JPH0832267B2 - Artificial voice generator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an artificial voice generator.

The artificial voice generator is a person who loses his or her larynx due to laryngeal cancer or other diseases and loses the ability to vocalize. In order to enable a conversation, a person who has lost the voicing function refers to a voice generating device that is used to generate a sound instead of a voice.

(Prior Art) Conventional artificial voice generators are roughly classified into two types, an electric type and an expiratory type using exhalation.

In the former, the person who lost the vocalization function (hereinafter referred to as the user) applies the vibrating part to the lower jaw near the larynx from outside the body, actuates the switch of the electric sound generator, and the same as when the user performed normally. By moving the mouth or tongue to speak, the sound generated from the sound generator resonates in the oral cavity so that a spoken word can be produced in the same manner as in normal health. In the latter exhalation method, as shown in the conceptual side view of the human body in FIG. 2, the trachea 1 of the user cannot reach the oral cavity because the larynx 2 has been removed. The air collecting tray 4 of the artificial voice generator is connected to the hole 3 and the air collecting tray 4 of the artificial voice generator is applied to the tracheal hole 3, and the sound source section installed in the air collecting tray 4 is operated by using the exhaled air exhaled from the tracheal hole 3 to generate the sound. Cause This sound guides the exhaled air into the oral cavity 6 through the rubber tube 5, and causes the original sound generated from the tip portion 7 to be emitted into the oral cavity. At the same time, as in the above, the sound of the mouth and the shape of the mouth are used. By changing the position of the tongue and performing an articulatory motion, a voice similar to that of a healthy person is uttered. The other artificial voice generators are not directly related to the present invention and will not be described.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As for the above-mentioned two types of artificial voice generators, the electric ones should be able to generate a sound much like our own voice by improving the acoustic technology in recent years. However, since the number of users is small in the whole country, it is not possible to invest much research and development costs, and the user must operate the artificial voice generator at the same time as moving his mouth. In addition to the fact that many people who use artificial voice generators are generally elderly, it is extremely difficult to adjust the timing.

Also, as shown in FIG. 2, a user who connects the trachea 1 to the tracheal hole 3 directly outside the body does not guide the exhaled air to the oral cavity by the rubber tube unlike the figure in the electric type. Therefore, it is uttered without being exhaled from the oral cavity, and it is difficult to produce a sound such as a plosive sound or a fricative sound generated by the circulation of air.

For these reasons, the latter exhalation type utilizing pulmonary exhalation is inexpensive, and as with the conventional life of the user, it suffices to move the mouth at the same time as exhalation and does not require much practice. , Widely used.

However, in the conventional pneumatic artificial voice generator, as shown in FIG. 3 which is a perspective view of the vicinity of the sound source tube 8 which is the center of the acoustic voice generator, a rubber film 10 is provided in the ventilation port 9 of the sound source tube 8 and the breath is distributed. Direction, that is, perpendicular to the axial direction of the sound source tube 8.

It is thought that this was inspired by the fact that our natural vocal cords are located exactly in the larynx, perpendicular to the direction of exhalation circulation. Not only does it interfere with exhalation, but the vibrating membrane is made of rubber, so the original vocal cord substitute is 90Hz.
To 110 Hz. In this way, the original sound is very low, and the intelligibility of the spoken language is low, resulting in a very dismal speech. As a result, it is difficult for the interlocutor to hear the word, and it is often repeated. At the same time, it causes the user to be more or less depressed, dislikes being in public, and sometimes disappointed in life.

In addition, since the rubber film is used for the sound source part, it is easily damaged, and the rubber film is inevitably changed with time.Because it is exposed to exhaled breath and saliva that have almost saturated water vapor, it deteriorates more severely and is always rubber. There were drawbacks such as the need to replace the membrane part.

(Means and Actions for Solving Problems) The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks related to the breath-type artificial voice generator, and develops an artificial voice generator that does not prevent expiration and produces a voice close to a real voice. Unlike humans, the inventor, unlike humans, emits a sound very similar to that of a human voice, even though it is composed of the tympanic membrane and the syrinx muscle that are parallel to the direction of exhalation in the vicinity of the bronchi. It was developed with the hint of the fact that The diaphragm constituting the sound source section of the artificial voice generator is installed so as to be inclined with respect to the circulation direction of the exhalation, so that the sound source section does not interfere with the exhalation. In addition, since a thin diaphragm with high elasticity can be used as the diaphragm, it has a number of advantages that it can produce a sound quality that is close to the real voice of a healthy person, and that it can articulate spoken words with high clarity with extremely light exhalation. This led to the development of an artificial voice generator.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away side view of an artificial voice generator according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. Is obliquely formed with respect to the axial direction of the sound source tube 8 which is the direction of circulation of the exhaled air, and the diaphragm 11 is arranged obliquely in the same manner as the cut end with a slight distance to the vent hole, and the root portion thereof is the sound source tube. Notch 12 made in 8
Install by plugging in.

Since the sound source tube 8 is surrounded by the air collecting tray 4,
Is applied to the trachea 3 of the user to discharge the lung exhaled air, whereby the diaphragm 11 of the vent hole 9 is exhaled by the exhaled air.
The sound is emitted by being pressed against the slanted cut edge, and by causing a temporary stop of the air flow and elasticity of the diaphragm to cause complicated and delicate vibration.

A rubber tube 5 is connected to the sound source tube 8 or the root portion 13 of the air collection tray 4, and the sound and the user's exhalation are guided into the user's oral cavity 6 by the rubber tube 5, and here the exhalation and the The sound generated by the sound source tube 8 comes out from the tip portion 7 into the oral cavity 6, and a sound close to the sound of a healthy person is emitted by the resonance effect according to the movement of the user's mouth and the position of the tongue.

The present invention has the configuration and operation as described above, and a thin metal plate having high elasticity can be used as the diaphragm. As can be imagined from the drawings, the diaphragm of the embodiment is a metal foil having a shape including an elliptical vibrating portion, a bent portion that is slightly narrower than that, and an inserting portion having a similar width. Although it seems to be suitable for implementing the present invention, it is also possible to devise other shapes.

As the material of the vibration plate, the thickness of the above embodiment is 0.05
Although a phosphor bronze foil having a thickness of about mm was used and the result showed extremely good results as described later, other similar foils of titanium alloy may be used.

It is understood that such a diaphragm makes a hinge motion due to the flow of exhaled air as described above, and at the same time, the foil itself vibrates at a higher frequency, which is different from this, and therefore a wide range of frequencies as described below. That is, the voices containing are simultaneously generated.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an example in which a thin bypass 14 is provided along the cut edge of the diaphragm of the opening of the sound source tube 8 and a thin bypass 14 'is also provided on the side of the sound source tube 8 is introduced. By providing such a bypass, it is possible to talk with more natural exhalation,
Further, it is possible to reduce an accident in which the diaphragm is stuck to the opening. Further, if the bypass is opened / closed or adjusted by an opening / closing device (not shown), it will be more useful to operate at an expiratory volume more suited to each user.

Further, in the embodiment shown in the figure, the root portion 13 of the sound source for mounting the rubber tube 5 is constructed integrally with the air collecting tray 4, and the sound source tube 8 is fitted in the center of the air collecting tray. Then, an example in which only the portion of the sound source tube 8 can be easily replaced when the vibration of the diaphragm becomes poor due to saliva or damage is introduced.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention is configured such that the diaphragm is inclined with respect to the circulation direction of the exhaled air as described above, the amount of the exhaled air at the time of conversation of a healthy person does not significantly interfere with the exhalation of the user. Since both pressure and pressure are low, and they can be operated lightly, the user only has to move his mouth and tongue while exhaling in the same sense as in normal health, and can be used without much practice. .

Further, since the diaphragm was installed so as to be inclined with respect to the exhaled breath, the metal foil of the above-mentioned material could be used as the diaphragm in the above structure, and the result was very good. The diaphragm makes a very stable hinge movement, and the frequency of the generated sound (substitute vocal cord original sound) is 250 Hz.
It contains a wide range of components from 1 to 6500Hz, and is close to that of a healthy male.

Also, looking at the voice component when a conversation was conducted using the artificial voice generator of the present invention, it was extremely close to that of a healthy person as follows.

That is, in FIG. 4, A is a voice of a male normal person, B is a voice when a throat plucker uses an expiratory artificial voice generator using the conventional rubber membrane, and C is the same as B. Shows the results of voice analysis of voices using the artificial voice generator of the present invention when each voices "Ohayo". The upper part is a waveform, and the lower part is a voiceprint-that is, a graph (audio depiction diagram) showing to what extent voices of what frequency are included. From this, it can be seen that the sound of the artificial voice generator of the present invention resembles that of a healthy person also by the waveform shown in the upper part. A more significant effect is the comparison by the voiceprint shown in the lower part. Especially, the voiceprint of the vowel i has a missing middle and an upside-down-that is, a medium-frequency sound composed of a low-frequency sound and a high-frequency sound. There is no feature, and it has a feature called the second formant (folmant). However, as is clear from the part indicated by the arrow in FIG. Although it was not possible, the characteristic (arrow) of the second formant is extremely clearly shown in the voiceprint of FIG. 7C using the artificial voice generator according to the present invention, which is similar to the voiceprint of the normal person A. It turns out that is obtained.

As can be seen from this, by using the artificial voice generator embodying the present invention, it is possible to produce a voice very close to the natural conversation of a healthy person. Even the listeners have been evaluated that they can clearly hear the content of the conversation, that there is no discomfort due to low temperatures, and that they can be heard well with no noise and a light voice. Also, for the user, it has the effect of producing a relatively high voice as well as the voice of a normal person, and since the voiceprint is almost the same as that of a normal person, listen to the other party accurately. As a result of being able to get it, there is no need to re-listen. Therefore, there is a psychological side effect that motivates to speak without feeling inferior and even brightens the facial expression of the user.

Further, since a phosphor bronze foil or the like is used as the vibration plate, there is little deterioration with time like a conventional rubber film and a change in sound due to water vapor or saliva from exhaled air, and stable operation is achieved. Further, the one using the titanium alloy foil also exhibited an effect close to that of the phosphor bronze foil. Since this is a resilient and highly rigid metal plate, the diaphragm surely makes a hinge motion due to the air flow as described above, and the diaphragm itself vibrates differently at a higher frequency. I think that the.

Both the titanium alloy and the phosphor bronze are rich in elasticity, and have features such as not rusting and being difficult to be deformed. Therefore, the thin foil according to the object of the present invention can be formed into a thin foil. Most suitable as a diaphragm. It can be said that selecting the most suitable material for such a diaphragm is an important element of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of an artificial voice generator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side conceptual view of a human body for explaining the use of an artificial voice generator, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sound source section of a conventional artificial voice generator, and FIG. 4 is a graph of each voice. In the figure, 8 ... sound source tube, 9 ... vent hole, 11 ... diaphragm

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An artificial voice generator having a sound source section in which a diaphragm is installed so as to be oblique to the direction of exhalation flow. 2. The artificial voice generator according to claim 1, wherein a thin plate made of phosphor bronze is used as the diaphragm. 3. The vibrating plate is a thin plate made of titanium or a titanium alloy, and the thin plate is used.
Artificial voice generator.