JP6330649B2 - Earphone with microphone - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an earphone with a microphone, and more particularly, to an earphone with a microphone having both a speaker and a microphone in an earphone main body.

  As an earphone used for a noise canceling earphone or a sound collector for hearing aid, an earphone with a microphone having both a speaker and a microphone for collecting sound is known (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

Japanese Patent No. 4775438

An earphone with a microphone in which both a speaker and a microphone are provided in the earphone main body is in a position where the microphone is close to the ear in a state where the earphone is attached to the ear.
Thereby, the cancellation process and the amplification process can be performed substantially based on the sound heard by the ear, so that the noise canceling effect and the hearing aid effect can be obtained satisfactorily.
On the other hand, since both the speaker and the microphone are provided in the same housing, the sound output from the speaker propagates through the housing itself, the internal space of the housing, or the external space, and the microphone has little energy attenuation. Howling is likely to occur because the sound is collected.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a microphone-equipped earphone that hardly causes howling even if the earphone main body portion includes both a speaker and a microphone.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration 1).
1) A housing, a microphone attached to the housing, and a protruding portion that protrudes from the housing so as to come into contact with the inner wall of the auricle while being less rigid than the housing and attached to the ear. And the earphone with a microphone provided with the support part supported by the said housing | casing, and the speaker spaced apart and supported with respect to the said housing | casing by the said support part.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that howling hardly occurs even if the earphone main body includes both a speaker and a microphone.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining an earphone 51 which is an example of an earphone with a microphone according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at the position S2-S2 in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view for explaining the speaker SP and the vibration transmitting member 8 of the earphone 51. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2 for explaining a mounting state of the earphone 51 to the ear. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the earphone 51. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a vibration transmission member 81 which is a modification of the vibration transmission member 8. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a vibration transmission member 82 which is a modification of the vibration transmission member 8. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a vibration transmission member 83 which is a modification of the vibration transmission member 8. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4 for explaining another modification.

  An earphone with a microphone according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 using an earphone 51 which is a preferred embodiment. For convenience of explanation, the head side on which the earphone 51 is to be worn is defined as the front side, and the face side in the worn state is defined as the right side. As shown by arrows in FIGS.

First, the configuration of the earphone 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view for explaining the earphone 51, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at the S2-S2 position in FIG.
The earphone 51 is a so-called canal type (earplug type) in which an earpiece EP that is detachably attached to the main body 1 is inserted into the ear canal and attached to the ear. . The earphone 51 includes a speaker SP and a microphone M in the main body 1.

The earphone 51 has, in appearance, a main body 1, a bushing 2 that extends downward from the main body 1 when attached to the ear, and a cord 3 that is drawn from the lower end of the bushing 2.
The main body 1 includes a front case 4 having a sound tube portion 4a protruding in a cylindrical shape centering on the axis line CLa toward the front, and an inner space Vn together with the front case 4 assembled to the rear side of the front case 4. And a support portion 6 having a left side portion accommodated in the internal space Vn and a left side portion protruding from between the front case 4 and the rear case 5 to the outside. Yes.
The support portion 6 is a member for stabilizing the wearing by urging and contacting the inner surface of the auricle when the earphone 51 is worn on the ear.
As described above, the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5 constitute the housing Hs. The support unit 6 is supported by the housing Hs.

  The speaker SP is held by the support unit 6. The microphone M is attached to the rear side of the rear housing 5.

  When using the earphone 51, the earpiece EP is attached to the sound tube portion 4a. The attached earpiece EP is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS.

The support portion 6 and the bushing 2 may be a single member or independent separate members. Here, a case where separate members are used will be described.
The bushing 2 is formed by integral molding with the cord 3 with an elastomer or rubber.
A part of the bushing 2 is housed in the internal space Vn, and is held between the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5. The upper end of the cord 3 is drawn into the internal space Vn of the main body 1 through a cord hole 5 a formed in the rear housing 5.
A lead group 3a connected to the speaker SP and a lead group 3b connected to the microphone M are further branched out from the drawn cord 3, and are connected to the speaker SP and the microphone M, respectively. .

On the rear side of the rear housing 5, an ornament cap 7 that holds the microphone M between the rear housing 5 is attached.
A sound collecting hole 7a is formed in the ornament cap 7, and external sound is picked up by the microphone M through the sound collecting hole 7a.

  The front housing 4, the rear housing 5, and the ornament cap 7 are made of a hard resin material. An example of the material is PC (polycarbonate) resin.

The support portion 6 has a substantially disc-shaped base portion 6a housed in the internal space Vn, and a protrusion that protrudes leftward from the base portion 6a and protrudes outwardly between the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5 in a tongue-like shape. Part 6b. The support portion 6 is formed of a flexible material such as elastomer or silicone rubber.
The base portion 6a is provided with a speaker holding portion 6c that forms a space Vsp (denoted by a broken line in FIG. 2) substantially corresponding to the outer shape of the speaker SP, and the speaker SP is fitted into the speaker holding portion 6c. It is. That is, in a state where the earphone 51 is assembled, the space Vsp is filled with the speaker SP.
This fitting is a slight strong fitting.
The speaker holding portion 6c is formed with a lead hole 6c1 for inserting the lead group 3a on the rear side.
The speaker holding portion 6c is formed with a sound emission hole 6c2 for releasing the sound output from the speaker SP toward the sound tube portion 4a on the front side.
The speaker SP is fitted into the speaker holding portion 6c so that the sound emitting surface SPa faces the sound emitting hole 6c2.
As described above, the speaker SP is supported by the support unit 6 so as to be separated from the housing Hs.

The support unit 6 is sandwiched between the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5 in close contact with each other. Therefore, the internal space Vn is divided into the front space Vf and the rear space Vr in a state where there is substantially no gas flow.
Further, the main body 1 is provided with a communication path 1a for communicating the front space Vf and the external space Vg for sound quality adjustment.
Specifically, the communication path 1a is formed by a through hole 4b formed in the front housing 4 and a recess 6d provided over the support portion 6 so as to be connected to the through hole 4b.

The support portion 6 has a transmission member hole 6e that connects the space Vsp formed by the speaker holding portion 6c and the external space Vg.
That is, in the single support portion 6, one end (right end) of the transmission member hole 6e opens to the space Vsp, and the left end opens to the outer surface.
The cross-sectional shape of the transmission member hole 6e is not limited. For example, it is a circle or a rectangle. In this example, the transmission member hole 6e has a bent portion 6e1 at an intermediate position.

In the assembled earphone 51, a vibration transmission member 8 having the same shape as the transmission member hole 6e and higher rigidity than the support portion 6 is inserted into the transmission member hole 6e.
That is, the internal space of the transmission member hole 6 e is filled with the vibration transmission member 8.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the left end surface 8 a of the vibration transmitting member 8 constitutes a surface continuous with the external appearance surface 6 b 1 of the protruding portion 6 b of the support portion 6 and is exposed to the outside. Further, the right end surface 8b is exposed as a part of the peripheral surface of the speaker holding portion 6c.
As a material of the vibration transmitting member 8, hard resin, metal, ceramics, or the like can be used. A specific material example is PC (polycarbonate) resin.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing only the speaker SP and the vibration transmitting member 8 extracted from the earphone 51. In this example, the outer shape of the speaker SP is circular when viewed from the front.
Since the right end surface 8b of the vibration transmitting member 8 is exposed as a part of the peripheral surface of the speaker holding portion 6c, as shown in FIG. 3, it is in close contact with the arc-shaped outer peripheral surface SPb of the speaker SP. doing.
Since the speaker SP is fitted into the speaker holding portion 6c by strong fitting, the close contact is urged to each other and is in a sufficiently connected state in vibration transmission.

FIG. 4 shows a state where the earpiece EP is attached to the earphone 51 having the above-described configuration and is attached to the pinna ER of the right ear.
In FIG. 4, the earphone 51 and the head are shown in a cross section corresponding to FIG.

With the earphone 51 attached, the earpiece EP is inserted into the ear canal ERa. Since the earpiece EP is formed of a flexible material, the earpiece EP is substantially in close contact with the inner peripheral surface ERa1 of the ear canal ERa.
Moreover, the front end side of the protrusion part 6b of the support part 6 is in contact with the inner wall ERb of the auricle ER so as to be urged. The abutting inner wall ERb is, for example, the inner wall of the anti-ring. Due to the urging contact of the support portion 6 against the inner wall ERb, the mounting posture of the earphone 51 becomes more stable.
An end surface 8 a of the vibration transmitting member 8 is included in the contact area AR in contact with the inner wall ERb in the support portion 6.

  In the wearing state shown in FIG. 4, the sound output from the sound emitting surface SPa due to the vibration of the diaphragm SPs of the speaker SP passes through the sound emitting hole 6 c 2, the front space Vf, and the inner space Vep of the earpiece EP, and enters the ear canal ERa. Is released and listened to.

In the earphone 51, the speaker SP is separated from the high-rigidity front case 4 and rear case 5 made of hard resin or the like in a non-contact state and is held by a flexible low-rigid support portion 6.
Thereby, the vibration of the speaker SP itself corresponding to the sound output from the speaker SP is not directly transmitted to the front casing 4 and the rear casing 5.

Further, vibrations indirectly transmitted to the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5 through the support portion 6 are also absorbed and transmitted because a large amount of vibration energy is absorbed because the support portion 6 is formed of a flexible material. The
For this reason, since the energy of vibration reaching the microphone is small using the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5 as well as the support section 6 and the rear space Vr as a propagation path, even if the microphone M collects the vibration as sound. Howling is unlikely to occur.

On the other hand, when the support unit 6 includes the vibration transmission member 8, the vibration transmission member 8 connects the speaker SP and the inner wall ERb of the auricle ER as a rigid body that transmits vibrations satisfactorily.
Thereby, vibration from the speaker SP is transmitted to the inner wall ERb through the vibration transmitting member 8 with almost no attenuation, and much of the vibration energy is absorbed by the flexible auricle ER.
By connecting the vibration transmitting member 8 to the speaker SP, the mass of the entire member that vibrates increases, so that the amplitude of vibration generated in the speaker SP is effectively suppressed. This suppression effect becomes significant when the vibration has a large amplitude.
For this reason, the vibration of the speaker SP itself is reduced, and even when the microphone picks up the vibration that has reached the microphone from the speaker SP as a sound, howling hardly occurs regardless of the transmission path of the vibration.
In this respect, the mass of the vibration transmitting member 8 is preferably about the same as or larger than the mass of the speaker SP from the viewpoint of suppressing vibration amplitude. Moreover, when forming the vibration transmission member 8 densely, it is preferable that the volume of the vibration transmission member 8 is as large as possible.
The shape of the vibration transmitting member 8 is preferably as high as possible in the direction along the vibration path from the speaker SP to the inner wall ERb when the mass is the same.

Further, the earphone 51 is a canal type, and as described above, the inner peripheral surface ERa1 of the ear canal ERa and the earpiece EP are substantially in close contact with each other in the wearing state, and no gap is generated.
As a result, of the sound emitted into the external auditory canal ERa, the sound reaching the microphone M using the external space Vg as a propagation path is substantially negligible, and howling is caused by the sound transmitted through the propagation path. It does not occur.

The configuration of the earphone 51 detailed above is modeled and shown in FIG.
FIG. 5A is a model in the case where the support unit 6 does not include the vibration transmitting member 8, and FIG. 5B is a model in the case where it is provided.
A high-rigidity member that easily transmits vibration is indicated by a thick solid line, and a low-rigidity member that is difficult to transmit vibration is indicated by stippling.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the earphone 51 includes a low-rigidity member in which the speaker SP and the microphone M are not directly connected by high-rigidity members (the front housing 4 and the rear housing 5). It is connected via (support part 6).
In the models shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the vibration generated in the speaker SP is difficult to be transmitted to the microphone M due to the low rigidity of the transmission path to the microphone and the distance attenuation effect, and howling is reduced. Hard to occur.
Further, the protruding portion 6b of the low-rigidity member (support portion 6) holding the speaker SP is in urging contact with the inner wall ERb of the auricle ER.
Thereby, a part of the vibration energy of the vibration generated in the speaker SP is transmitted to the flexible auricle ER and attenuated. Therefore, the vibration transmitted to the microphone M has a small amplitude, and howling is unlikely to occur.

In FIG. 5B, the low-rigidity member (support portion 6) includes a vibration transmission member 8 having a high rigidity and a higher density than that of the low-rigidity member. The vibration transmission member 8 allows the speaker SP and the inner wall ERb to be connected. Connected with easy vibration transmission.
In the model shown in FIG. 5B, since the mass of the vibration member including the speaker SP is increased, the amplitude of vibration is suppressed, and a large amount of vibration energy generated in the speaker SP is flexible. It is transmitted to the intermediate ER and attenuates significantly. Therefore, the vibration transmitted to the microphone M has a sufficiently small amplitude, and howling is less likely to occur.

  Although the earphone 51 has been described as being attached to the right ear, it may be for the left ear that is symmetrical.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  It is desirable that the vibration transmitting member 8 and the speaker SP vibrate as integrally as possible. Therefore, it is preferable to integrally connect both members with a fixing agent such as an adhesive or a filler.

The shape of the vibration transmission member 8 is not limited. Modified examples are shown in FIGS.
6 to 8 are cross-sectional views corresponding to the positions S2-S2 in FIG. 1, and are diagrams showing only the speaker SP and the support unit 6 and modified examples of the vibration transmitting member 8 extracted. .

FIG. 6 shows a modification in which a vibration transmission member 81 formed in a flat plate shape is used instead of the bent vibration transmission member 8.
By using the vibration transmission member 81, the transmission distance of vibration is shortened, so that the vibration of the speaker SP can be efficiently transmitted to the auricle ER.

FIG. 7 shows a modified example in which a vibration transmission member 82 is used in place of the vibration transmission member 81 so that the total length of the tip on the auricle ER side is shortened so as not to be exposed to the outside.
The length of the vibration transmitting member 82 is set so that the position of the tip end portion 82a is close to the appearance surface 6b1 at the tip end of the protruding portion 6b.
In this modification, the portion corresponding to the distance La between the distal end portion 82 a of the vibration transmitting member 82 and the external appearance surface 6 b 1 is occupied by the flexible support portion 6, but this portion is in a state where the earphone 51 is attached. It is compressed.
Therefore, it behaves as a member having higher rigidity than the other free portion of the support portion 6.
Thereby, the vibration of the speaker SP can be transmitted to the auricle ER better than the case where the vibration transmitting member 82 is not provided.

FIG. 8 shows a modified example in which the vibration transmitting member 83 has a connection position to the speaker SP that is not the outer peripheral surface SPb (side surface) but the rear surface SPc. The vibration transmitting member 83 is formed so as not to interfere with the lead group 3a and its connection structure.
By using the vibration transmitting member 83, vibration can be received in the driving direction of the diaphragm SPs (up and down direction in FIG. 8), and vibration of the speaker SP can be received efficiently and transmitted to the auricle ER.

  In any of the modifications, the vibration transmission efficiency to the pinna ER is improved by using the vibration transfer members 81 to 83, respectively, and the vibration energy can be satisfactorily attenuated by the pinna ER. Thereby, the vibration from the speaker SP transmitted to the microphone M is small, and howling hardly occurs.

When a path for guiding the sound output from the speaker SP to be emitted into the external ear canal ERa is formed of a member having a rigidity lower than that of the housing Hs at least, the high rigidity housing Hs is not exposed in the path. Good.
As a result, the output sound does not directly act on the housing Hs to excite vibration in the housing Hs.
As a specific example, as shown in FIG. 9, an inner cap 9 that covers the inner surface 4a1 and the tip surface 4a2 may be attached to the sound tube portion 4a.
The inner cap 9 is made of a flexible material such as an elastomer or rubber and having a lower rigidity than at least the housing Hs.
Thus, the members facing the path for releasing the sound output from the sound emitting surface of the speaker SP to the outside are the support portion 6, the inner cap 9, and the earpiece EP, and are configured only by a low-rigidity member.
Therefore, vibration is not easily excited in the housing Hs of the high-rigidity member, vibration from the speaker SP that propagates through the housing Hs and is transmitted to the microphone M is reduced, and howling is less likely to occur.
The support portion 6, the inner cap 9, and the earpiece EP may be structured to be fixed and integrated with each other in addition to the structure in which the support portion 6, the inner cap 9, and the earpiece EP are in contact with each other. When the integrated structure is adopted, the volume of the low-rigidity integrated member is increased, so that vibration is more easily absorbed and howling is less likely to occur.

Although the earphone 51 has been described as being of the canal type, the earphone 51 is not limited to the canal type, and may be an inner ear type in which the main body is simply mounted in the auricle without using an earpiece inserted into the ear canal.
In the case of the inner ear type, the sound output from the speaker reaches the microphone through the external space as a propagation path, but howling occurs because there is little sound transmitted to the microphone through the case itself and the internal space of the case as the propagation path. The effect of being difficult is obtained.

The area ratio occupied by the end face 8a of the vibration transmitting member 8 in the contact region AR is preferably larger from the viewpoint of the efficiency of vibration transmission to the inner wall ERb. .
In addition, in order to more reliably perform vibration transmission by reducing the influence of variation in the contact mode due to the difference in the shape of the user's auricle ER, the tip end side of the vibration transmission member 8 is branched into a plurality of pieces, It is preferable that the end face be exposed to the outside.

  The protrusion 6b in FIG. 5B is not limited to the one in which the vibration transmitting member 8 is embedded as a separate member. For example, the protruding portion 6b is integrally formed including the portion corresponding to the vibration transmitting member 8, and in the cross-sectional shape at the S43-S43 position, the rigidity gradually or stepwise from the outer peripheral side portion toward the center. It may be formed so as to be higher. Two types of materials having different rigidity after molding may be integrally formed by so-called two-color molding.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main-body part, 1a Communication path 2 Bushing 3 Cord, 3a, 3b Lead group 4 Front housing | casing 4a Sound tube part, 4a1 Inner surface, 4a2 Front end surface, 4b Through-hole 5 Rear housing | casing, 5a Cord hole 6 Support part 6a Base, 6b Protruding part, 6b1 Appearance surface 6c Speaker holding part, 6c1 Lead hole, 6c2 Sound emitting hole 6d Recessed part, 6e Transmission member hole, 6e1 Bending part 7 Ornament cap, 7a Sound collecting hole 8, 81, 82, 83 Vibration transmitting member 8a, 8b end face, 82a tip 9 inner cap 51 earphone (earphone with microphone)
AR contact area CLa axis EP earpiece ER auricle, ERa external ear canal, ERa1 inner peripheral surface, ERb inner wall Hs housing La distance M microphone SP speaker SPa sound emitting surface, SPb outer peripheral surface, SPc rear surface SPs diaphragm Vep, Vn inner space, Vf front space, Vg external space Vr rear space, Vsp space

Claims (6)

A housing,
A microphone attached to the housing;
A support portion supported by the housing having a protruding portion projecting from the housing so as to contact the inner wall of the auricle in a state of being attached to the ear and having a lower rigidity than the housing;
A speaker supported by the support unit at a distance from the housing;
Earphone with microphone equipped with.   The support portion includes a vibration transmitting member that is formed of a material that is higher in rigidity than the support portion, and that has one end connected to the speaker and the other end extending toward the tip of the support. The earphone with a microphone according to claim 1.   3. The earphone with a microphone according to claim 2, wherein the vibration transmitting member has an end surface on the other end side exposed to the outside.   The earphone with a microphone according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the vibration transmitting member is connected to the rear surface of the speaker at the one end side.   The earphone with a microphone according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a path for releasing the sound output from the speaker to the outside is formed of a member having a rigidity lower than that of the housing. . The earphone with a microphone according to claim 1, wherein the earphone with a microphone is a canal type.

Images