JPH0884399A - Sound listening device and its storage case - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention proposes a sound-listening device with a simple structure that has good operability and can avoid forgetting to turn off the power supply, and a storage case thereof. [Structure] By forming an extraction knob 34 integrally with a battery holder 33 that switches on / off of a power supply in accordance with a rotational position with respect to a main body case 31, it is easy to take out a sound from an ear hole and turn on / off the power supply with a simple structure. The device 30 can be realized. Further, a fixing portion for fixing the take-out knob 34 is provided in the first case half of the first and second case halves which can be opened and closed, and the second case half is brought into contact with the main body case to make the main body case. By providing the pressing movement unit that presses and moves, it is possible to realize a storage case that can avoid forgetting to turn off the power during storage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sound listening device and a storage case thereof, and is preferably applied to, for example, a hearing aid and a storage case for storing the hearing aid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an ear-hearing type hearing aid in which a body case containing all parts such as a microphone, an amplifier and a speaker for taking in hearing aid sound is inserted into an ear hole of a wearer. Hearing aids of this type have a limited number of controls, such as batteries for power supply and dials for volume adjustment,
Further, it is necessary for the wearer to dispose a take-out knob for taking out the main body case from the ear hole, and various ideas have been made in terms of operability in consideration of the fact that there are many elderly people as wearers.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, there is an ear-hearing type hearing aid 1 provided with a take-out knob 3 which is rotatable in the upper part of a main body case 2 in the direction of arrow a or in the opposite direction. In this hearing aid 1, when the take-out knob 3 is taken out from the ear canal, the take-out knob 3 is put into a standing state as shown in the figure with a finger, and then the pick-up knob 3 is picked up and pulled in the direction of the arrow b. Thus hearing aid 1
Can be taken out of the ear canal.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a hearing aid 5 has been proposed in which the take-out knob 6 has a function of a power switch (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-58408). This hearing aid 5 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the power is on when the take-out knob 6 is in the rotating position coinciding with the upper surface of the main body case 7. On the other hand, when it is desired to turn off the power, the take-out knob 6 is turned in the direction of the arrow c, so that FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the main body case 7 is erected in an upward rotation position so as to project upward from the upper surface.

At this time, the cam 6 formed on the take-out knob 6
A contacts the one end 8A of the battery holder 8 to turn the battery holder 8 in the direction of arrow d. As a result, battery 9
When is rotated together with the battery holder 8, the electrode 9A of the battery 9 is separated from the battery contact piece 10A connected to the hearing aid processing circuit, and the power is turned off. Further, the wearer can take out the hearing aid 5 from the ear canal by pinching and pulling the take-out knob 6 which is thus erected in the upward rotation position.

[0006]

However, in the hearing aid 1 described above with reference to FIG. 7, since the power switch (not shown) is provided separately from the extraction knob 3, the power may be forgotten to be turned off after use. There is a risk that the power supply will be uselessly consumed. Further, in the hearing aid 5 described above with reference to FIG. 8, it is considered that it is almost impossible to forget to turn off the power because the power is turned off when the hearing aid 5 is taken out from the ear canal. However, after taking out from the ear canal, the take-out knob 6 is set as shown in FIG. 8 (A). If it is stored in this state, the power supply will still be consumed.
Further, the hearing aid 5 has a problem that the configuration becomes very complicated as is clear from the figure.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a hearing aid 20 having a simple structure and avoiding the consumption of the battery due to forgetting to turn off the power supply has been proposed (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-26880).
This hearing aid 20 is provided with a magnetic switch 21 which is turned on and off by a magnetic field on the side of the hearing aid 20, and a magnet 26 on the side of the hearing aid storage case 25 to store the hearing aid 20 in the storage case 25.
When housed inside, the magnetic switch 21 tries to turn off the magnetic switch 21 by the magnetic field from the magnet 26. Because 2
2 is a body case, 23 is a dial for adjusting the volume, 2
Reference numeral 4 represents a lid of the battery chamber.

However, there is a problem that the hearing aid 20 cannot be turned off unless the hearing aid 20 is housed in the housing case 25. Therefore, magnet 2 for turning off the power
It is thought that the switch can be turned off at any time by carrying 1 always, but this is not practical. In addition to the above problems, in the hearing aids 1 and 5 as described above, when the hearing aids 1 and 5 are taken out from the ear canal, it is necessary to work the take-out knobs 3 and 6 from the lying state to the standing state. This work of erecting the very small take-out knobs 3 and 6 in a very narrow ear hole was quite troublesome even for a dexterous person.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to propose a sound-listening device having a simple structure that can be easily taken out from an ear canal and can avoid forgetting to turn off the power supply, and a storage case thereof. It is a thing.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, the sound listening device 3 which inserts the main body case 31 into the ear canal and sends the listening sound into the ear canal of the wearer.
0, the battery holding means 33, which is rotatably provided with respect to the main body case 31 at the outer surface position of the main body case 31 when the main body case 31 is inserted into the ear hole, holds the battery 39 serving as a power source; Battery connection means 41C that is electrically connected to the electrode of the battery 39 when the holding means 33 is in the first rotation position and that is disconnected from the electrode when the battery holding means 33 is in the second rotation position. , 42 and an elongated shape that follows the opening surface of the ear hole, and is integrally formed with the battery holding means 33 so as to project from the outer surface of the battery holding means 33. A take-out knob 34 serving as a take-out means is provided.

Further, in the present invention, the battery 3 serving as a power source
9, a battery holding means 33 provided in the main body case 31 so as to rotate a first turning position in which the power is turned on and a second turning position in which the power is turned off, and a battery holding means. Three
In the storage case 50 that houses the sound listening device 30 that is integrally formed with the body 3 and has the take-out knob 34 that serves as a take-out means for taking out the main body case 31 from the ear hole, the case is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to each other and is in a closed state. At this time, the first and second case halves 51, 52 for housing the sound listening device 30
And the take-out knob 34 provided on the first case half 51.
The fixing means 54 for fixing the battery holding means 33 by supporting and the second case half body 52 are provided, and the main body case 31 is opened according to the closing operation of the first and second case half bodies 51, 52. The pressing movement means 55 for moving the battery holding means 33 to the second rotation position by pressing is provided.

[0012]

When the sound listening device 30 inserted into the ear canal is taken out, the wearer holds the take-out knob 34 with his finger and pulls it. At this time, since the take-out knob 34 has an elongated shape along the opening surface of the ear hole and does not need to stand upright from the main body case 31, the wearer can easily take out the sound listening device 30 with the take-out knob 34. it can.

When the sound listening device 30 is stored in the storage case 50, the battery holding means 33 is fixed to the fixing means 54 provided in the first case half body 51 through the take-out knob 34, and then the first case. When the second case half body 52 is closed with respect to the case half body 51, only the main body case 31 is moved by the pressing movement means 55 provided in the second case half body 52. As a result, the battery holding means 33 becomes the main body case 31.
With respect to the second rotation position, the sound listening apparatus 30 is powered off. Thus, it is possible to realize the sound-listening device 30 and the storage case 50 having a simple structure that has good operability and can avoid forgetting to turn off the power.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(1) Hearing Aid In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a hearing aid as a whole, and a main body case 31 having an outer shape that fits in an ear hole of a wearer has a microphone, an earphone, a hearing aid processing circuit and electronic parts thereof. It has a built-in battery and the like for driving the. Further, an earwax preventing member 32 for preventing the earwax from entering the sound path is detachably attached to the tip of the eardrum when inserted into the ear canal. On the other hand, the battery holder 33 is rotatably provided with respect to the main body case 31 on the outer side (hereinafter referred to as the outer surface of the hearing aid) when inserted into the ear hole. Further, on the upper surface of the battery holder 33, an extraction knob 34 protruding from the battery holder 33 is provided.
3 is integrally molded.

As a result, when the wearer takes out the hearing aid 30 from the ear canal, the wearer can easily take out the hearing aid 30 by pinching the pulling knob 34 with a finger and pulling. Further, after taking out, by turning the battery holder 33 in the direction of the arrow e by pinching the take-out knob 34 while supporting the main body case 31 with fingers, the power is turned off (the state shown in FIG. 1) and further turned. By doing so, the battery can be put in a replaceable state.

Here, the take-out knob 34 is formed in a vertically long size so as to be along the ear hole opening surface, considering that the opening surface of the ear hole is vertically long. This allows the wearer to easily pick up the take-out knob 34. Further, a constriction 35 is formed at the joint between the take-out knob 34 and the battery holder 33, and the wearer can pull the take-out knob 34 by sliding the finger tip on the constriction 35 without sliding the finger tip. You can In addition, since the take-out knob 34 is formed to be vertically long and large, the area of the joint with the battery holder 33 can be made large, and compared with the case where a rod-like take-out knob is integrally formed with the battery holder 33, for example, it is remarkably small. The strength can be increased.

Further, notches 36A and 36B are formed on the shoulders of the main body case 31 that abut on both sides of the take-out knob 34 so that the inclined surface faces the direction of the take-out knob 34. As a result, when the wearer picks the extraction knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 in the ear hole while groping, the body case 3
It is possible to easily pick up the take-out knob 34 without the 1 disturbing.

Incidentally, in the hearing aid 30, since the external shape in the longitudinal direction of the take-out knob 34 indicated by the arrow f is symmetrical with respect to both directions from the center, it is apparent which is the rotating shaft side or the free end side of the battery holder 33. I don't know. Therefore, the battery holder 3
A protrusion 37 for indicating the rotation direction is formed at one end of the take-out knob 34 in the longitudinal direction, which corresponds to the free end side of 3.

Therefore, the wearer confirms the position of the protrusion 37 by touching with his / her eyes or fingers, and pulls the take-out knob 34 in the direction of arrow e at the confirmed position to pull the battery holder 33 in the direction of arrow e.
By rotating in the direction, the power source can be switched and the battery can be replaced. Needless to say, the protrusion 37 may be provided on the rotating shaft side of the battery holder 33. By using the hearing aid 30 in this way, it is possible to easily take out the hearing aid 30 without the need for the complicated work of raising the extraction knob in a narrow ear canal as in the conventional case. Further, the power can be easily switched on and off even in the ear canal.

2 and 3 show the structure of the battery holder 33 and the power on / off state according to the rotation of the battery holder 33. The battery holder 33 is a holder part made of a semicircular flexible member. 38 holds a button type battery 39 as a power source. A bearing 40 is formed at one end of the battery holder 33, and a rotating shaft (not shown) provided on the body case 31 side is fitted into the bearing 40.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2A, the anode side of the battery holder 33 when the battery is accommodated is opened over the entire surface, and the main body case 31 is opened through this opening.
The positive electrode 41A provided on the side is always in contact with the battery 39. Further, a window portion 42 penetrating the thickness of the battery holder 33 is formed on the cathode side of the battery holder 33 when the battery 39 is stored therein.
The negative electrode 41B provided on the side contacts the battery 39 only through the window 42. Further, the concave portion 4 is provided near the window 42.
3 are formed.

With such a structure, when the battery holder 33 is in the first rotating state in which it coincides with the outer surface of the main body case 31, as shown in FIG. 3A, the negative electrode 41B has a V-shaped contact piece 41C. Comes into contact with the cathode of the battery 39 through the window 42, so that the hearing aid 30 is turned on. On the other hand, when the wearer rotates the battery holder 33 in the direction of the arrow e to the state shown in FIG.
Is separated from the window portion 42 so that the negative electrode 41B and the battery 3
The cathode of 9 becomes non-contact, and the hearing aid 30 is turned off.

At this time, the contact piece 41C is fitted into the recess 43, so that the rotation of the battery holder 33 is stabilized at this position. However, when the battery holder 33 is further rotated in the direction of arrow e by applying a force of a certain amount or more from this state, the contact piece 41C is separated from the recess 43, and the battery holder 33 is further rotated in the direction of arrow e. Thereby, the battery holder 33
Is rotated to a position where it is completely removed from the body case 31, and the battery 39 can be replaced in this state.

(2) Storage Case In FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 denotes a storage case for housing the hearing aid 30 described above as a whole, and the lower lid 5 for housing the hearing aid 30.
1 and an upper lid 52 which is attached to the lower lid 51 so as to be openable and closable around a rotation shaft (not shown). The lower lid 51 has a holding member 5 formed in a semicircular shape along the outer surface of the hearing aid 30 and having a U-shaped cutout 53.
4 are provided. When the hearing aid 30 is stored in a predetermined position on the lower lid 51, the holding member 54 fixes the battery holder 33 by abutting the cutout portion 53 so as to sandwich the constriction 35 of the extraction knob 34.

When the upper lid 52 is closed to the lower lid 51, a pressing member 55 projecting toward the lower lid 51 is provided at a position of the upper lid 52 facing the shoulder portion of the hearing aid main body case 31. Therefore, when the upper lid 52 is closed, the pressing member 55 comes into contact with the shoulder portion of the main body case 31. Here, the pressing member 55 includes the upper lid 52.
The inclined surface 55A is formed such that its height becomes lower as it moves away from the rotation axis (not shown) of the main body case 31 and as the upper lid 52 is rotated in the closing direction. Is designed to move from a high position to a low position of the inclined surface 55A.

As a result, when the upper lid 52 is rotated in the closing direction, only the main body case 31 is rotated by the pressing member 55 while the battery holder 33 is held by the holding member 54. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the hearing aid 30 housed in the lower lid 51 in the power-on state is shown in FIG. 5 (B) when the upper lid 52 is once closed and then opened again. As described above, the battery holder 33 is rotated to the second rotation position with respect to the main body case 31, and the power is turned off. Thus, the power of the hearing aid 30 can be turned off only by closing the upper lid 52.

Incidentally, the lower lid 51 of the storage case 50 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), a urethane interior member 56 is provided. The interior member 56 has a hollow 57 for housing the hearing aid 30 and a hollow 58 for housing the battery.
Are formed. Here, the hollow 57 is formed to be slightly larger than the outer shape of the hearing aid 30, so that the body case 31 of the hearing aid 30 can be easily rotated from the power-on state to the power-off state as described above. There is. By providing the interior member 56 in this way, in addition to improving the visual appearance,
The effect that the hearing aid 30 can be easily stored at a predetermined position on the lower lid 51 is obtained.

(3) Operation of the Embodiment With the above-described structure, the hearing aid wearer grasps the extraction knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 inserted in the ear canal with his finger and pulls it to pull the hearing aid 30 out of the ear canal. You can take it out. At this time, since the take-out knob 34 is formed large, the wearer can easily pick the take-out knob 34 by inserting two fingers along the ear canal external auditory meatus.
Moreover, the take-out knob 34 can be pulled without sliding the finger by using the constriction 35 as a trigger. If you want to turn off the power with the hearing aid 30 still inserted in the ear canal, use the projection 3
7 is searched and the take-out knob 34 is pulled at the position of the protrusion 37, the battery holder 33 rotates with respect to the main body case 31, and the power can be easily turned off. In this case, the protrusion 37
Is formed on the free end side of the battery holder 33.

After taking out the hearing aid 30 from the ear canal,
When storing in the storage case 50 such as at bedtime, the hearing aid 30 is stored in a predetermined position of the lower cover while the extraction knob 34 is fitted into the holding member 54 formed on the lower cover 51 of the storage case 50. When the upper lid 52 is closed in the closing direction shown by the arrow f in FIG. 6A in this state, the upper end portion of the inclined surface 55A of the pressing member 55 first comes into contact with the shoulder portion of the main body case 31 (see FIG. A)). When the upper lid 52 is further rotated in the closing direction from this state, the main body case 31 is rotated while being pressed by the inclined surface 55A in accordance with this rotation operation. At this time, since the battery holder 33 is fixed and held by the holding member 54, only the main body case 31 rotates relatively to the battery holder 33 (FIG. 6 (B)). As a result, the power of the hearing aid 30 is turned off.

In this way, the power of the hearing aid 30 is automatically turned off in response to the closing operation of the upper lid 52. As a result, it is possible to reliably avoid unnecessary battery consumption due to forgetting to turn off the power.

(4) Effects of the Embodiments According to the above-described structure, the extraction knob 34 is provided integrally with the battery holder 33, so that the hearing aid can be easily inserted from the ear canal without a complicated operation of raising the extraction knob. Thirty
Can be taken out.

Further, since the constriction 35 is formed at the base of the take-out knob 34, the take-out knob 34 can be reliably pinched, and the hearing aid 30 can be taken out from the ear canal more easily. Further, by providing the protrusion 37 that indicates the rotating direction of the battery holder 33 on the upper surface of the take-out knob 34, the battery holder 33 can be easily turned off and the battery can be replaced without making a mistake in the rotating direction of the battery holder 33. be able to.

Further, the battery holder 3 is supported by supporting the take-out knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 on the lower lid 51 side of the hearing aid housing case 50.
A holding member 54 for fixing 3 is provided, and the hearing aid main body case 31 is pressed toward the upper lid 52 side of the storage case 50 according to the closing operation of the upper lid 52 to rotate the hearing aid main body case 31 with respect to the battery holder 33. By providing the member 55, it is possible to realize the hearing aid housing case 50 in which the power supply of the hearing aid 30 can be easily turned off.

(5) Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the battery holder 33 is held by the holding member 54 which is formed in a semicircular shape along the outer surface of the hearing aid 30 and has the U-shaped notch 53. The case of fixing and holding is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an elliptic hole is formed at the constriction 35 position of the extraction knob 34 of the hearing aid 30, and the lower cover 51 is fitted into this hole. By providing a protrusion that fits and using this instead of the holding member 54, the battery holder 33 can be fixedly held on the lower lid 51 as in the embodiment. Thus, the battery holder 33 is supported by supporting the take-out knob 34 according to the shape of the take-out knob 34.
A holding member having a shape for fixing and holding can be widely applied.

In the above embodiment, the inclined surface 55
Although the case where the pressing member 55 having A is provided on the upper lid 52 side has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the main body case 31 is rotated with respect to the battery holder 33 by abutting the main body case 31, for example. A pressing member having an inclined surface to be obtained is provided on the lower lid 51 side, and a projection for pressing the main body case 31 to the lower lid 51 side according to the closing operation of the upper lid 52 is provided.
Even if it is provided on the side, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the upper lid 52 and the lower lid 51 are rotatable with respect to each other has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the point is that the battery holder is supported by the take-out knob 34. A first case half body for fixing and holding 33 and a pressing portion for rotating the case body 31 are provided, and a second case half body which can be opened and closed with respect to the first case half body is provided. You can do this.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the hearing aid 30 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a radio device or a communication device in which a receiver is built in a main body case, for example. The present invention can be widely applied to a sound listening apparatus that inserts a main body case containing electronic components such as a speaker into an ear canal and sends a listening sound into the ear canal.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the sound listening apparatus which inserts the body case into the ear canal and sends the listening sound into the ear canal of the wearer, when the body case is inserted into the ear canal. A battery holding unit that is rotatably provided with respect to the main unit case and that holds a battery serving as a power source, and an electrical connection to an electrode of the battery when the battery holding unit is in the first rotating position. And a battery connecting means for disconnecting the connection to the electrode when the battery holding means is in the second rotation position, and an elongated shape along the opening surface of the ear hole, and the outer surface of the battery holding means. It is formed integrally with the battery holding means so as to protrude from, and is provided with a take-out knob that serves as a take-out means for taking out the main body case from the inside of the ear hole, thereby realizing a sound listening device with good operability and a simple configuration. it can.

Further, according to the present invention, a battery serving as a power source is held, and the main body case is rotated so as to rotate between a first rotating position where the power source is turned on and a second rotating position where the power source is turned off. In a storage case for housing a sound listening device having a battery holding means provided and a take-out knob which is integrally formed with the battery holding means and serves as a take-out means for taking out the main body case from the ear hole, the case is provided so as to be openable and closable relative to each other. First and second case halves for accommodating the sound listening device when in a closed state, and fixing means provided on the first case half for fixing the battery holding means by supporting the extraction knob. , The second case half is provided, and is brought into contact with the main body case in accordance with the closing operation of the first and second case halves and presses the main body case to move the battery holding means to the second rotation. Push to rotate to position By was provided and means can be realized storage case having a simple structure capable of avoiding the off forgotten power during storage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an ear-plug type hearing aid showing an embodiment of a sound listening apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a battery holder.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a battery holder and electrodes for explaining an on / off operation of a power supply based on rotation of the battery holder.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing an embodiment of a storage case according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state where the hearing aid is stored in the storage case and a state after storage.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the storage case in a cutaway manner for explaining the power-off operation by the storage case.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a conventional hearing aid.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional hearing aid.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a conventional hearing aid and a storage case.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 ... Hearing aid, 31 ... Main body case, 33 ... Battery holder, 34 ... Extraction knob, 35 ... Constriction, 37 ... Protrusion, 39 ... Battery, 41A, 41B ... Electrode, 41C ...
… Contact piece, 50 …… storage case, 51 …… lower lid, 52 ……
Upper lid, 54 ... Holding member, 55 ... Pushing member, 55A ...
… Sloping surface.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sound listening apparatus which inserts a body case into an ear canal and sends a listening sound into the ear canal of a wearer, wherein the body case is inserted into the ear canal at an outer surface position of the body case. A battery holding unit that is rotatably provided with respect to the main body case and holds a battery serving as a power source; and a battery holding unit that is electrically connected to an electrode of the battery when the battery holding unit is in the first turning position, and Battery connecting means for disconnecting the connection to the electrode when the battery holding means is in the second rotation position, and an elongated shape along the opening surface of the ear hole, and protruding from the outer surface of the battery holding means. As described above, the sound-listening device is provided integrally with the battery holding means, and has a take-out knob that serves as a take-out means for taking out the main body case from the ear hole. 2. A constriction is formed at a joint position between the take-out knob and the battery holding means.
The sound listening device according to 1. 3. The sound listening apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a display portion that indicates a rotating direction of the battery holding means is formed at one end of the elongated shape of the extraction knob. . 4. A battery holder provided in a main body case so as to hold a battery serving as a power source and rotate a first rotating position where the power source is turned on and a second rotating position where the power source is turned off. And a storage knob for housing the sound listening device, which is integrally formed with the battery holding means and serves as a removal means for removing the main body case from the ear hole. And first and second case halves for accommodating the sound listening device, and fixing means provided on the first case half for fixing the battery holding means by supporting the extraction knob. The battery holding means is provided in the second case half body, and moves the battery holding means to the second rotation position by pressing the main body case according to the closing operation of the first and second case half bodies. With pressing movement means Storage case, characterized in that it comprises. 5. The storage case according to claim 4, wherein the first and second case halves are formed so as to be rotatable relative to each other about a predetermined rotation axis. 6. The storage case according to claim 4, wherein the pressing moving means has an inclined surface.