Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices – Binaural and stereophonic – Stereo sound pickup device
Patent
1989-10-20
1991-04-09
Isen, Forester W.
Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices
Binaural and stereophonic
Stereo sound pickup device
H04R 5027
Patent
active
050070916
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns a listening device for supervision or wildlife observation purposes, said device being mounted on a pair of binoculars or a telescope and provided with means for electronic amplification of sound.
The objects to be observed or supervised are generally at a distance necessitating the use of binoculars or a telescope and a directional sonic detector with an amplifier. Sometimes it is also necessary to record the sounds produced by the object observed (e.g. when a strange bird is to be later identified on the basis of its utterins). Among the most commonly used listening and recording devices is the parabolic reflector, which is about 1 m in diameter and is used with an amplifier and a recording device, but such a reflector is difficult to direct accurately. U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,056 proposes an apparatus using a hand-held parabolic reflector of a diameter of about 45 cm, which is somewhat easier to handle but is still very difficult to use together with binoculars. Of the numerous other types of directional microphones (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,401,859, 3,793,489, 3,715,500, 3,657,490 or 4,421,957), none has become widely accepted for use in wildlife observation.
There is a Norwegian patent (No. 21869) of the year 1911 which proposes a hearing aid that is mounted on opera glasses. The hearing aid consists of trumpets placed around the objectives of the opera glass, with the trumpet opening in the forward direction, the sound being passed from the rear end of the trumpet to the user's ears via hose pipes like those of a stethoscope.
There are various hearing aids (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,983,336, 3,665,121, 3,770,911) which can be used together with binoculars. However, they are not designed for use by people with normal hearing and have no provision for the recording of sound. Besides, hearing aids mounted on the spectacle frame are difficult to use together with binoculars.
There are several types of microphones of integral construction which are designed for use with narrow-film cameras or video cameras, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,736 (Camera and microphone having variable directional characteristics in accordance with a zoom lens control). These microphones are generally designed to be directionally selective in the first place with regard to acoustic signals recorded indoors from a distance of a few meters, so that the sensitivity of the microphone and amplifier is not sufficient for the recording of weak sounds from a long distance. Although the microphones used in connection with narrow-film or video cameras are applicable for recording and listening purposes, the visual perception obtained through the view-finder of the camera is not comparable in brilliance and sharpness to the image provided by binoculars or a telescope the cameras often use ground-glass view-finder lenses with inferior contrast and luminous efficiency. Besides, the cameras are mainly designed for the recording of images (and sound) and not for audiovisual observation as in the case of the present invention.
The recording equipment currently used in wildlife observation faces the user with many problems due to the large size and weight of the directional microphone and tape recorder. The sizeable directional microphone is also sensitive to structureborne noise, necessitating the use of a stand. In addition to the audio recording equipment, a separate telescope or a pair of binoculars is needed to enable the object to be located, but since the directional settings of the two observation devices have to be adjusted separately--a task requiring great accuracy--simultaneous visual and acoustic observation is difficult. The combination of an opera glass and an ear trumpet proposed by the NO patent No. 21869 comes closest to the idea of the present invention, but as a purely mechanical construction it is clearly not suited for recording purposes and it has no provision for volume or tone control. In outdoor use the trumpets are sensitive to wind noise and the device is inconvenient to use because of the stethoscope pipes req
REFERENCES:
patent: 3253457 (1966-05-01), Pakala et al.
patent: 3657490 (1972-04-01), Scheiber
patent: 3665121 (1972-05-01), Weiss
patent: 3715500 (1973-02-01), Sessler et al.
patent: 3770911 (1973-11-01), Knowles et al.
patent: 3793489 (1974-02-01), Sank
patent: 3837736 (1974-09-01), Ogiso et al.
patent: 3881056 (1975-04-01), Gibson et al.
patent: 3983336 (1976-09-01), Malek et al.
patent: 4241957 (1983-12-01), Wallace, Jr.
patent: 4401859 (1989-08-01), Watson
patent: 4633498 (1986-12-01), Waruke et al.
patent: 4741035 (1988-04-01), Genuit
Adolfsen Pekka
Alasaarela Esko
Rahkonen Timo
Isen Forester W.
UTK Uuden Teknologian Keskus Oy
LandOfFree
Procedure and device for facilitating audiovisual observation of does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Procedure and device for facilitating audiovisual observation of, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Procedure and device for facilitating audiovisual observation of will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2040987