JP2006157318A - Bone conduction speaker unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bone conduction speaker with high sensitivity at a low cost that can painlessly be worn on a head for a long time use without a sense of incongruity and closely be attached to the head under a proper elastic force. <P>SOLUTION: The bone conduction speaker unit comprises a transducer 1 for producing sound vibration and a housing 2 for containing the transducer 1 and delivering the vibration. The bone conduction speaker unit is provided with an adaptor part 4, a hinge part 5, and a spring part 6 fitted to a frame 7 of eyeglasses to connect them together and closely attaches them to a rear side of an outer ear at a proper elastic force to attain higher sensitivity. Further, the adaptor part 4 fitted to the frame 7 of the eyeglasses is provided with a cap, a grip and a belt-like member to make the adaptor part 4 removable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a speaker unit using bone conduction.

  The bone conduction speaker is configured to listen to sound by transmitting acoustic vibrations to the cochlear organ of the inner ear via the skull by being mainly worn on the head of the human body. As a method for mounting the speaker on the head, a method of mounting a microphone on a helmet (see Patent Document 1) and a headphone style (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3) have been proposed.

  The wearing of these bone conduction microphones does not cause much pain when used for a short time. However, many people feel head fatigue or pressure after a certain period of time, and there is a problem that they cannot withstand long-term use. In addition, when used as a hearing aid, many of the users are elderly people, many wear glasses, and wearing both glasses and headphones further increases pain. Further, the configuration of the headphone or helmet structure has a drawback that it has a large number of parts and tends to be expensive.

JP 2001-333478 A JP-A-11-331970 JP 2001-016672 A

  As described above, the conventional bone conduction speaker head headset has a problem in that it is painful when worn for a long time, has a large number of parts, and tends to be expensive. In the present invention, there is no pain when used for a long time, and there is no sense of incongruity when worn on the head, it is easy to wear, it is moderately elastic, and further touches the back side of the outer ear. It is an object to provide a conductive speaker unit at a low price.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first invention is an electromagnetic or piezoelectric transducer unit that generates sound vibration, a bone conduction speaker unit that includes the housing part that houses the vibration and transmits the vibration, and the bone conduction unit. This is a bone conduction speaker unit comprising an adapter part for attaching the speaker part to the string part of the glasses.

  A second invention for achieving the above object is glasses comprising the bone conduction speaker unit.

  A third invention for achieving the above object is a bone conduction speaker unit in which the bone conduction speaker unit is brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear when wearing spectacles.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the adapter portion includes a connection portion with the bone conduction speaker, and the connection portion includes a hinge mechanism portion and a spring mechanism portion. It is.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, the bone conduction speaker portion is parallel to the distal end portion of the vine of the glasses before the bone conduction speaker portion is attached to the string portion of the eyeglasses and put on the ear. This is a bone conduction speaker unit that can be bent at the hinge mechanism after being applied and brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear with an appropriate elastic force.

A sixth invention for achieving the above object is a bone conduction speaker unit in which a pressure applied to the back side of the outer ear exceeds 0 g / mm ² .

7th invention for achieving the said objective is a bone conduction speaker unit in which the said adapter part has a detachable member to the string part of spectacles.

  An eighth invention for achieving the above object is a bone conduction speaker unit in which the detachable member is a cap, a clip, or a belt-like member.

  The present invention is a bone conduction speaker unit 11 comprising a transducer 1 that generates sound vibrations and a housing 2 that houses and transmits the vibrations. This bone conduction speaker unit 11 is connected by being provided with the adapter part 4 attached to the string part 7 of the spectacles, the hinge part 5 and the spring part 6, and can be brought into close contact with the back side of the outer ear with an appropriate elastic force. A sensitive bone conduction speaker unit 11 is made possible. Moreover, the adapter part 4 can be attached or detached by providing the adapter part 4 attached to the string part 7 of the glasses with a cap, a clip, a belt or the like. As a result, there is no pain when used for a long time, and a wearing operation without a sense of incongruity can be easily achieved, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems.

  The bone conduction speaker unit of the present invention can be attached to the head by being directly attached to the string portion of the glasses with a simple configuration. Moreover, by providing the adapter part, the hinge part, and the spring part that are attached to the string part of the glasses, the back side of the outer ear can be brought into close contact with an appropriate elastic force, thereby enabling a more sensitive bone conduction speaker unit. Furthermore, an adapter part can be made removable by providing a cap, a clip, a belt, etc. in the adapter part attached to the string part of spectacles.

  In addition, since the bone conduction speaker unit of the present invention can be basically light-weighted, there is little discomfort in wearing and it can easily withstand long-time use. Further, when the glasses are not used or when the glasses are exchanged according to the application, they can be easily attached and detached. The purpose can be easily achieved by using glasses with no frequency even for those who do not usually use eyeglasses, as well as for everyday eyeglass users. Furthermore, the present invention has an advantage that it can be produced at a low cost with a very simple configuration and a small number of parts.

  The bone conduction speaker unit according to the best mode of the present invention is a bone conduction speaker unit comprising a transducer 1 that generates electromagnetic or piezoelectric sound vibrations, and a housing 2 that houses and transmits the vibrations. This bone conduction speaker part is connected to the adapter part 4 attached to the string part 7 of the spectacles so that the bone conduction speaker can be brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear when wearing the spectacles.

In addition, the bone conduction speaker and the adapter part 4 are provided with a hinge part 5 and a spring part 6 to connect the bone conduction speaker to the string part 7 of the spectacles and before being put on the ears, the bone conduction speaker part is the tip part of the spectacle vine. It can be bent by the hinge part 5 after being hung and can be brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear with an appropriate elastic force. In particular, the force for pressing the bone conduction speaker unit 10 against the back side of the outer ear, that is, the contact pressure of the bone conduction speaker unit on the back side of the outer ear is important in transmitting acoustic information. There is a clear difference in the ability to transmit acoustic information depending on whether or not it touches the back side of the outer ear, and the contact pressure of the bone conduction speaker unit 10 on the back side of the outer ear is preferably over 0 g / mm ² In this embodiment, the contact pressure was 0.39 g / mm ² .

  Further, the adapter part 4 is attached with a cap, a clip, a belt and the like for attachment to the string part 7 of the glasses, and can be attached to and detached from the string part 7 of the glasses.

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic structure of the present invention according to an embodiment of a bone conduction speaker unit of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a bone conduction speaker unit before wearing glasses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a bone conduction speaker unit when wearing glasses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a wearing state of the bone conduction speaker unit according to the embodiment of the present invention when wearing glasses.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a mounting place and a mounting state of the bone conduction speaker unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram comparing the transmission capability of acoustic information according to the force (with / without contact) pressed against the back side of the outer ear of the bone conduction speaker unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an example of mounting of the detachable member of the bone conduction speaker unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a bone conduction speaker unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is a bone conduction speaker unit including a transducer 1 that generates piezoelectric sound vibration, a housing 2 that houses the transducer 1, and a housing support unit 3. 10, an adapter part 4 for attachment to eyeglasses, a hinge part 5 for connecting the bone conduction speaker part 10 and the adapter part, and a spring part 6.

  The adapter part 4 has a cap-like structure intended to be attached to the string part 7 of the spectacles, and is detachable so that it can be easily detached from the spectacles when not in use or can be replaced by the spectacles used. Here, in order to reduce the weight of the bone conduction speaker unit 11, a plastic material is used.

  The transducer 1 is an electrodynamic microphone in which sound vibration is generated by the interaction between a magnetic field generated by a magnet and a magnetic field generated by a sound current flowing through a moving coil, or a piezoelectric microphone utilizing distortion of a piezoelectric element. However, the piezoelectric type is preferable from the viewpoint of weight reduction.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, when wearing glasses, the bone conduction speaker unit 10 becomes easy to wear if it is parallel to the distal end portion of the string portion 7 of the glasses. As shown in FIG. 3, the bone conduction speaker unit 10 is bent by the hinge unit 5, and at the same time, by the restoring force of the spring, as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to adhere to the back side of the outer ear with an appropriate elastic force, A more sensitive bone conduction speaker unit 11 is made possible.

  In addition, since it has a very simple structure and does not lead to an increase in weight, there is no pain when used for a long time. In the conventional helmet type structure, the weight of the helmet itself is about 300 gr, whereas in the spectacle type structure of the present invention, the weight of the glasses itself is about 40 gr.

  In the Example of this invention, as shown in FIG. 5, this invention A (when the bone conduction speaker part 10 is made to contact | abut on the back side of an outer ear) was able to contact | adhere stably with moderate elastic force. Conventional example B (when the bone conduction speaker portion is brought into contact with the front side of the outer ear) cannot be stably adhered because there is no appropriate installation location. Conventional Example C (when the bone conduction speaker unit 10 is not in contact with the back side of the outer ear) was able to stably adhere with an appropriate elastic force.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 shows a case A in which the bone conduction speaker portion according to the embodiment of the present invention is brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear and a conventional example C (a case in which the bone conduction speaker portion is not brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear. It is the figure which compared the transmission capability of the acoustic information of).

  Here, as an evaluation method of bone conduction function and related devices, it uses the artificial inner ear (B & K Artificial Mastoid Type 4930) that accurately simulates the transfer function from the mastoid process to the auditory nerve. The acceleration at the position to be driven was all driven from 100 Hz to 10 kHz with the same drive voltage, and both were compared in a state where force was applied and a state where no load was applied.

FIG. 6 shows a comparison result of acceleration in the cochlear implant. The case where it touches the back side of the outer ear is a condition that gives a weight of 200 g. The case of not contacting the back side of the outer ear is a no-load condition. In addition, contact | abutting here is equivalent to applying the weight over 0g. Further, the contact pressure under the condition of applying a weight of 200 g was 0.39 g / mm ² in terms of conversion.

  From this experimental result, it was found that the acceleration level under the condition of applying a weight of 200 g was high and it was easier to transmit acoustic information. From this, it can be seen that a more sensitive bone conduction speaker unit can be realized by appropriately pressing the back side of the outer ear.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, there is a mounting example of the detachable member of the bone conduction speaker unit. Fig.7 (a) shows the example of a cap-shaped member, FIG.7 (b) shows the example of a clip-shaped member, FIG.7 (c) shows the example of a belt-shaped member. All of them have a simple structure and are detachable.

  The cord extending from the microphone is connected using a jack to an amplifier that amplifies an audio signal transmitted from the acoustic device by wire or by wireless means such as infrared or Bluetooth.

  In addition, although the same bone conduction unit was produced with the electromagnetic method, there existed the same effect.

The figure which shows the basic structure of the bone conduction speaker unit which concerns on the Example of this invention. The structure figure before the spectacles mounting | wearing of the bone conduction speaker unit which concerns on the Example of this invention. The structure figure at the time of spectacles wearing of the bone conduction speaker unit concerning the example of the present invention. The figure which shows the mounting state at the time of spectacles mounting | wearing of the bone conduction speaker unit based on the Example of this invention. The figure which shows the mounting location of the bone conduction speaker unit which concerns on the Example of this invention, and its mounting condition. The figure which shows the comparison of the transmission capability of the acoustic information of the case A which contacts the bone conduction speaker which concerns on the Example of this invention on the back side of an outer ear, and the prior art example C (when a bone conduction speaker part is not contact | abutted on the back side of an outer ear) . The figure which shows the example of mounting | wearing of the attachment / detachment member of the bone conduction speaker unit which concerns on the Example of this invention. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a cap-shaped member, FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating an example of a clip-shaped member, and FIG. 7C is a diagram illustrating an example of a belt-shaped member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transducer 2 Case 3 Case support part 4 Adapter part 5 Hinge part 6 Spring part 7 Glasses string part 8 Glasses lens part 9 Code 10 Bone conduction speaker part 11 Bone conduction speaker unit

Claims (8)

  It consists of an electromagnetic or piezoelectric transducer that generates sound vibrations, a bone conduction speaker that consists of a housing that houses this and transmits vibrations, and an adapter that attaches the bone conduction speaker to the strings of glasses A bone conduction speaker unit.   An eyeglass comprising the bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1.   The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1, wherein the bone conduction speaker unit is in contact with the back side of the outer ear when wearing spectacles.   2. The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1, wherein the adapter part includes a connection part with the bone conduction speaker part, and the connection part includes a hinge mechanism part and a spring mechanism part.   When the bone conduction speaker portion is attached to the string portion of the spectacles and put on the ear, the bone conduction speaker portion is parallel to the tip portion of the vine of the spectacles and can be bent by the hinge mechanism portion after being hung. 2. The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1, wherein the bone conduction speaker unit is brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear by an elastic force. The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1, wherein the pressure brought into contact with the back side of the outer ear exceeds 0 g / mm ² .   The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 1, wherein the adapter part has a detachable member to a string part of spectacles.   The bone conduction speaker unit according to claim 7, wherein the detachable member is a cap, a clip, or a belt-shaped member.

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