DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a hearing aid constructed in accordance with the present invention in place in the ear of a hearing-impaired person;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged illustration of the overall exterior appearance of the inventive hearing aid;
FIG. 3 shows the customized shell by itself, with the electronics board being schematically illustrated therein; and
FIG. 4 is an end view of the hearing aid of FIG. 3, showing the face plate for the RIC tube.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a hearing aid constructed in accordance with the present invention in place in the ear of a hearing-impaired person. The hearing aid includes a housing or shell 1 that is customized to fit the ear, preferably in the helix portion of the outer ear, of the hearing-impaired person, and an RIC tube 3 that proceeds from the shell 1 into the ear canal of the hearing-impaired person. The shell 1 extends into the helix lock area of the ear and the RIC tube 3 proceeds through the concha, with these two components serving to retain the hearing aid in place in the outer ear, particularly during physical exertion. The RIC tube 3 is ideally made of a flexible material allowing the tube to be an integral part of the device by placing pressure in the outer ear at the back of the concha.
As shown in more detail in FIG. 1, the shell 1 has a battery door 2 and a microphone 5 for receiving incoming audio signals that are processed in a suitable manner by circuitry contained within the shell 1. The processed output signal is supplied to the hearing-impaired person via the RIC tube, that terminates in an end 3a containing the receiver 8 covered by a domed element 4 (ear mold) that fits snugly in the ear canal. The receiver 8 is electrically connected to the processing circuitry located within the shell via wires 9 that are attached to and run parallel to a longitudinal axis of the RIC tube 3.
Different lengths for the RIC tube 3 can be selected so as to provide the appropriate retention properties for ears of different sizes. The RIC tube 3 exits the canal aperture at the base of the ear and is positioned under the antitragus and then follow the contour of the concha bowl.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a face plate 6 is disposed at one side of the shell 1 to interface with the RIC tube 3. The face plate 6 can be a standard 10A CIC face plate. The entire RIC tube 3 can be detached by the user and replaced, if necessary, which avoids sending the unit back to the factory for repair. In an alternate embodiment, only the end of the RIC tube 3a, is detachable by the user. In either case, the user detachable portion may be implemented by a plug and socket configuration, pins and holes, clips, or any other mechanism that does not involve cutting and soldering.
As schematically illustrated in FIG. 3, the shell 1 contains a circuit board 7 therein (or multiple, connected circuit boards), the components being placed within the shell 1. The components are positioned within the shell 1 using commercially available e-detailing and modeling software, so as to appropriately position the components within the interior of the customized shape of the shell 1. The e-detailing and modeling software embodies collision avoidance, so that when the components are physically mounted, they are all adequately separated from each other, but still fit within the customized shape of the shell 1.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference has been made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, no limitation of the scope of the invention is intended by this specific language, and the invention should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The present invention may be described in terms of functional block components and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may be realized by any number of components configured to perform the specified functions. Furthermore, the present invention could employ any number of conventional techniques for mechanical and electronics configuration and the like.
The particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative examples of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the invention in any way. For the sake of brevity, conventional aspects of the systems (and components of the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the invention unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. Numerous modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Patent Application
20080095392
