JP2005348190A5 - - Google Patents

Description

Audio magnifier

  The present invention relates to a small and lightweight audio expander that does not have a lead wire or a connector, and more particularly to a small and lightweight audio expander that allows a plurality of people to simultaneously hear sound generated from an earphone. .

  In recent years, playback devices such as portable CD players, portable MD players, portable cassette tape players, and MP3 using a flash memory are also called portable audio players or portable players, and are widely used as portable information recording / playback devices. . In addition, portable devices having a function of receiving music information and voice information, such as radio and the latest mobile phones, are widely used.

  The above-mentioned playback devices or portable devices (hereinafter collectively referred to as “playback devices”) are required to be small and light, and often have no speaker function. For this reason, such a playback device has an output terminal (also referred to as an earphone terminal) for extracting music information and audio information (hereinafter collectively referred to as “music information”), and the music information is output to the earphone system at the output terminal. You can listen to it by connecting a connector such as a headphone system. For example, in the case of stereo correspondence, the earphone system includes a pair of left and right earphones, a connector, and a cord that electrically connects the earphone and the connector. The cord on the earphone side is branched into two branch lines, and each branched branch line has a predetermined length.

  In a normal scene, the earphone system connector is always inserted into the output terminals of the various playback devices, and the cord is wound around the outer periphery of the playback device or rolled into a bag or the like. In use, the earphone is put in the ear or put on the ear to listen to the music information.

  However, sometimes there are times when you want to listen to music information with friends. For example, there are scenes where a user wants to introduce a new song to a friend while listening to the song, listen to radio news with people around him, or listen to the contents of a mobile phone with his family or friends. Also, there are scenes where you want to listen with your earphone off your ear in your room or on the go.

  Portable speakers are known as speakers that can be used in such situations. For example, the speaker described in Patent Document 1 includes a speaker body, a connector inserted into an output terminal of a playback device, and a cord in which an input signal line and a ground line are integrated. In the above-mentioned scene, music information can be heard from the speaker by always carrying such a speaker and removing the connector of the earphone system from the playback device, and then inserting the connector of the speaker into the output terminal of the playback device. .

For example, Patent Document 2 describes a speaker in which a diaphragm to which piezoelectric ceramics are attached and a spiral or zigzag sound guide groove are coupled. This speaker is a device that deforms piezoelectric ceramics according to the applied signal voltage, vibrates the diaphragm with the deformation, and expands the sound wave generated by the vibration in the sound guide groove, and is installed outdoors It is described in the literature 2 that it is effective as an interphone. Similar to the speaker of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in this speaker as well, the speaker is always carried, and after the connector of the earphone system is removed from the playback device, the connector of the speaker is inserted into the output terminal of the playback device. You can listen to music information from. Note that the term “speaker” is generally used as a general term for those having a function of converting an electric signal into sound and expanding it.
JP-A-8-102987 JP-A-7-222284

  As described above, in most cases, the music information of the playback device is listened to by an individual using an earphone system, and there are few opportunities to listen simultaneously with people other than yourself. However, sometimes it is desirable to be able to easily share music information, etc., when such a scene is reached.

  However, when using the speaker or the like described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, after removing the connector of the earphone system from the playback device, the earphone system is wound or rolled up and cleaned, and the connector provided in the speaker is removed from the playback device. Must be plugged into the output terminal. In addition, when listening to music information with the earphone again after listening to the music information with the speaker, it is necessary to take out the earphone system and replace the connector again, and to store the lead wire and connector provided in the speaker. is there.

  Furthermore, recently, extremely small and lightweight playback devices such as playback devices such as MP3 and mobile phones for music distribution have been developed. Therefore, portable speakers are required to be smaller and lighter, and simple ones with good design are required.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to make it possible to hear a sound generated from an earphone by a plurality of people at the same time. It is to provide an audio magnifier.

In order to achieve the above object, the sound expander of the present invention is opposed to a spiral sound guide path whose spatial cross-sectional area gradually increases from the start end to the end, and a position sandwiching the start end of the sound guide path. possess a pair of earphone mounting portions arranged, a pair of earphone mounting portions, respectively, characterized in that the sound emitted from the attached earphone to have a sound hole for introducing the sound guide path .

According to the present invention, the spiral sound guide path whose space cross-sectional area gradually increases from the start end portion toward the end end portion, and the pair of earphone mounting portions disposed opposite to each other at a position sandwiching the start end portion of the sound guide path, have a, the pair of earphone mounting portion, respectively, since the sound emitted from the attached earphone to have a sound hole for introducing the sound guide path, by attaching the earphone to the earphone mounting unit, the earphone The sound that comes out can be expanded in the sound guide path. As a result, music information can be easily shared when the above-described scene is reached. In addition, this audio expander is the sound that the input source of the audio signal is emitted from the earphone, and since there is no lead wire or connector to connect to the output terminal of a conventional playback device, the earphone is attached to the earphone mounting part You can listen to music information just by attaching. As a result, there is no need for the conventional complications such as connector replacement, storage of the earphone system, replacement of the connector again, storage of lead wires and connectors, and the like.

  The sound expander of the present invention is the sound expander of the present invention described above, wherein the sound guide path is formed by a partition plate formed in a spiral shape and a cover member that sandwiches the partition plate from both sides. Features.

  According to this invention, since the sound guide path is formed by the partition plate formed in a spiral shape and the cover member that sandwiches the partition plate from both sides, for example, by the partition plate formed by injection molding or the like and the cover member A sound guide path having a desired shape can be easily configured. Moreover, it can be set as the audio | voice magnifier with a good design property (design property) by devising the outer surface form of a cover member.

The sound expander of the present invention is characterized in that, in the sound expander of the present invention, the pair of earphone mounting portions are each formed in a concave shape corresponding to the outer surface shape of the earphone to be mounted. To do.

  According to this invention, since the earphone mounting portion is formed in a concave shape corresponding to the outer surface shape of the earphone, the earphone can be securely attached to the audio magnifier, and as a result, the music information The sound guide path can be effectively expanded.

The sound expander of the present invention is characterized in that, in the sound expander of the present invention, the pair of earphone mounting portions are provided as detachable members, respectively .

  According to this invention, since the earphone mounting portion is provided as a detachable member, it is possible to deal with various commercially available earphone shapes. That is, by forming in advance a plurality of earphone attachment portions corresponding to the shape of the earphone, the earphone attachment portions can be replaced according to the earphone to be used.

  As described above, according to the sound expander of the present invention, by attaching the earphone to the earphone mounting portion, the sound emitted from the earphone can be expanded in the sound guide path. Music information can be easily shared. In addition, since this audio magnifier can listen to music information only by attaching the earphone to the earphone mounting part, it is possible to replace the conventional connector, store the earphone system, replace the connector again, lead wires and connectors. There is no need for complicated storage.

  Further, according to the sound expander of the present invention, a sound guide path having a desired shape can be easily configured by a partition plate formed by, for example, injection molding and the cover member, and the outer surface form of the cover member is devised. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a sound expander with good design (design), and thus a small and lightweight sound expander with good design and easy carrying.

  Further, according to the sound expander of the present invention, the earphone can be securely attached to the sound expander, so that the music information can be effectively expanded on the sound guide path. Moreover, by forming in advance a plurality of earphone mounting portions corresponding to the shape of the earphone, it is possible to replace the earphone mounting portion according to the earphone to be used.

  In the following, the sound expander of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded explanatory view showing an example of an audio expander of the present invention. 2 is a front view of the sound expander of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a left side view of the sound expander of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a right side view of the sound expander of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the sound expander of FIG. Moreover, FIG. 6 is explanatory drawing of the main body member which comprises the audio | voice magnifier of this invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the sound expander 1 of the present invention is composed of a sound expander body 2 having a sound guide path 4 and an earphone mounting portion 3 attached to the sound expander body 2. The In such a sound expander 1 of the present invention, the sound guide path 4 included in the sound expander body 2 is formed in a spiral shape, and its spatial cross-sectional area gradually increases from the start end 4a toward the end end 4b. . Further, the earphone mounting portion 3 is disposed so as to face the position sandwiching the start end portion 4 a of the sound guide path 2.

(Audio expander body)
First, the sound expander body 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the audio expander main body 2 is configured by combining a main body member 11 and a pair of cover members 12 and 13 that sandwich the main body member 11 from both sides.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the main body member 11 is a member having a spiral partition plate 14 for configuring the sound guide path 4 and an outer plate 15 provided on the outer side of the partition plate 14. It is.

  The partition plate 14 is made of a plate material having an arbitrary thickness, and forms a spiral-shaped sound guide path 4 in cooperation with a pair of cover members 12 and 13 described later. The length in the width direction of the partition plate 14 is, for example, about 15 to 20 mm from the viewpoint of reducing the size and weight of the sound expander 1 according to the present invention and generating sound with the best possible sound quality. preferable. The length in the width direction of the partition plate 14 is substantially the same as the distance between the pair of cover members 12 and 13 and constitutes one side for obtaining the cross-sectional area of the spatial section of the sound guide path 4. It is.

  The outer plate 15 is also made of a plate material having an arbitrary width and thickness. When FIG. 6 is viewed in plan, the outer plate 15 constitutes the left side surface 15a, the upper surface 15b, the right side surface 15c, and the lower surface 15d of the sound expander 1 according to the present invention. It is formed in a substantially rectangular shape as viewed. Since the outer plate 15 constituting each surface appears on the surface as an appearance shape, it is preferable to adopt a form in which design is emphasized. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. I can illustrate the form.

  At both ends in the width direction of the outer plate 15, convex fitting portions 16 are formed which are fitted into concave fitting portions 21 provided on the periphery of the back surfaces 12 b and 13 b of the cover members 12 and 13. The convex fitting portion 16 is provided on substantially the entire circumference of the outer plate 15, and the convex fitting portion 16 of the main body member 11 and a concave fitting portion 21 of cover members 12, 13 described later are fitted together to generate sound. The enlarger body 2 is configured. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the convex fitting portion 16 may be a form in which a notch is provided in part, or may be a so-called convex shape. A space 17 is formed between the spiral partition plate 14 and the substantially rectangular outer plate 15.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.6, the attaching part 18 may be provided in any position of the outer plate | board 15. As shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the attachment portion 18 is provided at a corner portion formed by a right side surface 15 c facing the left side surface 15 a having the opening 5 and a lower surface 15 d constituting the opening 5. Is preferred. Since the mounting portion 18 provided at such a position acts as a fulcrum when the sound expander 1 is raised and acts to lower the center of gravity, the sound expander 1 can be stably stood. In addition, this attachment part 18 and said space part 17 are arbitrary structures.

  Next, the sound guide path 4 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, the sound guide path 4 is formed by a partition plate 14 included in the main body member 11 and back surfaces 12 b and 13 b of the pair of cover members 12 and 13. The space cross-sectional shape of the sound guide path 4 is substantially rectangular as shown in FIG. 5, and the space cross-sectional area of the sound guide path 4 gradually increases from the start end 4a toward the end end 4b. Such a sound guide path 4 acts to expand the sound emitted from the earphone on which the earphone mounting portion 3 is mounted. As a result, music information can be easily shared.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the start end 4 a of the sound guide path 4 is a part where the space cross-sectional area of the sound guide path 4 is the smallest and the part where the spiral shape starts (the start point of the sound guide path 4 shown in FIG. 6). The end portion 4b of the sound guide path 4 is the portion of the sound guide path 4 having the largest space cross-sectional area and the end of the spiral shape (opening 5 shown in FIG. 6). That is. Moreover, the space cross-sectional area of the sound guide path 4 is an area of a space cross section orthogonal to the spiral virtual line S passing through the midpoint of the coordinate axis on the spiral expanding side, as shown in FIG.

  The starting end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4 may coincide with the center position when the sound expander 1 is viewed in plan (for example, front views of FIGS. 2 and 6), but at a position shifted from the center position. It does not matter. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the starting end portion 4 a of the sound guide path 4 can be shifted from the center position toward the corner portion on the side facing the corner portion where the mounting portion 18 is provided. Thus, the length of the sound guide path 4 can be substantially increased by shifting the start end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4 to the corner side with respect to the center position of the sound expander 1.

  The end portion 4b of the sound guide path 4 is a portion where the sound that has entered from the earphone mounting portion 3 expands and exits, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, on one side of the main body member 11 (left side in FIG. 3). It is located on the surface 15a) and serves as the opening 5 of the sound magnifier 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the opening 5 is formed in substantially the lower half of the left side surface 15 a of the main body member 11. Therefore, the outer plate 15 forming the left side surface 15a is formed with a length from a corner portion of the left side surface 15a and the upper surface 15b to a substantially central portion of the left side surface 15a.

  The shape of the sound guide path 4 can be obtained by forming the partition plate 14 so as to have the same shape as the function curve calculated by the following equations 1 and 2. FIG. 10 shows a function curve in which the X value and the Y value calculated by the following formula are plotted as (X, Y) coordinate axes. The distance from the reference point (0, 0) is represented by R = m × exp (u), m represents the expansion coefficient, and u represents the angle of the spiral shape.

X = R × COS (2πu + π) 1
Y = R × SIN (2πu + π) 2

  In this relational expression, the distance R from the reference point (0, 0) when the angle u is 1 is about 2.718 × m. For example, the (X, Y) coordinates when m is 2 are shown in FIG. (−5.437, 0), and this point is the starting point of the spiral shape. Therefore, the coordinate position when the angle u is 1 is the starting point of the spiral shape, and when the angle u is 2, the spiral shape makes one round, and when the angle u is 3, the spiral shape makes two rounds. Since the end point of the function curve shown in FIG. 10 is the coordinate position where the spiral is 2 turns + 1/4 turn, the angle u at the coordinate position is 3.25.

  10 is a function curve when the expansion coefficient m is 2 and the angular range of the spiral shape is u = 1 to 3.25. Further, a curve denoted by reference numeral 101 in FIG. 10 is a function curve when the expansion coefficient m is 2.3 and the spiral angular range is u = 1 to 3.25. Further, a curve indicated by reference numeral 102 in FIG. 10 is a function curve when the expansion coefficient m is 1.7 and the spiral angular range is u = 1 to 3.25.

  In the above relational expression, if the expansion coefficient m is changed, the spiral shape changes. Therefore, the expansion coefficient m and the width of the partition plate 14 (the width in the opposite direction of the back surfaces 12b and 13b of the cover members 12 and 13) are arbitrarily set. By doing so, the sound quality of the sound emitted from the opening 5 through the sound guide path 4 can be changed.

  Next, the cover member will be described.

  The cover members 11 and 12 are substantially rectangular plate-like members that exhibit a desired appearance design, and are arranged so as to sandwich the main body member 11. The appearance design of the cover member may be printed or shaped with logos, maker names, product names, etc., or irregular shapes consisting of arbitrary patterns. May be.

  The cover members 12 and 13 are preferably designed with emphasis on design, and as a surface form thereof, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a circular plate is formed on a plate-like member warped on the main body member 11 side. The form etc. which formed the swell part can be illustrated. The front surfaces 12a and 13a of the cover member are surfaces opposite to the surface on the side where the pair of cover members face each other, and the back surfaces 12b and 13b of the cover member are the sides on which the pair of cover members face each other. It is the side. In addition, it is preferable that the shape of the corners of the cover members 12 and 13 is also designed with emphasis on design. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a shape in which four corners are formed in a smooth R shape or the like. It can be illustrated.

  On the back surfaces 12b and 13b of the cover member, concave fitting portions 21 and 22 to be fitted with the main body member 11 are formed. Among these, the concave fitting portion 21 provided on the periphery of the back surface of the cover member corresponds to the convex fitting portion 16 provided on the outer plate 15 of the main body member 11, and the convex fitting portion 16. Mates with. On the other hand, the concave fitting portion 22 provided on the inner side of the back surface of the cover member corresponds to the partition plate 14 of the main body member 11 and is fitted to each end portion in the width direction of the partition plate 14. In the present invention, the concave fitting portions 21 and 22 provided on the back surfaces of the cover members 12 and 13 and the partition plate 14 and the outer plate 15 of the main body member 11 are fitted with high precision so that the audio expander main body 2 is fitted. Form.

  The concave width of the concave fitting portion 21 provided on the peripheral edge of the back surface of the cover member is formed with substantially the same size as the convex width of the convex fitting portion 16 provided on the outer plate 15 of the main body member 11. Is preferred. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in consideration of the appearance design and fitting accuracy, the concave wall on the outer surface side of the concave fitting portion 21 provided on the peripheral edge of the back surface of the cover member is lower than the concave wall on the inner surface side. May be. Moreover, it is preferable that the recessed part width of the recessed fitting part 22 provided in the inner surface of the back surface of the cover member is formed with substantially the same dimension as the thickness of the partition plate 14 of the main body member 11.

  In these concave fitting portions 21, 22, it is preferable that the tip portions on the opposite sides of the pair of concave walls constituting the concave fitting portion have an inclined structure or a chamfered structure. Accordingly, even if the positions of the end portions of the partition plate 14 of the main body member 11 and the convex fitting portions 16 of the outer plate 15 and the concave fitting portions 21 and 22 are slightly shifted, the inclined structure or the chamfered structure is used. The end of the partition plate 14 and the convex fitting portion 16 of the outer plate 15 can be easily guided into the concave fitting portions 21 and 22.

  The cover members 12 and 13 may have the earphone mounting part 3 integrally or may have the mounting hole 6 for mounting the earphone mounting part 3.

  The cover members 12 and 13 having the earphone mounting part 3 integrally are formed by, for example, an integral molding method such as injection molding, or the earphone mounting part 3 and the cover members 12 and 13 are joined by bonding or the like. Can do.

  On the other hand, in the cover members 12 and 13 having the attachment hole 6, the attachment hole 6 is formed corresponding to the formation position of the start end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4 formed in the main body member 11, and from the start end portion 4a. Is also formed with a large diameter.

  On the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole 6, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a fitting portion 7 having an inner diameter of two stages is formed. At least one portion of the fitting portion 7 is formed with a notch fitting portion 8 whose inner diameter is not in two stages. The fitting portion 7 corresponds to the fitting portion 34 formed at the outer edge of the earphone mounting portion 3, and the notch fitting portion 8 corresponds to the protrusion 35 formed at at least one of the outer edges of the earphone mounting portion 3. The cover members 12 and 13 and the earphone mounting portion 3 are integrated by fitting the fitting portions 7 and 34 formed on each other, and a notch fit provided on the cover member side. The joint portion 8 and the projection 35 provided on the earphone mounting portion 3 are mounted so as not to move in the circumferential direction.

(Earphone mounting part)
The earphone attachment part 3 is a part for attaching the earphone to the sound expander 1 of the present invention, and is disposed opposite to the position sandwiching the starting end part 4a of the sound guide path 4 as shown in FIGS. . The earphone mounting portion 3 is formed in a concave shape corresponding to the outer surface shape of the earphone to be mounted and has a sound hole 9.

  The sound hole 9 acts as a sound path for introducing the sound emitted from the earphone into the sound guide path 4. The sound hole 8 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the diameter thereof is arbitrarily selected from a range in which sound from the earphone 10 can be transmitted to the sound guide path 4.

  The earphone mounting part 3 may be provided as a detachable member or may be integrated with the cover members 12 and 13. When the earphone attaching portion 3 is a detachable member, it can be conveniently replaced with a member that matches the shape of the earphone to be attached to the sound expander 1 of the present invention. On the other hand, the integration of the earphone mounting portion 3 and the cover members 12 and 13 can be performed by joining or integrally molding the two members. Among these, if the earphone mounting portion 3 and the cover members 12 and 13 are formed by integral molding, the number of parts can be omitted, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  The inner peripheral surface 32 of the earphone mounting portion 3 is formed with a diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the earphone. A seat portion 33 is formed inside the earphone mounting portion 3. The seat portion 33 acts to support the mounted earphone. In addition, the sound emitted from the earphone enters the sound guide path 4 from the sound hole 9 on the earphone mounting portion 3 side.

  A concave fitting portion 36 is formed on the end surface of the earphone mounting portion 3 on the sound hole side. The concave fitting portion 36 is fitted with the partition plate 14 at the start end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4 of the main body member. That is, when the earphone mounting portion 3 is inserted and mounted in the mounting hole 6 of the cover member, the end portion of the partition plate 14 is fitted into the concave fitting portion 36. The width of the recessed fitting portion 36 (the interval between the two recessed walls) is preferably formed with substantially the same dimension as the thickness of the partition plate 14. In addition, as for this recessed fitting part 36, it is preferable that the front-end | tip part of the side which a pair of recessed part wall which comprises the recessed fitting part opposes has an inclination structure or a chamfering structure. Thereby, even if the position of the end part of the partition plate 14 of the main body member 11 and the concave fitting part 36 is slightly shifted, the end part of the partition plate 14 is moved into the concave fitting part 36 by the inclined structure or the chamfered structure. Can be easily guided.

  The earphone mounting portion 3 is disposed opposite to a position sandwiching the starting end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4, and when the earphone mounting portion 3 is a detachable member or a joining member, it is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. As described above, the earphone mounting portion 3 is detachably or joined to the mounting hole 6 described above.

  Next, the detachable or joinable earphone mounting portion 3 will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a detachable or joinable earphone mounting portion that constitutes the sound expander of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the earphone mounting portion 3 has an inner peripheral surface 31 whose inner diameter is reduced in two stages. A flange portion 31 corresponding to the fitting portion 7 of the mounting hole 6 of the cover member is formed on the surface side of the earphone mounting portion 3. The flange portion 31 includes a fitting portion 34 having a two-step shape corresponding to the fitting portion 7 so as to be fitted to the fitting portion 7 of the attachment hole 6 of the cover member. At least one portion of the fitting portion 34 provided on the outer edge of the flange portion 31 is formed with a protrusion 35 corresponding to the notch fitting portion 8 of the attachment hole 6 of the cover member. When the earphone attaching portion 3 is inserted into the attachment hole 31 of the cover member and attached, the protrusion 35 is fitted to the notch fitting portion 8 so that the earphone attaching portion 3 does not move in the circumferential direction. It has become.

  In the sound expander 1 of the present invention, the earphone mounting portion 3 is attached to the cover members 12 and 13 so as to be detachable or connectable, and therefore, a plurality of earphone mounting portions having a shape corresponding to the type of the earphone are prepared. Thus, it is possible to attach the earphone mounting portion corresponding to the shape of the earphone.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the detachable or joinable earphone mounting portion 3 ′ that constitutes the sound expander of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the earphone mounting portion 3 ′ has an inner peripheral surface 32 whose inner diameter is reduced in four steps. A flange portion 31 corresponding to the fitting portion 7 of the mounting hole 6 of the cover member is formed on the surface side of the earphone mounting portion 3 ′, similarly to the earphone mounting portion 3 shown in FIG. 7. The flange portion 31 includes a fitting portion 34 having a two-step shape corresponding to the fitting portion 7 so as to be fitted to the fitting portion 7 of the attachment hole 6 of the cover member. At least one portion of the fitting portion 34 provided on the outer edge of the flange portion 31 is formed with a protrusion 35 corresponding to the notch fitting portion 8 of the attachment hole 6 of the cover member. When the projection 35 is attached by inserting the earphone mounting portion 3 ′ into the mounting hole 31 of the cover member, the projection 35 is fitted into the notch fitting portion 8 so that the earphone mounting portion 3 ′ does not move in the circumferential direction. It is like that.

  The earphone mounting portion 3 ′ shown in FIG. 8 has three types of inner peripheral surfaces with different inner diameters except for the sound hole 9. Therefore, even earphones having different outer diameters can be attached to the earphone mounting portion 3.

  The constituent members of the sound expander 1 of the present invention have been described above. However, the sound expander main body 2 (the main body member 11 and the pair of cover members 12 and 13) and the earphone mounting portion 3 constituting the sound expander 1 of the present invention. Can be formed of various materials. As a specific example, a resin material such as ABS resin or acrylic resin is preferable. The sound expander body 2 and the earphone mounting portion 3 formed of a resin material can be easily reduced in size and weight, and are advantageous in sound reflection characteristics. Since the main body member 11, the cover members 12, 13 and the earphone mounting portion 3 constituting the audio expander main body 2 are usually made by a method with good productivity such as injection molding, they can be formed of the same kind of resin material. Although it is advantageous in terms of cost, it may be formed of different types of resin materials.

  In the sound expander 1 of the present invention, the formed constituent members are integrated by various joining means. Examples of the integration means include a method of performing ultrasonic welding after fitting each constituent member, a method of fitting after applying an adhesive to the fitting portion, and the like.

As described above, according to the sound expander of the present invention, the spiral sound guide path whose spatial cross-sectional area gradually increases from the start end portion toward the end portion, and the position sandwiching the start end portion of the sound guide path. have a pair of earphone mounting portions facing each other, the pair of earphone mounting portion, respectively, since the sound emitted from the attached earphone to have a sound hole for introducing the sound guide path, the earphones By attaching to the earphone attachment portion, the sound emitted from the earphone can be expanded in the sound guide path. As a result, music information can be easily shared when the above-described scene is reached. In addition, this audio expander is the sound that the input source of the audio signal is emitted from the earphone, and since there is no lead wire or connector for connecting to the output terminal of a conventional playback device, the earphone is attached to the earphone mounting part. You can listen to music information just by attaching. As a result, there is no need for the conventional complications such as connector replacement, storage of the earphone system, replacement of the connector again, storage of lead wires and connectors, and the like.

  Further, according to the sound expander of the present invention, a sound guide path having a desired shape can be easily configured by a partition plate formed by, for example, injection molding and the cover member, and the outer surface form of the cover member is devised. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a sound expander with good design (design), and thus a small and lightweight sound expander with good design and easy carrying.

  Further, according to the sound expander of the present invention, the earphone can be securely attached to the sound expander, so that the music information can be effectively expanded on the sound guide path. Moreover, by forming in advance a plurality of earphone mounting portions corresponding to the shape of the earphone, it is possible to replace the earphone mounting portion according to the earphone to be used.

(How to use the audio magnifier)
Next, a method of using the sound expander of the present invention composed of the above-described components will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of an aspect in which an earphone is attached to the sound expander of the present invention. The earphone 10 is a member constituting an earphone system. The earphone system electrically connects a pair of left and right earphones 10, a connector (not shown), the earphone 10 and the connector, for example, in the case of stereo correspondence. And a code 41. The earphone side cords 41 and 41 are branched into two branch lines, and each branched branch line has a predetermined length.

  The sound expander 1 of the present invention has a pair of left and right earphone mounting portions 3, 3, and a pair of earphones 10 are mounted on the earphone mounting portions 3, 3. There are various types of earphones, such as (i) those classified into stereo type and monaural type, (ii) those classified into inner type to be inserted into the ear and outer type to be hung on the ear, etc. They are also slightly different in shape. In the present invention, in consideration of these points, the earphone mounting portion preferably has a shape corresponding to various earphone shapes. In addition, in the case of the detachable earphone mounting portion, various earphone mounting portions other than those illustrated in the present application can be prepared so as to correspond to various earphones.

  As a normal use method of a general speaker, a connector of an earphone system is inserted into an output terminal (earphone terminal) of a playback device, and the earphone is inserted into an ear to listen to music information. When the audio magnifier 1 of the present invention wants to listen to music information to a friend who is together, for example, introduces it to a friend while listening to a new song together, listens to radio news, etc. with surrounding people, It can fully meet the demands when you want to listen to the contents of your mobile phone with your family, friends, etc., or when you want to listen with your earphone off your ear in your room or on the go.

  In the sound expander 1 of the present invention, the sound emitted from the earphone 10 passes through the sound holes 9 and 9 of the earphone mounting portions 3 and 3 and reaches the start end portion 4a of the sound guide path 4 to form a spiral sound guide. Expand along Route 4. The expanded sound is output to the outside of the sound expander 1 through the opening 5 which is the terminal end 4 b of the sound guide path 4. Such an audio expander 1 can expand the sound without using an electrical amplifier circuit or a diaphragm. Therefore, since there is no lead wire or connector and no drive power supply is required, the device is small, light and inexpensive. In addition, the sound expander 1 of the present invention can be made compact because the sound guide path 4 is formed in a spiral shape.

  In addition, the sound expander 1 of the present invention adjusts the spiral expansion coefficient and the spatial cross-sectional area of the sound guide path 4 to adjust the sound emitted from the earphone 10, for example, as will be described later in an embodiment. Thus, it is possible to amplify the low sound range and output a sound with an expanded reproduction band.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the audio expander 1 of the present invention can be installed in a space-saving manner with a beautiful appearance by standing the opening 5 so as to be a side surface. .

  When the earphone 10 is of a monaural type and there is only one earphone 10, as shown in FIG. 9, a mounting member 38 having a sealing portion 37 is provided on one of the earphone mounting portions. Also good.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples.

(Example)
The sound expander 1 of Example 1 was produced so that it might become a form of FIGS. ABS resin is used as the material of the main body member 11 and injection-molded into a configuration having a spiral partition plate 14 (thickness of about 2 mm) and an outer plate 15 (thickness of about 2 mm) located outside the partition plate 14. . The spiral shape was a function curve when the expansion coefficient m was 2 and the angular range of the spiral shape was u = 1 to 3.25 in accordance with the above formulas 1 and 2. Acrylic resin was used as a material for the pair of cover members 12 and 13 and was injection molded into a substantially square plate shape. Further, ABS resin was used as the material for the earphone mounting portions 3 and 3, the diameter of the sound hole was set to 7 mm, and injection molding was performed in the form shown in FIG.

  The pair of cover members 12 and 13 are sandwiched from both sides of the manufactured main body member 11 and the fitting portion of the main body member 11 and the fitting portion of the cover members 12 and 13 are fitted together, and then both are joined by an ultrasonic welder. It was. Furthermore, after attaching the earphone attachment part 3 to the attachment hole 6 of the cover member, both were joined by the ultrasonic welder, and the audio expander of this invention shown in FIGS. 1-5 was produced. The produced audio magnifier 1 has a vertical direction of about 80 mm when viewed in plan in FIG. 2 and a horizontal direction of about 80 mm, a width direction when viewed in plan of FIG. 3 is about 25 mm, and its weight is about It was 60 g.

(Characteristic evaluation)
Using the sound expander of Example 1, a pair of left and right earphones were respectively attached to the pair of earphone mounting portions. The connector (plug) of the earphone system is connected to a headphone amplifier, a 15 mW signal is input from the headphone amplifier to the earphone, the converted sound is introduced from the earphone to the sound expander 1, and the opening 5 of the sound expander 1 Sound generated from. The frequency characteristics of the generated sound were measured with a measurement microphone, and the sound pressure (dBSPL) at each frequency is shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 200 denotes a sound pressure frequency characteristic of the sound emitted from the opening 5 of the sound expander 1 according to the first embodiment. Sound pressure frequency characteristics when installed and measured.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 12, reference numeral 201 denotes a sound pressure frequency characteristic of the sound emitted from the single earphone, and the sound pressure frequency when the measurement microphone is installed and measured at a distance of 10 cm from the front of the sound emission hole of the earphone. It is a characteristic.

  The sound expander 1 of Example 1 was able to listen to the sound from the earphone sufficiently expanded through the sound guide path 4. From the results shown in FIG. 12, when the sound from the earphone was generated using the sound expander of the present invention, the bass range could be enhanced and the reproduction band could be expanded. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, in the sound pressure frequency characteristic (symbol 201) of the earphone alone, the sound pressure gradually decreases toward a frequency lower than about 3 kHz. By attaching the earphone having such characteristics to the sound expander, the sound pressure frequency characteristic indicated by reference numeral 200 was improved, and the effect of increasing the sound pressure was observed in a frequency band of about 100 Hz to 5 kHz. In particular, at 600 Hz, a sound pressure increase of about 24 dB (16 times) was obtained.

It is decomposition | disassembly explanatory drawing which shows an example of the audio | voice enlarger of this invention. It is a front view of the audio | voice magnifier of this invention. FIG. 3 is a left side view of the sound expander of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the sound expander of FIG. 2. It is AA sectional drawing of the audio | voice magnifier of FIG. It is a front view of the main-body member which comprises the audio | voice magnifier of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the earphone attachment part which comprises the audio | voice magnifier of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another example of the earphone attachment part which comprises the audio | voice magnifier of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the form at the time of setting the earphone attachment part which comprises the audio | voice magnifier of this invention as a sealing part. It is the graph of the function curve which plotted the X value and Y value calculated by Formula 1, 2 as an (X, Y) coordinate axis. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the aspect which attached the earphone to the audio | voice magnifier of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a frequency (Hz) and a sound pressure (dBSPL).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sound magnifying device 2 Sound magnifying device main body 3,3 'Earphone attachment part 4 Sound guide path 4a Sound guide path start part 4b Sound guide path end part 5 Opening part 6 Mounting hole 7 Mounting hole fitting part 8 Notch fitting Joint part 9 Sound hole 10 Earphone 11 Main body member 12, 13 Cover member 12a, 13a Cover member surface 12b, 13b Cover member back surface 14 Partition plate 15 Outer plate 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d Each surface of outer plate 16 Convex shape Fitting portion 17 Space portion 18 Mounting portion 21, 22 Recessed fitting portion 31 Flange portion of earphone mounting portion 32 Inner peripheral surface of earphone mounting portion 33 Seat portion of earphone mounting portion 34 Fitting portion of earphone mounting portion 35 Projection portion 36 Recessed fitting portion 37 Sealing portion 38 Mounting member 41 Code 100, 101, 102 Function curve 200, 201 Sound pressure frequency characteristic P Starting point of sound guide path S That imaginary line

Claims (4)

Possess a sound guide channel spiral gradually increases toward the end portion space cross-sectional area from the beginning, and a pair of earphone mounting portions disposed opposite positions sandwiching the leading end of the conductor sound path, the said a pair of earphone mounting unit, audio expander, wherein each of the sound emitted from the attached earphone to have a sound hole for introducing the sound guide path.   The sound expander according to claim 1, wherein the sound guide path is formed by a partition plate formed in a spiral shape and a cover member that sandwiches the partition plate from both sides. The pair of earphone mounting portion, respectively, the audio expander of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is formed in a concave shape corresponding to the outer contour of the earphone that is to be attached. The sound expander according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pair of earphone mounting portions are respectively provided as detachable members.