Tactile stimulation device for hearing-impaired individuals

A speech information transmission device for tactile transmission via vibrations from a vibration transmitter indicative of speech information, comprising:

• a wrist-watch shaped housing;
• an electric coil received within the housing;
• a magnetic core movably received within a central region of the electric coil and longitudinally movable in the coil;
• a portion of the housing being substantially cup-shaped for receiving the coil and the core, the housing surrounding the coil providing a flux return path for flux lines passing through the core;
• one end of the core being adjacent the bottom of the housing at one end of the coil and the opposite end of the core terminating at the opposite end of the coil so that the core does not project beyond either end of the coil;
• a diaphragm securely connected to one end of the core and having a peripheral edge secured to the housing;
• and
• a vibration transmitter element independently movable with respect to the housing and attached centrally to the diaphragm at a side opposite to which the magnetic core is secured, said diaphragm retaining both the transmitter element and the magnetic core such that they are both freely oscillatable.