JPH1085250A - Earphone both for air conduction and bone conduction, for wearing in acoustic meatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an earplug type earphone that is suited to both hearing through air conduction achieved by way of the eardrum and hearing through bone conduction achieved by way of the head skeleton and that allows a remarkable degree of hearing even without the eardrum by utilizing the fact that the interior wall of the acoustic meatus has relatively high sensitivity to bone conduction and an excellent sound transmission. SOLUTION: This earphone comprises a portion SP which converts voice signals into voice vibration and a contact P1 which is inserted into the acoustic meatus while receiving the voice vibration caused in the SP and which transmits the vibration to the interior wall of the acoustic meatus. The voice vibration reproduced is transferred partly to the eardrum and partly to sound-sensitive organs through the cartilage forming the wall of the acoustic meatus, so that for those with normal hearing the earphone works the same way as the air conduction type, whereas for the hearing-impaired with a disordered sound transmission system the earphone works as the bone conduction type.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air-conductive and bone-conducting handset.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional handset worn on or in close proximity to the ear canal corresponds to a so-called air-conducting hearing ability in which reproduced sound pressure generated by a diaphragm is transmitted to the eardrum using air in the ear canal as a medium. Most of the structures are called bone-conducted handsets, and the voice vibration generated on the diaphragm is
There is a type corresponding to so-called bone conduction hearing, which is transmitted directly from the vicinity of the mastoid in the rear part of the auricle to the sound-sensing organ through the skeleton, and is used in particular for audio equipment for hearing-impaired persons such as hearing aids. However, while the air-conducting reproduction type handset has good performance for normal ears, the reproduction sound pressure applied to the eardrum tends to be excessively large, and it is difficult for a hearing impaired person with a disorder in the middle ear to hear. Yes, the other bone-conducting handset has a considerable weight from normal ears to conductive hearing loss, but it needs a certain amount of its own weight due to the vibration of the skeleton and must be relatively heavy. In addition to the problem that there is no receiver, it is difficult to obtain stability at the place where the handset is applied, and there are many unstable factors such as a large difference in how to hear depending on the place where the handset is applied and how it is applied. Not at present.

[0003]

However, earphones that have good sound quality and do not damage the eardrum, and earphones that can be heard even if the eardrum is impaired, are always desired in a fairly wide range from the general public to the hearing impaired. Therefore, the development of the information society and the aging society is expected to be almost instantaneous.

[0004]

In a bone conduction type handset, sound vibration is made to reach an internal sound sensor through a subcutaneous skeleton by applying a vibrating surface to a vicinity of a mastoid process in a rear part of an auricle, thereby enabling listening. In particular, the reason for applying the vibrating surface to the mastoid process in the posterior pinna is that a sound sensory organ called the cochlea is built in the inside, so it is thought that the sound vibration can be reached more efficiently than other parts There is nothing other than However, according to an experiment in which a sound vibration was applied to the inner wall of the ear canal entrance in a state where the deep part of the ear canal was sealed almost completely and the eardrum was blocked from external sounds, in this case, at least the mastoid When a sense of volume and clarity equivalent to or higher than the conventional method of applying a vibration surface are obtained, and the vibration direction is X / -X in the left-right direction of the listener and Y / -Y in the front-rear direction, It was found that both the sense of volume and the clarity were maximum when the Z / -Z direction was perpendicular to both directions. By utilizing this phenomenon, an earphone that works for both air conduction hearing and bone conduction hearing, that is, an ear canal wearing / air conduction bone conducting receiver can be obtained. Hereinafter, the experimental method and operation will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0005]

[Operation] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the left and right pinna as viewed from behind. Figure 2 shows the right pinna J1. In FIG.
One end of a round bar EB made of ebonite is inserted into the ear canal E1 of the right pinna J1, and the ear canal is sealed as an earplug. In this state, the incoming sound is blocked by the ebonite bar EB having a relatively high mass and does not reach the eardrum T1. So nothing can be heard. However, at this time, as shown in FIG.
When a speaker having a relatively rigid diaphragm, in this case, the diaphragm of the piezoelectric element SP is brought into contact with one end of the ebonite rod EB, the reproduced sound of the piezoelectric element SP can be heard very well through the ebonite rod EB from this moment. Become. Fifth
The figure was used to check whether the hearing at this time was due to air conduction hearing or bone conduction hearing, and was loaded with a sound blocking material ST sufficiently impregnated with petrolatum immediately before the eardrum. . Also in this case, the reproduced sound of the piezoelectric element SP is easily heard from the moment when the diaphragm is brought into contact with one end of the ebonite bar EB. This means that the sound vibration through the ebonite rod EB directly reaches the sound-sensing organ without passing through the eardrum, and that bone-conducted reproduction is possible without significantly impairing sound quality. FIG. 6 is a view for examining whether or not there is any relationship between the vibration direction and the audibility of the sound vibration applied to the ebonite bar EB. Is Y / -Y, vertical is Z /-
In the case of Z, the audibility of the high-frequency portion of the frequency characteristic was best when the diaphragm was applied from the vertical direction, that is, the Z / -Z direction. This state is shown in FIG.

[0006]

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 8 and 9 show an embodiment. In FIG. 8, the contact P1 is attached to the center of the piezoelectric element SP, and the vibration direction of the contact is the X / -X direction in FIG. A cross-sectional view of the internal structure is shown in FIG. 10 (A), and a front view is shown in FIG. 10 (B). In FIG. 9, the contact P1 is a piezoelectric element SP
The vibration direction of the contact is such that the Z / -Z direction is added to the X / -X direction in FIG.
The internal structure is the 10th except that the mounting position of the contact moves to the upper part.
Same as the figure. FIG. 11 shows an embodiment in which the contact mounting position in FIG. 10 is moved from the center to the periphery, and is the same in principle. In the figure, the speaker of the rigid diaphragm typified by the piezoelectric element SP may be a magnetic type earphone, and the piezoelectric element SP is unnecessary when the contact itself is a vibrating body. As the contactor P1 ebonite bar EB, most materials such as plastics and resins can be used as long as they are lightweight and have appropriate rigidity.

[0007]

The earphones and headphones currently on the market are mostly for air conduction hearing, and those for bone conduction hearing have hardly been marketed. However, with the aging of society, the average hearing of the people has been gradually decreasing, and earphones have been used for many learning materials, etc., so that bone conduction hearing that can be easily used without putting an excessive burden on the eardrum With the urgent development of earphones for, the potential demand at present is expected to be considerable. The present invention has been made in response to this, and has almost the same shape as conventional earplug-type earphones, and although the reproduced sound pressure applied to the eardrum is as small as a fraction of the conventional level, it is usually used for normal hearing. In the case of hearing loss, it works as well as a bone conduction type earphone, and even if the ear canal is obstructed, it can be heard without much difference. In addition, in the case of a hearing-impaired person who listens only with bone-conducted hearing, when the applied vibration direction is the up and down direction, the high-frequency characteristics of the audibility are extended and the clarity is enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an auricle viewed from behind.

[Figure 2] Model cross section of the right pinna

[Fig. 3] Model cross section of right pinna and ear plug

[Fig. 4] Model cross section of right pinna and ear plug

[Fig. 5] Model cross section of right pinna and ear plug

[Fig. 6] Model cross section of right pinna and ear plug

[Fig. 7] Model cross section of right pinna and ear plug

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the right pinna and the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the right pinna and the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view (a) and a front view (b) of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view (a) and a rear view (b) of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 J1 right auricle J2 left auricle B1 auricular bone C1 right ear drum C2 left ear drum E1 right ear canal E2 left ear canal T1 right eardrum T2 left eardrum K1 cochlea EB ebonite stick SP piezoelectric element AS sound signal ST Sound insulation material LS Signal cable GS Weight for braking P1 Contact

Claims (3)

[Claims] An air conduction bone guiding receiver for ear canal wearing, characterized in that it has a structure for mainly applying acoustic vibration to the inner wall of the ear canal. 2. An air conduction bone conduction receiver for ear canal wearing, characterized in that it has a structure for mainly applying acoustic vibration in the vertical direction of the inner wall of the ear canal. 3. The air-conduction bone-conducting handset for external auditory canal according to claim 1, wherein an electromagnetic strain element is used in a portion where the acoustic vibration is generated.