U.S. patent number 3,562,446 [Application Number 04/703,673] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-09 for acoustical-electrical transducer and support assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Akustische U. Kino-Gerate Gesellschaft M.B.H.. Invention is credited to Konrad Wolf.
United States Patent |
3,562,446 |
Wolf |
February 9, 1971 |
ACOUSTICAL-ELECTRICAL TRANSDUCER AND SUPPORT ASSEMBLY
Abstract
An acoustical-electrical transducer and support assembly is
composed of an elongated tubular member which supports a microphone
capsule of a condenser microphone at one end and the preamplifier
of the microphone at the other end with electrical circuitry
extending through the tubular member connecting the capsule and the
preamplifier. A counterweight member is movably positionable on the
end of the tubular member opposite the microphone capsule and
incorporates the preamplifier. The tubular member and its attached
parts are pivotally supported on a support member at the center of
gravity of the assembly. In this arrangement the microphone capsule
can be selectively positioned about the support member with its
preamplifier disposed in a spaced nonobstructing location on the
tubular member.
Inventors: |
Wolf; Konrad (Bad Voslau,
OE) |
Assignee: |
Akustische U. Kino-Gerate
Gesellschaft M.B.H. (Vienna, OE)
|
Family
ID: |
3512685 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/703,673 |
Filed: |
February 7, 1968 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 13, 1967 [OE] |
|
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D1383/67 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
381/362;
381/174 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R
1/08 (20130101); F16M 11/10 (20130101); F16M
13/00 (20130101); F16M 2200/041 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F16M
13/00 (20060101); H04R 1/08 (20060101); H04r
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;179/146,147,148,148F,149,150,151,152,1A,111
;248/123,124,125,162,348 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Claffy; Kathleen H.
Assistant Examiner: Myers; Randall P.
Claims
I claim:
1. An acoustical-electrical transducer and support assembly
comprising a condenser microphone, said condenser microphone
comprising a microphone capsule, a preamplifier, and electrical
means connecting said microphone capsule and preamplifier, an
elongated tubular member for supporting said condenser microphone,
said microphone capsule secured to one end of said tubular member,
a counterweight member adjustably positioned on said tubular member
adjacent the opposite end thereof from said microphone capsule,
said preamplifier mounted within said counterweight member, said
electrical means connecting said microphone capsule and
preamplifier extending through said tubular member and comprising a
low-capacitance line, a support member for pivotally supporting
said tubular member condenser microphone and counterweight member
at the center of gravity thereof with a short section of said
tubular member on which said counterweight is mounted extending
from one side of said support member and a considerably longer
section of said tubular member having said microphone capsule
mounted on its end extending from the other side of said support
member and the length of the longer section being a multiple of the
length of the short section, so that a relatively small microphone
capsule can be positioned on the end of a lightweight boomlike said
tubular member for positioning the counterbalanced microphone
capsule for sound pickup with its preamplifier spaced at the other
end of said tubular member in a nonobstructing position.
2. An acoustical-electrical transducer and support assembly, as set
forth in claim 1, wherein said counterweight member is a sleevelike
member disposed about said tubular member and incorporating said
preamplifier.
3. An acoustical-electrical transducer, as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said support member is a fork-shaped bracket, and a pin
extending through said tubular member and supported in said bracket
for pivotally positioning said tubular member about said support
member.
4. An acoustical-electrical transducer and support assembly, as set
forth in claim 1, wherein a base member supports said support
member, said base member comprises a heavily weighted plate and a
layer of resilient material secured to the lower surface of said
plate and arranged to contact the supporting surface on which said
assembly is positioned.
Description
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mounting an acoustical-electrical
transducer, preferably for a condenser microphone, in which
mounting the acoustical-electrical transducer is carried at one end
of a long arm and the other end of the arm contains an
amplifier.
Such mountings are used on theater stages, in concert halls and
very often for television programs because they enable the use of
very small microphones very close to the artist whereas the visual
impression is not disturbed or the overall impression of the stage
scenery is not unduly affected.
With the present state of the art, a microphone, particularly a
condenser microphone, can be reduced in diameter and also in
length, although this is less significant, to such an extent that
the transducer can be secured at one end of a slender tube and a
preamplifier is provided at the other end of the tube and is
electrically connected to the microphone by a low-capacitance line.
The latter consists in most cases of a concentric radio-frequency
cable having a copper core 0.3 millimeters in diameter and an
insulating covering of foamed polyethylene. Alternatively, the
connecting tube itself may constitute the outer sheath of the cable
and the inner conductor may be spaced from the inside surface of
the tube by ceramic elements or the like. This design enables the
use of a particularly slender tube for connecting the microphone
and the amplifier.
For a fixation of the assembly comprising the microphone capsule,
connecting tube and preamplifier, the previous practice has been to
provide an extension at the free end of the housing in which the
amplifier is accommodated and to connect the assembly by means of a
clip or another suitable adapter to a heavy base, a stand or the
like. In the known assembly, the center of gravity may be close to
the periphery of the supporting surface so that the assembly may
tilt or a certain inclination must not be exceeded unless the base
is unduly heavy.
Another disadvantage of the known assembly is the fact that the
attenuation of impact sound is reduced when the connecting tube is
highly inclined and the floor stand is unevenly loaded. In this
case the resilient layer of the stand is excessively compressed on
one side so that its resilience is much reduced.
It is an object of the invention to reduce these disadvantages. The
invention is characterized in that the amplifier or the like is
accommodated in a housing which is designed to form a
counterweight, the long tubular arm connecting the microphone and
the amplifier is pivoted at the center of gravity of the
subassembly consisting of the arm, microphone and counterweight in
a forked bracket, and the counterweight is designed so that said
center of gravity is close to the amplifier housing.
According to another feature of the invention, the housing which
contains the amplifier or the like has an elongated cylindrical or
prismatic shape and the counterweight is substantially constituted
by a heavy part which entirely or partly surrounds the peripheral
surface.
According to the invention, this heavy part, which substantially
constitutes the counterweight of the housing, is slidably mounted
to enable an adjustment of the counterweight exactly to the
position which is required in view of the weight of the microphone
and the lever arm associated therewith. In a further development of
the invention, an adjusting device, e.g., a screw or the like, may
be provided for this purpose, and may be provided with a scale and
a pointer so that the correct adjustment of the counterweight,
e.g., for different types of microphones, can be visually indicated
and time-consuming attempts to find the correct adjustment are not
required.
The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the drawing, in which FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively, are
front and side elevations showing an assembly according to the
invention which is secured to a floor base and FIG. 3 shows the
fixation of the assembly to a stand.
As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the assembly according to the
invention comprises a tube 1, which carries at one end a
acoustical-electrical transducer, e.g., a condenser microphone
capsule 2. The amplifier housing 3 has suitably an elongated
cylindrical or prismatic shape and is carried at the other, lower
end of the tube 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The peripheral surface of the
housing 3 is formed in part by a preferably slidable sleeve 4,
which is designed to form together with the other parts of the
housing a counterweight for balancing the weight of the long lever
arm and the microphone carried thereby if the connecting tube
between the microphone and amplifier is pivoted according to the
invention close to the amplifier. In other words, the counterweight
is so heavy, in accordance with the invention, that the center of
gravity of the subassembly consisting of the tube 1, microphone 2
and housing 3 is close to the amplifier housing.
The connecting tube is pivoted at said center of gravity in a fork
7 by means of a resilient joint 5, which can be locked by a
setscrew 6. As is shown by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
fork is combined with a base, which consists of a massive cast-iron
plate 8 and an elastic interlayer 9, e.g., of rubber.
FIG. 3 shows the assembly according to the invention carried by a
stand 10. It is apparent that the overhang of the assembly can be
larger in this case than with a simple base as shown in FIGS. 1 and
2.
A cable guide is secured to the forked bracket 7 and serves to
retain the cable 11 extending from the amplifier 3.
* * * * *