Microphone Module Rear PCB Mounting for Thin Phone Acoustics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional microphone designs in cellular phones face limitations in thinness due to the need for acoustic hole placement and fail to meet advanced acoustic demands such as echo cancellation, noise suppression, and beam-forming.
Innovation Solution
A microphone module with a carrier having through holes, where microphones and a processing chip are mounted on one side and encapsulated with a sound-isolating material, allowing for integration of multiple directional microphones and enhanced signal processing, enabling improved acoustic performance while reducing phone thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the acoustic hole is placed at the front side of the phone housing to maintain optimum acoustic performance, then the microphone can be positioned closer to the user's mouth, but the phone thickness increases due to the required space between the front side of the housing and the PCB
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from mounting the microphone on the front side of the PCB to mounting it on the rear side of the PCB. This dimensional repositioning allows the acoustic hole to remain at the front of the housing for optimal acoustic performance while eliminating the need for additional front-to-back spacing, thereby reducing phone thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the conventional approach of placing the microphone on the front side of the PCB facing the acoustic hole, the patent inverts the arrangement by placing the microphone on the rear side of the PCB. The acoustic signal passes through the PCB from the front acoustic hole to the microphone on the rear side, achieving both acoustic optimization and thickness reduction.
2Device complexity
If a conventional microphone with a holed electret sensor in a housing is used, then the structure is simple with two pins for electronic connection, but it cannot meet advanced acoustic demands such as echo cancellation, noise suppression, and beam-forming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple microphones and a processing chip into a single integrated module mounted on the PCB. This merging of components enables advanced acoustic processing functions including echo cancellation, noise suppression, and beam-forming, while maintaining a compact structure that does not significantly increase overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated microphone module serves multiple acoustic functions simultaneously - it can perform basic voice capture, echo cancellation, noise suppression, and beam-forming operations. The processing chip within the module provides multi-functional capability, allowing the same hardware structure to adapt to various acoustic processing requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A microphone module. The module comprises a carrier having a first side and an opposing second side and comprising a through hole. A microphone is disposed on the first side of the carrier and corresponding to the through hole. A processing chip is disposed on the first side of the carrier and coupled to the microphone. An encapsulant is disposed on the first side of the carrier to encapsulate the microphone and the processing chip.