Audio Capture Device with Dual Catenary Face Piece for Sound Attenuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voice attenuating devices fail to provide clear, high fidelity voice transmission to both an earpiece and a wireless communication device while minimizing ambient noise without the need for noise canceling microphones, and often require uncomfortable fitting to reduce sound leakage.
Innovation Solution
A small device with a single microphone and two Bluetooth radios positioned in specific orientations within a housing, along with a voice signal enhancement circuit, to achieve simultaneous voice transmission and noise reduction, featuring a tapered air tube and dual double catenary face piece for ergonomic fit and sound attenuation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a face piece is pressed against the user's face to reduce sound leakage, then sound attenuation is improved, but user comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The face piece is designed with a dual double catenary curved shape that naturally conforms to the contours of the human face. This curvature allows the device to achieve effective sound attenuation by following facial contours without requiring excessive pressing force, thereby maintaining user comfort while preventing sound leakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The face piece utilizes deformable materials with specific durometer ratings (Shore A 20-40 or Shore D 60-80) that allow it to adapt its physical parameters when contacted by the user's face. The material deforms to match facial contours and then maintains this shape, achieving sound sealing through material property changes rather than mechanical pressing.
2Ease of operation
If deformable materials are used to form to the user's face, then ease of fitting is improved, but sound attenuation effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The face piece is constructed from composite material properties combining deformability for easy fitting with sufficient structural rigidity for sound attenuation. The specific durometer range ensures the material can both conform to facial contours and maintain the shape to effectively block sound leakage, resolving the contradiction between comfort and effectiveness.
3Device complexity
If a single microphone is used for voice capture, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to simultaneously transmit to multiple devices and reduce ambient noise deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A voice signal enhancement circuit acts as an intermediary between the single microphone and multiple output devices. This circuit processes the captured voice signal to enhance quality and enable simultaneous transmission to multiple devices while also filtering out ambient noise, maintaining high transmission quality without requiring multiple microphones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces a mechanical solution (multiple microphones for multiple functions) with an electronic signal processing solution. A single microphone's output is processed through enhancement circuitry that performs multiple functions: noise reduction, signal enhancement, and simultaneous output to multiple devices, substituting electronic processing for mechanical redundancy.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the device is designed to attenuate user voice, then confidential communication is improved, but the user's ability to hear their own voice deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The audio processing is segmented into different pathways: one pathway attenuates the user's voice for external transmission to ensure confidentiality, while another pathway preserves and transmits the user's voice to an earpiece for local feedback. This segmentation allows simultaneous achievement of confidential communication and self-voice monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
Different quality treatments are applied to different output channels. The external transmission channel receives heavily attenuated and processed signals for confidentiality, while the local earpiece channel receives enhanced voice feedback signals. Each output has optimized quality characteristics suited to its specific function.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a device for simultaneously communicating with a first wireless communication device and a second wireless communication device. A microphone is housed within the device and circuitry therefor is included in the device, and preferably housed within the device. The device form-fits generally over a user's mouth and nose and has an air tube extending substantially the length of the device, within the interior of the device, to relieve back-pressure. The device is shaped to promote attenuation of sound within the device, and is constructed to reduce uptake of outside, extraneous sound by the microphone. The circuitry comprises one or more processors, an audio capture module, power management module, listening output module, and data storage module. The device also has a touch screen interface.