Implantable microphone and hearing aid device

Abstract

The invention provides an implantable microphone and hearing aid equipment, the implantable microphone comprises a sound film, a cavity, a sound sensor and a shell, both the cavity and the sound sensor are arranged in the shell, the sound film is fixed at an opening of the shell and covers an inlet of the cavity, and an outlet of the cavity is communicated with the sound sensor; the cavity is provided with a plurality of sub-cavities arranged in a stepped mode in the depth direction of the cavity, and the inner diameters of the sub-cavities are gradually reduced in the direction from an inlet to an outlet of the cavity. The sound film is configured to receive external sound to generate vibration and drive the gas pressure in the cavity to change; the chamber is configured to transmit a gas pressure change generated based on vibration of the sound film to the sound sensor; the sound sensor is configured to convert the vibration of the sound film into a corresponding electric signal according to the sensed gas pressure change. According to the invention, the problem that the implantable microphone with a cavity structure cannot effectively output sound signals when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure is increased, can be effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of hearing aid equipment, and in particular to an implantable microphone and a hearing aid equipment. Background Art

[0002] Hearing aids are a common means for hearing-impaired patients to improve their hearing, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. Hearing aids are generally composed of external and implanted parts, including sound collectors, signal processors, signal communication modules, stimulators, and some or all modules in the stimulation electrodes. The acquisition of acoustic signals is usually completed using microphones and microphone arrays, which are usually integrated in external devices to achieve good sound collection effects. However, because it needs to be fixed around the head in a specific way, it brings many inconveniences to daily life.

[0003] In recent years, some companies have begun to develop fully implantable solutions, transplanting microphones from outside the body to the body, such as Cochlear's implantable microphones. Implantable microphones often use a chamber structure to achieve good sound collection effects. However, when faced with changes in external air pressure, implantable microphones, especially subcutaneous implanted microphones, are prone to bulging and sinking. In particular, when the external air pressure increases, the acoustic membrane may sink to the bottom, resulting in a greatly reduced response to external sounds, or even disappearance.

[0004] To solve this problem, some manufacturers have provided some solutions, as follows:

[0005] (1) By pre-filling the chamber with overpressure gas, the diaphragm is in a pre-convex state to resist the depression caused by excessive external environmental pressure. This will bring the following problems: increasing the complexity of the manufacturing process and reducing product reliability; the microphone diaphragm will work for a long time under the condition of unbalanced internal and external environmental pressure, increasing the risk of diaphragm failure; if the external environmental pressure decreases, the diaphragm will be more likely to fail due to excessive strain to the outside.

[0006] (2) Pressure adjustment is performed by setting the front and rear volumes, but this obviously increases the volume of the entire microphone.

[0007] (3) A column is set at the center of the chamber to provide support when the diaphragm may sag. This will bring the following problems: when the ambient pressure is high, the microphone can respond normally without the support column, but after adding the support column, the diaphragm vibration will be blocked by the column, and the electrical response will decrease. At the same time, because the mechanical boundary conditions of the diaphragm support column change, the response curve will vary. In addition, frequent collisions of the support column will also generate unnecessary noise.

[0008] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background technology section of the invention is only intended to deepen the understanding of the general background technology of the invention, and should not be regarded as an admission or suggestion in any form that the information constitutes prior art already known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide an implantable microphone and a hearing aid device, which can effectively solve the problem that the implantable microphone with a chamber structure cannot effectively output sound signals when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure increases.

[0010] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides an implantable microphone, which includes an acoustic membrane, a chamber, a sound sensor and a shell, wherein the chamber and the sound sensor are both arranged in the shell, and the top of the shell has an opening, the acoustic membrane is fixed at the opening and covers the entrance of the chamber, and the exit of the chamber is connected to the sound sensor;

[0011] The chamber has a plurality of sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, and the inner diameters of the plurality of sub-chambers gradually decrease along the direction from the inlet to the outlet of the chamber;

[0012] The acoustic membrane is configured to receive external sound to generate vibration, and drive the gas pressure in the chamber to change;

[0013] The chamber is configured to transmit a change in gas pressure generated by the vibration of the acoustic membrane to the acoustic sensor;

[0014] The acoustic sensor is configured to convert the vibration of the acoustic membrane into a corresponding electrical signal according to the sensed gas pressure change.

[0015] Optionally, the implantable microphone also includes a sound transmission channel arranged in the shell, the inlet of the sound transmission channel is connected to the outlet of the chamber, the outlet of the sound transmission channel is connected to the sound sensor, and the sound transmission channel is configured to transmit the gas pressure changes in the chamber to the sound sensor.

[0016] Optionally, the inner diameter of the sound transmission channel is smaller than the inner diameter of the sub-chamber connected thereto.

[0017] Optionally, the stiffness of the middle region of the acoustic membrane is less than the stiffness of the peripheral region of the acoustic membrane.

[0018] Optionally, the thickness of the middle area of ​​the acoustic membrane is smaller than the thickness of the peripheral area of ​​the acoustic membrane.

[0019] Optionally, the chamber has a first sub-chamber and a second sub-chamber arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, the acoustic membrane covers the entrance of the first sub-chamber, and the first sub-chamber and the second sub-chamber satisfy the following relationship:

[0020]

[0021] Wherein, r1 is the radius of the first sub-chamber, V1 is the volume of the first sub-chamber, r2 is the radius of the second sub-chamber, and V2 is the volume of the second sub-chamber.

[0022] Optionally, the implantable microphone further includes a circuit module disposed in the shell and connected to the sound sensor, wherein the circuit module is configured to amplify, filter and / or perform analog-to-digital conversion on the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor.

[0023] Optionally, the implantable microphone further includes a feedthrough module connected to the sound sensor, wherein the feedthrough module is located on the shell, and the feedthrough module is configured to transmit the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor to the outside of the shell.

[0024] In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention further provides a hearing aid device, which includes the implantable microphone described above.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the implantable microphone and hearing aid provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0026] The implantable microphone provided by the present invention includes an acoustic membrane, a chamber, a sound sensor and a shell, wherein the chamber and the sound sensor are both arranged in the shell, the top of the shell has an opening, the acoustic membrane is fixed at the opening and covers the entrance of the chamber, and the exit of the chamber is connected to the sound sensor; the chamber has a plurality of sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, and the inner diameters of the plurality of sub-chambers gradually decrease from the entrance to the exit of the chamber; the acoustic membrane is configured to receive external sounds to generate vibrations and drive changes in the gas pressure in the chamber; the chamber is configured to transmit the gas pressure changes generated by the vibration of the acoustic membrane to the sound sensor; the sound sensor is configured to convert the vibration of the acoustic membrane into a corresponding electrical signal according to the sensed gas pressure changes. Therefore, the present invention designs the cavity of the implantable microphone to include a structure of multiple sub-cavities arranged in a stepped manner and with gradually decreasing inner diameters, so that when the external air pressure increases and the acoustic membrane is concave inward, the bottoming area of ​​the acoustic membrane can be reduced, so that when there is sound input, the non-bottoming area of ​​the acoustic membrane can still vibrate and deform, so that the sound sensor can still detect the vibration signal generated by the acoustic membrane based on the external sound, and thus the user can still hear the sound, thereby effectively solving the problem that the implantable microphone with a cavity structure cannot effectively output the sound signal when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure increases, and thus the implantable microphone provided by the present invention has stronger environmental adaptability during use. In addition, the present invention designs the cavity of the implantable microphone to include a structure of multiple sub-cavities arranged in a stepped manner and with gradually decreasing inner diameters, so that when the external air pressure increases, the effective volume (balance volume) of the cavity of the microphone becomes smaller, so that the acoustic membrane can resist further deformation to maintain the response to the external sound, and at the same time, the acoustic membrane can be prevented from being deformed too much and permanently deformed and damaged. In addition, by providing a shell, the entire implantable microphone can form a closed structure, which is convenient for use as a fully implanted component to adapt to the internal environment of the human body, and further helps to improve the sound reception effect of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention.

[0027] Since the hearing aid device provided by the present invention includes the implantable microphone provided by the present invention, the hearing aid device provided by the present invention has at least all the beneficial effects of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention. For details, please refer to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention in the above text, so it will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone with a chamber structure under normal air pressure in the prior art;

[0029] Figure 2A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone with a chamber structure in the prior art when the external air pressure increases;

[0030] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone provided by a first embodiment of the present invention under normal air pressure;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of the implantable microphone provided by the first embodiment of the present invention when the external air pressure increases;

[0032] Figure 5 A force-sound analogy diagram of the implantable microphone provided by the first embodiment of the present invention before the acoustic membrane touches the bottom;

[0033] Figure 6 A force-sound analogy diagram of the implantable microphone after the acoustic membrane touches the bottom provided by the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone under normal air pressure provided by a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone under normal air pressure provided by a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone provided by a third embodiment of the present invention when the external air pressure increases.

[0037] The reference numerals are as follows:

[0038] Acoustic membrane-110; middle area-111; peripheral area-112; chamber-120; first sub-chamber-121; second sub-chamber-122; sound sensor-130; sound transmission channel-140; circuit module-150; shell-160; feed-through module-170. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The implantable microphone and hearing aid device proposed by the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. According to the following description, the advantages and features of the present invention will be more clear. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are not in precise proportions, which are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the embodiments of the present invention. In order to make the purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, please refer to the drawings. It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc. illustrated in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification for people familiar with this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the present invention. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, under the same or similar conditions as the effects and purposes that can be achieved by the present invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the present invention. The specific design features of the present invention disclosed herein include, for example, specific dimensions, directions, positions and shapes, which will be determined in part by the specific environment to be applied and used. And, in the embodiments described below, sometimes the same figure mark is used in common between different drawings to represent the same part or part with the same function, and its repeated description is omitted. In this specification, similar reference numerals and letters are used to refer to similar items, and therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further discussed in subsequent figures. In addition, if the method described herein includes a series of steps, the order of these steps presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which these steps can be performed, and some of the steps described may be omitted and / or some other steps not described herein may be added to the method.

[0040] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "including one..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents, the term "or" is generally used in a sense including "and / or", the term "several" is generally used in a sense including "at least one", the term "at least two" is generally used in a sense including "two or more", and the term "plurality" is generally used in a sense including "at least two".

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "install", "connect", "connect", and "fix" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances. In addition, in the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0042] For ease of understanding, the research background of the implantable microphone and hearing aid provided by the present invention is briefly introduced. Figure 1 and Figure 2 ,in, Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone with a chamber structure under normal air pressure in the prior art; Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone with a chamber structure in the prior art when the external air pressure increases. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , when the external air pressure increases, the acoustic membrane 110 is concave inward, and when the pressure difference increases to a certain value, the acoustic membrane 110 will touch the bottom (i.e., contact the bottom wall of the chamber 120, see FIG. 1 ). Figure 2 At this time, if there is sound input, the acoustic membrane 110 hardly deforms, the sound sensor 130 cannot detect a valid signal, and the user will not be able to hear the sound.

[0043] Based on this, the core idea of ​​the present invention is to provide an implantable microphone and a hearing aid device, which can effectively solve the problem that the implantable microphone with a chamber structure cannot effectively output sound signals when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure increases.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,in, Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone provided by a first embodiment of the present invention under normal air pressure; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the implantable microphone provided by the first embodiment of the present invention when the external air pressure increases. Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the implantable microphone provided by the present invention includes an acoustic membrane 110, a chamber 120, a sound sensor 130 and a shell 160. The chamber 120 and the sound sensor are both arranged in the shell 160. The top of the shell 160 has an opening (not shown in the figure). The acoustic membrane 110 is fixed to the opening of the shell 160 and covers the entrance of the chamber 120 (not shown in the figure). The exit of the chamber 120 (not shown in the figure) is connected to the sound sensor 130. The chamber 120 has a plurality of sub-chambers (not shown in the figure) arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction. The inner diameters of the multiple sub-chambers gradually decrease from the entrance to the exit of the chamber 120; the acoustic membrane 110 is configured to receive external sounds to generate vibrations, and drive the gas pressure in the chamber 120 to change; the chamber 120 (i.e., the multiple sub-chambers) is configured to transmit the gas pressure changes (i.e., the changes in pressure over time, or the gas pressure that changes over time) generated by the vibrations of the acoustic membrane 110 to the sound sensor 130; the sound sensor 130 is configured to convert the vibrations of the acoustic membrane 110 into corresponding electrical signals according to the sensed gas pressure changes. Therefore, the present invention designs the cavity 120 of the implantable microphone to include a plurality of sub-cavities which are arranged in a stepped manner and have gradually decreasing inner diameters. This can reduce the bottoming area of ​​the acoustic membrane 110 when the acoustic membrane 110 sinks inward due to the increase of external air pressure, so that when sound is input, the non-bottoming area of ​​the acoustic membrane 110 can still vibrate and deform, so that the sound sensor 130 can still detect the vibration signal generated by the acoustic membrane 110 based on the external sound, and thus the user can still hear the sound, thereby effectively solving the problem that the implantable microphone with a cavity structure cannot effectively output sound signals when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure increases, and thus the implantable microphone provided by the present invention has stronger environmental adaptability during use. In addition, the present invention designs the chamber 120 of the implantable microphone to include a plurality of sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner and with gradually decreasing inner diameters, so that when the external air pressure of the microphone increases, the effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 becomes smaller, thereby resisting further deformation of the acoustic membrane 110 to maintain the response to external sounds, and preventing the acoustic membrane 110 from being permanently deformed and damaged due to excessive deformation. In addition, by providing the housing 160, the entire implantable microphone can form a closed structure, which is convenient for use as a fully implanted part to adapt to the internal environment of the human body, and helps to further improve the sound pickup effect of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention.

[0045] Preferably, the multiple sub-chambers are coaxially arranged. Thus, this arrangement not only facilitates the processing of the chamber 120 and reduces the production cost of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention, but also ensures that when the external air pressure increases, the acoustic membrane 110 is more evenly stressed, which helps to improve the sound pickup effect of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention.

[0046] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown in some exemplary embodiments, the chamber 120 has a first sub-chamber 121 and a second sub-chamber 122 arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, and the acoustic membrane 110 covers the entrance (not shown in the figure) of the first sub-chamber 121. Therefore, when the pressure inside and outside the chamber 120 is equal (i.e., under normal air pressure), the acoustic membrane 110 is flat. Figure 3 As shown, the effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 is (V1+V2), where V1 is the volume of the first sub-chamber 121, and V2 is the volume of the second sub-chamber 122. When the external air pressure increases, the acoustic membrane 110 is concave inward, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 When the internal and external pressures increase to a certain value, the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 (see Figure 7 ) touches the bottom wall of the first sub-chamber 121 and has a dotted deformation. At this time, the effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 is V2, and the effective diameter of the chamber 120 is reduced. Under the support force of the bottom wall of the first sub-chamber 121, the overall stiffness of the acoustic membrane 110 is increased, which can effectively resist the further bending and bottoming of the acoustic membrane 110. When there is sound input, the middle area 111 (see Figure 7 , that is, the area of ​​the acoustic membrane 110 that has not touched the bottom) still vibrates and deforms, so that the sound sensor 130 can still detect the signal, and the user can still hear the sound.

[0047] It should be noted that although the present invention is described by taking the example that the chamber 120 includes the first sub-chamber 121 and the second sub-chamber 122, which are two sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner, as those skilled in the art can understand, in some other embodiments, the chamber 120 may also include three, four or more sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner, which can be specifically arranged according to actual needs and the specific size of the implantable microphone.

[0048] In some exemplary embodiments, the first sub-chamber 121 and the second sub-chamber 122 satisfy the following relationship:

[0049]

[0050] Wherein, r1 is the radius of the first sub-chamber 121 , V1 is the volume of the first sub-chamber 121 , r2 is the radius of the second sub-chamber 122 , and V2 is the volume of the second sub-chamber 122 .

[0051] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, when the first sub-chamber 121 is non-cylindrical, the radius r1 of the first sub-chamber 121 may be the average radius of all cross-sections of the first sub-chamber 121, and further, when the cross-section of the first sub-chamber 121 is non-circular, the radius of each cross-section of the first sub-chamber 121 may be approximately equal to the radius of a circle with the same cross-sectional area. Similarly, when the second sub-chamber 122 is non-cylindrical, the radius r2 of the second sub-chamber 122 may be the average radius of all cross-sections of the second sub-chamber 122, and further, when the cross-section of the second sub-chamber 122 is non-circular, the radius of each cross-section of the second sub-chamber 122 may be approximately equal to the radius of a circle with the same cross-sectional area.

[0052] Specifically, when the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, the boundary conditions and effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 change. Although the implanted microphone can still respond to the external sound pressure, in a better case, it is expected that the response of the implanted microphone to the outside world will not change too much before and after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, especially the sensitivity.

[0053] When the implanted microphone receives external sound stimulation, the acoustic membrane 110 vibrates. According to the forced vibration law of the acoustic membrane 110, when the vibration frequency is much lower than the resonance frequency of the acoustic membrane 110, the average amplitude of the acoustic membrane 110 is approximately:

[0054]

[0055] in, is the average amplitude of the acoustic membrane 110, P a is the average pressure of the acoustic membrane 110 , r is the effective radius of the acoustic membrane 110 , and T is the tensile stress on the acoustic membrane 110 .

[0056] It can be seen from the above formula (2) that as the effective radius of the acoustic membrane 110 (the radius of the area suspended above the chamber 120, i.e., the radius of the area not touching the bottom) decreases, the vibration system increases in stiffness and the amplitude decreases, resulting in a decrease in the sensitivity of the implantable microphone. It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the effective radius of the acoustic membrane 110 is approximately equal to the effective radius of the chamber 120.

[0057] At the same time, since the effective volume change process of the chamber 120 caused by the acoustic signal is relatively fast, it can be basically considered to be adiabatic. Under these conditions, the adiabatic law is followed:

[0058] PV γ =const (3)

[0059] Further, taking the derivative of the volume change and solving for the pressure change gives:

[0060] dP / dV=-γP0 / V0 (4)

[0061] Where P0 and V0 are equilibrium pressure and equilibrium volume respectively. For the cylindrical chamber 120, V0 = πr' 2 h0, h0 is the depth of the cylindrical chamber 120, r' is the radius of the cylindrical chamber 120, and γ is the specific heat ratio of the gas, which is usually 1.4.

[0062] It can be seen from the above formula (4) that as the equilibrium volume of the chamber 120 decreases, the sensitivity of the implantable microphone increases, and for a cylindrical chamber 120 , it is approximately inversely proportional to the square of the radius r′ of the cylindrical chamber 120 .

[0063] According to formula (2), as the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, the effective radius of the acoustic membrane 110 decreases, and the amplitude of the acoustic membrane 110 decreases, resulting in a decrease in the sensitivity of the implanted microphone. However, according to formula (4), as the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, the effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 decreases from (V1+V2) to V2, which in turn causes the implanted microphone to be more sensitive to the external air pressure, that is, the sensitivity of the implanted microphone increases. Therefore, according to the above formula (1), by reasonably designing the volume and radius of the first sub-chamber 121 and the second sub-chamber 122 in the chamber 120, the low-frequency sensitivity of the implanted microphone can be kept relatively stable when the external air pressure changes.

[0064] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, in the case where the chamber 120 has three or more sub-chambers, the volume and radius of each sub-chamber can also be reasonably designed according to formula (2) and formula (4) so ​​that the low-frequency sensitivity of the implantable microphone remains relatively stable when the external air pressure changes.

[0065] In some exemplary embodiments, the stiffness of the middle region 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 is less than the stiffness of the peripheral region 112 of the acoustic membrane 110. After the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom (i.e., the peripheral region 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom wall of the first sub-chamber 121), the overall stiffness of the acoustic membrane 110 will increase under the support force of the bottom wall of the sub-chamber in contact with it, resulting in a decrease in the deformation of the acoustic membrane 110, thereby affecting the sound reception quality of the implanted microphone, which is mainly manifested in an increase in the resonant frequency, resulting in a decrease in the sensitivity of the audio range. Therefore, by setting the stiffness of the middle region 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 to be less than the stiffness of its peripheral region 112, after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, the middle region 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 can still maintain the corresponding deformation when receiving external sounds, thereby ensuring that the implanted microphone provided by the present invention can still maintain a high sensitivity after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, so as to ensure the sound reception effect of the implanted microphone provided by the present invention.

[0066] Specifically, the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 can be made of a first material, and the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 can be made of a second material, wherein the stiffness of the first material is less than the stiffness of the second material. This technical means can achieve the effect that the stiffness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 is less than the stiffness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110. It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the effect that the stiffness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 is less than the stiffness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 can also be achieved by setting the thickness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 to be less than the thickness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110. For details, please refer to the relevant description of the implantable microphone provided in the second embodiment below, which will not be described in detail here.

[0067] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the implantable microphone further includes a sound transmission channel 140 disposed in the housing 160, an inlet (not shown in the figure) of the sound transmission channel 140 is connected to the outlet of the chamber 120, and an outlet (not shown in the figure) of the sound transmission channel 140 is connected to the sound sensor 130, and the sound transmission channel 140 is configured to transmit the gas pressure change in the chamber 120 to the sound sensor 130. Therefore, by providing the sound transmission channel 140, it can be effectively ensured that the gas pressure change in the chamber 120 generated by the vibration of the acoustic membrane 110 can be smoothly received by the sound sensor 130.

[0068] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the inner diameter of the sound transmission channel 140 is smaller than the inner diameter of the sub-chamber connected thereto (e.g., the second sub-chamber 122 in the figure). Therefore, by setting the inner diameter of the sound transmission channel 140 to be smaller than the inner diameter of the sub-chamber connected thereto (i.e., the sub-chamber near the outlet of the chamber 120), it can be further ensured that the gas pressure change in the chamber 120 generated by the vibration of the acoustic membrane 110 can be smoothly received by the sound sensor 130.

[0069] In order to understand the changes in the vibration system of the entire acoustic membrane 110 before and after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom, please continue to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 ,in, Figure 5 A force-acoustic analog diagram of the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment of the present invention before the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom; Figure 6The force - sound analogy diagram of the implantable microphone provided by the first embodiment of the present invention after the sound membrane 110 bottoms out. As Figure 5 shown, S1 is the area of the sound membrane 110 suspended at the opening of the first sub - chamber 121 (i.e., the cross - sectional area of the opening of the first sub - chamber 121), and M1, C1, R1 are respectively the equivalent mass, compliance coefficient, and elastic force resistance of the entire sound membrane 110 suspended at the opening of the first sub - chamber 121; Ca1 is the equivalent acoustic capacitance of the first sub - chamber 121 and the second sub - chamber 122; Ma3, Ra3 are respectively the equivalent acoustic mass and acoustic resistance of the gas in the sound transmission channel 140, P in is the externally input sound pressure, and P out is the sound pressure of the gas flowing through the sound transmission channel 140. As Figure 6 shown, S2 is the area of the partial sound membrane 110 suspended at the opening of the second sub - chamber 122 (i.e., the cross - sectional area of the opening of the second sub - chamber 122), and M2, C2, R2 are respectively the equivalent mass, compliance coefficient, and elastic force resistance of the partial sound membrane 110 suspended at the opening of the second sub - chamber 122. Because after bottoming out (i.e., after the peripheral region 112 of the sound membrane 110 touches the bottom wall of the first sub - chamber 121), the vibration of the peripheral region 112 of the sound membrane 110 is restricted, and only the partial sound membrane 110 in the middle region 111 suspended at the opening of the second sub - chamber 122 can vibrate with the external sound pressure, so C2 < C1; Ca2 is the equivalent acoustic capacitance of the second sub - chamber 122, so Ca2 < Ca1; similarly, Ma3, Ra3 are respectively the equivalent acoustic mass and acoustic resistance of the gas in the sound transmission channel 140, P in is the externally input sound pressure, and P out’ is the sound pressure of the gas flowing through the sound transmission channel 140. It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention can, through reasonable design of the volume and radius of each sub - chamber in the chamber 120 and the sound membrane 110, make the difference between P in and P out and P out’ relatively small when the externally input sound pressure is all P

[0070] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 As Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the implantable microphone further includes a circuit module 150 disposed in the housing 160 and connected to the sound sensor 130, and the circuit module 150 is configured to amplify, filter and / or perform analog-to-digital conversion on the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130. Thus, by setting the circuit module 150 to amplify the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130, the signal strength can be improved, which helps to further improve the sound pickup effect of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention; by setting the circuit module 150 to filter the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130, the noise can be effectively removed, which helps to further improve the sound pickup effect of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention; by setting the circuit module 150 to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130, the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130 can be converted from an analog signal to a corresponding digital signal, thereby making subsequent processing more convenient.

[0071] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, the implantable microphone further includes a feedthrough module 170 connected to the sound sensor 130, the feedthrough module 170 is located on the housing 160, and the feedthrough module 170 is configured to transmit the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130 to the outside of the housing 160. Therefore, by providing the feedthrough module 170, the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor 130 can be effectively transmitted from the enclosed space formed by the housing 160 to another enclosed space located outside the housing 160.

[0072] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art can understand, a channel may be provided on the housing 160 , through which the feedthrough module 170 passes, so that the feedthrough module 170 and the housing 160 together form a sealing structure.

[0073] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 ,like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in some exemplary embodiments, each sub-chamber of the chamber 120 is cylindrical (i.e., the first sub-chamber 121 and the second sub-chamber 122 are both cylindrical). Therefore, by designing each sub-chamber of the chamber 120 to be cylindrical, it is not only possible to ensure that the implantable microphone provided by the present invention has a good frequency response effect, but also it is more convenient to reasonably design the volume and radius of each sub-chamber of the chamber 120 so that the low-frequency sensitivity of the implantable microphone remains relatively stable when the external air pressure changes.

[0074] Please continue to refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone provided by the second embodiment of the present invention under normal air pressure. Figure 7 As shown, the difference between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment is that in this embodiment, the thickness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 is less than the thickness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110. Therefore, by setting the acoustic membrane 110 to have a structure in which the thickness of the middle area 111 is less than the thickness of the peripheral area 112, the effect of the stiffness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110 being less than the stiffness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 can be achieved when the same material is used, thereby effectively ensuring that the implantable microphone provided by the present invention can still maintain a high sensitivity after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom. Specifically, the material of the acoustic membrane 110 can be a metal titanium or titanium alloy material with biocompatibility.

[0075] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, in order to avoid redundancy, this document only describes the differences between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment, and the similarities between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment are not described repeatedly. Specifically, reference may be made to the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment for adaptive understanding.

[0076] Please continue to refer to Figure 8 and Fig. 9 ,in, Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of an implantable microphone under normal air pressure provided by a third embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the implantable microphone provided by the third embodiment of the present invention when the external air pressure increases. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, the difference between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment is that in this embodiment, the first sub-chamber 121 is arranged in a truncated cone shape. Therefore, by designing the first sub-chamber 121 in a truncated cone shape, the acoustic membrane 110 can be smoothly restored to its original state after touching the bottom when the external air pressure returns to normal.

[0077] It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, in order to avoid redundancy, this document only describes the differences between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment, and the similarities between the implantable microphone provided in this embodiment and the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment are not described repeatedly. Specifically, reference may be made to the implantable microphone provided in the first embodiment for adaptive understanding.

[0078] In order to realize the above-mentioned idea, the present invention also provides a hearing aid device, which includes the implantable microphone mentioned above. Since the hearing aid device provided by the present invention includes the implantable microphone provided by the present invention, the hearing aid device provided by the present invention at least has all the beneficial effects of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention. For details, please refer to the above description of the beneficial effects of the implantable microphone provided by the present invention, so the beneficial effects of the hearing aid device provided by the present invention will not be described in detail here. It should be noted that, as can be understood by those skilled in the art, the hearing aid device provided by the present invention can be a hearing aid or a cochlear implant, and the present invention does not limit this. For more structures of hearing aids and cochlear implants, please refer to the relevant technologies known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0079] In summary, compared with the prior art, the implantable microphone and hearing aid device provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0080] (1) The present invention designs the cavity 120 of the implantable microphone to include a plurality of sub-cavities which are arranged in a stepped manner and whose inner diameters gradually decrease. This can reduce the bottoming area of ​​the acoustic membrane 110 when the acoustic membrane 110 is sunken inward due to the increase of external air pressure. This allows the acoustic membrane 110 to still vibrate and deform when sound is input, so that the sound sensor 130 can still detect the vibration signal generated by the acoustic membrane 110 based on the external sound, and the user can still hear the sound. This can effectively solve the problem that the implantable microphone with a cavity structure cannot effectively output sound signals when the air pressure changes, especially when the air pressure increases. This can make the implantable microphone provided by the present invention have stronger environmental adaptability during use.

[0081] (2) The present invention designs the chamber 120 of the implantable microphone to include a plurality of sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner and with gradually decreasing inner diameters. This can also reduce the effective volume (equilibrium volume) of the chamber 120 when the external air pressure of the microphone increases, thereby resisting further deformation of the acoustic membrane 110 to maintain response to external sounds and preventing the acoustic membrane 110 from being deformed excessively and causing permanent deformation damage.

[0082] (3) The present invention reasonably designs the volume and radius of each sub-chamber in the chamber 120, so that the low-frequency sensitivity of the implantable microphone can remain relatively stable when the external air pressure changes.

[0083] (4) The present invention can ensure the sensitivity of the implantable microphone after the acoustic membrane 110 touches the bottom by setting the stiffness of the peripheral area 112 of the acoustic membrane 110 to be greater than the stiffness of the middle area 111 of the acoustic membrane 110.

[0084] It should be noted that, in the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, unless they are contradictory.

[0085] In addition, it should be noted that the above description is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not any limitation on the scope of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by a person skilled in the art in the field of the present invention based on the above disclosure are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Obviously, a person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the present invention and its equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An implantable microphone, characterized in that: The device comprises an acoustic membrane, a chamber, an acoustic sensor and a shell, wherein the chamber and the acoustic sensor are both arranged in the shell, the top of the shell has an opening, the acoustic membrane is fixed at the opening and covers the entrance of the chamber, and the exit of the chamber is connected to the acoustic sensor; The chamber has a plurality of sub-chambers arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, and the inner diameters of the plurality of sub-chambers gradually decrease along the direction from the inlet to the outlet of the chamber; The acoustic membrane is configured to receive external sound to generate vibration, and drive the gas pressure in the chamber to change; The chamber is configured to transmit a change in gas pressure generated by the vibration of the acoustic membrane to the acoustic sensor; The acoustic sensor is configured to convert the vibration of the acoustic membrane into a corresponding electrical signal according to the sensed gas pressure change.

2. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The implantable microphone also includes a sound transmission channel arranged in the shell, the inlet of the sound transmission channel is connected to the outlet of the chamber, the outlet of the sound transmission channel is connected to the sound sensor, and the sound transmission channel is configured to transmit the gas pressure change in the chamber to the sound sensor.

3. The implantable microphone according to claim 2, characterized in that The inner diameter of the sound transmission channel is smaller than the inner diameter of the sub-chamber connected thereto.

4. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The stiffness of the middle region of the acoustic membrane is less than the stiffness of the peripheral region of the acoustic membrane.

5. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The thickness of the middle region of the acoustic membrane is smaller than the thickness of the peripheral region of the acoustic membrane.

6. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The chamber has a first sub-chamber and a second sub-chamber arranged in a stepped manner along its depth direction, the acoustic membrane covers the entrance of the first sub-chamber, and the first sub-chamber and the second sub-chamber satisfy the following relationship: Wherein, r1 is the radius of the first sub-chamber, V1 is the volume of the first sub-chamber, r2 is the radius of the second sub-chamber, and V2 is the volume of the second sub-chamber.

7. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The implantable microphone further comprises a circuit module disposed in the housing and connected to the sound sensor, wherein the circuit module is configured to perform amplification processing, filtering processing and / or analog-to-digital conversion on the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor.

8. The implantable microphone according to claim 1, characterized in that The implantable microphone further includes a feedthrough module connected to the sound sensor, wherein the feedthrough module is located on the housing and is configured to transmit the electrical signal generated by the sound sensor to the outside of the housing.

9. A hearing aid device, characterized in that: An implantable microphone comprising any one of claims 1 to 8.

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