Tabletop microphone assembly
A tabletop microphone assembly is provided that exhibits improved spatial audio pick-up characteristics, for example for use as an extension microphone for a conference system. In one embodiment, the tabletop microphone assembly comprises at least a housing with a top cover and a bottom cover, wherein the bottom cover is configured for placement on a table surface; a printed circuit board, arranged in the housing; and a microphone, arranged between the printed circuit board and the bottom cover; wherein the microphone is facing the bottom cover.
1. A tabletop microphone assembly, comprising at least:
a housing with a top cover and a bottom cover, wherein the bottom cover is configured for placement on a table surface;
a printed circuit board, arranged in the housing between the top cover and the bottom cover; and
a microphone, arranged between the printed circuit board and the bottom cover; wherein the microphone is facing the bottom cover.
2. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein the microphone is a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) microphone.
3. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein the microphone is arranged at a distance of a maximum of 3 mm from the bottom cover.
4. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a cylindrical shape and comprises a longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis being arranged perpendicular to the top cover and the bottom cover.
5. The microphone assembly of claim 4 , wherein the microphone is arranged on the longitudinal axis.
6. The microphone assembly of claim 4 , wherein the housing further comprises a grille, arranged between the top cover and the bottom cover near a circumference of the housing.
7. The microphone assembly of claim 6 , wherein the top cover, the bottom cover, and the grille form a transparent acoustical chamber.
8. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the top cover and the bottom cover are disc-shaped.
9. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a frequency-selective attenuator, arranged on an inside of the bottom cover.
10. The microphone assembly of claim 9 , wherein the frequency-selective attenuator is disc-shaped.
11. The microphone assembly of claim 9 , wherein the frequency-selective attenuator comprises at least a layer of melamine foam.
12. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein bottom cover is made from a high-density material.
13. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , wherein the microphone is mounted on a first side of the printed circuit board, wherein the microphone assembly further comprises a user interface, arranged on a second side of the printer circuit board, opposite to the first side.
14. The microphone assembly of claim 13 , wherein the user interface comprises at least a mute control that allows to selectively mute the microphone.
15. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , configured as a tabletop microphone pod.
16. The microphone assembly of claim 1 , configured as an extension microphone for a conference system.
17. A conferencing system, comprising at least one or more tabletop microphone assemblies, wherein the one or more tabletop microphone assemblies each comprise at least:
a housing with a top cover and a bottom cover, wherein the bottom cover is configured for placement on a table surface;
a printed circuit board, arranged in the housing between the top cover and the bottom cover; and
a microphone, arranged between the printed circuit board and the bottom cover; wherein the microphone is facing the bottom cover.
18. The conferencing system of claim 17 , wherein the conferencing system is a video conferencing system further comprising one or more cameras, one or more video playback devices, and a network interface for communicating with at least one remote conferencing participant.
19. A tabletop microphone assembly, comprising at least:
a housing with a top cover, a bottom cover, and a grille, wherein the bottom cover is configured for placement on a table surface and the grille is arranged between the top cover and the bottom cover near a circumference of the housing;
a printed circuit board, arranged in the housing; and
a microphone, arranged between the printed circuit board and the bottom cover; wherein the microphone is facing the bottom cover; wherein
the top cover, the bottom cover, and the grille form a transparent acoustical chamber for the microphone.