Patent Publication Number: US-6671382-B2

Title: Microphone with a rotatable protective sleeve

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a microphone, more particularly to a microphone with a protective sleeve that is rotatable relative to a handgrip portion of the microphone. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional microphone including a handgrip portion  98  with a wire-connecting end. A plurality of male terminals  981  are mounted in the wire-connecting end of the handgrip portion  98 . A connector  90  includes a terminal seat  91  with a plurality of female terminals  95  mounted therein. The terminal seat  91  is plugged into the wire-connecting end of the handgrip portion  98  in such a manner that the male and female terminals  981 ,  95  engage each other, respectively. A protective sleeve  93  is connected to one end of the terminal seat  91 , which is distal from the handgrip portion  98 . A wire line  97  has an end section surrounded by the protective sleeve  93 , and includes a plurality of conductive wires  96  extending into the terminal seat  91  for electrical connection to the female terminals  95 , respectively. The conventional microphone is disadvantageous in that the wire line  97  is vulnerable to break at a position adjacent to one end  931  of the protective sleeve  93  due to undesired folding of the wire line  97  thereat. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a microphone with a connector that has first and second pivot parts pivoted to each other and that is capable of overcoming the aforesaid drawback associated with the prior art. 
     According to the present invention, a microphone comprises: a handgrip portion that has a wire-connecting end; a connector including a terminal seat, a pivot member, and first and second pivot parts, the terminal seat being formed with a plurality of terminal passages and having two opposite ends, one of which is connected to the wire-connecting end of the handgrip portion, the first pivot part having two opposite ends, one of which is connected to the other one of the opposite ends of the terminal seat, the second pivot part having two opposite ends, one of which is pivoted to the other one of the opposite ends of the first pivot part via the pivot member, the second pivot part cooperating with the first pivot part to confine a wire-channel which is in spatial communication with the terminal passages, the first and second pivot parts being rotatable relative to each other; a protective sleeve connected to the other one of the opposite ends of the second pivot part so as to be co-rotatable with the second pivot part relative to the first pivot part; a plurality of terminals mounted in the terminal passages, respectively; and a wire line having an end section surrounded by the protective sleeve, and a plurality of conductive wires that respectively extend into the terminal passages via the wire-channel and that are electrically connected to the terminals. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention, 
     FIG. 1 is a partly schematic side view of a conventional microphone; 
     FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view of a microphone embodying this invention; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a connector of the microphone of FIG. 2, which is viewed from a front side; 
     FIG. 4 is another exploded perspective view of the connector of the microphone of FIG. 2, which is viewed from a rear side; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the connector of the microphone of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary partly sectional view of the microphone of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 7 is a side view to illustrate how a handgrip portion of the microphone of FIG. 2 is turned to an angle relative to a protective sleeve without folding a wire line extending into the microphone of FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIGS. 2 to  6  illustrate a preferred embodiment of a microphone according to this invention. 
     The microphone includes: a handgrip portion  1  that has a wire-connecting end  12 ; a connector including a terminal seat  30  that has one end connected to the wire-connecting end  12  of the handgrip portion  1  and that is formed with a plurality of terminal passages  331 , a first pivot part  32  that has one end  321  connected to the other end of the terminal seat  30 , and a second pivot part  40  that has one end  401  pivoted to the other end  322  of the first pivot part  32  via a pivot member  37  and that cooperates with the first pivot part  32  to confine a wire-channel  50  which is in spatial communication with the terminal passages  331 , the first and second pivot parts  32 ,  40  being rotatable relative to each other; a protective sleeve  42  connected to the other end of the second pivot part  40  so as to be co-rotatable with the second pivot part  40  relative to the first pivot part  32  (see FIG. 7 in combination with FIG.  2 ); a plurality of terminals  34  mounted in the terminal passages  331 , respectively; and a wire line  46  having an end section surrounded by the protective sleeve  42 , and a plurality of conductive wires  35  that respectively extend into the terminal passages  331  via the wire-channel  50  and that are electrically connected to the terminals  34 . 
     The terminal seat  30  includes a generally cylindrical insulator body  33  that is formed with the terminal passages  331  therein, and a cylindrical metal shield  31  sleeved on the insulator body  33 . The end  321  of the first pivot part  32  is hollow, and confines a cylindrical hole  320 . The insulator body  33  is fittingly secured in the cylindrical hole  320 . 
     The other end  322  of the first pivot part  32  and the end  401  of the second pivot part  40  are generally semi-cylindrical in shape, and are formed with pivot holes  323 ,  431 , respectively. The pivot member  37  includes a headed screw nut  372  that extends into the pivot holes  323 ,  431  in the other end  322  of the first pivot part  32  and the end  401  of the second pivot part  40 , and a headed screw rod  371  that threadedly engages the screw nut  372  in the pivot holes  323 ,  431  so as to permit relative rotation of the first and second pivot parts  32 ,  40  about the pivot member  37 . 
     The other end  322  of the first pivot part  32  is formed with a plurality of spaced apart retaining grooves  324  around the pivot hole  323  in the other end  322  of the first pivot part  32 . The end  401  of the second pivot part  40  is formed with a retaining recess  432  that spans the pivot hole  431  in the end  401  of the second pivot part  40 . The connector further includes a positioning plate  45  that is mounted in the retaining recess  432  and that has an intermediate portion  450  formed with a through-hole  451  for passage of the pivot member  37 , and two opposite ends  452  which are formed with retaining tongues  453  projecting into and releasably engaging two of the retaining grooves  324  so as to releasably position the second pivot part  40  at a desired position relative to the first pivot part  32 . 
     The second pivot part  40  has two complementary halves  43 ,  44  which are secured to each other via screw means  441  so as to facilitate insertion of the protective sleeve  42  in the second pivot part  40 . 
     A plurality of male terminals  11  are mounted in the wire-connecting end  12  of the handgrip portion  1 . The terminal seat  30  is fittingly plugged into the wire-connecting end  12  of the handgrip portion  1  so as to electrically connect the male terminals  11  and the terminals  34 . A spring-biased fastener  36  is disposed between the wire-connecting end  12  of the handgrip portion  1  and the terminal seat  30  for releasably securing the connector to the handgrip portion  1 . 
     With the use of the connector to interconnect the protective sleeve  42  and the handgrip portion  1  of the microphone, the aforesaid drawback as encountered in the prior art can be eliminated. 
     With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited only as recited in the appended claims.