Yamaha Corporation

Junya Suzuki

Yuma Horio

Toshihisa Suzuki

Satoshi Iwasaki

Takahisa Tachibana

A semiconductor microphone unit includes a semiconductor microphone chip having a diaphragm covering an inner hole of a support. The support is adhered onto the surface of a support substrate whose thermal expansion coefficient higher than the thermal expansion coefficient of the support via a thermosetting adhesive in such a way that the diaphragm is positioned opposite to the surface of the support substrate. The thermosetting adhesive has a tensile elastic modulus allowing a contraction of the support substrate to be transmitted to the support in a hardened state when the semiconductor microphone chip is cooled together with the support substrate. Thus, it is possible to reduce the tensile stress of the diaphragm, which occurs during the manufacturing of the semiconductor microphone chip, thus preventing the diaphragm from being unexpectedly reduced in strength; hence, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of the semiconductor microphone chip.

Semiconductor microphone unit

An artificial inner ear includes a speech processor that operates based on electricity generated by a thermoelectric transducer module, in which numerous thermoelectric elements join between oppositely arranged upper and lower substrates each having numerous electrodes. A heat absorption layer composed of a heat conductive material such as a resin, rubber, and metal is attached to the upper substrate of the thermoelectric transducer module. The heat absorption layer has deformability in shape in conformity with a prescribed part of the human body and is heated using human body temperature so as to cause a temperature difference between the upper and lower substrates, thus generating electricity in the thermoelectric transducer module. A heat-dissipation member composed of aluminum can be attached to the lower substrate so as to increase the temperature difference.

Artificial inner ear and thermoelectric generator therefor

Thermoelectric material is produced through a process sequence including a liquid quenching, a primary solidification such as a hot pressing or extrusion and an upset forging; although the C-planes of the crystal grains are directed in parallel to the direction in which the force is exerted on flakes during the hot pressing/extrusion, the a-axes are randomly directed; the a-axes are oriented in a predetermined direction through the upset forging; this results in improvement of electric resistivity without reduction in the figure of merit.

Growing community of inventors

Iwata, Japan

Junya Suzuki