Face shield headphones
The face shield cover member as a vibrating speaker member addresses the unnatural sound localization in headphones by enhancing bass and realism through a moving coil actuator, creating plane wave-like sound waves.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2021131820
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2021-07-05
- Publication Date
- 2025-09-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2041-07-05
AI Technical Summary
Existing headphones with speakers on both ears create an unnatural sound experience by localizing the sound source inside the head, and existing solutions with speakers in front and back suffer from small output surfaces and spherical sound waves, leading to insufficient bass and realism.
The face shield cover member is used as a vibrating speaker member connected via a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator, providing a large output surface and plane wave-like sound waves.
This configuration localizes the sound source in front of the head, enhances bass characteristics, and provides an excellent sense of realism with plane wave-like sound waves.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to improving the sound source localization characteristics of headphones. [Background technology]
[0002] Headphones are generally configured with speakers attached to both ears. This configuration creates an unnatural sound experience, as if the sound source is located inside the head. In response to this, it is desirable to achieve a more natural sound experience, in which the sound source is localized in front of the head. To solve this problem, binaural recording is available as a recording method, but it is insufficient in terms of the forward localization characteristics. Another method has been proposed in which speakers are placed in front of the head (Patent Document 1). In this case, speaker 14 is placed in front and speaker 15 is placed behind, as shown in Figure 5. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-101489 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] With the device shown in Figure 5, the sound source is localized in front of the head. However, since it is worn on the head, it is limited to small speakers, and the output surface of the speaker is small, resulting in insufficient bass characteristics. In addition, the sound waves become spherical waves with their centers at the output surface, as shown in Figure 6, which results in insufficient realism.
[0005] In the present invention, by using the cover member of the face shield as the vibrating member of the speaker, the sound source is localized in front of the head, and the large output surface provides good bass characteristics. In addition, a headphone device is provided in which the sound waves are close to plane waves, as shown in Figure 6, providing an excellent sense of realism. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The cover member and head-mounted member of the face shield are connected by a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator, and the cover member is driven as a vibrating member. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] By using the cover member of the face shield as the vibrating member of the speaker, the sound source is localized in front of the head, and the large output surface provides good bass characteristics. In addition, the sound waves become closer to plane waves, providing an excellent sense of realism. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the device of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the device of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a cross section taken along the line AA in Figure 2. [Figure 4] This is the cross section taken along line BB in Figure 3. [Figure 5] 1 is an example of a prior art document. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a comparison diagram between the prior art and the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Example]
[0009] Fig. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the device of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the embodiment of the device of the present invention, in which 1 is a transparent cover member, 2 is a head-mounted member with mounting parts on the upper and rear sides of the head, each equipped with a cushion 4, a belt 3, and an adjuster 5. As shown in Figure 3 (cross section AA in Figure 2) and Figure 4 (cross section BB in Figure 3), two coils 8 (flat type) are integrally formed on each of the left and right ends of the cover member 1, and magnets are integrally formed on the head mounting member 2 at positions corresponding to the coils 8, sandwiching the coils 8 therebetween, thereby forming a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator. The cover member 1 is connected to the head mounting member 2 via spring members 9, allowing it to vibrate. With the above-described configuration, the cover member 1 functions as a vibrating body with a large output surface, and good bass characteristics and an excellent sense of presence due to plane wave-like sound waves can be obtained. A sound insulating member 6 is provided on the edge of the cover member 1 to prevent interference between sound waves on the front side and sound waves on the rear side of the cover member 1. This creates a good sound field. As shown in Figure 3, mass bodies 10 are provided on the left and right sides of the head mounting member 2. Coils 12 (flat type) are integrally molded into mass body 10, and magnets 11 are integrally molded into the head mounting member so as to sandwich coil 12, forming a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator. Mass body 10 and the head mounting member are connected via spring members 13 so as to be able to vibrate. Vibrations occurring in the head-mounted member are reduced by driving the mass body 10 so as to cancel out the reaction force of the driving force on the cover member 1, thereby enabling comfortable listening. [Explanation of symbols]
[0010] 1 Cover member 1 2 Head mounting member 3 Belt 4 cushions 5 adjuster 6 Sound-insulating materials 7. Magnets 8 coils 9 Spring members 10 mass body 11 Magnet 12 coils 13 Spring member 14 Speaker 15 Speaker
Claims
1. A headphone device in which the cover member of the face shield is driven as a vibrating body by a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator consisting of coils provided at the left and right ends of the cover member and magnets provided on the head-mounted member side to correspond to each of these coils.
2. 2. The headphone device according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is coupled to the head-mounted member via a spring member.
3. 2. The headphone device according to claim 1, wherein the head mounting member and the inertial body are connected via spring members to the locations corresponding to the electromagnetic actuators so as to cancel out the reaction force of the driving thrust acting on the cover member on the head mounting member, and the inertial body is driven by a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator consisting of a magnet provided on the head mounting member and a coil provided on the inertial body.
4. 4. A headphone device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the coil is of a planar type and is sandwiched between magnets to form a moving coil type electromagnetic actuator.
5. 2. The headphone device according to claim 1, wherein a sound insulating member is provided on the inside edge of the cover member so as to suppress the phenomenon in which sound waves traveling to the outside and the inside of the cover member cancel each other out.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Headphone
JP2002101489A
Vibration exciter, helmet and cowl of two-wheeled motor vehicle
JP2007110608A
Artificial-reality devices with display-mounted transducers for audio playback
US10873800B1