Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R2225/00—Details of deaf aids covered by H04R25/00, not provided for in any of its subgroups
  • H04R2225/021—Behind the ear [BTE] hearing aids
  • H04R2225/0213—Constructional details of earhooks, e.g. shape, material
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R2225/00—Details of deaf aids covered by H04R25/00, not provided for in any of its subgroups
  • H04R2225/61—Aspects relating to mechanical or electronic switches or control elements, e.g. functioning
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
  • H04R25/602—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of batteries
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
  • H04R25/603—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of mechanical or electronic switches or control elements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
  • H04R25/607—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of earhooks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/65—Housing parts, e.g. shells, tips or moulds, or their manufacture

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a rear ear hearing aid according to the preamble of claim 1.
• the device body In hearing aids of this type, it is customary to construct the device body with a tubularly curved housing part, which is essentially divided along surface lines, in two shells.
• the assembly is carried out by opening the shells, inserting the functional units belonging to the hearing aid and closing the shells, whether by gluing or screwing.
• This requires well-trained personnel and precise work, both in terms of inserting the functional units mentioned, as well as their electrical contacting, often by soldering, and finally in terms of closing the shells.
• there are connecting parts along the connected shells which are critical with regard to tightness.
• the present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.
• the hearing aid mentioned at the outset is distinguished by the characterizing part of claim 1.
• the device body comprises a one-piece, at least partially tubular housing part.
• This assembly method the basis of which is the one-piece, tubular, closed housing part provided according to the invention, is, in contrast to previously known assembly methods, extremely suitable for automation.
• the housing part is completed in one section by means of a cover to form a tube which is essentially closed over its entire length.
• the interior is preferably designed with receptacles for the stacked, guided insertion of structural units to be accommodated in the device.
• An acoustic coupling preferably detachable, is arranged on one side of the housing part mentioned, the other end is closed by a cover, which can preferably be removed non-destructively, to form a receiving compartment with at least two electrical contacts.
• Other organs provided on the mentioned device part such as the two mentioned covers, operating switches, coupling stubs etc. are preferably arranged sealingly on the device part.
• FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the hearing aid according to the invention
• Fig. 3 in a perspective view, the preferred from ⁇ forming a battery compartment lid at erfindungsgemä- SEN hearing instrument;
• FIG. 4 shows the top view of the lid according to FIG. 3 with parts for left / right ear coding; 5 on the one hand the perspective view of the basic housing of the device according to the invention, on the other hand a preferably provided or predictable additional module;
• Fig. 8 schematically, the unit according to Fig. 6 to explain the acoustic couplings.
• FIG. 1 the rear ear hearing aid according to the invention is shown as a whole in a partially simplified longitudinal sectional view, by means of which the individual functional blocks or functional parts are to be described for the time being.
• the hearing aid 1 comprises a horn-shaped, tubular base body with a center axis A, which at the thinner, bent end, as an acoustic output, has a connecting piece 5 for a coupling tube leading into the ear.
• the connecting piece 5 can be replaced or screwed onto a pipe socket 9 which is seated on a basic housing 3.
• connection piece 5 continues through the pipe stub 9 in a transmission channel 11 in Grundgeophu ⁇ se 3.
• the transmission channel 11, in turn, of the base housing 3 is coupled to an electric / acoustic transducer arrangement 15 in a compartment. 13
• the transmission channel 11 extends along the inner curvature of the basic housing 3 in such a way that a microphone assembly 17 has space on the outer curvature side finds.
• a cover 19 is formed on the basic housing 3 and locked in the area of the culmination point of the device by means of a plug-in axis 21.
• the cover 19 extends along surface lines M of the device body, up to, FIG. 1, in the area of the electrical / acoustic transducer unit 15.
• the microphone assembly 17 is when the hinged cover 19 is removed accessible and preferably only electrically contacted on a flexprint tab (not shown), folded over the transmission channel 11 and located on a sound entry slot 23.
• the insert 25 is acoustically “transparent” and has a large number of passages between the surroundings U and a compensation volume V, the latter being left free between the (not shown) discrete microphone inlet openings and said insert.
• the insert 25 is preferably made from a sintered material, such as, in particular, from sintered polyethylene and, more preferably, with a water-repellent coating. It also forms a lattice fineness between 10 ⁇ m and 200 ⁇ m with an open porosity, preferably of over 70%.
• the microphone assembly 17 and insert 25 are arranged in the slot 23 on the hearing device 1 such that, when the hearing device is worn, they are not exposed to any air pressure to the environment U, as shown in FIG. 1, in the area of the dome of the device horn-shaped, tubular base body are positioned.
• an acoustic / electrical transducer with directional characteristic is realized with the aid of the at least two spaced-apart microphones mentioned
• the intended intermediate volume V in the sense of a “common mode” suppression, means that different acoustic signals that are coupled in differently tend to cancel each other out along the insert 25 due to the compensating effect of the volume V.
• the insert 25 acts as protection against contamination and, thanks to its preferably water-repellent coating, is easy to clean.
• actuation switch 31 is provided on the outside of the main unit housing, in the area between the battery compartment 29 and the electronics unit 27.
• connection piece 5 basic housing 3, cover 19 with sound entry slot 23 and insert 25, furthermore the actuation switch 31 are clearly visible.
• a cylindrical flat battery or a corresponding battery is inserted into the battery compartment 29, which is inserted into the base housing 3. accordingly shaped battery 33 inserted such that the axis of the battery cylinder, with its end faces 33 u and 33 0 , is at least substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis A of the base body.
• a first resilient contact 35 is provided at the base 30 of the battery compartment 29, centered in the axis A, a second 37 makes resilient contact with the side surface of the battery 33.
• the battery compartment 29 can be closed with a cover 39 which is transverse to the axis A in the closed position and which is pivotally or bayonet-mounted on the basic housing 3, at 41 or on the battery compartment 29.
• This transverse arrangement of the battery 33 on the hearing device has significant advantages: the area closed by the cover 39 is relatively large, which - as will be explained below - can be used further. Because the battery compartment cover 39 is also located at the lowest point of the device and the cover joints to the base housing 3 lie transversely to the axis A, penetration of sweat into the battery compartment is hardly critical. Furthermore, with this battery compartment design, the contacts 37 and 35 are protected within the compartment, and the cover 39 has no electrical contacts. Because the essentially cylindrical interior of the base body 3 is further utilized, there is practically no unused, lost space.
• FIG. 3 shows, in perspective, a preferred embodiment of the battery compartment cover 39, designed as a hinged cover.
• the snap hinge part 43 With the snap hinge part 43, it can be easily disengaged from the pivot bearing 41 according to FIG. 1 or snapped into place.
• it points further a locking lock 45, along with a resilient latch 46.
• Fig. 4 the lid 39 is shown in FIG. 1 in an external view.
• the locking lock 45 can only be operated from the outside with a tool, for example a screwdriver, and for this purpose has an engagement slot 49 on a rotary plate 47.
• the circuit board 47 which is only installed when the locking lock 45 is installed on the hinged cover 39, is specifically colored, in two versions, e.g. red and blue, which also serves as an indication of whether the hearing aid in question is a device for the left or right ear.
• the illustrated embodiment of the battery compartment 29, in particular the fact that the flat battery cylinder lies coaxially with the axis A of the hearing aid, has a further significant advantage.
• the hearing aid shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to a basic configuration.
• Additional module 51 inserted, electrically contacted at the contact points 35a and 37a corresponding to the battery contacts.
• compartment 29a with the battery 33 which now acts as the actual battery compartment, is now provided on the additional module 51 and, correspondingly, the cover 39, which is removed, for example, from the basic housing 3 and latched onto the additional module or latched like a bayonet.
• the cover 39 which is removed, for example, from the basic housing 3 and latched onto the additional module or latched like a bayonet.
• several such modules 51 can be stacked on the basic module of the hearing aid shown in FIG. 1.
• the respective fixation of the additional modules 51 is preferably carried out with a snap-in part 43a provided on the modules 51, analogous to the hinge part 43 on the hinged cover 39, and a trained analogously to the snap part 46 on said hinged cover 39
• Snap part 46a or, in the case of a bayonet lock, by appropriate insertion and rotary locking.
• FIG. 6 the structure and the storage of the mentioned arrangement 15 on the basic housing 3 and in accordance with FIG. 1 is shown in simplified form.
• the arrangement 15, encapsulated in a loudspeaker housing 53 comprises the loudspeaker arrangement (not shown) with a loudspeaker membrane.
• the coupling waves shown schematically at 55 couple the sound waves excited by the loudspeaker membrane from the space on the rear side of the membrane in the loudspeaker housing 53 into the surrounding space U S3 of the loudspeaker housing 53.
• the acoustic signals - as shown by the arrow S - are coupled from the front space of the membrane to the transmission channel 11 shown in FIG. 1.
• the loudspeaker housing 53 is mounted on all sides in resilient, preferably in rubber-elastic bearings 57, essentially freely swinging.
• the bearings 57 define the relatively large space U 53 between the loudspeaker housing outer wall and an encapsulation 59, which leads to a notable increase in the low tones.
• the resonance space on the back of the membrane is enlarged many times by the space U S3 . So that the space U 53 is fully acoustically effective, the encapsulation 59 and its holder 61 are tightly connected.
• the encapsulation 59 further preferably acts as a magnetic shielding housing and is preferably made of ⁇ -metal for this purpose. It is cup-shaped and is sealingly hooked onto the holder 61, designed as a plastic carrier part.
• the aforementioned resilient, preferably rubber-elastic, bearings 57 are stretched between the encapsulation 59, the holder 61 and the loudspeaker housing 53.
• the membrane 54 of the loudspeaker in the housing 53 defines a first space R x in the said housing, which is coupled to the acoustic output of the hearing device - as shown with S - and a second R 2 which via one or more openings 55 with the between encapsulation 59 and housing 53 formed space U 53 is coupled.
• the Operating switch 31 comprises a toggle switch 63, which is tilted at 65 on one side.
• the tilting bearing 65 is formed on a slide 67 which, as shown by the double arrow F, is mounted so as to be linearly displaceable with respect to the basic housing 3.
• the device is switched on and off by pushing the slide back and forth via button 63.
• a continuous groove 72 is machined in the slide 67, through which a housing 3-fixed contact pill 73 extends.
• a resilient contact part 75 arranged on the slide 67, which is preferably made as a keyboard element from rubber-elastic, at least partially electrically conductive plastic, as is known, for example, from remote control keyboards.
• the Bridging contact 70 with the contact part 75, and the contact pill 73 thus acts as an electrical output of the switching arrangement.
• the actuation switch 31 thus acts both as an on / off slide switch and additionally, in the on position, as a toggle switch, with which the electronics unit 27 is acted on in steps in accordance with FIG. 1, for example for rapid individual gain setting.
• the actuation switch 31 therefore combines two functions, slide switch and toggle switch, a functional fusion which is particularly advantageous for the rear ear device according to the invention.
• the difference in operation ensures that there is no confusion of functions, which is much more critical for the two functions mentioned if two switches are provided.
• the basic housing 3 is formed by a bent, appropriately shaped tubular part.
• this part 3 is formed in one piece, preferably made of plastic, and is not separable into two shells, as is customary in the construction of such hearing aids, along the generatrices marked M in FIG. 5.
• This also means that the individual units are assembled in the basic housing 3: they are simply inserted into the tube, which is much easier than assembling on open shells.
• Another advantage of a tubular, one-piece embodiment is its much greater stability compared to a split housing. This makes it possible to reduce the wall thickness of the housing and thereby reduce it, or to increase the usable internal volume for a given external volume. Advantages of the overall configuration
• the individual structural units in particular 11, 15, 27, 29 and / or 51, are assembled by axial, sequential insertion into the basic housing 3.
• Shaping of the housing 3 with appropriate guides ensures rapid, exact positioning, the mutual electrical contact between the electrically operated units being solderless, using resilient contacts.
• the units to be provided can thus be tested and measured beforehand and then assembled without fear of impairment. This assembly can easily be automated.
• the entire housing with basic housing 3 and cover 19, optionally 39, can be easily sealed at the joints with appropriate seals.
• the preferred embodiment of the electrical / acoustic transducer arrangement 15 ensures an optimal magnetic shielding of the loudspeakers and an optimal acoustic seal with respect to structure-borne noise.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Neurosurgery (AREA)
• Otolaryngology (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Battery Mounting, Suspending (AREA)
• Headphones And Earphones (AREA)
• Electrostatic, Electromagnetic, Magneto- Strictive, And Variable-Resistance Transducers (AREA)
• Pharmaceuticals Containing Other Organic And Inorganic Compounds (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
• Stereophonic Arrangements (AREA)
• Finger-Pressure Massage (AREA)
• Reverberation, Karaoke And Other Acoustics (AREA)
• Details Of Audible-Bandwidth Transducers (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Related Child Applications (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=4551684

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Family Applications After (1)

Country Status (10)

Families Citing this family (33)

Family Cites Families (25)

• 1999
  • 1999-06-16 DE DE59915251T patent/DE59915251D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-06-16 CA CA2377449A patent/CA2377449C/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-06-16 EP EP99924639A patent/EP1183909B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-06-16 DK DK99924639.0T patent/DK1183909T3/da active
  • 1999-06-16 DK DK04015647.3T patent/DK1484943T3/da active
  • 1999-06-16 AU AU41284/99A patent/AU774934B2/en not_active Expired
  • 1999-06-16 AT AT99924639T patent/ATE499808T1/de active
  • 1999-06-16 WO PCT/CH1999/000262 patent/WO1999043194A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1999-06-16 JP JP2000533006A patent/JP2002537665A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-06-16 EP EP04015647.3A patent/EP1484943B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-06-16 CN CN99816729A patent/CN1354966A/zh active Pending
  • 1999-06-28 US US09/340,767 patent/US6735319B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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