JPS581034Y2 - Vocal aids for people with vocal cord disorders, etc. - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to the improvement of a vocal aid device suitable for assisting the vocalizations of people who are unable to produce a loud voice necessary for conversation, such as those with vocal cord disorders.

In more detail, one of the inventors of this invention previously submitted an application for
This invention relates to an improvement of a speech aid proposed as No. 2897 (Utility Model Application Publication No. 51-143397).

One of the inventors of the present invention is a person who cannot make a loud voice necessary for conversation, that is, a person with a vocal cord disease, a person with an opiate nerve paralysis, or a person who has had a laryngectomy, and who has an artificial voice, such as an electrolarynx or a Tavia whistle. This is a vocal aid that can be worn on a part of the body and allows the user to produce the volume necessary for conversation, for people with esophageal vocalization, people who cannot speak loudly due to old age or serious illness, etc. The system was developed and previously proposed as Utility Application No. 1983-62897.

The structure of the speech aid proposed in the future is that the bone conduction device is fixed to a part of the body through which bone conduction audio signals (vibrations) are transmitted, such as the larynx, forehead, wall of the external auditory canal, and mastoid. It consists of a combination of a bone conduction type microphone and a speaker that amplifies and outputs the audio electrical signal from the bone conduction type microphone.

The inventors of the present invention have continued intensive research in order to put the above-mentioned speech aid into practical use, and have found that a bone conduction type ear microphone with the following features is superior to other bone conduction type microphones. We have confirmed that it is optimal as an audio pickup for auxiliary equipment.

■ Since it can be placed in the ear canal, it is easy to put on and take off.

■ Other bone conduction microphones that are fixed to the larynx or forehead using a fixing band etc. cause significant discomfort and discomfort when using them, but ear microphones do not cause such discomfort. thing.

■ A piezoelectric element is installed in the ear canal to pick up bone conduction sound signals from the wall of the ear canal, making it easy to remove external noise and only picking up bone conduction sound signals associated with vocalization by people with vocal cord disorders. be able to pick up the sound and obtain highly clear audio.

■ Since it is worn in the ear canal like an Iophone, it also has a good appearance.

■ In the case of bone conduction microphones that are installed in the strings of glasses and pick up from the mastoid region, glasses with special strings are expensive and lack versatility, but ear microphones are attached to the external auditory canal. Therefore, it is suitable for low cost mass production and has versatility.

On the other hand, the inventors of the present invention prototyped a bone conduction type ear microphone having the above-mentioned characteristics and conducted various experiments, and as a result, it was found that the microphone had the following drawbacks as a vocal aid.

In other words, as shown in Figure 4, bone conduction ear microphones use a piezoelectric element to pick-amplify bone conduction audio signals from the ear canal wall and convert them into electrical signals, so the frequency of the piezoelectric element has a peak p. Also, in the case of voice aids, the speakers are carried by people with vocal cord disorders who wear ear microphones.
When the output level of the speaker is increased, the peak p of the ear microphone's frequency response is increased due to the influence of crosstalk.
and the speaker output may resonate, causing ringing.

Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to employ a bone conduction ear microphone having the characteristics described in (1) to (3) above as a microphone for picking up the vocalizations of people with vocal cord disorders, and to use it in combination with this ear microphone as a portable speaker. Even if the output level is increased, it is possible to prevent -uling from occurring.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved vocal aid for people with vocal cord disorders.

Hereinafter, details of the present invention that achieves the above objects will be explained based on representative embodiments shown in the drawings.

In each figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bone conduction ear microphone that is attached to the ear canal of a person with a vocal cord disease, etc., and the microphone body 2 (for example, It is made of a metal such as aluminum or a hard plastic material and has a cylindrical shape so that it can be inserted into the external ear.

) has a built-in piezoelectric element 3 that vibrates (accelerated) in response to vibrations of the microphone body 2 and converts bone conduction audio signals (vibration) into electrical signals.

4 is a speaker which amplifies the electrical signal of the microphone 1 and outputs it as amplified sound, and has a peak cut device 5 which cuts or reduces a frequency band including the peak 9 portion of the frequency characteristic of the piezoelectric element 30.

In addition, 6 in the figure is a damper member that supports the piezoelectric element 3;
8 indicates a lead wire, 8 indicates an amplifier, and 9 indicates a battery.

The peak cut device 5 used in the present invention, such as a bypass filter, a bandpass filter, or an equalizer, inputs the output of the piezoelectric element 3 and cuts a frequency band including the peak 9 portion of the frequency characteristic of the piezoelectric element 30. Any signal that can be cut or reduced and used as an input to the speaker 4 may be used.

To explain specifically, the peak p of the frequency characteristic of the piezoelectric element
For example, if it is in 5,500H2 to 6,0OOH2, then 5,0OOH2 to 6.000 including this frequency band
If a filter that cuts the Hz frequency band is used, or if the frequency characteristic of the piezoelectric element 30 is as shown in Fig. 4, the frequency characteristic of the piezoelectric element 30 opposite to that shown in Fig. An equalizer or the like that outputs frequency characteristics can be used.

In the speech aid according to the present invention, the ear microphone and the speaker may be connected in a wired manner or in a wireless manner.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the ear hook is case 10.
Inside, an amplifier 11 that amplifies the output of the piezoelectric element 3 and an oscillator 12 that oscillates the amplified audio electrical signal are housed together with a battery power source 13, and the oscillation signal from the oscillator 12 is transmitted to the speaker 4. What is necessary is to provide a receiver 14 that receives the information.

In addition, in FIG. 3, 15 indicates an antenna.

The operation of the present invention having the above configuration is as follows.

Attach ear microphone 1 to the ear canal, and connect speaker 4.
Carry it in your breast pocket, etc.

Therefore, when a person with a vocal cord disease or the like wearing the ear microphone 1 speaks, the bone conduction sound signal (vibration) is transmitted to the wall of the external auditory canal, which is picked up by the piezoelectric element 3 and converted into an electrical signal. led out by line 7,
(If a wireless system is adopted, the electric signal is transmitted and received wirelessly.) This electric signal is amplified by the amplifier 8 and is output as sound from the speaker 4 via the peak cut device 5.

According to the present invention, a bone conduction type ear microphone is used as a microphone to pick up the vocalizations of people who cannot speak loudly, which is necessary for conversation, such as those with vocal cord disorders, so that the above-mentioned characteristics of ■ to ■ can be exhibited. At the same time, since a speaker with a peak cut device is used, even if the speaker is carried by a person with a vocal cord disease and the output level is increased, no ringing will occur.

Therefore, it is possible to increase the output level of the speaker even in the case of a person with a vocal cord disease who can only speak in a very low voice.
Can carry on normal conversation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wired vocal aid for people with vocal cord disorders according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing an example of a bone conduction ear microphone used in the present invention. Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the wireless system of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a graph showing an example of the frequency characteristics of the bone conduction ear microphone used in the present invention, and Fig. 5 is a graph showing an example of the frequency characteristics of the bone conduction ear microphone used in the present invention. 3 is a graph showing the output frequency characteristics of the peak cut device. In the figure, 1 is an ear microphone, 3 is a piezoelectric element, 4 is a speaker, 5 is a peak cut device, 12 is an oscillator, 14
indicates a receiver.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) Vocal cord disease consisting of a combination of a bone conduction microphone that picks up bone conduction audio signals accompanying the vocalizations of people with vocal cord disease and converts them into electrical signals, and a portable speaker that amplifies the output of the microphone. In the vocal aid for persons with vocal cord disease, an ear microphone having a piezoelectric element that picks up a bone conduction sound signal from the external auditory canal wall of a person with vocal cord disease and converts it into an electrical signal is used as the microphone, and the ear microphone is used as the speaker. 1. A vocal aid for people with vocal cord disorders, characterized by using a speaker having a peak cut device that cuts or reduces a frequency band including the peak part of the frequency characteristics of a piezoelectric element. (2) A vocal aid for people with vocal cord disorders as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that an ear microphone and a speaker are connected by wire or wirelessly. (3) Utility model registration claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the peak cut device is a bypass filter, a bandpass filter, or an equalizer.
A vocal aid for people with vocal cord disorders, etc., as described in Section 1.