, and placing the cartridge into a microphone housing.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A microphone comprising:

a diaphragm;
a backplate opposing said diaphragm;
a spacer element positioned adjacent said diaphragm;
a housing having first, second, and third interacting sound chambers, said first sound chamber being substantially defined by walls of said housing and said diaphragm, said second sound chamber being substantially defined by said diaphragm, said backplate, and said spacer element, said third sound chamber being substantially defined by said backplate and walls of said housing;
and
at least one aperture having a distal end and a proximate end, said distal end of said aperture being adjacent said second sound chamber and bounded at least partially by said backplate, said proximate end being adjacent said third sound chamber and bounded at least partially by a structure other than said backplate, said aperture connecting said second and third sound chambers and having selected dimensional characteristics for dampening a frequency response curve for said microphone.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Microphone for a hearing aid or listening device with improved internal damping and foreign material protection

Life of this patent

Microphone for a hearing aid or listening device with improved internal damping and foreign material protection

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims31