JP2002369295A - Sound collector and cover for earphone - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem, when a user changes direction of his face in the case that a microphone is located away from a loudspeaker, the direction of the ears not matching with the direction of the microphone, the user has difficulty in grasping the direction of sound in that state. SOLUTION: A sound collector is provided with microphones 2 for receiving external sound and converting it into an electrical signal, an amplifier 3 having an integrated circuit for amplifying the external sound received by the microphone 2, and earphones 5 each having a loudspeaker 4 for converting the electrical signal into a sound signal. A sound collector body 6 is provided, on which the speaker 4 of the earphone 5 is inwardly provided and the microphone 2 is provided inwardly at a proximate position, away from the earphone 5 by a prescribed distance, the sound collector body 6 is connected to the amplifier 3 by a wiring 7 to make the earphone 5 and the microphone 2 face in the same direction, thereby enabling the user to grasp the direction of the sound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sound collector used by a hearing-impaired person or a birdwatching user to listen to surrounding sounds, and to an earphone cover for covering a speaker section of such an earphone. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a hearing aid of a medical device as a generally used sound collector. Hereinafter, this hearing aid will be described as an example. This hearing aid has a built-in battery, receives an external sound with a microphone, converts it into an electric signal, amplifies it with an integrated circuit (IC), and then makes the earphone hear the sound as a sound.

As this hearing aid, an earphone inserted into an ear, a microphone for receiving an external sound and converting it into an electric signal, and a hearing aid body incorporating an integrated circuit for amplifying the electric signal are connected by wiring. A hearing aid with a microphone and an integrated circuit provided in a hearing aid main body having an ear hook, and the hearing aid main body and an earphone are connected by a sound guide tube is generally used.

[0004] Further, a cover for covering the speaker unit may be attached to this type of earphone, but even if the cover is attached, depending on the shape of the user's ear and the hole diameter (external ear canal diameter), the earphone may be attached to the speaker unit. There may be gaps between the ears. When such a gap is generated, the surrounding sound enters the ear from the gap, making it difficult to hear the sound from the speaker.

As this type of prior art, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 8-99
Although there is an invention described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 96, this invention relates to an ear-hung type, and is not used for both ears as in the present invention.

[0006]

In recent years, hearing aids have been developed that allow a user to separately hear left and right sounds. For example, there is a type in which separate earphones are provided on the left and right ears, a microphone is provided at a lower position about 15 cm away from these earphones, and these are connected by wiring.

However, when the microphone and the speaker are separated from each other as described above, the directions of the ear and the microphone may not match when the direction of the face is changed. Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the direction of the sound with the face turned.

Although the earphones described above are provided with earplugs which can be inserted into the ears, the earphones of the users have different diameters of the ears. However, this is not a preferred form for all users.

On the other hand, a cover may be used for the earphone, but such a cover prevents the earphone from falling off.
It cannot prevent sound from entering the ear from around the earphone.

[0010]

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sound collector according to the present invention comprises a microphone for receiving an external sound and converting it to an electric signal, and a microphone for receiving the external sound received by the microphone. An amplifier having an integrated circuit for amplification, and an earphone having a speaker unit for converting an electric signal amplified by the amplifier into a sound signal, wherein the speaker unit of the earphone is provided inward and the microphone is connected to the earphone. And a sound collector main body provided outward at a predetermined position away from the main body, and the sound collector main body and the amplifier are connected by wiring. By providing the earphone and microphone in the sound collector body inward and outward in this way, the microphone faces the same direction even when the face direction is changed with the earphone attached to the ear, so the microphone and the earphone are always Are directed in the same direction so that the directionality of the sound can be easily grasped.

[0011] If the sound collector body is formed as an integral housing, an earphone is provided on the upper part of the sound collector body, and a microphone is provided on the lower part, the earphone can be used by the user when the user wears the ear. Since the microphone is supported, a stable mounting state can be maintained.

Also, the microphone is connected to the earphone by 2 to 4
If the microphone is provided at a position distant from the microphone by a distance of 1 cm, the microphone can be brought close to the earphone serving as the support portion, and a more stable wearing state can be maintained.

On the other hand, an earphone cover according to the present invention includes a mounting portion that covers the periphery of a speaker portion of the earphone, a cover portion that covers a front surface of the speaker portion with a predetermined gap formed, and a center portion of the cover portion. The sound collecting part projecting toward the external auditory canal of the ear at the deviated position is integrally formed with a resin material,
The sound collecting section is formed in a tapered shape, and an opening is provided at the tip. If the speaker section of the earphone is covered with such a cover, the sound of the speaker section is emitted from the projecting sound collection section toward the external auditory canal of the ear, so that the sound from the speaker section leaks to the outside or the external sound Can be prevented from getting into your ears.

Further, if the mounting portion, the cover portion, and the sound collecting portion are integrally formed of silicon resin, the adhesion to the ear is good, and it is possible to prevent sound from entering from the surroundings when the earphone is attached. it can.

Moreover, such an earphone cover is
If the sound collector is attached to the earphone, the sound from the speaker can proceed from the sound collector of the cover toward the ear canal, so that the speaker and the microphone can be provided close to the main body of the sound collector. Since the sound from the speaker does not interfere with the microphone, a sound collecting effect can be exhibited without generating howling.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a sound collector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where the sound collector is attached to an ear. 3A and 3B are drawings showing the earphone cover of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG.
Is a side view, (c) is an AA cross-sectional view, and (d) is a front view.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the earphone cover is attached to the sound collector shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sound collector 1 includes a microphone 2 for receiving an external sound and converting it into an electric signal, and an amplifier having an integrated circuit for amplifying the external sound received by the microphone 2. And an earphone 5 having a speaker unit 4 for converting an electric signal amplified by the amplifier 3 into a sound signal.

The microphone 2 and the earphone 5 are provided in a sound collector main body 6 formed of an integral housing. The speaker 4 of the earphone 5 is provided in an upper part, and the microphone 2 is provided in a lower part. It is provided outward. The microphone 2 is provided at a position close to the earphone 5 at a predetermined distance, for example, at a lower position 2 to 4 cm away from the earphone 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the predetermined distance H between the microphone 2 and the earphone 5 is preferably about 3 cm from the feeling of use when wearing and the weight balance.

The main body 6 of the sound collector and the amplifier 3 are connected by a wiring 7, and are connected by inserting a plug 8 provided at an end of the wiring 7 into a jack 9 provided in the amplifier 3. You.

Although the amplifier 3 is a commonly used one, its detailed description is omitted. However, the amplifier 3 incorporates a resistor, a capacitor and the like and an integrated circuit for amplification. The amplifier 3 is not particularly limited as long as it can amplify an electric signal. Reference numeral 10 denotes an adjustment volume for adjusting the volume (output signal) from the amplifier 3, and reference numeral 11 denotes a power switch.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the earphone cover 12 of the present invention comprises a mounting portion 13 for covering the speaker portion 4 of the earphone 5 provided on the sound collector main body 6 from the surroundings,
A cover part 14 covering the front surface of the speaker part 4 with a predetermined gap 18 formed and a sound collecting part 15 projecting toward the external auditory canal at a position deviated from the center of the cover part 14 are made of a resin material. It is formed integrally. The sound collecting portion 15 is formed in a tapered shape, and the sound collecting portion 1 is formed.
An opening 16 is provided at the tip of 5. The gap 18 may be a gap that allows sound to pass through.

The shape of the sound collecting portion 15 is provided so as to be deviated from the center of the speaker portion 4 and protrude from one portion of the outer peripheral portion, and when attached to the earphone 5 and attached to the ear, It is formed in a shape to be inserted into the user's ear canal. By forming the sound collecting portion 15 into a tapered shape, insertion into the external auditory canal is facilitated. With the sound collection unit 15 formed in this way, the sound emitted from the speaker unit 4 can be emitted from the back of the ear, and the user can hear only the sound from the speaker unit 4.

If the thus formed earphone cover 12 is integrally formed of silicon resin (silicone resin), the adhesion between the earphone 5 and the ear is improved.
With the earphone 5 attached, it is possible to prevent sound from entering the ear from the surroundings.

When the earphone cover 12 is provided on the earphone 5 of the sound collector 1 described above, the earphone 5 is mounted so that the sound collector 15 deviated from the center of the cover 14 is oriented symmetrically. If the earphones 15 are attached to the left and right ears such that the front of the ears 15 is used, one type of earphone cover 12 can be used for both the left and right ears.

As shown in FIG. 4, if the earphone cover 12 is attached so as to cover the speaker unit 4 of the sound collector 1, the earphone 5 is attached to the ear to cover the sound from the speaker unit 4. Since the sound collecting section 15 can be made to go deeper into the ear, even if the speaker section 4 and the microphone 2 are provided close to the sound collector main body 6, the sound collecting effect can be obtained without causing howling due to sound interference. Can be demonstrated.

A procedure for using the sound collector 1 configured as described above will be described below. First, the plug 8 provided at the end of the wiring 7 from the sound collector body 6 is inserted into the jack 9 provided on the amplifier 3 and connected.

With the connection thus made, as shown in FIG. 2, the earphone 5 is attached to the ear 17 with the microphone 2 of the sound collector main body 6 facing down. Then, if the volume is adjusted by the adjustment volume 10 after the switch 11 of the amplifier 3 is turned on, the sound received by the microphone 2 provided in the sound collector main body 6 is input to the amplifier 3 from the wiring 7 as an electric signal. The electric signal amplified by the amplifier 3 is
Through the speaker unit 4 of the earphone 5 provided in the sound collector body 6 through the ear. In a state where the earphone 5 is attached to the ear 17 in this manner, the earphone cover 12 is in close contact with the ear 17 and the opening 16
You can hear only the sound from. In addition, since the sound of the speaker unit 4 is emitted from the opening 16 at the back of the ear by the earphone cover 12 provided on the earphone 5, it is possible to prevent sound from entering from around the earphone 5 and to prevent sound from being heard from the back of the ear. Thus, even if the speaker section 4 and the microphone 2 are provided close to each other, the sound does not interfere, and no howling occurs.

Further, in this embodiment, the earphone 5 is attached to the sound collector main body 6 which is a housing integrally formed with the earphone 5.
And the microphone 2 are provided close to each other, so that even when the face direction is changed, the microphone 2 also faces in the same direction as the earphone 5, and the sound in the direction toward the ear can be received and heard at a position close to the ear. Since the left and right sounds can be heard in so-called stereo from the earphones 5 attached to both ears, it is easy to grasp the directionality and sense of distance of the sound.

Further, a microphone 2 serving as a sound input unit
In addition, the earphone 5 serving as a sound output unit is separated from the amplifier 3 and a configuration such as a battery is provided in the amplifier 3, so that it is also possible to reduce the weight of parts mounted on the ears.

In addition, since the earphone 5 is in close contact with the ear by the earphone cover 12, the earphone 5 can be fixed to the ear without being greatly affected by individual differences such as the shape of the user's ear and the size of the hole. The earphone 5 can be used.

In the above embodiment, the earphone 5 and the microphone 2 are brought close to each other at a predetermined distance of about 3 cm. However, they are provided close to the sound collector main body 6 so that they face in the same direction. The predetermined distance is not limited to this embodiment.

Further, the above-described embodiment is one embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0033]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above, and has the following effects.

Since the microphone and the earphone move in the same direction in the same manner as the movement of the ear, the direction of the sound coincides with the direction of the ear, and the directionality of the sound can be easily grasped.

Further, by mounting the earphone cover, the wearing state is stabilized, and the external noise is prevented from coming into close contact with the ear. Even if the speaker and the microphone are provided close to each other, howling can be prevented. Becomes

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a sound collector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where the sound collector shown in FIG. 1 is worn on an ear.

3A and 3B are drawings showing an earphone cover of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view, FIG. 3B is a side view, FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 3D is a front view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where an earphone cover is attached to the sound collector shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sound collector 2 ... Microphone 3 ... Amplifier 4 ... Speaker part 5 ... Earphone 6 ... Sound collector body 7 ... Wiring 8 ... Plug 9 ... Jack 10 ... Adjustment volume 11 ... Power switch 12 ... Earphone cover 13 ... Mounting part 14 ... cover part 15 ... sound collecting part 16 ... opening part 17 ... ear 18 ... gap H ... predetermined distance

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A microphone for receiving an external sound and converting it into an electric signal, an amplifier having an integrated circuit for amplifying the external sound received by the microphone, and converting the electric signal amplified by the amplifier into a sound signal An earphone having a speaker unit to be provided, wherein the speaker unit of the earphone is provided inward, and the microphone is provided outward at a close position at a predetermined distance from the earphone. A sound collector in which a sound device main body and the amplifier are connected by wiring. 2. The sound collector according to claim 1, wherein the sound collector main body is formed by an integral housing, an earphone is provided on an upper part of the sound collector main body, and a microphone is provided on a lower part. 3. The microphone is 2 to 4 cm from the earphone.
3. The sound collector according to claim 2, wherein the sound collector is provided at a remote position. 4. A mounting portion for covering the periphery of a speaker portion of the earphone, a cover portion for covering a front surface of the speaker portion with a predetermined gap formed, and an ear canal at a position deviated from the center of the cover portion. An earphone cover in which a sound-collecting portion protruding toward the housing is integrally formed of a resin material, and the sound-collecting portion is formed in a tapered shape, and an opening is provided at a tip end. 5. The earphone cover according to claim 4, wherein the mounting portion, the cover portion, and the sound collecting portion are integrally formed of silicon resin. 6. A sound collector, wherein the earphone cover according to claim 4 or 5 is attached to the earphone of the sound collector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.