GB2118397A

GB2118397A - In-the-ear hearing aid

Info

Publication number: GB2118397A
Application number: GB08309506A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fritz Hueber; Heinz Hardt
Original assignee: Viennatone GmbH
Current assignee: Viennatone GmbH
Priority date: 1982-04-07
Filing date: 1983-04-07
Publication date: 1983-10-26
Also published as: DK153483A; ATA138382A; DE3309175A1; DE3309175C2; GB2118397B; AT372812B; DK154389B; DK153483D0

Abstract

An in-the-ear hearing aid for the hard of hearing comprising a hollow ear insert (9) which is closed by a cover plate (11) carrying a pivotally mounted battery mounting means (10), and a volume control means (14), wherein the cover plate (11) has an opening (12) which is closed by the battery mounting means (10) when it is pivoted into closing position, wherein the opening (12) in the cover plate (11) is enlarged laterally beyond the battery mounting means (10) and said enlarged opening portion (B to I) can be filled by a closure element (24) which is arranged adjacent to the battery mounting means (10) and which is in the form of a slide means (15) which carries the volume control means (14) and which is preferably mounted lockably in the cover plate (11). When the slide means (14) and the battery mounting mans (10) are in the "out" position there is an approximately rectangular opening through which repair and adjustment operations can be carried out. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION In-the-ear hearing aid The invention relates to an in-the-ear hearing aid for the hard of hearing, comprising a hollow ear insert which is closed by a cover plate carrying a pivotally mounted battery mounting means that can be swung out of the insert, and a volume control means, wherein the cover plate has an opening which is closed by the battery mounting means when it is pivoted into closing position.

Forthe purposes of constructing hearing aids of this kind, the manufacturers usually supply a mounting plate in which there are generally integrated a battery mounting means that can be pushed or pivoted into position, and a volume control, and occasionally also a mounting arrangementforthe microphone, tuning control means and the like. All the other components of the hearing aid such as the amplifier, microphone, earpiece and so on, are supplied loose.

When the hearing aid is assembled, the abovementioned components which are supplied in a loose form are fitted, for example, by adhesive means, in the hollow ear insert which is prepared individually on the basis of an impression or cast of the ear of the wearer of the hearing aid, in accordance with the amount of space available which varies from one individual case to another, and finally the mounting plate is stuck to the ear insert, to act as a cover. Any projecting portion of the mounting plate is removed by being milled away.

Finally, the milled edge is smoothed and polished.

Figures 1 and 2 show a plan view and a crosssection of a known hearing aid of this kind.

Reference numeral 1 denotes the original outline of the cover plate 2 in which a battery mounting means 3 with contact springs 4 and a volume control means 5 are secured. The cover plate 2 which is secured by adhesive to a hollow ear insert 6 (adhesive join 7) is finally milled away along the contour of the ear insert 8. Further features such as the amplifier and the transducer are not illustrated.

A serious disadvantage of this kind of construction of in-the-ear hearing aids, which is known, for example, from British Patent Specification No: 070 890 or US Patent Specification No: 2 950 357 is the fact that because the cover plate 2 is secured to the ear insert 6 by adhesive means, the adhesive join must be broken open for even the smallest repair, in ordertogain access to the interior of the hearing aid.

After the repair operation, the cover plate 2 is stuck back in position and polished. This procedure is very time-consuming and is technically unsatisfactory from many points of view.

For that reason, mounting the battery mounting means and the volume controller on their own smaller holding plate has also already been tried, the holding plate covering a suitable aperture in the cover plate and being secured thereto by some screws. This construction which is disclosed, for example, in US Patent Specification No: 3598928 has the advantage that, when repair operations are to be carried out, the holding plate can be released from the cover plate which is still secured by adhesive to the ear insert, and the interior of the hearing aid is then readily accessible.However, two very serious disadvantages of that construction are that, on the one hand, the thickness of the cover plate is virtually doubled by the holding plate, so that the hearing aid projects further out of the ear, and on the other hand, it is not suitable for small ears, or small ear inserts. The holding plate must have portions of a certain minimum width, in the plane of the plate, around openings for the battery mounting means and the volume control means 5, and this seriously restricts the utility of that arrangement, in regard to small ears, especially as space is also required for the fixing screws.

That construction could not therefore meet with wide-spread success.

DOS No. 2949992 also discloses an in-the-ear hearing aid in which a complete construction unit which is disposed in a housing is fitted into the ear insert. However, that construction requires a large amount of space, as space is additionally required for the wall of the construction unit. This design is therefore only suitable for large ear inserts.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above-indicated disadvantages of the known in-the-ear hearing aids.

In an in-the-ear hearing aid of the kind set forth above, in accordance with the invention, the opening in the cover plate is enlarged laterally beyond the battery mounting means and said enlarged opening portion is covered by a closure element which is arranged adjacent to the battery mounting means and which is in the form of a slide means which carries the volume control means and which is mounted lockably in the cover plate.

In this way, when the slide means and the battery mounting means are in the out position, there is, in the cover plate, a relatively large opening which substantially extends in an approximately square or rectangular configuration around the battery mounting means and the volume control means, and repair and adjustment operations can be carried out in the hearing aid through the opening, without the need to break open the adhesive join between the cover plate and the ear insert.

In order for the slide means to be properly guided and firmly fitted in the cover plate, in accordance with the invention, the slide means may be in the form of a flat box which has guide ribs on its side walls, and the cover plate has projections which project into the interior of the ear insert, at the edges of the opening, the projections having grooves into which the ribs of the slide member can be guided.

In order to prevent the slide means from accidentally coming loose, an embodiment of the invention provides that the side walls of the box, at their ends which are towards the interior of the ear insert, have catch or detent projections co-operating with the projections on the cover plate.

Unobtrusive actuation of the volume control means, by a linear movement of a finger, may be achieved by virtue of the volume control means being rotatably secured to the box on the side thereof, with its periphery projecting beyond the cover plate.

In another embodiment of the invention, the volume control means is secured to the top of the box, whereby the slide means can be kept small in depth.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that at least one of the battery contact springs is secured to the closure element and can be removed from the cover plate together with the closure element. That arrangement provides for unimpeded access through the resulting opening, into the hearing aid.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 show a plan view and a crosssectional view of a known embodiment of an in-the-ear hearing aid, Figure 3 shows a plan view of an in-the-ear hearing aid according to the invention, and Figures 4, 5 and 6 are views in cross-section taken along lines IV-IV, V-V and VI-VI.

In the construction according to the invention, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, the opening of the ear insert 9 is closed along the edge 21 by a cover plate 11. The cover plate has an opening 12, along edges A to L.

The portion of the opening 12 along the outline ABIJKL is covered by a battery mounting means or compartment 10 which can be pivoted out of the hearing aid. As can be seen from Figure 4, the battery mounting means 10 has a half-open hinge eye or lug 26 into which hinge pin 27 secured to the cover plate 11 resiliently engages. The battery mounting means 10 has a projection portion 23 which is used for swinging the battery mounting means 10 open. When the battery mounting means 10 is in the half-opened position, it may be disengaged from the hinge pin 27. Disposed in the portions BC and HI of the opening 12 are projections 17 which project into the ear insert at the edge of the opening and which have guide grooves 13. The opening 12 in the cover plate 11 is closed by a closure element 24 in the portion B to I.The closure element 24 comprises a box 15 which has ribs 16 in its side walls 22. The ribs 16 co-operate with the guide grooves 13 in the projections 17. The battery mounting means 10 is disposed beside the box 15.

Another part of the closure element 24 is a volume control means 14 which is connected to the box 15 by a nut 28. One battery contact spring 19 is connected to the box 15 while the other battery contact spring 1 9a is connected to the cover plate 11.

Connecting wires 20 lead into the hearing aid from the volume control means 14 and the battery contact springs 19 and 19a. The side walls 22 of the box 15 are of a resilient construction and have catch or detent projections 18 at their ends. The closure element 24 formed from the box 15 and the volume control means 14forms a slide means which can be pushed into the opening 12 (portion B to I) in the cover plate 11 and which is held in the inserted position by the catch projections 18. In another embodiment of the invention, the volume control means is arranged at the top of the box 15.

When the battery mounting means 10 is disengaged from the hinge pin, the closure element 15 can be pushed out, thereby resulting in the opening 12 (A to L) in the cover plate, that opening exposing a large part of the area of the cover plate 11 and permitting easy access to the interior of the ear insert for repair purposes.

Claims

1. An in-the-ear hearing aid for the hard of hearing, comprising a hollow ear insert which is closed by a cover plate carrying a pivotally mounted battery mounting means and a volume control means, wherein the cover plate has an opening which is closed by the battery mounting means when it is pivoted into the closing position, wherein the opening in the cover plate is enlarged laterally beyond the battery mounting means and said enlarged portion of the opening is filled by a closure element which is arranged adjacent to the battery mounting means and which is slidably mounted on the cover plate so that it can be slid out of its closing position and removed, and which carries the volume control means.

2. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to Claim 1, wherein the closure element is in the form of a flat box which has guide ribs on two opposed side walls, and the cover plate has projections which project into the interior of the ear insert at the edges of the opening, the projections having grooves into which the ribs of the closure element can be guided.

3. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to Claim 2, wherein at their ends which are towards the interior of the ear insert, the side walls of the box have catch projections co-operating with the projections of the cover plate.

4. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the volume control means is rotatably secured to the side of the box and the periphery thereof projects beyond the cover plate.

5. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the volume control means is secured to the top of the box.

6. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one of the battery contact springs is secured to the closure element and can be removed from the cover plate, together with the closure element.

7. An in-the-ear hearing aid according to Claim 1, substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in Figures 3 to 5 of the drawings.