JP4596688B2 - Earphone microphone - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a hollow main body having an insertion portion with an opening that is sized to fit into an ear hole, and is detachably attached to the ear by inserting the insertion portion of the main body into the ear hole. The present invention relates to an earphone microphone that enables two-way communication with an external transceiver.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when an audio signal captured and collected by a microphone is amplified by a speaker, if the microphone and the speaker are placed at the same location, the audio signal amplified by the speaker is collected again by the microphone, resulting in oscillation. Due to the phenomenon, the microphone and the speaker could not be placed at the same place.
[0003]
In a one-way or two-way communication device incorporating an oscillation prevention circuit, a microphone and a speaker are arranged in the same place, the same audio signal is collected by the microphone, the audio signal is amplified and amplified by the speaker. However, since no oscillation occurs, the microphone and the speaker can be placed in the same place. At this time, in the process in which the sound signal expanded from the speaker is transmitted to the microphone, the time that the sound signal propagated in space reaches the microphone and the arrival time of the sound signal including noise that reaches the microphone due to mechanical vibration of the speaker Some time lag occurs between them.
[0004]
In addition, there are two cases in the process of transmitting the audio signal generated by hitting to the microphone attached to the ear, mainly through bone conduction and through the external auditory canal. Deviation occurs. As a result, there is a slight shift in the audio signal collected by the microphone, which may slightly reduce the intelligibility when taken out as an audio signal, making it difficult to clearly transmit call information. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, the present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and even when the microphone and the speaker are arranged at the same place and integrated, the time difference from the speaker to the microphone and the time difference due to the propagation method are different. An object of the present invention is to provide an earphone microphone capable of remarkably suppressing a decrease in intelligibility due to a deviation and capable of performing a two-way call while maintaining a natural conversation state.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises a hollow main body having an opening with an opening that is sized to fit into the ear hole, and the insertion part of the main body is inserted into the ear hole. It is an earphone microphone that is detachably attached to the ear and enables two-way communication with an external transceiver, and an audio signal transmitted as air vibration from the hole of the ear through the opening of the insertion portion A microphone for capturing and a speaker for amplifying an audio signal received from an external transceiver are provided in the main body, and the speaker is provided at a position facing the opening of the insertion portion so that the microphone is closer to the opening than the speaker. The microphone and the speaker are separated by a sound absorbing member so that the mechanical vibration of the speaker is not directly transmitted to the microphone. And that one, the second microphone is provided on the outer surface of the body to capture the voice signal comes through from the outside by the air propagation time of non-call microphone is turned off second microphone turned on, during a call the first The on / off control of the second microphone and the microphone is controlled so that the second microphone is turned off and the microphone is turned on .
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a longitudinal front view of an earphone microphone, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, and 1 is an earphone microphone, which is inserted with an opening 2 that is sized to fit the ear hole. A hollow main body 5 having a portion 3 is provided. The main body 5 is made of a soft synthetic resin, has a substantially cylindrical shape that is circular when viewed from the side, has no opening other than having the opening 2 in the insertion portion 3, and the inside is a sealed hollow portion. The insertion portion 3 is provided so as to protrude from the central portion of the side surface of the main body 5, and at the tip thereof is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is provided with a fit portion 6 that closely adheres to any size ear hole (ear canal). Yes.
[0009]
The main body 5 accommodates a microphone 8 that takes in an audio signal transmitted as air vibration from the ear canal through the opening 2 of the insertion portion 3, a speaker 9, a radio circuit 10 with an oscillation prevention circuit, and the like. That is, the speaker 9 is disposed at a substantially central position in the main body 5 facing the opening 2 of the insertion portion 3 so as to face the opening 2, and the center of the speaker protective film 11 on the opening 2 side (the center portion of the speaker 9). The microphone 8 is disposed so that its outer periphery and bottom are covered with the sound absorbing member 12 and facing the center of the opening 2. The sound absorbing member 12 also has a function of partitioning the speaker 9 and the microphone 8 so that the mechanical vibration of the speaker 9 is not directly transmitted to the microphone 8.
[0010]
The radio circuit 10 has various electronic components constituting a circuit assembled on a substrate, and transmits an audio signal captured by the microphone 8 to an external transceiver (not shown) or receives an audio signal from the external transceiver. The received audio signal is amplified by the speaker 9. Examples of the external transmitter / receiver include a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone or PHS, a transmitter / receiver dedicated to an earphone microphone built in or externally attached to a communication terminal or various communication devices. The main body 5 is made of a sound absorbing material similar to the sound absorbing member 12 so that the microphone 8 can only take in an audio signal transmitted from the ear canal.
[0011]
The operation will be described. First, the insertion portion 3 of the earphone microphone 1 is inserted into the ear canal of the left or right ear and attached. FIG. 3 shows the mounted state. When making a two-way call with both hands free, as shown in FIG. 4, in addition to inserting the insertion portion 3, a chain 15 with an ear clip attached to the main body 5 is attached to the back of the ear. If this chain 15 is used, it is possible to stabilize the wearing state of the clip 16 having a certain amount of weight on both the left and right ears.
[0012]
When receiving the voice signal, the audio signal transmitted from the external transceiver is received by the radio circuit 10 disposed in the main body 5 of the earphone microphone 1, amplified through the speaker 9, and then transmitted in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3. And transmitted as voice. At this time, the sound is simultaneously taken into the microphone 8 provided in the center of the speaker 9, but the oscillation loop is cut by the control of the oscillation prevention circuit provided in the radio circuit 10, so that no oscillation phenomenon occurs. . In addition, since the microphone 8 is partitioned from the speaker 9 by the sound absorbing member 12, noise or the like due to mechanical vibration of the speaker 9 is not captured when the sound is captured from the speaker 9. Therefore, the time lag of the audio signal from the speaker 9 to the microphone 8, which has been a problem in the past, becomes extremely small. In this embodiment, the oscillation prevention circuit is provided in the radio circuit 10, but it may be provided in the external transceiver.
[0013]
On the other hand, at the time of transmission, a voice signal transmitted as air vibrations in the ear canal i from the tympanic membrane generated from the vocal cords is transmitted to the microphone 8 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. It is transmitted to the transceiver and transmitted. When the audio signal is captured, the fit part 6 is in close contact with the external auditory canal A, so that the audio signal due to bone conduction is absorbed by the fit part 6 and its transmission is suppressed. Therefore, the audio signal due to bone conduction can be almost ignored. Further, due to the close contact of the fit part 6, the sound from the outside is effectively blocked and the wearing of the earphone microphone 1 is stabilized. Therefore, it reacts sensitively only to the audio signal transmitted from the external auditory canal, and the time lag of the audio signal due to the difference in the propagation method, which has been a problem in the past, becomes extremely small. . Note that transmission / reception between the earphone microphone 1 and the external transmitter / receiver is not limited to wireless, and there is no problem even if it is wired, and both can transmit and receive bidirectionally.
[0014]
5 and 6 show another embodiment with a hearing aid function, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal front view corresponding to FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a side view opposite to the insertion portion. Since the configuration other than the configuration of the hearing aid function is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Reference numeral 21 denotes a second microphone, which is recessed in the outer surface of the main body 5, that is, the central portion of the outer surface of the main body 5 corresponding to the microphone 8. The microphone 21 captures an audio signal transmitted from the outside by air propagation. Although not shown, in this embodiment, a circuit for controlling on / off of the second microphone 21 and the microphone 8 is incorporated, and the second microphone 21 is turned on when the earphone microphone 1 is not talking. The microphone 8 is turned off, and the second microphone 21 is turned off and the microphone 8 is turned on during a call. Specific on / off control is performed, for example, by controlling on / off of a switch of each microphone.
[0015]
That is, normally (when not in a call), an external sound is taken in by the second microphone 21 as shown by an arrow D in FIG. 7, and after being amplified through the speaker 9, it is transmitted in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. And transmitted as voice. In this way, external sounds are transmitted to perform a hearing aid function. When the audio signal transmitted from the external transmitter / receiver is received by the radio circuit 10, the second microphone 21 is turned off and the microphone 8 is turned on by the control circuit, so that two-way communication is possible. The same transmission / reception as in the above-described embodiment can be performed. Then, when the transmission / reception is finished and the non-calling state is established, the second microphone 21 is turned on and the microphone 8 is turned off by the control circuit, so that the hearing aid function can be performed again.
[0016]
At the end of transmission / reception or when waiting for transmission / reception and when not used as a hearing aid function, the insertion part 3 of the earphone microphone 1 is removed from the ear canal and removed from the ear. The earphone microphone 1 is put in the chest pocket or the inside of the collar, and the clip 16 of the chain 15 with the ear clip is clipped to the edge of the pocket or the collar for convenient storage.
[0017]
In this embodiment, the main body 5 is formed to have a larger diameter than the insertion portion 3. However, the main body 5 does not necessarily have such a shape, and may have a diameter approximately equal to that of the insertion portion 3. Further, the shape and structure of the constituent members arranged in the main body 5 shown in the drawings are examples, and the design can be arbitrarily changed or modified within the technical scope described in the claims. Needless to say.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
Since this invention is composed of the like configuration, even when the are integrated by placing a microphone and a speaker in the same location, intelligibility by time lag due to a difference in time lag and the propagation process to reach from the speaker to the microphone Can be remarkably suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to expect an excellent effect that a two-way call can be performed while maintaining a natural conversation state.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal front view of an earphone microphone showing an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a longitudinal side view taken along line AA in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal front view of the ear worn state.
FIG. 4 is a view showing an example in which a chain with an ear clip is attached to the back side of the ear.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal front view corresponding to FIG. 1 and showing another embodiment with a hearing aid function.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the side opposite to the insertion portion.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state of being worn on the ear.
FIG. 8 is a view showing an example in which a chain with an ear clip is attached to the back side of the ear.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Earphone microphone 2 Opening 3 Insertion part 5 Main body 6 Fit part 8 Microphone 9 Speaker
10 Radio circuit
11 Speaker protective film
12 Sound absorbing material
15 Chain with ear clip
21 Second microphone

Claims (1)

A hollow main body having an insertion portion with an opening formed in a size that fits into the ear hole, and is detachably attached to the ear by inserting the insertion portion of the main body into the ear hole, and external transmission and reception An earphone microphone that enables two-way communication with an audio device, a microphone that takes in an audio signal transmitted as air vibration from the ear hole through the opening of the insertion section, and an audio signal received from an external transceiver In the main body, the speaker is provided facing the opening at a position facing the opening of the insertion portion, and the microphone is directed to the center of the opening at a position closer to the opening than the speaker. provided parts, while a microphone and a speaker as the mechanical vibration of the speaker is not transmitted directly to the microphone is divided by the sound absorbing member, the outside by airborne A second microphone is provided on the outer surface of the main body for capturing an audio signal transmitted from the main body. The second microphone is turned on and the microphone is turned off during non-calling, and the second microphone is turned off during a call. An earphone microphone characterized in that the second microphone and the on / off of the microphone are switched and controlled so that the microphone is turned on .

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