JP4414376B2 - Voice assist device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a speech assisting device that assists the laryngectomy.

In addition to the esophageal voicing method, a method of providing a passage between the trachea and the esophagus and embedding an artificial generator therein is known as a method of uttering a laryngectomy (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .
However, the esophageal vocalization method involves a lot of hardship and pain to learn, and the method of implanting an artificial voice requires not only a large operation but also a heavy burden on the body, and saliva and food flow into the artificial voice There was a problem easily.

  As another method, in recent years, an electric artificial larynx is pressed from the outside to the neck, the original sound is conducted from the neck skin toward the base of the tongue, and the original sound can be resonated in the nasal cavity, oral cavity, etc. Various proposals have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2), but it does not circulate vibrational exhalation and produces a metallic and mechanical sound.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-192718 JP 2001-86583 A

  Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention is not intended to be embedded in the body, but can be easily carried and used, painful operation, burden on the body, difficult learning of the esophageal vocalization method The object is to provide an utterance assisting device that is unnecessary and that is capable of uttering a sound close to that of a healthy person by using vibration air.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a portable air supply means, a vibration applying portion for applying vibration to the air supplied from the air supply means, and the vibration inserted into a mouth or nostril. A vibration air introduction tube for guiding the vibration air to which vibration is imparted by the imparting unit, into the oral cavity , wherein the vibration imparting unit is provided with a plurality of air channels that can be opened and closed in parallel, and each channel has a pitch. Are provided with different leads, and by selectively opening and closing only one or a plurality of flow paths, air is supplied only to the selected flow paths, and A voice assist device to which vibration is applied is configured.

  Here, it is preferable that the vibration applying unit is provided with a lead that vibrates in response to an air flow in the flow path.

  Furthermore, the lead is preferably composed of a thin plate made of aluminum foil.

  Further, it is preferable that the air supply means includes an air tank for accumulating air, an air pump for storing air in the air tank, and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the supplied air pressure.

  Further, an air pump provided with an electric compressor is preferable.

  Further, it is preferable that the air supply means includes a portable air cylinder and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the supplied air pressure.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a humidifying means for humidifying the air in the flow path.

  In addition, it is preferable that the vibration air introduction tube constitutes a tube extending to the mouth or nostril via a locking tool attached to the head, neck or ear.

According to the vocalization assisting apparatus according to the present invention as described above, it can be easily carried and used simply by inserting the vibration air introduction tube into the mouth or nostril, pain due to surgery, burden on the body, difficult esophageal vocalization method No learning is required.
In addition, since the oscillating air generated by the vibration imparting unit is guided into the oral cavity, the utterance can be made close to that of a normal person.

  As the vibration imparting portion, the lead that vibrates in response to the air flow is provided in the flow path, so that vibration air close to a human vocal cord can be generated.

  As the vibration imparting section, a plurality of air flow paths that can be opened and closed are provided in parallel, and leads having different pitches are provided in each flow path, and only one or a plurality of partial flow paths are selectively opened and closed. Since air is supplied only to the flow path and the lead in the flow path is vibrated, the pitch according to men, women, and children can be selected and used as appropriate. The sound can be uttered by changing the pitch, the range of utterance can be expanded, and it is also possible to sing songs and sing sounds of animals other than humans. Furthermore, it becomes possible to change the voice into a chord by simultaneously putting 2 to 3 pitches in the mouth.

  Since the lead is made of a thin plate made of aluminum foil, vibration can be generated with a small amount of air.

  Since the air supply means is composed of an air tank for accumulating air, an air pump for storing air in the air tank, and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the air pressure to be supplied, a large amount of air is contained in the air tank. Can be saved, and the number of words that can be spoken at once can be increased.

  Since an electric compressor is provided as an air pump, the burden on the user can be reduced, and a portable air cylinder and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the supplied air pressure are provided as air supply means. This eliminates the need for a pump and enables downsizing.

  Since the humidifying means for humidifying the air in the flow path is provided, it is possible to prevent the mouth from drying and damaging the throat.

  Since the vibration air introduction tube is configured as a tube that extends to the mouth or nostril via a locking device attached to the head, neck, or ear, it is not necessary to hold the tube in the hand and it is hands-free, making the other party completely uncomfortable You can talk without giving.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a speech assisting apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a voice assist device, 2 denotes an air supply means, 3 denotes a vibration applying unit, and 4 denotes a vibration air introduction pipe.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the speech assisting device 1 of the present invention includes a portable air supply unit 2, a vibration applying unit 3 for applying vibration to the air supplied from the air supply unit 2, a mouth or It is characterized by comprising a vibration air introduction tube 4 for guiding the vibration air inserted into the nostril and imparted with vibration by the vibration applying portion into the oral cavity.

  The air supply means 2 corresponds to the lung in the case of spontaneous speech, and in this example, a manual air pump 20 including a suction valve 21 and a discharge valve 22 that are reversely supported valves is used. By operating the manual air pump 20 by hand, air is supplied to the lead portion 30 described later, and vibration air can be generated. The capacity of the manual air pump 20 is preferably one that can utter about 1 to 5 words with a handful.

  The vibration applying section 3 provided on the downstream side of the air supply means 2 applies vibration to the air instead of the vocal cords. Specifically, as shown in FIG. The lead portion 30 is configured. When the air flows, the lead 31 vibrates in response to the flow, and gives vibration to the passing air, thereby generating vibration air close to a human vocal cord.

  The lead 31 is made of a thin aluminum foil so that vibration can be generated with a small amount of air, but may be made of other materials. Further, by appropriately setting the size, the thinness, the protruding dimension, etc., it is possible to set the frequency of the pitch according to the user. For example, a low pitch lead may be used when the user is a male and a high pitch lead may be used when the user is a female.

  The lead portion 30 is configured to be replaceable with a lead having various pitches, and can generate oscillating air having different pitches by replacement.

  Note that if the flow path at the lead outlet is clogged for some reason, no sound will be produced. In addition, no sound is produced when water drops on the reed. As a method for preventing this, a small speaker may be provided instead of the lead, and the air may be forcedly vibrated. Thereby, even if the flow path is closed, the sound is not cut off, and various voices can be produced by changing the volume, pitch, and tone color from the speaker.

  Specifically, a medical tube 41 having an inner diameter of 3 to 5 mmφ is used as the vibrating air introduction tube 4 for allowing the vibrating air to flow into the oral cavity. If the diameter of the tube 41 inserted into the mouth is too large, it will bite in the oral cavity and the movement of the mouth will be restricted. On the other hand, if it is too small, the air flow becomes worse and the sound is not emitted or becomes very small.

  In this example, it is configured to extend to the mouth via a locking tool 42 such as a headset attached to the head, neck and ears. This eliminates the need to hold the tube 41 in the hand, making it possible to talk without a sense of incongruity. The tube 41 may be inserted into the nostril and supply vibration air from the nostril into the oral cavity.

  Next, based on FIG.3 and FIG.4, 2nd Embodiment of this invention is described.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, as the air supply means 2, an air pump 20 and an air tank 23 for accumulating air are provided on the discharge side in order to increase the number of words that can be spoken at once. . FIG. 4 is an air circuit configuration diagram of the air supply means 2.
Normally, when a person speaks, the continuous speaking time is within 3 to 5 seconds, the pressure of the air emitted from the mouth is 0.01 to 0.05 kg / cm ² , and the amount of air flowing out is about 1 L (liter). .

In this example, a pressure adjustment valve 24 is further attached to the discharge side of the air tank 23. The pressure adjustment valve 24 adjusts the pressure of the air in the flow path supplied into the oral cavity via the vibration applying unit 3. Specifically, the air pressure is adjusted to about 0.01 to 0.05 kg / cm ^2, which is emitted from the mouth when a normal person speaks.
By providing such a pressure regulating valve 24, the air pressure accumulated in the air tank 23 can be increased to about 7 kg / cm ² , and a considerable amount of air can be stored.

As the air pump 20, a small manual pump is provided and can be used even in an area without electricity, but it is also preferable to use a small compressor in addition to the manual one.
A preferable example is one in which a small air cylinder is provided and the air pump 20 is not required.

In the example of FIGS. 3 and 4, a manual flow path opening / closing valve 25 for opening and closing the flow path is provided, and when speaking, the flow path opening / closing valve 25 is opened by an operation of a lever or the like. The air stored in is sent into the oral cavity via the vibration applying unit 3.
If the flow path opening / closing valve 25 is opened for a short period, one word can be uttered, and if the flow path opening / closing valve 25 is continuously opened, a continuous voice can be emitted. In addition to manual opening and closing, it is also preferable to automatically (electromagnetically) open and close by a button operation.

  Since the air supplied from the air tank is dry and the mouth may dry out due to long-term use, there is a risk of damaging the throat. Therefore, a humidifier should be provided on the tank side or downstream side of the on-off valve 25. Is also preferable. For example, as such a humidifying means, the pressure of compressed air is applied to the water surface of a container in which water is stored, and water is sucked up from a suction pipe and dropped into compressed air passing through a venturi section. However, it is not limited to such a configuration.

  Since other configurations are basically the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same structures, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the vibration applying unit 3 is configured to be able to continuously change the pitch, and as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of air flow paths 40A to 40D that can be opened and closed are provided in parallel. Each flow path is provided with lead portions 30A to 30D equipped with leads having different pitches and electromagnetic open / close valves 26,.

  In the normal state, all the flow paths are closed by the electromagnetic opening / closing valves 26,..., And only one or a plurality of partial flow paths are opened / closed by the switch 27, and are selected by the switch. Air is supplied only to the flow path, vibration of the pitch is applied by the lead in the flow path, and the vibration air is discharged from the tube and supplied to the mouth.

  By constructing the vibration applying unit 3 that can switch the pitch in this way, it is possible to select and use a pitch according to men, women, and children, as well as to change the pitch of sounds that are difficult to produce depending on the shape of the oral cavity. It becomes possible to utter and it becomes possible to widen the range of utterance. Furthermore, in addition to normal conversation, it is also possible to sing a song while switching the pitch, for example, and it can be used by a person who can speak by himself to cure the sensation.

In this example, a four-stage pitch is illustrated, but more complex songs, such as Doremifasolaside, can be sung, and more complex songs can be sung at a time. It is also possible to open chords and make chords.
Instead of the electromagnetic open / close valve 26, a manual open / close valve that mechanically opens and closes the flow path by pressing a button or the like may be used.

  In the case where the plurality of lead portions 30A to 30D are provided in this way, an air compressor that is electrically operated to sufficiently supply the air flow rate is provided, or a manual air pump as shown in the second embodiment. It is preferable to provide an air pump for storing compressed air produced by a compressor.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can of course be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanatory drawing which shows the speech assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the lead part which comprises a vibration provision part. Explanatory drawing which shows the speech assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The circuit explanatory drawing which similarly shows the air supply means in 2nd Embodiment. Circuit explanatory drawing which shows the vibration provision part which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Speaking assistance apparatus 2 Air supply means 3 Vibration imparting part 4 Vibrating air introduction pipe 20 Air pump 21 Suction valve 22 Discharge valve 23 Air tank 24 Pressure adjustment valve 25, 26 On-off valve 27 Switch 30, 30A-30D Lead part 31 Lead 40A -40D Air channel 41 Tube 42 Locking tool

Claims (7)

Portable air supply means;
A vibration applying unit for applying vibration to the air supplied from the air supply means;
An oscillating air introduction tube for guiding the oscillating air inserted into the mouth or nostril and imparted with vibration by the vibration applying unit into the oral cavity;
More will,
The vibration applying unit is provided with a plurality of air flow paths that can be opened and closed in parallel, and each flow path is provided with leads having different pitches, and by selectively opening and closing only one or a plurality of partial flow paths. A voice assist device in which air is supplied only to the selected flow path and vibration of the pitch is applied by a lead in the flow path . The lead is uttered assist device according to claim 1, wherein that consists of a thin plate made of aluminum foil. The voice assist according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the air supply means comprises an air tank for accumulating air, an air pump for storing air in the air tank, and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting the air pressure to be supplied. apparatus. The speech assisting device according to claim 3, wherein an electric compressor is provided as the air pump. The speech assisting device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the air supply means includes a portable air cylinder and a pressure adjusting valve for adjusting a supplied air pressure. The speech assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising humidifying means for humidifying air in the flow path. The utterance assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the oscillating air introduction tube constitutes a tube extending to a mouth or a nostril via a locking tool attached to a head, a neck, or an ear. .

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