JP3280336B2 - Hearing aid - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hearing aid for facilitating the detection and recognition of voice information transmitted and produced by a hearing-impaired person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In today's daily life, for example, information transmitted via voice, such as a door chime, a ringing tone of a telephone, or a kettle sound informing of boiling water, or a device transmitting information via voice. Many means are used.

In such a situation, a method of detecting and recognizing a person with mild hearing impairment by listening to the sound amplified by a hearing aid with earphones or the like is employed. For those who cannot hear the sound at all, such a method is not available, and there is no way to obtain information outside the field of view, so that a considerably inconvenient life has been forced.

Conventionally, as a method for solving such a problem, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-113360 discloses an individual device (door chime 1 as an example shown in FIG. And a telephone 2) for transmitting information by combining the transmitter 3 with a receiver 4 which is always carried by a user to receive information.

[0005] This is because a transmitter 3 which can be incorporated into an existing device for transmitting voice information or has its own microphone and can collect the voice output of the device is at a specific frequency according to the content of the voice information. The receiver transmits a signal radio wave 5 at the same time, and the receiver 4 which is always carried by the user (having a hearing impairment) receives the signal radio wave 5 at the specific frequency by the antenna 6 and confirms the contents thereof, thereby obtaining a signal from the device. Of the information reception and outputs the contents.

According to the above publication, the output form of the receiver 4 is converted into a perceptual form other than the auditory form, such as a vibration by a vibrator or a monitor display 8 by a light emitting diode 7 or a liquid crystal, and outputted.

[0007]

However, in the above-described voice information detection system, it is necessary to incorporate the transmitter 3 into individual voice information devices that need to be detected, in addition to the receiver 4 that is always configured by the user. Since it is necessary to set the frequency of the signal radio wave 5 transmitted and received by both the receiver 3 and the receiver 4 for each voice information device and each information content, the equipment cost and the operation cost are increased, and the setting is troublesome. .

[0008] Since the equipment incorporating the transmitter 3 is limited to those that operate electrically, for example, the sound of a kettle whistle that indicates the boiling of hot water or the sound of a dish that has been dropped without knowing. Since the sound generated by an unexpected accident cannot be handled, its application range has been considerably limited.

Therefore, the transmitter must be used only in a room where a large number of corresponding transmitters are installed, and the versatility is extremely low. Further, even when the magnitude of the volume is an important information element, the transmitter 3 not only transmits the signal radio wave 5 at a certain level until it determines that the volume has reached the preset volume level, but also receives the other level. Since the output of the detector 4 is only at a certain level, it is impossible to recognize the quantitative information as described above.

In view of the above problems, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, so that even a person with hearing impairment can transmit voice information that is transmitted and generated in the surroundings (here, a voice can be recognized not only by a human voice but also by human hearing). It is an object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid device that enables simpler and more accurate detection / recognition of various sounds (meaning various sounds) and has a wide range of use and high versatility.

[0011]

The present invention is configured as follows to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the present invention is applied to a hearing aid device for a hearing-impaired person to recognize what kind of sound is being transmitted and pronounced around, and converts an external sound wave into an electric sound signal. Audio input means for converting the audio signal, audio signal amplifying means for amplifying the audio signal, a plurality of frequency filters that respectively pass only frequency components in specific frequency bands different from each other in the amplified audio signal, An output signal provided in common to a plurality of frequency filters and passing through at least one of the plurality of frequency filters (or at least one of one or more frequency filters selected in advance from the plurality of frequency filters) First output means for notifying the operator of the occurrence of the erroneous information with tactile information, and a plurality of frequency filters provided in correspondence with each of the plurality of frequency filters. Second output means for allowing an operator to recognize, as visual information, the content corresponding to each output signal that has passed through a number of frequency filters (or one or more frequency filters preselected from the plurality of frequency filters) And so on.

[0012] Thus, even a person with hearing impairment can detect and recognize only specific audio information alone without being affected by unnecessary audio or noise among all audio information generated and pronounced around. It becomes possible.

Further , the first and second output means are provided.
By doing so, the tactile sensation, which is the same passive
Can instantly recognize the occurrence of voice information
In addition, the content of audio information is described by visual perception, which is an active perception.
It is possible to easily and accurately recognize.

The frequency filter is configured so that a frequency band can be arbitrarily set. This allows the user to arbitrarily select the audio information required by the user other than the electrically operated equipment without being limited to only the audio information of a specific apparatus, and to detect and recognize the information only by the apparatus alone. Become.

The voice input means is constituted by a microphone having directivity. As a result, it is possible to limit the influence of the surrounding noise to a minimum and to detect the voice information only by the specific device fixed and by the device alone.

The voice input means comprises a non-directional microphone. This makes it possible to grasp the surrounding situation over a wide range by the device alone when going out or the like.

Further, the second output means is configured to output in proportion to the level of the output signal. Thereby, it is possible to visually recognize the quantitative element of each audio information .

[0018] or said first output means, said plurality of circumferential
Vibration pad common to all wave number filters
Wherein the second output means outputs the plurality of frequency filters.
Multiple light emitting dies provided for each of the
Aether, and the vibrating pad is the inner peripheral surface of the wristband.
And the light emitting diode is disposed on the wristband.
Is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the .

This makes it very easy to simultaneously detect and recognize voice information in a plurality of frequency bands.
To become.

[0020]

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a hearing aid device 11 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, a microphone 12 is an input device that collects an external sound wave and converts it into an electric signal. The user can arbitrarily select one having directivity or omnidirectional according to the collection form, and the amplifier 13 amplifies the input audio signal to a level that can be input to the subsequent frequency filter 14. I do.

The audio signal amplified by the amplifier 13 and mixed with various frequency components including noise is input to four frequency filters 14a, b, c, and d simultaneously and in parallel, and each is arbitrarily selected by the user. Only the frequency components in the set frequency band are passed and filtered, and the output signals are converted into vibrations and output by the vibration pads 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d connected to the subsequent stages.

This vibration output is output from each vibration pad 15a, b,
The driving is performed by an unillustrated drive circuit provided in c and d with an amplitude proportional to the level of each output signal. Next, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the hearing aid device 11 according to the first embodiment having the above configuration. In this figure, the main body 16 is inserted and accommodated in a case 17, and the case 17 is a belt 18.
Can be mounted on the waist of the user.

The microphone 12 is buried at a corner position on the upper front side of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body 16, and an amplifier 13, a frequency filter 14, and a battery (not shown) are installed inside the main body 16.

Several control switches are provided on the outer surface of the main body 16. By operating these switches, the power of the entire apparatus is turned on / off and the frequency band to be detected is selected and set for each channel. It becomes possible.

Then, four vibrating pads 1 as output devices
5a, b, c, and d are displayed on the inner peripheral surface thereof, and a wristband 20 having a configuration that can be wound around a user's wrist by attaching a magic tape 19 to the vibration pad 15 and the main body 16
They are connected via a cable 21 connecting internal circuits.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the power switch is turned on, and if not set, a frequency band to be detected is set for each channel, which is a combination of the corresponding frequency filter 14 and the vibration pad 15. Specifically, by selecting a channel and pressing a setting button while audio at a specific frequency to be set is being input to the microphone 12, the frequency filter 14 corresponding to the currently selected channel is The frequency band of the audio information to be detected is set by storing the specific frequency.

The frequency band set in the frequency filter 14 is 16 to 20 KH, which is a normal human audible frequency.
Selection is made within the range of z. The above-mentioned frequency band setting may be fixedly set at the time of factory manufacturing. In this case, priority is given to a device that needs to reliably detect its sound, such as an emergency alarm. Frequency filter 1 so that as many types of emergency alarm sound frequencies as possible can be set.
4 must be provided. In this case, only one of the output devices may be provided exclusively for a common emergency alarm.

In normal use for detecting voice information, a wristband 20 having a vibration pad 15 as an output device is directly wound around a wrist or the like, and a voice signal input from the microphone 12 is turned on in a state where the power is turned on. Then, the audio signal is amplified by the amplifier 13, and only the audio information in the frequency band set in the frequency filter 14 corresponding to the channel selected at this time is output by the vibration of the corresponding vibration pad 15. It is also possible to select a plurality of channels (or all channels) at the same time. Even in this case, the vibration pads 15 corresponding to each channel are separately provided in parallel and can be output at the same time. Channel identification is possible. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously detect and recognize audio information in a plurality of frequency bands while visually confirming the surrounding situation.

With the above configuration, it is possible to actively collect the surrounding voice information by the apparatus according to the present embodiment alone, that is, it does not require a dedicated transmitter and can detect and recognize the voice information ( And the source device thereof) are not limited, so that extremely versatile detection / recognition becomes possible.

The vibration output from each of the vibration pads 15 is performed with an amplitude proportional to the level of the output signal from each of the corresponding frequency filters 14, so that quantitative information such as the distance of the position of the transmission source and a change in other states is obtained. Can also be recognized.

If the microphone 12 for voice input has a strong directivity, the type of voice information emitted from a fixed speaker when there is noisy surroundings, for example, when going out, etc. (Such as alarms or human voices), such as when it is desired to detect and recognize voice information that is limited to specific fixed equipment while minimizing the effects of noise. Becomes effective.

On the other hand, if the microphone 12 is omnidirectional and has a plurality of microphones around the user's body, for example, how fast the engine sound increases when going out or the like This is very effective for grasping the situation around the user in all directions, for example, because the recognition of the approaching vehicle running out of the visual field can be detected because the recognition is possible.

Next, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of a hearing aid according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this diagram, the difference from the configuration of the first embodiment is that a plurality of frequency filters 14 A plurality of LEs corresponding to each output signal
D33a, b, c, and d are used to output light and all output signals are superimposed and input to one vibration pad 32 to output vibration. And this light emission output is L
The drive circuit (not shown) provided in the ED 33 emits light with brightness (light amount) proportional to the level of each output signal, and the other vibration output is generated by the drive circuit (not shown) provided in the vibration pad 32 even if the output signal is at least a little. It is configured to vibrate at a constant amplitude when detected.

Next, FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of only the output unit 31 of the hearing aid device of the second embodiment having a configuration different from that of the first embodiment, and FIG. Vibration pad 32 is provided at one location on the peripheral surface,
Four LEDs 33 on the outer peripheral surface at a position away therefrom
A wristband 35 in a form in which an LED pedestal 34 in which a, b, c, and d are embedded is displayed and can be wound around a user's wrist
Are connected by a cable 36 that connects the vibration pad 32 and the LED 33 to an internal circuit of a main body (not shown).

The operation of the second embodiment is as follows. First, in a state where a specific frequency is set in each frequency filter 14 corresponding to the selected channel, the input / amplification of the audio signal is started from the time when the apparatus is turned on. Then, when any one of the audio information in the set frequency band is detected, the vibration pad 32 starts to output a vibration, and the user is notified of information detection promptly. Then, the LEDs 33 corresponding to the respective frequency bands are operated so as to output with a light amount proportional to the level of the output signal so that the details of the information content can be easily and accurately recognized.

That is, of the output means of the entire apparatus, there are a means for immediately informing the detection of the voice information by the tactile sense, which is the same passive sense as the auditory sense, and a means for recognizing the content of the voice information by the visual sense, which is the active sense. It is configured separately, and therefore, without paying special attention in a state where voice information is not normally transmitted, once the voice information is detected, the user will be notified by vibration output, and At the same time, the information content recognizing means can be made to easily and clearly recognize the contents of a plurality of information by emitting light.

According to the present invention, the audio information received by the auditory sense is converted into other perceptual (tactile, visual) information as faithfully as possible by increasing the resolution of the frequency band to be demultiplexed, increasing the number of layers, and multiplexing the output means. For example, if the reproducibility is enhanced using an output device equipped with a large number of vibrating pads, even multiple and subtle changes in melody, such as classical music, can be faithfully converted to tactile sensations. It can be reproduced.

In addition to the above-mentioned LED, as a specific configuration which visually acts in the output device, a configuration in which a level meter or characters are displayed by a liquid crystal display or the like is also possible.

As a specific output form acting on the tactile sensation in the output device, in addition to the vibration by the vibrating pad, for example, an electrical stimulus may be output within a safe range at a low voltage such as a low-frequency therapeutic device. Is also possible.

The mounting mode of the output device is not limited to the wristband 35, and the vibration pad 32 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the belt 18 supporting the auxiliary device main body 16.
, And a light emitting output device such as the LED 33 is installed on the upper surface of the main body.

[0042]

As described above in detail, according to the hearing aid of the present invention, even a person with hearing impairment can more easily and accurately detect and recognize voice information transmitted and generated in the vicinity. And, in particular, it is possible to actively collect surrounding voice information by itself, that is, voice information that does not require a dedicated transmitter and that can be detected and recognized by the device (and the device of the transmission source). Because it is not limited, its use range is wide and very versatile detection and
Recognition becomes possible.

Therefore, by using the present invention, the safety of a person with hearing impairment at the time of going out or the like is remarkably improved. Further, by improving the reproducibility of the detected voice information, it is possible to convert and reproduce even subtle sounds such as noises in music and crowds to other perceptions (tactile sensations) fairly faithfully.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration outline of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration outline of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of an output unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a configuration of a hearing aid system conventionally implemented.

[Description of Signs] 1 door chime 2 telephone 3 transmitter 4 receiver 5 signal radio wave 6 antenna 7 light emitting diode 8 liquid crystal monitor display 11 hearing aid device of first embodiment 12 microphone 13 amplifier 14a, b, c, d frequency filter 15a, b, c, d Vibration pad 16 Main body 17 Case 18 Belt 19 Velcro 20 Wrist band 21 Cable 31 Output unit of second embodiment 32 Vibration pad 33a, b, c, d LED 34 LED pedestal 35 Wrist band 36 Cable

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-214896 (JP, A) JP-A-10-285697 (JP, A) JP-A-11-46398 (JP, A) JP-A-60-1559967 (JP, A) , A) JP-A-61-192198 (JP, A) JP-A-58-12500 (JP, A) JP-A-63-142984 (JP, U) JP-A-55-175416 (JP, U) JP-A-55-175416 62-34900 (JP, U) JP 2-18800 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04R 25/00 G10L 15/10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An audio input unit for converting an external audio wave into an electric audio signal, an audio signal amplifying unit for amplifying the audio signal, and specific frequency bands different from each other in the amplified audio signal. a plurality of frequency filters for passing respectively frequencies components only in the provided common to the plurality of frequency filters, said plurality
At least one of the frequency filters ,
One or more preselected frequencies from the wavenumber filters
A first output unit for notifying an operator of the generation of an output signal passing through at least one of the several filters to the operator by tactile information, and a first output unit corresponding to each of the plurality of frequency filters.
Is, the plurality of frequency filters, or plurality of frequencies off
One or more frequency filters pre-selected from the
And a second output means for allowing an operator to recognize the content corresponding to each output signal passed through the filter with visual information. 2. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the frequency filter has a configuration capable of arbitrarily setting a frequency band. 3. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the voice input means comprises a microphone having directivity. 4. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein said voice input means comprises a non-directional microphone. 5. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the second output means performs an output in proportion to a signal level. 6. The first output means is a vibration pad provided in common to all of the plurality of frequency filters, and the second output means corresponds to each of the plurality of frequency filters. 2. A plurality of light emitting diodes provided, wherein the vibrating pad is disposed on an inner peripheral surface of the wristband, and the light emitting diode is disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the wristband. The hearing aid according to the above.