Wearable Bone-Conductive Sound Therapy Device for Private Listening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sound therapy devices primarily focus on audible air-conducted or body-conducted sound, which may not be suitable for users who need privacy or prefer bone-conducted sound therapy without perceptible audible sound to others.
Innovation Solution
A wearable sound therapy device with a bone-conduction transducer and audio electronics, allowing for the storage and playback of audio files, which bone-conducts sound through the user's body without producing perceptible audible sound to others, using a loop cord to be worn around the neck and positioned on the user's torso for direct bone conduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If air-conducted or body-conducted sound is used in sound therapy devices, then the sound can be perceived by users, but the sound may be perceptible to others and lack privacy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sound conduction path from air conduction and body surface conduction, directing sound energy specifically through bone conduction to the user's skeleton. This isolation ensures sound is transmitted only to the user's inner ear through bone vibrations, making it imperceptible to others while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a bone conduction transducer as an intermediary device that converts electrical signals into bone vibrations. This transducer acts as a mediator between the audio signal and the user's skeletal system, enabling private sound transmission through bone conduction rather than traditional air or surface conduction methods.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If bone-conduction transducer is used to conduct sound through the user's body, then private sound therapy is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the bone conduction transducer, audio signal processing unit, and power supply into a single integrated wearable device. This consolidation reduces the number of separate components and connections required, simplifying the overall device structure while maintaining the privacy benefits of bone conduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the device to perform multiple functions: it serves as both a sound therapy device and a wearable accessory, with the bone conduction transducer capable of transmitting various audio types (music, nature sounds, therapeutic tones). This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate devices, effectively simplifying the user's overall system.
3Ease of operation
If the sound therapy device is made wearable with a loop cord, then ease of use and comfort are improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible loop cord design that can accommodate various user neck sizes and positions. This flexible structure allows the device to be comfortably worn without requiring precise manufacturing tolerances, as the cord can adapt to different anatomical variations while maintaining secure attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates adjustable elements in the wearable design, allowing users to modify the device's position and fit according to their preferences. This dynamic adjustability reduces the need for high manufacturing precision, as users can compensate for variations in their own anatomy through simple adjustments.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides therapeutic benefits through bone-conducted sound, allowing users to experience sound privately without disturbing others, enhancing user comfort and effectiveness in various settings.
Implementation Method 1
a bone-conduction transducer structured to play stored audio files... energizing a transducer in the sound therapy device to vibrate based on the audio file... bone-conducting sound to the user based on the energizing of the transducer
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable sound therapy device includes a housing, and a loop cord coupled to the housing for supporting the sound therapy device pendant from the neck of a user upon a torso of the user. Audio electronics are resident in the housing and include a bone-conduction transducer, an audio file storage medium storing an audio file, a power supply, and a transducer control unit structured to energize the bone-conduction transducer based on the stored audio file to bone-conduct sounds to the body of the user. The stored audio file can include a compressed audio file such as an MP3 or MP4 file of pure tone sounds.