EP0502017A1 - Ensemble de protection auditive - Google Patents

Ensemble de protection auditive

Info

Publication number
EP0502017A1
EP0502017A1 EP90917068A EP90917068A EP0502017A1 EP 0502017 A1 EP0502017 A1 EP 0502017A1 EP 90917068 A EP90917068 A EP 90917068A EP 90917068 A EP90917068 A EP 90917068A EP 0502017 A1 EP0502017 A1 EP 0502017A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sound
user
transfer system
ear
hearing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP90917068A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Per Rubak
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
PANACOUSTICS AS
Original Assignee
PANACOUSTICS AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by PANACOUSTICS AS filed Critical PANACOUSTICS AS
Publication of EP0502017A1 publication Critical patent/EP0502017A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
    • A61F11/00—Methods or devices for treatment of the ears or hearing sense; Non-electric hearing aids; Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense; Protective devices for the ears, carried on the body or in the hand
    • A61F11/06—Protective devices for the ears
    • A61F11/14—Protective devices for the ears external, e.g. earcaps or earmuffs
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/10—Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones
    • H04R1/1008—Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/10—Earpieces; Attachments therefor ; Earphones; Monophonic headphones
    • H04R1/1058—Manufacture or assembly
    • H04R1/1075—Mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
    • H04R1/20—Arrangements for obtaining desired frequency or directional characteristics
    • H04R1/32—Arrangements for obtaining desired frequency or directional characteristics for obtaining desired directional characteristic only
    • H04R1/34—Arrangements for obtaining desired frequency or directional characteristics for obtaining desired directional characteristic only by using a single transducer with sound reflecting, diffracting, directing or guiding means
    • H04R1/342—Arrangements for obtaining desired frequency or directional characteristics for obtaining desired directional characteristic only by using a single transducer with sound reflecting, diffracting, directing or guiding means for microphones

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a hearing protec ⁇ tor comprising a pair of sound insulating cover members to be placed on or over the ears of the user.
  • This type of hearing protector is preferred for ear plugs, because the cup protectors are easy to mount and dismount and easy to 'lift briefly when required. They can be made with almost any degree of damping effect, and when pro ⁇ perly supported they will not interfere with the outer ear and thus be reasonably comfortable to wear.
  • Hearing protectors should not exhibit any absolute sound insulation, but merely cut the top of the noise. It is already known that with the use of various acou ⁇ stic membranes and other features it is possible to adapt the protectors such that the frequency range of intelligible human speech may pass without much attenua ⁇ tion, while noise frequencies outside this range may be damped considerably more. A similar effect is achievable with the use of an electroacoustic transfer system, i.e. based on the use of an exterior microphone and an ear ⁇ phone speaker in each of the cups, whereby almost any desired transfer characteristic can be provided with the use of suitable electric filter means.
  • the damping characteristic of the protectors can be almost optimized, but it is a common experience that the protectors exhibit one clear disadvantage, viz. that it is very difficult or even impossible for the user to localize the direction to a distinct source of sound or noise. This can be generally rather inconve ⁇ nient and even dangerous in special cases. It has been found that the same difficulty applies to 'stereo pro ⁇ tectors', i.e. protector sets with individual micro ⁇ phones on the cups, and relevant attempts of overcoming the problem by sophisticating the applied electrical filter means have not succeeded so far and are in fact not liable to succeed at all. .
  • the invention is based on a mere scientific know ⁇ ledge of the fact that the shape of the natural human ear lobe or pinna is of importance for the ability to determine the sound direction, when the received signals are processed in the human brain.
  • US-A-3,513,937 discloses an acoustic transducer to be held over the ear and taking an almost grotesque shape as a human pinna enlarged five or six times; it is claimed that this artificial ear is capable of amplifying sound, this not exactly being the purpose of the invention, but it is clearly confirmed that with the use of such an amplifier the ability to determine the sound direction will be maintained.
  • the pinna imitation There are two main conditions for the pinna imitation, viz. that the outer cup sides be generally planar and oriented substantially vertically and mutually forwardly converging and that in both of these outsides there is provided a depression schematically imitating the larger depression, the concha, of the pinna and, optionally a depression extending upwardly therefrom, imitating the pinna area just inside the outer rim portion, the tuber- culum auriculare, of the pinna.
  • the imitations of the natural depressions may be designed with very simple geometrical shapes, such that the look of the outsides of the ear cups will in no way be ear-like.
  • the desired result will be achieved when the sound or noise is transmitted to the ears either acoustically, through a suitably damped transfer channel from the bottom of the concha imitation to the natural ear canal of the user, or electroacoustically, by means of microphones located at the bottom of the said concha imitations and connected to internal loudspeakers through suitable electrical filter means.
  • a desirable attenuation effect and transfer function will be achievable, and still the user or at least the vast majority of users will be able to locate the direc ⁇ tion of the received sound or noise.
  • inven- tion is also fully applicable to hearing protectors of the supra aural type, i.e. where the cover members are rested directly against the pinnae of the user, normally through a soft foam layer.
  • Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hearing protector set according to the invention.
  • Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the ear cups thereof, seen along the line II-II in Fig. 1.
  • the protector set shown in Fig. 1 comprises a pair of opposed ear cups 2 having generally parallel, inter ⁇ facing inner sides 4 shaped with annular configurations so as to fit over the ears of the user.
  • the outer sides 6 of the ear cups 2 are generally planar and are pro ⁇ nounced forwardly converging, towards the left.
  • each of the outsides 6 there is provided a de ⁇ pression, viz. a relatively deep depression 8 outside the natural ear canal of the user and a shallower de ⁇ pression 10 extending upwardly from the rear end of this depression, whereby the rearmost portion 12 of the sur ⁇ face 6 will represent the tuberculum auriculare of the natural ear.
  • a transmission channel 14 leading to the interior of the protector cup and in this channel may be provided either an acoustical membrane system or a microphone 1.6 connected with an internal loudspeaker (not shown) .
  • the cups are made with the desired sound insulating properties.
  • the artificial pinnae as represented by the out ⁇ sides 6 of the cups may have other detailed designs, but it is deemed important that the outsides, whether planar or more or less curved, are configured so as to be rear- wardly outstanding or forwardly converging, forming an angle of 10-20° with the median plane of the head, pre ⁇ ferably 15-18°. They may even be slightly inclined up- wardly and outwardly.
  • the protector set in practice it is of course important that the sound transfer to the ear is well controlled according to the requirements, and the cups can be highly developed in this respect, with the use of various acoustical membranes and/or electronic filter means, but the basic effect of the invention, viz. the possibility of the user to localize the direction of directional sound or noise, does not seem, itself, to be particularly dependent of the transfer system being more or less sophisticated. For that reason it is deemed needless to disclose the transfer system in more detail in the present connection. Fully usable systems are already known in the art from the conventional hearing protectors.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Vascular Medicine (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Soundproofing, Sound Blocking, And Sound Damping (AREA)

Abstract

Des protecteurs auditifs du type évasé, couvrant l'oreille, sont de préférence dotés d'un système de transfert de sons, lequel est un canal acoustique (14) ou un couplage électroacoustique comprenant un microphone extérieur et un haut-parleur intérieur, tous réglés de sorte que l'utilisateur peut entendre les sons et le bruit à un niveau d'intensité modéré, de préférence pour les fréquences vocales. Toutefois, un problème associé est qu'il est impossible de déterminer la direction vers une source sonore spécifique, et selon l'invention, ce problème est surmonté par la configuration des côtés extérieurs (6) des éléments évasés (2) sous la forme d'imitations grossières du pavillon de l'oreille humaine, ces côtés extérieurs (6) étant agencés de manière à converger vers l'avant, et présentant diverses concavités (8, 10), dont une concavité (8) imitant une conque est reliée à l'entrée (14, 16) du système de transfert de points. Des protecteurs auditifs du type supra-auditifs peuvent également être conçus de cette manière.
EP90917068A 1989-11-17 1990-11-16 Ensemble de protection auditive Withdrawn EP0502017A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK576889A DK576889D0 (da) 1989-11-17 1989-11-17 Hoerevaern
DK5768/89 1989-11-17

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0502017A1 true EP0502017A1 (fr) 1992-09-09

Family

ID=8145090

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP90917068A Withdrawn EP0502017A1 (fr) 1989-11-17 1990-11-16 Ensemble de protection auditive

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0502017A1 (fr)
AU (1) AU6731490A (fr)
DK (1) DK576889D0 (fr)
WO (1) WO1991007153A1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SE526944C2 (sv) 2003-11-27 2005-11-22 Peltor Ab Hörselskydd
SE528514C2 (sv) 2005-04-29 2006-12-05 Peltor Ab Hörselkåpa
SE528515C2 (sv) 2005-04-29 2006-12-05 Peltor Ab Hörselkåpa med mikrofonanordning
SE528519C2 (sv) 2005-04-29 2006-12-05 Peltor Ab Hörselkåpa
SE530023C2 (sv) 2006-06-20 2008-02-12 Peltor Ab Hörselkåpa
SE532379C2 (sv) 2008-03-26 2009-12-29 3M Svenska Ab Hörselskydd innefattande behandlingsanordningar för behandling av repeterbart och icke-repeterbart buller
SE531656E5 (sv) 2008-05-12 2011-04-26 3M Svenska Ab Hörselskydd
US10212503B1 (en) 2017-08-09 2019-02-19 Gn Hearing A/S Acoustic device
EP3494940A1 (fr) 2017-12-08 2019-06-12 3M Innovative Properties Company Dispositif de protection auditive ayant une entrée sonore unidirectionnelle
EP3628284A1 (fr) * 2018-09-25 2020-04-01 GN Hearing A/S Dispositif de protection auditive avec réflecteurs acoustiques

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SE372418B (fr) * 1973-06-18 1974-12-23 Lennartsfors Mekaniska Verksta
US4441576A (en) * 1982-04-19 1984-04-10 Allen Clayton H Nonlinear passive acoustic filtering

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO9107153A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU6731490A (en) 1991-06-13
DK576889D0 (da) 1989-11-17
WO1991007153A1 (fr) 1991-05-30

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