JP4825701B2 - Electric artificial larynx - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric artificial larynx.

  Healthy individuals generate sounds by vibrating their vocal cords when their exhalation passes through the larynx (glottis), and changing the frequency components of the sound with articulators such as the tongue, chin, and lips, and various utterances It is carried out. The sound generated by the vibration of the vocal cords is called “glottal sound source” because it is the sound that is the basis of the utterance.

  In contrast, a larynx extractor who has removed the larynx is normally unable to utter by his own intention, but if the articulator remains, an artificially created sound source is used as a glottal sound source. It is possible to utter in spite of being incomplete by generating in the vocal tract instead of or sending it into the vocal tract.

  One of the devices that artificially create sound that can replace such glottal sound sources is the electric artificial larynx. An electric artificial larynx generates a sound that substitutes for a glottal sound source mechanically or electromechanically, and guides the sound into the vocal tract through vibration of the neck, etc. Support.

  By the way, the healthy person expresses the accent / intonation of the voice uttered from the mouth by changing the pitch (fundamental frequency) of the glottal sound source through the vibration of the vocal cords. On the other hand, the conventional electric artificial larynx has a constant pitch of the artificially created sound source, and the laryngectomy cannot express the accent / intonation no matter how the articulator is controlled. As such, there is a serious problem that speech can only be made with an unnatural voice.

  For this reason, various mechanisms for supporting utterances with controlled accent / intonation by laryngectomizers have been proposed. For example, Patent Documents 1 to 3 are documents that disclose such a mechanism.

The electric artificial larynx disclosed in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a switch for instructing a change in pitch, and when the switch is turned on, the pitch of the sound is automatically changed according to a predetermined pattern. . The electric artificial larynx disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a finger suck type pressure switch attached to a little finger, and changes the pitch of sound according to a value detected by the pressure switch. The electric artificial larynx disclosed in Patent Document 3 is equipped with a sensor for detecting the pressure of exhaled air exhaled from the trachea of the laryngectomy and changes the pitch of the sound according to the detection value of the sensor. It has become.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-265891 International Publication No. WO99 / 012501 JP 07-433

  However, in the case of the mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to say that it can withstand practical use because it can only change the pitch according to a limited pattern. In the case of the mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2, although there are many variations in the change in pitch as compared with Patent Document 1, since the pitch is always determined at the start and end of the utterance, the degree of freedom of utterance remains. It will be limited. In the case of the mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3, it is possible to control the accent / intonation by adjusting the pressure of exhalation exhaled from the trachea at the start and end of the utterance, but such adjustment is smoothly performed. In order to be able to do it, considerable training is required, and there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to learn.

  The present invention has been devised under such a background, and realizes an utterance in which accent / intonation is controlled and a song can be sung by a simple operation that does not require special training. The purpose is to provide an artificial larynx.

  An electric artificial larynx that is a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a housing, a shaft connected to the housing, a shaft connected to the shaft, and is rotatable about the shaft. An operation element that can move in a direction different from the direction, a first detection unit that detects an angle of the rotation, a second detection unit that detects an angle at which the operation element moves, and the second detection unit While the detected angle exceeds the threshold, the sound source unit that generates the sound of the designated frequency and the control for changing the frequency of the sound generated by the sound source unit according to the angle detected by the first detection unit A part.

  In this aspect, one end of the operation element is coupled to the shaft so that the operation element can move in the different direction, and the second detection unit is pushed by the other end of the operation element, and the amount of the pushed It may be an element for detecting the moving angle based on the above.

  The element may be an optical detector, an electrical resistance detector, a magnetic detector, a pressure detector, a potential detector, or a combination thereof.

  An electric artificial larynx according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a housing, a shaft coupled to the housing, a shaft coupled to the shaft, and is rotatable about the shaft. An operation element that can move in a direction different from the rotation direction, a first detection unit that detects an angle of the rotation, a second detection unit that detects an angle at which the operation element moves, and a specified frequency And a sound source unit that generates sound of an intensity level and a frequency of sound generated by the sound source unit according to an angle detected by the first detection unit, and according to an angle detected by the second detection unit And a detection control unit that changes the intensity level of the sound generated by the sound source unit.

  In these embodiments, the sound source unit may be a magnetic sounding body, a piezoelectric sounding body, an electronic sounding body, or a combination thereof.

  The first detection unit may be an optical detector, an electrical resistance detector, a magnetic detector, a pressure detector, a potential detector, or a combination thereof.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an utterance with controlled intonation and sing a song by a simple operation that does not require special training.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The electric artificial larynx according to the present embodiment artificially generates a sound as a material for various utterances uttered from the mouth of a user (laryngectomy) within the vocal tract. As a result, what is obtained by changing the frequency component of the sound through the articulator is uttered from the user's mouth as a language speech to which accent / intonation is given. Also, a song can be sung by appropriately controlling the pitch.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of an example showing the appearance of an electric artificial larynx 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a top view thereof. In addition, the inside of the chain line of FIG. 1 shows the cross-sectional structure at the time of cutting along the AA line of FIG. In the following description, the direction from left to right in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the front-rear direction, and the direction from top to bottom in FIG. 1 is the vertical direction.

  As shown in both figures, the electric artificial larynx 10 has a diaphragm 60 driven by a voice coil motor 41 inside the voice coil motor holder 40 by connecting a tapered voice coil motor holder 40 to the front of the housing 20. Is exposed from its forefront. The voice coil motor 41 and the diaphragm 60 correspond to a “sound source unit” in the claims.

  The housing | casing 20 has comprised the substantially cylindrical shape of the size which can be accommodated in a user's palm. The housing 20 contains a power supply and other circuit elements. Furthermore, a detection element accommodation chamber 21 for accommodating various detection elements is formed in the upper side of the housing 20. The detection element accommodation chamber 21 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space, and a rectangular opening 22 is formed in front of the ceiling surface. As shown in FIG. 2, the longitudinal direction of the opening 22 substantially coincides with the circumferential direction of the housing 20.

  Next, the detection element and the operation element provided inside the detection element accommodation chamber 21 will be described in detail. An ON / OFF switch 23 (corresponding to a “second detection portion” in the claims) is provided in front of the bottom surface of the detection element accommodating chamber 21 as a member for detecting the operation of the operation element in the vertical direction. The ON / OFF switch 23 is configured from the top in the order of the push button 24, the cylinder 25, and the case 26. The cylinder 25 connected to the back surface of the push button 24 is connected to the inside of the hole from the hole provided on the top surface of the case 26. It has a structure with partial insertion.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the surface of the push button 24 has a rectangular shape slightly narrower than the opening 22 of the detection element housing chamber 21. Inside the case 26 (not shown), a spring and a fixed contact for urging the cylinder 25 upward are provided, and a bridging piece is provided at a predetermined position below the cylinder 25. When the bridging piece comes into contact with the fixed contact, an electric signal indicating that the bridge is in an ON state is output. Further, the cylinder 25 is provided with a locking piece (not shown) that determines its return position. The engagement of the locking piece and the flange of the hole of the case 26 restricts the displacement of the push button 24 above the return position.

  Behind the bottom surface of the detection element housing chamber 21, there is an operating element support section 26 and an optical sensor 27 (corresponding to the “first detecting section” in the claims) that is a member that detects the operation of the operating element in the horizontal direction. The detection element storage chambers 21 are arranged side by side at positions where the distances from the left and right side edges are substantially equal. The operation element support portion 26 includes a base 28 and a rotating member 30 (corresponding to an “axis” in the claims) that is rotatably connected to the base 28 via a connecting shaft 29. The base 28 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member fixed at a position behind the optical sensor 27. The optical sensor 27 detects the rotation angle of the connecting shaft 29 and outputs an electrical signal based on the detected rotation angle.

  The upper end of the connecting shaft 29 is fixed to substantially the center of the lower surface of the rotating member 30 that is a substantially cylindrical member. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface of the rotating member 30 is exposed to the outside through a hole provided in the housing 20. Further, the rear end of the variable operation unit 70 is connected to the rear end of the upper surface of the rotating member 30 via a hinge mechanism (not shown). The variable operation unit 70 has a shape in which the rear end of the plate body is rounded into a semicircular shape, and can move elastically in the vertical direction with a connection portion with the rotating member 30 as a fulcrum. Yes.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the movement of the variable operation unit 70 of the electric artificial larynx 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of rotation of the variable operation unit 70 of the electric artificial larynx 10.

  Near the front end of the lower surface of the variable operation unit 70, a first flange 78 is provided so as to face the opening 22 of the detection element housing chamber 21. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the variable operation unit 70 is moved downward, the lower end of the first collar 78 comes into contact with the upper surface of the push button 24 of the ON / OFF switch 23, and the push button 24 is lowered. Directional force is applied. When the variable operation unit 70 is further moved downward, the push button 24 is pushed downward against the upward biasing force of the spring in the case 26. When the push button 24 is pushed down to a position where the fixed contact in the case 26 and the bridging piece come into contact with each other, an electrical signal indicating that the switch is in an ON state is output.

  In FIGS. 1 and 2, a second collar 79 having substantially the same circumferential length as that of the rotating member 30 is provided near the rear end of the upper surface of the variable operation unit 70. As described above, the rear end of the variable operation unit 70 is connected to the rear end of the upper surface of the rotating member 30 via the hinge mechanism, and the rotating member 30 rotates to the base 28 via the connecting shaft 29. It is connected freely. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the push button 24 of the ON / OFF switch 23 can be pushed down to the ON position, and the variable operation unit 70 can be rotated in the left-right direction with the connecting shaft 29 as a fulcrum. Note that the range of rotation of the variable operation unit 70 is restricted by the contact between the left and right hooks of the opening 22 and the first hook 78. The rotation angle is detected by the optical sensor 27 and output as an electrical signal.

  Next, the voice coil motor 41 inside the voice coil motor holder 40 and the diaphragm 60 driven thereby will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, a voice coil motor 41 includes a cylindrical magnet 42 whose both ends are respectively magnetized to N and S poles, a cylindrical bobbin 43 surrounding the magnet 42 from the front and sides, and a bobbin. The coil 44 wound around the outer periphery of 43, and the yoke 45 which surrounds them from back and a side. The yoke 45 has an opening at the front, and a circular rubber 46 is stretched over the opening. In the center of the circular rubber 46, a shaft 47 is penetrated and fixed in the front-rear direction. One end of the shaft 47 is fixed to the bobbin 43. The diaphragm 60 has a thin cylindrical shape and is formed of urethane resin, but may be formed of metal or wood. The diaphragm 60 is fixed to the inside of the front edge of the voice coil motor holder 40 through a rubber material 90.

  The diaphragm 60 is driven by the voice coil motor 41 using Fleming's law. That is, when a pulse signal is supplied to the coil 44, the operation is repeated in which the other end of the shaft 47 pushed forward by the bobbin 43 sliding in the yoke 45 strikes the diaphragm 60 and leaves. As a result, the diaphragm 60 vibrates. When the supply of current to the coil 44 stops, the shaft 47 moves backward due to the action of the restoring force of the circular rubber 46. When current is supplied to the coil 44 with the diaphragm 60 of the voice coil motor 41 being pressed against the user's neck, the vibration of the diaphragm 60 is transmitted from the user's neck into the vocal tract, Sound is generated inside. The user can realize a desired utterance by changing the frequency component of the sound by means of articulators such as the tongue, jaw and lips.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the electric artificial larynx 10. The electric artificial larynx 10 according to the present embodiment includes a power supply 80, a control unit 81, and a pulse signal output unit 82 in addition to the ON / OFF switch 23, the optical sensor 27, and the voice coil motor 41. The power source 80, the control unit 81, and the pulse signal output unit 82 are built in the housing 20.

  The power supply 80 is a battery, for example, and supplies current to the control unit 81 and the like. The control unit 81 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like, and is variably operated based on electrical signals supplied from the ON / OFF switch 23 and the optical sensor 27. The state of the unit 70 is specified, and the operation of the pulse signal output unit 82 is controlled according to the state. The pulse signal output unit 82 outputs a pulse signal for specifying the drive to the voice coil motor 41 under the control of the control unit 81.

  An example of the waveform of the pulse signal output from the pulse signal output unit 82 to the voice coil motor 41 is shown in the circle in FIG. The rising interval (cycle) of the waveform indicated by T1 of this waveform corresponds to the time interval at which the shaft 47 of the voice coil motor 41 strikes the diaphragm 60. Therefore, the narrower the interval, the higher the vibration frequency of the diaphragm 60 and the higher the pitch of the sound (basic frequency) generated in the vocal tract. Conversely, the wider this interval, the lower the pitch of the sound generated in the vocal tract. Further, the time when the waveform is at the high level indicated by T2 of the waveform, that is, the duty ratio corresponds to the strength with which the shaft 47 of the voice coil motor 41 strikes the diaphragm 60. Therefore, the greater the duty ratio, the greater the level of sound generated in the vocal tract, while the smaller the duty ratio, the smaller the level.

  Next, the processing of the control unit 81 will be described in detail. An electrical signal is supplied to the control unit 81 from the ON / OFF switch 23 and the optical sensor 27. By the downward movement of the variable operation unit 70, the push button 24 of the ON / OFF switch 23 is pushed down to the ON position. Then, an electrical signal indicating the ON state is supplied from the ON / OFF switch 23, and the control unit 81 specifies a frequency corresponding to the angle indicated by the electrical signal supplied from the optical sensor 27.

  This frequency is specified by storing a table in which the angle in the left-right direction of the variable operation unit 70 and the frequency are associated with each other in the ROM of the control unit 81, and refers to this table every time a signal indicating the angle is supplied. To do so. The table stored in the ROM has the lowest frequency when the variable operation unit 70 is rotated to the position where the first collar 78 comes into contact with the right collar of the opening 22, and the first collar 78 is opened. It is more preferable that the frequency is maximized when the variable operation unit 70 is rotated to a position where it contacts the left eyelid 22. Whether the frequency is lowest or highest when the variable operation unit 70 is rotated until the first collar 78 comes into contact with the right collar of the opening 22, depending on the preference of the user. It may be settable.

  The control unit 81 that has identified the frequency supplies the pulse signal output unit 82 with a control signal instructing to strike the diaphragm 60 at that frequency. Then, the pulse signal output unit 82 outputs a pulse signal having a rising interval (cycle) corresponding to the control signal to the voice coil motor 41. As a result, striking of the diaphragm 60 at a frequency corresponding to the angle at which the variable operation unit 70 is located is started, and a sound having a pitch substantially the same as that frequency is placed in the vocal tract of the user pressing the diaphragm 60 against the neck. Will occur. In the case of this embodiment, the duty ratio of the pulse signal supplied from the pulse signal output unit 82 to the voice coil motor 41 is constant, and the level of sound generated in the vocal tract is also constant.

  Further, when a new electrical signal is supplied from the optical sensor 27 to the control unit 81 while the electrical signal indicating the ON state is supplied from the ON / OFF switch 23, the control unit 81 outputs a pulse signal. The waveform of the pulse signal output from the unit 82 is switched according to the angle indicated by the new control signal. Thereby, the diaphragm 60 continues the hit based on the frequency according to the angle, and the pitch of the sound generated in the vocal tract changes high or low.

  The electric artificial larynx 10 according to the present embodiment described above detects the ON / OFF switch 23 that detects the vertical movement of the variable operation unit 70 that is a substantially plate-shaped operation element, and the rotation in the left-right direction. The optical sensor 27 is mounted. When the push button 24 of the ON / OFF switch 23 is pushed down to the ON position by the downward movement of the variable operation unit 70, the diaphragm 60 strikes at a frequency corresponding to the rotation angle in the left-right direction. Sound can be generated in the user's vocal tract.

  Therefore, the user grasps the casing 20 of the electric artificial larynx 10 in a palm, presses the diaphragm 60 against his / her neck, presses the thumb against the surface of the variable operation unit 70, and moves the sound. The presence / absence of occurrence and the height of the pitch can be operated simultaneously. Further, by determining the angle of rotation of the variable operation unit 70 in the left-right direction and then pressing it down until the push button 24 reaches the ON state position, generation of sound can be started at an arbitrary pitch. Furthermore, the pitch of the sound can be changed higher or lower by rotating the variable operation unit 70 in the left-right direction while the sound is being generated in the vocal tract, and the sound can be changed at the changed pitch. Generation can also be terminated. With such an operation method, it is possible to simultaneously perform the presence / absence of sound generation and the adjustment of its pitch by simply moving the thumb of one hand up / down / left / right, and it does not require much training to learn. . In addition, it becomes easy to speak and sing songs with accents and intonation.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment includes an ON / OFF switch 26 that is an element that detects movement of the variable operation unit 70 in the vertical direction, and an optical sensor 27 that is an element that detects rotation in the horizontal direction. Are arranged in front of and behind the detection element housing chamber 21 of the housing 20 and an opening 22 is provided in front of the ceiling surface. The first collar portion 78 of the variable operation portion 70A that moves downward contacts the push button 24 of the ON / OFF switch 26 through the opening 22 and pushes it down. On the other hand, the electric artificial larynx according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which an element for detecting the vertical movement of the variable operation unit and an element for detecting the rotation in the horizontal direction are integrated in the rear of the housing. ing.

  FIG. 6 is a left side view showing an example of the appearance of the electric artificial larynx 10A according to the present embodiment, and the cross-sectional structure is shown in the chain line. The direction from left to right in FIG. 6 is the front-rear direction, and the direction from top to bottom is the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the electric artificial larynx 10A according to the present embodiment is also driven by the voice coil motor 41 of the voice coil motor holder 40 by connecting a tapered voice coil motor holder 40 to the front surface of the housing 20. The diaphragm 60 is exposed from its forefront. The configuration of the diaphragm 60 and the voice coil motor 41 that drives the diaphragm 60 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The inside of the housing 20 of the electric artificial larynx 10A according to the present embodiment is divided into a setting semi-fixed resistance accommodating chamber 59, a power source accommodating chamber 62, and a circuit / sensor accommodating chamber 63 by a partition plate. A setting semi-fixed resistor 61 is accommodated in the setting semi-fixed resistor accommodating chamber 59. Further, the power storage chamber 62 stores a battery 80A serving as a power source.

  A control unit 81 and a pulse signal output unit 82 are housed in front of the circuit / sensor housing chamber 63. A sensor box 64 is provided behind the circuit / sensor housing chamber 63. The sensor box 64 is supported by the operation interlocking mechanism 65 and is suspended behind the ceiling surface of the circuit / sensor housing chamber 63.

  FIG. 7 is a view of the variable operation unit 70A, the sensor box 64, and the operation interlocking mechanism 65 as viewed from above. For convenience of explanation, the extension of the variable operation unit 70A is indicated by a chain line. FIG. 8 is a view of the variable operation unit 70A, the sensor box 64, and the operation interlocking mechanism 65 as viewed from the left side. FIG. 9 is a view of the variable operation unit 70A, the sensor box 64, and the operation interlocking mechanism 65 as viewed from the rear.

  The variable operation unit 70A is a flat member. The sensor box 64 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member provided with a hollow portion 66 therein. The hollow portion 66 is provided with a pressure sensor 67 and a rotation angle sensor 70 including a light emitting element 68 and a light receiving element 69. ing.

  The operation interlocking mechanism 65 is a mechanism for interlocking the sensor box 64 so that the sensor box 64 is tilted back and forth and left and right according to the operation of the variable operation unit 70A, and includes a bearing member 71, a support shaft 72, and a connecting shaft 73. . The bearing member 71 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member having an extension slightly smaller than an opening portion in which the rear of the ceiling surface of the circuit / sensor housing chamber 63 is opened in a rectangular shape. The bearing member 71 is provided with a vertical hole penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface in the vertical direction. Further, a lateral hole penetrating in a horizontal direction between a position slightly below the left side surface and a position slightly below the right side surface is provided on the rear side of the vertical hole.

  The bearing member 71 is supported by fitting the left and right ends of the support shaft 72 inserted into the lateral hole to the left and right walls of the opening in a state where the bearing member 71 is fitted in the opening. For this reason, the bearing member 71 can tilt in the vertical direction with the support shaft 72 as a fulcrum.

  A connecting shaft 73 is inserted into the vertical hole of the bearing member 71. The lower end of the connecting shaft 73 penetrates the rear upper surface of the sensor box 64 and is pivotally attached to a hole (not shown) of the base 74 at the base of the hollow portion 66, while the upper end of the connecting shaft 73 is variable. It is fixed behind the lower surface of the operation unit 70A.

  Further, an arm member 75 extending forward is fixed slightly above the lower end of the connecting shaft 73 inserted into the hollow portion 66 of the sensor box 64. Therefore, the variable operation unit 70A and the arm member 75 connected via the connecting shaft 73 can be rotated in the left-right direction with the connecting shaft 73 as a fulcrum.

  A light emitting element 68 is provided at the tip of the arm member 75. A light receiving element 69 that is paired with the light emitting element 68 is provided on the left side wall of the hollow portion 66. The light receiving element 69 and the light emitting element 68 constitute a rotation angle sensor 70. When the arm member 75 rotates to the right and the light emitting element 68 at the tip of the arm member 75 moves away from the light receiving element 69, the amount of light reaching the light receiving element 69 is reduced. On the other hand, when the arm member 75 rotates leftward and the light emitting element 68 at the tip approaches the light receiving element 69, the amount of light reaching the light receiving element 69 increases. The light receiving element 69 detects the amount of light received by itself and outputs it as an electrical signal indicating the rotation angle in the left-right direction.

  A pressure sensor 67 is provided on the rear surface of the hollow portion 66 of the sensor box 64. As described above, the bearing member 71 can tilt with the support shaft 72 as a fulcrum. Further, the sensor box 64 and the variable operation portion 70 </ b> A are connected by a connecting shaft 73 inserted in a vertical hole of the bearing member 71.

  A gap is secured between the partition plate 76 that separates the setting semi-fixed resistance accommodating chamber 59 and the circuit / sensor accommodating chamber 63 and the rear surface of the sensor box 64. Therefore, the sensor box 64 is tilted backward and comes into contact with the partition plate 76 by the downward movement of the variable operation unit 70A. The pressure sensor 67 detects the pressure at which the rear surface of the sensor box 64 is in contact with the partition plate 76 and outputs it as an electrical signal indicating the angle of movement in the vertical direction.

  Next, the process of the control part 81 in this embodiment is explained in full detail. The control unit 81 is supplied with an electrical signal indicating the rotation angle in the left-right direction from the rotation angle sensor 70, and is supplied with an electrical signal indicating the angle of movement in the vertical direction from the pressure sensor 67. The control unit 81 specifies the frequency corresponding to the angle indicated by the electric signal supplied from the rotation angle sensor 70 and specifies the striking strength corresponding to the angle indicated by the electric signal supplied from the pressure sensor 67.

  This frequency is specified by referring to a table as in the first embodiment. Similarly, for specifying the striking strength, a table in which the vertical angle of the variable operation unit 70A is associated with the striking strength is stored in the ROM of the control unit 81, and a signal indicating the angle is supplied from the pressure sensor 67. This table is referred to each time.

  The control unit 81 that has specified the frequency and the striking strength supplies the pulse signal output unit 82 with a control signal that instructs the striking of the diaphragm 60 at the frequency and the striking strength. Then, the pulse signal output unit 82 outputs a pulse signal having a rising interval (cycle) and a duty ratio according to the control signal to the voice coil motor 41. As a result, striking of the diaphragm 60 with a frequency and striking strength corresponding to the angle at which the variable operation unit 70A is located is started, and the vibration frequency and the vibration frequency are within the vocal tract of the user pressing the diaphragm 60 against the neck. A sound having a level corresponding to the impact strength is generated at substantially the same pitch.

  The electric artificial larynx 10A according to the present embodiment described above includes a pressure sensor 67 which is an element for detecting the vertical movement of the variable operation unit 70A and a rotation sensor which is an element for detecting the horizontal rotation. Since the configuration is integrated in the sensor box 64 at the rear of the housing 20, there is no need to provide a large opening in the front of the housing 20. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that foreign matter such as dust enters the housing 20 from the opening. The controller 81 controls the striking strength of the diaphragm 60 according to the electric signal supplied from the pressure sensor 67. Therefore, the user can not only adjust the pitch of the sound by operating the variable operation unit 70A in the left-right direction, but can also adjust the sound level by operating in the up-down direction.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  The electric artificial larynx 10, 10 </ b> A according to the first and second embodiments is equipped with a voice coil motor 41 that is one of magnetic sounding bodies, and the diaphragm 60 is hit through a shaft 47 of the voice coil motor 41. The sound is generated in the user's vocal tract by vibrating. On the other hand, sound may be generated or sent in by a piezoelectric sounding body, an electronic sounding body, or a device combining them.

  The electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment is equipped with an optical sensor 27 that is one of optical detectors, and the optical sensor 27 detects the rotation angle of the variable operation unit 70 in the left-right direction. Yes. On the other hand, other detection elements such as an electric resistance detector, a magnetic detector, a pressure detector, and a potential detector may be mounted instead of the optical sensor 27.

  The electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment stores a table in which the horizontal angle and frequency of the variable operation unit 70 are associated with each other in the ROM of the control unit 81, and a signal indicating the angle is supplied. Each time, the frequency of the pulse signal is specified by referring to this table. On the other hand, the frequency of the pulse signal and the width of the pulse signal may be changed using a calculation formula prepared in advance as a program function without using such a table. As such a modified example, a program function of a calculation formula is prepared in advance so that the frequency and pulse width of the pulse signal can be obtained from the value indicating the angle in the horizontal direction of the variable operation unit 70 and the value of the setting semi-fixed resistor 61. Each time a signal indicating an angle is input from the optical sensor 27, the value indicated by the signal is input to a calculation formula to obtain the frequency and pulse width of the pulse signal. According to this aspect, the lowest frequency value and frequency adjustment range can be flexibly set according to preference, and the striking strength can be adjusted by adjusting the width of the pulse applied to the voice coil motor.

  The variable operation unit 70 of the electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment has a shape such that the rear end of a horizontally long rectangular plate body is rounded into a semicircular shape, and according to the second embodiment. The variable operation unit 70 of the electric artificial larynx 10A has a plate shape. On the other hand, the variable operation unit 70 may be formed in a bar shape with a rounded side surface instead of a plate shape having such a flat surface. In short, as long as one end is connected to the rotating member 30 so as to be movable in the vertical direction and the push button 24 can be pushed downward by a portion in front of the one end, the shape of the variable operation unit 70 can be obtained. Can be arbitrarily selected.

  In the electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment, the rear end of the upper surface of the rotating member 30 and the rear end of the variable operation unit 70 are connected via a hinge mechanism. On the other hand, you may connect both with another mechanical mechanism. For example, molten resin is poured into a mold, a member is formed so that the boundary line between the rotating member 30 and the variable operation unit 70 is thin, and the rotating member 30 is bent by bending the boundary. And the variable operation unit 70 may be integrally formed.

  Although the rotating member 30 of the electric artificial larynx 10 according to the first embodiment has a substantially cylindrical shape, other shapes such as a spherical shape or a rectangular parallelepiped shape may be adopted. In short, the shape is not limited as long as the variable operation unit 70 is a member that couples the variable operation unit 70 so that the variable operation unit 70 can rotate with respect to the housing 20. Further, unlike the rotation member 30, a non-rotating shaft may be provided so that the variable operation unit 70 rotates about the shaft. In this case, the optical sensor 27 detects not the rotation angle of the connecting shaft 29 but the rotation angle of the variable operation unit 70 itself or a member interlocked with the variable operation unit 70.

It is a left view of the electric artificial larynx concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the mode of the movement of the variable operation part of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the mode of rotation of the variable operation part of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of the electric artificial larynx shown in FIG. It is a left view of the electric artificial larynx concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the variable operation part shown in FIG. 6, the sensor box, and the operation interlocking mechanism from upper direction. It is the figure which looked at the variable operation part shown in FIG. 6, the sensor box, and the operation interlocking mechanism from the left side. It is the figure which looked at the variable operation part shown in FIG. 6, the sensor box, and the operation interlocking mechanism from back.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electric artificial larynx, 20 ... Housing | casing, 40 ... Voice coil motor holder, 21 ... Detection element accommodating chamber, 22 ... Opening part, 23 ... ON / OFF switch (equivalent to a 2nd detection part and a switching element), 24 ... push button, 25 ... cylinder, 26 ... case, 26 ... operator support part, 27 ... optical sensor (corresponding to the first detection part), 28,74 ... base, 29,73 ... connection shaft, 30 ... Rotating member (corresponding to the shaft), 78 ... first collar, 79 ... second collar, 41 ... voice coil motor (corresponding to part of the sound source), 42 ... magnet, 43 ... bobbin, 44 ... coil, 45 ... Yoke, 46 ... circular rubber, 47 ... shaft, 60 ... diaphragm (corresponding to a part of the sound source unit), 80 ... power source, 81 ... control unit, 82 ... pulse signal output unit, 90 ... rubber material, 59 ... Semi-fixed resistance chamber for setting, 61 ... Semi-fixed resistance for setting 62 ... Power source accommodation chamber, 63 ... Circuit / sensor accommodation chamber, 64 ... Sensor box, 65 ... Operation interlocking mechanism, 66 ... Hollow portion, 67 ... Pressure sensor, 68 ... Light emitting element, 69 ... Light receiving element, 70 ... Turning angle Sensor, 71 ... Bearing member, 72 ... Support shaft, 75 ... Arm member

Claims (4)

A housing,
A shaft coupled to the housing;
An operator connected to the shaft, rotatable around the shaft, and movable in a direction different from the rotation direction;
A first detector for detecting the rotation angle;
A second detection unit for detecting a movement amount of the operation element;
A sound source unit that generates sound of a specified frequency while the amount of movement detected by the second detection unit exceeds a threshold;
A control unit that changes a frequency of a sound generated by the sound source unit according to an angle detected by the first detection unit;
With
The operator is
One end of which is connected to the shaft so that it can move in the different directions;
The second detection unit includes:
It is an element for detecting the amount of movement based on the amount pressed by the other end of the operation element.
An electric artificial larynx characterized by this. The element is
An optical detector, an electrical resistance detector, a magnetic detector, a pressure detector, a potential detector, or a combination thereof,
The electric artificial larynx according to claim 1. The sound source section is
A magnetic sounding body, a piezoelectric sounding body, an electronic sounding body, or a combination thereof,
The electric artificial larynx according to any one of claims 1 and 2. The first detection unit includes:
An optical detector, an electrical resistance detector, a magnetic detector, a pressure detector, a potential detector, or a combination thereof,
The electric artificial larynx according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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