JP2006115060A - Insert earphone - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent loosening or removal of an insert earphone surely. <P>SOLUTION: An insert member 21 forming the insert portion 2 of an earphone being inserted into the external auditory meatus of a user is made of an adhesive plastic material. At the time of insertion, the insert portion 2 deforms in accordance with the profile of external auditory meatus of each user and since it is fixed in that profile and adheres by adhesiveness, it is not loosened nor removed easily. Furthermore, a sound pass hole 3 is not blocked as the insert member 21 deforms because the sound pass hole 3 is formed of an elastic insert portion holding member 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an insertion type earphone having an insertion portion for insertion into the ear canal.

  If the earphone is used, the user can enjoy radio or music personally without being influenced by the surrounding sound environment and without affecting the surrounding sound environment. And since it is excellent in portability and can be used with respect to various audio | voice output apparatuses, it has prevailed widely. However, many of the earphones are not satisfactory in wearing feeling. For example, even if the user exercises lightly, the user may loosen or fall off. Especially when it is necessary to hold not only the earphone body but also other devices near the ear, such as hands-free devices for mobile phones and hearing aids, extra weight and inertia compared to using the earphone alone Since the force due to acts, loosening is likely to occur. When the looseness occurs, not only the user is stressed but also the sound quality is deteriorated and the sound leaks to the outside. On the other hand, if the earphone is formed large relative to the ear canal, loosening is prevented, but the user may feel uncomfortable or painful while wearing.

  In order to solve the above problems, it is important that the earphone is closely attached to the shape of the ear. However, since the shape of the ear is different for each person, it is practically impossible to create a solid-shaped earphone that fits all people.

  Therefore, in recent years, in order to further improve the adhesion and the feeling of wearing, an earphone body is provided with an insertion portion that is inserted into the ear canal, and an earphone in which this insertion portion is flexibly deformed in the ear canal has been developed and sold.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an insertion type earphone in which the insertion member is made of an elastic soft material such as rubber or elastomer or a cylindrical elastic member for the purpose of improving the wearing feeling of the insertion type earphone. However, when the insertion portion is simply an elastic body, the degree of adhesion is not sufficient, and attachment may be uncertain. In particular, when an earphone having an external device having a weight as described above is worn, there is a high risk of loosening during use. In addition, in the case of an elastic body, when a deformation is applied, a force to restore the original shape works, so that pressure is always applied to the user's ear, which may cause discomfort and pain.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an earplug for a hearing aid in which a kneaded material of an elastic material and a water-absorbing resin is disposed outside a flexible main body. This earplug has a high degree of adhesion of the earphone to the external auditory canal and can prevent sound leakage. However, like the earphone of Patent Document 1, since it is an elastic material, it is still in terms of secure wearing that does not loosen. It is insufficient. Furthermore, since this earplug cannot be used unless it contains moisture at the time of use, there is a problem that it is not convenient and portability is low.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-143681 ([0011]) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-199495

  As described above, the earphone wearing feeling has been improved so far, but in addition to that, there is no one that has certainty of wearing. Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ear insertion type earphone that has a high feeling of wearing and that reliably prevents loosening and detachment during wearing.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present application have made intensive research.As a result, in the ear insertion type earphone, the material of the insertion member is made of a plastic material that can be freely deformed, unlike a simple elastic body conventionally used. I came up with a material to make it. Therefore, the earphone according to the present invention is an ear insertion type earphone having a sound passage hole that penetrates an ear insertion portion to be inserted into the ear canal, wherein the insertion member forming the ear insertion portion is made of a plastic material. To do.

  Here, the insertion member may be made of a material having adhesiveness as well as plasticity. If it does so, the adhesiveness to the ear canal of an ear insertion part can be improved further at the time of wearing of the earphone of the present invention.

  According to the ear insertion type earphone according to the present invention, since the insertion member has an appropriate plasticity, when the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal, it is deformed to match the shape of the user's ear canal, Since it is fixed in shape, a high wearing feeling can be obtained. And, if the insertion member has adhesiveness, the insertion part is in close contact with the external auditory canal, so that it does not easily loosen or come off even when an external force is applied, such as a hands-free device for mobile phones and a hearing aid. In addition, even heavy equipment can be securely held. In addition, sound does not leak to the surroundings, and deterioration in sound quality can be prevented.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an earphone according to an embodiment of the present invention, and an ear insertion portion 2 is provided in an earphone main body 1. In the present invention, the shape and type of the earphone body are not limited. Inside the ear insertion portion 2, a sound passage hole 3 is provided as shown by a broken line, and the sound generated in the earphone body 1 is transmitted through the sound passage hole 3 to the user's eardrum. To reach.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A, the ear insertion portion 2 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape that is easy to insert into the ear canal by an insertion member 21 that is a plastic and adhesive material. Since the insertion member 21 is deformed when inserted into the ear canal and mounted, the shape thereof is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be any shape as long as it can be easily inserted into the ear canal and does not easily fall off when plastically deformed. Then, the hardness of the insertion member 21 is set to such a degree of deformation that the ear insertion portion 2 can be inserted into the ear canal with a normal force. This is because if it is too hard, it is difficult to wear, while if it is too soft, it is difficult to maintain the shape after plastic deformation in the ear canal. Further, the adhesiveness is a characteristic aimed at increasing the degree of adhesion, and it is preferable that the adhesiveness is not felt uncomfortable when removed.

  As a material having plasticity and adhesiveness, for example, polyvinyl acetate can be suitably used, but is not particularly limited as long as it is a resin that can be plastically deformed without heating and is highly safe to the human body. Any thing is acceptable.

  An insertion portion holding member 22 is provided inside the insertion member 21 to form a hollow sound passage hole 3 and prevent the sound passage hole 3 from being blocked when the insertion member 21 is greatly plastically deformed. Have Here, if the insertion portion holding member 22 is an elastic body, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the insertion member 21 is deformed, the insertion portion holding member 22 is also prevented from being hindered. Slowly deform.

  Further, the configuration of the ear insertion portion 2 may be a multilayer structure in which the insertion portion coating material 23 is provided in the outermost layer portion as shown in FIG. In this case, the insertion member 21 is a plastic material, and the insertion portion coating material 23 covering the insertion member 21 is an adhesive material. Here, for example, polyurethane can be used as the plastic material, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive that can be used repeatedly can be used as the adhesive material.

  When the ear insertion portion 2 is worn, the shape is fixed in a deformed state as shown in FIG. 2B, but the shape may be restored to the state before wearing as shown in FIG. 2A again. it can. By doing so, an optimal wearing feeling can be obtained each time the ear insertion type earphone of the present invention is worn. Also, it can be freely deformed into a shape that fits the user's ear, and then attached.

  The case where the ear insertion type earphone according to the present invention is applied to a music earphone will be described with reference to FIG. When wearing the earphone, the ear insertion part 2 protruding from the earphone main body 1 is inserted into the ear canal 5. Then, the insertion member 21 is plastically deformed along the shape of the ear canal 5. That is, the outer ear canal 5 is fixed in a deformed state and does not press the outer ear canal 5. Further, since the insertion member 21 is appropriately adhered to the external auditory canal 5, the ear insertion portion 2 fits snugly into the user's ear and does not loosen. Further, when the insertion member 21 is deformed at the time of insertion, the insertion portion holding member 22 is elastically deformed as shown in FIG.

  Next, a case where the ear insertion type earphone according to the present invention is applied to an income of a mobile phone handsfree set will be described with reference to FIG. The income 7 is a device for performing a hands-free call using a mobile phone. On the surface, a call start switch 41, a call end switch 42, and the like are arranged. By appropriately pressing these, a call start operation and a call end operation of the mobile phone body are performed. In addition, a bone conduction microphone (not shown) is provided inside. And the voice of the other party can be heard through the ear insertion part 2 of the earphone provided on the back surface of the income 7 (the back side in FIG. 5).

  The income 7 having such a function is heavier than the earphone main body 1 as in the first embodiment and may be used while the user is walking. It is easy to hang and is easy to loosen and come off. Therefore, in such a case, the material of the insertion member 21 can be hardened. By doing so, the insertion member 21 holds the shape of the inner ear 5 more reliably inside the ear canal 5, so that the income 7 is hardly loosened.

  When the income 7 is attached to the ear, the ear insertion part 2 is inserted into the user's external auditory canal 5 as in the first embodiment. Then, the insertion member 21 is plastically deformed along the shape of the ear canal 5, and the shape is fixed. Furthermore, the insertion member 21 adheres to the ear canal 5, and the attachment of the income 7 is not easily loosened and is stably fixed.

Needless to say, the ear-insertion-type earphone according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to any form of device having the earphone.

1 is a perspective view of an ear insertion type earphone according to the present invention. FIG. Sectional drawing before (A) deformation | transformation (B) after a deformation | transformation of the ear insertion part of the ear | edge insertion type earphone which concerns on this invention. Sectional drawing of the other form of the ear | edge insertion part of the ear | edge insertion type earphone which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the use condition of 1st Example of the ear | edge insertion type earphone which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the use condition of 2nd Example of the ear | edge insertion type earphone which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Earphone main body 2 ... Ear insertion part 21 ... Insertion member 22 ... Insertion part holding member 23 ... Insertion part coating | coated material 3 ... Sound hole 4 ... Intercom 5 ... Ear canal

Claims (7)

An ear insertion type earphone having a sound passage hole that penetrates an ear insertion portion to be inserted into the ear canal,
An earphone, wherein an insertion member forming the ear insertion portion is made of a plastic material. The earphone according to claim 1, wherein the insertion member is made of an adhesive plastic material. In the ear insertion part,
The earphone according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the insertion portion holding member made of an elastic material forms the sound passage hole. In the ear insertion part,
The periphery of the insertion member is covered with an insertion portion coating material,
The earphone according to claim 1, wherein the insertion portion coating material is made of an adhesive material. The earphone according to claim 1, wherein the insertion member is polyvinyl acetate. The insertion member is polyurethane;
The earphone according to claim 4, wherein the insertion portion coating material is polyvinyl acetate. The earphone according to claim 1, wherein the main body of the earphone is an intercom of a hands-free device for a mobile phone.

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