JP2009094986A - Telephone receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a telephone receiver that imposes little burden on a user due to its light weight and easy attachment system and that allows clear reception and transmission of required voice information even in noisy environment. <P>SOLUTION: A receiver portion comprises: vibration members 4 for receiving an electrically converted voice signal to generate voice vibrations; and vibration transmission members 5 that are bonded to the vibration members 4 and have projection portions 8 at the center thereof that can be inserted from cavities of the concha into portions reaching the entrances of external acoustic meatuses. The receiver portion is supported by a head arm 15 and the vibration transmission members 5 have a specific gravity of ≤0.05. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a receiver that is suitable for clearly listening to an audio signal even in a noisy environment.

  In recent years, various receivers for listening to audio signals in a noisy environment have been developed. For example, as a first example, there has been proposed a receiver or the like that includes an ear muff that covers the entire ear and is sound-insulated, and an electromagnetic speaker mounted therein. A system has also been proposed in which a pair of ear muffs with a speaker inside is attached to the headband, and a device with a microphone attached to the headband is connected to the mobile phone, making it possible to make a phone call easily even under noisy conditions. ing. Such a receiver is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  Also, as a second example, the ear muff, a speaker attached inside the ear muff, a directional microphone arranged outside the ear muff, and a control circuit, when the user talks to the other party, There has also been proposed an ear device that facilitates conversation by performing filtering control according to the surrounding environmental sound picked up by a directional microphone. Such a receiver is disclosed in Patent Document 2.

  Furthermore, as a third example, a receiving device is proposed in which a subject in an MRI apparatus under high noise has a conversation with an outside operator. This receiving device is a receiving device in which a bone conduction speaker and a bone conduction microphone are mounted inside an ear muff, and a conversation is conducted with bone conduction sound instead of air conduction sound with the ear completely closed. Such a receiver is disclosed in Patent Document 3.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional receiving device proposed in Patent Document 3. In FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the reception device 20 uses a bone conduction microphone 21 made of a piezoelectric element for transmission and a bone conduction speaker 22 made of a piezoelectric element for reception. The bone conduction microphone 21 and the bone conduction speaker 22 are incorporated into a headphone-type sound insulation earmuff 23.

  Among these, the bone conduction microphone 21 is arranged at a substantially central portion of the ear pad 24 of the sound insulation ear muff 23, that is, a portion corresponding to a general user's ear hole, and when the user wears the sound insulation ear muff 23, The distal end portion of the bone conduction microphone 21 is configured to be inserted into the user's ear canal. Further, the bone conduction speaker 22 is housed in a location corresponding to a general user's auricle peripheral portion inside the ear pad 24.

  The bone conduction microphone 21 and the bone conduction speaker 22 have their respective operation surfaces directly on the user's head or through a protective member (not shown) made of a protective cover, cushioning material or the like when the sound insulation earmuff 23 is attached. Built in contact. The contact pressure is set by the material and structure of the headband 28 that connects the left and right housings 27 of the sound insulation earmuff 23.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional bone conduction speaker proposed in Patent Document 3. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the bone conduction speaker 22 holds the entire periphery of the disk-shaped piezoelectric bimorph element 71 with an elastomer material 72. When an electroacoustic signal is input to the piezoelectric bimorph element 71, mechanical vibration due to bending occurs. This vibration is transmitted to the vibrating body 73 via the transmission member 76 to vibrate the vibrating body 73. The elastomer material 72 is supported by a support member 75 fixed to the inner surface of the case 74. The piezoelectric bimorph element 71 is housed in the case 74, and the surface of the vibrating body 73 is disposed outside the case 74. Further, the bone conduction microphone 21 has the same configuration and has a function of converting mechanical vibration into an electroacoustic signal.

Registered Utility Model No. 3023116 Japanese National Patent Publication No. 10-505475 JP 2005-245580 A

  As described above, as a voice information transmission system that transmits and receives only necessary information under noise, an earpiece using a sound insulation earmuff and a speaker mounted therein has been proposed. However, earmuffs having a heavy sound insulation wall are used for these receivers. Therefore, there is a problem that the weight increases. Further, since the weight of the speaker is further increased in addition to this weight, for example, for a user such as a field worker, there is a problem that it is burdensome to wear it for a long time.

  In addition, when the receiving system is bone conduction only, a large level of vibration is required to obtain sufficient audibility under high noise, and power-up of the vibration source becomes indispensable. There is a problem of increasing.

  Furthermore, there is a problem that ear pads that are in close contact with the ear canal entrance are easily soiled with sweat and dust.

  Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described problems, and provides a receiver that can be listened to necessary information clearly at the same time as it is lightweight, easy to wear, and effective receiving without burdening the user. Objective.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the problems of the prior art. The present invention relates to a vibrating member that receives a sound signal that has been electrically converted and generates a sound vibration, and a protrusion that is joined to the vibrating member and can be inserted into a central portion from the concha cavity portion to the entrance of the ear canal A receiving unit made up of a vibration transmitting member provided with a head arm is used to constitute a headset, and the vibration transmitting member is made of a polystyrene having a specific gravity of 0.05 or less or a material having equivalent mechanical properties. Further, in the present invention, the vibration member and the vibration transmission member form an integral bone conduction sound and air conduction sound speaker, and the speaker is connected to the vibration transmission member via the vibration transmission member. This is a receiver that improves the ease of hearing by transmitting part of the sound vibration generated by the vibration member to the external auditory canal as air conduction sound and partly transmitting bone conduction sound through the cartilage around the pinna. ,Also The present invention, the vibration transmitting member of the speaker is a receiver device which is easily removable.

  That is, according to the present invention, a vibration member that receives an electrically converted sound signal and generates sound vibration, a base that fixes the vibration member, the base and the vibration member are joined, and an ear is provided at the center. A receiving portion provided with a vibration transmitting member provided with a protrusion that can be inserted into a portion from the concha cavity to the entrance of the ear canal, and the vibration transmitting member has a specific gravity of 0.05 or less A receiving device characterized by being present can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, the vibration member and the vibration transmission member form a bone conduction sound and air conduction sound speaker, and the speaker generates sound generated by the vibration member via the vibration transmission member. The above receiving device is characterized in that the vibration is partly transmitted as an air conduction sound to the external auditory canal and partly transmitted through a cartilage around the auricle and transmitted through a bone conduction sound.

  Further, according to the present invention, there is obtained the above-described receiver, wherein the vibration transmission member can be easily detached from the base body.

  More specifically, the present invention is a headset-type receiver, and its acoustic vibration source contacts a vibration transmission member having a very small specific gravity and efficiently transmits vibration. Sound is emitted from the surface of the vibration transmitting member into the air and is transmitted to the auditory nerve through the eardrum through the ear canal as an air conduction sound, but acoustic vibration propagates to the cartilage around the auricle where the vibration transmitting member contacts, It reaches the auditory nerve as a conduction sound. As a result, since a large acoustic sound can be felt as an auditory sensation with a small input power, an efficient reception can be performed under high noise. Further, the gist of the invention is that the vibration transmitting member can be attached and detached so that it can be easily replaced with a new product when it becomes dirty.

  In the present invention, as a result of diligent study on efficient voice reception with less burden on the user under high noise, a material having a very low specific gravity, such as styrene foam or paper clay after drying, is used for the vibration transmitting member. When pressed against the auricle as an audio vibration transmission member, simultaneously with the sound emitted from the surface of the vibration transmission member, both the bone conduction sound that propagates in contact with the cartilage around the auricle can be heard at the same time, It was confirmed that it is possible to feel as a loud voice while inputting at a low level. On the other hand, with resin, rubber, wood, or the like having a specific gravity of about 1, the vibration amplitude of the surface becomes small, and the level of audibility drops significantly. In addition, by providing a projection that can be inserted from the concha cavity to the ear canal at the center of the transmission member, the sound insulation effect is enhanced against the intrusion of external noise, and the vibration transmission member and the cartilage of the auricle are It was confirmed that the contact state with the portion was improved and the acoustic propagation efficiency was increased. Furthermore, since the vibration transmitting member can be made of an inexpensive material such as polystyrene foam or paper clay, it can be made disposable by selecting such a material, and a clean receiving device can be provided. Thus, the material selection is extremely effective for reducing the weight of the entire receiver.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a receiver that can be listened to and transmitted necessary voice information clearly even in a noisy environment without being burdened on the user by being light and easy to wear.

  A receiving device according to the present invention includes a vibration member that receives an electrically converted sound signal and generates sound vibration, and a protrusion that is joined to the vibration member and can be inserted into a central portion from a concha cavity portion to an ear canal entrance. The headset which comprised the receiving part which consists of a vibration transmission member with which the part was provided with the arm is comprised. The vibration member and the vibration transmission member form an integral bone conduction sound and air conduction sound speaker, and the speaker unit transmits the sound vibration generated by the vibration member via the vibration transmission member. Some transmit air conduction sound to the external auditory canal, and some transmit bone conduction sound through the cartilage around the pinna. The vibration transmitting member is made of a material having a very small specific gravity (specific gravity of 0.05 or less (excluding 0)). In addition, since a projection that can be inserted from the concha cavity to the ear canal is provided in the center, the sound insulation effect is enhanced against the intrusion of external noise, and the contact between the vibration transmitting member and the cartilage of the auricle The state is improved and the propagation efficiency of sound can be increased. Furthermore, it is desirable that the vibration transmitting member can be easily attached and detached so that it can be replaced with a new one when it becomes dirty.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of a receiver according to the present invention. Here, the vibration member 4 is a device that converts an amplified electric sound signal into sound vibration. As this device, it is preferable to use a vibrating body in which a piezoelectric bimorph element having an electro-mechanical conversion function which is small and light and has both a large displacement and a large generated force is coated with an organic substance. The vibration member 4 is joined to a vibration transmission member 5 having a shape that can be inserted into the ear canal, and the vibration transmission member 5 is provided with a projection 8 that can be inserted from the concha cavity portion to the portion of the ear canal at the center. ing. The vibration transmission member 5 blocks noise from the surroundings and increases the efficiency of vibration transmission. The vibration member 4 generates a sound vibration in response to the amplified electric sound signal, and the sound vibration is transmitted to the cartilage 6 around the entrance of the ear canal 6 through the protrusion 8 of the vibration transmitting member 5 inserted into the ear canal. The user can hear the sound or the sound signal as a bone conduction sound. That is, the vibration member 4 and the vibration transmission member 5 constitute an air conduction speaker and a bone conduction speaker.

Example 1
Hereinafter, a specific example is given and the receiver of this invention is demonstrated in more detail. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the receiver in the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiver according to the present embodiment includes a receiving unit formed of a vibration member 4, a vibration transmission member 5, a base 14, and a fixing rubber band 16. The cylindrical base 14 formed of resin is formed with a recess into which the vibration member 4 can be inserted by half the thickness. Similarly, a rubber band for fixing the periphery so that the periphery made of foamed polystyrene in which a half of the thickness of the vibration member 4 can be inserted is in close contact with the vibration transmission member 5 having a cylindrical shape and the same diameter as the base 14 16 is elastically coupled. This recess is omitted in the drawing. The base body 14 is fixed to both ends of the head arm 15 by a mechanically loose hinge mechanism 30 and constitutes a headset so that the user can wear it on both ears. The fixing method of the base 14 and the vibration transmitting member 5 may be an easily removable screw type or a stopper type fixing with a spring.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the vibration member in the embodiment. In this embodiment, a piezoelectric bimorph element 19 is used as the vibration member 4. The piezoelectric bimorph element 19 is obtained by joining two piezoelectric ceramic plates 17 via an elastic plate 18. Specifically, the piezoelectric ceramic plates (trade name Nepec 10) manufactured by NEC TOKIN Corporation were used for the two piezoelectric ceramic plates 17, and the dimensions were 30 mm in length, 3 mm in width, and 0.2 mm in thickness. . The elastic plate 18 was a brass plate having a thickness of 50 μm, and the length and width thereof were almost the same as those of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 17. These are bonded together with an epoxy-based adhesive, and an electrode is provided on the outer main surface of the piezoelectric ceramic plate 17, and wiring is performed between the electrode and the elastic plate 18 so that the amplified electrical audio signal is input (note that , Electrodes and wiring are not shown).

  In this embodiment, the piezoelectric ceramic plate 17 is a laminated piezoelectric ceramic plate in which four layers of ceramic sheets on which an internal electrode having a thickness of 50 μm is printed are laminated in the thickness direction and integrally fired. Further, the internal electrodes are divided into two groups for each layer, and the structure is such that polarization and voltage application can be performed for each layer. This configuration has the advantage that the drive voltage can be greatly reduced.

  The entire surface of the piezoelectric bimorph element 19 was covered with the organic material 32 to form the vibration member 4. Liquid urethane rubber was used for the organic material 32, and a coating layer was formed with a thickness of about 2 mm on two surfaces in the thickness direction.

  The vibration member 4 generates mechanical vibration due to bending in accordance with the amplified electrical audio signal. This mechanical vibration is transmitted to the vibration transmission member 5 as voice vibration. The center of the vibration transmitting member 5 has a curved surface that can be easily inserted into the concha cavity. In this embodiment, the piezoelectric bimorph element has a laminated structure in order to reduce the drive voltage, but may have a single plate structure if there is no problem with voltage.

  The receiver of FIG. 2 was produced by changing the specific gravity of the polystyrene foam as the vibration transmitting member to 0.02 to 0.07, and the audibility was evaluated.

(Example 2)
In the same manner as in Example 1, paper clay was used as the vibration transmitting member, the specific gravity was changed from 0.03 to 0.08, and the receiver of FIG.

(Conventional example 1)
As Conventional Example 1, a receiver having the structure shown in FIG. 2 was fabricated using silicone rubber having a specific gravity of 1.3 as a vibration transmitting member. The dimensions of each part were the same as in Examples 1 and 2. The audibility was evaluated in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2.

(Conventional example 2)
As Conventional Example 2, a receiver having the structure shown in FIG. 2 was manufactured using urethane rubber having a specific gravity of 1.1 as a vibration transmitting member. The dimensions of each part were the same as in Examples 1 and 2. The audibility was evaluated in the same manner as in Examples 1 and 2.

  Table 1 shows the results of evaluating the audibility in the receivers of Examples 1 and 2 and Conventional Examples 1 and 2. The evaluation was performed under the condition of white noise of 90 dB by using the produced receiver, and the radio broadcast was performed by the audience.

  As shown in Table 1, in both cases of the polystyrene foams of Examples 1 and 2 and paper clay, the audibility was very good when the specific gravity was 0.05 or less, but when it was more than that, it could not be heard at all. Although there was no audibility, the optimum range of specific gravity was determined to be 0.05 or less.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is lightweight, easy to wear, does not give a burden to the user, and can clearly hear necessary voice information even in a high noise environment. Provision is possible.

  In particular, the present invention can be used as a receiver for transmitting and receiving audio signals in a noisy environment, and can also be used for audio transmission and reception of audio devices and portable terminal devices.

The figure which shows the principle of the receiver in this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the basic composition of the receiver in the Example of this invention. Sectional drawing of the vibration member in the Example of this invention. The perspective view of the conventional receiver. Sectional drawing of the conventional piezoelectric bone conduction speaker.

Explanation of symbols

4 Vibrating member 5 Vibration transmitting member 6 Cartilage 8 Protruding portion 13, 20 Receiver 14 Base 15 Head arm 16 Fixing rubber band 17 Piezoelectric ceramic plate 18 Elastic plate 19, 71 Piezoelectric bimorph element 21 Bone conduction microphone 22 Bone conduction speaker 23 Sound insulation Ear muff 24 ear pad 27 housing 28 headband 30 hinge mechanism 32 organic material 72 elastomer material 73 vibrating body 74 case 75 support member 76 transmission member

Claims (3)

  A vibration member that receives an audio signal that has been electrically converted to generate sound vibration, a base that fixes the vibration member, a base that is bonded to the base and the vibration member, and an entrance of the ear canal from the concha cavity to the center A receiver having a vibration transmitting member provided with a protrusion that can be inserted in a portion extending to the head, and a head arm supporting the receiving unit, wherein the vibration transmitting member has a specific gravity of 0.05 or less. .   The vibration member and the vibration transmission member form a bone conduction sound and air conduction sound speaker, and the speaker partially transmits sound vibration generated by the vibration member via the vibration transmission member. The earpiece according to claim 1, wherein the earpiece is transmitted to the external auditory canal and a part thereof is configured to transmit a bone conduction sound via cartilage around the pinna.   The receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the vibration transmitting member is easily detachable from the base body.

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