JPH08307998A - Hearing aid device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate arrangement so as to permit even a audibly handicapped person to cleary hear a guide broadcasting, etc., in a public place by emitting an infrared-ray signal with a voice signal by means of a transmitter and receiving the signal by means of a receiver having a hearing aid characteristic. CONSTITUTION: The transmitter 1 emits the voice signal such as the guide broadcasting and background music, etc., from a light emitting part 5 with a sub-carrier wave oscillating/modulating circuit 4 to a hearing area as the infrared-ray signal S. In this case, the light emitting part 5 is arranged on the wall surface of a public institution, etc., from where the hearing area can be looked over in order to form the required hearing area. When the audibly handicapped person with the receiver 2 comes in the hearing area, the person hard of hearing hears the voice signal obtained by detecting the infrared-ray signal S emitted from the light emitting part 5 by a light receiving part 22 together with sound which is captured by a microphone 20 incorporated in the receiver 2 so as to demodulate them by a demodulating circuit 23. At this time, the hearing aid processing circuit 18 of the receiver 2 is adjusted so as to suit the hearing level of the person himself.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hearing aid which utilizes infrared rays between a transmitter and a receiver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when hearing aid hearing aids are heard in public places such as hospitals and banks, hearing aid wearers can hear the noise of the surrounding voices and the reverberant sound of the guide broadcasts themselves in addition to the sound of the assisting broadcast. You may not be able to hear the necessary guidance information by entering your ears through a hearing aid.

In order to eliminate such inconvenience, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-9657, a loop coil for radiating a magnetic wave signal corresponding to a voice or the like is laid on the floor or the like, and the loop is formed. It is known that a hearing aid has a built-in pickup coil that detects the magnetic wave signal radiated from the coil, and the function of detecting the magnetic wave signal with the pickup coil and converting it into an electrical signal is provided in addition to the function as a normal hearing aid. ing. The switching between the mode used as a normal hearing aid and the mode for receiving a magnetic wave signal is performed by a changeover switch provided in the hearing aid.

[0004]

In the prior art, the loop coil must be laid on the floor or the like, and it is preferable to form a groove for embedding in the floor or the like and embed the loop coil therein. Has been done. Therefore, there is a problem in that, when the loop coil is embedded in the construction of a building or the like, for example, when the loop coil is laid on an existing concrete floor or the like, the cost is high. Further, when the loop coil is simply stretched around the floor, it may be possible to cover it with a rubber sheet to protect the loop coil, but there is a problem in durability.

Further, if a loop coil is laid near an electric equipment such as a wire carrying a large current or a motor generating electromagnetic noise, it is easily affected by a disturbing magnetic wave, and the pickup coil detects an unnecessary magnetic wave by electromagnetic induction. And S
There was a problem that the N ratio was lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. The object of the present invention is that the installation is easy and the public noise is not affected by electromagnetic noise. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid device that enables a hearing-impaired person to clearly hear a guide broadcast or the like at a place.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a transmitter for converting a voice signal into an infrared signal via an electric signal, and an electric device which receives the infrared signal and the voice signal and receives a hearing aid. An input unit, which is composed of a receiver for converting a signal into an audio signal, outputs the audio signal as an electric signal from the transmitter, and a subcarrier oscillation / modulation circuit for brightness-modulating infrared rays after frequency-modulating the output signal of the input unit And an infrared input unit that outputs a signal when the intensity of the infrared signal is equal to or higher than a predetermined level by receiving the infrared signal by the receiver. An audio input unit for converting an audio signal into an electric signal and outputting the electric signal; a mixing circuit for mixing the output signal of the audio input unit and the output signal of the infrared input unit; and the mixing circuit. A hearing aid processing circuitry for hearing aid processing an output signal of the road, which is constituted from an earphone for converting the output signal of the hearing aid processing circuitry to the audio signal.

The infrared input section includes a light receiving section for converting the infrared signal into an electric signal, a demodulation circuit for demodulating an output signal of the light receiving section to extract an audio signal, and an output signal level of the light receiving section. A subcarrier detection circuit that outputs a DC voltage corresponding to the subcarrier detection circuit and the output signal of the subcarrier detection circuit and the demodulation circuit, and the output of the demodulation circuit only when the output voltage of the subcarrier detection circuit is a predetermined value or more. It consists of a squelch circuit that outputs signals.

A part of the functions of the hearing aid processing circuit provided in the receiver may be incorporated in the transmitter as a signal processing circuit.

The receiver may be provided with changeover switch means to switch the mode between the mixing mode, the receiver only mode and the microphone input only mode.

[0011]

The input section of the transmitter outputs a voice signal as an electric signal, the electric signal causes the sub-carrier oscillation / modulation circuit to frequency-modulate the sub-carrier, and the frequency-modulated sub-carrier signal causes the infrared rays to be brightness-modulated. It The intensity-modulated infrared signal is emitted from the light emitting unit. Then, when the infrared input section receives the infrared signal, it outputs the signal when the intensity of the infrared signal is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and does not output the signal otherwise. Then, the audio signal directly input to the audio input section of the receiver and converted to an electric signal and the output signal of the infrared input section are mixed by the mixing circuit, then hearing aid processed by the hearing aid processing circuit, and converted to an audio signal by the earphone. It

In the infrared input section, when the light receiving section receives the infrared signal, the demodulation circuit extracts the audio signal and the subcarrier detecting circuit outputs a DC voltage corresponding to the output signal level of the light receiving section. . Further, the squelch circuit inputs the output signals of the subcarrier detection circuit and the demodulation circuit, and outputs the output signal of the demodulation circuit as it is only when the output voltage of the subcarrier detection circuit is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and otherwise. No signal is output.

By incorporating a part of the function of the hearing aid processing circuit provided in the receiver into the transmitter as a signal processing circuit, the configuration of the hearing aid processing circuit of the receiver is simplified.

If the receiver is provided with changeover switch means, any one of the mixing mode, the receiver-only mode and the microphone input-only mode can be set.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hearing aid device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light emitting portion, FIG. 3 is a light receiving circuit and its characteristic diagram, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a receiver, and FIG. 5 is a signal processing circuit. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a transmitter provided with, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiver provided with changeover switch means.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hearing aid device according to the invention comprises a transmitter 1 which emits an infrared signal S containing acoustic information.
And a receiver 2 for converting the infrared signal S radiated by the transmitter 1 and an audio signal into an audio signal of a predetermined level by mixing processing or the like. The transmitter 1 is installed on the public facility side, and the receiver 2 is worn by a hearing-impaired person.

The transmitter 1 frequency-modulates a subcarrier with an input section 3 to which acoustic information is input and an output signal (voice signal) from the input section 3, and infrared-luminance-modulates the infrared with the frequency-modulated subcarrier signal. The sub-carrier oscillating / modulating circuit 4 and the light emitting section 5 that emits the brightness-modulated infrared signal S.

The input section 3 includes a microphone 6 for converting a voice signal into an electric signal, an amplifier 7 for amplifying an output signal of the microphone 6, and a line input terminal 8 for directly inputting the voice signal converted into the electric signal. A switch 9 for selecting either the microphone 6 or the line input terminal 8 as an input signal source is provided.

The microphone 6 is for taking in the voice of the speaker, and the line input terminal 8 is connected to the output terminal of an audio device such as a tape recorder and is for taking in daily guide broadcasts and background music. It is a thing. A mixing circuit may be used instead of the switch 9.

The electric signal input to the light emitting section 5 is frequency-modulated by the subcarrier oscillation / modulation circuit 4 as described above, and infrared rays are brightness-modulated by the frequency-modulated signal. This system is a dual modulation system in which infrared light is brightness-modulated by a frequency modulation signal. That is, the subcarrier is frequency-modulated by the audio signal, and the infrared ray is brightness-modulated by the frequency-modulated subcarrier signal. The brightness-modulated infrared signal S is emitted by the light emitting unit 5 to a listening area in a space for providing acoustic information to a hearing-impaired person wearing the receiver 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting section 5 is constructed by disposing a large number of infrared light emitting diodes 11 on each side surface of a body 10 formed in a polygonal prism shape. Then, the infrared signal S having a high intensity is uniformly emitted to the listening area required for public facilities.

As shown in FIG. 1, the receiver 2 has a voice input section 15 to which voice is directly input, an infrared input section 16 to input an infrared signal S emitted from the light emitting section 5, and a voice input section 15. And a mixing circuit 17 for mixing the output signal of the infrared input section 16, a hearing aid processing circuit 18 for hearing aid processing of the mixed signal, and an earphone 19 for converting the hearing aid processed signal into voice. With such a configuration, when the infrared signal S is not input to the receiver 2, that is, when the hearing-impaired person wearing the receiver 2 is outside the listening area, it functions as a normal hearing aid.

The voice input section 15 comprises a microphone 20 for converting a voice signal into an electric signal and an amplifier 21 for amplifying an output signal of the microphone 20. Here, the microphone 20 is substantially the same as the microphone of a normal hearing aid.

The infrared input section 16 receives the output signal of the light receiving section 22 formed of an infrared photodiode for detecting the infrared signal S emitted from the light emitting section 5, and the voice signal input from the input section 3 in response to the output signal of the light receiving section 22. A demodulation circuit 23 that extracts and outputs only an electrical signal, a subcarrier detection circuit 24 that receives an output signal of the light receiving unit 22 and outputs a DC signal corresponding to the intensity of the infrared signal S, a demodulation circuit 23, and a subcarrier detection The squelch circuit 25 receives the output of the circuit 24.

In the light receiving circuit for converting the infrared signal S constituting the light receiving section 22 into an electric signal, as shown in FIG. 3A, the load resistor RL converts the infrared signal S into an output voltage V as an electric signal, V It is usual to perform conversion as follows: = IpRL. Here, Ip is a current flowing through the infrared photodiode Pd, and Vcc is a power supply voltage. However, when the load resistance RL is large, the output voltage V becomes large, but the output voltage V is saturated quickly due to infrared rays emitted from sunlight, fluorescent lamps, incandescent lamps, or the like. On the other hand, when the load resistance RL is small, the output voltage V becomes small and the SN ratio deteriorates.

Therefore, instead of the load resistance RL consisting of a pure resistance, if a load circuit whose impedance Z becomes large at a specific frequency, for example, an LC parallel resonance circuit as shown in FIG. Among infrared rays which become disturbance, the output drops at frequencies other than a specific frequency (for example, 2.3 MHz) including direct current, and a light receiving circuit that is strong against disturbance noise can be configured. FIG. 3C shows frequency and L
It is a figure which shows the outline of the relationship with the impedance Z of a C parallel resonance circuit.

The squelch circuit 25 is a subcarrier detection circuit 2
When the output voltage of 4 is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the output signal of the demodulation circuit 23 is directly output to the mixing circuit 17, and when the output voltage of the subcarrier detection circuit 24 does not reach the predetermined level, no signal is output.

The mixing circuit 17 mixes the signal output from the audio input unit 15 with the signal based on the output signal of the demodulation circuit 23 output from the squelch circuit 25, and outputs the mixed signal to the hearing aid processing circuit 18.

The hearing aid processing circuit 18 includes a mixing circuit 17
The output signal of the earphone 1
An electric signal is output to 9. This hearing aid process is performed so that the wearer can easily listen to the audio signal required in consideration of the characteristics of the ear of the wearer of the receiver 2 and the environmental noise that the wearer may encounter. Examples of the hearing aid processing include automatic gain control and processing for attenuating low frequency sound in order to block noise components.

As shown in FIG. 4, the external appearance of the receiver 2 configured as described above includes a receiver main body 26 on which various circuits 17, 18, 21, ... The light receiving unit 22 and the earphone 1 connected via 28
It consists of 9. The receiver body 26 is formed in a box shape that can be stored in a chest pocket of the wearer.

Further, the receiver main body 26 is provided with a clip 29 for fixing the receiver main body 26 to the outerwear when it is stored in a chest pocket of the outerwear or the like. Further, the light receiving unit 2
2 is provided with a clip (not shown) on the surface opposite to the light receiving surface 22a on which the photodiode, which is a light receiving element, is arranged. The wearer can attach the light receiving section 22 to the neck of the outer jacket or the like with a clip so that the light receiving surface 22a faces the light emitting section 5.

The operation of the hearing aid configured as described above will be described. The transmitter 1 radiates an audio signal such as a guide broadcast or background music from the light emitting unit 5 to the listening area as an infrared signal S via the subcarrier oscillation / modulation circuit 4. Here, the light emitting unit 5 is installed on a wall surface of a public facility or the like overlooking the listening area so as to form a required listening area.

The reaching distance of the infrared signal S is mainly determined by the output of the light emitting section 5 (the number of the infrared light emitting diodes 11) and the illuminance of the light receiving surface 22a. Therefore, the listening area can be arbitrarily set in consideration of the reaching distance of the infrared signal S, the characteristics of the infrared ray, and the like, so that the infrared signal S can be emitted only to the area requiring acoustic information. .

When a person with a hearing loss wearing the receiver 2 enters the listening area, the person with a hearing loss receives the infrared signal S emitted from the light emitting unit 5 together with the sound captured by the microphone 20 built in the receiver 2. An audio signal detected by the unit 22 and demodulated by the demodulation circuit 23 can also be heard.

Moreover, the hearing aid processing circuit 18 of the receiver 2 is
Since it is adjusted to match the hearing level of the hearing-impaired person, the sound captured by the microphone 20 and the voice signal obtained by demodulating the infrared signal S can be heard under the condition that is most easy to hear.

The squelch circuit 2 provided in the receiver 2
5 and the mixing circuit 17, when the wearer of the receiver 2 goes out of the listening area, only the sound captured by the microphone 20 built in the receiver 2 is automatically heard. That is, it functions as a normal hearing aid. In this case, it switches automatically rather than manually, so
Easy to use.

The test results when the hearing aid device of the present invention is applied to television sound in a waiting room of an otolaryngology hearing aid outpatient department of a university hospital are shown below. As a test method, the light emitting unit 5 is attached to the wall surface of the waiting room so as to form a listening area, and the audio signal of the TV is input to the line input terminal 8 of the transmitter 1.
Input to the earphone 1 of the receiver 2 via the infrared signal S
9 tests whether or not the television sound can be heard well. Those who are subject to the test have an average hearing level of 50d
In the conventional hearing aid, the number of respondents who answered that they could hear well in 15 persons of B or more was 6 persons, whereas in the receiver 2 of the present invention, it was 14 persons, and a remarkable effect was obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the transmitter 1 is provided with a signal processing circuit 30 so that the transmitter 1 side shares some or all of the signal processing functions performed by the hearing aid processing circuit 18 of the receiver 2. You can also

The signal processing circuit 30 is provided between the switch 9 and the subcarrier oscillating / modulating circuit 4, receives the output signal from either the microphone 6 or the line input terminal 8, and performs signal processing performed in a normal hearing aid. I do. Examples of this signal processing include dynamic range compression (auto gain control, etc.), low-frequency emphasis, and high-frequency emphasis.

By adopting such a configuration,
Since the hearing aid processing circuit 18 of the receiver 2 has a simple structure and the power consumption of the receiver 2 is reduced, the life of the battery mounted on the receiver 2 is extended. Furthermore, the weight of the receiver 2 itself can be reduced.

Further, the receiver 2 shown in FIG. 6 is constructed by providing a changeover switch 31 between the voice input section 15 and the hearing aid processing circuit 18 and a changeover switch 32 between the mixing circuit 17 and the hearing aid processing circuit 18. It is a thing. By providing these changeover switches 31 and 32, the microphone 2
The first mode in which the signal from 0 and the signal from the infrared input unit 16 are mixed, the second mode in which only the signal from the microphone 20 is input to the hearing aid processing circuit 18, and the signal from the infrared input unit 16 only in the hearing aid process Any of the third modes input to the circuit 18 can be selected.

To switch to the first mode, the changeover switch 32
Is switched so that the mixing circuit 17 and the hearing aid processing circuit 18 are connected. At this time, the state of the changeover switch 31 is
Either may be used.

To switch to the second mode, the changeover switch 31
Is connected to the voice input unit 15, and the changeover switch 32
Is connected to the changeover switch 31.

To switch to the third mode, the changeover switch 31
Is connected to the infrared input section 16, and the changeover switch 3
2 is connected to the changeover switch 31.

By switching the changeover switches 31 and 32 in this way, the wearer of the receiver 2 can select the optimum mode according to the situation. For example, when listening to a guide broadcast in a public place such as a hospital or a bank where the transmitter 1 is installed, and when the user feels that the external noise is large, if the third mode is selected, the voice or the like of the guide broadcaster is transmitted by infrared rays. It is possible to directly input to the receiver 2 via the signal S and listen to only the voice of the guide broadcaster.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, an infrared signal carrying a voice signal is emitted by a transmitter, and the infrared signal is received by a receiver having a hearing aid characteristic.
A hearing-impaired person wearing a receiver is a voice signal placed on an infrared signal,
For example, it is possible to surely listen to a guide broadcast in a public place or the like without being affected by electromagnetic noise in a state matched to the hearing level of the hearing-impaired person. Further, outside the listening area covered by the infrared signal carrying the audio signal, the receiver functions as a normal hearing aid, which is convenient for the hearing impaired.

Further, by incorporating a part of the function of the hearing aid processing circuit provided in the receiver as a signal processing circuit in the transmitter side, the structure of the hearing aid processing circuit of the receiver is simplified and the power consumption of the receiver is reduced. Since it is reduced, the life of the battery mounted in the receiver is extended, and the weight of the receiver itself can be reduced.

Further, by providing the changeover switch means in the receiver, the receiver wearer selects an optimum mode from the mixing mode, the receiver only mode and the microphone input only mode according to the situation. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a hearing aid device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a light emitting unit.

[Figure 3] Light receiving circuit and its characteristics

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a receiver.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transmitter provided with a signal processing circuit.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiver provided with changeover switch means.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Transmitter, 2 ... Receiver, 3 ... Input unit, 4 ... Subcarrier oscillation / modulation circuit, 5 ... Light emitting unit, 6, 20 ... Microphone,
7, 21 ... Amplifier, 8 ... Line input terminal, 9 ... Switch,
10 ... Body, 11 ... Infrared light emitting diode, 15 ... Audio input part, 16 ... Infrared input part, 17 ... Mixing circuit, 18 ... Hearing aid processing circuit, 19 ... Earphone, 22 ... Light receiving part, 23 ... Demodulation circuit, 24 ... Sub Carrier wave detection circuit, 25 ...
Squelch circuit, 26 ... Receiver body, 30 ... Signal processing circuit, 31, 32 ... Changeover switch, Pd ... Infrared photodiode, S ... Infrared signal.

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Naruzawa 3-20-41 Higashimotomachi, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Lion Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transmitter for converting an audio signal into an infrared signal via an electric signal, and a receiver for inputting the infrared signal and the audio signal to convert an electric signal subjected to hearing aid processing into an audio signal. Input unit that outputs a voice signal as an electric signal, a subcarrier oscillation / modulation circuit that frequency-modulates the output signal of this input unit and then infrared-luminance-modulates, and emits a luminance-modulated infrared signal to an external space. An infrared input unit configured to include a light emitting unit, which outputs the signal when the receiver receives the infrared signal and the intensity of the infrared signal is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and a voice input which converts a voice signal into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. Section, a mixing circuit for mixing the output signal of the voice input section and the output signal of the infrared input section, and a hearing aid processing circuit for hearing aid processing the output signal of the mixing circuit. A hearing aid device comprising: an earphone that converts the output signal of the hearing aid processing circuit into an audio signal. 2. The infrared input section, a light receiving section for converting the infrared signal into an electric signal, a demodulation circuit for demodulating an output signal of the light receiving section to extract an audio signal, and an output signal level of the light receiving section. A subcarrier detection circuit that outputs a DC voltage corresponding to the subcarrier detection circuit and the output signal of the subcarrier detection circuit and the demodulation circuit, and the output of the demodulation circuit only when the output voltage of the subcarrier detection circuit is a predetermined value or more. The hearing aid device according to claim 1, comprising a squelch circuit for outputting a signal. 3. The hearing aid device according to claim 1, wherein a part of the functions of the hearing aid processing circuit provided in the receiver is incorporated in the transmitter as a signal processing circuit. 4. The changeover switch means is provided in the receiver,
The hearing aid device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the mixing mode, the receiver-only mode, and the microphone input-only mode can be switched.