JPH10117394A - Speaking instrument utilizing bone conduction voice - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress as much as possible the conduction of fine vibrations from an earphone for reception to a piezoelectric element by providing a metallic damping member for absorbing mechanical vibrations, while holding the earphone for reception on a 2nd housing inserted into the antihelix. SOLUTION: An earphone part RE is provided with a 2nd housing 6 inserted into the antihelix and an earphone 8 for reception for discharging voices toward the inside of an ear, while being housed in the 2nd housing 6. A metallic damping member VA is provided for absorbing the mechanical vibrations, while holding the earphone 8 for reception on the 2nd housing 6. Because of this metallic damping member VA, the mechanical vibrations conducted from the earphone 8 for reception are absorbed and attenuated effectively. Therefore, the conduction of fine vibrations from the earphone 8 for reception to the piezoelectric element is suppressed as much as possible. As a result, speaking quality is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a first housing which is inserted into a concha region of a human ear so as to be in contact therewith, and which is housed in the first housing and is attached to the ear. A bone conduction sound pickup unit provided with a piezoelectric element for detecting transmitted bone conduction sound, a second housing inserted into the concha of the concha, and housed in the second housing; An earphone unit provided with a receiving earphone that emits a voice to one side, and a communication device using bone conduction voice, wherein the first housing and the second housing are connected in a forked manner. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a communication device using bone conduction voice converts a bone conduction voice transmitted to a human ear into an electric signal using a piezoelectric element such as a piezoelectric ceramic element, detects the signal, and uses the signal for transmission. In addition, it is a device for making a call with another person by using a receiving earphone for receiving. As a configuration for detecting human voice, it is common to place and detect a microphone such as an electret condenser type at the mouth of a person, but for example, it is used outdoors for use as a transceiver or a mobile phone. In such cases, it is often impossible to accurately detect human voice due to the mixing of external noise. Therefore, the bone conduction sound to the human ear is detected by converting the transmitted vibration into an electric signal using a piezoelectric element, and the sound is detected in a state where it is hardly affected by external noise. . Further, the bone conduction voice pickup section having the piezoelectric element provided in the first housing and the earphone section having the receiving earphone provided in the second housing are connected to each other to integrally form the ear of the ear. The phone can be mounted inside the concha cavity to reduce the size of the communication device. By the way, if the first housing accommodating the piezoelectric element and the second housing accommodating the earphone for reception are connected to each other as described above, mechanical vibration of the earphone for reception based on a reception signal is transmitted to the piezoelectric element and the communication is performed. May be sent back to the other party, and so-called echo or howling may occur. For this reason, the first housing accommodating the piezoelectric element and the second housing accommodating the earphone for reception are configured so as to be connected in a forked manner, so that the minute vibration of the earphone for reception is hardly transmitted to the piezoelectric element.

[0003]

However, even with the above-mentioned conventional configuration, it is possible to suppress the transmission of the micro-vibration of the receiving earphone to the piezoelectric element, but the effect is not always sufficient, and an echo or the like is generated to deteriorate the communication quality. In some cases, improvement was desired. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to minimize transmission of micro-vibration of a receiving earphone to a piezoelectric element.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the earphone for reception is supported by the metal vibration damping member, mechanical vibration of the earphone for reception by the reception signal is achieved. Is transmitted to the metal vibration damping member, and the metal vibration damping member absorbs and attenuates the transmitted mechanical fine vibration. In other words, attention was paid to the fact that the heavier the weight of the support that supports the earphone for receiving, the greater the damping effect of the mechanical micro-vibration, and it was made of metal that can make the weight as heavy as possible. By supporting the earphone for reception on the vibration damping member, the mechanical vibration member transmitted from the earphone for reception can be effectively absorbed and attenuated by the metal vibration damping member. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the transmission of the micro-vibration of the receiving earphone to the piezoelectric element, and as a result, it is possible to improve the communication quality.

According to the characteristic structure of the second aspect, the vibration damping member is configured to function as the second housing, and the vibration damping member is also used as the second housing. Compared to the case where the vibration damping member is provided separately from the housing, the volume of the vibration damping member can be increased as much as possible, and the weight can be increased as much as possible. Therefore, compared to a case where the vibration damping member is provided separately from the second housing,
The effect of attenuating the mechanical micro-vibration transmitted from the receiving earphone is further increased, and the transmission of the micro-vibration of the receiving earphone to the piezoelectric element can be further suppressed.

Further, since the vibration damping member is also used as the second housing, the number of parts can be reduced. In addition, since the damping members forming the first housing and the second housing are configured to be connected in a bifurcated manner via the support member made of resin, the shape of the damping member can be simplified. Therefore, even if the damping member is made of metal, the processing is simplified. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both an improvement in call quality and a reduction in cost.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the mechanical fine vibration of the vibration damping member is transmitted from the damping member to the support member sequentially. Effectively absorbs and attenuates the mechanical micro-vibration transmitted from the device, thus further suppressing the transmission of mechanical micro-vibration to the support member as compared to a case where the vibration damping member is directly supported by the support member. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the transmission of the micro-vibration of the receiving earphone to the piezoelectric element, and it is possible to further improve the communication quality.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device using bone conduction voice, the main body inserted into the concha of the concha and the pinching member are used to form an edge of the concha of the concha. It is mounted with the part held. In other words, at the edge of the concha area of the ear, there is an extended portion such as an tragus, an antitragus, or a connection portion thereof. Can be pinched. In addition, since the contact pressure between the main body and the concha cavity increases, the performance of detecting the bone conduction sound by the piezoelectric element is improved. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately maintain the earphones while wearing them, and also to improve the speech quality by improving the performance of detecting the bone conduction voice.

According to the characteristic configuration of the fifth aspect, when the main body is inserted into the concha of the concha of ear, the center of gravity of the earphone is located at a point higher than the support point at which the holding member is supported by the main body. Also, since the earphone portion is located on the inner side of the concha cavity, the load of the earphone portion acts on the bottom of the concha cavity. Thereby,
The contact pressure between the main body and the concha region also increases. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the performance of maintaining the device with respect to the ear, and further improve the performance of detecting the bone-conducted voice, thereby further improving the communication quality.

According to the characteristic configuration of the sixth aspect, in a state where the main body is inserted into the concha of the concha of ear, the center of gravity of the main body is shifted from the supporting point at which the holding member is supported by the main body. Since the body is also located inside the concha cavity, the load on the main body acts on the bottom of the concha cavity. Therefore, the above claim 5
As described above, the performance of keeping the ear on the ear can be further improved, and the performance of detecting the bone-conducted voice can be further improved to further improve the communication quality, as compared with the configuration described in (1).

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the communication device using the bone conduction voice converts a voice signal of a communication partner to a bone conduction voice pickup unit SE for detecting a bone conduction voice transmitted to a human ear and a voice of the other party. The main body ME, which is configured so that the earphone part RE for sending out to the inner side of the ear is bifurcated, and protrudes downward in the posture of being attached to the ear to form a concha cavity between the main body ME. And a pipe portion PE for passing electric wiring.

The bone conduction sound pickup section SE has a first housing 1 inserted into and in contact with the concha of the human ear as described later, and is housed in the first housing 1. In addition, a piezoelectric ceramic element 12 as a piezoelectric element for detecting a bone conduction sound transmitted to the ear is provided. The earphone unit RE includes a second housing 6 inserted into the concha cavity, and a receiving earphone 8 housed in the second housing 6 and emitting sound toward the ear. ing. And the first housing 1,
The second housing 6 is configured to be bifurcated.

A receiving earphone 8 is supported by the second housing 6, and a metal vibration damping member VA for absorbing mechanical vibration.
Is provided. The damping member VA is configured to function as the second housing 6, and the damping member VA is also used for the second housing 6. Then, the vibration damping members VA forming the first housing 1 and the second housing 6 are configured to be connected in a bifurcated manner via the support member 2 made of resin, and furthermore, the vibration damping members VA forming the second housing 6 are formed. The vibration member VA is supported by the support member 2 via the damping member 3 made of a viscoelastic body.

Next, the bone conduction audio pickup section SE will be described. The first housing 1 of the bone conduction audio pickup unit SE has a large-diameter portion 1a on the distal end side that comes into contact with the concha region Y as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIG. A small-diameter portion 1b connected to the outer side of the large-diameter portion 1a in the ear-mounted state,
The surface of the large diameter portion 1a that abuts against the bottom surface B of the concha cavity Y is formed as a convex curved surface on the bottom surface B side of the concha cavity Y when viewed in a direction along the external auditory canal 53. Circumcisal cavity
Is increased in contact area with the bottom surface B. The first housing 1 is connected to the support member 2 at the proximal end of the small diameter portion 1b, and the holding member CE protrudes from near the proximal end. The first housing 1 is formed of a material that easily retains humidity, and is polished to a mirror-like surface to improve adhesion to the skin. In addition, as a material that easily retains humidity, a polyamide resin, an ABS resin, or the like can be used. In particular, an ABS resin is preferable because it has good moldability and is inexpensive.

In the large diameter portion 1a of the first housing 1, a piezoelectric element 12 supports one end in a longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. The substrate 10 on which the field-effect transistor 13 is mounted is housed in the small-diameter portion 1b as shown in FIG. The circuit of the substrate 10 and the piezoelectric element 12 are electrically wired by a cable 16.
Specifically, the piezoelectric element 12 uses a bimorph-type piezoelectric ceramic element in which two piezoelectric elements are bonded to each other with a metal plate serving as an electrode interposed therebetween. It is assumed that weak bone-conducted sounds can be accurately detected. The piezoelectric element 12 is entirely covered by a shield case 15 to improve the S / N ratio, and the shield case 15 is protected by the first housing 1. The support of the piezoelectric element 12 in the shield case 15 and the fixing of the shield case 15 in the first housing 1 have sufficiently high coupling hardness, and reduce vibration transmission loss as much as possible.

The holding member CE is formed of a material such as rubber or vinyl chloride having a hardness of 50 to 80 degrees and has elasticity, so that the edge of the concha region Y can be held more reliably. . At the lower end of the holding member CE, a weight mounting portion WS for mounting the weight WT is formed. This weight WT is
Bone conduction voice pickup SE and bottom surface B of concha cavity Y
It is used to reinforce the contact force with the WT, and need not be used when the required contact force is secured without the weight WT. The weight mounting portion WS is specifically formed of a small-diameter through hole formed at the lower end of the holding member CE, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. ,
The weight WT is suspended by passing a thread through the through hole. Due to the load of the weight WT, the contact pressure between the bone conduction voice pickup SE and the bottom surface B of the concha cavity Y increases, and the bone conduction voice is transmitted to the piezoelectric element 12 efficiently. In addition, various shapes of the weight WT can be used, and the weight WT can be appropriately replaced according to the user's preference and used for improving fashionability.

Next, the earphone section RE will be described with reference to FIGS. The earphone part RE is formed of metal in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a receiving earphone 8 is attached to and supported by one opening end of the vibration damping member VA that also functions as the second housing 6. Protector 4 for protecting earphone 8 for receiving
Is attached to the vibration damping member VA in a state of covering the front surface of the vibration damping member VA. The other opening end of the damping member VA is attached to the support member 2 via the damping member 3, so that the damping member VA is supported by the support member 2 via the damping member 3.

The damping member VA is made of brass or the like so that its weight can be made as heavy as possible to absorb and attenuate the mechanical minute vibration transmitted from the earphone 8 for receiving as much as possible. Is formed of a metal having a relatively large specific gravity.
Further, the damping member 3 is formed of a viscoelastic body based on a plastic material so that the mechanical fine vibration transmitted from the vibration damping member VA can be absorbed and attenuated as much as possible. .

A wire insertion hole 3a is formed in the attenuation member 3 so as to communicate with the opening of the second housing 6, and one end of the support member 2 communicates with the wire insertion hole 3a of the attenuation member 3. A wire insertion passage 2a is formed in a state where the end communicates with a wire insertion passage (not shown) of the pipe portion PE, and a wire 9 from a communication device (not shown) is connected to the wire insertion passage 2a of the support member 2, Wiring insertion hole 3a of damping member 3 and damping member V
A is connected to the earphone 8 for receiving through the inside of the tube of A.

In the earphone section RE, the sound output direction of the receiving earphone 8 is directed to the opening of the external auditory canal 53 in the state of being inserted into the ear, and converts the transmitted electric signal into a sound signal. And outputs it to the external auditory meatus 53.

When the communication device having the above-mentioned configuration is worn on the ear, the communication device is worn on the concha region Y of the human ear, which is hatched in FIG. In a state where the main body ME is inserted into the concha cavity Y, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bone conduction sound pickup unit SE contacts the bottom surface B of the concha cavity Y,
With the earphone 8 facing the opening of the ear canal 53, the earphone RE is inserted into the concha cavity Y,
The edge of the concha region Y is held between the bone conduction sound pickup unit SE and the holding member CE. The bottom surface B of the concha cavity Y to which the bone conduction voice pickup unit SE contacts is the concha cavity Y
It is the position closest to the vocal cords and suitable for capturing vibrations generated in the vocal cords accurately.

As shown in FIG. 6, the edge of the concha region Y sandwiched between the bone conduction sound pickup unit SE and the sandwiching member CE is a connecting portion between the tragus 50 and the tragus 51,
As shown in FIG. 7, since the extended portion 52 is present, the large-diameter portion 1a and the small-diameter portion 1b of the bone conduction audio pickup unit SE and the sandwiching member CE sandwich the extended portion 52.

When the main body ME is inserted into the concha region Y, the center of gravity of the earphone RE is set at the support point X where the holding member CE is supported by the main body ME (see FIG. 7). And the center of gravity of the main body ME is positioned further inward of the concha cavity Y than the support point X. Therefore, the load of the main body ME acts in the direction of the bottom B of the concha cavity Y.

Therefore, in this position, the main body ME
Is partially covered with the tragus 50 and the tragus 51, and the bone conduction audio pickup SE uses this tragus 5
0 and the tragus 51, the load of the main body ME acting in the direction of the bottom B of the concha cavity Y, the pinching force between the pinching member CE, and the load of the weight WT, so that the pinna can be accurately detected. Cavity Y
Is maintained in contact with the bottom surface B. The contact force between the bone conduction audio pickup unit SE and the bottom surface of the concha region Y needs to be large enough to eliminate the influence of skin irregularities and skin hair, which are factors inhibiting contact. However, if it is too large, it may cause discomfort to the user, so it is set to be between 2 grams and 20 grams.

As shown in FIG. 5, the circuit configuration of this communication device is such that the output voltage of the piezoelectric ceramic element 12 is converted and amplified by the field effect transistor 13 before being output. One line is used as a common line for the signal transmission cable 7 and the reception signal transmission cable 9. The transmission signal transmission cable 7 and the reception signal transmission cable 9 pass through the pipe part PE,
The plug 14 connects to a communication device such as a mobile phone or a transceiver.

When the user has a conversation in a state where the communication device having the above structure is worn on the ear as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, vibration of the vocal cords due to the conversation is transmitted to the ear by bone conduction.
The piezoelectric element 12 is vibrated via the first housing 1 and the shield case 15 of the bone conduction audio pickup unit SE. As a result, the bone conduction voice is converted into an electric signal, and the electric signal is transmitted to the other party of the conversation via the transmission signal transmission cable 7 and a communication device (not shown). On the other hand, the conversation made by the other party is converted into a sound by the earphone 8 via the communication device (not shown) and the reception signal transmission cable 9, reaches the eardrum from the external auditory canal 53, and the influence of external noise between the two. Conversation in reduced state can be performed.

[Other Embodiments] Other embodiments will be listed below. In the above embodiment, the case where the damping member VA is configured to function as the second housing 6 and the damping member VA is shared with the second housing 6 has been described.
Instead of this, the damping member VA may be configured separately from the second housing 6, for example, provided inside the second housing 6.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the vibration damping member VA forming the second housing 6 is supported by the support member 2 via the damping member 3 made of a viscoelastic body. On the other hand, if the mechanical micro-vibration transmitted from the receiving earphone 8 can be sufficiently attenuated by the vibration-suppressing member VA alone, the damping member 3 is omitted. And the damping member VA is
You may be comprised so that it may be directly supported.

The metal material for forming the damping member VA is not limited to the brass exemplified in the above embodiment, and various metal materials can be applied. The application is preferable in terms of attenuating mechanical fine vibration.

In the above embodiment, the holding member CE is formed of a material such as rubber material or vinyl chloride, and is configured to have elasticity itself. However, the holding member CE is provided with a biasing means such as a spring. It is good also as a structure which gives CE elasticity.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the attached drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a communication device using a bone-conducted voice in a side view.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a communication device using a bone conduction voice.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the communication device using bone conduction voice as viewed from the front.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a bone conduction voice pickup unit of the communication device using the bone conduction voice.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a communication device using a bone conduction voice.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a wearing state of a communication device using bone conduction voice.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a wearing state of a communication device using a bone conduction voice.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of an ear part.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st housing 2 Support member 3 Attenuation member 6 2nd housing 8 Earphone for earpiece 12 Piezoelectric element CE Nipping member ME Main body RE Earphone SE SE Bone conduction sound pickup VA Va damping member

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first housing (1) inserted into and in contact with a concha region of a human ear,
A bone conduction sound pickup unit (SE) housed in the housing (1) and provided with a piezoelectric element (12) for detecting bone conduction sound transmitted to the ear, and inserted into the concha cavity Second housing (6) to be used
And an earphone unit (RE) housed in the second housing (6) and provided with a receiving earphone (8) for emitting sound to the inside of the ear unit. (1) A communication device using bone conduction voice, wherein the second housing (6) is connected in a bifurcated manner, wherein the earphone (8) is provided in the second housing (6). A communication device using a bone conduction voice, which is provided with a metal vibration damping member (VA) that supports the vibration and absorbs mechanical vibration. 2. The vibration damping member (VA) is configured to function as the second housing (6), and the vibration damping member (VA) is also used for the second housing (6). The said vibration-damping member (VA) which forms 1 housing (1) and the said 2nd housing (6) is comprised in the state which continued in a forked shape via the support member (2) made of resin. The communication device using bone conduction voice according to 1. 3. The vibration damping member (VA) forming the second housing (6) is supported by the support member (2) via a damping member (3) made of a viscoelastic body. Item 2. A communication device using bone conduction voice according to Item 2. 4. An edge of the concha region between the first housing (1) and the main body (ME) formed in a state where the second housing (6) is connected in a forked manner. The communication device using a bone conduction voice according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a holding member (CE) for holding the bone. 5. When the main body (ME) is inserted into the concha of the concha, the center of gravity of the earphone (RE) is adjusted by the holding member (CE) to the main body (ME). The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the communication device is configured to be located on an inner side of the concha region with respect to a supported point. 6. When the main body (ME) is inserted into the concha of the auricle, the center of gravity of the main body (ME) is adjusted so that the holding member (CE) is connected to the main body (ME). The communication device using bone conduction voice according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the communication device is configured to be located on an inner side of the concha region with respect to a supported point.