JP2017011554A - Bone conduction speaker system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bone conduction speaker system for improving easiness in listening to a sound by effectively transmitting the sound.SOLUTION: A bone conduction speaker system 10 includes: a microphone part 50 for detecting a voice; a bone conduction speaker part 70 for outputting the voice detected by the microphone part 50; an ultrasonic probe 81 for sending an ultrasonic wave into a living body, and for receiving the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave; a position specification part 100 for specifying a target position from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave probe 81; and a notification part 110 for notifying the information of the target position specified by the position specification part 100.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a bone conduction speaker system for transmitting sound using bone conduction.

  In recent years, bone conduction speakers have been used. The bone conduction speaker is a speaker that directly transmits sound to the cochlea of the auditory organ using the human bone of the user as a medium.

  Normally, the sound can be heard in the way that sound wave vibration first reaches the eardrum through the ear canal and vibrates the eardrum. The vibration generated in the eardrum is amplified by the ossicles in the middle ear and transmitted to the cochlea in the inner ear, causing the lymph fluid filling the cochlea to vibrate. When the cochlear lymph fluid vibrates, hair cells of the auditory nerve located in the cochlea vibrate and are converted into electrical signals, transmitted to the brain through the auditory nerve, and recognized as sound.

  On the other hand, the bone conduction speaker can directly vibrate cochlear lymph without passing through the external auditory canal, tympanic membrane, and ossicles by vibrating the skull surrounding the cochlea (for example, Patent Document 1). reference). For this reason, the bone conduction speaker is effective as a device for people who are difficult to hear sound such as under a high volume or who are hard of hearing to hear the sound.

  Hearing loss includes sound-transmitting hearing loss that makes it difficult for sound to be transmitted from the outer ear to the middle ear, and sound-sensitive hearing loss that makes it difficult for sound to be transmitted inside the inner ear. Hearing loss that is accompanied by both conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss is called mixed hearing loss, and senile deafness that occurs due to aging belongs to this.

JP 2008-135991 A

  The bone conduction speaker can transmit sound directly to the cochlea without going through the outer and middle ears, so it is effective for conductive hearing loss, but the inner function is lower than the inner ear like senile deafness. The sensorineural hearing loss is not always effective. Therefore, it is preferable to make the bone conduction speaker act more effectively.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bone conduction speaker system in which sound is effectively transmitted to improve the ease of hearing.

  The bone conduction speaker system according to the present invention that achieves the above object includes a microphone unit that detects sound, a bone conduction speaker unit that outputs the sound detected by the microphone unit as vibration, and an ultrasonic wave to the living body. An ultrasonic wave transmitting unit, an ultrasonic wave receiving unit receiving a reflected wave of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit, and a reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit A position specifying unit that specifies a target position from the above, and a notification unit that notifies information on the target position specified by the position specifying unit.

  The bone conduction speaker system configured as described above can identify the target position from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit, and notify the information by the notification unit, while checking the notification unit, It is possible to set the bone conduction speaker unit in a desired position and direction, and it is possible to transmit sound effectively and make it easier to hear.

It is a block diagram which shows the bone conduction speaker system which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the bone conduction speaker system which concerns on embodiment. It is a front view which expands and shows a bone conduction speaker system. It is a side view which expands and shows a bone conduction speaker system. It is a rear view which expands and shows a bone conduction speaker system. It is a rear view which expands and shows a bone conduction speaker system. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control of a bone conduction speaker system. It is the schematic for demonstrating the usage example of a bone-conduction speaker system. It is an expansion schematic for explaining the example of use of a bone conduction speaker system. It is a side view which shows the modification of a bone conduction speaker system. It is a front view which shows the other modification of a bone conduction speaker system.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the dimension ratio of drawing is exaggerated on account of description, and may differ from an actual ratio.

  The bone conduction speaker system 10 according to the present embodiment is a device for transmitting sound to a person with hearing loss. The bone conduction speaker system 10 can be used, for example, by a medical worker such as a doctor or nurse to transmit his / her voice to a patient with presbycusis.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the bone conduction speaker system 10 includes a storage unit 30, a control unit 40, a microphone unit 50 that collects sound, a voice processing unit 60 that processes voice, and a bone conduction that vibrates bone. And a speaker unit 70. The bone conduction speaker system 10 further includes an ultrasonic exploration unit 80 for exploring a position, an image processing unit 90 for processing an image, a position identification unit 100 for identifying the position of a cochlea, and a notification unit 110 for notifying information. , A switch unit 120, a housing 20 for housing them, and a strap 130.

  The casing 20 includes a contact surface 23 on which the bone conduction speaker unit 70 and the ultrasonic exploration unit 80 are disposed and pressed against the skin, and a notification surface 24 opposite to the contact surface 23 and on which the notification unit 110 and the like are disposed. And are formed. On the side surface between the contact surface 23 and the notification surface 24, a concave gripping portion 21 that is easy for an operator to grip, and an annular connection portion 22 to which the strap 130 is connected are formed.

  The control unit 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an operation program, and includes a microphone unit 50, an audio processing unit 60, a bone conduction speaker unit 70, an ultrasonic exploration unit 80, an image processing unit 90, a position specifying unit 100, and a notification. The operation of the unit 110 and the switch unit 120 is comprehensively controlled.

  The storage unit 30 stores an operation program executed by the control unit 40 and various parameters used by the sound processing unit 60, the image processing unit 90, the position specifying unit 100, and the notification unit 110.

  The microphone unit 50 is a microphone that collects sound emitted by the operator, generates a sound signal from the collected sound, and transmits the sound signal to the sound processing unit 60.

  The audio processing unit 60 has a function of processing an audio signal input from the microphone unit 50. The audio processing unit 60 performs frequency conversion and volume adjustment on the input audio signal for each frequency band stored in the storage unit 30 in advance.

  The audible range in which the human ear can be heard is about 20 to 20000 Hz, but the frequency range necessary for listening to the human voice is about 200 to 8000 Hz. Among these, in senile deafness, it is difficult to hear high frequencies, and in particular, it is difficult to hear from a high frequency part of 4000 Hz or higher.

  By the way, although there are individual differences, as an example, many vowels are included in the low band of 200-1500 Hz, voiced consonants are included in the middle band of 1500-3000 Hz, and unvoiced consonants are included in the high band of 3000-6000 Hz It is. Therefore, in presbycusis, the low band containing vowels is easier to hear, the middle band containing voiced consonants is harder to hear than the low band, and the high band containing unvoiced consonants is more difficult to hear. In senile deafness, vowels can be heard even at about 30 dB, but voiced consonants are difficult to hear unless they are about 40 dB or more, and unvoiced consonants are difficult to hear unless they are about 50 dB or more. For this reason, the audio processing unit 60 can perform frequency conversion and volume adjustment for each band. For example, the voice processing unit 60 does not perform frequency conversion for a low band (125 to 1500 Hz) where vowels exist, and amplifies it to 30 dB or more when it is less than 30 dB. Then, the voice processing unit 60 converts the frequency of the middle band (1500 to 3000 Hz) with many voiced consonants to, for example, 1200 Hz or less, and amplifies it to 40 dB or more when the frequency is less than 40 dB. Furthermore, the speech processing unit 60 converts the frequency of a high band (3,000 to 6000 Hz) with many unvoiced consonants to 3000 Hz or less that is easy to hear even for presbycusis, and amplifies it to 50 dB or more when it is less than 50 dB. Thereby, vowels, voiced consonants, and unvoiced consonants can be frequency-converted and amplified for each band, and almost all voices can be converted to be recognizable. Note that the audio processing unit 60 may not perform audio frequency conversion or volume adjustment.

  The audio processing unit 60 transmits the frequency-converted and amplified audio signal to the bone conduction speaker unit 70.

  The bone conduction speaker unit 70 is a speaker including a contact 71 for exciting a bone and an actuator 72 for generating vibration. The actuator 72 generates vibration by the signal received from the sound processing unit 60 and vibrates the contact 71. The contact 71 is exposed from the housing 20 and can contact the patient. The contact 71 comes into contact with the skin 202 of the patient, and vibrates the skull 201 (see FIG. 9) located directly under the skin 202 through the skin 202. In the present embodiment, the contact 71 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the ultrasonic exploration unit 80.

  The ultrasonic exploration unit 80 includes an ultrasonic probe 81 that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic signal transmission / reception unit 82 that transmits and receives an ultrasonic signal to and from the ultrasonic probe 81.

  The ultrasonic probe 81 is provided with a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 which are piezoelectric elements that convert ultrasonic pressure and electricity to form a two-dimensional array. The surface of the ultrasonic transducer 83 is covered with a protective material capable of transmitting ultrasonic waves so as not to directly contact the skin 202.

  The ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82 supplies ultrasonic signals to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 during ultrasonic transmission. The ultrasonic transducer 83 that has received the ultrasonic signal for transmission transmits ultrasonic waves into the living body. At the time of ultrasonic wave reception, when a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 receive a reflected wave reflected at a site where the change in acoustic impedance in the living body is large, each transmits a signal to the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82. .

  The image processing unit 90 is a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image data (hereinafter referred to as image data) by a known method based on the received signals from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 received by the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82. ) Is generated.

  The position specifying unit 100 specifies the position of the cochlea 200 (see FIG. 9) from the image data generated by the image processing unit 90. The cochlea 200 is filled with lymph, and since the change in acoustic impedance is large at the boundary between the skull 201 and the cochlea 200, the ultrasonic wave is reflected and the position of the cochlea 200 can be specified. For example, when ultrasonic waves are transmitted by bringing the ultrasonic probe 81 into contact with the skin 202, first, the ultrasonic waves are strongly reflected on the surface of the skull 201, and further, the ultrasonic waves are strongly reflected on the cochlea 200 at the back. Therefore, the cochlea 200 can be specified by setting the threshold of the degree of reflection and the range in the depth direction in which the ultrasonic waves are reflected. The depth range from the skin 202 where the cochlea 200 is located varies from individual to individual, but is, for example, 30 mm to 90 mm for adults.

  The position specifying unit 100 can also detect the cavity 203 (see FIG. 9) present in the external auditory canal 204 and the middle ear 205, and specify the position of the cochlea 200 from the position of the cavity 203. Since the external auditory canal 204 and the inner ear 206 are filled with air, when the ultrasonic waves reach the external auditory canal 204 and the middle ear 205, the ultrasonic waves are almost totally reflected and are not transmitted to the back. For this reason, the cavity 203 including the external auditory canal 204 and the middle ear 205 can be easily identified from the image data. Note that the cavity 203 can be distinguished from the cochlea 200 in the image data because the ultrasonic waves are totally reflected. Since the cavity 203 extends from the skin 202 toward the back, and the cochlea 200 exists in the back, the position of the cochlea 200 can be calculated by specifying the extending direction of the cavity 203 from the image data.

  Moreover, it is also possible to specify the spiral special shape of the cochlea 200 and the arc shape at the boundary of the cavity 203 by image processing technology from the image data. As a technique for specifying the cochlea 200 or the cavity 203 from the three-dimensional (or two-dimensional) image data, for example, known object recognition using, for example, a SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) or HOG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients) as a local feature amount An algorithm can be used.

  The notification unit 110 includes an image monitor that is arranged on the notification surface 24 of the housing 20 and can display an image. The notification unit 110 includes a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. doing. The notification unit 110 can display the position of the cochlea 200 with an image. For example, when the cochlea 200 is displayed on the notification unit 110, the operator can confirm that the contact 71 of the bone conduction speaker unit 70 is facing the cochlea 200. When the cochlea 200 is not displayed on the notification unit 110, the contact 71 of the bone conduction speaker unit 70 is not directed to the cochlea 200, so the operator can move the housing 20 or change the direction of the bone conduction speaker unit 70. Can be urged. Note that the displayed image may be a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image generated by the image processing unit 90, or a tomographic image at a specific position (for example, a specific depth) (shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 5). Reference) or an image representing the position of the cochlea 200 with points or the like. Alternatively, the notification unit 110 indicates the direction in which the bone conduction speaker system 10 should be moved when the bone conduction speaker system 10 is not in a desirable position with respect to the cochlea 200 identified by the position identification unit 100 as shown in FIG. , Or an arrow or the like. Thereby, the movement of the bone conduction speaker system 10 can be prompted to the operator. When the bone conduction speaker system 10 is moved, the direction of the arrow changes in real time. When the bone conduction speaker system 10 reaches a desired position with respect to the cochlea 200 specified by the position specifying unit 100, an arrow or the like You may comprise so that a display may disappear. Alternatively, the notification unit 110 displays a specific color (for example, blue) or a character (for example, “OK”) when the position of the bone conduction speaker system 10 is desirable with respect to the specified cochlea 200, and the bone conduction speaker system. If 10 positions are not desired, a different specific color (eg red) or text (eg “NG”) can be displayed.

  The ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82 includes a second control unit (having a measurement unit, a calculation unit, and a comparison unit), and the second control unit includes the bone conduction speaker unit 70 on the skin on the skull. When the touch switch 120 is pressed, the amount of ultrasonic reflection is measured, the amount of reflection is calculated, the previous measurement value is compared with the current measurement value, and the magnitude of the measurement value is notified. 110 may be notified. The means for notifying by the notification unit 110 may be sound or light. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the position of the bone conduction speaker system 10 with respect to the cochlea 200 is desirable by bringing the bone conduction speaker unit 70 into contact several times.

  Further, the notification unit 110 may be a speaker that notifies whether or not the position of the bone conduction speaker system 10 with respect to the identified cochlea 200 is desirable by voice or buzzer sound. In addition, the notification unit 110 may be a light composed of an LED or the like for notifying by a color whether or not the position of the bone conduction speaker system 10 with respect to the specified cochlea 200 is desirable. The notification unit may be a vibrator that notifies information by vibration.

  1-4, the switch unit 120 is configured so that the operation of the bone conduction speaker system 10 starts when the ultrasonic probe 81 and the contact 71 of the casing 20 are brought into contact with the skin 202. 20 is provided. The switch part 120 includes, for example, a convex part 121 that is biased in a state of projecting by a spring (not shown), and two contact points (not shown) that are positioned apart in a state in which the convex part 121 projects. ing. The two contact points come into electrical contact when the convex portion 121 comes into contact with the skin 202 and is pushed into the housing 20, and a current flows to start the operation of the bone conduction speaker system 10. And the convex part 121 protrudes with a spring because the convex part 121 leaves | separates from the skin 202, and two contact points leave | separate and operation | movement of the bone conduction speaker system 10 is stopped. The configuration of the switch unit 120 is not limited to this. For example, the operation of the bone conduction speaker system 10 may be started when two electrodes come into contact with the skin 202 and current flows through the skin 202. A temperature sensor that starts the operation of the bone conduction speaker system 10 when the temperature rises in contact with the skin 202 may be used.

  The strap 130 is a string-like flexible member attached to the housing 20 so that the operator can be hung on the neck or the like. The operator can carry the strap 130 on the neck or the like, and can use the bone conduction speaker system 10 by gripping the grip portion 21 while the strap 130 is on the neck. Note that the form of the strap 130 is not limited to this. For example, a clip or the like that can be attached to clothes or the like is provided on the side opposite to the side to which the housing 20 is connected, or a reel that winds up a string-like member. A structure may be provided.

  Next, the method of using the bone conduction speaker system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 by taking as an example a case where an operator such as a doctor or a nurse talks with a patient with presbycusis. explain.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the operator holds the ultrasonic probe 81 and the contact 71 on the skin 202 covering the skull 201 of the patient while holding the strap 130 around the neck, as shown in FIGS. Make contact. Note that a known ultrasonic gel may be applied to the skin 202 with which the ultrasonic probe 81 is brought into contact in order to increase the ultrasonic conductivity.

  When the ultrasonic probe 81 and the contact 71 are brought into contact with the skin 202, the convex portion 121 of the switch unit 120 is pushed in, the two contact points inside the switch unit 120 come into contact, and the bone conduction speaker system 10 is contacted by the control unit 40. Is started (step S1).

  When the operation of the bone conduction speaker system 10 is started, the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82 of the ultrasonic exploration unit 80 is operated, and ultrasonic signals are sequentially transmitted to the plural ultrasonic transducers 83 of the ultrasonic probe 81. (Step S2). Each ultrasonic transducer 83 that has received the ultrasonic signal transmits the ultrasonic wave toward the body (step S3). Further, each ultrasonic transducer 83 receives a reflected wave that is reflected and returned at a site where the change in acoustic impedance is large, converts it into an electrical signal, and transmits it to the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82 (step S4). ).

  The received signal received by the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 82 is converted into image data by the image processing unit 90 (step S5).

  Next, the position specifying unit 100 specifies the position of the cochlea 200 from the obtained image data (step S6). If the position of the cochlea 200 can be specified, the position of the cochlea 200 is displayed on the notification unit 110 that is an image monitor (step S7). At this time, since a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 are provided in a two-dimensional array, it is highly possible that a wide range can be measured and the cochlea 200 can be specified. The notification of the position of the cochlea 200 in the notification unit 110 is preferably changed in real time. Thereby, it can be confirmed in real time whether the bone conduction speaker system 10 is arrange | positioned in the desired position. When the position of the cochlea 200 cannot be specified, a display indicating that the cochlea 200 is installed at an undesired position is displayed on the notification unit 110 (step S8). The operator can move the housing 20 to a desired position by moving the position of the ultrasonic probe 81 in contact with the skin 202 while monitoring the notification unit 110.

  When the position specifying unit 100 determines that the position of the bone conduction speaker system 10 with respect to the specified cochlea 200 is desirable, the operator confirms the information using the notification unit 110, and the ultrasonic probe 81 and the contactor 71. Speak to the microphone unit 50 while maintaining the position. The sound input to the microphone unit 50 is converted into a sound signal by the microphone unit 50 and transmitted to the sound processing unit 60. The audio processing unit 60 converts the frequency of the received audio signal according to the frequency band (step S9), and performs volume adjustment according to the frequency band (step S10). As a result, the high frequency sound that is difficult for the patient to hear is converted into a low frequency, and the high frequency sound that is difficult to hear is amplified, thereby making it easy to hear the sound even in the case of deafness.

  Next, the sound processing unit 60 transmits the sound signal amplified by converting the frequency to the bone conduction speaker unit 70. In the bone conduction speaker unit 70, the contact 71 vibrates by the actuator 72 and vibrates the skull 201 located immediately below the skin 202 (step S11). In this embodiment, since the contact 71 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the ultrasonic probe 81, if the cochlea 200 can be confirmed by any ultrasonic transducer 83 of the ultrasonic probe 81, The vibration from the conductive speaker unit 70 can be transmitted efficiently. When vibration can be efficiently transmitted to the cochlea 200 via the skull 201, it becomes easier for the patient to hear the sound even if the functions of the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear 206 are deteriorated.

  After the conversation is finished, the operator separates the bone conduction speaker system 10 from the skin 202 while holding the holding part 21. Thereby, the switch unit 120 is turned off, and the operations in the microphone unit 50, the audio processing unit 60, the bone conduction speaker unit 70, the ultrasonic exploration unit 80, the image processing unit 90, the position specifying unit 100, and the notification unit 110 are finished ( Step S12).

  As described above, the bone conduction speaker system 10 according to the present embodiment includes the microphone unit 50 that detects sound, the bone conduction speaker unit 70 that outputs the sound detected by the microphone unit 50 as vibration, and the ultrasonic wave. An ultrasonic probe 81 that transmits and receives a reflected wave of the transmitted ultrasonic wave (ultrasonic wave transmission unit, ultrasonic wave reception unit), and a reflected wave received by the ultrasonic probe 81 A position specifying unit 100 that specifies a target position; and a notification unit 110 that notifies information on the target position specified by the position specifying unit 100. The bone conduction speaker system 10 configured as described above specifies a target position from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic probe 81 and notifies the notification unit 110 of the information, so that the operator can notify the notification unit 110. It is possible to set the bone conduction speaker unit 70 in a desired position and direction while confirming the above, and it is possible to effectively transmit sound and make it easy to hear.

  Further, the ultrasonic probe 81 (ultrasonic wave transmission unit, ultrasonic wave reception unit) has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 83 arranged in a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array, and the position specifying unit 100 includes an ultrasonic wave. A target position can be specified by generating a tomographic image from the reflected wave received by the sonic probe 81. Therefore, a large amount of information can be obtained from the wide range by the arrayed ultrasonic probe 81, and the possibility of specifying the target position is improved.

  In addition, the position specifying unit 100 can specify the position of the cochlea 200 from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic probe 81 (ultrasonic wave receiving unit). For this reason, the bone conduction speaker unit 70 can be easily moved to a position where sound can be effectively transmitted to the cochlea 200.

  Further, the position specifying unit 100 specifies a cylindrical cavity 203 filled with air from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic probe 81 (ultrasonic wave receiving part), and from the position of the cavity 203. You may comprise so that the position of the cochlea 200 may be calculated. Thereby, even if it is a case where the position of the cochlea 200 cannot be specified directly, it becomes possible to specify the position of the cochlea 200 indirectly from the cavity part 203, and the possibility that the position of the cochlea 200 can be specified improves. .

  The notification unit 110 is an image monitor, and is located on the opposite side of the surface on which the two-dimensional array of ultrasonic transducers 83 included in the ultrasonic probe 81 (ultrasonic wave receiving unit) is disposed. For this reason, the position displayed on the image monitor can be displayed in common with the actual position, and the target position can be easily grasped.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the technical idea of the present invention. For example, as in the modification shown in FIG. 10, the bone conduction speaker system 140 specifies the driving unit 150 that changes the direction of the bone conduction speaker unit 70 and the excitation direction of the bone conduction speaker unit 70 by the position specifying unit 100. And a position changing unit 160 that operates the driving unit 150 so as to go to the set position. The drive unit 150 includes, for example, a plurality of linear motion actuators 151. By operating these actuators independently, the drive unit 150 can vibrate the bone conduction speaker unit 70 without moving the bone conduction speaker system 140. It becomes possible to control the direction so as to always automatically face in a desired direction. Thereby, the operability is remarkably improved, and the voice can be effectively transmitted to the cochlea 200 to make it easier to hear. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the site | part which has the same function as the above-mentioned embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission unit and the ultrasonic wave reception unit are configured by the same ultrasonic transducer 83, but may have different structures.

  Further, the ultrasonic transducer of the ultrasonic probe may be only one, not a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array.

  The shape of the contact of the bone conduction speaker unit is not particularly limited. For example, the contact 181 of the bone conduction speaker unit 180 is an ultrasonic probe as in the bone conduction speaker system 170 of the modification shown in FIG. 81 may be arranged side by side. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the site | part which has the same function as the above-mentioned embodiment, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

10, 140, 170 bone conduction speaker system,
21 gripping part,
50 Microphone part,
60 voice processing unit,
70, 180 bone conduction speaker,
71, 181 contact,
80 Ultrasonic exploration department,
81 Ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic wave transmitter, ultrasonic wave receiver),
82 Ultrasonic signal transmitter / receiver,
83 ultrasonic transducer,
90 Image processing unit,
100 location specifying part,
110 Notification section,
150 drive unit,
160 position changing unit,
200 Cochlea,
201 skull,
202 skin,
203 cavity.

Claims (6)

A microphone for detecting voice;
A bone conduction speaker unit that outputs the sound detected by the microphone unit as vibration;
An ultrasonic transmission unit for transmitting ultrasonic waves into the living body;
An ultrasonic wave receiving unit for receiving a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit;
A position specifying unit for specifying a target position from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit;
A bone conduction speaker system comprising: a notification unit that notifies information on the target position specified by the position specifying unit. The ultrasonic transmission unit and the ultrasonic reception unit have a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a one-dimensional array or a two-dimensional array,
The bone conduction speaker system according to claim 1, wherein the position specifying unit is capable of specifying a target position by generating a tomographic image from a reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit.   The bone conduction speaker system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the position specifying unit can specify the position of the cochlea from the reflected wave received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit.   The said position specific | specification part specifies the cylindrical cavity filled with gas from the reflected wave received by the said ultrasonic wave receiving part, and calculates the position of a cochlea from the position of the said cavity. The bone conduction speaker system according to any one of? A drive unit for changing the excitation direction of the bone conduction speaker unit;
The position change part which act | operates the said drive part so that the excitation direction of the said bone conduction speaker part may go to the position specified by the said position specific | specification part, It further has a position change part. Bone conduction speaker system.   The said notification part is an image monitor, and is located in the surface opposite to the surface in which the two-dimensional array-shaped ultrasonic transducer | vibrator which the said ultrasonic wave receiving part has is provided. Bone conduction speaker system.

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