Singing aid

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a singing aid capable of adjusting the volume of the voice that is emitted from the mouth of a wearer and transmitted as an air conduction sound to the ear.　[Solution] This singing aid 1 for transmitting the voice emitted from the mouth of a wearer to the ear as an air conduction sound includes: a buccal sound path forming member 10 which is installed so as to extend through the vicinity of the cheek in a front-rear direction from the mouth of the wearer toward the vicinity of the left or right ear, and inside which a recess is formed as a sound path 11 for guiding the voice as an air conduction sound to the ear of the wearer; and a mounting member 30 for mounting the buccal sound path forming member 10 to the head of the wearer. The buccal sound path forming member 10 includes a volume adjustment member 20 for mechanically adjusting the volume of the air conduction sound transmitted to the ear through the sound path 11.

Description

singing aids

[0001] The present invention relates to a singing aid for assisting a person in singing well.

[0002] Conventionally, there have been provided acoustic devices such as masks that allow the wearer to objectively hear their own voice as air-conducted sound rather than bone-conducted sound, and examples of these devices are disclosed in the following patent documents.

[0003] A person wearing such an audio device can improve their singing ability by singing while objectively checking their own voice in real time, just as if it were being heard by others.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-107988 Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 60-156599 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-258748

[0005] Here, people's voice volumes and hearing levels vary, but the above-mentioned audio devices cannot adjust the volume of air-conducted sound transmitted to the wearer's ears, which can lead to problems such as people with hearing impairments not being able to hear their own voices, or when they raise their voices, the bone-conducted sound becomes too loud and they are unable to hear other sounds.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide a singing aid that can adjust the volume of the voice emitted from the wearer's mouth and transmitted to the ears as air-conducted sound.

[0007] The singing aid of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is a singing aid that transmits the voice emitted from the wearer's mouth to the ear as air-conducted sound, and comprises: a cheek-parallel sound path forming member that is installed extending in the front-to-back direction near the cheek from the wearer's mouth toward the vicinity of either the left or right ear, and has a recess formed inside that is a sound path that guides the voice to the wearer's ear as air-conducted sound; and a wearing member for wearing the cheek-parallel sound path forming member on the wearer's head, and the cheek-parallel sound path forming member is characterized in that it comprises a volume adjustment member for mechanically adjusting the volume of the air-conducted sound that is transmitted to the ear through the sound path.

[0008] According to the singing aid device of the present invention, the volume adjustment member can mechanically adjust the volume of the voice transmitted to the ear as air-conducted sound, allowing the wearer to effectively improve their singing ability.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view, seen from the outside, of the configuration and wearing state of a singing aid according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a parachookal sound path forming member and a wearing member according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a slide plate of a volume adjustment member according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view from the outside side showing the wearing state of a singing aid according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view, seen from the outside, of the configuration and wearing state of a singing aid according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a parachookal sound path forming member and a wearing member according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a slide plate of a volume adjustment member according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a view from the outside side showing the wearing state of a singing aid according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view, seen from the outside, of the configuration and wearing state of a singing aid according to a first variation of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a parachookal sound path forming member and a wearing member according to a first variation of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a parachookal sound path forming member and a wearing member according to a second variation of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 4. A singing aid 1 according to the first embodiment guides the sound emitted from the wearer's mouth to the ear through the area adjacent to the right cheek.

[0011] The singing aid 1 includes a parachookal sound path forming member 10 extending in the front-to-rear direction from the mouth to near the right ear, and a mounting member 30 for mounting the parachookal sound path forming member 10 on a person's head. Fig. 2(a) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and mounting member 30, excluding the slide plate 21, as viewed from the outside, and Fig. 2(b) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and mounting member 30, excluding the slide plate 21, as viewed from the inside. The components of the singing aid 1 are made of resin, and in this embodiment, the portion excluding the slide plate 21 is integrally molded from resin using a 3D printer. Of course, other methods, such as injection molding, may be used instead of a 3D printer.

[0012] The parachookal sound path forming member 10 comprises an outer curved member 12 that is a curved plate shape that is convex outward near the center in the height direction over substantially the entire length, and an inner plate 15. The outer curved member 12 is long enough that its rear end just reaches the ear when worn by an average-sized adult, and the inner side of the curve of the outer curved member 12 functions as a sound path 11 that guides air-conducted sound.

[0013] The buccal sound path forming member 10 has an outwardly convex curved shape in a plan view so as to extend in the front-to-back direction along the face of the wearer. The wearer's voice is guided as air-conducted sound through this sound path 11 from the front to the rear ear.

[0014] The inner plate 15 is a flat plate-like member that is installed to cover the inside of the curve of the parabuccal sound path forming member 10 in order to cover the sound path 11 in about three-quarters of the rear section of the outer curved member 12. The sound path 11 surrounded by the outer curved member 12 and the inner plate 15 becomes a tunnel portion 11a.

[0015] The sound path 11 on the rear side of the buccal sound path forming member 10 is configured as a fully closed tunnel portion 11a, and an ear insertion tube portion 18, which is a tapered tube that protrudes inward, is formed at the rear end of the buccal sound path forming member 10. When the singing aid 1 is worn, the ear insertion tube portion 18 is inserted into the wearer's ear canal like a wireless earphone.

[0016] The parachookal sound path forming member 10 further includes a volume adjustment member 20 that adjusts the volume of sound that reaches the wearer's ear through the sound path 11. As shown in Fig. 2 and other figures, a rectangular outer tunnel opening 12a extending in the front-to-rear direction is formed at the rear end of the outer curved member 12 that is closer to the ear, and the volume adjustment member 20 adjusts the opening degree (opening area) of this outer tunnel opening 12a to adjust the volume.

[0017] The volume adjustment member 20 is provided with a slide plate 21 which is a slide member, and slide rails 13 for sliding the slide plate 21 are formed on both sides of the outer tunnel opening 12a in the longitudinal direction.

[0018] The slide plate 21 is configured to open and close the outer tunnel opening 12a between a completely closed state and a wide open state by sliding along the slide rail 13. A handle 21a is formed on the front end of the surface of the slide plate 21 so that the wearer can hook their finger when sliding it.

[0019] When the opening area of ​​the outer tunnel opening 12a is large, the sound inside the tunnel portion 11a leaks out, and the volume of the voice that reaches the ear becomes smaller, and when the outer tunnel opening 12a is completely closed, the volume of the voice that reaches the ear becomes the largest. Figure 1 shows the outer tunnel opening 12a in a completely closed state, and Figure 4 shows the outer tunnel opening 12a in a widely opened state.

[0020] In the first embodiment, approximately three-quarters of the rear side of the sound path 11 of the paracheek sound path forming member 10 is the tunnel portion 11a, so when the outer tunnel opening 12a is completely closed, not much outside sound reaches the wearer's ears. However, as the opening area of ​​the outer tunnel opening 12a is increased, the volume of the voice that reaches the ears decreases and the volume of the outside sound that reaches the ears increases.

[0021] The wearing member 30 has an ear hook 31 connected and fixed to the rear end of the cheek-parallel sound path forming member 10. The ear hook 31 has a hook shape that can be hooked onto the ear. When wearing the singing aid 1, the cheek-parallel sound path forming member 10 is stably worn on the wearer's head by two points: the ear insertion tube 18 inserted into the ear canal and the ear hook 31 hooked onto the ear.

[0022] The above has described the configuration of the singing aid 1. Next, we will describe how to use the singing aid 1. The singing aid 1 is worn on the head when singing at a karaoke bar, for example.

[0023] The singing aid 1 is worn by inserting the ear insertion tube portion 18 at the rear end of the tunnel portion 11a of the cheek-parallel sound path forming member 10 into the wearer's right ear canal while hooking the ear hook portion 30 over the right ear. When the singing aid 1 is worn, the cheek-parallel sound path forming member 10 is positioned extending in the front-to-rear direction from the wearer's mouth, passing beside the right cheek, to the right ear.

[0024] Therefore, when the wearer sings, part of the sound emitted from the wearer's mouth enters the sound path 11 on the inside of the curve at the front end of the cheek-parasitic sound path forming member 10, and is guided through the sound path 11 to the wearer's right ear.

[0025] 1, the mouth of the wearer wearing the singing aid 1 is only partially covered by the buccal sound path forming member 10, and the mouth is almost completely open. Therefore, when the wearer holds the microphone of the karaoke machine and sings, wearing the singing aid 1 does not hinder the microphone of the karaoke machine from picking up the singing voice, and the wearer can also let people nearby in the same space hear the singing voice.

[0026] After wearing the singing aid 1, when singing, the wearer can hear the air-conducted sound of their own voice directly from their ears at a high volume via the parachoolar sound path forming member 10, and can objectively listen to and check their own voice in the same way as others do. This allows the wearer of the singing aid 1 to correct their singing style while objectively listening to their own voice.

[0027] The air-transmitted sound of one's own voice is the same as the voice that others in the same space hear directly, so the wearer can control their vocalization while always objectively checking their own voice in real time, thereby improving their singing ability.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a volume adjustment member 20 is installed, so that the wearer can adjust the volume of their own voice while wearing the singing aid 1 so that the air-conducted sound of their own voice is heard at just the right volume through their ears.

[0029] When the volume of the voice is low, the volume can be increased by sliding the slide plate 21 in the direction of closing the outer tunnel opening 12a, i.e., toward the rear, and when the volume of the voice is high, the volume can be decreased by sliding the slide plate 21 in the direction of opening the outer tunnel opening 12a, i.e., toward the front.

[0030] The above describes the first embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, a wearer wearing the singing assistance device 1 can objectively listen to their own voice through the singing assistance device 1, and can improve their singing ability by correcting their singing style while checking their own voice.

[0031] In particular, in this embodiment, rather than adjusting the volume of the voice after converting it into an electrical signal, which would degrade the sound quality, the volume is adjusted mechanically by sliding the slide plate 21 while the sound is raw (air-conducted sound). This allows the wearer to hear their own raw voice at an appropriate volume without degrading the sound quality, and allows them to appropriately improve their singing ability.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the rear side of the sound path 11 is a tunnel portion 11a, which prevents the sound path 11 from being partially blocked by coming into close contact with the cheek, allowing sound to be transmitted stably from the mouth to the ear.

[0033] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8. Similar to the first embodiment, the singing assist device 2 according to the second embodiment transmits the voice emitted from the wearer's mouth to the ear as air-conducted sound.

[0034] The singing aid 2 is made of resin and includes a buccal sound path forming member 10 and an attachment member 30. Fig. 6(a) is a perspective view of the buccal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30, excluding the slide plate 21, as viewed from the outside, and Fig. 6(b) is a perspective view of the buccal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30, excluding the slide plate 21, as viewed from the inside.

[0035] Although the singing assistance device 2 has a slightly different shape, it has many components in common with the singing assistance device 1 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, similar components will be given the same names and will not be described again, and the explanation will focus on the different components.

[0036] In this embodiment, the parachookal sound path forming member 10 includes an outer curved member 12, but does not include the above-mentioned inner plate 15, and does not have a tunnel portion 11a. Furthermore, for volume adjustment, near-ear cutout holes 12b extending in the front-to-rear direction are formed at the rear end of the outer curved member 12 near the ears, instead of the outer tunnel opening 12a, and slide rails 13 are installed on both sides of the near-ear cutout holes 12b in the longitudinal direction (front-to-rear direction).

[0037] As in the first embodiment, the outer curved member 12 has a curved plate shape that is convex outward near the center in the height direction over substantially the entire length, and the inside of this curve forms the sound path 11. The outer curved member 12 is long enough that when worn by an average-sized adult, its rear end just does not reach the ear, and air-conducted sound guided through the sound path 11 is emitted from the rear end of the outer curved member 12 toward the right ear.

[0038] The volume adjustment member 20 adjusts the opening of the near-ear cutout 12b to adjust the volume of the sound reaching the right ear from the sound path 11. The slide plate 21 is configured to slide along the slide rail 13 to open and close the near-ear cutout 12b between a fully closed state and a wide open state. A handle 21a is formed on the rear end of the surface of the slide plate 21 so that the wearer can hook their finger when sliding it.

[0039] When the opening area of ​​the near-ear cutout 12b is increased, more sound in the sound path 11 leaks out, so the volume of the voice that reaches the ear becomes smaller, and when the near-ear cutout 12b is completely closed, the volume of the voice that reaches the ear becomes the largest.

[0040] The wearing member 30 comprises a pair of left and right ear hooking portions 31 integrally molded by resin molding, a left and right connecting frame 32 connecting these, and a main body connecting portion 33. In the second embodiment, since the ear insertion tube portion 18 is not provided, the wearing member 30 has a structure that hooks onto both the left and right ears in order to stably wear the singing aid 2 on the wearer's head. The main body connecting portion 33 is a curved rod-shaped member that connects and fixes the vicinity of the tip of the ear hooking portion 31 for the right ear to the upper portion near the rear end of the outer curved member 12.

[0041] The singing aid 2, the configuration of which has been described in detail above, is worn on the head by the singer in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and provides the same effects as in the first embodiment.

[0042] Next, a modified example 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. The singing aid 3 according to the modified example 1 differs from the second embodiment in the structure of the attachment member 30, but the other structures are the same. Fig. 10(a) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30 as seen from the outside, and Fig. 10(b) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30 as seen from the inside.

[0043] The wearing member 30 according to this embodiment is provided with a head-hanging portion 35 so that it can be hung over the entire back of the head rather than around the ears. The head-hanging portion 35 is a rod-like member with a semicircular arc shape that fits the shape of the back of the head, and one end of the head-hanging portion 35 is connected and fixed to the upper portion of the outer curved member 12 near the rear end.

[0044] Next, a second modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11. The singing aid 4 of the second modification differs from the second embodiment in the structure of the volume adjustment member 25, but the other structures are the same. Fig. 11(a) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30 as seen from the outside, and Fig. 11(b) is a perspective view of the parachookal sound path forming member 10 and the attachment member 30 as seen from the inside.

[0045] The volume adjustment member 25 includes a rotating member 26 and a rotating shaft 27. The rod-shaped rotating member 26 is installed midway along the sound path 11 of the cheek-side sound path forming member 10 and is installed to be rotatable around the axis of the rotating shaft 27 which is installed perpendicular to the inner surface of the outer curved member 12.

[0046] The pivoting member 26 is installed so as to be freely pivotable between a vertical state perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction (closed state, shown by a two-dot chain line in Figure 11 (b)) and a horizontal state parallel to the front-to-rear direction (open state, shown by a solid line in Figure 11 (b)).

[0047] The rotating member 26 is shaped to fit along the inner wall surface of the outer curved member 12 where it is installed, and is formed in a shape that prevents a large gap from forming between the rotating member 26 and the inner wall surface of the outer curved member 12 when the rotating member 26 is in a vertical position.

[0048] When the rotating member 26 is in a vertical position, the sound path 11 is closed by the rotating member 26, resulting in a closed state in which almost no air-conducted sound can pass through the sound path 11. When the rotating member 26 is in a horizontal position, the sound path 11 is opened, resulting in an open state in which air-conducted sound can pass widely through the sound path 11.

[0049] That is, when the rotating member 26 is in the vertical closed state, the air-conducted sound passing through the sound path 11 is at its lowest, and the sound transmitted to the wearer's ear is also at its lowest (lowest volume). Conversely, when the rotating member 26 is in the horizontal open state, the air-conducted sound passing through the sound path 11 is at its highest, and the sound transmitted to the wearer's ear is also at its highest (highest volume).

[0050] The rotating shaft 27 has a disk-shaped knob that is coaxially connected to and exposed on the outside of the outer curved member 12 (see Figure 11 (a)), and by rotating this knob, the rotating shaft 27 rotates, and the rotating member 26 can be rotated.

[0051] Modifications 1 and 2 according to the second embodiment have been described above, but Modifications 1 and 2 also achieve the same effects as those of the second embodiment.

[0052] Although the embodiments of the present invention, including modified examples, have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, material, etc. of the components that make up the singing aid can be changed as appropriate, and each component may be made of wood, paper, etc. instead of resin.

[0053] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the singing assist device is for the right ear, but it may of course be for the left ear.

[0054] Furthermore, the connecting portion between the parachookal sound path forming member and the attachment member may be configured to be movable so that the front end of the parachookal sound path forming member is positioned just in front of the wearer's mouth. For example, the parachookal sound path forming member may be configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction relative to the attachment member fixed to the wearer's head, or the tip side of the parachookal sound path forming member may be configured to be rotatable so as to move up and down.

[0055] 1, 2, 3, 4 Singing aid 10 Cheek-side sound path forming member 11 Sound path 11a Tunnel portion 12 Outer curved member 12a Outer tunnel opening 12b Ear-proximal cutout hole 13 Slide rail 15 Inner plate 18 Ear insertion tube portion 20 Volume adjustment member 21 Slide plate 21a Handle 25 Volume adjustment member 26 Rotating member 27 Rotating shaft 30 Wearing member 31 Ear hook portion 32 Left and right connecting frame 33 Main body connecting portion 35 Head hook portion

Claims

1. A singing aid that transmits the sound emitted from the wearer's mouth to the ear as air-conducted sound, comprising: a cheek-parallel sound path forming member that is placed extending in the front-to-back direction near the cheek from the mouth of the wearer toward the vicinity of either the left or right ear, and that has a recess formed inside that is a sound path that guides the sound to the wearer's ear as air-conducted sound; and a wearing member for wearing the cheek-parallel sound path forming member on the wearer's head, wherein the cheek-parallel sound path forming member is equipped with a volume adjustment member for mechanically adjusting the volume of the air-conducted sound that is transmitted to the ear through the sound path.

2. A singing aid as described in claim 1, characterized in that the cheek-side sound path forming member has a notch near the ear formed at its rear end, and the volume adjustment member is a member that adjusts the opening of the notch near the ear.

3. The singing aid described in claim 2, characterized in that the volume adjustment member has a sliding member that is slidably installed to cover the near-ear cutout hole, and the volume is adjusted by changing the area of ​​the near-ear cutout hole that is covered by the sliding member.

4. The singing aid described in claim 1, characterized in that the cheek-parallel sound path forming member has a tunnel section with a tunnel structure at least on the rear side of the sound path, and an outer tunnel opening is formed on the outer surface of the tunnel section, and the volume adjustment member is a member that adjusts the opening of the outer tunnel opening.

5. A singing aid according to claim 4, wherein the cheek-side sound path forming member is provided with an ear insertion tube at the rear end of the tunnel portion to be inserted into the wearer's ear.

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