Artificial larynx

• US 5,326,349 A
• Filed: 07/09/1992
• Issued: 07/05/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: David R. Baraff
• Original Assignee: David R. Baraff
• Inventors: Baraff, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Isabella, David J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURKE, ELIZABETH
• Application Number:
  US07/910,217
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• Field of Search: 623/9, 381/70, 433/32, 433/167, 433/201.1
• US Class Current: 623/9
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/20 Epiglottis; Larynxes; Tracheae combined with larynxes or for use therewith tracheae, bronchi per se A61F2/04 ; tracheostomy tubes A61M16/0465

Abstract

An artificial larynx consists of (1) a first unit mounted in the mouth comprising a dental prosthesis, including a loud speaker, a power amplifier, a self-contained power source, plus a radio frequency receiver, and (2) a second unit held in the hand equipped with an input control device, self-contained power source, electronic circuitry and transmitter allowing the user to alter the frequency and volume produced by the unit in the mouth. The construction and components of the unit allows laryngectomees to speak with both a natural sound and a high degree of intelligibility. The unit preferably includes a system architecture including operational software which implements predetermined control of a fundamental repetition rate of voice pulses provided by the unit, to control the tonal quality of the sound, to include aspiration noise in the sound, to include pseudorandom variation of the fundamental repetition rate of the tonal pulse, includes diplophonic structure in such pulse and is able to simulate whispering.

Claims

1. An artificial speech tone generation device for use by post-laryngectomy patients comprising:

(a) a tone frequency generation means arranged and constructed to provide a substantially natural sounding artificial human voice tone within a human oral cavity for modulation by oral anatomy and movement,

(b) a control means for manual operation by a user thereof including a hand activated control incorporating simultaneous on-off, pitch and volume control by a single control means over a predetermined continuum of control combinations combining pitch and volume,

(c) said tone frequency generation means being arranged and constructed for accommodation intraorally and said control means being arranged and constructed for operation in a hand of the user whereby a post-laryngectomy patient may effectively control volume and pitch of an artificial human voice tone in a more natural sounding combination than otherwise, and

(d) in which the control means for manual operation and the tone frequency generation means are arranged and configured for intercommunication via spacially transmitted information carrying waveforms.

2. An artificial tone generating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the spacially transmitted information carrying waveforms constitute electromagnetic radiation.

3. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the tone frequency generation means is arranged and constructed to provide at least one of a series of predetermined discontinuities and irregularities in tone generation including an particular slight random variations in repetition rate of fundamental tones.

4. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the device is arranged and constructed to provide pulses of tonal frequencies with an occasional hiatus or diplophonic structure in such pulses of tonal frequencies, particularly in lower frequency ranges and volumes of such pulses to provide a more natural sounding speech tone.

5. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the device is arranged and constructed to provide relatively minor amounts of random noise together with a voice tone.

6. An artificial speech tone generation device for use by a post-laryngectomy patient comprising:

(a) an intraoral tone frequency generation means arranged and constructed to provide a substantially natural sounding voice tone with a post laryngectomy patient'"'"'s oral cavity for modulation by mouth structures of said post laryngectomy patient,

(b) a control means for manual operation by said post laryngectomy patient including a hand activated control incorporating on-off, pitch and volume control by a control means over a predetermined continuum of control combinations combining pitch and volume,

(c) the hand activated control and intraoral tone frequency generation means being arranged and configured for intercommunication via spacially transmitted information carrying waveforms.

7. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the tone frequency generation means is arranged and constructed to provide at least one of a series of predetermined discontinuities and irregularities in tone generation including in particular slight random variations in repetition rate of certain fundamental tones.

8. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the device is arranged and constructed to provide an occasional hiatus or diplophonic structure in frequency pulses particularly in lower ranges of frequencies and volumes of such pulses to provide a more natural sounding speech tone.

9. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the device is arranged and constructed to provide relatively minor amounts of random noise together with primary speech pulses creating an aspiration noise frequently associated with normal speech.

10. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the device is arranged and constructed to provide random high frequency noise without primary speech tone pulses to create a speech pattern sometimes referred to as whispering.

11. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein communication between the control means and the tone frequency generation means is by electromagnetic radiation.

12. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the control means incorporates a tone generating computer software program.

13. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 12 wherein the computer software program is stored on a removable chip which is readily and conveniently interchanged with other chips incorporating tone generating programs to allow one basic tone generation device to create a multiplicity of different voice tones.

14. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 6 wherein scanning between consecutive tones is smoothed by means of a tuned interpolation program controlled or run by a microcomputer.

15. An artificial speech tone generation device comprising:

(a) a tone frequency generation device arranged and constructed to provide a substantially natural sounding voice tone within a post laryngectomy patient'"'"'s oral cavity for modulation by mouth structures of said post laryngectomy patient including a battery means, a loud speaker, an electronic circuit which can detect spacially transmitted signals and convert them to electrical signals for powering the loud speaker, and acoustic structures allowing wound to reach the oral cavity while protecting the loud speaker from saliva and bacteria,

(b) a control means for manual operation by the post laryngectomy patient including a hand activated control incorporating on-off means, plus pitch and volume control by a control means over a predetermined continuum of control combinations combining pitch and volume,

(c) said control means comprising a combined microcontroller and computer software program, and

(d) wherein an electromagnetic communication channel is used to transfer signals between the tone frequency generation device in the post laryngectomy patient'"'"'s oral cavity and the control means for manual operation.

16. An artificial speech tone generation device in accordance with claim 15 wherein the frequency tone generation device is arranged and constructed to provide certain discontinuities in generated pulse tone of a random nature and to provide a small amount of high frequency random noise simulating aspiration noise.

17. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 15 wherein the control means is configured with sufficient precision to output a waveform wherein harmonic amplitudes are individually defined to within 2 db of a predetermined value.

18. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 15 wherein an acoustic path for a frequency tone incorporates a pressure relief vent which can pass air but will not pass bacteria or saliva.

19. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 18 wherein the pressure relief valve is made from a halocarbon filter material.

20. An artificial tone generation device in accordance with claim 15 wherein the control means is arranged and constructed to provide discontinuities in generated tone of a random nature and a minor amount of high frequency random noise simulating aspiration noise and at least a portion of architecture of the control means includes a computer software program embodied upon a chip insertable as a unit into the control means.

21. An artificial larynx including an oral unit and a control unit:

(a) said oral unit comprising

(i) prosthetic means for mounting an artificial larynx within a laryngectomy patient'"'"'s oral cavity;

(ii) a power source mounted in association with said prosthetic means;

(iii) an electronic circuit for receiving and deciphering signals sent from a control unit;

(iv) a power amplifier; and

(v) a loud speaker;

(b) said control unit comprising;

(i) a housing;

(ii) a power source;

(iii) an electronic circuit means; and

(iv) a human interface device;

such units being arranged and constructed for generating, transmitting and receiving under control of a laryngectomy patient acoustic tonal pulse representations of a human glottal pulse to produce natural sounding speech, such control being arranged and constructed to activate and deactivate such pulse, to control a fundamental repetition rate of such pulse and to control both independently and jointly sound amplitude.

22. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 21 wherein said control unit is additionally arranged and constructed to:

(c) control tonal quality of the tonal pulse representations.

23. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 22 wherein said control unit is additionally arranged and constructed to:

(d) include aspiration noise in the tonal pulse representations.

24. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 23 wherein said control unit is additionally arranged and constructed to:

(e) include pseudorandom variation of the fundamental repetition rate of said tonal pulse representations.

25. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 24 wherein said control unit is additionally arranged and constructed to:

(f) include diplophonic structure in said tonal pulse representations.

26. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 24 wherein said control unit is additionally arranged and constructed to:

(g) include the ability to simulate whispering sound in place of said tonal pulse representations.

27. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 21 wherein pitch and tone of said tonal representation are at least partially under direct control of the laryngectomy patient via the human interface device and other characteristics are substantially implemented by microprocessor means.

28. An artificial larynx in accordance with claim 27 wherein the microprocessor means includes software in its system architecture.