JPH05284584A - Ear microphone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the sensitivity of an ear microphone by setting the tip of the microphone at a recess part of the external auditory miatus. CONSTITUTION:When an ear microphone 1 is put into the external auditory miatus, the constricted part 7 of an external auditory miatus inserting matter 9 hits a projecting wall part 14 and the expanding part 8 covering a part front of the part 7 is hooked at the back of the part 14. Thus the tip of a vibration pick-up type microphone 2 contained in the microphone 1 is set at a recess part of the external auditory miatus where the bone vibrations can be transmitted most easily. In such a constitution, the pick-up sensitivity is improved at a medium band part (1-2kHz). Thus the sensitivity is improved in the entire part of the external auditory miatus and the talking is possible in the natural sound quality.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ear microphone, and more particularly to an ear microphone which is mounted on one ear and picks up a bone-transmitted voice signal from the wall of the ear canal.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, ear microphones having a built-in vibration pickup type microphone which is inserted into the external ear canal and picks up a bone-transmitted voice signal are disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication Nos. 63-62956 and 63-62954, FIG. , Various techniques are known.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-6295
The one described in No. 6 has a drawback that the vibration pickup microphone for transmission picks up noise accompanying the movement of the rubber pipe connecting the external speaker for reception and the internal sound conduit. In this respect, Japanese Examined Japanese Patent Publication Sho 63-92
In No. 954 and FIG. 7, the above-mentioned noise pickup is prevented by accommodating an earphone for reception instead of an external speaker. However, although these techniques are excellent in sensitivity in the low range and the high range, they have a drawback in that the output of the transmission sensitivity in the middle range (1 to 2 kHz) is weak.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, a first object of the present invention to provide an ear microphone having excellent mid range sensitivity. A second object is to provide a bidirectional ear microphone that has excellent sensitivity over the entire area in both transmission and reception.

[0005]

The present inventor has achieved the present invention as a result of extensive studies to achieve the above object.

That is, in the ear microphone according to the present invention, an ear canal insert having a microphone accommodating hole inside and a constricted portion on the upper surface of the outer middle portion can be attached to and detached from the ear piece base body in which the vibration pickup type microphone is built and fixed. In the ear microphone, the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone is extended to an enlarged portion of the ear canal insert that is located in front of the constricted portion, and the bottom surface and the side surface of the vibration pickup type microphone are the inner surface of the microphone housing hole. The ear canal body that has been made to come into contact with, or has a built-in vibration pickup type microphone and earphones, has a microphone accommodating hole and a sound guide hole inside, and an ear canal insert having a constricted portion on the upper surface of the outside middle can be attached and detached. In the ear microphone formed by connecting to the earphone, the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone is inserted into the ear canal. Of the sound guide hole extending from the earphone to the opening between the upper surface of the vibration pickup type microphone and the ceiling surface of the microphone housing hole in the same cross section. Each is characterized by being configured as a straight hole.

A preferred embodiment of the ear microphone according to the present invention is that the opening of the sound guide hole is widened.

[0008]

When the ear microphone is inserted into the ear canal at a proper position, the constricted part of the ear canal insert body contacts the projecting wall part in the ear canal, and the enlarging part ahead of the constricted part projects. It is installed in a state of being caught behind the wall. By mounting in this state,
The tip of the built-in vibration pickup type microphone can be located in the concave portion, which is the portion of the ear canal where bone vibration is most easily transmitted. Therefore, since the pickup sensitivity in the middle range, which has been weak in the past, becomes high, the sensitivity in the entire range becomes good, and it is possible to transmit with a more natural sound quality.

Further, in the bidirectional ear microphone of transmitting and receiving, in addition to the above-mentioned good transmission, the sound guiding hole is formed as a straight hole having the same cross section from the earphone to the opening. It is possible to prevent attenuation of the midrange and high range without impeding the straightness of the reception sound of. Therefore, it is possible to receive a voice with high sound quality.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a sectional view of an ear microphone according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an end view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the ear canal, and a schematic view showing a state in which the ear microphone of FIG. 1 is attached to the ear canal. 4, FIG. 4 is a graph showing transmission sensitivity, FIG. 5 is a graph showing reception sensitivity, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another example of the ear canal insert, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional ear microphone.

In FIG. 1, an ear microphone 1 has a microphone housing hole 5 and a sound guide hole 6 inside an earpiece base body 4 in which a vibration pickup microphone 2 and an earphone 3 are built in and fixed, and an outer middle upper surface. The constricted portion 7 and an ear canal insert 9 having an enlarged portion 8 on the tip side of the constricted portion 7 are detachably coupled. Reference numeral 10 is a code for the vibration pickup type microphone 2 and the earphone 3.
Since the earpiece base 4 is a portion that is directly inserted into the delicate ear canal, it is made of a flexible and less deformable material, for example, silicone rubber having JIS hardness A of 40 degrees or more.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vibration pickup type microphone 2 has its tip extended to an enlarged portion 8 of the ear canal insertion body 9 which is located on the front side of the constricted portion 7, and the lower surface and the side surface of the microphone receiving hole 5. It is housed in contact with the inner surface of the.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sound guide hole 6 is the same between the earphone 3 and the opening 6A between the upper surface of the vibration pickup microphone 2 and the ceiling surface of the microphone housing hole 5. It is constructed as a straight hole in cross section.

The structure of the external auditory meatus to which the ear microphone 1 is attached will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3. The concha of the concha of the concha 13 is located substantially opposite to the tragus 12 with the entrance 11 of the external auditory meatus interposed therebetween.
Has a bottom portion, and the ear canal bends in a manner of wrapping around to the rear side thereof, and a protruding wall portion 14 is formed in the middle of the ear canal. Although the tip of the protruding wall portion 14 is soft, it has a thin skin and a relatively firm protrusion as compared with the tragus 12. The left external auditory meatus wall from the back of the tragus 12 to the eardrum 15 forms a gently curved wall 16 with a small recess 17 at its tip. This recess 1
Part 7 has thin skin, and a part of the skull is located just below the skin tissue, and it is sharp enough to feel pain when pushed toward the eardrum 15. After passing this part, the ear canal is slightly toward the eardrum 15. It has a structure of reaching the eardrum 15 while curving to the left and becoming thinner.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies on the technique and found that the recess 17 is the most easily transmitted part of bone vibration in the ear canal into which the ear microphone 1 is inserted. ..

When the ear microphone 1 having the above structure is inserted into the ear canal at a proper position as shown in FIG. 3, the constricted portion 7 of the ear canal insert 9 of the ear microphone 1 abuts the protruding wall portion 14 in the ear canal. The enlarged portion 8 on the front side of the constricted portion 7 is mounted in a state of being caught behind the protruding wall portion 14.

When the ear microphone 1 is attached to the proper position and state as described above, the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone 2 built in the ear microphone 1 is a recess where the bone vibration is most easily transmitted in the ear canal. It will be located in part 17. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, since the pickup sensitivity in the middle range (1 to 2 kHz), which was weak in the conventional ear microphone of FIG. 7, becomes high, the sensitivity in the entire range becomes good and the transmission with more natural sound quality is performed. It becomes possible to talk.

In the earphone 1 having the above-described structure, the sound guide hole 6 is formed as a straight hole having the same cross section from the earphone 3 toward the opening, so that the sound received from the earphone 3 is transmitted to the eardrum 15. And it will propagate in a straight state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional ear microphone of FIG. 7, the mid-range and high-range parts (about 1700) that are attenuated from the earphone to the opening through the sound guide hole.
Since it is possible to prevent the attenuation of up to 7,000 Hz, it is possible to receive a voice with high sound quality.

Although the transmission / reception bidirectional ear microphone 1 which is excellent in the entire sensitivity in both transmission / reception has been described above, the present invention may be a transmission / reception only one-way type ear microphone. In this case, if the earphone 3 and the sound guide hole 6 which are the receiving components are excluded from the above description and the drawings,
It becomes a one-way type ear microphone only for transmission.

As described above, in the ear microphone according to the present invention, since the ear canal, which is the place to be worn, varies depending on the individual wearer, a configuration corresponding to such individual variation, for example, the configuration described below is added. Of course, it is also good.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the opening 6 of the sound guide hole 6 is formed.
By expanding A, it is possible to prevent the opening 6A of the sound guide hole 6 from being blocked due to bending deformation of the ear canal insert 9 due to insertion into the ear canal or individual differences in the ear canal or the like.

Further, a pad member (shown by reference numeral 4A in FIG. 3) which comes into contact with the concha chamber 13 having a plurality of shapes depending on individual differences is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the earpiece base body 4, or By using a pad member that comes into contact with the concha chamber 13 that is detachably attached, the attachment can be performed more reliably.

As another configuration, a portion adjacent to the sound guide hole 6, for example, between the tip portion of the vibration pickup type microphone 2 and the portion near the opening 6A of the microphone housing hole 5 in the embodiment shown in FIG. When the gap 5A is provided in the portion, the earwax that has entered from the opening 6A of the sound guide hole 6 can be collected in the gap 5A, so that the sound guide hole 6 can be prevented from being blocked.

[0024]

According to the present invention, the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone can be positioned in the concave portion, which is the portion of the ear canal where bone vibration is most easily transmitted, during transmission, so that the sensitivity in the entire region is good. In addition, it has the effect that it is possible to transmit with more natural sound quality.

Further, in the reception of voice, since the sound guide hole is straight from the earphone toward the opening in the same cross section, the received sound is transmitted through the sound guide hole to the opening. Since the attenuation can be prevented, there is an effect that it is possible to receive a voice with high sound quality.

Further, when the ear microphone of the present invention is inserted into the ear canal at a proper position, the constricted portion of the ear canal contact member comes into contact with the protruding wall portion in the ear canal, and the bulged portion on the side beyond the constricted portion protrudes. Since the ear microphone is prevented from coming off from the ear canal by being attached in a state of being caught behind the wall portion, there is an additional effect that the ear microphone has extremely high attachment stability without misalignment or dropping. Furthermore, the ear canal insert can be made versatile by preparing two or more sizes having different outer diameters.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ear microphone according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an ear canal and a schematic diagram showing a state in which the ear microphone of FIG. 1 is attached to the ear canal.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing transmission sensitivity.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing reception sensitivity.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the ear canal insert.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ear microphone.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ear Microphone 2 Vibration Pickup Type Microphone 3 Earphone 4 Earpiece Base 5 Microphone Receiving Hole 6 Sound Guide Hole 6A Opening 7 Constriction 8 Enlarged Area 9 External Ear Canal Insert 10 Code 11 External Ear Canal 12 Ear Trabecular Space 13 Ear Cavity 14 Projecting Wall Part 15 eardrum 16 curved wall part 17 recess

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ear microphone in which an ear canal base having a vibrating pickup microphone built therein and fixed thereto is detachably coupled with an ear canal insert body having a microphone accommodating hole therein and having a constricted portion on an upper surface of an outer middle. Wherein the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone is extended to an enlarged portion of the ear canal insert that is further forward than the constricted portion, and the lower surface and the side surface of the vibration pickup type microphone are in contact with the inner surface of the microphone housing hole. Ear microphone to do. 2. An ear canal insert body having a microphone accommodating hole and a sound guiding hole therein and having a constricted portion on the upper surface of the outer middle is detachably coupled to an earpiece base body in which a vibration pickup type microphone and an earphone are incorporated and fixed. In the ear mic formed by, the tip of the vibration pickup type microphone is
The sound guide hole extends from the earphone to the opening between the upper surface of the vibration pickup microphone and the ceiling surface of the microphone housing hole. The ear mic is characterized by a straight hole with the same cross section. 3. The ear microphone according to claim 2, wherein the opening of the sound guide hole is widened.