JP2013128896A - Vibration device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vibration device capable of adding functions of reinforcing listenability by transmitting vibration to a human body, even in such an environment as hardly hearing by only an air conduction sound, to a conventional mobile phone, and also capable of reducing parts count and facilitating mounting thereof with a small power consumption.SOLUTION: A vibration device 100 includes: overhangs 102, 103, 104 detachably attached to a mobile phone 500; an abutment (110) arranged at a position where at least a portion thereof can be brought into abutment with a user's ear and/or a human body of an ear periphery; a vibrator (111) face-bonded to the abutment and vibrating at a frequency band of an audible area where vibration is not transmitted to user's hearing organs via a user's skull from the abutment; a drive unit (107) for driving the vibrator; and a connector 106 for receiving an audio signal from the mobile phone and transmitting the signal to the drive uint.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibration device using a vibrator that transmits vibration corresponding to an audio signal to a human body.

  As a means for generating air conduction sound by vibrating air in order to make a reception sound of a cellular phone or the like, a panel speaker is known instead of a conventional speaker (for example, see Patent Document 1). However, there is a problem that the air conduction sound becomes difficult to hear when the noise is larger than the air conduction sound.

  On the other hand, it is known that bone conduction is effective in a place where ambient noise is intense (see, for example, Patent Document 2). However, vibration that is strong enough to vibrate the skull, such as bone conduction, is unsuitable in terms of power consumption for devices with low power, such as mobile phones. In addition, since the sound of bone conduction is small in the first place, it is easy to be drowned out by air conduction sound, and it is necessary to increase the vibration. Further, it is necessary to make the structure in which the vibration generation source and the casing are separated from each other so that the large vibration is not transmitted to the casing.

Japanese Patent No. 3929465 JP 2003-145048 A

  The object of the present invention is to add a function that can reinforce the ease of hearing by transmitting vibrations to the human body even in an environment where it is difficult to hear only by air conduction sound, and it is implemented with fewer parts It is also easy to provide a vibration device with low power consumption.

  The present invention proposes the following matters in order to solve the above problems. In addition, in order to make an understanding easy, although the code | symbol corresponding to embodiment of this invention is attached | subjected and demonstrated, it is not limited to this.

(1) In the present invention, at least a part is brought into contact with a mounting portion (102, 103, 104) that is detachably attached to the mobile phone (500) and a user's ear and / or a human body around the ear. And a contact portion (110) provided at a position where the contact is possible, and surface contact with the contact portion, and vibrations are transmitted from the contact portion to the user's auditory organ through the user's skull. A vibrator (111) that vibrates in an audible frequency band that is not transmitted, a drive section (107) that drives the vibrator, and a transmission section (106) that receives an audio signal from the mobile phone and transmits it to the drive section The vibration device (100) provided with these is proposed.

  According to this invention, the attachment portion is detachably attached to the mobile phone. The contact portion is provided at a position where at least a part of the contact portion can be brought into contact with the user's ear and / or the human body around the ear. The vibrator is surface-bonded to the contact portion, and performs vibration in an audible frequency band in which vibration is not transmitted from the contact portion to the user's auditory organ through the user's skull. The drive unit drives the vibrator. The transmission unit receives an audio signal from the mobile phone and transmits it to the driving unit. Therefore, even in environments where it is difficult to hear only air-conducted sound, a function that can transmit vibration to the human body and reinforce the ease of hearing can be added to existing mobile phones, and the number of parts is small and easy to implement. Thus, a vibration device with low power consumption can be provided.

(2) The present invention provides the vibration device (100) according to (1), further including a power source (108) that supplies electric power used to drive the vibrator (111). is suggesting.

  According to this invention, the vibration device includes a power source that supplies electric power used to drive the vibrator. Therefore, the vibrator can be driven without supplying power from the mobile phone. In addition, the mobile phone can be charged from the power source.

(3) The present invention proposes a vibration device (100) characterized in that the vibration device according to (1) or (2) includes a microphone (105).

  According to this invention, the vibration device includes the microphone. Therefore, even if the microphone function of the mobile phone becomes unusable by connecting the connector to the earphone microphone terminal, a call can be made.

(4) The present invention provides the vibration device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the vibration device covers at least a part of the outside of the mobile phone (500). The vibration device (100) characterized by having a shape is proposed.

  According to this invention, the vibration device has a shape that covers at least a part of the outside of the mobile phone so as to protect it. Therefore, the vibration device can also protect the mobile phone.

(5) The vibration device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the vibrator (111) is a piezoelectric element. Has proposed.

  According to this invention, the vibrator is a piezoelectric element. Therefore, the vibrator can be made small and inexpensive.

(6) The present invention provides the vibration device according to (5), wherein the vibrator (111) is formed in a plate shape having a rectangular shape when viewed from the normal direction of the plate surface. A vibration device (100) characterized by being a bimorph piezoelectric element is proposed.

  According to this invention, the vibrator is a multilayer bimorph piezoelectric element formed in a plate shape having a rectangular shape when viewed from the normal direction of the plate surface. Therefore, the necessary vibration can be easily ensured while being a small vibrator.

(7) The present invention provides the vibration device according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the contact portion (110) and the vibrator (111) are formed by a double-sided tape (113). The vibration device (100) characterized by being surface-bonded is proposed.

  According to this invention, the contact portion and the vibrator are surface-bonded by the double-sided tape. Therefore, the structure for holding the vibrator becomes simple, and the vibration device can be made smaller and lighter.

According to the present invention, in addition to the air conduction sound generated from the contact portion, the vibration device vibrates not only the air conduction sound but also the vibration by causing vibration weaker than bone conduction to vibrate the cartilage around the ear and vibrate the eardrum. Since voice information is transmitted to the eardrum, voice transmission that is easy to hear can be performed even in a noisy environment.
Moreover, even if the user wears a device (canal type earphone, earplug, soundproof earmuff, etc.) that does not allow external airway sounds to pass through, for example, the user blocks the ear canal, this vibration device is placed on the device. By contacting the device, the device (canal type earphone or the like) vibrates and emits air conduction sound to the ear canal side, and vibration can be transmitted to the human body.
Furthermore, since the vibration generated by the vibrator of the vibration device is a vibration that is large enough not to feel the tactile sensation even if it vibrates, the user will not feel uncomfortable.
Furthermore, the vibration device can be easily added to the above-described functions simply by being attached to a mobile phone that does not have a function of transmitting sound by vibration, and can also be used as a protective cover.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vibration device 100 according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the vibration apparatus 100 by the arrow AA shown in FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the vibration device 100. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the vibration device 100 is mounted on a mobile phone 500. It is a figure which expands and shows the cross section of contact part 110 vicinity.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Note that the constituent elements in the present embodiment can be appropriately replaced with existing constituent elements and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing constituent elements are possible. Therefore, the description of the present embodiment does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a vibration device 100 according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vibration device 100 taken along the arrow AA shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the vibration device 100.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the vibration device 100 is attached to the mobile phone 500.
In addition, each figure shown below including FIGS. 1-3 is a figure shown typically, and the magnitude | size and shape of each part are exaggerated suitably for easy understanding.

Most of the vibration device 100 is formed of an elastomer material, and is in the form of a so-called protective jacket that protects the mobile phone 500 (see FIG. 4) so as to cover the outside. Note that the mobile phone 500 of this embodiment is a so-called smart phone (multifunctional mobile phone).
The vibration device 100 includes an opening portion 101, overhang portions 102, 103, 104, a microphone 105, a connector 106, a drive portion 107, a power source 108, and a contact portion 110.

  The opening 101 is a hole opened so that the display operation unit 501 and the operation member 502 of the mobile phone 500 are exposed. When attaching the vibration device 100 to the mobile phone 500, the mobile phone 500 is inserted through the opening 101 while elastically deforming the vibration device 100.

  The overhang portion 102 is formed so as to overhang in a hook shape near the microphone 105 of the mobile phone 500.

  The overhang portion 103 is formed in an overhang shape in the vicinity of the receiver 504 of the mobile phone 500.

  The overhang portion 104 is formed in an overhang shape in the vicinity of both sides of the mobile phone 500.

  These overhang portions 102, 103, and 104 function as attachment portions for detachably attaching the vibration device 100 to the mobile phone 500. That is, since the overhang portions 102, 103, and 104 are formed so as to hold the mobile phone 500 from the surface side, the vibration device 100 can be securely attached to the mobile phone 500.

  The microphone 105 is provided in the overhang portion 102. As will be described later, the vibration device 100 according to the present embodiment is used by connecting the connector 106 to an unillustrated earphone microphone terminal of the mobile phone 500. Depending on the model of the mobile phone 500, when the connector 106 is connected to the earphone microphone terminal, the function of the microphone 503 of the mobile phone 500 is stopped. Therefore, the vibration device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a microphone 105 so that the function of the microphone is not impaired. Note that a portion corresponding to the microphone 105 may be omitted as long as it is a vibration device for a mobile phone that does not stop the function of the microphone even if a connector is connected to the earphone microphone terminal.

  The connector 106 is provided on the side wall portion 109 in the vicinity of the overhang portion 102 so as to protrude inward. This connector 106 is connected to an earphone microphone terminal (not shown) of the mobile phone 500. The connector 106 functions as a transmission unit that receives an audio signal from the mobile phone 500 and transmits it to the drive unit 107. Connector 106 may also be connected to a charging terminal of mobile phone 500. In this way, the mobile phone 500 can be charged from the power source 108.

  The drive unit 107 is a driver that drives a vibrator 111 to be described later, and vibrates the vibrator 111 based on an audio signal obtained via the connector 106.

  The power source 108 is a primary battery or a secondary battery that supplies power for driving the vibrator 111 to the driving unit 107. The power supply 108 can be appropriately replaced by an unshown exchange mechanism.

The contact part 110 is provided in the overhang part 103 so that at least a part of the contact part 110 can be brought into contact with the user's ear and / or the human body around the ear.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a cross section near the contact portion 110.
The contact portion 110 includes a vibrator 111, a wiring 112, a double-sided tape 113, a first protection plate 114, and a second protection plate 115.

  The entire surface of the vibrator 111 is affixed to the first protective plate 114 using a double-sided tape 113, and the vibration of the vibrator 111 is directly applied to the surface of the contact portion via the first protective plate 114. 110a. In addition, the vibrator 111 performs vibration in an audible frequency band in which vibration is not transmitted from the contact portion surface 110a to the user's auditory organ through the user's skull according to the audio signal. That is, the vibrator 111 vibrates weaker than conventional bone conduction.

  The vibration generated by the vibrator 111 according to the present embodiment is transmitted to the cartilage near the user's ear via the contact surface 110a, and a sound wave is generated in the ear canal and transmitted to the eardrum to be recognized as a final sound. It is done. Further, air conduction sound is generated by the vibration of the contact portion surface 110a. The tympanic membrane receives vibrations transmitted through the cartilage and vibrations caused by air conduction sound, and is recognized as the final sound. In conventional bone conduction, the eardrum is not used because the skull is vibrated and the sound is recognized by sending vibration directly to the inner ear (cochlea, semicircular canal, etc.), but the energy of vibration required is large. On the other hand, this method is greatly different from bone conduction in that the ear canal is once shaken to generate sound vibration (air conduction sound) by the air, and the same recognition as normal sound is made through the eardrum. In addition, since it is not necessary to vibrate the bone, sound can be transmitted even if the vibration is weak compared to bone conduction, and the energy of the necessary vibration is small.

The vibrator 111 of the present embodiment is a piezoelectric ceramic bimorph element formed in a strip shape, that is, a plate shape having a rectangular shape when viewed from the normal direction of the plate surface, and a bending mode (flexural vibration). ) To drive. The piezoelectric material used for the vibrator 111 is an element in which a high displacement piezoelectric material having a D31 constant of 260 pm / V is stacked with a large number of layers each having a thickness of 30 μm, and the size is 23.5 mm × 3.3 mm × 0.5 mm. The capacitance is 1 μF (at 1 kHz), and it is driven at a voltage of 0 Vpp to 22 Vpp.
Since the vibrator 111 made of a piezoelectric element is a capacitive load, the vibrator 111 reproduces the audio signal by applying a voltage faithful to the audio signal from the voltage-driven class D amplifier to the piezoelectric element. Vibrate. As the class D amplifier, for example, AK7845 manufactured by Asahi Kasei Electronics Corporation can be used.

  The wiring 112 is a conducting wire that sends a signal necessary for driving from the driving unit 107 to the vibrator 111.

  The double-sided tape 113 is an adhesive member for joining the vibrator 111 and the first protective plate 114. The base material of the double-sided tape 113 is a nonwoven fabric, acrylic foam, or the like, and the adhesive is a strong acrylic material (about 15 N / 20 mm), and uses a general-purpose double-sided tape with good durability and tape dimension stability. . The thickness of the double-sided tape 113 is desirably 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm (for example, 810HD manufactured by DIC Corporation).

  The first protective plate 114 is a plate member attached to the inner surface side of the contact portion surface 110a. The first protection plate 114 is a member that protects the vibrator 111 from being broken by the external pressure caused by the bending of the vibrator 111. As the first protective plate 114, for example, a resin material such as acrylic or PET having a thickness of 1 mm or less is desirable. In any case, it is desirable to use a material with high bending strength for the first protective plate 114 so that a large bending does not occur due to external pressure and the vibrator 111 does not break. In addition, when the contact part surface 110a is a comparatively hard resin material or aluminum die-casting, for example, the 1st protection board 114 may be abbreviate | omitted.

  The 2nd protection board 115 is a board member affixed on the inner surface side of the contact part back surface 110b. The second protective plate 115 is desirably made of the same material as the first protective plate 114. The second protective plate 115 may be omitted as appropriate depending on the material of the contact portion back surface 110b.

  A gap S is provided between the second protective plate 115 and the vibrator 111. By providing this gap S, it is possible to prevent the vibration of the vibrator 111 and the first protective plate 114 from being hindered. Note that a flexible elastic member that does not inhibit vibration, such as a sponge-like member, may be provided in the space S. The elastic member may be any member that deforms following the vibration of the vibrator 111, and may be, for example, an elastomer having low hardness.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the air conduction sound generated from the contact surface 110a, the vibration device 100 vibrates the cartilage around the ear by vibration that is weaker than bone conduction and vibrates the tympanic membrane. Thereby, the vibration device 100 transmits voice to the eardrum not only by air conduction sound but also by vibration, so that it is possible to provide a call environment that is easy to hear even in a noisy environment.
Even if the user wears a device (canal type earphone, earplug, soundproof earmuff, etc.) that blocks the external airway sound by blocking the external auditory canal, etc., the vibration device 100 contacts the device. Thus, the vibration device 100 can transmit vibration to the human body in addition to vibrating the device (canal type earphone or the like) to emit air conduction sound to the ear canal side.
Furthermore, since the vibration generated by the vibration device 100 is large enough not to feel the tactile sensation even if it vibrates, the user is not uncomfortable.
Furthermore, the vibration device 100 can be easily added with the above-described functions and can be used as a protective cover simply by being attached to a mobile phone that does not have a function of transmitting sound by vibration.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiments, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

(Deformation)
(1) In the present embodiment, the vibration device 100 has been described with an example in the form of a protective jacket. For example, the vibration device may be connected to a part of the tip of the mobile phone or the like and may not have a function of protecting the mobile phone.

(2) In the present embodiment, the example in which the connector 106 is formed to protrude to the inside of the vibration device 100 has been described. For example, the connector may be attached to a cord-like wiring so as to be compatible with a larger number of mobile phone models.

(3) In the present embodiment, the vibration device 100 has been described with reference to an example in which the vibration device 100 is attached to a mobile phone 500 that is a so-called smart phone (multifunctional mobile phone). For example, the vibration device may be used by being attached to a mobile phone having only basic functions.

(4) In the present embodiment, the vibration device 100 has been described with an example in which the connector 106 is provided as a transmission unit that receives an audio signal from the mobile phone 500 and transmits the audio signal to the driving unit 107. For example, the vibration device may include a wireless communication unit that receives an audio signal from a mobile phone by wireless communication as the transmission unit.

  In addition, although embodiment and a deformation | transformation form can also be used in combination as appropriate, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vibration apparatus 101 Opening part 102,103,104 Overhang part 105 Microphone 106 Connector 107 Drive part 108 Power supply 109 Side wall part 110 Contact part 110a Contact part surface 110b Contact part back surface 111 Vibrator 112 Wiring 113 Double-sided tape 114 First 1 protection plate 115 second protection plate 500 mobile phone 501 display operation unit 502 operation member 503 microphone 504 receiver

Claims (7)

A mounting portion that is detachably attached to the mobile phone;
A contact portion provided at a position where at least a part of the user's ear and / or a human body around the ear can be contacted;
A vibrator that is surface-bonded to the contact portion, and that vibrates in a frequency band of an audible range in which vibration is not transmitted from the contact portion to the user's auditory organ through the user's skull;
A drive unit for driving the vibrator;
A transmission unit that receives an audio signal from the mobile phone and transmits it to the drive unit;
A vibration device comprising: The vibration device according to claim 1,
A power supply for supplying power used for driving the vibrator;
A vibration device characterized by. The vibration device according to claim 1 or 2,
Having a microphone,
A vibration device characterized by. In the vibration device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vibration device has a shape that covers at least a part of the outside of the mobile phone,
A vibration device characterized by. In the vibration device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The vibrator is a piezoelectric element;
A vibration device characterized by. The vibration device according to claim 5,
The vibrator is a laminated bimorph piezoelectric element formed in a plate shape having a rectangular shape when viewed from the normal direction of the plate surface;
A vibration device characterized by. The vibration device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The contact portion and the vibrator are surface-bonded by a double-sided tape;
A vibration device characterized by.

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