Throat microphone

Abstract

To provide a throat microphone which hardly receives an influence due to a motion of a body of a user.SOLUTION: A throat microphone that is used so as to be wound to a neck of a user, and converts a vibration generated around a throat of the user into an electric signal to output it, comprises: a band-like member that can be wound to the neck of the user; a flat plate member that is attached to the band-like member so as to match a thickness direction; and a sheet-like piezoelectric sensor that is attached to a surface plate part in an inner direction in the flat plate member. When the band-like member is wound to the neck of the user, the band-like member makes the piezoelectric sensor contact to the neck of the user with a pressure, and thus a sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor is tightly adhered to skin of the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a throat microphone that is attached to the user's throat and converts vibrations generated in the user's throat into electrical signals for output.

Background Art

[0002] For example, as an instrument for assisting the voice of a person with a disability who has difficulty speaking due to undergoing a pharyngectomy or the like, a throat microphone that is attached to the throat is known (for example, Patent Document 1). The throat microphone senses vibrations generated in the user's throat with a piezoelectric sensor and converts this into an electrical signal for output. According to this throat microphone, unlike a normal microphone that picks up sound from air vibrations, it is possible to directly pick up sound from the vibrations of the user's throat, so even a very faint voice can be picked up with higher sensitivity than a normal microphone.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, many of the conventional throat microphones are of the neck-hanging type used by hanging them around the user's neck as shown in Patent Document 1. Generally, this type uses a U-shaped neck band with piezoelectric sensors attached to both ends, and by hanging the neck band around the neck, the piezoelectric sensors are configured to be pressed against the user's throat. However, this type has a problem that the piezoelectric sensors do not fit well against the user's throat. For example, when the user moves their body, such as by shaking their head from side to side, the position of the piezoelectric sensors shifts, and frictional noise (also called rubbing noise) is generated due to friction with the skin.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the main object thereof is to provide a throat microphone that is hardly affected by the movement of the user's body.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] That is, the throat microphone according to the present invention is a throat microphone that is wound around the user's neck and converts vibrations generated at the user's throat into electrical signals and outputs them. The throat microphone includes a belt-like member that can be wound around the user's neck, a flat plate member attached to the belt-like member so as to align the thickness directions, and a sheet-like piezoelectric sensor attached to the inner surface plate portion of the flat plate member. When the belt-like member is wound around the user's neck, the flat plate member presses the piezoelectric sensor against the user's neck, so that the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor is in close contact with the user's skin.

[0007] If it is such a thing, when the belt-like member is wound around the user's neck, the flat plate member presses the piezoelectric sensor against the user's neck, so that the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor is configured to be in close contact with the user's skin. Therefore, even if the user moves the body by shaking the neck horizontally or the like, the position of the piezoelectric sensor does not shift, and the frictional noise generated between the skin can be reduced. Furthermore, since the sheet-like piezoelectric sensor is attached to the hard flat plate member and the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor is pressed against the skin by this flat plate member, bending and twisting of the piezoelectric sensor can be suppressed even when the user moves the body, and generation of noise can be suppressed.

[0008] As a specific aspect of the throat microphone, there is an example in which the piezoelectric sensor is configured using a porous polymer film.

[0009] In the throat microphone, when viewed from the thickness direction, the area of the flat plate member is preferably larger than the area of the piezoelectric sensor, and the entire attachment surface on the side opposite to the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor is attached to the surface plate portion of the flat plate member. By doing so, when the user moves their body, the bending and twisting of the piezoelectric sensor can be more effectively suppressed, and the generation of noise can be further suppressed.

[0010] Further, it is preferable that the throat microphone further includes a tightening mechanism for tightening the belt-like member. By doing so, the user can wrap the belt-like member around their neck and tighten it with the tightening mechanism, thereby fitting the belt-like member to the user's neck. As a result, the frictional noise generated between the piezoelectric sensor and the skin can be further reduced.

[0011] Furthermore, it is preferable that the throat microphone further includes a windproof member that covers the side circumferential surface without covering the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor. By doing so, the influence of airborne conduction sound transmitted from the side circumferential surface of the piezoelectric sensor can be reduced.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to provide a throat microphone that is less affected by the movement of the user's body.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the throat microphone 100 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the throat microphone 100 of this embodiment is worn around the user's neck and used to acquire vibrations generated at the user's throat (vocal cords) and convert them into electrical signals, which are then output to an external device 200 such as a smartphone or a personal computer. Note that the throat microphone 100 of this embodiment is configured to output the converted electrical signal to the external device 200 wirelessly, for example, by short-range wireless communication, but it may also be configured to output the electrical signal to the external device 200 by wire via a cable.

[0016] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, this throat microphone 100 includes a belt-like member 1 that can be wound around the user's neck, a sound collection unit 2 attached to the belt-like member 1 for collecting the user's voice, and a control unit (not shown).

[0017] The belt-like member 1 is a long belt-like shape having a sufficient length to be wound around the user's neck. This belt-like member 1 is preferably made of a flexible material so that it fits when wound around the user's neck, and may be, for example, made of cloth, resin, leather, or the like.

[0018] A tightening mechanism 3 for tightening and fixing to the user's neck is attached to the belt-like member 1. This tightening mechanism 3 is configured using, for example, a hook-and-loop fastener or a buckle, but is not limited thereto.

[0019] The sound collection unit 2 converts vibrations generated at the user's throat (vocal cords) into electrical signals, and includes a flat plate member 21 and a sheet-like piezoelectric sensor 22 attached to the front plate portion of the flat plate member 21.

[0020] The flat plate member 21 has a rigidity such that it does not deform when pressed against the user's skin, and is made of, for example, a metal material or a resin material. This flat plate member 21 has a substantially constant thickness, and the thickness direction thereof coincides with the thickness direction of the belt-like member 1 and is attached to the belt-like member 1. Further, in a state where this flat plate member 21 is attached to the belt-like member 1, an inward-facing panel portion that is pressed against the user's skin is exposed.

[0021] The piezoelectric sensor 22 utilizes the piezoelectric effect, and here it is configured to include a porous polymer film 221 made of porous polypropylene or the like, and sheet-like electrodes 222 and 223 that sandwich this from both sides. One surface of this piezoelectric sensor 22 functions as an attachment surface attached to the flat plate member 21, and the other surface functions as a sensor surface pressed against the user's skin.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, for this piezoelectric sensor 22, the sensitivity M of the microphone is determined by the following formula based on the thickness S1 of the solid layer of the porous polymer film 221, the thickness S2 of the void layer of the porous polymer film 221, the relative permittivity ε of the porous polymer film 221, and the permittivity ε0. M = d 33 ×(S1 + ε·S2) / ε·ε0 And as shown in FIG. 4, this piezoelectric sensor 22 can detect vibrations in the thickness direction and output them as electrical signals.

[0023] One surface (inward-facing surface) that functions as the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 is exposed without being covered by the belt-like member 1. Note that the sensor surface and the attachment surface have the same shape and the same area. The area of the sensor surface and the attachment surface of this piezoelectric sensor 22 is larger than the area of the panel portion of the flat plate member 21, and the entire attachment surface of the sensor surface is attached to the panel portion of the flat plate member 21. This piezoelectric sensor 22 converts vibrations generated at the user's throat into electrical signals and outputs them to the control unit.

[0024] The control unit (not shown) is a microcontroller provided inside the belt-like member 1 and includes a CPU, a memory, an input / output interface, etc. Based on various application software stored in the memory, this control unit functions to receive the electrical signal output from the piezoelectric sensor 22 and output it to the external device 200 by the cooperation of the CPU and its peripheral devices.

[0025] When the throat microphone 100 of the present embodiment wraps the belt-like member 1 around the user's neck, the flat plate member 21 presses the piezoelectric sensor 22 against the user's neck, so that the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 comes into close contact with the user's skin. Here, since the piezoelectric sensor 22 is attached to the flat plate member 21, as shown in FIG. 5, the piezoelectric sensor 22 can maintain its shape without deforming even when pressed against the user's skin.

[0026] <Effects of the throat microphone 100 of the present embodiment> According to the throat microphone 100 of the present embodiment configured as described above, when the belt-like member 1 is wrapped around the user's neck, the flat plate member 21 presses the piezoelectric sensor 22 against the user's neck, so that the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 is configured to be in close contact with the user's skin. Therefore, even when the user moves the body by shaking the neck horizontally or the like, the position of the piezoelectric sensor 22 does not shift, and the frictional noise generated between the skin can be reduced. Furthermore, since the sheet-like piezoelectric sensor 22 is attached to the hard flat plate member 21 and the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 is pressed against the skin by this flat plate member 21, bending and twisting of the piezoelectric sensor 22 can be suppressed even when the user moves the body, and generation of noise can be suppressed.

[0027] Also, when viewed from the thickness direction, the area of the flat plate member 21 is larger than the area of the piezoelectric sensor 22, and the entire attachment surface on the side opposite to the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 is attached to the plate portion of the flat plate member 21. Therefore, bending and twisting of the piezoelectric sensor 22 when the user moves the body can be more effectively suppressed, and generation of noise can be further suppressed.

[0028] Furthermore, since the throat microphone 100 is provided with a tightening mechanism 3 for tightening the belt-like member 1, the belt-like member 1 can be wound around the user's neck and tightened by the tightening mechanism 3, so that the belt-like member 1 can be fitted to the user's neck. Thereby, the frictional noise generated between the piezoelectric sensor 22 and the skin can be further reduced.

[0029] <Other Embodiments> Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in other embodiments, the throat microphone 100 may be provided with a windproof member that covers the side circumferential surface without covering the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22. Examples of the windproof member include a sponge and a buff with long hair. In this way, the influence of the air-conducted sound transmitted from the side circumferential surface of the piezoelectric sensor 22 can be reduced.

[0030] Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0031] 100 ··· Throat microphone 1 ··· Belt-like member 2 ··· Sound collection unit 21 ··· Flat plate member 22 ··· Piezoelectric sensor 221 ··· Porous polymer film 222 ··· Electrode 223 ··· Electrode 3 ··· Tightening mechanism 200 ··· External device

Claims

1. A throat microphone that is wound around a user's neck and converts vibrations generated at the user's throat into electrical signals for output, a belt-like member that can be wound around the user's neck, a flat plate member attached to the belt-like member so as to align the thickness directions, and a sheet-like piezoelectric sensor attached to the inner surface plate portion of the flat plate member, wherein when the belt-like member is wound around the user's neck, the flat plate member presses the piezoelectric sensor against the user's neck, causing the sensor surface of the piezoelectric sensor to be in close contact with the user's skin.

2. The throat microphone according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric sensor is configured using a porous polymer film.

3. The throat microphone according to claim 1, wherein when viewed from the thickness direction, the area of the flat plate member is larger than the area of the piezoelectric sensor, and the entire attachment surface of the piezoelectric sensor on the side opposite to the sensor surface is attached to the surface plate portion of the flat plate member.

4. The throat microphone according to claim 1, further comprising a tightening mechanism for tightening the belt-like member.

5. The throat microphone according to claim 1, further comprising a windproof member that covers the side circumference of the piezoelectric sensor without covering the sensor surface.

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