Patent Application
20120246918
Small round shaped hearing aid batteries, sizes 10, 312, 13 and 675 are difficult for people to remove from packaging. Even young people with nimble fingers will fumble and frequently drop a hearing aid battery while trying to take one from a package or to pick it up when it is dropped.
Most people do not wear their hearing aids continuously. They remove them because hearing aids sometimes hurt their ears, or are merely annoying. Many people remove their hearing aids for periods during the day or night in order to preserve battery life. This is when the tiny batteries are dropped onto a table, the floor into rugs, or perhaps into a regular container the user keeps handy. It is then necessary to pick up a minuscule battery with two fingers, a feat not very easy, even for a young person. This physical handling of a battery can be required many times a day, for example when a hearing aid battery dies at an inconvenient time as in a restaurant, theater, visiting a friend, etc. The present invention makes replacing the dead hearing aid battery quick and simple.
One objective of the present inventive concept is the improved ease of handling of very small batteries like those used in hearing aids and other small devices. In one embodiment, the present invention is a tool similar in appearance to a ballpoint pen. The tool may include an electro-magnetic core powered by an internal battery, which is turned on by pressing a button on the top of the cap. This sends battery power to a small electromagnet providing power of sufficient strength to pull a tiny hearing aid battery from a plastic covered package. The electro magnet's core protrudes from the tool's housing slightly, akin to the tip of a pen. The user then moves the hearing aid battery to the hearing aid's receptacle and releases the pressure on the button. In one possible embodiment, the tool can then be pulled away from the hearing aid without disturbing the battery. A clip on the side can be used to attach the device to a pocket as a convenience to the user.
All embodiments of the present inventive concept provide a simple and easy to use means to perform and annoying frequently difficult chore, the physical handling of a tiny, round battery. The simplicity of its design creates ease of use.
In embodiments that use a small battery to power the electromagnet, the very small amount of electricity needed will not be harmful to any person who uses or attempts to play with the device. If a person turns it on and touches finger to the tip, it will not produce a sufficient charge to be felt. The invention is also safe because the small amount of electricity required only flows at the touch of the button and stops when the pressure on the button is released.
This pocket-sized electromagnet is used to move a hearing aid sized battery without having to touch (or drop) the tiny battery until it is in the proper position for inserting it into the hearing aid or any other device requiring these tiny batteries. The electromagnet is turned on by finger pressure on the cap that activates the electromagnet to pick up a battery. Releasing pressure on the cap turns off the electricity, which releases the battery.
1. CAP—acts as a retainer for the battery and as a momentary switch to activate or deactivate the electromagnet when the center of the metal cap is held in contact with the battery (2).
2. BATTERY—a standard AAA battery.
3. UPPER TERMINAL OF THE COIL—(4) bonded to the case (8) of the device.
4. COIL—made of insulated wire bonded to the core (10) at location (9).
5. PLASTIC RETAINER—for the forward end of the coil and the core (10).
6. O-RING—retainer for the battery to keep proper distance from the cap (1).
7. POCKET CLIP—to enable the device to be carried in a pocket.
8. CASE—a metal cylinder holding the parts.
9. LOWER TERMINAL OF THE COIL (4)—bonded to the core (10)
10. CORE—is a magnet only when the device is activated.
