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EP-3888377-B1 - SYSTEMS FOR REDUCING WIND-INDUCED NOISE AND WATER INFILTRATION IN COMMUNICATION DEVICES

EP3888377B1EP 3888377 B1EP3888377 B1EP 3888377B1EP-3888377-B1

Inventors

  • HARMKE, CHARLES B.
  • HARIZANOV, Oleg G.
  • LEE, GENG XIANG
  • LIM, Kuang Eng
  • PAGE, MICHAEL
  • ROBERTSON, WILLIAM

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20191126

Claims (17)

  1. A grille (130, 405) configured for shielding a microphone cavity (215, 305), the grille comprising: a first side (505) having a first plurality of parallel slats (515) defining a first plurality of channels (520) extending along a first direction (525), each of the first plurality of channels has a first channel width (715) extending along a direction perpendicular to the first direction (525); and a second side (510), opposite the first side (505), having a second plurality of parallel slats (530) defining a second plurality of channels (535) extending along a second direction (540) at a first angle (545) relative to the first direction (525), each of the second plurality of channels has a second channel width (725) extending along a direction perpendicular to the second direction (540); wherein the first plurality of parallel slats (515) and the second plurality of parallel slats (530) define a lattice (700) having a plurality of openings (705) extending through the grille (130, 405); and the first channel width (715) and the second channel (725) width are configured to induce capillary action to drain water from the plurality of openings (705) when the grille (130, 405) comes into contact with water.
  2. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of openings (705) is configured to diffuse air moving across the grille (130, 405)
  3. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, wherein the first channel width (715) is substantially equal to the second channel width (725).
  4. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, wherein the grille (130, 405) is formed of a hydrophilic material.
  5. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, wherein the first angle (545) is 90 degrees.
  6. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, further comprising: a first portion (550); and a second portion (555); wherein the first portion (550) includes the first side (505), the second portion (555) includes the second side (510), and the first portion is coupled to the second portion (555), wherein preferably the first portion is in a facing relationship to the second portion.
  7. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, wherein the first side (505) and the second side (510) are integrally formed as a unitary piece part.
  8. The grille (130, 405) of claim 1, further comprising: a recessed fastener opening (205) configured to receive a fastener (210) for facilitating attachment to a housing (105) including the microphone cavity (215).
  9. A remote speaker microphone housing (105) comprising: a microphone cavity (215, 305); a drainage cavity (220) in fluid communication with the microphone cavity (215, 305) and an exterior of the remote speaker microphone housing (105); and a grill (130, 405) according to claim 1 positioned over the microphone cavity (215, 305).
  10. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, wherein the lattice (700) is positionable with respect to the microphone cavity (215, 305) such that water drains from the microphone cavity to the drainage cavity.
  11. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, further comprising: a cover (125) defining a third plurality of channels (565) extending along a third direction parallel (570) to the second direction (540), wherein preferably the cover is positionable at a distance from the lattice (700), the distance configured to promote capillary action between the lattice (700) and the cover.
  12. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, wherein the first angle is 90 degrees.
  13. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, wherein the first direction (525) and the second direction (540) are angled relative to a longitudinal axis of the housing (105).
  14. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, wherein the microphone cavity (215, 305) and the lattice (700) are configured to have a resonant frequency greater than 8KHz.
  15. The remote speaker microphone housing of claim 9, the housing includes a second microphone cavity; a second drainage cavity in fluid communication with the second microphone cavity and the exterior of the housing; and a second lattice (700) positioned over the second microphone cavity.
  16. A communication device comprising: a microphone, and a housing including (105) a microphone cavity (215, 305); a drainage cavity (220) in fluid communication with the microphone cavity and an exterior of the housing (105); a microphone port extending through the microphone cavity and configured to connect the microphone cavity to the microphone; a grill (130, 405) according to claim 1 positioned over the microphone cavity (215, 305).
  17. The communication device of claim 16, further comprising: a tray (802) positioned between the lattice (700) and the microphone cavity (215, 305), forming an air buffer between the tray (802) and the microphone port.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Emergency personnel and law enforcement officers rely on radio communication equipment in order to perform their duties. Remote speaker microphones are commonly used in connection with radios and other communication devices to improve sensing of speech and output of audio. US2520222A discusses a lattice type grille and more particularly to a grille adapted for use with loud speakers in radio and phonograph cabinets, JP2008061768A relates to a vehicle occupant seat, and more particularly to a vehicle occupant seat provided with a speaker. The speaker has a grille, and a sheet skin that covers the speaker grille and has a narrow longitudinal shape and is formed with a sound passage part intersecting the longitudinal direction with the sound passage part of the speaker grille. GB2539323A relates to slim-tunnel wind port for a communication device. The document discusses a housing including a porting arrangement for reducing wind-induced noise in a communication device. The housing comprises a grille including a first channel, a second channel, and a ridge between them. WO2015015646A1 relates to a microphone cover that suppresses pressure fluctuation due to wind inside the cover while allowing sound waves to pass through, and a sound collecting device that covers the microphone cover on the microphone. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments. FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view of the remote speaker microphone of FIG. 1A in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 2 is a partially exploded rear view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 5A is an exploded view of a grille for a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the interior of a bezel of a remote speaker microphone interfacing the grille of FIG. 5A in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 7A is a profile view of a microphone grille in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the microphone grille of FIG. 7A in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 7C is a cross-sectional view of the microphone grille of FIG. 7A in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 8A is an exploded view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments.FIG. 9 is a chart illustrating the wind noise performance of a microphone grille in accordance with some embodiments.FIGS. 10A-C are a series of charts illustrating the water drainage performance of a remote speaker microphone in accordance with some embodiments. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Remote speaker microphones are commonly used by public safety and other emergency personnel to improve portability and speech intelligibility in radio communications. Remote speaker microphones are typically worn on the outside of a user's clothing, and are therefore exposed to the elements. Some currently existing remote speaker microphones may exhibit decreased performance in windy or wet environments. For example, wind blowing on a remote speaker microphone causes noise, which can overwhelm a microphone or microphone array, resulting in unintelligible speech. In another example, water (for example, from rain, snow, firefighting operations, and the like) may infiltrate the microphone cavity, attenuating the sounds picked up by the microphone. Accordingly, embodiments presente