Abstract:
A transducer assembly includes at least one transducer. The transducer is disposed within a holder assembly. In this regard, the holder assembly is formed to have an interior and an exterior with the interior having a size to receive and retain the transducer. The exterior of the holder assembly is configured to be received and retained within a recess of a device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This patent claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/668,655 filed Apr. 6, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     This patent generally relates to transducers for use in listening devices, such as hearing aids or the like, and more particularly, to a transducer assembly with an engaging and locking feature formed therein and a sub-assembly component of a listening device using the transducer assembly.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Hearing aid technology has progressed rapidly in recent years. Technology advancements in this field continue to improve the reception, wearing-comfort, life-span, and power efficiency of hearing aids. There are several different hearing aid styles known in the hearing aid industry: Behind-The-Ear (BTE), In-The-Ear or All-In-The-Ear (ITE), In-The-Canal (ITC), and Completely-In-The-Canal (CIC). Over the years, ITE hearing aids are desirable for many hearing aid users due to the size of these to retain partially or completely hidden in the ear canal.  
         [0004]     Conventional ITE hearing aids with two omnidirectional microphones are generally known. The hearing aid for arrangement in the user&#39;s ear canal comprises a hollow plug adapted to the ear canal and a faceplate covering the opening of the plug. A microphone, a receiver, and a signal processor are disposed within the plug. The faceplate includes at least one opening which extends through the faceplate from the outside surface to the inside surface. At least one inlet tube or an input plate is attached to an acoustic port of the microphone in relationship with the opening to allow sound waves to enter. An assembly using an inlet tube often requires additional and costly, assembly steps to match an opening-inlet tube relationship. In addition, as the size of the hearing aid is reduced, limited space is available to accommodate the microphone. The cost of using two omnidirectional microphones having matched characteristics and the labor to assemble the hearing aid make such a hearing aid more costly to construct.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]     For a more complete understanding of the disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a partial perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention showing a microphone assembly and a faceplate;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the microphone assembly of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3 . is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the microphone assembly of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention showing the microphone assembly secured to the faceplate;  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a second embodiment of a microphone assembly of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the microphone assembly of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 7  is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention showing the microphone assembly secured to the faceplate;  
         [0013]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of a third embodiment of a microphone of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of the microphone of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 10  is a partial perspective view of the third embodiment of the present invention showing the microphone assembly secured to the faceplate;  
         [0016]      FIG. 11  is a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of a microphone of the present invention; and  
         [0017]      FIGS. 12   a  and  12   b  are further schematic views the fourth embodiment of the microphone. 
     
    
       [0018]     The drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be to scale.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]     While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, certain embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and these embodiments will be described in detail herein. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms described, but to the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims.  
         [0020]     It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘_’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term by limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates a partial perspective view of a microphone assembly  110  secured to a faceplate  100  of an acoustic device, such as a hearing aid (not shown). The hearing aid may be a Behind-The-Ear (BTE), In-The-Ear (ITE), In-The-Canal (ITC), Completely-In-The-Canal (CIC), or the like. The acoustic device may be any type of listening device including a cellphone, PDA, portable computer, headset, and the like. In the embodiment shown of the acoustic device being a hearing aid, the hearing aid is an ITE. The faceplate  100  includes a first surface  102 , a second surface  104 , and a recess  106 . A positioning member  108  is formed in the inner peripheral portion of the recess  106 . The positioning member  108  is designed to receive the microphone assembly  110 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the recess  106  is formed in the faceplate  100  for positioning and insertion of the microphone assembly  110 , which houses a microphone  114 . An embodiment of the microphone assembly  10  will be described in greater detail below.  
         [0022]     The microphone assembly  110  includes a holder  112  and the microphone  114 . The microphone  114  may be, for example, a microphone with preamplifier disclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/586,759, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Other microphones may be used as well. The holder  112  may comprise a cover  116  and a base  118  fixedly attached to the cover  116 , for example, by bonding with adhesive. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skills in the art that any form of joining would suffice, including, for example, compression, or mechanical attachment at the edges, or the like. The holder  112  may be manufactured from a variety of materials such as, for example, non-conductive materials. It will be understood that the holder  112  may be shaped and manufactured in various ways and adapted to compliment the microphone  114 . It will be further understood that the holder  112  or portions thereof may be formed integrally with the microphone housing. That is, a housing of the microphone  114  may be sized and configured to engage the recess in a manner similar to how the base  118  engages the recess for securing the microphone  114  within the recess, the microphone housing may incorporate the structure of the cover  114  include the acoustic ports and dust guards described below, and various combinations thereof. The concept of the holder may therefore extend to virtually any structure, whether provided as a separate structure or formed as a portion of the microphone housing that services the function of the holder  112 .  
         [0023]     A first acoustic port  120  and a second acoustic port  122 , for example inlet ports for a microphone application, are formed on the upper surface of the cover  116 . A dust guard  124 ,  126  may be attached to the cover  116 . The dust guard  124 ,  126  may be shaped to correspond to the shape of the acoustic ports  120 ,  122 , but may take the form of various shapes not necessarily corresponding to the acoustic ports  120 ,  122 , and may have a number of different sizes. The dust guard  124 ,  126  may be made of cloth, felt, or wire mesh and may be attached to the inner surface of the cover  116  by adhesive or any other suitable method of attachment to cover the acoustic ports  120 ,  122 . This helps to prevent debris from entering the microphone assembly  110  damaging the microphone  114  disposed within the holder  112 . The dust guard  124 ,  126  may optionally improve the frequency response, create delay, and/or provide directional response.  
         [0024]     An opening  128  is introduced on the bottom surface of the base  118  to provide electrical connection to be coupled to an electronics circuit (not shown) from the microphone  114 . The opening  128  may be formed in any suitable manner such as drilling, punching, or molding. The base  118  is shown to have a first locking arm  130  and a second locking arm  132  for engagement with the engaging means formed in the faceplate  100  and such embodiment will be discussed in greater detail.  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exploded view of the exemplary microphone assembly  110 . The microphone  114  includes a first acoustic port  140 , a second acoustic port  142 , and a preamplifier  144  such as, for example, a source-follower field effect transistor (FET) extended through the second acoustic port  142 . The first acoustic port  140  of the microphone  114  allows acoustic waves or sonic energy to enter the microphone  114  via the first acoustic port  120  of the holder  112 . The second acoustic port  142  of the microphone  114  may be shaped in various ways and adapted to compliment the preamplifier  144 . The preamplifier  144  is extended partially from the second acoustic port  142  to provide an electrical connection between the electronic circuit (not shown) and the preamplifier  144  via the opening  128  of the base  118 . The second acoustic port  142  may also allow acoustic waves or sonic energy to enter the microphone  114  via the second acoustic port  122  of the holder  112 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exemplary microphone assembly  110 . The microphone  114  is disposed within the holder  112  and a connecting wire (not shown) mounted to the top surface of the preamplifier  144  is extended through the opening  128  to provide an electrical connection to the electronic circuit (not shown) outside the microphone assembly  110 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first acoustic port  120  is in acoustic communication with the first acoustic port  140  and the second acoustic port  122  is in acoustic communication with the second acoustic port  142  to allow acoustic waves or sonic energy to enter the microphone  114  within the holder  112  of the microphone assembly  110 . This configuration may omit the need for the inlet tubes and may provide a less labor intensive manufacturing process.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  illustrates a partial perspective view of a microphone assembly  110  secured to a faceplate  100  embodying the teachings of the present invention. When the microphone  114  is placed in a final or closed position, the base  118  (not shown) is fixedly attached to the cover  116 , locking the microphone assembly  110  in position with the faceplate  100  by means of the first and second locking arms  130 ,  132  (not shown). The microphone assembly  110 , as part of the faceplate  100  in this particular embodiment, may be at least partially fixed into the recess  106  in such a way that the first and second locking arms of the base  118  (not shown) are engaged to the positioning member  108  (not shown) formed in the inner peripheral portion of the recess  106 . In this embodiment, the microphone assembly  110  may be less bulky and may require less labor to connect one microphone assembly  110  for use in a hearing aid. Further, with this embodiment in which the microphone assembly  110  is positioned within the recess  106  of the faceplate  100  may make it possible to achieve a smaller size of the hearing aid.  
         [0028]     An alternate embodiment  210  of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 5 through 7 . The embodiment  210  is similar to the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , and like elements are referred to using like reference numerals wherein, for example,  110  and  114  correspond to  210  and  214 , respectively. A difference between the embodiment  210  and the embodiment  110  is that a first acoustic port  220  and a second acoustic port  222  are formed on the side walls of a cover  216 , as best illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . A dust guard  224 ,  226  may be attached to the inner surface of the cover  216  by adhesive or any other suitable method of attachment to cover the acoustic ports  220 ,  222 . The first acoustic port  220  is in acoustic communication with a first acoustic port  240  and the second acoustic port  222  is in acoustic communication with a second acoustic port  242  to allow acoustic waves or sonic energy to enter the microphone  214  within the holder  212  of the microphone assembly  210 . This configuration may omit the need for the inlet tubes and may provide a less labor intensive manufacturing process. Alternatively, one inlet port can be formed on the upper surface of the cover  216  and the other inlet port may be located on the side wall of the cover  216  to allow sound energy to enter and provide directional characteristics, i.e. bi-directional sensitivity in the microphone  214 .  
         [0029]     Another alternate embodiment  310  of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 8 through 10 . The embodiment  310  is similar to the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 5 through 7 , and like elements are referred to using like reference numerals wherein, for example  210  and  214  correspond to  310  and  314 , respectively. A difference between the embodiment  310  and the embodiment  210  is that the length of a holder  312  is increased such that the spacing between a first acoustic port  320  and a second acoustic port  322  is increased to help improve low frequency roll-off, for example. The increased port spacing between the first and second acoustic ports  320 ,  322  may help to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of a hearing aid. Alternatively, one acoustic port can be formed on the upper surface of the cover  316  and the other acoustic port may be located on the side wall of the cover  316  without affecting the port spacing between the two ports and also allows sound energy to enter and provide directional characteristics, i.e. bi-directional sensitivity in the microphone  214 . This configuration may omit the need for the inlet tubes and may provide a less labor intensive manufacturing process.  
         [0030]     In a variation to the above described embodiments, the inner surfaces  104 ,  204 ,  304  of the faceplates  100 ,  200 ,  300  may be formed with the bases  118 ,  218 ,  318 . The bases  118 ,  218 ,  318  are designed to receive the microphone assemblies  110 ,  210 ,  310  to separate the front volume from the back volume. When the microphones  114 ,  214 ,  314  are placed in a final or closed position, the covers  116 ,  216 ,  316  are fixedly attached to the faceplates  100 ,  200 ,  300 , locking the microphones  114 ,  214 ,  314  in position with the faceplates  100 ,  200 ,  300  by means of any suitable method of attachment.  
         [0031]     Further understood from the various described embodiments is that the microphone assemblies  110 ,  210  or  310  may be directional microphone assemblies. Transducers to provide directional response to acoustic signals, including directional microphones, are well known and include devices that have a single housing and multiple inlet ports, multiple omni-directional microphones and associated circuitry providing a directional affect, combinations thereof and the like. Therefore, the microphone assemblies  110 ,  210  and  310  may consist of virtually any microphone type.  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , another alternative embodiment of a microphone assembly  410  includes first and second microphones  414   a  and  414   b  disposed within a holder  412 . The embodiment  410  is similar to the foregoing described embodiments, and like elements are referred to using like reference numerals wherein, for example  410  and  414  correspond to  310  and  314 , respectively, for example. The holder  412  including a cover  416  and a base  418  encloses the two microphones  414   a  and  414   b , each of which may have the same configuration or which may be of different configurations. The holder  412  is designed to be coupled with a faceplate, as described herein in connection with the various embodiments of the invention. The microphones  414   a  and  414   b  are shown to have a thin design incorporating a diagonally disposed motor assembly (diaphragm, backplate and support)  440   a  and  440   b , respectively. Each microphone also includes a circuit assembly  422   a  and  422   b  coupled to its respective diaphragm. Connecting wires may pass through a suitable opening  428   a  and  428   b , respectively, formed within the holder  412 . Although a single opening may be provided. Dust guards  424  and  426  may also be provided.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the two microphones  414   a  and  414   b  are stacked and form a directional microphone, e.g., a conjoined pair directional microphone. A first acoustic port  420  corresponds to a front volume of the first microphone  414   a  is formed on a front surface of the cover  416  of the microphone  410 . A second acoustic port  422  corresponds to a front volume of the second microphone  414   b  is formed on a side portion of the cover  416  of the microphone  410 . However, the first and second acoustic ports  420  and  422  may be formed on any suitable surface of the holder  412  as the sound ports correctly align to the respective front volume of the corresponding microphones  414   a  and  414   b.    
         [0034]     Now referring to  FIGS. 12   a - 12   b , the first and second acoustic ports  420  and  422  are each formed on a front surface of the cover  416  of the microphone  410 . The acoustic ports  420  and  422  may take on virtually any layout, and may be disposed toward a center portion of the front of the cover  416 , see  FIG. 12   a . Alternatively, the sound ports may be disposed toward the edges of the front of the cover, depending on the configuration of the cover as being circular, oval or rectangular, as shown.  FIG. 12   b  illustrates the sound ports disposed at opposing corners, i.e., diagonally, on the cover  416 . Still further, the acoustic ports may have an S, C, L or other configuration on the cover  416 .  
         [0035]     All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extend as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.  
         [0036]     The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.  
         [0037]     Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention.