US-12627925-B2 - Microphone capsule assembly

US12627925B2US 12627925 B2US12627925 B2US 12627925B2US-12627925-B2

Abstract

A microphone assembly includes a microphone array and a mixer. The microphone array includes first, second, and third microphones. The mixer includes an analog switch assembly and an amplifier assembly configured to mix recording signals of the microphones in different manners to realize different recording patterns of the microphone array. The different recording patterns realizable by the microphone array may include the cardioid pattern, the omnidirectional pattern, the stereo pattern, and the bidirectional pattern.

Inventors

Ruihua Chen
Toly WU
Justin BAO
Yi Zhang

Assignees

HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240816

Claims (11)

1 . A microphone assembly, comprising: a microphone array including first, second, and third microphones and no other microphones; and a mixer including an analog switch assembly and an amplifier assembly configured to mix recording signals of the microphones in different manners to realize different recording patterns of the microphone array, the different recording patterns of the microphone array include a cardioid recording pattern, an omnidirectional recording pattern, a stereo recording pattern, and a bidirectional recording pattern; wherein the analog switch assembly includes first, second, and third switches, each switch being switchable between an ON state and an OFF state; and the analog switch assembly and the amplifier assembly are configured to mix the recording signals of the microphones in a first manner by switching the switches into a first ON/OFF state configuration to cause the recording signals of the first and second microphones to be combined and the recording signal of the third microphone to be terminated to thereby realize the cardioid recording pattern, in a second manner by switching the switches into a second ON/OFF state configuration to cause the recording signals of the first, second, and third microphones to be combined to thereby realize the omnidirectional recording pattern, in a third manner by switching the switches into a third ON/OFF state configuration to cause the recording signals of the first and second microphones to maintain separation and the recording signal of the third microphone to be terminated to thereby realize the stereo recording pattern, and in a fourth manner by switching the switches into a fourth ON/OFF state configuration to cause the recording signal of the first microphone, the recording signal of the second microphone to be combined and an inverse of the recording signal of the third microphone to thereby realize the bidirectional recording pattern.
2 . The microphone assembly of claim 1 wherein: the first microphone is oriented to face in a leftward forward direction, the second microphone is oriented to face in a rightward forward direction, and the third microphone is oriented to face in a rearward direction.
3 . The microphone assembly of claim 1 wherein: the first microphone is oriented to face at an angle of 45° relative to a given direction, the second microphone is oriented to face at an angle of −45° relative to the given direction, and the third microphone is oriented to face at an angle of 180° relative to the given direction.
4 . The microphone assembly of claim 1 wherein: the first, second, and third microphones are unidirectional microphones.
5 . The microphone assembly of claim 1 wherein: the amplifier assembly includes a first amplifier for outputting a left channel audio signal of the mixed recording signals and a second amplifier for outputting a right channel audio signal of the mixed recording signals.
6 . The microphone assembly of claim 5 wherein: when the switches are switched into the first ON/OFF state configuration the first switch is switched to the ON state and the second and third switches are switched to the OFF state, the recording signals of the first and second microphones are combined into a combined recording signal with the left channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal and the right channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal whereby the recording signals of the microphones realize the cardioid recording pattern of the microphone array.
7 . The microphone assembly of claim 5 wherein: when the switches are switched into the second ON/OFF state configuration the first and second switches are switched to the ON state and the third switch is switched to the OFF state, the recording signals of the first, second, and third microphones are combined into a combined recording signal with the left channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal and the right channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal whereby the recording signals of the microphones realize the omnidirectional recording pattern of the microphone array.
8 . The microphone assembly of claim 5 wherein: when the switches are switched into the third ON/OFF state configuration the first, second, and third switches are switched to the OFF state, the recording signals of the first and second microphones are maintained separated with the left channel audio signal being according to the recording signal of the first microphone and the right channel audio signal being according to the recording signal of the second microphone whereby the recording signals of the microphones realize the stereo recording pattern of the microphone array.
9 . The microphone assembly of claim 5 wherein: when the switches are switched into the fourth ON/OFF state configuration the first and third switches are switched to the ON state and the second switch is switched to the OFF state, the recording signals of the first and second microphones and an inverse of the recording signal of the third microphone are combined into a combined recording signal with the left channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal and the right channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal whereby the recording signals of the microphones realize the bidirectional recording pattern of the microphone array.
10 . A microphone capsule assembly, comprising: a first microphone oriented to face in a leftward forward direction; a second microphone oriented to face in a rightward forward direction; a third microphone oriented to face in a rearward direction, wherein the leftward forward direction is at an angle of about 90° relative to the rightward forward direction and the rearward direction is at an angle of about 135° relative to the left forward direction; and a mixer including an analog switch assembly having first, second, and third switches and an amplifier assembly having a first amplifier and a second amplifier configured to mix recording signals of the microphones in a first manner to realize a cardioid recording pattern of the microphones, in a second manner to realize an omnidirectional recording pattern of the microphones, in a third manner to realize a stereo recording pattern of the microphones, and in a fourth manner to realize a bidirectional recording pattern of the microphones; and wherein the microphone capsule assembly includes no other microphones.
11 . The microphone capsule assembly of claim 10 wherein: the first, second, and third microphones are unidirectional microphones.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a microphone capsule assembly having a microphone array and an electronic device for combining recording signals of the microphones to realize different recording patterns of the microphone array. BACKGROUND To obtain optimal recording performance, four popular recording patterns are developed for a microphone to meet different recording scenarios and requirements. These recording patterns include the cardioid pattern in which the microphone picks up sound from its front side whereas sound from its rear side is attenuated, the omnidirectional pattern in which the microphone picks up sound from all around its sides, the stereo pattern in which the microphone picks up sound from its left-front and right-front sides separately in two channels to create a spatial effect, and the bidirectional pattern in which the microphone picks up sound from its front and rear sides whereas sound from its left and right sides is attenuated. In early-stage microphone technology, these four recording patterns are realized using different microphones which typically required a complicated setup and equipment. In subsequent microphone technology, these four recording patterns are realized using a microphone assembly having four microphones. In such a “4-in-1” microphone assembly, a first microphone faces frontward, a second microphone faces leftward, a third microphone faces rightward, and a fourth microphone faces rearward. Such microphone assembly further includes an electronic device having an audio codec integrated chip (IC) to combine the recording signals of the microphones to realize the four recording patterns. The electronic device further has a micro-controller (MCU) to realize USB signal input, output, and control. SUMMARY A microphone assembly including a microphone array and a mixer is disclosed. The microphone array includes first, second, and third microphones. The mixer includes an analog switch assembly and an amplifier assembly configured to mix recording signals of the microphones in different manners to realize different recording patterns of the microphone array. The microphone array may include only the first, second, and third microphones. The first microphone may be oriented to face in a leftward forward direction, the second microphone may be oriented to face in a rightward forward direction, and the third microphone may be oriented to face in a rearward direction. For instance, the first microphone may be oriented to face at an angle of about 45° relative to a given direction, the second microphone may be oriented to face at an angle of about −45° relative to the given direction, and the third microphone may be oriented to face at an angle of about 180° relative to the given direction. The first, second, and third microphones may be unidirectional microphones. The different recording patterns of the microphone array may include a cardioid recording pattern, an omnidirectional recording pattern, a stereo recording pattern, and a bidirectional recording pattern. The analog switch assembly and the amplifier assembly may be configured to mix the recording signals of the microphones in a first manner by combining the recording signals of the first and second microphones and terminating the recording signal of the third microphone to realize the cardioid recording pattern. The analog switch assembly and the amplifier assembly may be configured to mix the recording signals of the microphones in a second manner by combining the recording signals of the first, second, and third microphones to realize the omnidirectional recording pattern. The analog switch assembly and the amplifier assembly may be configured to mix the recording signals of the microphones in a third manner by maintaining separation of the recording signals of the first and second microphones and terminating the recording signal of the third microphone to realize the stereo recording pattern. The analog switch assembly and the amplifier assembly may be configured to mix the recording signals of the microphones in a fourth manner by combining the recording signal of the first microphone, the recording signal of the second microphone, and an inverse of the recording signal of the third microphone to realize the bidirectional recording pattern. The analog switch assembly may include first, second, and third switches. Each switch is switchable between an ON state and an OFF state. The amplifier assembly may include a first amplifier for outputting a left channel audio signal of the mixed recording signals and a second amplifier for outputting a right channel audio signal of the mixed recording signals. When the first switch is switched to the ON state and the second and third switches are switched to the OFF state, the recording signals of the first and second microphones are combined into a combined recording signal with the left channel audio signal being according to the combined recording signal a