JP2009027320A - Acoustic signal generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an acoustic signal generating device having a displacement enlargement mechanism whose output is not deteriorated even though the length of the entire device in the direction of an output surface for transferring the mechanical vibration of an outputting part to the outside is made small. <P>SOLUTION: The acoustic signal generating device comprises a laminated piezoelectric element 2 which corresponds to an electric signal to be applied and is expanded or reduced in displacement to generate mechanical vibration; a magnification mechanism composed of an almost U-shaped magnification lever 10 comprising a magnification lever driving part 12 for magnifying the displacement, a magnification lever base 11 and a magnification lever outputting part 13; and an outputting part for outputting magnified mechanical vibration which is transferred from one end of the laminated piezoelectric element 2 to the magnification lever driving part 12, and the direction of the output surface of an output pad 60 for transferring the mechanical vibration of the outputting part to the outside is almost perpendicular to the expansion/reduction displacement direction of the laminated piezoelectric element 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an acoustic signal generator for a bone conduction speaker, which converts sound electric signals into acoustic vibrations and transmits them to a part of the human head, and recognizes the sound by transmitting the vibrations to the auditory organ, and in particular, a piezoelectric element. The present invention relates to an acoustic signal generation apparatus using the above.

  As an interface for voice and music such as mobile phones and fixed-phone handsets, and headphones, etc., voice electrical signals are converted into acoustic vibrations and transmitted to a part of the human head, and the vibrations are transmitted to the auditory organs for use. A bone conduction speaker is used to make a person recognize sound.

  When a bone conduction speaker is used in a mobile phone, a mobile terminal device, etc., the acoustic signal generator is required to be as small as possible and have a high output. For this reason, it is preferable to obtain a larger output with a simpler structure with respect to the applied signal. Usually, as an acoustic signal generator using a piezoelectric element, a piezoelectric unimorph element or a piezoelectric bimorph element is mainly used. In the case of these piezoelectric elements, in order to obtain the necessary acoustic vibration, a corresponding mechanical vibration displacement amount is required. For this purpose, the shape of the piezoelectric element needs to be increased to a certain extent and is required. There is a limit to downsizing while maintaining sound output.

  Therefore, as an example suitable for this purpose, Patent Document 1 discloses an acoustic signal generator having a displacement magnifying mechanism having a substantially U-shaped structure as a main structure. A sectional view of the structure is shown in FIG. The multilayer piezoelectric element 2 that mechanically vibrates due to expansion and contraction displacement corresponding to an applied electric signal, and an expansion mechanism section that expands the displacement of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 are main structures of the expansion mechanism section. A mechanical vibration due to the displacement enlarged by the enlargement mechanism portion is provided on the enlargement lever output portion 1b that is a part of the enlargement lever 1, and has an output surface for transmitting the mechanical vibration to the outside. Output from the output pad 6.

  The magnifying lever 1 includes an magnifying lever base portion 1a and an magnifying lever output portion 1b which are integrally formed by being bent on both sides of the magnifying lever elastic portion 1c and the magnifying lever elastic portion 1c in a direction substantially orthogonal to the magnifying lever elastic portion 1c. It has a substantially U shape and is made by press forming of steel plate suitable for mass production.

  This enlargement / displacement mechanism includes a laminated piezoelectric element 2 disposed between the upper and lower opposite sides of the U-shape, that is, the enlargement lever output portion 1b that is the upper side and the enlargement lever base portion 1a that is the lower side. The open end side of the U-shape due to the expansion and contraction displacement in the stacking direction of the element 2, that is, the distal end portion opposite to the side where the enlarged lever output portion 1b and the enlarged lever base portion 1a are elastically coupled to the enlarged lever elastic portion 1c. Are displaced so as to open to each other, and the relative displacement on the tip side is larger than the displacement of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2.

  The magnifying lever output part 1b and the magnifying lever base part 1a have greater rigidity than the magnifying lever elastic part 1c that connects them, and the magnifying lever base part 1a has a weight that is a molded product of a metal material having a large specific gravity. 3 is firmly attached with a fixing screw 4. On the other hand, an output pad 6 of a plastic molded product is adhesively bonded to the upper surface of the enlargement lever output portion 1b to constitute an output portion. Therefore, the base part made up of the enlarged lever base part 1a and the weight 3 has a larger mass than the output part made up of the enlarged lever output part 1b and the output pad 6.

  When the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 is displaced, the expansion lever elastic portion 1c becomes a hinge function and an elastic deformation portion that generates a return force when the base portion and the output portion are rotationally displaced with respect to each other. In this rotational displacement, the design is such that the rotational displacement of the output portion is larger than the rotational displacement of the base portion due to the difference in mass. The upper surface of the output portion, that is, the upper surface portion of the output pad 6 has a role of contacting the human body and transmitting an enlarged displacement.

  When an acoustic signal is applied to the multilayer piezoelectric element 2, the displacement magnifying mechanism magnifies the displacement of the mechanical vibration of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 corresponding to the acoustic signal, and via an expansion lever output section 1b that is an output section thereof. The expanded mechanical vibration is transmitted from the output pad 6 to the user's human body and head.

JP 2007-74663 A

  In the acoustic signal generating device having the above-described conventional substantially U-shaped displacement magnifying mechanism, the length of the entire device in the output surface direction (height in FIG. 3) is the same as that of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 shown in FIG. This is a total value of the length of the preload screw 5 and the thicknesses of the enlarged lever output portion 1b and the output pad 6, and the length of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 occupies a large proportion. In order to further reduce the size of the acoustic signal generator, it is necessary to reduce the length of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 when attempting to reduce the height. In that case, the displacement output obtained is reduced and applied. The purpose of obtaining a larger output with a simpler structure for a given signal cannot be achieved.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an acoustic signal generator having a displacement enlarging mechanism in which the output does not decrease even if the overall length of the device in the direction of the output surface for transmitting the mechanical vibration of the output unit to the outside is reduced. It is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, an acoustic signal generator according to the present invention includes a laminated piezoelectric element that mechanically vibrates by expanding and contracting in response to an applied electric signal, and an expansion mechanism that expands the displacement of the laminated piezoelectric element. And an output unit having an output surface for transmitting mechanical vibration due to displacement expanded by the expansion mechanism unit to the outside, wherein the orientation of the output surface is the stacked piezoelectric element It is characterized by being substantially orthogonal to the expansion / contraction displacement direction.

  Specifically, the magnifying mechanism portion is formed by integrally bending the magnifying lever driving portion and the magnifying lever driving portion on both sides of the magnifying lever driving portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the magnifying lever driving portion, and an magnifying lever base portion. It is comprised by the substantially U-shaped expansion lever which consists of a lever output part, and it may be comprised so that the said mechanical vibration may be transmitted to the said expansion lever drive part from the end of the said laminated piezoelectric element.

  In addition, it is preferable that the entire length of the expansion lever driving unit in the length direction is smaller than the total length of the expansion lever base portion in the length direction.

  In addition, the laminated piezoelectric element has a fixing portion in which a weight having one end fixed by a preload screw is fixed to the magnifying lever base portion by a fixing screw, and between the magnifying lever driving portion and the magnifying lever base portion. The displacement is enlarged with the bent portion of the bent portion as a rotation center, and the center of gravity of the fixed portion is the bent portion with respect to the midpoint of the entire length in the length direction of the enlarged lever base portion. Is preferably on the opposite side.

  In the conventional acoustic signal generator, a laminated piezoelectric element is arranged between the upper and lower sides of a substantially U-shaped structure, and the displacement direction of the mechanical vibration of the laminated piezoelectric element 2 and the enlarged mechanical vibration are transmitted to the outside. However, in the present invention, the laminated piezoelectric element is rotated 90 degrees compared to the conventional structure, and the enlarged lever output portion 1b, which is the upper side of the substantially U-shaped structure, is arranged. Instead, the displacement due to the mechanical vibration is transmitted to the magnifying lever elastic portion 1c so that the displacement direction of the mechanical vibration of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 and the direction of the output surface for transmitting the magnified mechanical vibration to the outside are almost orthogonal to each other. This realizes a configuration capable of reducing the height of the entire apparatus while ensuring the magnitude of displacement at the output unit.

  With the above configuration, according to the present invention, an acoustic signal generator having a displacement enlarging mechanism in which the output does not decrease even if the length of the entire device in the direction of the output surface for transmitting the mechanical vibration of the output unit to the outside is reduced. Is obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 are diagrams showing an embodiment of an acoustic signal generator according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which the acoustic signal generator of the present embodiment is developed into parts, and FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present embodiment. Sectional drawing at the time of cutting the acoustic signal generator of a form in the center part is shown.

  In FIG. 1, the acoustic signal generator according to the present embodiment includes a laminated piezoelectric element 2 that mechanically vibrates by expanding and contracting in response to an applied electric signal, and an expansion mechanism that expands the displacement of the laminated piezoelectric element 2. And an output unit that outputs mechanical vibration due to the displacement expanded by the expansion mechanism. Further, the direction of the output surface for transmitting the mechanical vibration in the output unit to the outside is substantially orthogonal to the expansion / contraction displacement direction of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2.

  Further, the magnifying mechanism part includes an magnifying lever base part 11 and an magnifying lever which are integrally formed by being bent in both directions of the magnifying lever driving part 12 and the magnifying lever driving part 12 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the magnifying lever driving part 12. It is constituted by a substantially U-shaped expansion lever 10 composed of an output unit 13, and mechanical vibration is transmitted from one end of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 to the expansion lever driving unit 12.

  In addition, the laminated piezoelectric element 2 has a fixed portion in which one end of the stacked piezoelectric element 2 is fixed by a preload screw 50 and is fixed to the enlarged lever base portion 11 by a fixing screw 40, and the enlarged lever driving portion 12 and the enlarged lever base portion 11. The displacement is enlarged with the bent portion 15 between and the center of rotation as the center of rotation, and the center of gravity of the fixed portion is relative to the midpoint of the overall length of the enlargement lever base portion 11. It is comprised so that it may exist in the opposite side to the bending part 15. FIG. The output part is composed of an enlarged lever output part 13 and an output pad 60 which is fixed thereto and has an output surface for transmitting mechanical vibration to the outside.

  Here, the laminated piezoelectric element 2 which is the most basic of the acoustic signal generating device of the present embodiment is formed by alternately laminating sheet-like piezoelectric materials and electrode materials having a thickness of about several tens to several hundreds of micrometers. The piezoelectric element is formed by connecting an electrode and a negative electrode, respectively, and is characterized in that the expansion and contraction displacement in the stacking direction is enlarged and increased by the number of stacked layers.

  The magnifying lever 10 is formed by pressing a metal plate material, and has a substantially U-shape including an magnifying lever base 11, an magnifying lever driving part 12, and an magnifying lever output part 13. Here, ribs 14 are integrally formed on both side surfaces of the magnifying lever driving portion 12 by standing bending to improve its rigidity, and the magnifying lever output portion 13 is similarly bent at two locations on the upper surface of the rib 14. Is formed. The output pad 60 is fixed on the four enlarged lever output portions 13 formed in this way. The two ribs 14 also have a function of mechanically protecting the laminated piezoelectric element 2 from its surroundings. In addition, although the expansion lever output part 13 was isolate | separated and formed in two places on the upper surface of the above-mentioned rib 14, even if it integrates and unites as one, a big difference does not arise.

  The magnifying lever driving unit 12 is supported by the magnifying lever base 11, and the magnifying lever driving unit 12 and the magnifying lever base 11 are bent at 90 degrees by press working. The bent portion 15 functions as an elastic member that constantly applies pressure to the multilayer piezoelectric element 2, and is an important part that becomes the center of rotation of the expansion lever driving portion 12 during operation of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2. It is.

  The laminated piezoelectric element 2 is arranged along the protruding portion 31 protruding on the enlarged lever base portion 11 of the weight 30, and the expanding lever 10 is moved so as to cover the protruding portion 31 of the weight 30 and the laminated piezoelectric element 2. The fixing screw 40 is inserted into the screw hole 32 of the protrusion 31 of the weight 30 through the hole that is mounted and opened in the base 11 of the expansion lever, and the weight 30 and the expansion lever 10 are fixed in place by screw tightening. . Further, the laminated piezoelectric element 2 having a displacement direction in a direction perpendicular to both surfaces is disposed between the inner surface of the magnifying lever driving unit 12 and the receiving surface 33 of the weight 30, and one end of the piezo-electric element 2 is disposed on the magnifying lever driving unit 12. The other end contacts the receiving surface 33 of the weight 30 and the end surface of the preload screw 50 held in the screw hole 34 provided in the receiving surface 33.

  In the multilayer piezoelectric element 2, in the assembly process, an adhesive is injected into a required portion from the screw hole 34 of the weight 30, and a predetermined preload is applied by tightening the preload screw 50, and then the adhesive is injected by heat treatment or the like. The agent is cured and fixed. The electric signal input line of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 passes through two holes 35 in the base of the protrusion 31 of the weight 30 and is connected to an external drive circuit.

  In general, in acoustic signal generators, it is desirable not to emit extra vibration (sound) in parts other than the output part, so the mass of the fixed part that does not want to generate vibration and the movable part that generates and outputs vibration Ratio is an important indicator. That is, in the fixed part constituted by the enlarged lever base part 11, the weight 30, the fixing screw 40 and the preload screw 50, and the movable part constituted by the enlarged lever driving part 12, the enlarged lever output part 13 and the output pad 60, this fixed part. It is desirable that the mass ratio of the movable part is large, and in this embodiment, the mass is designed so that the ratio is ideally 5: 1 or more.

  In the conventional acoustic signal generator, as shown in FIG. 3, the stacked piezoelectric elements are disposed between the upper and lower sides of the expanding lever 1 having a substantially U-shaped displacement expanding structure. The height reduction was limited by the length of the displacement direction. In the structure of the present embodiment, the displacement direction of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 is 90 degrees different from the conventional one. Therefore, the height of the acoustic signal generator is as follows: the thickness of the enlarged lever base 11 and the weight 30 as shown in FIG. The thickness of the protrusion 31, the length in the direction perpendicular to the displacement direction of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2, the thickness of the enlarged lever output portion 13, and the thickness of the output pad 60, and the gap between them, It is sufficiently reduced compared to the height. Since the same multilayer piezoelectric element is used, the output intensity can be made the same if the enlargement ratio of the enlargement mechanism is the same.

  The output pad 60 transmits vibration by being brought into contact with the skin of the user's head when used, and a material having a low thermal conductivity, a low specific gravity, a relatively high rigidity, and a good touch is required. . In this embodiment, it is formed using, for example, ABS resin.

  Next, the operation of the acoustic signal generator of this embodiment will be described. By applying an AC voltage corresponding to an acoustic signal to the laminated piezoelectric element 2 from an external electric signal source via an electric signal input line, the laminated piezoelectric element 2 corresponds to the applied signal in its laminating direction. Stretch and move to In accordance with the displacement of the laminated piezoelectric element 2, the enlargement lever driving portion 12 of the enlargement lever 10 and the receiving surface 33 of the weight 30 are pushed. At this time, since the rigidity of the fixed portion constituted by the weight 30 and the enlarged lever base 11 is much larger than the bending rigidity of the bent portion 15, the displacement of the laminated piezoelectric element 2 bends the bent portion 15 and the enlarged lever. The drive unit 12 is displaced, and further, the displacement displaces the enlarged lever output unit 13 at the tip of the rib 14 of the enlarged lever 10 and the output pad 60 formed thereon. This displacement corresponds to the expansion / compression of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2. In the structure of the present embodiment using the lever with the bent portion 15 as the rotation center, the displacement from the center portion of the output pad 60 to the tip is 3 to 5 times the expansion / contraction amount of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2. A displacement magnifying mechanism that can be enlarged to a certain extent and obtain a sufficient sound volume is constructed.

  As described above, in this structure, since the rigidity of the fixed portion is sufficiently larger than the bending rigidity of the bent portion 15, the expansion and contraction force of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 causes the bent portion 15 to bend, and a stable operation is obtained. It is done. That is, in the magnifying lever 10, with the bent portion 15 as the pivoting center, a rotational displacement corresponding to the expansion / contraction displacement of the multilayer piezoelectric element 2 is output to the magnifying lever output portion 13 and the output pad 60 which are the distal ends thereof. Yes. At this time, the rib 14 and the enlarged lever output portion 13 that support this movement are required to have a small mass and a high rigidity.

  Further, during operation, the movable part composed of the magnifying lever driving part 12, the magnifying lever output part 13 and the output pad 60, and the fixed part composed of the magnifying lever base part 11 and the weight 30 have the bent part 15 serving as the rotation center. At the center, the tip side is pivotally displaced in the direction of opening and closing. At this time, since the mass of the fixed part is sufficiently larger than the mass of the movable part, the movable part is mainly displaced. That is, the fixed part and the movable part have a displacement amount inversely proportional to the ratio of their masses. Strictly speaking, the movable part and the fixed part are displaced at a ratio inversely proportional to the ratio of the moment of inertia of the movable part and the moment of inertia of the fixed part around the bent part 15 which is the center of rotation. For this reason, in order to suppress the movement of the fixed portion, the center of gravity of the fixed portion is arranged at a position away from the bent portion 15 that is the center of rotation, and the center of gravity of the movable portion is set to the bent portion 15 as much as possible. It is more effective to make the design closer.

  In this configuration, the weight 30 of the fixed portion is arranged at the farthest position with respect to the bent portion 15 at the center of rotation, and the preload screw 50 is attached to the end of the weight 30, so that the weight 30 has the most mass. A certain part, that is, a part where the preload screw 50 is formed is arranged at a position away from the rotation center. Therefore, the center of gravity of the fixed portion is on the side opposite to the bent portion 15 with respect to the midpoint of the entire length of the magnifying lever base portion 11.

  On the other hand, the movable part is designed such that the tip of the rib 14 is narrowed so that the center of gravity of the movable part is closer to the bent part 15, and the masses of the enlargement lever output part 13 and the output pad 60 are sufficiently smaller than the fixed part. Since it is designed, it can be expected not only the effect of the mass ratio but also the effect of the inertia moment ratio to suppress the displacement of the fixed portion.

  As described above, when the acoustic signal generator of the present invention is arranged and used in a case such as a mobile phone or a headphone, the fixed portion on the side supported by the case has less vibration. The amount of vibration transmitted to the case, which is the main cause of set leakage and echoes, can be greatly reduced. As the mass of the fixed part increases, sound leakage and echo can be reduced. However, in practice, the weight and size of the parts are also considered and set.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is possible to arbitrarily change the design such as the selection of the material and shape of the member according to the purpose and application, and the required performance and form. It is. For example, the magnifying lever may not be integrally formed, and the effect of the present invention can be obtained even if the shape is other than the U-shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the acoustic signal generator by this invention, The perspective view which expand | deployed the acoustic signal generator to components. Sectional drawing at the time of cutting the acoustic signal generator of this Embodiment in the center part. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the acoustic signal generator with a conventional displacement expansion mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

1, 10 Enlarging lever 1a, 11 Enlarging lever base 1b, 13 Enlarging lever output unit 1c Enlarging lever elastic unit 2 Stacked piezoelectric element 3, 30 Weight 4, 40 Fixing screw 5, 50 Preloading screw 6, 60 Output pad 12 Enlarging Lever drive part 14 Rib 15 Bending part 31 Projection part 32, 34 Screw hole 33 Receiving surface 35 Hole

Claims (4)

  A laminated piezoelectric element that mechanically vibrates by expanding and contracting in response to an applied electric signal, an enlargement mechanism portion that enlarges the displacement of the laminated piezoelectric element, and mechanical vibration caused by the displacement enlarged by the enlargement mechanism portion. An acoustic vibration generator comprising an output unit having an output surface for transmitting to the outside, wherein the direction of the output surface is substantially perpendicular to the direction of expansion and contraction of the multilayer piezoelectric element apparatus.   The magnifying mechanism section includes an magnifying lever driving part and an magnifying lever base part and an magnifying lever output part formed integrally on both sides of the magnifying lever driving part and bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the magnifying lever driving part. The acoustic signal generator according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical vibration is transmitted from one end of the multilayer piezoelectric element to the expansion lever driving unit.   The acoustic signal generator according to claim 2, wherein an overall length in the length direction of the enlargement lever driving portion is smaller than an overall length in the length direction of the enlargement lever base portion.   Bending between the expansion lever driving portion and the expansion lever base portion has a fixing portion formed by fixing a weight having one end of the multilayer piezoelectric element fixed by a preload screw to the expansion lever base portion with a fixing screw. The displacement is enlarged around the center of rotation, and the center of gravity of the fixed portion is opposite to the bent portion with respect to the midpoint of the overall length of the base of the enlargement lever. The acoustic signal generation device according to claim 2, wherein the acoustic signal generation device is located on the side of the sound signal.

Images