Rotating Mouth Shield for Microphone Headsets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing microphone headsets do not effectively block the sight of an individual's mouth, allowing lip reading and compromising secrecy in spoken words, especially in athletic, sporting, and gaming environments.
Innovation Solution
A sight blocking device comprising a shield that covers the mouth and a mechanism for coupling the microphone to the shield, allowing the shield to rotate away from and toward the mouth without bending the microphone stem.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a shield is added to cover the mouth for sight blocking, then secrecy of spoken words is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sight-blocking shield with the existing microphone headset structure by integrating the shield around the microphone stem. The shield is positioned to cover the mouth area while the microphone remains centrally located within the shield structure, merging two functions (sight blocking and audio capture) into a single integrated device rather than adding a separate accessory.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a sight-blocking barrier to prevent lip reading, provides a mounting structure for the microphone, and includes integrated positioning features (notches and stops) that eliminate the need for separate adjustment mechanisms. This multi-functionality reduces overall device complexity despite adding sight-blocking capability.
2Loss of information
If the shield is made fixed to block sight, then secrecy is improved, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a rotatable connection between the shield and microphone stem, allowing the shield to rotate between different angular positions. This dynamic feature enables the user to adjust the shield's orientation to block sight while maintaining proper microphone positioning, providing adaptability rather than a fixed rigid structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds rotational freedom in the angular dimension around the microphone stem axis. Instead of constraining the shield in a single fixed position, the design allows rotation around the vertical axis, creating a new degree of freedom that enables both sight blocking and positional adaptability simultaneously.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the shield rotates freely to adjust position, then adaptability is improved, but reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The rotational adjustment mechanism is segmented into discrete positional stops rather than continuous free rotation. The shield can rotate to specific predetermined angles defined by engagement features (notches and stops), providing adaptability for different viewing angles while ensuring reliable positioning at each stop to prevent accidental movement or misalignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A sight blocking device, comprising a shield configured to block or cover a mouth of an individual wearing a microphone headset; and a mechanism for coupling a microphone of the microphone headset to the shield, wherein the shield is configured to rotate away from and toward the mouth of the individual.