US 12,256,201 B2
Microphone unit, microphone meta-array and network with microphone meta-array
Luca Cattani, Scandiano (IT); Angelo Farina, Parma (IT); Daniel Pinardi, Parma (IT); Tiziano Nili, Reggio Emilia (IT); and Andrea Toscani, Salsomaggiore Terme (IT)
Appl. No. 18/044,292
Filed by ASK INDUSTRIES SOCIETA' PER AZIONI, Monte San Vito (IT)
PCT Filed Oct. 4, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/077233
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 7, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/078791, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 21, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 102020000024052 (IT), filed on Oct. 13, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0328430 A1, Oct. 12, 2023
Int. Cl. H04R 3/00 (2006.01); G06F 3/16 (2006.01); H04R 1/40 (2006.01); H04R 19/04 (2006.01)
CPC H04R 3/005 (2013.01) [G06F 3/165 (2013.01); H04R 1/406 (2013.01); H04R 19/04 (2013.01); H04R 2201/003 (2013.01); H04R 2201/401 (2013.01); H04R 2499/13 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. Microphone unit comprising:
only one PCB with a front side suitable for being directed towards a sound source and a back side;
a plurality of transducers mounted on said back side of the PCB, each transducer being of acoustic-electric type with digital output, suitable for converting a sound signal into an electrical signal of digital type;
through holes obtained in the PCB in correspondence of each transducer in such a way that acoustic waves emitted by the sound source pass through the PCB and hit the transducers;
electrically connected to said transducers, said A2B audio interface being a transceiver suitable for receiving the digital signal from the transducers and convert said digital signal into an A2B format suitable for being sent in an A2B audio bus; and
an input electrical connector and an output electrical connector mounted on said back side of the PCB and electrically connected to said A2B audio interface, said input and output electrical connectors being suitable for connecting respective A2B audio buses that use a single twisted pair, so that said microphone unit can be connected to one or two adjacent microphone units, in a daisy-chain configuration, forming a meta-array suitable for being connected to a A2B network having a host processor configured to perform a beam-forming of signals from all the transducers of the microphonic units of the meta-array;
wherein said plurality of transducers of a single microphone unit comprises a central transducer and at least three peripheral transducers disposed at the same radial distance from the central transducer and equally angularly spaced.