JPH0496599A - Device for picking up bone conduction voice signal through external auditory meatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure and stabilize the support of a microphone section, to make the depth of insertion of the microphone section to an external auditory meatus adjustable and to avoid a sense of disorder and choking by supporting a mount part in a space of a ship-shaped cavity and supporting the microphone section on an external auditory meatus wall. CONSTITUTION:The above device consists of a mount part 1 and a microphone section 2. The mount part 1 is formed to be a disk, a hole 11 penetrated to a position deviated from the center is formed to the mount part 1 and an outer periphery face is formed to be just fitted in a ship-shaped cavity space. A transmitter 14 and an antenna 15 sending an electric signal received from the microphone section 2 externally are built in the inner space of the mount part 1. A vibrator 23 such as a piezoelectric element supported in a cylindrical shell 21 by a holder 22 provided in a range of a contact part with the external auditory meatus and a lead 24 leading its vibration electric signal to the transmitter 14 are connected to the microphone section 2. A cylindrical shell 21 is supported by the mount 1 via a vibration absorbing member 13, and its holding is set so as to support the microphone section 2 surely at a position slidable and adjusted while the microphone section is directed toward the external auditory meatus.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for picking up bone conduction sound in an external auditory canal, and a communication device using the same.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, to transmit voice in noisy places such as coal mining and quarrying sites, airports, construction sites, and sheet metal factories, the conventional methods have been to use unidirectional microphones on the lips, and to use accelerometer vibration pickups on the pharynx or forehead. However, the former method, which uses a unidirectional microphone, has a limited ability to remove external noise and is unsuitable for noisy locations, while the latter method uses a unidirectional microphone that removes noise from the pharynx and forehead. Because it is necessary to tightly fix the vibration pickup at the part, the installation is complicated or troublesome, and not only is it unsightly, but it also causes discomfort and discomfort to the wearer, making it difficult to withstand long-term use. There was an inconvenience that there was no such thing.

Therefore, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 53-39763, the applicant of the present application has incorporated a cylindrical shell into an earpiece to be inserted into the external auditory canal of the ear.
We proposed a device that picks up bone-conducted sound vibrations from the wall of the external auditory canal by installing a vibration pickup whose operating direction is approximately perpendicular to the direction of the external auditory canal.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the above-mentioned pickup device, it is difficult to stably hold the earpiece, which is a cylindrical shell, unless it is inserted sufficiently deeply into the external auditory canal. Therefore, if the earpiece is fully inserted, the contact area and contact pressure with the ear canal will increase, which is desirable for improving function, but the earpiece will come into too close contact with the ear canal, causing discomfort and discomfort. In addition, for some people, the contact pressure becomes too high, causing a feeling of pressure or even the entrance of the ear canal.

The present invention solves these problems and provides a device for picking up bone conduction sound in the ear canal, which can secure the contact area and contact pressure with the ear canal in just the right amount, and can stably hold the microphone section with a built-in big amplifier. The primary purpose is to provide.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a device that is also equipped with an earphone section and can be used for telephone calls in conjunction with the microphone section.

[Means to solve the problem]

The first purpose of the above is to provide an approximately disc-shaped mounting portion that is accommodated in the space of the navicular fossa formed between the tragus cartilage and the entrance of the external auditory canal, and a pickup disposed inside the cylindrical shell. the cylindrical shell body is held by the mounting part at a position offset from the center of the mounting part, and a microphone part is inserted into the external auditory canal so as to be in contact with the external auditory canal wall, the microphone part is This is achieved by the first aspect of the present invention, in which the insertion depth into the external auditory canal is adjustable and is movable relative to the mounting portion.

A second object of the present invention is to accommodate an earphone section that transmits sound from the outside inside the mounting section, and a sound conduit of the earphone section opens at a portion of the mounting section facing the external auditory canal. achieved by doing.

[Effect]

In the first aspect of the invention, the mounting portion is first placed in the space of the navicular fossa of the ear, and is supported by the entrance of the external auditory canal and the tragus cartilage. On the other hand, the microphone part held by the mounting part is placed in such a way that the user makes just enough contact with the wall of the user's external auditory canal.
Its insertion depth is adjusted.

Thus, in the device of the present invention, both the mounting portion and the microphone portion are supported in contact with each other, and the support is extremely stable at multiple positions in a three-dimensional space. Furthermore, the disk-shaped mounting portion is supported over a considerable area of its outer periphery.

In the device of the present invention supported in this manner, the microphone portion that has made proper contact picks up bone-conducted sound at the wall of the external auditory canal. This picked up signal is amplified by the transmitter directly or by an external amplifier and transmitted to the other party.

Next, in the second invention, the device is attached to the ear canal in the same manner as the first invention device, and the bone conduction sound is picked up from the microphone part, and the sound from the other party is received as an electrical signal. The earphone section transmits the sound as air pressure vibrations through the sound conduit to the ear canal. In this way, a call can be made using the microphone section and the earphone section.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a pink-up device as a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, A is the external auditory canal, B is the tragus cartilage, and a depressed space called the navicular fossa C is formed between them on the inner surface of the auricle.

The device of this embodiment consists of a mounting section I and a microphone section 2.

The attachment part 1 has a rounded disk-like cross section, and has a hole 1) formed therethrough at a position offset from its center. The mounting portion 1 is hollow and made of a relatively hard material such as plastic, and its outer peripheral surface is shaped and sized to fit within the space of the navicular fossa C. An annular recess 12 is formed in the hole 1), and a vibration absorbing material 13 such as a soft material is housed in the annular recess 12. Although this vibration absorbing material 13 is not essential to the present invention, it is preferable in order to prevent surrounding vibrations from being transmitted to the microphone section. Various types are possible, such as one filled with bodies, etc. Examples of the former include urethane, and examples of the latter include silicone oil.

Further, in the internal space of the mounting section I, a transmitter 14 for transmitting an electric signal received from the microphone section 2 to the outside and an antenna 15 therefor are also built-in.

The microphone section 2 includes a vibrator 23 such as a piezoelectric element, which is a pickup, supported within the cylindrical shell 21 by a holder 22 provided in the area of contact with the external auditory canal A, and the vibrating electrical signal of the vibrator 23 as described above. A conductor 24 leading to the transmitter 4 is connected. The internal configuration of this microphone section 2 may be exactly the same as that of a conventional pink-up device.

The conductive wire 24 is brought to a sliding contact 25 provided between the microphone section 2 and the mounting section 1, and passes through the sliding contact point 25 to the transmitter 1.
Connected to 4.

The cylindrical shell 2I of the microphone section 2 is held at its intermediate portion by the mounting section 1 via the vibration absorbing material 13. This holding force is set so that the microphone part 2 can be slid in its longitudinal direction, that is, toward the external auditory canal, for position adjustment, and can be reliably held at an appropriately adjusted position. This is possible by appropriately setting the friction coefficient between the vibration absorbing material 13 and the cylindrical shell 21 and the elastic force of the vibration absorbing material 13.

The apparatus of this embodiment having such a configuration is used in the following manner.

First, the attachment part is inserted into the space of the navicular fossa C. As a result, the outer periphery of the disk-shaped mounting portion 1 is supported over a wide range by the tragus cartilage B, the entrance to the external auditory canal A, and the inner surface of the auricle that forms the scaphoid fossa C between them. .

Thereafter, the position of the microphone unit 2 is adjusted so as to ensure sufficient contact area and contact pressure to pick up bone-conducted sound, and to insert it into the external auditory canal A to the extent that there is no discomfort or blockage feeling, and at that position, the above-mentioned It is held by the mounting part 1 via the vibration absorbing material 13. Thus, the device of this embodiment is supported by the mounting section 1 and the microphone section 2 at a plurality of positions in a three-dimensional space.

In this state, the voice spoken by the user is picked up by the microphone section 2 as bone conduction voice, and the electric signal is brought to the transmitter 14 via the sliding contact 25 and sent to the antenna 15.
sent to the outside. If the other party is within a short distance, this transmission signal can be received directly, but if the other party is a little far away, the signal can be sent to a repeater prepared separately by the user, and from there it can be transmitted to the other party.

Note that the above-mentioned vibration absorbing material is not provided on the mounting part side as in the present embodiment, but is provided at least partially on the portion of the cylindrical shell 21A excluding the contact portion with the external auditory canal, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. It may also be covered with a vibration absorbing material 268. Even in this case, as in the first embodiment, the vibration absorbing material 26A can generate an appropriate coefficient of friction and elastic force for positioning between the vibration absorbing material 26A and the mounting portion 1.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, if a spring material is interposed between the microphone section and the mounting section, and the spring pressure presses the microphone section against the wall of the external auditory canal with appropriate pressure, an appropriate pink-up state can be obtained at all times. .

Further, in order to enable fine adjustment of the position of the microphone section with respect to the mounting section, a threaded surface may be provided between the two sections. In this case as well, a friction member or stopper is required to maintain the adjusted position.

Furthermore, if the microphone part 2 is shaped to be largely inserted into the mounting part l side as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and the transmitter 14 and antenna 15 are built in the increased internal space, This eliminates the need for many sliding contacts, reducing the number of causes of failure.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a telephone communication device as a fourth embodiment. The device of this embodiment is characterized in that an earphone section 3 is built into the mounting section of the pickup device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The earphone section 3 itself may be of a publicly known type, and emits sound from a sound conduit 31 by converting signals received from the outside through a transmitter/receiver 30 into air vibrations. Sound is sent to the ear canal. In this case as well, the vibration absorbing material functions to prevent vibrations on the earphone section 3 side from being transmitted to the microphone section 2. Thus, according to the device of this embodiment, in response to the voice from the other party through the earphone section 3, the voice is transmitted to the other party via the microphone section 2, and can be used as a telephone communication device.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the present invention, the mounting part is supported in the space of the navicular fossa and the microphone part is supported by the wall of the external auditory canal, so the support is three-dimensional and extremely stable and reliable. Moreover, the insertion depth of the microphone section into the ear canal can be adjusted freely, and the contact surface and contact pressure between the two can be set just right. As a result, the feeling of discomfort and blockage is eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the device of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device of the second embodiment, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the device of the third embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the device of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device. ■・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ Mounting part 13;
26A・・・・・・・・・Vibration absorbing material 2・・・・・・
・・・・・・・・・Mic part 21; 21A...
・・・・・・・・・Cylindrical shell body 3・・・・・・・・・・・・
・・・・・・Earphone part 31・・・・・・・・・・・・
・・・・・・Sound conduit diagram / diagram diagram

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A generally disc-shaped attachment part is housed in the space of the navicular fossa formed between the tragus cartilage and the entrance of the external auditory canal, and a pickup is disposed inside the cylindrical shell. a microphone section that is inserted into the external auditory canal so as to be in contact with the wall of the external auditory canal, the shell body being held by the mounting section at a position offset from the center of the mounting section; A device that picks up bone conduction sound in the external auditory canal, the depth of which is freely adjustable and movable relative to the mounting portion. (2) The device for picking up bone conduction sound in the external auditory canal according to claim (1), wherein the microphone section is held on the mounting section via a vibration absorbing material. (3) The cylindrical shell of the microphone section is at least partially covered with a vibration-absorbing material except for the part that contacts the wall of the external auditory canal. device to pick up. (4) The mounting part has a transmitter inside, and the signal from the microphone part is input to the transmitter through the sliding contact between the mounting part and the microphone part, and is transmitted from the transmitter to the outside. The device for picking up bone conduction sound in the external auditory canal according to claim 1, wherein the device is capable of picking up bone conduction sound in the external auditory canal. (5) An earphone section for transmitting sound from the outside is housed inside the mounting section of the device for picking up bone conduction sound in the external auditory canal according to claim (1), and the sound conduit of the earphone section is arranged in the mounting section. A communication device having an opening in a portion facing the external auditory canal. (6) The mounting part has a transceiver inside it, and the signal from the microphone part is input to the transceiver through the sliding contact between the mounting part and the microphone part, and is transmitted from the transceiver to the outside. 6. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the transmitter/receiver is capable of receiving a signal from the outside and inputting the received signal to the earphone section.