MEMS-based bone conduction sensor

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of electronic technology, and more particularly, to a microphone structure. A MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System)-based bone conduction sensor comprises: a closed cavity within which a uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor is arranged to be adjacent to bones of a human ear; an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) processing chip coupled to the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor, the ASIC processing chip being provided with an output end for a vibration signal. By adopting the above-mentioned technical solution, a bone conduction sensor with a closed cavity is provided in the present invention. Furthermore, a uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor and an ASIC processing chip are arranged inside the closed cavity. In this way, the production costs are reduced, and interference of the sensor caused by ambient environment is reduced.

Claims

1. A MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System)-based bone conduction sensor, disposed on an ear-mounted device, the MEMS-based bone conduction sensor comprising: a closed cavity, within which the following components are disposed: a uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor arranged to be adjacent to bones of a human ear; an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) processing chip coupled to the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor, the ASIC processing chip being provided with an output end for a vibration signal; vacuum is contained in the cavity, the ASIC processing chip is provided with a time division multiplexing circuit interface.

2. The MEMS-based bone conduction sensor of claim 1, wherein the bone conduction sensor comprises at least one acoustic sensor, the acoustic sensor comprises a back plate and a vibrating diaphragm, and the vibrating diaphragm is configured to sense the vibration signal.

3. The MEMS-based bone conduction sensor of claim 1, wherein the ear-mounted device comprises a hearing aid or a Bluetooth headset.

4. An ear-mounted device comprising the bone conduction sensor of claim 1, further comprising: a primary microphone for sensing sound wave signals; a secondary microphone spaced from the primary microphone by a set distance; an audio codec coupled to the primary microphone and the secondary microphone; a microcontroller coupled to a signal output end of the bone conduction sensor and to a signal input end of the audio codec; and a time division multiplexing circuit, wherein an input interface of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an output end of the bone conduction sensor and to output ends of the primary microphone and the secondary microphone, and an output end of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an input end of the microcontroller.

5. The ear-mounted device of claim 4, wherein the audio codec comprises an adaptive filter for noise cancellation of a converted audio signal and for enhancement of the audio signal subjected to the noise cancellation.

6. The ear-mounted device of claim 4, further comprising: a loudspeaker connected to an output end of the audio codec.

7. An ear-mounted device comprising the bone conduction sensor of claim 2, further comprising: a primary microphone for sensing sound wave signals; a secondary microphone spaced from the primary microphone by a set distance; an audio codec coupled to the primary microphone and the secondary microphone; a microcontroller coupled to a signal output end of the bone conduction sensor and to a signal input end of the audio codec; and a time division multiplexing circuit, wherein an input interface of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an output end of the bone conduction sensor and to output ends of the primary microphone and the secondary microphone, and an output end of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an input end of the microcontroller.

8. The ear-mounted device of claim 7, wherein the audio codec comprises an adaptive filter for noise cancellation of a converted audio signal and for enhancement of the audio signal subjected to the noise cancellation.

9. The ear-mounted device of claim 7, further comprising: a loudspeaker connected to an output end of the audio codec.

10. An ear-mounted device comprising the bone conduction sensor of claim 1, further comprising: a primary microphone for sensing sound wave signals; a secondary microphone spaced from the primary microphone by a set distance; an audio codec coupled to the primary microphone and the secondary microphone; a microcontroller coupled to a signal output end of the bone conduction sensor and to a signal input end of the audio codec; and a time division multiplexing circuit, wherein an input interface of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an output end of the bone conduction sensor and to output ends of the primary microphone and the secondary microphone, and an output end of the time division multiplexing circuit is connected to an input end of the microcontroller.

11. The ear-mounted device of claim 10, wherein the audio codec comprises an adaptive filter for noise cancellation of a converted audio signal and for enhancement of the audio signal subjected to the noise cancellation.

12. The ear-mounted device of claim 10, further comprising: a loudspeaker connected to an output end of the audio codec.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The accompanying drawings, together with the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a circuit connection of an embodiment according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing part of a circuit connection of an embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

(5) The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” or “has” and/or “having” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

(6) Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

(7) As used herein, the term “plurality” means a number greater than one.

(8) Hereinafter, certain exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(9) Referring to FIG. 1, A MEMS-based bone conduction sensor, comprising:

(10) a primary microphone 2 for sensing sound wave signals;

(11) a secondary microphone 3 spaced from the primary microphone 1 by a set distance, and configured for sensing the sound wave signals;

(12) an audio codec 6 coupled to the primary microphone 2 and the secondary microphone 3;

(13) a microcontroller coupled to a signal output end of the closed cavity 1 and to a signal input end of the audio codec 6;

(14) a closed cavity 1 within which the following components are disposed, as shown in FIG. 2:

(15) a uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor 11 arranged to be adjacent to bones of a human ear; an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) processing chip 12 coupled to the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor 11, the ASIC processing chip 12 being provided with an output end for a vibration signal.

(16) As an embodiment of the present invention, the bone conduction sensor further comprises a time division multiplexing circuit 4. An input end of the time division multiplexing circuit 4 is connected to the closed cavity 1, the primary microphone 2 and the secondary microphone 3, and an output end thereof is connected to the microprocessor 5, such that vibration signals captured by the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor 11 and the sound wave signals detected by the primary microphone 2 and the secondary microphone 3 may be transmitted simultaneously in one channel.

(17) The time division multiplexing circuit 4 provides a single interface for a plurality of devices. As a result, complexity for circuit connection is reduced, demand for RAM is reduced, and power consumption on a host computer is decreased.

(18) As an embodiment of the present invention, air, vacuum, or other gases are contained in the closed cavity 1 so as to reduce disturbance of the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor 11 caused by ambient environment, thereby improving voice quality. In addition, the structure of the closed cavity solves the problem that the G-sensor in the prior art has the shortcoming of high costs, thus, the manufacturing cost of the manufactures is reduced, and mass production is possible.

(19) As an embodiment of the present invention, the uniaxial or biaxial accelerometer sensor 11 comprises at least one acoustic sensor 111, the acoustic sensor 111 comprises a back plate 1111 and a vibrating diaphragm 1112, and the vibrating diaphragm 1112 is used to sense the vibration signal.

(20) As an embodiment of the present invention, the audio codec 6 comprises an adaptive filter 61 for noise cancellation of a converted audio signal and for enhancement of the audio signal subjected to the noise cancellation.

(21) As an embodiment of the present invention, the signal output end of the closed cavity 1 is provided with a specific time division multiplexing circuit interface for connection with the input end of the time division circuit.

(22) As an embodiment of the present invention, the ear-mounted device formed of this circuit structure may comprises a hearing aid or a Bluetooth headset.

(23) The above descriptions are only the preferred embodiments of the invention, not thus limiting the embodiments and scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art should be able to realize that the schemes obtained from the content of specification and drawings of the invention are within the scope of the invention.