JP3658731B2 - Sound collector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sound collecting device to be attached to an earlobe suitable for a mild or moderate deaf person.
Among hearing-impaired people, it is difficult to hear the voice of the person you are talking to, the voice of the radio or TV, the voice of the lecturer at the lecture, the voice of the little bird crawling in the garden, etc. It is a useful tool for people who are hard to hear content and detailed sounds.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The world has long been an aging society, and the number of people with hearing loss has increased. These deaf people want to use hearing aids, but don't go the way they want. Hearing aids around the world are installed near or in the ear canal (hereinafter referred to as the ear canal) and generally amplify the external sound with the help of electrical energy. Does not play much.
Nowadays, hearing aids that select and amplify the frequency have appeared, so that the effect of hearing aids has been achieved by amplifying the vicinity of the frequency of a human voice, but this type of hearing aid is very expensive. This is because the batteries (size) that fit in the ear canal are inserted, and a mechanism (electric circuit) that selects and amplifies the frequency is included. In addition to the high price, the dry batteries are consumed and replaced as they are used, and above all, the frequency to be amplified must be selected to adjust the degree of amplification. It is not easy because it requires expert knowledge and experience, or the hearing-impaired person must study and acquire the ability.
On the other hand, it seems that a sound collector to be attached to the earlobe has been filed, but since it has never been seen in the world, it seems that it has not been widely used yet. It may be because there is a doubt about the effect.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, without the help of electric energy, there is no need for specialized knowledge and experience, and there is something that has a remarkable effect. I remembered a sounding instrument to hear the explosion of an airplane coming from far away. It was a machine that collected sound by pointing a big trumpet in the direction of the sky where the sound was heard. In order to make this suitable for the hearing-impaired person, it is necessary to consider a method of increasing the effect at the same time as making the size suitable for the size of the ear.
[0004]
As a thing which reflects and collects waves, such as a sound wave and an electromagnetic wave, what is called a parabola rotation surface is known for a long time. The parabola rotation surface is used to receive satellite broadcasts for radio waves, so many people know the shape of the parabola, but what is made for receiving satellite broadcasts has a wide parabola opening. It is a thing. There are various parabola shapes. As shown in FIGS. 3 (A), (B), and (C), the position of the focal point varies depending on the wide and narrow opening, and the wider the opening, the farther the focal point is from the parabola. This parabolic rotation surface seems to be able to be used to collect sound coming from distant sound sources.
[0005]
A similar one is called an elliptical rotation surface. In the case of an ellipse, there are two focal points, but when the inner surface of the ellipse rotation surface is made of a material that reflects sound, when one focal point is used as a sound source as shown in Fig. 4, the sound is collected at the other focal point. Can be considered on the figure. Therefore, when the distance between the sound source and a person (may be called an ear) is close, it can be imagined that an elliptical rotation surface can be used.
[0006]
What about a hyperbolic rotating surface? This also has two focal points, but it seems that the focal point becomes imaginary considering the shape, and if the inner surface of the hyperbolic rotation surface is made of a material that reflects sound, when the focal point inside the hyperbolic rotation surface is the sound source, As shown in FIG. 5, it is considered that the light is reflected so as to be dissipated from the other focal point, so that it is not useful for collecting sound. FIG. 5 shows that when the outer surface of the hyperbolic rotation surface is made of a material that reflects sound, it also has a function of radiating sound.
[0007]
I would like to consider a sound collector that is useful for the hearing impaired by using a parabolic rotating surface or an elliptical rotating surface to shape the inner surface into this shape using a material that reflects sound.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As the material that reflects sound, cardboard, metal, resin, etc. can be considered, but since the shape to be aimed at is a parabola rotation surface or an elliptical rotation surface, resin is suitable in view of ease of manufacturing by injection molding. I think that using a transparent or translucent resin is particularly inconspicuous and beautiful.
[0009]
When people hear the voices of others, they turn in the direction they speak. Probably because you want to use both ears efficiently, but for the sound collector used by the hearing impaired, the axis of the parabola or elliptical plane of rotation should be pointed in front of the face to make it easier to hear sounds and voices coming from the front of the face. To.
[0010]
When attaching a parabola or ellipsoidal sound collector to the earlobe of the temporal region, if it is necessary to orient the axis toward the front of the face, the axis must be placed away from the side of the face. . Then, since the focal point is far away from the ear canal, the sound must be guided from the focal point to the ear canal even if the sound is collected at the focal point. Therefore, a parabola or elliptical plane of rotation is cut along a plane parallel to the axis, and a seat in contact with the temporal region is made on the cut surface, and the axis is brought closer to the temporal region. In this case, the focal point on the axis is positioned as close as possible to the ear canal.
[0011]
In addition, it is preferable that a hole for passing the earlobe is provided in the seat so that the earlobe enters the sound collector and the earlobe is supported by the curved surface behind the sound collector. In this case, the hole that passes through the earlobe allows sound to pass through. Further, an elastic material may be attached to the periphery of the hole so that the earlobe and the hole are in close contact with each other so as not to miss the sound.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiment of the present invention described above will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a projection view of the sound collector of the present invention using a parabolic rotation surface or an elliptic rotation surface, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. These are model drawings, and when they are made using a material that actually reflects sound, the appearance will be slightly different due to the added thickness of the material.
Although the figure using the ellipsoidal rotation surface was not shown, the shape is almost similar just by replacing the parabola with an ellipse, and especially the one with a wide parabola opening has a shape approximating an ellipse as shown in FIG. .
[0014]
When the hearing-impaired person wants to use the sound collecting device according to the present invention, when listening to TV or radio sound or having a personal conversation, is the distance from the sound source to the person (ear) determined? Alternatively, since it is close, a sound collector using an elliptical rotation surface may be used. In this case, assuming the distance from the sound source to the person, the sound source should be one focus and the other focus should be located near the ear canal. Also, if you want to hear the lecturer's remarks at the lecture or hear the voice of a small bird that can be heard from the garden, you can use a sound collector that uses a parabolic rotating surface because the distance from the sound source to the person is quite far.
[0015]
In addition, if this sound collector is evenly divided in the circumferential direction (8, 12, or 16), and every other combination of elliptical and parabolic surfaces is used, It can be used for both.
[0016]
Even if it is not so complicated, the one with the wide opening of the parabolic rotation surface as described above has a shape that approximates the elliptical rotation surface. It is also possible.
[0017]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic member 4 may be attached to the edge of the earlobe hole 3 as shown in FIG. 2, or the elastic band 5 as shown in FIG. A pair of sound collectors may be attached so as to sandwich both ears.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
Even for people with mild or moderate hearing loss who have no knowledge or hearing experience, simply attach the sound collector to the earlobe, and the sound of the TV / radio is the voice of the other party. Also, the voice of the lecturer and the voice of the bird in the garden can be clearly heard. Then, by selecting a wide, narrow, large and small opening of the sound collector, it is possible to fulfill the role of hearing aid according to the degree of hearing loss without the help of electrical energy. The bad appearance of attaching large-sized items to the earlobe can be softened by using transparent or translucent resin.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a projection view of a sound collector of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sound collector of the present invention.
[Figure 3] Parabola and its shape [Figure 4] Ellipse and its reflection [Figure 5] Hyperbola and its reflection [Figure 6] Attaching the sound collector [Figure 7] Approximation of ellipse and parabola [Explanation of symbols]
1. 1. Main body (parabola or ellipsoid rotating body) Seat (contacts the temporal region)
3. Hole (for earlobe) 4. Elastic material (attached to hole 3)
5. Band 6. Ellipse 7. Hyperbola 8. Parabola Y. Axis F. Focus S. Sound collector

Claims (1)

Using a material that reflects sound, shape the inner surface into a parabolic or elliptical rotating surface, with the axis of the rotating surface facing the front of the face, and a seat with the rotating surface cut along a plane parallel to the axis of the rotating surface. , A sound collector that has a hole through the ear shell (hereinafter referred to as the earlobe) in the seat, covers the earlobe and attaches it to the side of the head, and can be used to ease the appearance and to be used for both perspective .

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