JP7161429B2 - In-vehicle microphone device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted microphone device, and more particularly to a structure for fixing a microphone element attached to a substrate.

With the spread of information communication devices such as smart phones, hands-free devices for automobiles are widely used. Hands-free devices typically include a microphone element that detects the user's voice while in the vehicle, and a speaker or earphone that emits the voice of the other party. Microphone elements are located on the overhead console or front panel. As for the speaker, an audio device speaker provided in the vehicle compartment may also be used as a speaker for the hands-free device. Moreover, there is a voice recognition control system as a system in which a microphone element is used inside a vehicle. The voice recognition control system controls accessory devices such as a vehicle-mounted audio device, a lighting device, an air conditioner, etc. according to the voice detected by the microphone element.

The following Patent Documents 1 to 3 describe on-vehicle microphone devices. In the microphone device described in Patent Literature 1, a microphone element is provided in a sound collection opening provided in an acoustic retainer formed in a substantially box shape. A contact member is provided at a position surrounding the sound collection port to fill the gap between the acoustic retainer and the bezel attached to the end face of the acoustic retainer on the passenger compartment side.

In the microphone device described in Patent Document 2, a windbreak sheet is provided in an opening of a microphone cover that covers a microphone (microphone element). The microphone cover is composed of an outer element on the passenger compartment side and an inner element on the body side of the passenger compartment. The outer element is formed by pouring a molten resin from the windbreak sheet side and solidifying it in a state where the windbreak sheet is placed so as to close the opening of the inner cover of the inner element.

In the microphone device described in Patent Document 3, a microphone (microphone element) attached to a substrate and a passage forming member that guides sound to the microphone are accommodated in a housing, and an opening on the passenger compartment side of the housing is covered with a lower panel. It is

JP 2016-105557 A JP 2016-54464 A JP 2009-208493 A

In a microphone device in which a microphone element is fixed to a substrate, a retainer for collecting sound coming from a desired direction is sometimes provided on the vehicle interior side of the substrate, as seen in Patent Document 3. As a method of manufacturing the microphone device, a method of forming a retainer by pouring a molten resin into the compartment side of the substrate is conceivable. However, depending on the materials of the substrate and the molten resin, the molten resin may not adhere to the substrate.

An object of the present invention is to bring a retainer into close contact with a substrate on which a microphone element is fixed.

The present invention comprises a housing having a microphone housing space with an open front, a substrate arranged in the microphone housing space with the front surface facing forward, and having a microphone element fixed thereto, and a retainer formed on the substrate. , wherein the board has a retainer connecting structure that extends the retainer from the front side to the rear side, the retainer includes a sound collecting shape part that guides sound from the front area to the microphone element side, and and a wrap-around shaped portion extending from the front surface side through the retainer communication structure to the rear surface side of the substrate.

Desirably, the retainer communication structure has a notch that forms a gap between itself and the inner wall surface of the housing, and the wrap-around portion extends from the front side of the substrate through the notch to the rear surface of the substrate. turning to the side.

Desirably, the retainer communication structure has a through hole that extends the retainer from the front side to the rear side, and the wrap-around portion passes through the through hole and wraps from the front side to the rear side of the substrate. .

Further, the present invention provides a housing having a microphone housing space with an open front, a substrate arranged in the microphone housing space with the front surface facing forward, and having a microphone element fixed thereto, and a microphone element formed on the substrate. a retainer, wherein the housing has a conductor guide wall that supports a conductor extending rearward from the substrate on a wall surface, and the retainer is a sound collecting shape portion that guides sound from a front region to the microphone element side. and a wrap-around shaped portion extending from the front surface of the substrate through its edge to the rear surface of the substrate and wrapping around the conductor guide wall.

In addition, the present invention includes a board on which a microphone element is fixed, which is housed in a housing whose front surface is facing forward and which is open at the front, and a retainer, which guides sound from the front area to the microphone element side. A retainer having a sound shape portion is formed on the substrate by injection molding, and the retainer is wrapped around the substrate from the front side to the rear side through the retainer communication structure provided in the substrate by injection molding. and

In addition, the present invention includes a board on which a microphone element is fixed, which is housed in a housing whose front surface is facing forward and which is open at the front, and a retainer, which guides sound from the front area to the microphone element side. A retainer having a sound shape portion is molded on the substrate by injection molding, the housing has a conductor guide wall for supporting a conductor extending rearward from the substrate on a wall surface, and the housing is injection molded from the front surface of the substrate. It is characterized in that the retainer is wrapped around the rear surface of the substrate through the edge thereof and further to the conductor guide wall.

According to the present invention, the retainer can be brought into close contact with the substrate to which the microphone element is fixed.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a first embodiment; FIG. and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a modification. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a second embodiment; FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a second embodiment; 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device before a retainer is injection molded; FIG.

A vehicle-mounted microphone device according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to each drawing. The terms "up and down", "left and right", and "front and back" in the following description indicate directions when the vehicle interior side is viewed from the in-vehicle microphone device. Also, the same reference numerals are given to the same components shown in a plurality of drawings to simplify the description.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The in-vehicle microphone device has a microphone body 10 and a bezel 30 . The microphone body 10 includes a housing 12 having a rectangular front opening 16 on the front and a retainer 14 provided in the front opening 16 of the housing 12 . The retainer 14 is provided with a sound collection shape portion 18 having a hole whose diameter decreases toward the rear. A substrate 22 to which a microphone element is fixed is arranged on the rear surface side of the retainer 14 , and the front surface of the substrate 22 appears at the innermost portion of the sound collecting shape portion 18 . In the substrate 22, an acoustic hole 24 is formed in a region corresponding to the innermost portion of the sound collecting shape portion 18 for guiding sound to the microphone element on the rear surface. The bezel 30 covers the front of the microphone main body 10 and improves the appearance of the in-vehicle microphone device. The bezel 30 is provided with a front hole 32 at a position facing the sound collecting shape portion 18 of the retainer 14 for guiding sound to the sound collecting shape portion 18 . An opening of a connector receiving space 72 into which a connector is inserted is provided on the right side of the housing 12 . A connector attached to the tip of a cable is inserted into the connector receiving space 72, and the cable is connected to a microphone element or a peripheral circuit of the microphone element.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the microphone body 10 together with a perspective view of the bezel 30. As shown in FIG. A substrate 22 is fixed near the front opening 16 of the housing 12 of the microphone body 10 with one surface facing forward, and a retainer 14 is fixed to the front side of the substrate 22 . Although FIG. 2 depicts retainer 14 as a separate member detached from housing 12 and substrate 22, this is for illustrative purposes only and retainer 14 may be formed by injection molding. A projecting claw 20 is formed on the upper side surface of the housing 12 . The projecting claw 20 becomes thicker toward the rear and forms a step at the rear end. A projecting claw similar to the projecting claw 20 is also formed on the lower side surface of the housing 12 .

The bezel 30 is composed of a front panel 36 and a rectangular cylindrical portion 38 erected on the rear surface of the front panel 36 . A fixed wall 40 protrudes rearward from each of the upper side wall and the lower side wall of the rectangular tubular portion 38 . Each fixed wall 40 is formed with a hook receiving hole 34 in which the protruding hooks 20 formed on the upper and lower side surfaces of the housing 12 of the microphone body 10 are hooked.

After the board 22 and the retainer 14 are fixed to the housing 12, the housing 12, the board 22 and the retainer 14 are covered with the bezel 30 from the front. The upper and lower claw receiving holes 34 of the bezel 30 are caught by the upper and lower protruding claws 20 of the housing 12, that is, the upper and lower claw receiving holes 34 of the bezel 30 are engaged with the upper and lower protruding claws 20 of the housing 12, and the housing is secured. A bezel 30 is fixed in front of 12 .

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the microphone main body 10 taken along line AA. The housing 12 is composed of a microphone housing portion 60 and a connector portion 50 . In the cross section shown in FIG. 3 , the connector portion 50 extends leftward through the connector guide wall 52 from the rear right end, and extends forward through the connector innermost wall 54 from the left end of the connector guide wall 52 . The connector portion 50 further extends from the front end of the connector innermost wall 54 to the right end through the partition wall 56 . The connector guide wall 52, the innermost connector wall 54, and the partition wall 56 have a U-shape that opens to the right. The connector guide wall 52 is provided with a connector hook receiving hole 58 for hooking a hook of a connector inserted into the connector portion 50 from the right side.

The partition wall 56 is shared by the microphone housing portion 60 and the connector portion 50 . In the cross-section shown in FIG. 3, the microphone accommodating portion 60 extends from the left side of the connector innermost wall 54 to the left through the microphone innermost wall 62, bends forward, and extends to a position where the partition wall 56 is seen on the right side. and bend to the left, then extend forward again to reach the tip. A portion extending forward in a crank shape from the left end of the innermost wall 62 of the microphone forms a left wall 64 of the microphone housing portion 60 . A left side wall 64 of the microphone accommodating portion 60 extends from near the right end of the partition wall 56 forward along the right side wall 66 to the tip.

As shown in FIG. 2, the microphone housing portion 60 and the connector portion 50 share the upper side wall 26 and the lower side wall 28 that separate the upper and lower sides of the microphone housing portion 60 and the connector portion 50 from the external space. A front opening 16 is formed in front of the microphone housing portion 60 , and a microphone housing space 74 is formed extending from the front opening 16 to the partition wall 56 and the microphone innermost wall 62 . The microphone housing space 74 is a space with an open front and houses the retainer 14 , the microphone element 68 and the substrate 22 . A connector opening 42 is formed at the right end of the connector portion 50, and a connector receiving space 72 for receiving a connector is formed from the connector opening 42 to the innermost wall 54 of the connector.

The inner wall of the microphone housing space 74 has an area that is thicker inside than the front, and a substrate fixing edge 86 is formed at the boundary where the thickness changes. That is, the inner wall surface of the microphone housing space 74 extends rearward from the front opening 16 , then faces inward at the board fixing edge 86 and bends rearward again. The substrate 22 is accommodated in the housing 12 with one surface facing forward, and the edge of the substrate 22 contacts the substrate fixing edge 86 and is fixed to the housing 12 .

A microphone element 68 is fixed to the rear surface of the substrate 22 . A MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) microphone element may be used as the microphone element 68 . The substrate 22 is provided with an acoustic hole 24 in front of the microphone element 68 for communicating between the front side and the rear side.

A notch 76 is provided on the right edge of the substrate 22 , and a communicating hole 78 is formed between the notch 76 and the inner wall of the housing 12 . The retainer 14 extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 through the communication hole 78 to reach the rear surface of the substrate 22 and has a curved portion extending leftward from the rear surface of the substrate 22 . The retainer 14 is brought into close contact with the substrate 22 by the curved portion.

The retainer 14 may be molded by injection molding. A thermoplastic resin such as an elastomer material may be used as the material for molding the retainer 14 . In injection molding, molten molding material is poured from the front surface of substrate 22 . The molding material flows through the connecting holes 78 to the rear surface side of the substrate 22 and spreads over the rear surface of the substrate 22 . Formed in front of the substrate 22 is a sound collecting shape portion 18 that communicates the front region with the acoustic hole 24 and guides sound from the front region to the microphone element 68 side. The retainer 14 is fixed to the front side of the substrate 22 by solidifying the molding material.

As described above, the in-vehicle microphone device according to the present embodiment is arranged in the housing 12 having the microphone housing space 74 with its front side open, and in the microphone housing space 74 with one surface (front surface) facing forward. It has a substrate 22 to which a microphone element 68 is fixed on the other surface (rear surface), and a retainer 14 formed on the substrate 22 . The substrate 22 has an acoustic hole 24 that communicates the front side and the rear side at the position of the microphone element 68, and a notch 76 as a retainer communication structure that extends the retainer 14 from the front side to the rear side. Housing 12 and notch 76 form a communicating hole 78 . The retainer 14 has a sound collecting shape portion 18 that guides sound from the front region to the microphone element 68 side, and a wraparound shape portion that wraps around from the front side of the substrate 22 to the rear side of the substrate 22 through the communication hole 78. .

In the in-vehicle microphone device according to the present embodiment, the retainer 14 is brought into close contact with the substrate 22 by the curved portion, and formation of a gap between the retainer 14 and the substrate 22 is prevented. This makes it difficult for the microphone element 68 to collect noise coming from directions other than the desired direction, thereby improving the directional characteristics of the in-vehicle microphone device.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to a modification. In this in-vehicle microphone device, a through-hole 70 is provided as a retainer communication structure that penetrates the substrate 22 in the front-rear direction, and the through-hole 70 forms a wrap-around shape in the retainer 14 . In the example shown in FIG. 4, two through holes 70 are provided. Each through hole 70 extends the retainer 14 from the front side to the rear side. In injection molding, the molten molding material passes through each through-hole 70 and flows to the rear surface side of the substrate 22 and spreads over the rear surface of the substrate 22 . The retainer 14 is fixed to the front side of the substrate 22 by solidifying the molding material.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to the second embodiment. A microphone accommodating portion 90 in the in-vehicle microphone device is obtained by removing the left side wall 64 of the microphone accommodating portion 60 in FIG. 3 and providing a connector terminal guide wall 80 instead. The connector terminal guide wall 80 extends leftward from the vicinity of the front end of the connector innermost wall 54 and bends forward on the right side of the left end of the microphone innermost wall 62 to reach the tip. The tip of the connector terminal guide wall 80 is in contact with the rear surface of the substrate 22 . The connector terminal 84 laterally penetrates the innermost connector wall 54 from the connector receiving space 72 , bends forward outside the innermost connector wall 54 , extends forward along the connector terminal guide wall 80 , and opens into the substrate 22 . It penetrates the connector insertion hole 94 provided. In the microphone housing portion 90, the right side wall 66 of the microphone housing portion 60 in FIG. 3 is removed and replaced with an L-shaped engaging structure 82 that extends forward from the partition wall 56 and bends to the right to form an L shape. The retainer 14 may be molded by injection molding. The melted molding material extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 to the left end and rearward, covers the connector terminals 84 and the connector terminal guide wall 80, and wraps around into the space between the microphone innermost wall 62 and the connector terminal guide wall 80. . The molding material may cover the entire connector terminal 84 or may cover a portion of the connector terminal 84 . As a result, the left end of the retainer 14 is formed with a curved portion that wraps around the substrate 22 to the rear.

FIG. 6 shows an exploded perspective view of the in-vehicle microphone device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the in-vehicle microphone device before the retainer 14 is injection-molded, viewed obliquely from the lower left rear. 6 and 7 show an example in which four connector terminals 84 are provided. A connector terminal fixing groove 92 extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the connector terminal guide wall 80 . Each connector terminal 84 is fitted into the corresponding connector terminal fixing groove 92 and extends in the front-rear direction. Each connector terminal 84 passes through a connector insertion hole 94 formed in the board 22 in the process of fixing the board 22 to the housing 12 . Each connector terminal 84 may be soldered to a pattern provided on substrate 22 .

Although FIG. 6 depicts retainer 14 as a separate member detached from housing 12 and substrate 22, this is for illustrative purposes only and retainer 14 may be formed by injection molding. The retainer 14 extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 to the left end and extends rearward, and also extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 to the right end and protrudes rearward. An engaging hole structure 96 having a vertically extending rectangular hole 98 is formed in a region projecting rearward from the right end of the substrate 22 . A rectangular hole 98 in engagement hole structure 96 surrounds L-shaped engagement structure 82 (FIG. 5) in housing 12 to secure the retainer to substrate 22 and housing 12 .

As described above, in the in-vehicle microphone device according to the second embodiment, the housing 12 has the connector terminal guide wall 80 (conductor guide wall) that supports the connector terminal 84 as the conductor extending rearward from the substrate 22 on the wall surface. is doing. The in-vehicle microphone device according to the second embodiment further has a curved portion that extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 to the rear surface of the substrate 22 via the edge of the substrate 22 and wraps around the connector terminal guide wall 80 . At least a portion of the connector terminal 84 is covered with the wrapping shape portion.

With such a configuration, the retainer 14 extends rearward from the front surface of the board 22 to the left end, covers the connector terminals 84 and the connector terminal guide walls 80 , and extends between the innermost wall 62 of the microphone and the connector guide walls 80 . Wrap around the space in between. The retainer 14 extends from the front surface of the substrate 22 to the right end and protrudes rearward to form an engagement hole structure 96 that surrounds the L-shaped engagement structure 82 of the housing 12 . That is, the L-shaped engaging structure 82 of the housing 12 fits into the rectangular hole 98 of the L-shaped engaging hole structure 96 of the retainer 14 . As a result, the retainer 14 is in close contact with the substrate 22 and the housing 12, and formation of a gap between the retainer 14 and the substrate 22 is prevented. This makes it difficult for the microphone element 68 to collect noise coming from directions other than the desired direction, thereby improving the directional characteristics of the in-vehicle microphone device.

Above, an embodiment was described in which the microphone element 68 was fixed to the rear surface of the substrate 22 . A microphone element 68 may be fixed to the front surface of the substrate 22 . In this case, the substrate 22 does not have to be provided with the acoustic hole 24 , and the microphone element 68 is fixed to the innermost portion of the sound collecting shape portion 18 . The sound collecting shape 18 guides sound from the front area to the microphone element 68 .

10 microphone body, 12 housing, 14 retainer, 16 front opening, 18 sound collecting shape, 20 protruding claw, 22 substrate, 24 sound hole, 26 upper wall, 28 lower wall, 30 bezel, 32 front hole, 34 claw Receiving hole 36 Front panel 38 Square cylindrical part 40 Fixed wall 42 Connector opening 50 Connector part 52 Connector guide wall 54 Connector innermost wall 56 Partition wall 58 Connector claw receiving hole 60, 90 Microphone accommodation Part 62 Microphone innermost wall 64 Left side wall 66 Right side wall 68 Microphone element 70 Through hole 72 Connector receiving space 74 Microphone receiving space 76 Notch 78 Communication hole 80 Connector terminal guide wall 82 L Characteristic engagement structure 84 Connector terminal 86 Board fixing edge 92 Connector terminal fixing groove 94 Connector insertion hole 96 Engagement hole structure 98 Rectangular hole.

Claims (6)

a housing having a microphone housing space with an open front;
a substrate arranged in the microphone housing space with its front surface facing forward and having a microphone element fixed thereto;
a retainer formed on the substrate;
The substrate is
comprising a retainer connection structure that allows the retainer to extend from the front side to the rear side,
The retainer is
a sound collecting shape portion that guides sound from the front region to the microphone element side;
an in-vehicle microphone device, comprising: a wrap-around shaped portion extending from the front side of the substrate to the rear side of the substrate through the retainer communication structure. In the in-vehicle microphone device according to claim 1,
The retainer communication structure includes:
A notch that forms a gap between the inner wall surface of the housing,
The in-vehicle microphone device, wherein the winding portion extends from the front side of the substrate through the notch to the rear side of the substrate. In the in-vehicle microphone device according to claim 1,
The retainer communication structure includes:
Equipped with a through hole for extending the retainer from the front side to the rear side,
The in-vehicle microphone device, wherein the winding portion extends from the front surface side to the rear surface side of the substrate through the through hole. a housing having a microphone housing space with an open front;
a substrate arranged in the microphone housing space with its front surface facing forward and having a microphone element fixed thereto;
a retainer formed on the substrate;
The housing has a wire guide wall that supports a wire extending backward from the substrate on the wall surface,
The retainer has a sound collecting shape part that guides sound from a front area to the microphone element side;
an in-vehicle microphone device, comprising: a wrap-around shaped portion extending from the front surface of the substrate through the edge thereof to the rear surface of the substrate and wrapped around the conductor guide wall. The board on which the microphone element is fixed is housed in a housing with the front facing forward and the front being open,
A retainer having a sound collecting shape portion that guides sound from a front region to the microphone element side is formed on the substrate by injection molding,
making the retainer wrap around from the front surface side to the rear surface side of the substrate through a retainer communication structure provided on the substrate by injection molding;
A method of manufacturing an in-vehicle microphone device, characterized by: The board on which the microphone element is fixed is housed in a housing with the front facing forward and the front being open,
A retainer having a sound collecting shape portion that guides sound from a front region to the microphone element side is formed on the substrate by injection molding,
The housing has a wire guide wall that supports a wire extending backward from the substrate on the wall surface,
By injection molding, the retainer is wrapped around the front surface of the substrate through the edge thereof to the rear surface of the substrate and further to the conductor guide wall;
A method of manufacturing an in-vehicle microphone device, characterized by:

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