JPS5912236B2 - ear speaker - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ear speaker in which a speaker is attached to the auricle so that sound from the speaker can be heard.

There are various kinds of such ear speakers, which are classified according to the way the speaker is attached to the auricle.

First of all, there are headphones that use the elasticity of the headband to generate pressing force to attach and hold the speaker unit on the auricle. cannot be said to be good.

Due to its structure, the method of listening to sound is still by placing the speaker unit on the auricle, so there is a distance between the entrance of the ear canal and the speaker unit, and the volume of the air chamber between them is also large. Only a small portion of the emitted acoustic energy is delivered to the ear canal, and the rest is ineffective and cannot be said to be highly efficient.

However, reflections from the acoustic circuit, speaker unit, and surface of the auricle affect the acoustic characteristics, which is one of the reasons why it is difficult to put together a product.

Next, there is a behind-the-ear ear speaker in which a part of the case of the speaker unit is formed into a loop, and this loop is hooked onto the auricle to hold the speaker unit on the auricle, but the wearability is poor. It is not stable and good, and it is difficult to attach and detach.

Furthermore, even in this case, since the speaker unit is held at a position that is in contact with the auricle or close to it, its acoustic characteristics are similar to those of the headphones described above.

Furthermore, there are devices called Stetphones or chin-mounted ear speakers, in which the speaker unit is hooked onto a part of the auricle by the acoustic tube on the front of the speaker unit and held by the pressing force of a band, and acoustic tubes. There are commonly called earphones that are held in place by inserting an earplug into the ear canal, but all of them are unstable to wear, easy to remove, and are not comfortable to use. .

Furthermore, since the structure is such that sound is radiated through an acoustic tube, it is not possible to improve the acoustic characteristics.

As mentioned above, conventional ear speakers cannot meet the demands of the future audio equipment market for small size and high performance1.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and its object is to provide a novel ear speaker that is small in size, has high performance, and has particularly excellent acoustic characteristics.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an electrodynamic speaker which sends an alternating current signal to a voice coil disposed in the magnetic gap of a magnetic circuit 10a to vibrate the voice coil and a diaphragm 10b connected thereto with an area S1. The unit 12 is a case made of a light metal such as aluminum or hard plastic, and includes a camp-shaped main body 12a and a cover 12b that covers the opening of the main body 12a.

Inside the case 12, the speaker unit 10 is fixed to the opening side of the main body 12a, and a sound absorbing material 13 is housed interposed between the speaker unit 10 and the bottom of the main body 12a.

A curved surface is attached to the front surface of the cover 12b of the case 12, and an ear pad 14 shaped along the curved surface is pasted.

Ear pads 14 are made from an acoustically transparent material such as a porous elastomer such as expanded urethane foam.

The cover 12b and the ear pad 14 have a sound hole 12b with a diameter or opening area S2 located off the center of the cover 12b and the ear pad 14.
' and 14' are formed, respectively.

The diameter or opening area S2 of the sound hole 12b' provided in the case 12 is made smaller than the area S1 of the diaphragm 10b of the above-mentioned speaker unit 10, thereby improving the directivity of sound from the diaphragm 10b. Radiation efficiency is increased.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the speaker unit 10 includes a set of cords 15 for receiving electrical signals from the outside.
(FIG. 3) are connected through the side wall of the case 12.

The ear speaker configured as described above is attached to and held in the auricle shown in Fig. 2, and the auricle has a recessed part in the concha cavity immediately before the entrance to the external auditory canal (auricular canal) a. There is a helix crus C and an antihelix d around it.

In addition, there is a tragus e at the base of the temporal region, and a tragus f is placed along with the tragus e to cover the concha cavity and the entrance of the external auditory canal a. There is an interstellar notch g between them.

The shapes of the tragus e, the antitragus f, and the concha cavity are mainly made of cartilage, and their surfaces are covered with elastic skin and other surface tissues to provide sufficient flexibility. Each cartilage also has bending elasticity.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the ear speaker having the above-mentioned configuration has a tragus e located immediately in front of the external auditory canal a of the auricle.
The case 12 is fitted into the recess of the concha cavity between the auricle and the tragus f, and the attached state is such that the elastic force of the concha cavity of the auricle and the tragus e and the tragus f It is formed in a shape and size that can be held by frictional force.

The surface shape of the cover 12b on the front side of the ear speaker and the ear pad 14 attached thereto is a rounded surface that almost follows the wall of the concha cavity, so that the wall surface of the concave part of the concha cavity of the auricle is curved. Even if the ear speaker does not have a simple shape, the pressure applied to the wall surface when the ear speaker is attached will not be concentrated locally, but will be evenly distributed on the wall surface, improving the ease of attaching the ear speaker and the retention of the ear speaker. performance is improved.

By the way, the entrance of the external auditory canal a of the auricle is not located at the center of the concha cavity as shown in Figures 1 and 2, but is located near the base of the tragus e; 'f2b
Remove the position of the sound hole 12b' from the center of the diaphragm 10b,
Moreover, by providing the sound hole 12b' preferably offset so that the respective center lines C1 and C2 of the sound hole 12b' and the diaphragm 10b have a certain angle, the sound hole 12b of the cover 12b is positioned at the entrance of the external auditory canal a. You will be able to match it.

Therefore, the sound from the diaphragm is radiated only to the vicinity of the entrance of the external auditory canal a, and the leakage of sound to the outside can be reduced.
It becomes possible to efficiently send the sound from b to the entrance of the external auditory canal a.

Furthermore, the shape and size of the concha cavity of the auricle and the size and position of the external auditory canal vary from person to person depending on the person using the ear speaker.
Although the position of the ear canal 2b' and the position of the entrance of the ear canal a are likely to be misaligned, the cover 12b is smaller than the diameter or opening area S3 of the entrance of the ear canal a.
By increasing the diameter or opening area S2 of the sound hole 12b', acoustic problems caused by variations in mounting position due to individual differences are resolved, and stable acoustic characteristics can be obtained.

As described above, the present invention provides a case housing a speaker unit having a diaphragm with a sound hole for emitting the sound produced by the diaphragm, and a sound hole is provided between the tragus and the opposite tragus of the auricle just before the external auditory canal of the auricle. It is formed in a shape and size that can be attached to the recessed part of the concha cavity, and that the state of attachment to the recessed part can be maintained by the elastic force and frictional force of the tragus of the auricle and the anti-tragus,
Moreover, the sound hole of the case is offset from the center of the diaphragm, and the diameter or area S1 of the diaphragm, the diameter or opening area S2 of the sound hole of the case, and the diameter or opening area S3 of the ear canal are 81>S2. 〉S3.

For this reason, it is small, lightweight, and highly portable, and the ear speaker is held by the natural elastic force of a part of the auricle, so elastic force cannot be applied from the outside to keep it attached to the auricle. , or a part of it does not need to be inserted into the ear canal, no undue force is applied to the attached part, and the usability is improved, and the cord is only connected to the outside, The attachment can be maintained reliably.

However, since the speaker unit is located very close to the ear canal, there is less sound escaping to the outside, and the sound propagation space becomes smaller, improving efficiency.

Furthermore, since it does not have an acoustic tube, it can have a wide frequency response, and especially when an electrodynamic speaker unit is used, it can provide sound quality that is comparable to HIFI headphones. .

In particular, the sound hole of the case is provided offset from the center of the diaphragm, and the diameter or area of the diaphragm, the diameter or opening area of the sound hole of the case, and the diameter or opening area of the entrance to the ear canal meet the above-mentioned relationship. Because it is configured so that the sound generated by the vibration of the diaphragm is radiated directionally and efficiently from the sound hole to the ear canal, there are individual differences in the position and size of the entrance to the ear canal. Also, the sound hole can be aligned with the entrance of the ear canal, and stable acoustic characteristics can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the ear speaker according to the present invention attached to the auricle, viewed from above, along with a portion of the auricle that has been broken off;
The figure is a perspective view of the auricle seen diagonally from the front, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state in which the ear speaker according to the present invention is attached to the auricle. 10... Speaker unit, 10b... Vibration plate, 1
2...Case, 12 b'-...Tone hole, a...External auditory canal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A speaker unit having a diaphragm, a case housing the speaker unit and having a sound hole for emitting sound caused by the vibration of the diaphragm, and a tragus and an antitragus located just in front of the external auditory canal of the auricle. A shape and size that can be attached to the recessed part of the concha cavity between the auricle and that the state of attachment to the recessed part can be maintained by the elastic force and frictional force between the tragus and the anti-tragus of the auricle. In addition, the sound hole of the case is provided offset from the center of the diaphragm, and the diameter or area S1 of the diaphragm, the diameter or opening area S2 of the sound hole, and the diameter or opening area S2 of the ear canal are The diameter or opening area S3 is 81>
An ear speaker characterized in that the relationship is set such that S2>S3.