JP2016039632A - Eyeglass-type hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easy-to-handle eyeglass-type hearing aid capable of aiding a user for easily listening to voices of a person whom the user is watching.SOLUTION: An eyeglass-type hearing aid includes a directional microphone 6 provided on an eyeglass bridge 3 connecting two eyeglass rims 2 surrounding a lens 1, non-directional microphones 5 provided on a left end and a right end of the eyeglass rims, loudspeakers 8a provided on a left frame 4 and a right frame 4 each of which is connected to the eyeglass rim, a first touch sensor 7a provided on one of the left and right frames, and a control circuit 10 to activate the directional microphone 6 in response to a signal from the first touch sensor to output a voice signal to the loudspeaker 8a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a spectacle-type hearing aid that is attached to spectacles and is used particularly for elderly people and hearing-impaired people.

  As a glasses-type hearing aid, for example, a glasses-type 3D hearing aid described in Patent Document 1 is known. This glasses-type 3D hearing aid has a structure in which a microphone, an amplification adjuster for the hearing aid, an earphone, and a lead wire in the frame are integrated.

  The glasses-type 3D hearing aid is fixed to a directional small microphone near the left and right eyeglass frame hinges, and the signal from the microphone is input to the amplification adjuster of the hearing aid via the lead wire and the outlet plug lead wire in the eyeglass frame, and the microphone sensitivity volume, A volume volume and a sound quality volume are arranged to make the structure easy for the elderly to operate, and the audio signal after amplification adjustment is guided from the frame conductor to the left and right ear holes, and the sound is reproduced by the earphone.

  According to this, an easy-to-use glasses-type hearing aid that can be easily operated by an elderly person, can reproduce 3D (sound direction, perspective), can be used for a long time without glasses, and howling is provided. be able to.

JP 2012-147405 A

  However, in the glasses-type 3D hearing aid described in Patent Document 1, since the earphone is provided outside the glasses, an elderly person cannot listen to the sound unless the earphone is attached to the ear. Was troublesome.

  In addition, since the directional small microphones are provided in the left frame and the right frame, in addition to the voice of the person who is talking to the elderly, ambient sounds are also collected. For this reason, surrounding sounds are amplified and become noise, and it is difficult to hear the voice of the person who is talking.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a spectacle-type hearing aid that is easy to operate and can easily hear the sound of the other party being viewed.

  In order to solve the above problems, a spectacle-type hearing aid according to the present invention includes a directional microphone provided in a spectacle bridge that connects spectacle rims surrounding two lenses, and a left end and a right end of the spectacle rim, respectively. An omnidirectional microphone provided on the speaker, a speaker provided on each of the left frame and the right frame connected to the spectacles rim, and a first provided on one of the left frame and the right frame. A touch sensor and a control circuit that turns on the directional microphone and outputs an audio signal to the speaker by a signal from the first touch sensor. Furthermore, the control circuit has a band filter that outputs a low sound of 125 Hz to 500 Hz, which is particularly difficult to hear low-frequency sound sensory deafness, to the speaker. In addition, it has a band filter that easily outputs a high sound of 4000 Hz to 8000 Hz, which is often caused by senile deafness (sensory sensorineural hearing loss), to a speaker.

  According to the glasses-type hearing aid according to the present invention, the speakers are provided in the left frame and the right frame, respectively, and the directivity is obtained only by touching the first touch sensor provided in one of the left frame and the right frame. Since the microphone can be turned on and the audio signal can be output to the speaker, the operation is simplified.

  In addition, since the directional microphone is provided on the spectacle bridge, the directional microphone collects only the voice of the other party who is watching, so that the voice of the other party can be easily heard.

It is a figure which shows the front view of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 1 of this invention, and the structure of a right frame. It is a figure which shows the structure of the left flame | frame of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a circuit block diagram of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure provided in the flame | frame of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the structure provided in the flame | frame of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure which powers on the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure which powers on the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a circuit block diagram of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 3, 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure which powers on the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 5 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 6 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the spectacles type hearing aid which concerns on Example 7 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the eyeglass-type hearing aid of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1A is a front view of a glasses-type hearing aid according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a configuration of a right frame of glasses. The spectacle-type hearing aid is provided in spectacles, and as shown in FIG. 1A, the spectacle-type hearing aid includes two lenses 1 arranged on the left and right sides, and a spectacle rim 2 surrounding the two lenses 1; An eyeglass bridge 3 for connecting the spectacle rim 2, and a right frame 4 a and a left frame 4 b connected to the spectacle rim 2 are provided. The spectacle rim 2 and the right frame 4a and the left frame 4b are connected by a hinge (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1A, a minimal omnidirectional microphone 5 is provided at each of the upper left end and upper right end of the spectacle rim 2, and a minimal directional microphone (directive gun microphone) 6 is provided in the spectacle bridge 3. Is provided. The omnidirectional microphone 5 collects omnidirectional sounds. The directional microphone 6 has directivity and collects the voice of a person who has a conversation with a hearing impaired person or an elderly person.

  A first control board 10 is provided in a frame closest to the spectacle rim 2 in the right frame 4a shown in FIG. A touch sensor 7a is provided in a frame next to the spectacle rim 2 in the right frame 4a. The touch sensor 7a is connected to the sensor control unit 13 in the first control board 10 by a lead wire (not shown).

  A speaker 8a is provided at a substantially central portion of the right frame 4a. The speaker 8a is connected to an amplifier (amplifier) 12 in the first control board 10 by a conducting wire (not shown). A battery 21 (non-contact rechargeable battery) such as a lithium polymer battery is provided at the rear end of the right frame 4a.

  A first control board 10 is provided in a frame closest to the spectacle rim 2 in the left frame 4b shown in FIG. A touch sensor 7b is provided in a frame next to the spectacle rim 2 in the left frame 4b. The touch sensor 7b is connected to the sensor control unit 13 in the first control board 10 by a lead wire (not shown).

  A speaker 8b is provided at a substantially central portion of the left frame 4b. The speaker 8b is connected to an amplifier (amplifier) 12 in the first control board 10 by a lead wire (not shown). A battery 21 such as a lithium polymer battery (non-contact rechargeable battery) is provided at the rear end of the left frame 4b.

  FIG. 3 shows a circuit configuration diagram of the eyeglass-type hearing aid according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the first control board 10 (corresponding to the control circuit of the present invention) includes a microphone control unit 11, an amplifier 12, a sensor control unit 13, and a sound modulation unit 14. The battery unit 20 includes a battery 21 and a non-contact charge control unit 22. The non-contact charge control unit 22 controls the charge amount of the battery 21 made of a non-contact rechargeable battery.

  An omnidirectional microphone 5 and a directional microphone 6 are connected to the microphone control unit 11, and the microphone control unit 11 performs on / off control of the omnidirectional microphone 5 based on a control signal from the sensor control unit 13. Then, the directional microphone 6 is controlled to be turned on or off, and when the omnidirectional microphone 5 is turned on or the directional microphone 6 is turned on, an audio signal from the microphone in the on state is output to the amplifier 12.

  The amplifier 12 operates in response to power supplied from the battery 21, amplifies the audio signal from the microphone control unit 11, and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 8a provided in the right frame and the speaker 8b provided in the left frame. .

  Touch sensors 7 a and 7 b are connected to the center control unit 13. The touch sensor 7a outputs an ON signal to the sensor control unit 13 when touched for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds. The center control unit 13 outputs an on control signal for turning on the directional microphone 6 to the microphone control unit 11 based on the on signal from the touch sensor 7a.

  The touch sensor 7 a again outputs an off signal to the sensor control unit 13 by being touched for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds. The center control unit 13 outputs an off control signal for turning off the directional microphone 6 to the microphone control unit 11 based on the off signal from the touch sensor 7a.

  The touch sensor 7b outputs an ON signal to the sensor control unit 13 when touched for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds. The center control unit 13 outputs an on control signal for turning on the omnidirectional microphone 5 to the microphone control unit 11 based on the on signal from the touch sensor 7b.

  The touch sensor 7b again outputs an off signal to the sensor control unit 13 by being touched for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds. The center control unit 13 outputs an off control signal for turning off the omnidirectional microphone 5 to the microphone control unit 11 based on the off signal from the touch sensor 7b.

  As described above, according to the glasses-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the speakers 8a and 8b are provided in each of the left frame and the right frame, and the touch sensor 7a provided in the right frame. Is touched for a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds, an ON signal is output to the sensor control unit 13. Therefore, the microphone control unit 11 turns on the directional microphone 6 based on the ON signal from the sensor control unit 13 and outputs audio signals to the speakers 8a and 8b. Therefore, a hearing-impaired person or an elderly person can hear the voice of a person who is talking with a simple operation.

  In addition, since the directional microphone 6 is provided in the eyeglass bridge 3, the directional microphone 6 collects only the voice of the other party being viewed, so that the noise is reduced and the voice of the other party being viewed can be accurately heard. it can.

  When the screen of the touch sensor 7a is slid by hand, the sensor control unit 13 outputs a slide amount signal to the sound modulation unit 14 according to the slide amount by which the touch sensor 7a is slid. The sound modulation unit 14 changes the degree of sound modulation according to the slide amount signal from the sensor control unit 13 and outputs it to the speakers 8 a and 8 b via the amplifier 12. As a result, the volume of the speakers 8a and 8b can be adjusted according to the amount of sliding the touch sensor 7a.

  Instead of sliding the touch sensor 7a, the volume of the speakers 8a and 8b may be adjusted according to the number of touches touching the touch sensor 7a.

  When the screen of the touch sensor 7b is slid by hand, the sensor control unit 13 outputs a slide amount signal to the microphone control unit 11 according to the slide amount by which the touch sensor 7b is slid. The microphone control unit 11 can adjust the directivity of the directional microphone 6 according to the slide amount signal from the sensor control unit 13.

  Instead of sliding the touch sensor 7b, the directivity of the directional microphone may be adjusted according to the number of times of touching the touch sensor 7b.

  Also, senile deaf persons (persons with far ears) cannot hear the high-frequency range (4 kHz to 8 kHz), and thus cannot accurately hear words. However, the bass can be heard normally. For this reason, the band-pass filter (BPF) 12a provided in the amplifier 12 passes 4 kHz to 8 kHz out of the frequency included in the audio signal sent from the microphone control unit 11 and passes the audio signal of 4 kHz to 8 kHz. Amplified by the amplifier 12, and the audio signals in other frequency bands are blocked. The amplified sound is output to the speakers 8a and 8b, and the sound is output from the speakers 8a and 8b toward the ear hole. Therefore, a senile deaf person can accurately hear the high sound range (4 kHz to 8 kHz).

  Further, the first control board 10 may have a band filter that outputs a low sound of 125 Hz to 500 Hz, which is particularly difficult to hear low-frequency disturbance type sensorineural hearing loss, to a speaker.

  4 and 5 are diagrams showing a configuration provided in a frame of a glasses-type hearing aid according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the acceleration sensor 17 is provided in the frame part nearest to the spectacle rim 3 in the left frame 4b. The acceleration sensor 17 detects the acceleration when the hearing impaired person listens and outputs the detected acceleration signal to the sensor control unit 13.

  The sensor control unit 13 outputs the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 17 to the sound modulation unit 14. The sound modulation unit 14 changes the degree of modulation of sound according to the magnitude of the acceleration signal and outputs it to the speaker. In other words, since the volume of the tilted ear-side speaker can be automatically increased, the hearing-impaired person can hear the sound well.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a button 15 is provided on the frame corresponding to the position of the ear in the left frame 4b. One end of an arm 16 is connected to the button 15, and a speaker 8 is provided on the other end of the arm 16. FIG. 4 shows a state where the arm 16 and the speaker 8 come out of the frame 4b.

  4 shows an example in which the acceleration sensor 17 and the button 15 are provided in the left frame 4b, it is assumed that the acceleration sensor 17 and the button 15 are also provided in the right frame 4a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the initial state, the arm 16 and the speaker 8 are built in the right frame 4a. When the deaf person presses the button 15, the arm 16 and the speaker 8 come out of the frame 4 a, and the speaker 8 fits in the ear hole 30.

  As a result, the hearing-impaired person can easily hear the sound because the speaker 8 can be accommodated in the ear hole 30 only by pressing the button 15.

  The present invention is not limited to the spectacle-type hearing aids according to the first and second embodiments. For example, the directional microphone 6 and the omnidirectional microphone 5 may be automatically turned off when sleeping with the glasses-type hearing aid attached. In this case, when no sound is input to the directional microphone 6 and the omnidirectional microphone 5 for a predetermined time or more and the touch sensors 7a and 7b are not operated for a predetermined time or more, the microphone control unit 11 The directional microphone 6 and the omnidirectional microphone 5 may be turned off.

  Further, the glasses-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment and the glasses-type hearing aid according to the second embodiment may be used in combination. In this way, the effects of the glasses-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment and the glasses-type hearing aid according to the second embodiment can be obtained.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for turning on the power of the eyeglass-type hearing aid according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The glasses-type hearing aid according to the third embodiment is obtained by adding the configuration shown in FIG. 6 to the configuration of the glasses-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  6A shows an angle formed by the front 31 of the glasses-type hearing aid and the temple 32 (corresponding to the left and right frames 4a and 4b shown in FIG. 1) is less than 75 degrees. FIG. 6B shows the front 31 and the temple 32. 6C shows a state where the angle between the front 31 and the temple 32 is 90 degrees. In FIG. 6A, a power switch 34 is attached to a hinge 33 that connects the front 31 and the temple 32. The power switch 34 is a mechanical switch, an electric switch, an electromagnetic switch, or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the power switch 34 is turned on when the angle between the front and the temple is 75 degrees or more. Then, as shown in the circuit configuration diagram of FIG. 8, a switch-on signal from the power switch 34 is input to the sensor control unit 13, and the power source composed of the battery unit 20 is turned on by the sensor control unit 13. The battery unit 20 is a power source for operating the first control board 10.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, the power switch 34 is turned off when the angle formed between the front and the temple is less than 75 degrees. Then, a switch-off signal from the power switch 34 is input to the sensor control unit 13, and the power source including the battery unit 20 is cut off by the sensor control unit 13. Therefore, since the power is turned on only when the spectacle-type hearing aid is used, power consumption can be reduced.

  The angle formed between the front 31 and the temple 32 where the power switch 34 is turned on is not limited to 75 degrees, and can be set to 60 degrees or any other angle, for example.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration for turning on the power of the eyeglass-type hearing aid according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The glasses-type hearing aid according to the fourth embodiment is obtained by adding the configuration shown in FIG. 7 to the configuration of the glasses-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the electrostatic sensor 35 is provided in the temple part corresponding to the position of the ear in the left and right temples 32 (corresponding to the left and right frames 4a and 4b shown in FIG. 1). The electrostatic sensor 35 senses the human capacitance when a person wears a glasses-type hearing aid, and outputs a capacitance sensing signal to the sensor control unit 13 as shown in FIG. The sensor control unit 13 to which the capacitance sensing signal is input turns on the power consisting of the battery unit 20.

  On the other hand, the electrostatic sensor 35 does not sense the human capacitance when the person removes the glasses-type hearing aid. For this reason, the sensor control unit 13 turns off the power after a lapse of a certain time, for example, about 5 seconds from when the capacitance sensing signal is not input. Therefore, since the power is turned on only when the spectacle-type hearing aid is used, power consumption can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for turning on the power of the eyeglass-type hearing aid according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The spectacle-type hearing aid according to the fifth embodiment has the same configuration as that of the spectacle-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and further includes a temple 32 (corresponding to the left and right frames 4a and 4b shown in FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. A microphone 36 is added.

  The microphone 36 senses a predetermined sound pressure and outputs a sound pressure sensing signal to the sensor control unit 13. When the sound pressure sensing signal is input from the microphone 36, the sensor control unit 13 switches the power source including the battery unit 20 from the standby state to the normal state.

  When the microphone 36 does not sense a predetermined sound pressure, the sound pressure sensing signal is not output from the microphone 36 to the sensor control unit 13. For this reason, the sensor control unit 13 instantaneously switches the power source including the battery unit 20 from the normal state to the standby state. Therefore, since the power is turned on only when a predetermined sound pressure is sensed, such as during a conversation, power consumption can be reduced. In addition, the hearing impaired or the elderly can talk without turning on the power, and convenience can be improved.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a glasses-type hearing aid according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. The spectacle-type hearing aid according to the sixth embodiment has the same structure as that of the spectacle-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and further includes a temple 32 (corresponding to the left and right frames 4a and 4b shown in FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. And a cavity 37 surrounding the speaker 8 is formed. The hollow portion 37 is a space for optimally outputting the sound of the speaker 8. A plurality of holes 38 are formed from the hollow portion 37 toward the position of the ear.

  According to such a configuration, the sound of the speaker 8 is optimally output by the cavity portion 37, and the sound from the cavity portion 37 is output straightly toward the ear by the plurality of holes 38, so that sound leakage is reduced. can do. Moreover, since sound energy is not dispersed, it is easy to hear even a small sound, and there is an energy saving effect.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a glasses-type hearing aid according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention. The spectacle-type hearing aid according to the seventh embodiment is obtained by adding the configuration shown in FIG. 11 to the configuration of the spectacle-type hearing aid according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the microphone 40 is provided in the temple part corresponding to the position of the ear in the left and right temples 32 (corresponding to the left and right frames 4a and 4b shown in FIG. 1). The microphone 40 senses ambient environmental sound and outputs a sound sensing signal to the sensor control unit 13.

  The sensor control unit 13 generates a sound detection signal having a phase opposite to the phase of the sound detection signal based on the sound detection signal from the microphone 40, and outputs the generated sound detection signal having the opposite phase to the speaker 8. The speaker 8 emits a sound having an opposite phase to the surrounding environmental sound toward the ear hole. That is, the opposite phase sounds cancel each other, and there is no noise only around the ears. For this reason, a hearing-impaired person and an elderly person can hear a sound well, without being harmed by surrounding environmental sound.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lens 2 Glasses rim 3 Glasses bridge 4 Glasses frame 5 Omnidirectional microphone 6 Directional microphone 7a, 7b Touch sensor 8a, 8b Speaker 10 First control board 11 Microphone control part 12 Amplifier 12a Bandpass filter (BPF)
13 sensor control unit 14 sound modulation unit 15 button 20 battery unit 21 battery 22 non-contact charge control unit 31 front 32 temple 33 hinge 34 power switch 35 electrostatic sensor 36, 40 microphone 37 cavity 38 hole

Claims (6)

A directional microphone provided in a spectacle bridge that connects spectacle rims surrounding two lenses;
An omnidirectional microphone provided at each of a left end and a right end of the spectacle rim;
A speaker provided on each of the left frame and the right frame connected to the spectacle rim;
A first touch sensor provided on one of the left frame and the right frame;
A control circuit for turning on the directional microphone according to a signal from the first touch sensor and outputting an audio signal to the speaker;
An eyeglass-type hearing aid comprising:   The glasses-type hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit adjusts a volume of the speaker according to a slide amount of sliding the first touch sensor based on a signal from the first touch sensor. A second touch sensor provided on the other of the left frame and the right frame;
3. The spectacle-type hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit turns on the omnidirectional microphone in accordance with a signal from the second touch sensor and outputs an audio signal to the speaker.   The spectacle-type hearing aid according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a band-pass filter that passes 4 kHz to 8 kHz of the frequency included in the audio signal and outputs the same to the speaker. At least one of the left frame and the frame includes a microphone that detects a predetermined sound pressure and outputs a sound pressure detection signal,
The control circuit switches the power supply for the control circuit from a standby state to a normal state when a sound pressure detection signal is input from the microphone, and switches the power supply to a normal state when no sound pressure detection signal is input from the microphone. The glasses-type hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the hearing aid is switched from a standby state to a standby state.   The hollow portion is formed in at least one of the left frame and the frame so as to surround the speaker, and a hole is formed from the hollow portion toward the position of the ear. 6. The glasses-type hearing aid according to any one of items 5.

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