Electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9392371-B2
Application number	US-201314374646-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2013
Priority date	Apr 12, 2012
Publication date	Jul 12, 2016
Grant date	Jul 12, 2016

Abstract

The content of sound leakage from a vibrating plate that vibrates due to a piezoelectric element is made difficult to recognize. An electronic device ( 1 ) according to the present invention includes a piezoelectric element ( 30 ) and a vibrating plate ( 10 ) that vibrates due to the piezoelectric element ( 30 ), the electronic device ( 1 ) causing the vibrating plate ( 10 ) to generate air-conducted sound and vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body. The electronic device ( 1 ) also includes an air-conducted sound reducing unit that makes a portion or all of the air-conducted sound difficult to hear.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a piezoelectric element;
a vibrating plate configured to vibrate due to the piezoelectric element, the electronic device causing the vibrating plate to generate air-conducted sound and vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body; and
an air-conducted sound reducing unit configured to make a portion or all of the air-conducted sound difficult to hear,
wherein the piezoelectric element is shaped to have a longitudinal direction and
wherein the vibrating plate is bent by the piezoelectric element so that an area of the vibrating plate above the piezoelectric element protrudes higher than other areas of the vibrating plate in the longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric element to vibrate a contact position of the human body contacting the vibrating plate.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the air-conducted sound reducing unit includes a speaker that, during playback of the vibration sound, plays back a masking sound differing from the vibration sound.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the air-conducted sound reducing unit includes a speaker that, during playback of the vibration sound, plays back an opposite-phase sound that is opposite in phase to the vibration sound.

4. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the masking sound includes human speech and an animal call.

5. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the masking sound includes sound having a frequency of a predetermined value or greater.

6. The electronic device according to claim 2 , wherein the speaker is disposed so as to emit sound toward a side opposite a side where the vibrating plate contacts the human body.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a region of the vibrating plate that can contact the human body has a width equal to or greater than a length from a tragus to an antihelix and a height exceeding a length from the tragus to an inferior antihelix crus in a human ear.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein a region of the vibrating plate that can contact the human body has a width equal to or greater than a length from a tragus to an antihelix and a height exceeding a length from a helix to an earlobe in a human ear.

9. An electronic device comprising:
a piezoelectric element;
a vibrating plate configured to vibrate due to the piezoelectric element, the electronic device causing the vibrating plate to generate air-conducted sound and vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body; and
a speaker that, during playback of the vibration sound, plays back a masking sound differing from the vibration sound,
wherein the piezoelectric element is shaped to have a longitudinal direction and
wherein the vibrating plate is bent by the piezoelectric element so that an area of the vibrating plate above the piezoelectric element protrudes higher than other areas of the vibrating plate in the longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric element to vibrate a contact position of the human body contacting the vibrating plate.

10. An electronic device comprising:
a piezoelectric element;
a vibrating plate configured to vibrate due to the piezoelectric element, the electronic device causing the vibrating plate to generate air-conducted sound and vibration sound that is transmitted by vibrating a part of a human body; and
a speaker that, during playback of the vibration sound, plays back an opposite-phase sound that is opposite in phase to the vibration sound,
wherein the piezoelectric element is shaped to have a longitudinal direction and
wherein the vibrating plate is bent by the piezoelectric element so that an area of the vibrating plate above the piezoelectric element protrudes higher than other areas of the vibrating plate in the longitudinal direction of the piezoelectric element to vibrate a contact position of the human body contacting the vibrating plate.

Assignees

• Kyocera Corp

Inventors

• Nabata Toshihisa
• Mizuta Satoshi
• Miyano Tomoaki
• Sato Kiyokazu
• Kihara Akio
• Kazama Shun
• Katayama Yasuhiro

Classifications

• H04R2460/01

  Hearing devices using active noise cancellation · CPC title

• H04R2400/03

  Transducers capable of generating both sound as well as tactile vibration, e.g. as used in cellular phones · CPC title

• G10K11/178

  by electro-acoustically regenerating the original acoustic waves in anti-phase · CPC title

• G10K2210/1081

  Earphones, e.g. for telephones, ear protectors or headsets · CPC title

• G10K11/175

  using interference effects; Masking sound · CPC title