WO1999020077A1

WO1999020077A1 - Sound-reproducing device mountable on the body of a user

Info

Publication number: WO1999020077A1
Application number: PCT/EP1998/006138
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bert Zinserling
Original assignee: Sennheiser Electronic Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 1997-10-15
Filing date: 1998-09-26
Publication date: 1999-04-22
Also published as: EP1023817A1; DE59804603D1; ATE219877T1; AU9628498A; EP1023817B1; JP2001521299A

Abstract

A sound reproducing device for multiple channel sound reproduction has at least three sound transducers (10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 30) driven each by an electric signal and a holder (2) that carries the sound transducers and can be mounted on the body of the user. The holder (2) is designed in such a way that it can be mounted on a part (20) of the body of the user other than the head (22), placing the sound transducers (10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 30) next to each other and at such a distance from the head (22) of the user that the head (22) of the user remains free to move relative to the holder (2) and therefore relative to the sound transducers (10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 30). The holder carries an electronic circuit for processing the electric signals.

Description

Sound reproduction device that can be stored on the body of a user

The invention relates to a sound reproduction device with at least two sound transducers, each driven by an electrical signal, and a holder for supporting the sound transducer on the body of a user.

Such a device with two transducers has hitherto been known as headphones. The headphones have two ear cups, in each of which at least one sound transducer is arranged. The headphones are mounted on the body of the user in such a way that they are placed on the head, so that each ear shell lies with its open side directly on an ear of the user or surrounds it and thus the acoustic transducer (s) arranged in the ear shell Give signals directly to the ear (- the well-known headphones should therefore be more appropriately referred to as "earphones"). It is characteristic of the headphones that the left ear receives only the left audio signal and the right ear only the right audio signal of the headphones. Especially when playing multi-channel sound recordings using multi-channel headphones, in particular the playback of multi-channel Dolby Surround-encoded music and film sound recordings with corresponding Dolby Surround headphones, it has been found to be disadvantageous that an exact spatial assignment of the multi-channel sound reproduction is necessary the direct exposure to the ears described at the beginning is unfortunately difficult or not possible at all.

A multi-channel sound reproduction with a better spatial allocation can be achieved with the aid of a corresponding number of loudspeakers placed discretely in a room; however, such loudspeakers require a greater installation effort and a larger space requirement, the room acoustics having a considerable influence on the reproduction quality, high volumes disturbing the surroundings and, last but not least, high-quality systems being particularly expensive.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop the sound reproduction device of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that high-quality sound reproduction with improved spatial allocation, in particular in the case of multi-channel sound reproduction, can be achieved without the installation problems occurring with loudspeaker systems and without being influenced by the room acoustics, the sound reproduction device in particular take up little space and should be easy to handle.

This object is achieved in that in a sound reproduction device of the type mentioned, the holder is designed such that it can be stored on a body part of the user different from the head and adjacent to transducers and placed at a distance from the head of the user, so that the Head of the user relative to the bracket and thus freely movable against the transducers. _^ remains, and that the bracket carries an electronic circuit for processing the electrical signals.

It is characteristic of the solution according to the invention that the left and right ear can record all the reproduced channels, so that the individual transfer function of a user's head is included in the reproduction. Thus, as with hearing in the natural environment, the direction of sound can clearly be heard be determined. This is also supported by the fact that, when the device is stationary, a head rotation is made possible, which, like natural hearing, simplifies the location of a sound source.

With the help of the solution according to the invention, a so-called head-related sound reproduction device is created in that, when the holder is mounted on the body of the user, the sound transducer or transducers themselves do not lie directly on the head, but are arranged at a distance from the head and thus allow the head to rotate, the or do not move the transducers with your head. Thus, an exact spatial assignment can be achieved through the construction according to the invention.

Furthermore, the overall transmission function of the head can be additionally exploited by the sound reproduction device according to the invention, while this is not possible with headphones because headphones are not "headphones" but rather "earphones", since their ear cups lie directly on the ear or enclose it and thus the sound transducers in it emit the acoustic signals directly to the ear. In contrast, in the case of the sound reproduction device according to the invention, due to the arrangement of the sound transducer or transducers at a distance from the ear, body shell transmission takes place in addition to the acoustically direct radiation to the ear. But above all, by incorporating the transfer function of the user's head, the sound event appears more "natural" to the listener.

Thus, with the sound reproduction device according to the invention, high-quality sound reproduction without large space requirements, without the installation problems occurring with loudspeaker systems and without influence by the room acoustics can be achieved, the user perceiving an exact spatial location.

Finally, the invention allows sound reproduction even with a very high level of volume perception, without the surroundings and in particular the neighbors being disturbed, because the sound transducers are arranged very close to the user's ears and therefore relatively low sound pressures on the playback transducer are sufficient to achieve a high level for the user To achieve volume impression. A particular advantage of the playback device is that an electronic circuit for processing the electrical signals for the sound transducers is integrated in its holder. This is made possible precisely by the fact that the holder is not supported on the head but, for example, on the much stronger shoulders. The integration of the circuit in the holder makes a corresponding external device unnecessary and considerably simplifies the handling of the sound reproduction device.

A great advantage of the circuit integrated in the holder is that the circuit can have filters and subcircuits for equalizing the sound transducers. The sound transducers can thus be electronically equalized in a particularly effective manner, which enables an increased reproduction quality.

A circuit having amplifier stages is particularly preferred, so that the sound reproduction device can be connected directly to a signal source, such as a CD player.

If the circuit in a preferred embodiment variant has a subcircuit for decoding encrypted multichannel signals, it can be used, for example, to decrypt Dolby Surround signals and make a corresponding external decoder superfluous. In this case, it is sufficient to connect the sound reproduction device directly to a CD player in order, for example, to listen to CDs recorded in the Dolby Surround method in real Dolby Surround quality without any additional equipment.

A preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the sound reproduction device in a perspective view.

1 a shows an alternative embodiment of the sound reproduction device from FIG. 1 for wireless audio signal reception;

FIG. 2 shows the embodiment according to FIG. 1 (mounted on the shoulders of a user) in a top view;

Fig. 3 shows the embodiment of FIG. 1 (on the shoulders of a user stored) in front view;

4 shows a second embodiment of the sound reproduction device;

4a shows an alternative embodiment of the sound reproduction device from FIG. 1 for wireless audio signal reception;

5 shows the embodiment according to FIG. 4 (mounted on the shoulders of a user) in a top view;

6 is a front view of the sound reproducing device;

7 is a side view with a partial section through the sound reproduction device; and

Fig. 8 is a top view of the sound reproducing device.

The first embodiment of the sound reproduction device shown in FIG. 1 has a housing or frame 2 which consists of a rear part 4 and two curved side parts 5 and 6 adjoining it on both sides, which end in free end sections 7 and 8. The frame 2 is thus designed as a shaped body which, in plan view (see FIG. 2), essentially has the shape of an interrupted "0" or a "U" with free ends bent inwards.

1, front first and second sound transducers 1 0 and 1 1, rear third and fourth sound transducers 1 2 and 1 3 and a rear low-frequency sound transducer 14 are arranged. Accordingly, the frame 2 is used to hold the sound transducers 1 0 to 1 4. The sound transducers 1 0 to 1 4 form a multi-channel Dolby Surround playback system, the front first and second sound transducers 1 0 and 1 1 being the main transducer for reproducing the front right - and links information and the rear third and fourth sound transducers 1 2 and 1 3 are provided as rear transducers for reproducing the additional spatial information (surround channel), while the rear bass transducer 1 4 reproduces the low-frequency portion. Furthermore, two acoustic lines 1 5 and 1 6 are formed in the frame 2, of which one acoustic line 1 5 extends from the rear low-frequency transducer 14 into one side part 5 and there, adjacent to the rear third sound transducer 1 2, in an outlet opening 1 7 arranged on the inside ends and the other acoustic line 1 6 from the rear woofer 1 4 in the extends to the other side part 6 and ends there also adjacent to the rear fourth sound transducer 1 3 in an inward opening 1 8.

An electronic circuit 40 is also arranged in the frame 2, to which the sound transducers 10 to 14 are connected via electrical lines 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46. Another electrical line 47 is used to connect the sound reproduction device to a signal source.

The control circuit 40 can have various subcircuits, namely those for equalizing the individual sound converters 1 0 to 1 4, those for decoding an encrypted multi-channel sound signal and those for amplifying the signals for the individual sound converters. The encrypted multi-channel audio signal is fed through line 47 to circuit 40, where it is decoded and amplified. In addition, the signal for the individual sound transducers is processed taking into account the distortions characteristic of the sound transducers, so that the sound transducers as a result reproduce a largely undistorted signal.

The difference between the embodiment of the sound reproduction device shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1 a is that the sound signals are not supplied to the circuit 40 'via a line 47, but wirelessly. For this purpose, the circuit has a corresponding receiver 48, e.g. an infrared receiver or RF receiver. The circuit is also equipped with its own battery-powered power supply. This enables the wearer of the sound reproducing device to move freely in the room.

For acoustic reasons, the sound transducers 1 0 to 1 4 are recessed so that edges are avoided which would otherwise cause sound reflections and thus also interference with the sound radiated directly by the sound transducer.

The first to fourth sound transducers 1 0 - 1 3 are oriented so that they emit the sound through openings (not shown in more detail) formed on the inside of the frame 2 into the interior enclosed by the frame 2, the frame 2 at least at those openings , but preferably as a whole of one (not shown) Textile layer or other protective layer is covered, which is, however, not absolutely necessary. The carrier 2 itself consists of a highly damping material so that it does not itself contribute to sound generation and conduction.

1, the frame 2 is designed as a shaped body, but other constructions for holding the sound transducers 1 0 - 14 and forming the acoustic lines 1 5 and 1 6 are also conceivable. If desired, the acoustic lines 1 5 and 1 6 can also be omitted; this naturally also applies in principle to the number and design of the individual sound transducers.

FIGS. 2 and 3 now show how the embodiment of the sound reproduction device described above is mounted on the body of a user. The frame 2 is not only used to arrange the transducers 1 0 - 1 4, but also to support this arrangement on the body of a user by having the undersides 5a and 6a of the side parts 5 and 6 (see FIG. 1) on the shoulders 20 of the user rests, while it is not necessarily supported on the back of the user with the underside 4a of the rear part 4 (see FIG. 1). The frame 2 is designed and can be placed and fixed on the shoulders 2 and possibly on the back of the user so that the frame 2 is at a short distance from the head 22 of the user and thus the head 22 remains freely movable. Alternatively, the frame can also be designed so that it can be stored on another part of the body. It is only important that it can be stored on a body part of the user that is different from the head 22, so that the head 22 relative to the frame 2 and thus relative to the sound transducers 1 0 - 14 and outlet openings 1 7 and 1 8 of the acoustic lines 1 arranged therein 5 and 1 6 remains freely movable. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3, the frame 2 of the embodiment shown there has the shape of a collar when it rests on the shoulders 20 of the user. Therefore, the described sound reproduction device can also be referred to as an "auditory collar".

The storage is preferably designed so that the center of gravity of the storage is formed centrally in the support surface between the shoulders of the user. If necessary, weights 7 and 8 can be accommodated for this purpose (not shown in more detail). Furthermore, the sound transducers 1 0 - 14 and the outlet openings 1 7 and 1 8 of the acoustic lines 1 5 and 1 6 in the frame 2 are arranged such that when the frame 2 is mounted on the body of the user, the front first and second sound transducers 1 0 and 1 1 in front of the frontal plane F of a coordinate system related to the head 22 of the user in the area of the chin below the ear level and the rear third and fourth sound transducers 1 2 and 1 3 behind the frontal plane F and the outlet openings 1 7 and 1 8 of the acoustic lines 1 5 and 16 are arranged somewhat below the ears 24 and 25, while the rear low-frequency transducer 14 lies behind the head 22, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. In addition, the front first and second sound transducers 10 and 1 1 and the rear third and fourth sound transducers 1 2 and 1 3 are each arranged symmetrically to the median plane M of the coordinate system relating to the head 22 of the user, while the rear low-frequency sound transducer 1 4 is arranged in the median plane M lies, as can also be seen in FIG. 2.

The described sound reproduction device accordingly forms a head-related multi-channel reproduction system. The sound transducers 10-14 are arranged around the head 22, whereby they themselves do not lie directly against the head 22, but are arranged at least at a small distance therefrom and thus do not move when the head 22 is rotated. The head 22 of the user is himself free, which leads to the fact that a spatial reproduction is made possible as with loudspeakers set up in the room. Due to the spatial distance of the sound transducers from the ears 24 and 25, the transfer function of the user head is included in the sound field and there is also a structure-borne sound transmission, so that the perception of the reproduced sound sounds "more natural" for the user.

In Figures 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the Schallwiedergabevor, -_ direction is shown which 1 is different ^'from the first embodiment in accordance with FIGS to 3, characterized in that a front transducer, additionally 30 is disposed of at the shoulders 20 of the User placed frame 2 is approximately in the median plane M in the area of the chin of the user. To hold this additional sound transducer 30, one end section 7 is provided with an extension 7a compared to the first embodiment and is accordingly extended, or the device is closed towards the front (O-shaped). The sound transducer 30 is also connected via a line 49 to the circuit 40 ', through which the signal for the sound transducer 30 is also processed in the manner described for FIG. 1.

Just like the sound reproduction device from FIG. 1, the sound reproduction device from FIG. 4 can also be prepared for wireless operation. This is shown in Fig. 4a.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS:

1 . Sound reproduction device for a multi-channel sound reproduction with at least three sound transducers (1 0; 1 1; 1 2; 1 3; 1 4; 30) each controlled by an electrical signal and a holder (2) carrying the sound transducer for storage on the body of the user, wherein the holder (2) is designed such that it can be supported on a body part (20) of the user that is different from the head (22) and the sound transducers (10; 1 1; 1 2; 1 3; 14; 30) are adjacent and in one Distance to the head (22) of the user can be placed so that the head (22) of the user relative to the holder (2) and thus to the transducers (1 0; 1 1; 1 2; 1 3; 1 4; 30) free remains movable and that the holder carries an electronic circuit for processing the electrical signals.

2. Sound reproduction device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one sound transducer is in front of the head (22) of the user.

3. Sound reproduction device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the circuit comprises high and low pass filters.

4. Sound reproduction device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the circuit has amplifier stages.

5. Sound reproduction device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the circuit has a subcircuit for equalizing the sound transducer.

6. Sound reproduction device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the circuit has a subcircuit for decoding encrypted multi-channel signals.