JP6901848B2 - Chairs and hearing aids for chairs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a chair and a hearing aid used therein .

In offices and the like, various conversations such as meetings, conferences, and business talks are held, and people talk by themselves or listen to the talks (voices) of others, and the meetings proceed. Here, the problem is the result of the meeting, etc., and in order to achieve high results at the meeting, etc., it is important for each attendee to actively speak and to activate and deepen the discussion.

However, people have different personalities, and there are some people who have excellent ideas and opinions but are buried without speaking. Therefore, at meetings and conferences, it is necessary to take measures to actively draw out the excellent ideas and opinions of each attendee, but such measures depend on the chairperson's and leader's ability to proceed with the proceedings. However, there is no hard approach such as using furniture to encourage attendees to speak.

It should be noted that the relationship between office furniture and sound itself has been a subject of study, and as an example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is suppressed that sound enters the ears of a seated person from behind. It is disclosed that a sound insulating member is provided. This is intended to create a quiet environment where you can concentrate on your work, not to encourage attendees to speak at meetings or conferences.

Contrary to Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is also considered to positively capture the sound (voice) heard from behind a person into the ear. It is disclosed to provide an acoustic reflector that reflects the sound from the headband and puts it in the ear.

By the way, there is Non-Patent Document 1 as an interesting research result related to the activation of meetings and the like. According to Non-Patent Document 1, in conversations such as meetings, when a person's voice is amplified into the ear as a reflected sound, the level of "easiness to speak" is improved, and as a result, communication is improved. Are listed. "Easy to talk" is a slightly unclear concept, but it is understood that it means a psychological state in which people are conscious of actively participating in discussions and conversations and are willing to speak openly. Will be done.

Non-Patent Document 1 has not yet elucidated the psychological mechanism that "it becomes easier to speak" by hearing one's voice clearly and loudly, but the latent consciousness of wanting to speak by hearing one's voice loudly ( It is presumed that the willingness to speak) is stimulated (encouraged and encouraged), and the incentive to speak positively increases, leading to a voice.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-86832 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-86839 CD-ROM of actual Kaihei 5-45799

Presented paper at the Acoustical Society of Japan Architectural Acoustics Study Group held at Kanagawa University on August 5, 2016 "Ning Shimizu, Shota Hineno" Study on acoustic evaluation of "ease of speaking" in self-speech ""

In Non-Patent Document 1, the subject wears headphones for an experiment, but it is impossible to hold a meeting or a conference while wearing headphones in an office or the like. Therefore, it is conceivable that a person attaches a reflector by using the idea of Patent Document 3, and although this method is excellent in following the movement of a person, there is a problem that it takes time to attach and detach. However, it is not realistic because there is a problem that it has an adverse effect when there is a feeling of resistance to wearing it, or there is a problem that it gives a very uncomfortable feeling to the attendees.

The present invention has been made to improve such a situation.

Typical of the present invention is specified in each claim. Of these, the invention of claim 1 relates to a chair, which is provided with a non-electric hearing aid that magnifies and transmits the voice of a seated person to the ears of the seated person.

Further, in claim 1, the hearing aid has a wall portion that surrounds the seated person's head from both the left and right sides and the back, and an upper portion that is located above the seated person's head. Hearing aids are attached to the backrest or headrest or hanger.

Examples of claim 1, in claim 2, is arranged a sound-absorbing material on the left and right inner side of the wall portion. Further, as a specific example of claim 2 , in claim 3 , the upper portion is separated into left and right and projects like an eave from the upper ends of the left and right side portions of the wall portion.

In the present invention, the hearing aid can also be attached to an optional item such as a headrest or a hanger. Alternatively, it can be provided on a backrest mounting member such as a back support or a tilting frame. Needless to say, the hearing aid itself can be an optional item.

Claim 4 is intended for a non-electric hearing aid that magnifies and transmits the voice of a person seated in a chair to the ears of the seated person, and the hearing aid reflects the voice of the seated person. It has a wall portion that communicates to the ears of the seated person and a mounting portion that attaches directly to the backrest of the chair or via another member.

In the present invention, even a person with a low voice, a person who is withdrawn, or a person who is silent, can actively participate in conversation / discussion by hearing his / her own voice louder than his / her own voice by using a hearing aid. , You can unknowingly orient yourself. In other words, it can be said that the latent consciousness of wanting to speak can be stimulated by one's own voice, and the desire for the meeting can be activated.

Therefore, for example, it is possible to create a situation in which opinions and ideas are positively expressed, triggered by the fact that the chairman or the like prompts the speaker to speak. As a result, it becomes possible to activate and deepen discussions at meetings and conferences and lead to high intellectual achievements.

Since the拡聴tool is provided in the chair element, rather troublesome as in the case of mounting on the body, which is convenient. In addition, it is easy to use even for people who dislike wearing it on the body, and it is possible to prevent or greatly reduce the feeling of discomfort in the presence of attendees. In this way, since the hurdles for use are low for both the person and the attendees, the practicality can be improved.

The hearing aid can be used in various forms, but when it is installed in a chair, the user and the chair are almost integrated, and the relative position between the user's head and the hearing aid hardly changes (following the body). (Because of its high quality), it is possible to accurately convey the user's voice to the hearing aid and enhance the hearing aid function.

Then, it is possible to be by, increased by reflecting voice wrapping around the inside of拡聴instrument in the inner surface of拡聴device employing a type surrounding the head of the user in the wall portion and the upper portion,拡聴The function (amplification function) can be ensured. As a result of experiments by the inventors of the present application, it was possible to hear louder than when the voice diffused freely. In addition, since the noise and noise (background noise) of a small sound can be cut with a hearing aid, one's own voice becomes clear. In this way, since one's own voice can be heard clearly (clearly) and loudly, it can be said that the stimulating effect of motivation to speak is further enhanced.

By the way, whether it is a meeting or a conference, there are often miscellaneous sounds around. That is, as mentioned above, meetings and the like are often held in an environment of low noise and noise (background noise). If these background noises are heard too much, the concentration tends to decrease and the motivation to speak tends to decrease. On the other hand, if the sound absorbing material is provided on the left and right inner side surfaces of the wall portion as in claim 2 of the present application, it is possible to prevent a decrease in concentration by cutting or attenuating the background noise with the sound absorbing material. Therefore, the function of the hearing aid can be exerted more strongly.

The upper part can cover the entire space above the seated person's head, but in this case, the upper part may look bad or the upper part may get in the way when sitting or leaving the seat. is there. In this regard, as in claim 3 , if the upper portion is separated to the left and right and formed in the shape of an eaves protruding inward from the upper end of the wall portion, deterioration of the appearance can be prevented or suppressed, and when sitting or leaving the seat. It can also be prevented from getting in the way.

It is a perspective view which looked at the 1st Embodiment from the front. It is a perspective view which looked at the 1st Embodiment from the back. It is a front view of the 1st Embodiment. It is a side view of the 1st Embodiment. (A) is a plan view of the first embodiment, and (B) is an explanatory view of the action. It is a figure which shows the 2nd to 7th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 8th-10th Embodiment. It is a top view of the eleventh embodiment. It is a top view of the twelfth embodiment.

(1). Structure of First Embodiment Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Also not a, illustrating a first embodiment shown in FIGS. In the following, the words front and back, left and right are used to specify the direction, but this is based on the direction of the person who normally sits on the chair. The front view is a state of being viewed from the direction facing the seated person.

The chair of the present embodiment is a swivel chair with casters that is often used in offices, and includes a seat 1 and a backrest 2. The backrest 2 locks against elasticity. The backrest 2 has a structure in which a mesh material 4 is stretched on a back frame 3 opened in the front-rear direction, but it can be applied to various structures such as a type in which a cushion material is stretched on a back plate (inner shell) made of resin or the like.

The backrest 2 is equipped with a hearing aid 5 for transmitting the voice of the seated person M to his / her ears. The hearing aid 5 has a form of surrounding the head H of the seated person M from the left and right, the back, and the top, and projects inward from the left and right side portions 6, the rear portion 7 connecting them, and the upper end of the side portions 6. It has an upper portion 8. Therefore, the upper portion 8 is separated to the left and right. The side portion 6 and the rear portion 7 form a wall portion that surrounds the head H of the seated person M from the left and right and the back.

The substantially latter half of the side portion 6 is cut (inclined) so that the upper end thereof becomes lower toward the rear, and therefore the vertical width of the rear portion 7 is smaller than the vertical width of the side portion 6. It has become. As the upper surface of the side portion 6 is bent in the side view, the upper portion 8 is also bent in the side view (thus, the latter half of the upper portion 8 is inclined).

The side portion 6, the rear portion 7, and the upper portion 8 can be integrally manufactured, for example, as a resin molded product, or can be formed by joining a plurality of resin plates. Alternatively, it can also be manufactured by sheet metal processing using a metal plate as a material. A metal plate is excellent in sound reflection characteristics, but when it is made of synthetic resin, it has an advantage that the thickness can be set arbitrarily, an advantage that it is lightweight, and an advantage that it can be made transparent in whole or in part.

The side portion 6 and the upper portion 8 are orthogonal to each other in a front view, and the side portion 6 and the rear portion 7 are orthogonal to each other in a plan view. However, it is also possible to form the rear portion 7 in a forward concave shape (U-shape in a plan view) in a plan view. In this case, the side portion 6 and the rear portion 7 are smoothly continuous and the boundary is unclear. Become. Similarly, it is possible to smoothly connect the connecting portion between the side portion 6 and the upper portion 8 in an inverted J shape, and in this case as well, the boundary between the side portion 6 and the upper portion 8 becomes unclear. The left and right upper portions 8 can also be tilted so as to form a C shape when viewed from the front.

A sound absorbing material 9 made of a porous material (continuous pore material) such as glass wool is attached to the inner surfaces of the left and right side portions 6. The sound absorbing material 9 has a thickness of, for example, about 50 mm and is arranged in the substantially front half of the side portion 6, but may be attached to the entire side portion 6. The upper portion 8 projects inward from the sound absorbing material 9. As can be understood from FIG. 3, the upper portion 8 is set to be located above the head H of the seated person M, and pressure is applied to the person between the head H and the side portion 6. It is set so that there is a gap that does not give a feeling.

The overall left-right width of the hearing aid 5 is set to a dimension that is about the same as or slightly smaller than the width of the chair (width of the seat 1). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the hearing aid 5 from appearing too large. The lower end of the hearing aid 5 is set to be lower than the lower end of the head H of the seated person M and above the shoulder of the seated person M. A strut 10 as an example of the mounting portion is fixed to the back surface of the rear portion 7, and the strut 10 is fixed to the upper end portion of the back frame 3 via a bracket 11 so as to be adjustable in height.

The hearing aid 5 can be entirely made of a transparent plate. Alternatively, the side portion 6 can be colored (because the sound absorbing material 9 is stretched), and one or both of the upper portion 8 and the rear portion 7 can be made of a transparent plate. By forming the whole or a part transparently in this way, it is possible to suppress the conspicuity and eliminate or significantly suppress the unnaturalness.

(2). Operation of the first embodiment As schematically shown in FIG. 5 (B), when the seated person M opens his mouth and utters (speaks), the voice (sound) becomes a vibration of air (sound). It spreads in all directions (as a sound wave). The sound intensity decreases with distance, and is strongly transmitted to the front of the seated person M and weakly transmitted to the back. In any case, since the sound is attenuated and transmitted to the back, the seated person M's ear E contains his / her own voice.

Then, in the present embodiment, since the hearing aid 5 is present, when a voice (sound) that wraps around behind enters the inside of the hearing aid 5, the seated person M is seated due to the reflex action of the side portion 6 and the upper portion 8. It is amplified and incident on the ear E. That is, a person hears his or her voice louder than when nothing is done. In FIG. 5B, the reflection from the side portion 6 and the reflection from the upper portion 8 are indicated by arrows, but in reality, the composite reflected sound is incident on the ear E of the seated person M.

Further, the hearing aid 5 not only reflects one's own voice, but also plays a role of blocking external voices and sounds. The dotted line in FIG. 5B schematically shows the sound from the outside (background noise), but the noise / noise of a small sound is blocked (or suppressed), so that the hearing becomes one's own voice. Being sensitive, you can hear your voice clearly. That is, by blocking the sound from the outside of the hearing aid 5, the ear E can have a directivity to capture only the sound from the inside of the hearing aid 5.

For example, when a person wants to hear a voice that is difficult to hear, he / she dents his / her palm and puts it behind his / her ear. From this, it is possible to easily estimate the noise / noise blocking effect of the hearing aid 5 and the hearing enhancement effect of the self-voice.

In this way, by hearing one's voice clearly and loudly, even a person who does not speak much can be stimulated to speak with his own voice and speak the next story (speak out). It can be said that the psychological hurdle is significantly lowered and it becomes easier to actively participate in the discussion. Therefore, it is possible to positively draw out the ideas and opinions of the participants by inviting the person who leads the meeting or the like to make a chance for each person to speak. As a result, discussions become more active and deeper at meetings, etc., and it becomes possible to obtain high intellectual results.

By the way, in an excessively quiet environment, a person may become restless and lose his / her concentration. If the sound is loud and jarring, you will lose your concentration. Therefore, it can be said that it is easy to concentrate on thinking if there is a level of background noise or music that does not bother you. In this respect, it is said that if the sound absorbing material 9 is provided as in the present embodiment, the noise generated in the surrounding environment can be reduced to a level that does not bother the person, and it can contribute to forming an environment in which it is easy to concentrate on thinking. Eh.

Instead of providing the sound absorbing material 9 in this way, or in addition to providing the sound absorbing material 9, a speaker can be provided in the hearing aid 5 to positively create a sound environment. For example, it can be said that an environment in which one can concentrate on thinking can be formed by listening to classical music called work music or music preferred by the user at a low sound.

When the speaker is used in combination with the sound absorbing material 9, by fitting (or embedding) the speaker in the part of the sound absorbing material next to the ear, unnecessary noise is cut as much as possible and music that feels comfortable is concentrated. It can be configured to fit in the ear. Alternatively, it is also possible to arrange the sound absorbing material 9 on the inner surface of the side portion 6 and arrange the speaker on the rear portion 7.

(3). Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments will be described. FIG. 6 shows another example of the hearing aid 5 having an angular shape as in the first embodiment. Of these, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6A, the hearing aid 5 is formed in a form in which the rectangular side portion 6, the upper portion 8 and the rear portion 7 are opened forward and downward. A sound absorbing material 9 can be attached to the side portion 6 (the same applies to other embodiments). Although not shown, the hearing aid is provided with a mounting portion such as a support for mounting on the backrest of a chair.

The third embodiment shown in FIG. 6 (B) is a modified example of the second embodiment, and the upper portion 8 is formed in an eaves shape separated into left and right. As mentioned in the first embodiment, both the second embodiment and the third embodiment can be formed transparently in whole or in part (this point is the same as in the other embodiments). ..

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6C, the wall portion of the hearing aid 5 is composed of a side portion 6, a rear portion 7, and an inclined portion 13 located between them. The fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 6D is a form in which the upper portion 8 of the fourth embodiment is separated into left and right. It is also possible to form the entire wall portion in a U-shape or a semicircular shape in a plan view.

In the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 6 (E), the wall portion of the hearing aid 5 is composed of the side portion 6, the inclined portion 13, and the rear portion 7 as in the fourth embodiment, and the upper portion 8 and the rear portion are formed. The reflecting portion 7 is connected by an inclined connecting portion 14. The connecting portion 14 can be regarded as a part of the upper portion 8 or a part of the rear portion 7. The seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 6 (F) is a modification of the sixth embodiment, and the upper portion 8 and the connecting portion 14 are separated to the left and right.

In the first to third reference examples shown in FIG. 7, the hearing aid 5 is composed of only the wall portion without the upper portion 8 and is rounded in the plan view and the side view. Of these, in the first reference example shown in (A), the upper surface of the side portion 6 has a chevron shape when viewed from the side so that the vertical width of the portion located beside the seated person's ear is the largest. ..

In the second reference example of FIG. 7B, the vertical width of the side portion 6 is slightly reduced toward the front end. In addition, the tip is rounded when viewed from the side. In the third reference example of FIG. 7C, the wall portion has a vertically equal vertical width over the entire wall portion, and is lowered at a slight angle from the back to the front.

In the fourth reference example shown in FIG. 8, the hearing aid 5 is separated into left and right, and is attached to the left and right sides of the backrest 2, respectively. Further, the hearing aid 5 is composed of only the wall portion, and is curved so as to be concave toward the head H of the person M seated in a plan view. Since the hearing aid 5 is arranged at a position higher than the upper end of the backrest 2, the hearing aid 5 is provided with attachment portions such as feet and columns, although not shown. The columns and feet may be separate from the hearing aid 5, or may be integrally formed.

In this reference example , a reflection aid (sound collector) 15 that reflects the voice of the seated person M toward the hearing aid 5 is used. The reflex aid 15 is placed on the chest or abdomen of the seated person, or is placed on the top plate 16 of the desk, and is placed in front of the seated person M. It has a concave surface that is concave toward the head H. In this example, the voice of the seated person M is reflected by the reflex aid 15 and incident on the left and right hearing aids 5, and the reflected sound enters the seated person M's ear E. The hearing aid 5 may be continuously connected to the left and right without being separated. This point is the same for other embodiments.

In the fifth reference example shown in FIG. 9, the hearing aid 5 is separated into left and right and attached to the left and right ends of the headrest 17, respectively (may be attached to the backrest 2). The hearing aid 5 has a three-dimensional shape that is curved in a plan view and a front view so as to substantially surround the head H of the seated person M from the left and right.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be embodied in various ways. For example, the chair to be applied does not have to be a locking swivel chair.

The present invention may be embodied in practice chair child. Therefore, it can be used industrially.

2 Backrest 3 Back frame 5 Hearing aid 6 Side part that makes up the wall part 7 Rear part that makes up the wall part 8 Upper part 9 Sound absorbing material 10 Struts

Claims (4)

Wearing sitting person's voice to a chair that has established a拡聴tool of non-electric convey to expand the ear of the person who has the seat,
The hearing aid has a wall portion that surrounds the seated person's head from both the left and right sides and the back, and an upper portion that is located above the seated person's head. Or attached to a hanger,
Chair. Sound absorbing materials are arranged on the left and right inner side surfaces of the wall portion.
The chair according to claim 1. The upper portion is separated to the left and right and projects like an eave from the upper ends of the left and right side portions of the wall portion.
The chair according to claim 2. It is a non-electric hearing aid that magnifies and conveys the voice of a person sitting on a chair to the ears of the person sitting on the chair.
It has a wall portion that reflects the voice of the seated person and transmits it to the ears of the seated person, and a mounting portion that attaches directly to the backrest of the chair or via another member.
Hearing aid for chairs.

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