US3436495A - Resilient mounting for tubular microphone - Google Patents

Description

prl 1, 1969 Filed March 5. 1965 5G Il INVENTOR. RuDoLF 66mm;

mud/[Jouy A-rrawtys United States Patent O 3,436,495 RESILIENT MOUNTING FOR TUBULAR MICRUPHNE Rudolf Grike, `Vienna, Austria, assigner to Akustische u. Kino-Garate Gesellschaft m.b.H., Vienna, Austria Filed Mar. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 437,424 Claims priority, application Austria, Mar. 20, 1964, A 2,450/64 Int. Cl. Htl4n 1/04 U.S. Cl. 179-146 20 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A microphone assembly includes a microphone which is surrounded by a tubular sleeve slightly spaced from the microphone. Two resilient mountings are disposed in the sleeve, each of the mountings having an outer rim anchored at a fixed location within the sleeve, a pin being secured to the microphone and being coaxial therewith.

Summary of the invention This invention relates in general to a microphone construction and, in particular, to a new and useful microphone housing and resilient microphone mounting.

Microphones must often be carried on the body of the speaker, `for instance, because a stand cannot be used as it would disturb the visual impression or because the range of movement required by the speaker is so large that stationary microphones are not suflicient. Such microphones to be carried on the body, briefly called lavalier microphones, often transmit the noise which is produced when the microphone rubs on the clothes of the speaker. A similar noise is caused by the movement of the microphone cable.

In order to eliminate this disadvantage it is known to provide a housing, in which the microphone proper is resiliently mounted. To obtain such a resilient mounting, a suitable resilient material, such as rubber, plastics material or the like, is provided between the microphone and the housing. For an effective resilient mounting, the thickness of the resilient body must be lsuch that the microphone can vibrate Iwith the required amplitude without touching the inside surface of the housing. The thickness of the resilient interlayer necessitates a large size of the housing so that it is difficult to arrange the microphone in an inconspicuous manner. l

The invention teaches how an effective elimination of noise can be achieved without an appreciable increase in the size of the housing. The invention is applicable with special advantage to rod-shaped microphones, in which the diaphragm is disposed at one end of the cylindrical microphone body. Such a preferably rod-shaped microphone is arranged according to the invention in a sleeve, which is slightly spaced around the microphone, and the microphone is mounted in the sleeve at each end by a resilient mounting, which has an outer rim secured in the sleeve, and a pin which extends in the axis of the microphone and carries the latter.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improved microphone and housing construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a microphone mounting including a tubular housing for accommodating the microphone with a centering diaphragm located adjacent at least one end of said housing and having a centering opening for receiving a projecting pin of the microphone in the housing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a microphone and housing assembly including resilient diaphragm means in a housing for centering and resiliently supporting a cylindrical microphone therein and including a plate element with through contacts spaced from the diaphragm means for connection to the incoming electrical wires and the microphone wires, respectively, and wherein the connecting wires form additional resilient support for the microphone.

A further object of the invention is to provide a microphone and housing which are simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a longitudinal sectional view of a microphone constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a is a plan View of another embodiment of centering diaphragm made 'from a sound-permeable fabric;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of still another embodiment of centering diaphragm;

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the invention with the arrangement of the Ilead Wires at the rear end of the microphone; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing an arrangement for connecting the microphone to the resilient mounting.

As is apparent from FIG. 1, the rod-shaped microphone 1 including the diaphragm 2 and the protective cover 3 is accommodated in a tubular sleeve 7. The protective cover 3 carries a pin 4 which projects from the microphone. The free end of the pin 4 is secured to the center of a centering diaphragm 5 of sound-permeable material. The centering diaphragm may suitably be formed with concentric bulges and grooves to provide sufficient resiliency. The outer rim of the centering diaphragm 5 is secured to a sleeve insert 20 at this end of the housing 7 or it may be held on a similar ledge formation formed directly on the interior of the cylindrical housing 7. A cap 22 is fitted over this end of the housing 7.

A similar arrangement including the diaphragm 8 is provided at the opposite or rear end of the microphone using an insert or sleeve 214 which carries the diaphragm 8 at its inner end. The periphery of the sleeve 7 may be formed with apertures (holes, slots and the like) to avoid undesirable acoustic effects.

The electrical terminals are connected to outgoing wires 9, which are highly flexible. A plate 10 is arranged `to cover the outer end of the insert 24 and it carries two through lngs or tags 11, which are connected at the inner ends to respective wires 9. A tension-relieving bushing 13 is :[itted in a cap 12 fwhich is engaged on the outer end of plate 10. A cable 14 extends through a bore in the bushing 13 and cable elements 13a and 14a are connected to respective tags 11, 11.

It is apparent from FIGS. l and 2 that the centering diaphragm 5 serves as a resilient mounting and extending across the interior of the sleeve 7. The centering diaphragm 5 is either provided with openings 5a or comprises a sound-permeable fabric 5 (see, eg., FIG. 2a).

The resilient mounting may also comprise a centering spider 5', as shown in FIG. 3, in which event the openings Sa.' between the spider arms do not obstruct the passage of sound. The resilient mounting may be Amade from impregnated fabric, plastic material or metal. It has been found that a distance of 0.3 to 1.0 mm. between the microphone and the inside surface of the outer sleeve is sufficient if the above-mentioned centering devices are employed. The sleeve 7, which is suitably made from metal, has also only a small wall thickness so that the size of the microphone is not substantially increased. An appreciable increase in size results only in the longitudinal direction but this is much less disturbing than an excessive thickness.

FIG. 4 shows a special arrangement of the lead wires 9', with the aim to avoid a generation of frictional noise between the wires and the resilient mounting. The lwires 9 are secured to a centering pin 16 and extend out through the center of the centering diaphragm 8. 1n the space behind the centering diaphragm `8 and the plate 10', the wires are bent to form loops 17, 17 and their outer ends are soldered to the tags 11.

FIG. shows an arrangement for connecting the centering diaphragm 5" to the microphone 1". The protective cover 3 used in FIG. 1 is replaced by a separate cap 18. Such a microphone may be removed from the sleeve and when provided with a conventional protective cover may be used in the usual manner. `It is obvious that the sleeve must be centrally divided in this case to enable a replacement of the microphone.

Bales (funnels, Helmholtz resonators) may be provided in known manner before the diaphragm to modify the frequency response of the microphone, particularly in the treble range. Instead of the pressure microphone which is shown, a directional microphone, e.g., with a cardioid pattern may be accommodated in the sleeve, which is suitably provided with numerous apertures in this case.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A microphone assembly, comprising a microphone having a longitudinal axis, a tubular sleeve surrounding said microphone and slightly spaced therearound, and two resilient mountings disposed in said sleeve adjacent to opposite ends thereof, each of said mountings having an outer rim anchored at a fixed location within said sleeve and a pin which is coaxial with and secured to said microphone.

2. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which said microphone is rod-shaped.

3. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which said resilient mountings are arranged to center said microphone in said sleeve.

4. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least one of said resilient mountings comprises a centering ring.

5. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least one of said resilient mountings comprises a center spider.

6. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least one of said resilient mountings comprises a centering diaphragm of textile fabric.

7. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 6, in which said fabric is sound-permeable.

8. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a diaphragm formed with apertures.

9. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which at least one of said resilient mountings consists of metal.

10. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which at least one of said resilient mountings consists of plastic material.

11. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which at least one of said resilient mountings consists of impregnated fabric.

12. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which the outside peripheral surface of said microphone l and the inside peripheral surface of said sleeve are approximately from 0.3 to 1.0 mm. apart.

13. A microphone assembly as set forth in claim 1, including a tension-relieving bushing fitted in said sleeve axially outwardly of one of said resilient mountings, a terminal support fixed in said bushing, terminal means carried by said terminal support disposed on the inside and outside thereof, exible insulated conductor means electrically connected to said terminal means on the inside of said support and to said microphone, and mechanically secured to and electrically insulated from the pin of said one mounting and extending through said one mounting in contact lwith said pin thereof, said conductor means having a self-supporting curved portion between said pin and said terminal means.

14. A microphone assmbly as set forth in claim 1, including a cap detachably mounted on one end of said microphone and secured to the pin of one of said mountings.

15. A microphone assembly which comprises a microphone having a longitudinal axis, a tubular sleeve surrounding said microphone and slightly spaced around the same, and at least one resilient mounting disposed in said sleeve adjacent one end thereof, each of said mountings having an outer rim anchored at a xed location within said sleeve and a pin, which is coaxial with and secured to said microphone.

16. A microphone housing assembly comprising a tubular housing, a microphone in said housing having a centering pin projecting from at least one end, and resilient diaphragm means held in said housing adjacent at least one end and having an opening through which said microphone centering pin extends, said microphone being resiliently located within said housing by said diaphragm means.

17. A microphone housing assembly comprising a tubular housing, a microphone in said housing having a centering pin projecting from each end, `and resilient diaphragm means held in said housing adjacent each end and having an opening through which said microphone centering pins extend, said microphone resiliently located within said housing by said diaphragm means.

18. A microphone housing assembly comprising a tubular housing, a microphone in said housing having a centering pin projecting from at least one end, resilient diaphragm means held in said housing adjacent at least one end and having an opening through which said microphone centering pin extends, said microphone being resiliently located within said housing by said diaphragm means, said resilient diaphragm means being a resilient member having openings therethrough, a plate member disposed in said housing between said diaphragm means and the adjacent end thereof and having contact tags extending therethrough, and connecting electrical wires extending from said microphone to said contact tags and from said contact tags to the exterior of said housing and providing additional resilient support for said microphone within said housing.

19. A mcrophone housing assembly comprising a tubular housing, a microphone in said housing having a centering pin projecting from each end, resilient diaphragm means held in said housing adjacent each end of said microphone and having an opening through which each respective one of said microphone centering pins extends, said microphone being resiliently located within said housing by said diaphragm means, said resilient diaphragm means being a resilient member having openings therethrough for the passage of sound, a plate member disposed in said housing between said diaphragm means and the adjacent end thereof and having contact tags extending therethrough, and connecting electrical wires extending from said microphone to said contact tags and from said contact tags to the exterior of said housing and providing additional resilient support for said microphone within said housing.

20. A microphone housing assembly comprising a tubular housing, a microphone in said housing having a centering pin projecting from at least one end, a sleeve insert in each end of said housing, a resilient diaphragm held in said housing by each sleeve insert adjacent each end of said microphone and having an opening through which said microphone centering pin extends, said microphone being resiliently located lWithin said housing by said diaphragm means, said resilient diaphragm means being a resilient member having openings therethrough, a plate member disposed in said housing between said diaphragm means and the adjacent end thereof and having contact tags extending therethrough, and connecting electrical wires extending from said microphone to said contact tags and being crossed between said microphone and said tags and extending from said contact tags to the exterior of said housing and providing additional resilient support for said microphone within said housing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLlAM C. COOPER, Primary Examiner,

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