Patent Application
20090123014
This application claims priority of German application No. 10 2007 053 540.8 DE filed Nov. 9, 2007, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The invention relates to an in-the-ear hearing device housing and a method for producing an in-the-ear hearing device housing.
Hearing devices exist in two embodiments; as a behind-the-ear device and as an in-the-ear device.
With in-the-ear devices, components, like for instance microphones, amplifiers and loudspeakers, are integrated in a housing shell, which is molded so as to match the auditory canal of the hearing device wearer. The front of the housing shell is completed with a faceplate.
The same applies to earmolds in behind-the-ear devices, which are similarly manufactured in accordance with an auditory canal template of the hearing device wearer.
According to the unexamined patent application DE 20 2004 001 165 U1, housing shells and faceplates are manufactured from different materials. Different materials and/or different wall thickness can thus result in different and thus troublesome shrinking occurring both during production, using injection-molding technology, as well as during assembly, using a stereolithography method. Furthermore, during the necessary polishing of the surfaces in a drum-type polishing machine, the edges of the housing shell and/or the faceplate can be damaged.
The essential method steps involved in stereolithography are described by way of example in the patent application DE 198 26 971 C2.
To avoid the described disadvantages, it is thus the object of the invention to specify an improved hearing device housing.
According to the invention, the set object is achieved with the hearing device housing of the independent claims, by the hearing device housing being realized in one piece and being separable into a faceplate and a housing shell.
This is advantageous in that the housing shell and faceplate can shrink uniformly during and after production and the surface can be polished in a one-piece state such that the edges remain undamaged during the shrinking process.
In one development, the one-piece hearing device housing can comprise an interlayer, also known as a sacrificial layer, between the faceplate and housing shell, at which a simple separation is advantageously possible so that no material of the housing shell and/or the faceplate gets lost.
In one development, the interlayer is embodied such that it can be removed by means of a separator, for instance a cutting wheel.
This is advantageous in that the housing shell can be easily mechanically separated from the faceplate.
In further embodiments, the interlayer can be marked by several pins.
As a result, the position of the interlayer can be easily and reliably detected.
In a further embodiment, the interlayer can be embodied such that the faceplate can be separated from the housing shell by means of a simple external force effect, for instance by means of manual flexing or rotating, without using a separation tool.
As a result, a separation into two parts can take place easily without a tool.
In one development, the interlayer is embodied as a pillar ring or as thin-walled ring between the front surface and the housing shell.
As a result, a simple, energy-saving and precise separation of the housing shell and the faceplate is ensured.
A further object of the invention consists in specifying a method for manufacturing an improved hearing device housing.
According to the invention, the set object is achieved with the method of the independent claims.
In accordance with the invention, the method has the following two steps for producing a multi-part in-the-ear hearing device housing; assembling a one-piece hearing device housing and subsequently separating it into at least two parts, for instance a faceplate and a housing shell.
It is advantageous here that the material used shrinks uniformly, since the shrinking process is concluded prior to the separation process.
In one development, the one-piece hearing device housing is polished in a drum-type polishing machine between the assembly and separation stages.
As a result, the edges, which only appear after a separation, can avoid being damaged.
A further inventive method includes a stereolithography process, like is known for instance from the rapid prototyping.
A known and proven production method is thus used in a simple and cost-effective fashion.
Further details of the invention are apparent from the descriptions which follow of several exemplary embodiments with reference to schematic drawings, in which;
The height of the interlayer 4 is dimensioned such that this disappears when separated using a separator, for instance a cutting wheel, or when sanded following a breaking process. The interlayer 4 is thus also referred to as a sacrificial layer since the material used herefor is sacrificed for the separation process. The interlayer 4 forms a desired breaking point for breaking purposes.
The interlayer 4 is preferably offset in terms of color by comparison with the faceplate 2 and housing shell 3 for better recognition.
The thin-walled ring 8 can either be completed as shown with the interior of the housing shell 3, so that a layer appears towards the outside or however with the outside of the housing shell 3, so that one layer appears on the interior.
The assembly 100 can preferably include a stereolithography manufacturing process.
Since the two parts are manufactured from the same material, no color differences exist between the two parts, as a result of which customer acceptance is increased.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2007 053 540.8 | Nov 2007 | DE | national |
