Patent Grant
6920225
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electret capacitor microphone and particularly to an electret capacitor microphone having an electret capacitor portion, an electrically insulating bush, and a metal cover in which the electret capacitor portion and the electrically insulating bush are stored.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an electret capacitor microphone has an electret capacitor portion including a diaphragm, and a back electrode plate disposed opposite to the diaphragm through a spacer; and an impedance conversion device for converting change of capacitance of the electret capacitor portion into change of electrical impedance.
In most cases, this type electret capacitor microphone is configured so that the electret capacitor portion and an electrically insulating bush for electrically insulating/supporting an outer circumferential edge portion of the back electrode plate are stored in a metal cover, for example, as described in JP-A-11-187494. That is, this type electret capacitor microphone is configured so that the back electrode plate and the metal cover are electrically insulated from each other by the electrically insulating bush.
The electret capacitor microphone described in JP-A-11-187494, however, has the following problem because a rear end portion of the metal cover is caulk-fixed to the electrically insulating bush so that the gap between the diaphragm and the back electrode plate can be kept at a predetermined set value.
That is, when a reflow process needs to be applied to the electret capacitor microphone in order to mount the electret capacitor microphone on a surface of an external board, respective constituent members of the electret capacitor microphone are expanded by heat generated in the reflow process. On this occasion, if the thermal expansion coefficient of the electret capacitor portion or the electrically insulating bush is larger than that of the metal cover, a spacer-abutting portion of an electret layer will collapse because the constituent members inside of the metal cover are expanded by heat so that the constituent members interfere with each other in a state where pressure is produced between the constituent members. As a result, there arises a problem that sensitivity characteristic of the electret capacitor microphone changes because the gap between the diaphragm and the back electrode plate becomes narrower than the set value.
Under such circumstances, an object of the invention is to provide an electret capacitor microphone having an electret capacitor portion, an electrically insulating bush, and a metal cover in which the electret capacitor portion and the electrically insulating bush are stored, wherein change of sensitivity characteristic caused by thermal deformation of an electret layer can be prevented even in the case where a reflow process is applied to the electret capacitor microphone.
The invention is intended to achieve the foregoing object not by adopting a background-art configuration depending on caulk-fixing but by adopting a configuration using an elastic member for keeping the gap between the diaphragm and the back electrode plate at a predetermined set value.
That is, the invention provides an electret capacitor microphone having: an electret capacitor portion including a diaphragm, and a back electrode plate disposed opposite to the diaphragm through a spacer; an electrically insulating bush for electrically insulating/supporting an outer circumferential edge portion of the back electrode plate; a metal cover in which the electret capacitor portion and the electrically insulating bush are stored; an impedance conversion device for converting change of capacitance of the electret capacitor portion into change of electrical impedance; and an elastic member having a pressing function for elastically pressing the back electrode plate toward the diaphragm to thereby form a predetermined gap between the electrically insulating bush and an inner surface of a rear wall of the metal cover.
The electret capacitor microphone according to the invention may be a foil electret type electret capacitor microphone having an electret layer formed in the diaphragm or maybe a back electret type electret capacitor microphone having an electret layer formed in the back electrode plate.
In the electret capacitor microphone according to the invention, specific configurations such as material, shape, etc. are not particularly limited except for the “electret capacitor portion”, the “electrically insulating bush”, the “metal cover” and the “impedance conversion device.”
The specific supporting structure of the “electrically insulating bush” is not particularly limited as long as the “electrically insulating bush” is formed so as to electrically insulate/support the outer circumferential edge portion of the back electrode plate. The term “electrically insulate/support” means to support the outer circumferential edge portion of the back electrode plate in a state in which the back electrode plate and the metal cover are electrically insulated from each other.
The “impedance conversion device” is not limited to a specific device as long as it can convert change of capacitance of the capacitor portion into change of electrical impedance. For example, a field-effect transistor can be used as the “impedance conversion device”. The “impedance conversion device” may be stored in the metal cover or may not be stored in the metal cover.
The specific value of the “predetermined gap” is not particularly limited as long as the “predetermined gap” is large sufficient to prevent the spacer-abutting portion of the electret layer from collapse being caused by heat generated in the reflow process.
The specific configuration such as material, shape, etc. of the “elastic member” is not particularly limited as long as the “elastic member” is formed so as to elastically press the back electrode plate toward the diaphragm. The “elastic member” is disposed so as to abut on another member than the back electrode plate in order to press the back electrode plate elastically. The member on which the “elastic member” abuts is not particularly limited. For example, the member may be a rear wall of the metal cover or may be another member than the rear wall of the metal cover.
As shown in the configuration, the electret capacitor microphone according to the invention includes an elastic member having a pressing function for elastically pressing the back electrode plate toward the diaphragm to thereby form a predetermined gap between the electrically insulating bush and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover. Accordingly, collapse of the spacer-abutting portion of the electret layer can be prevented even in the case where a reflow process is applied to the electret capacitor microphone in order to mount the electret capacitor microphone on a surface of an external board.
That is, respective constituent members of the electret capacitor microphone are expanded by heat generated in the reflow process. A predetermined gap is however formed between the electrically insulating bush and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover. Accordingly, even though the thermal expansion coefficient of the electret capacitor portion or the electrically insulating bush is larger than that of the metal cover, pressure interference caused by thermal expansion can be prevented from acting on constituent members of the electret capacitor portion and the electrically insulating bush.
Accordingly, the distance between the diaphragm and the back electrode plate can be prevented from becoming smaller than the set value because of collapse of the spacer-abutting portion of the electret layer. Consequently, sensitivity characteristic of the electret capacitor microphone can be prevented from changing.
Moreover, because the elastic member always elastically presses the back electrode plate toward the diaphragm, the distance between the back electrode plate and the diaphragm can be kept constant by appropriate pressure at all the time before and after the reflow process.
As described above, in accordance with the invention, even in the case where the reflow process is applied to the electret capacitor microphone which is formed so that the electret capacitor portion and the electrically insulating bush are stored in the metal cover, change of sensitivity characteristic can be prevented from being caused by thermal deformation of the electret layer.
When the electrically insulating bush in the configuration is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient not larger than that of the metal cover, the gap to be formed between the electrically insulating bush and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover can be minimized by the pressing function of the elastic member. For this reason, reduction in thickness and size of the electret capacitor microphone and improvement in degree of freedom for designing the electret capacitor microphone can be attained.
The configuration may be modified as follows. That is, the metal cover is stored in the housing made of a synthetic resin. The rear wall of the housing is formed by insert molding so as to be integrated with a plurality of terminal members. One end portion of each of the terminal members is exposed as part of the electrically conducting pattern on the inner surface of the rear wall of the housing. The other end portion of each of the terminal members is exposed as one of external connection terminal on the outer surface of the rear wall of the housing. Further, the impedance conversion device is mounted on the inner surface of the rear wall of the housing so as to be located in a predetermined position of the electrically conducting pattern. In this case, the electret capacitor microphone can be mounted on a surface of an external board directly without interposition of any holder or the like. On this occasion, when the elastic member is disposed so as to abut on a predetermined position of the electrically conducting pattern, the elastic member can be used as an electrically conducting member. Accordingly, the electret capacitor microphone can be constituted by a small number of parts and reduction in thickness and size of the electret capacitor microphone can be attained, so that the electret capacitor microphone can be suited to be mounted on a surface of an external board.
The specific shape of the “electrically conducting pattern” is not particularly limited as long as the “electrically conducting pattern” can be formed on the inner surface of the rear wall of the housing. The specific shape, arrangement, etc. of each of the “external connection terminal portions” are not particularly limited as long as the “external connection terminal portions” can be exposed on the outer surface of the rear wall of the housing.
In this case, a plurality of elastic pieces protruding backward may be formed in the rear wall of the metal cover so as to be integrated with the rear wall, and the elastic pieces may be disposed so as to abut on predetermined positions of the electrically conducting pattern. In this configuration, the metal cover and the electrically conducting pattern can be surely electrically connected to each other even in the case where sufficient dimensional accuracy in the front-rear direction of the housing cannot be obtained (for example, in the case where the housing is formed by ultrasonic welding of a pair of housing constituent members).
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings in which:
An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
The housing 12 is formed in such a manner that a base housing 52 made of a liquid crystal polymer and opened forward and a top housing 54 made of a liquid crystal polymer and opened backward are fixed to each other by ultrasonic welding.
The microphone assembly 14 is formed in such a manner that a diaphragm sub-assembly 34, a spacer 36, a back electrode plate 38 and an electrically insulating bush 40 are stored in a metal cover 32 which is substantially shaped like a rectangular pipe extending forward and backward and low in height.
As also shown in
The diaphragm sub-assembly 34 has a diaphragm 34A, and a diaphragm support ring 34B. The diaphragm 34A is fixedly set up on a rear surface of the diaphragm support ring 34B so as to be stretched. The diaphragm 34A has a circular high-molecular film (such as a PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) film) about 1.5 μm thick, and a metal film (such as a gold or nickel alloy film) deposited on a front surface of the high-molecular film. The diaphragm support ring 34B is made of a stainless steel ring member having an outer diameter substantially large enough to touch internally the metal cover 32.
The spacer 36 is made of a stainless steel thin-plate ring about 25 μm thick. The outer diameter of the spacer 36 is set to be nearly equal to the outer diameter of the diaphragm support ring 34B.
The back electrode plate 38 has an electrode plate body 38A, and an electret layer 38B thermally welded onto a front surface of the electrode plate body 38A. The outer diameter of the back electrode plate 38 is set to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the diaphragm support ring 34B. A back pressure regulating hole 38a shaped like a column having a diameter of about 0.8 mm is formed in the central portion of the back electrode plate 38.
The electrode plate body 38A is made of a stainless steel plate about 0.15 mm thick. On the other hand, the electret layer 38B is made of an FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) film about 25 μm thick. The electret layer 38B is subjected to a poling process due to corona discharge or the like, so that a predetermined surface potential is given to the electret layer 38B.
In the metal cover 32, the diaphragm 34A and the electret layer 38B face each other with a predetermined microspace through the spacer 36 to thereby form a capacitor portion C.
As also shown in
The gate spring 22 is substantially formed as a rectangular ring punched out of a stainless steel plate and partially bent so as to be V-shaped. An elastic piece 22a extending obliquely toward a space in the inside of the gate spring 22 is formed so as to be integrated with the gate spring 22.
The contact frame 32B is substantially formed as a rectangular ring punched out of a stainless steel plate and partially bent. Cover body-abutting portions 32c are formed in outer circumferential portions of four sides of the contact frame 32B respectively so that the cover body-abutting portions 32c abut on the open rear end edge 32b of the cover body 32A and are welded to the cover body 32A. Positioning pieces 32d are formed in four corners of the contact frame 32B respectively so that the positioning pieces 32d touch internally the cover body 32A and are engaged with the cover body 32A to thereby attain positioning of the cover body-abutting portions 32c relative to the open rear end edge 32b of the cover body 32A. Elastic pieces 32e extending obliquely backward are further formed in inner circumferential portions of the four sides of the contact frame 32B respectively by means of cutting and raising.
As also shown in
An end portion of each of the terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C is exposed as one of three land portions 56Aa, 56Ba and 56Ca on an inner surface of the rear wall 52A. The three land portions 56Aa, 56Ba and 56Ca form part of an electrically conducting pattern P. On the other hand, the other end portion of each of the terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C is exposed as one of four external connection terminal portions 56Ab, 56B1b, 56B2b and 56Cb on an outer surface of the rear wall 52A. Each of the external connection terminal portions 56Ab, 56B1b, 56B2b and 56Cb is L-shaped in a neighbor of a corresponding corner portion of the rear wall 52A so as to extend from the outer surface of the rear wall 52A to the outer surface of the outer circumferential wall 52B. On this occasion, the external connection terminal portions 56Ab, 56B1b, 56B2b and 56Cb are formed with respect to the rear wall 52A by insert molding so as to be located on the same plane with the outer surface of the rear wall 52A but the external connection terminal portions 56Ab, 56B1b, 56B2b and 56Cb are formed with respect to the outer circumferential wall 52B by cutting and bending-after insert molding so as to protrude by plate thickness from the outer surface of the outer circumferential wall 52B.
One 56A of the four terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C is an output terminal which will be connected to a power supply through load resistance when the electret capacitor microphone is mounted on a surface of an external board. The terminal members 56B1 and 56B2 are ground terminals. The other terminal member 56C is a dummy terminal.
A through-hole 52a for separating the electrically conducting pattern P is formed in the rear wall 52A of the base housing 52. Part of the electrically conducting pattern P is separated by means of pin insertion, laser beam irradiation or the like to thereby form the through-hole 52a. As a result, a new land portion 58 electrically insulated from the land portions 56Aa and 56Ca is formed on the inner surface of the rear wall 52A of the base housing 52.
The field-effect transistor 16 and the capacitors 18 and 20 are mounted in the base housing 52 so as to be located in predetermined positions of the electrically conducting pattern P.
The field-effect transistor 16 is a device for conversing change of capacitance of the electret capacitor portion C into change of electrical impedance. The field-effect transistor 16 is mounted so that its drain electrode D is connected to the land portion 56Aa of the terminal member 56A, its source electrode S is connected to the land portion 56Ba of the terminal member 56B, and its gate electrode G is connected to the land portion 58. The capacitors 18 and 20 are two kinds of capacitors which are different in capacitance and which are provided for removing noise. The capacitors 18 and 20 are mounted in parallel with each other between the land portion 56Aa of the terminal member 56A and the land portion 56Ba of the terminal member 56B.
As represented by the chain double-dashed line in
On this occasion, a gap of about 0.05 mm to about 0.1 mm is formed between the electrically insulating bush 40 and the contact fame 32B. This is based on the fact that the electrically insulating bush 40 is displaced in the direction of departing from the contact frame 32B simultaneously when the gate spring 22 presses the back electrode plate body 38A forward because the back electrode plate 38 and the electrically insulating bush 40 are fitted to each other.
As represented by the chain double-dashed line in
A recess 52b having a predetermined shape is formed in the outer surface of the rear wall 52A of the base housing 52. A metal shield plate 60 having a thickness smaller than the depth of the recess 52b is provided in the recess 52b. Incidentally, the land portions 56Ba and 56Ca are exposed on the outer surface of the recess 52b so that the shield plate 60 can touch the land portions 56Ba and 56Ca.
The top housing 54 has a front wall 54A having the same shape as that of the rear wall of the base housing 52, and an outer circumferential wall 54B extending backward from an outer circumferential edge portion of the front wall 54A. A plurality of acoustic holes 54a are formed in the front wall 54A of the top housing 54.
The base housing 52 and the top housing 54 are ultrasonic-welded to each other as follows.
That is, as shown in
As described above in detail, the electret capacitor microphone 10 according to this embodiment has a gate spring 22 having a pressing function for elastically pressing the back electrode plate 38 toward the diaphragm 34A to thereby form a predetermined gap between the electrically insulating bush 40 and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover 32 (i.e., the front surface of the contact frame 32B). Accordingly, collapse of the spacer 36 abutting portion of the electret layer 38B can be prevented even in the case where a reflow process is applied to the electret capacitor microphone 10 in order to mount the electret capacitor microphone 10 on a surface of an external board.
That is, respective constituent members of the electret capacitor microphone 10 are expanded by heat generated in the reflow process. A predetermined gap is however formed between the electrically insulating bush 40 and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover 32. Accordingly, even though the thermal expansion coefficient of the electret capacitor portion C or the electrically insulating bush 40 is larger than that of the metal cover 32, pressure interference caused by thermal expansion can be prevented from acting on constituent members of the electret capacitor portion C and the electrically insulating bush 40. Accordingly, the distance between the diaphragm 34A and the back electrode plate 38 can be prevented from becoming smaller than the set value because of collapse of the spacer-abutting portion of the electret layer 38B caused by thermal expansion. Consequently, sensitivity characteristic of the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be prevented from changing.
Moreover, because the gate spring 22 always elastically presses the back electrode plate 38 toward the diaphragm 34A, the distance between the back electrode plate 38 and the diaphragm 34A can be kept constant by appropriate pressure at all the time before and after the reflow process.
For this reason, change of sensitivity characteristic can be prevented even in the case where the reflow process is applied to the electret capacitor microphone 10.
Particularly in this embodiment, the electrically insulating bush 40 is made of a liquid crystal polymer having a thermal expansion coefficient not larger than that of the metal cover 32 made of stainless steel, and the back electrode plate 38 and the diaphragm sub-assembly 34 as constituent members of the electret capacitor portion C except the diaphragm 34A and the electret layer 38B are made of stainless steel. Accordingly, the gap to be formed between the electrically insulating bush 40 and the inner surface of the rear wall of the metal cover 32 can be minimized by the pressing function of the gate spring 22. For this reason, reduction in thickness and size of the electret capacitor microphone 10 and improvement in degree of freedom for designing the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be attained. Incidentally, also in the case where the liquid crystal polymer used as the material of the electrically insulating bush 40 is replaced by a ceramic substance or the like, the thermal expansion coefficient of the electrically insulating bush 40 can be set to be not larger than that of the metal cover 32.
Moreover, in this embodiment, the metal cover 32 is stored in the housing 12 made of a synthetic resin. The base housing 52 of the housing 12 is formed by insert molding so as to be integrated with a plurality of terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C. One end portion of each of the terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C is exposed as part of the electrically conducting pattern P on the inner surface of the rear wall 52A of the base housing 52. The other end portion of each of the terminal members 56A, 56B1, 56B2 and 56C is exposed as one of external connection terminal portions 56Ab, 56B1b, 56B2b and 56Cb on the outer surface of the rear wall 52A of the base housing 52. Further, the field-effect transistor 16 is mounted on the inner surface of the rear wall 52A so as to be located in a predetermined position of the electrically conducting pattern P. Accordingly, the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be mounted on a surface of an external board directly without interposition of any holder or the like. On this occasion, because the gate spring 22 is disposed so as to abut on a predetermined position of the electrically conducting pattern P, the gate spring 22 can be used as an electrically conducting member. For this reason, the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be constituted by a small number of parts and reduction in thickness and size of the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be attained, so that the electret capacitor microphone 10 can be suited to be mounted on a surface of an external board.
In addition, in this embodiment, the contact frame 32B for forming the rear wall of the metal cover 32 is provided so that a plurality of elastic pieces 32e protruding backward are formed so as to be integrated with the contact frame 32B. The elastic pieces 32e are disposed so as to abut on predetermined positions of the electrically conducting pattern P. Accordingly, when the base housing 52 and the top housing 54 are fixed to each other by ultrasonic welding as described above in this embodiment, the metal cover 32 and the electrically conducting pattern P can be surely electrically connected to each other though sufficient dimensional accuracy in the front-rear direction of the housing 12 cannot be obtained.
Although the embodiment has been described on the case where the cover body 32A and the contact frame 32B are welded to each other to thereby form the metal cover 32, the invention may be also applied to the case where the cover body 32A and the contact frame 32B are engaged with each other or simply brought into contact with each other instead. Further, the invention may be configured so that the open rear end edge 32b of the cover body 32A is bent to the inner circumferential side.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto, and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P.2003-192256 | Jul 2003 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4281222 | Nakagawa et al. | Jul 1981 | A |
| 4321432 | Matsutani et al. | Mar 1982 | A |
| 6512833 | Himori et al. | Jan 2003 | B2 |
| 20030161491 | Yonehara et al. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 11-187494 | Jul 1999 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050002538 A1 | Jan 2005 | US |
