ES1277644U - Ear plug (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Ear plug to prevent the entry of water into the middle ear and excess hydrostatic pressure on the eardrum, of the type comprising a main body (2) that fits snugly into the external auditory pin (11) of the ear (10) of a user, and an obturator appendix (3) that is inserted into the external auditory canal (12) of said ear (10), characterized in that said main body (2) is a hollow body with a profile external, which adapts to the user's ear, and because said appendix (3) is solid and has a caliber somewhat larger than the smallest internal diameter of the external auditory canal (12). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Ear plug

Technical sector of the invention

The present invention refers to an ear plug, designed to prevent the entry of water into the middle ear and an excess of hydrostatic pressure on the eardrum, of the type comprising a main body that fits snugly into the ear. external auditory canal of a user, and an obturator appendage that is inserted into the external auditory canal of the user.

Background of the invention

Conventional ear plugs made of wax, silicone or rubber that are commonly used, for example for the practice of water sports, e.g. In swimming, as muffling means in work protection equipment, or as a protector for bathing and showering, they generally have the disadvantage of poor adaptability, as they do not conform completely to the outer ear, preventing a correct obturation when walking. of water or sound pressure to the middle ear.

Document ES1021367U, which can be cited as the closest state of the art, describes a safety plug for the ear that is constituted from an obturator globule that by swelling adjusts and completely seals the external auditory canal. However, the design of this cap is complex and therefore expensive: it is a product that is made up of two pieces, in which the valve is a spring valve, which works in coordination with an "ad hoc" designed insufflation piece. , which makes the whole more expensive, and the balloon is of intricate conformation and difficult practical execution.

In addition, the external auditory canal is frustoconical with a decreasing diameter inwards, until it reaches a step of a minimum caliber, after which it becomes of increasing diameter as the ear canal is penetrated, until it reaches the eardrum. Thus, if the bead is left before said minimum caliber step, the internal pressure of this balloon itself, although low, tends to push it out, so that the plug can be easily extruded. This is a second drawback that can limit your employment.

To solve this drawback, the inventor himself is the applicant of WO2010 / 001340 A1 which describes a sealing plug of the type mentioned at the beginning, comprising a sealing balloon which, by swelling through external means of inflation in a valve means, is couples and seals the external auditory canal, and provided at one end with a one-way pneumatic valve and an inner channel that fluidly connects said valve with the appendix intended to be inserted, at least partially, into the external auditory canal, covered with a thin sheath made of an elastomeric material and provided with holes that communicate the interior space of the appendix with the interior of the sheath, so that when air is blown through the valve with the aforementioned inflation means, said sheath inflates to constitute the aforementioned shutter balloon. This plug has been very successful in R&D testing, but its design complexity makes it very expensive to price. In addition, the main body is solid and is difficult to adapt to the external auditory pinna.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new stopper that solves all these drawbacks simultaneously and that, in particular, is inexpensive for its ease of acquisition and popularization.

Explanation of the invention

To this end, the object of the invention is an ear plug, designed to prevent the entry of water into the middle ear and an excess of hydrostatic pressure on the eardrum, of the type mentioned at the beginning, which essentially it is characterized in that the main body is a hollow body with an external profile that adapts to the user's ear, and that the appendix is a solid appendix of a caliber somewhat larger than the smallest internal diameter of the external auditory canal.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the caliber of the appendix is between 0.5 and 1 mm greater than said smaller internal diameter of the external auditory canal.

Preferably, the plug comprises a septum, adapted to be grasped by the fingers in order to extract the obturator plug when said obturator appendage is inserted in the external auditory canal.

Brief description of the drawings

The following is a detailed description of a preferred, although not exclusive, embodiment of the sealing plug object of the invention, for the better understanding of which it is accompanied by some drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a plug according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the cap of Fig. 1, rotated 180 ° with respect to it;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the cap of the invention, in which the front part is to the right and the rear part is to the left;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the cap of the invention, according to IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating a plug in the operative position inserted in the ear of a user, in a view analogous to that of Fig. 2, that is, seen from outside the ear and;

Fig. 6 is a schematic view in partial section, illustrating the plug in the operative position, in which the appendix inserted in the external auditory canal is especially appreciated.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

In said drawings the constitution and operating mode of the obturator plug (1) of the present invention can be seen, designed for the ear to prevent the entry of water into the middle ear and an excess of hydrostatic pressure on the eardrum.

The plug (1) comprises a main body (2), designed to fit snugly into the external auditory pin (11) of the ear (10) of a user, and manufactured, for example, by known manufacturing techniques used for the manufacture of sound amplifiers, and manufactured, for example, by 3D printing.

On the front side of the plug (1), shown in Fig. 1, the plug (1) has an obturator appendix (3) designed to be inserted tightly into the external auditory canal (12) of said ear (10) , as can be seen in Fig. 6. As novel characteristics of the cap (1) of the invention:

- The main body (2) is a hollow body with an external profile, which adapts to the user's ear, and which is determined by an essentially laminar wall (4), which can be seen in Fig. 6, and which is the that fits in the external auditory pavilion (11); and

- The appendix (3) is solid and has a caliber somewhat larger than the smallest internal diameter of the external auditory canal (12), for example between 0.5 and 1 mm larger.

Thanks to the fact that the wall (4) of the main body (2) is laminar, when it is coupled to the interior space of the auditory pinna (11) in operative position, a recess (6) is determined (Fig. 6) which, when used the plug (1) is filled with water, generating a pressure against the wall of the ear, which contributes to the desired retention and sealing effect.

On the opposite side of the solid obturator appendix (3), there is arranged a partition (5), adapted to be grasped by the fingers in order to extract the obturator plug (1) when said obturator appendix (3) is inserted in the channel external auditory (12). This appendix (5) is clearly seen in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, and in Fig. 3 it can be seen how it protrudes from the main body (2), in order to facilitate the grip.

The preferred materials for the stopper (1) of the invention are silicones and other materials compatible with human skin, endowed with the appropriate elasticity and degree of watertightness.

Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the best way to put it into practice, it is stated that everything that is not essential can be subjected to variations in detail.

Claims (3)

1. Ear plug to prevent the entry of water into the middle ear and excess hydrostatic pressure on the eardrum, of the type comprising a main body (2) that fits snugly into the external auditory pin (11 ) of the ear (10) of a user, and an obturator appendix (3) that is inserted into the external auditory canal (12) of said ear (10), characterized in that said main body (2) is a hollow body with a profile external, which adapts to the user's ear, and because said appendix (3) is solid and has a caliber somewhat larger than the smallest internal diameter of the external auditory canal (12). 2. Obturator ear plug, according to claim 1, characterized in that the caliber of said obturator appendix (3) is between 0.5 and 1 mm greater than said smaller internal diameter of the external auditory canal (12). 3. Obturator plug for the ear, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a septum (5), adapted to be grasped by the fingers in order to extract the obturator plug (1) when said obturator appendage (3) is inserted in the external auditory canal (12).