Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
  • B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
  • B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
  • B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
  • B06B1/04—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with electromagnetism
  • B06B1/045—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with electromagnetism using vibrating magnet, armature or coil system
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04B—TRANSMISSION
  • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
  • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
  • H04B1/3827—Portable transceivers
  • H04B1/385—Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R9/00—Transducers of moving-coil, moving-strip, or moving-wire type
  • H04R9/06—Loudspeakers
  • H04R9/066—Loudspeakers using the principle of inertia
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R1/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
  • H04R1/02—Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein
  • H04R1/025—Arrangements for fixing loudspeaker transducers, e.g. in a box, furniture
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R2201/00—Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones covered by H04R1/00 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
  • H04R2201/02—Details casings, cabinets or mounting therein for transducers covered by H04R1/02 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
  • H04R2201/023—Transducers incorporated in garment, rucksacks or the like
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R2400/00—Loudspeakers
  • H04R2400/03—Transducers capable of generating both sound as well as tactile vibration, e.g. as used in cellular phones
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R2460/00—Details of hearing devices, i.e. of ear- or headphones covered by H04R1/10 or H04R5/033 but not provided for in any of their subgroups, or of hearing aids covered by H04R25/00 but not provided for in any of its subgroups
  • H04R2460/13—Hearing devices using bone conduction transducers

Definitions

• the invention relates to a vibroacoustic device.
• a piece of music consists of sounds of different frequencies.
• the volume of the sound impacts these frequencies differently: thus, at equal volume, high frequencies are less than low frequencies. This is because the bass is felt more strongly by the whole body than the highs.
• the balance between bass and treble is also part of the criteria to note the quality of an audio device.
• noise reducers so that the user is not bothered by these noises and does not increase the sound too much.
• these noise limiters all operate on the same principle of capturing the external noise and emitting in the headphones an identical sound, but inverted frequency, so that the noise is canceled.
• the device “WOOJER®” which comprises a vibratory mechanism enclosed in a housing carried either by a strap or a jacket.
• the box is connected to an audio device (digital walkman type) and headphones, and vibrates according to the rhythm of the music (so only depending on the bass). It only vibrates on low frequencies below 500Hz.
• an audio device digital walkman type
• headphones and vibrates according to the rhythm of the music (so only depending on the bass). It only vibrates on low frequencies below 500Hz.
• the casing in which the vibration mechanism is located transmits little vibration. It is then necessary either to increase the power strongly to feel the vibrations or to strongly press the device against the body.
• the strap system proposed by the WOOJER system does not allow such a tightening: even tightening tightly the strap, the tightening is done at the level of a shoulder and an armpit, but little at the level of the thorax. It follows that in use, so that all is comfortable to wear, do not over tighten the strap to breathe. In doing so, the housing is not supported against the thorax which, combined with its structure, does not allow to transmit vibrations effectively.
• the device “SUBPAC®” which comprises a vibratory mechanism enclosed in a case carried by a backpack.
• This device addressed to musicians, is much more powerful than the WOOJER device, because the housing is much larger and contains several vibratory mechanisms distributed over a wide area corresponding to the back of the user.
• This device is, therefore, heavy and bulky.
• it requires a powerful tightening of the straps of the bag to promote contact between the shell of the housing and the body of the user.
• the box vibrates only according to the rhythm of the music (so only depending on the bass). It vibrates only at low frequencies between 1 Hz and 200 Hz, the goal being to allow a musician to produce or mix music longer without damaging his ears, feeling the low frequencies rather than listening to them. .
• An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a powerful vibrating device, but not bulky, capable of transmitting a large part of the sound spectrum of the music (thus perceptible by humans, that is to say between 20 Hz and 20 Hz. about kHz) and not only the bass, without emitting a loud volume to the outside so as not to disturb the people around.
• Another object of the invention is to provide a vibrating device that effectively transmits vibrations without requiring too much tightness against the body of the user.
• the idea of the invention is to put the vibrating part of the vibratory mechanism directly in contact with the chest of the user (and not enclosed in a casing), the vibrating part transforming the thorax of the user into a membrane emitting the sound towards the inside of the body, in particular by using the rib cage as a sounding board.
• the transduction of sound by the body of the user is done through a rigid vibrating disc covered with a layer of elastomer, preferably silicone, which ensures transmission of the entire sound spectrum of the music (the spectrum being advantageously filtered) and not simply the low frequencies.
• a layer of elastomer preferably silicone
• the subject of the invention is a vibroacoustic device comprising a permanent magnet generating a permanent magnetic field in a gap called air gap, and a coil of electrically conductive wire arranged in this gap in the axial direction and provided with two terminals.
• the coil is secured to a plate on which is fixed a rod surmounted by a disk covered with an elastomer layer intended, in use, to bear against the thorax of a user.
• the vibroacoustic device can be housed in a housing carried by one end of a resilient hoop shaped so that, in use, the elastomer layer bears against the thorax of a user and a second end of the hoop resting against the back of the user;
• the second end of the arch may be provided with a battery electrically connected to the housing of the first end;
• the vibroacoustic device may comprise a microcontroller connected to a receiver of an audio signal intended to be transmitted, in use, from an audio source, the microcontroller being connected to the electrical terminals of the coil and programmed to electrically power the electrical terminals according to an audio signal received from the audio source, in use;
• the receiver can be wired and include a wired connection socket to an audio source
• the receiver may be wireless and include a wireless audio signal receiving antenna and a transducer transforming the wireless audio signal into an electrical signal;
• the microcontroller can be programmed to filter certain frequencies of the audio signal before powering the electrical terminals;
• the filtration may include attenuation of certain frequencies of the audio signal
• the microcontroller can be programmed to attenuate at least the 60 Hz, 91 0 Hz, 3.6 kHz and 1 4 kHz frequencies;
• the housing may comprise adjustment buttons connected to the microcontroller to choose one or more frequencies to be filtered;
• the housing may include adjustment buttons connected to the microcontroller to set a filter to be applied on one or more frequencies;
• the elastomer layer may have a curved profile
• the elastomer layer may have a spherical cap shape
• the elastomer layer may have a convex spherical cap shape
• the elastomer layer may have a concave spherical cap shape;
• the elastomer layer may have a maximum thickness of 2 mm and the rod has a length of between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm, preferably 1 cm; and or
• the elastomer may be chosen from silicones and rubber.
• Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of a vibroacoustic device according to the invention
• Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view of a vibroacoustic device according to the invention mounted at one end of a bow provided with a housing;
• Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of a vibroacoustic device according to the invention;
• Figure 6 is a schematic side view of an exemplary mounting of a vibroacoustic device according to the invention on a user.
• FIG. 7 a schematic front view of a variant of the vibroacoustic device according to the invention mounted on a strap carried by a user.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a vibroacoustic device 1 00 according to the invention. It operates on the same principle as conventional loudspeakers: it comprises a permanent magnet January 01 generating a permanent magnetic field in a given space called air gap 102, and a coil 1 03 of conductive wire of electricity arranged in this gap in the axial direction XX and provided with two electrical terminals (not shown in the figure).
• the vibroacoustic device is an electromechanical transducer which transforms an electrical signal (the audio signal) into a mechanical movement.
• the vibroacoustic device 1 00 according to the invention has no membrane, so that it does not generate sound by itself.
• the coil 1 03 is secured to a plate 1 04 on which is fixed a rod 1 05 surmounted by a disc 1 06 covered with a layer of elastomer 1 07, rubber or preferably in silicone, intended to be in support against the chest of a user.
• the elastomer layer 107 is not flat but has a curved profile, preferably in the form of a spherical cap.
• the elastomer layer 1 07 has a convex spherical cap shape
• the elastomer layer 1 08 has a concave spherical cap shape.
• the curved shape of the elastomer layer provides optimal vibration transmission to the user's body without requiring too much application force.
• the elastomer layer 1 07-1 08 has a maximum thickness of 2 mm and the rod 105 has a length of between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm, preferably 1 cm.
• the rod 105 of approximately 1 cm provides a space E between the plate 104 and the disk 106 which allows the vibrations to be transmitted with optimum power to the body of the user. With a shorter stem, it is necessary to amplify the signal strength to obtain the
• the vibroacoustic device 1 00 according to the invention is advantageously housed in a housing 1 1 0 carried by an end 1 21 of an elastic arch 1 20.
• the hoop according to the invention is shaped so that,
• the elastomer layer bears against the thorax of a user and a second end of the arch bears against the back of the user (see Figures 4 to 6).
• the housing 1 1 0 receiving the vibroacoustic device 1 00 according to the invention has a housing 1 1 1 for the device, and a lid
• the rod 1 05 passes through the cover 1 1 2 of the housing and the elastomer layer 1 07 (or 1 08) bears against the chest of a user during use.
• the housing 1 1 0 also comprises a microcontroller 1 14
• the microcontroller 1 14 is connected to the electrical terminals of the coil and programmed to electrically power, in use the electrical terminals of the coil according to an audio signal received from the source
• the receiver 1 1 5 is a so-called “auxiliary” connection jack type "Jack", 3.5 mm in diameter to connect an audio source such as a digital music player.
• the receiver 1 15 is connected by wire connection to the microcontroller 1 14 (these connections are not illustrated for the sake of clarity of the figures).
• the device according to the invention comprises a wireless receiver, for example of the Bluetooth® or WiFi type. It then comprises a wireless audio signal receiving antenna and a transducer transforming the wireless audio signal into an electrical signal to the microcontroller 1 14.
• the audio signal is preferably amplified to generate an amplified electrical signal transmitted to the coil.
• the housing includes 1 1 7 volume up and down control buttons controlling the adjustable signal amplifier 1 1 6.
• the hoop 1 20 (or alternatively the housing 1 1 0) comprises a connection socket 1 23 for an audio headset, to allow the user to combine the sensation transmitted by the vibroacoustic device according to the invention with the normal hearing of music with headphones.
• the vibroacoustic device is connected to a battery.
• the second end 1 22 of the arch 1 20 comprises a housing 1 30 provided with a battery electrically connected to the housing 1 10 of the first end 1 21 (see Figures 5 and 6).
• the vibrations are transmitted very efficiently.
• 1 05 allows the transmission to the user of the entire musical spectrum, not just bass.
• the user's ribcage interior is transformed into a sound box and the ribcage itself acts as the membrane of the conventional loudspeakers.
• the device according to the invention vibrates and generates an acoustic wave in the body of the user.
• the device according to the invention having dimensions of the order of a few centimeters transmits the vibrations very effectively.
• the microcontroller 1 14 is programmed to filter certain frequencies of the audio signal before
• this filtration comprises attenuation of certain frequencies of the audio signal, in particular the frequency bands centered on 60 Hz, 910 Hz, 3.6 kHz and 14 kHz.
• the frequency band centered on 230 Hz is also attenuated.
• Filtered depends on the quality of the components used. Overall, a band of 5 Hz to 10 Hz wide is preferred. Typically, the frequency bands centered on 60 Hz, 91 0 Hz, 3.6 kHz and 14 kHz are attenuated by 1 5 decibels, and the frequency band centered on 230 Hz is attenuated by 5 decibels.
• the housing 1 1 0 (or the hoop 1 20) comprises adjustment buttons connected to the microcontroller to choose one or more frequencies to filter, and to adjust a filter to apply on the frequency (s) (typically the attenuation value).
• the effectiveness of the vibroacoustic device according to the invention is such that it is possible to use it with a strap 200 (see FIG. 7) and not with an elastic arch 1 1 0, while obtaining an efficient transmission of vibrations in the whole spectrum of music (possibly partially filtered).
• the vibroacoustic device is housed in a housing 300 attached to the strap, the housing comprising a lid provided with an orifice 3 1 3 to let the rod 1 05 and allow contact between the elastomer layer and the user (see Figure 3).
• the tightening of the strap does not need to be too strong and does not risk to hinder the breathing of the user.
• the user receiving part of the music thanks to the vibroacoustic device according to the invention he can lower the sound of his headphones and preserve his hearing.
• the volume emitted outwardly by the vibroacoustic device according to the invention is very limited and allows not to disturb the people around while feeling very strongly the music itself.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)
• Apparatuses For Generation Of Mechanical Vibrations (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=61913484

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2018
  • 2018-02-28 FR FR1870214A patent/FR3078432B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2019
  • 2019-02-26 WO PCT/FR2019/000024 patent/WO2019166705A1/fr unknown
  • 2019-02-26 EP EP19713091.7A patent/EP3758858A1/de not_active Withdrawn

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