JP2000188794A - Electric artificial pharynx - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an electric artificial pharynx which has a good sound quality and high durability by reducing the pulsation or tilt of a shaft hitting the diaphragm of a sound source producing part. SOLUTION: This electric artificial pharynx is equipped with a pole 8 which has a hole or a slit, the shaft 7 which is movably inserted into the hole or the slit of the pole 8, a coil 11 which is fixed to the shaft and also arranged outside the pole 8, an elastic body or a viscoelastic body which is fixedly arranged on the shaft and a support member arranged outside the shaft and a sound source producing part 5 which has a magnet and a magnetic body arranged radially on both the sides of the coil 11 to generate a magnetic field at part or the whole of the coil 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric artificial larynx used by a laryngectome who has become unable to produce a voice due to laryngectomy due to laryngeal cancer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric artificial larynx is a device capable of mechanically and electrically generating a substitute sound source that substitutes for a vocal fold sound source and performing vocalization. A substitute sound source that replaces the vocal cord sound source is usually generated using a voice coil motor. A mechanism for generating a substitute sound source by the voice coil motor will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 8, the voice coil motor has a magnet 101 disposed inside a yoke 107,
Bobbin 1 with coil wound in gap 102 between 1
03 is arranged. The bobbin 103 has a shaft 104 supported by rubber 105.

When a current is applied to the coil of the bobbin 103, the bobbin 103 operates according to Fleming's left-hand rule.
As shown in FIG. 9, the rubber 105 extends and the bobbin 103
The shaft 104 attached to the disk strikes the diaphragm 106. Bobbin 1
When the current is stopped flowing through the coil No. 03, the rubber 105
, The bobbin 103 returns to its original position. As described above, it is general to generate a substitute sound source by performing continuous striking of the diaphragm 106.

[0004] When using an electric artificial larynx, the outer diaphragm 106 is pressed against the neck of the person trying to speak. In order to vibrate the diaphragm 106 against the force of the pressing, the shaft 104 that moves up and down in the sound source generating unit inside the electric artificial larynx is moved by the diaphragm 106 with a somewhat strong force.
You need to hit Therefore, it is necessary to make the distance by which the shaft 104 moves up and down, that is, the stroke as long as possible. Specifically, a stroke of at least about 2 to 3 mm is required.

[0005]

However, since the conventional sound source generating section has a structure in which the shaft 104 is merely supported on the outer frame of the sound source generating section via the rubber 105, if the stroke of the shaft 104 is lengthened, , The bobbin 103 fixed to the shaft 104 may be greatly inclined in the radial direction. Such pulsation of the bobbin 103 and its lateral displacement in the radial direction are as follows.
This may cause contact between the bobbin 103 and the yoke 107 or between the bobbin 103 and the magnet 101 and instability of the operation of the shaft 104, which may cause a decrease in sound quality and wear of the coil, and in the worst case, a break in the coil. .

Although it is conceivable to support the bobbin 103 at two or more points like a speaker, the load becomes heavy and the supporting portion hinders the structure. Therefore, the bobbin 103 is used as a sound source generator of an electric artificial larynx. It is difficult to secure the necessary stroke.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and reduces the pulsation or inclination of a shaft hitting a diaphragm of a sound source generating section, and has a high sound quality and high durability. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned object, an electric artificial larynx according to a first aspect of the present invention has a pole having a hole or a groove, and a pole movably inserted into the hole or the groove of the pole. A shaft, a coil fixed to the shaft and arranged outside the pole, an elastic body or a viscoelastic body fixedly mounted on the shaft and a supporting member arranged outside the shaft, and on both radial sides of the coil, A sound source generator having a magnet and a magnetic body arranged so that a magnetic field is applied to part or all of the coil is provided. With such a structure, the axis of the sound source generator moves up and down without pulsating or tilting in the radial direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric artificial larynx according to the first aspect, wherein a side surface of the hole or groove provided in the pole is reduced in frictional force between the side surface and the shaft. Means. In particular, in the invention according to claim 3, the frictional force reducing means is a rolling bearing or a slide rail. Therefore, the vertical movement of the shaft is performed smoothly, and the generation of noise due to unnecessary load and friction is reduced, and the durability is further improved.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is based on claim 1,
4. In the electric artificial larynx described in 2 or 3, the upper end of the pole ranges from the uppermost position where it does not contact the fixed portion between the coil and the shaft to the position of the lower end of the coil. In this way, by surrounding the shaft as far as possible, the shaft can be more stably moved up and down.

[0011] The invention according to claim 5 is based on claim 1,
2. The electric artificial larynx according to 2, 3, or 4, wherein the pole is a yoke made of a magnetic material, and the yoke is provided between the magnetic material disposed outside the coil in the axial direction and the magnet. The coil is arranged. Therefore, a magnetic flux is formed in the radial direction of the coil and directed to the center of the coil.

[0012] Further, the invention according to claim 6 is based on claim 1,
2. The electric artificial larynx according to 2, 3 or 4, wherein a part of the pole is made of a non-magnetic material, a magnetic material is arranged on an outer portion of the pole, and a gap is provided between the magnetic material and a magnet provided outside the coil. The coil is arranged in the formed magnetic field. Therefore, only the surface of the pole is made of a magnetic material, and the radial direction of the coil becomes the direction of the magnetic flux.

[0013] The invention according to claim 7 is based on claim 1,
2. In the electric artificial larynx described in 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, the magnet has a cylindrical shape magnetized in a vertical direction of a shaft, and the coil has a distal end on the outer periphery of a cylindrical bobbin fixed to the shaft. It is a cylindrical coil wound around the part. Therefore, even if the distance at which the coil is inserted between the shaft and the magnet is reduced, an upward force can be applied to the bobbin.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an electric artificial larynx. The diaphragm 4 of the electric artificial larynx 1 is mainly made of a urethane resin-based material, and is fixed to the upper part of the main body via the main body frame 2 and the rubber material 3. Inside the main body, there are provided a sound source generator 5 and a controller 6 for controlling the same. The electric artificial larynx 1 has a structure in which the diaphragm 4 is hit by a shaft 7 provided in the sound source generator 5 moving up and down, and a constant frequency is generated.

FIG. 2 shows a sound source generator 5 of the electric artificial larynx 1.
It is an expanded sectional view of. The diaphragm 4 is indicated by a dotted line.
The sound source generating unit 5 mainly includes a vertically movable metal or resin shaft 7, a pole 8 made of a cylindrical magnetic body having a hole into which the shaft 7 is inserted, and a cylinder disposed outside the pole 8. Shaped magnet 9, pole 8, and first yoke 1 described later
A cylindrical bobbin 12 fixed to the shaft 7 so that the coil 11 is positioned in a gap 10 between the cylindrical bobbin 3a and a first yoke 13a made of a cylindrical magnetic material and disposed on the axial side of the magnet 9; , A second yoke 13 b made of a magnetic material also serving as a bottom plate for fixing the pole 8 and the magnet 9, and a disk-shaped elastic member in which the shaft 7 is projected from the center hole to fix the shaft 7 and the bobbin 12. It comprises a body 14 and an outer frame 15 for fixing the outside of the elastic body 14. In this embodiment, the first yoke 13a and the second yoke 13b are made of carbon steel.

The shaft 7 is provided so as to be vertically insertable into and removable from the hole of the pole 8. The shaft 7 and the bobbin 12 are fixed, and the shaft 7 and the elastic body 14 are fixed with an adhesive or the like on the outer periphery of the shaft 7 that passes through the elastic body 14. Therefore, when the bobbin 12 receives a force in the upward direction, the shaft 7 also moves in the upward direction.
The center of 4 is also lifted.

The bobbin 12 is connected to a lead 16. The lead 16 penetrates the outer frame 15 and is connected to the lower control unit 6. The current flows from the control unit 6 through the lead wire 16 to the coil 11 wound around the outside of the shaft 7. The magnet 9 is a permanent magnet using a rare earth such as neodymium or samarium cobalt, and is NS-magnetized in the axial direction as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the upper direction of the magnet 9 is the north pole, and the lower direction is the south pole. The magnet 9 may be other than the rare earth magnet, for example, a ferrite magnet.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the flow of the magnetic flux and the movement of the coil 11, and shows the direction of the force applied to the coil 11 in the right side of the sound source generator 5. . As shown in FIG. 3, most of the magnetic flux from the N pole above the magnet 9 enters the first yoke 13a disposed at the upper end thereof, and thereafter travels toward the pole 8. As described above, by disposing the first yoke 13a and the second yoke 13b above and below the axial direction of the magnet 9 magnetized in the vertical direction,
The magnetic flux is concentrated, and the gap 10 can be widened to some extent. Therefore, the coil 11 is connected to the magnet 9 or the pole 8.
, And the durability of the coil 11 increases. The magnetic flux indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3 is a magnetic flux that leaks slightly.

On the other hand, assuming that the current flowing through the coil 11 is from the paper surface to the back, the coil 11 receives an upward force from Fleming's left-hand rule. In the left part (not shown), the current direction is directed to the front of the paper, and the magnetic field is in the opposite direction to that in FIG.
Receives an upward force as described above. Therefore, the shaft 7 fixed to the coil 11 is lifted upward.

If no current is supplied, no upward force is applied to the shaft 7, and the shaft 7 moves downward due to its own weight and the restoring force of the elastic body 14. As described above, the shaft 7 moves up and down by turning on and off the current, and continuously strikes the diaphragm 4. When the shaft 7 moves up and down, the shaft 7 moves in the hole of the pole 8 that restricts the radial direction, so that the shaft 7 hardly slides. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the pole 8 is set in a range from the uppermost position where the pole 11 is not in contact with the coil 11 to the position of the lower end of the coil 11. The vertical movement of 11 is remarkably stabilized.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which a ball bearing is used as a rolling bearing in order to reduce the frictional force between the shaft 7 and the pole 8. A plurality of grooves 19 are formed from the hole of the pole 8 toward the outside of the pole, and one or more ball bearings 18 are inserted into the grooves 19 in the vertical direction of the shaft 7. This allows the shaft 7 to move up and down the hole of the pole 8 with lower frictional force. Therefore, the shaft 7 can move up and down smoothly, thereby reducing occurrence of abnormal noise and further improving durability. Lubricating oil may be inserted between the shaft 7 and the hole of the pole 8 instead of or in addition to the ball bearing. Further, a slide rail may be formed on the side surface of the hole of the pole 8.

The means for stabilizing the vertical movement of the shaft 7 is not limited to the shape of the pole 8 shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 is a view showing a part of the sound source generating unit 5 including a pole 8 made of a magnetic material having a hollow shape and a pole 21 made of a nonmagnetic material and having a hollow shape smaller in diameter. As shown, the contact portion 20 between the shaft 7 and the poles 8 and 21 is shorter than the length of the contact portion between the hole of the pole 8 and the shaft 7 shown in FIGS. However, the vertical movement of the shaft 7 can be stabilized by providing a plurality of support portions for the shaft 7 including the contact portion with the elastic body 14.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of the sound source generator 5 using the magnet 22 whose magnetization direction is the radial direction. Even when the magnet 22 thus magnetized is used, the coil 11 receives an upward force according to Fleming's left-hand rule. Therefore, the shaft 7 can continuously hit the diaphragm 4 like the case where the magnet 9 magnetized in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 3 is used.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the control unit 6. Pressing the push button switch 23 activates the frequency generation circuit 24 to generate a pulse. The generated pulse is amplified by the amplifier 25 and drives the output transistor 26. Thereby, the output transistor 2
6 repeats on and off, and power is supplied along the pulse generated in the sound source generation unit 5. The sound source generator 5 operates upward when the output transistor 26 is turned on and downward when the output transistor 26 is turned off, so that the shaft 7 hits the diaphragm 4 to generate sound. The output transistor 26 can be replaced by another switching element such as a relay or an FET.

The sound source generator 5 and the controller 6 are not limited to the above-described configurations. For example, instead of turning on and off the current flowing through the coil 11, the direction in which the current flows may be changed. By doing so, the shaft 7 receives an upward force and a downward force alternately. Therefore, accurate vertical movement is possible without depending on the restoring force of the elastic body 14 and the weight of the shaft 7. Further, a gap may be provided between the yoke 13 below the sound source generator 5 and the pole 8 so that the downward movement of the shaft 7 is not suppressed by air resistance in the hole of the pole 8. In addition, the elastic body 14 of the sound source generator 5
Includes materials that do not return to their original state when the force is released. For example, the material may be changed to a material such as a viscoelastic body whose elastic modulus is not constant. In particular, as described above, when performing control to alternately change the direction of the current flowing through the coil 11, it is not necessary to return the diaphragm 4 to the original position by using the restoring force of the elastic body. Other materials can be used.

The first yoke 13a and the second yoke 13
Although b is arranged to concentrate the magnetic flux, one of the yokes may be arranged, or neither of the yokes may be arranged. Further, the length of the coil 11 is approximately equal to the length of the first yoke 13a, but the axial direction of the coil 1 is set so as to completely face the first yoke 13a even when the shaft 7 moves upward. May be extended by about 3 mm below what is shown in FIG. Also, coil 1
1 may be directly fixed to the shaft 7. Further, the ball 8 and the magnet 9 may be formed in an arc shape in which one of them is cut out instead of the cylindrical shape.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since there is no pulsation or inclination during operation while securing a stroke necessary for a sound source generating section of the electric artificial larynx, sound quality is improved and durability is improved. Can provide a higher price. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electric artificial larynx that is easier to use, has good sound quality, and has high durability for a laryngectome. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the electric artificial larynx, and can be applied to other devices requiring a stable, strong, and long stroke.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the shaft hitting the diaphragm moves up and down more smoothly, an electric artificial larynx having better sound quality and high durability can be provided. In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since a ball bearing or a slide rail is provided as the frictional force reducing means, the shaft can be driven more smoothly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the upper end of the pole is positioned as high as possible and higher than the lower end of the coil, the vertical movement of the shaft and the coil is remarkable. Stabilize. Furthermore, most of the magnetic flux that has penetrated the coil can reach the pole surface,
An electric artificial larynx that can generate a highly accurate sound source even when the force in the upward direction of the axis is large and the pressure on the neck is strong.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the pole is a yoke made of a magnetic material, and the yoke is provided between the magnetic material and the yoke arranged on the axial side of the magnet provided outside the coil. Since the coil is arranged, it is not necessary to arrange a magnetic material other than the pole, and the size of the sound source generating unit can be reduced.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a part of the pole is made of a non-magnetic material, a magnetic material is arranged on the outside of the pole, and the magnetic material and the magnet provided on the outside of the coil are connected to each other. The coil is arranged in a magnetic field formed therebetween. For this reason, the pole can be made of any material other than the magnetic material, and only the surface thereof can be made of the magnetic material, so that it is possible to select a material in which the hole for inserting the shaft can be easily processed. Therefore, an electric artificial larynx with high performance and low cost can be provided.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the magnet has a cylindrical shape magnetized in the vertical direction of the shaft, and the coil is provided at the tip of the outer periphery of the cylindrical bobbin fixed to the shaft. It is a wound cylindrical coil. For this reason,
There is no need to insert the coil deeply into the gap between the magnet and the pole. Therefore, the risk of coil disconnection is reduced, and a highly durable electric artificial larynx can be provided.

[0034]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the overall configuration of an electric artificial larynx according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a sound source generator of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the direction of a force received by a coil in a right side portion of the sound source generator shown in FIG. 2;

4 is a diagram showing a state in which ball bearings are used to reduce a frictional force between a shaft and a pole in the sound source generating unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a part of a sound source generating unit provided with a plurality of hollow-shaped poles in the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a part of a sound source generating unit using a magnet whose magnetization direction is the radial direction in the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a control unit of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a sound source generating section of a conventional electric artificial larynx.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which the shaft moves upward and hits the diaphragm in the conventional electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric artificial larynx 2 Body frame 3 Rubber material 4 Diaphragm 5 Sound source generation part 6 Control part 7 Axis 8 Pole 9 Magnet 11 Coil 12 Bobbin 13a First yoke 13b Second yoke 14 Diaphragm 15 Outer frame (support member) ) 18 ball bearing (rolling bearing) 20 contact part 21 pole made of non-magnetic material 22 magnet 23 push button switch 24 frequency generation circuit 25 amplifier 26 output transistor

Claims (7)

[Claims] A pole having a hole or groove, a shaft movably inserted into the hole or groove of the pole, a coil fixed to the shaft and arranged outside the pole.
An elastic body or a viscoelastic body fixedly attached to the shaft and a supporting member arranged outside the shaft, and arranged on both sides in the radial direction of the coil so that a magnetic field is applied to part or all of the coil. An electric artificial larynx, comprising: a sound source generator having a magnet and a magnetic material. 2. The side of a hole or a groove provided in a pole,
The electric artificial larynx according to claim 1, further comprising a frictional force reducing means for reducing a frictional force between the side surface and the shaft. 3. The electric artificial larynx according to claim 2, wherein the frictional force reducing means is a rolling bearing or a slide rail. 4. The coil according to claim 1, wherein an upper end portion of the pole is in a range from an uppermost position where the pole is not in contact with a fixed portion between the coil and the shaft, to a lower end position of the coil. The electric artificial larynx described. 5. A pole is a yoke made of a magnetic material, and the coil is arranged between the magnetic material arranged on the axial side of the magnet arranged outside the coil and the yoke. An electric artificial larynx according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4. 6. A part of a pole is made of a non-magnetic material, a magnetic material is arranged on an outer portion of the pole, and a coil is placed in a magnetic field formed between the magnetic material and a magnet provided outside the coil. The electric artificial larynx according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein 7. The magnet has a cylindrical shape magnetized in a vertical direction of a shaft, and the coil is a cylindrical coil wound around a tip of an outer periphery of a cylindrical bobbin fixed to the shaft. 7. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.
The electric artificial larynx described.