BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,816,601, incorporated here by reference, various components of a hearing instrument can be mounted on a module that resides in the faceplate of the instrument.
If the faceplate is fabricated using a rapid prototyping technology such as stereo lithography, the dimensional tolerances of the faceplate receptacle will be somewhat less precise than those of the module. Given these differences, the module may not reside securely within the receptacle and damage may occur to either the faceplate or the module.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is drawing of a faceplate with a rectangular electronics module;
FIG. 2 is an elevation view of a hearing instrument faceplate attached to a shell;
FIG. 3 illustrates the faceplate of FIG. 1 with the electronics module removed;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the faceplate of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the electronics module;
FIG. 6 is a top view of the electronics module;
FIGS. 7-9 are side views of the electronics module;
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an electronics module having grooves with internal ridges; and
FIGS. 11 and 12 are cross-sectional views of electronics modules having grooves with semi-circular and triangular cross-sections, respectively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A faceplate 10 having a rectangular faceplate receptacle 12 holding an electronics module 20 is shown in FIG. 1. The faceplate 10 is depicted here as an oval, but it may likely assume some other shape, depending on the shape of the hearing instrument, determined in part by the shape of the ear canal. The faceplate 10 is shown again in the elevation view of FIG. 2, attached to a shell 30, the portion of the hearing instrument inserted at least partially into the user's ear canal.
The faceplate 10 is shown without the electronics module 20 in FIG. 3, exposing the rectangular opening that serves as the faceplate receptacle 12. Also visible are two receptacle tongues 14 on the long sides 16 of the faceplate receptacle 12, shown again in partial cross-section in FIG. 4. As shown in the figure, the receptacle tongues 14 extend part way along the sides 16 of the faceplate receptacle 12.
The electronics module 20 is shown in a cross-sectional view in FIG. 5, with complementary grooves 22 that mate with the receptacle tongues 14 when the module 20 is inserted into the receptacle 12. Together, the receptacle tongues 14 and the complementary grooves 22 provide a secure mount for the electronics module 20 within the faceplate receptacle 12.
Another view of the electronics module 20 is presented in FIG. 6 (viewed from the top), illustrating the module's outer contour 24 that conforms to the faceplate receptacle 12. Although the grooves 22 are shown as running the length of the module 20 (see the side view in FIG. 7), they need only be sufficiently long to accommodate the receptacle tongues 14, as suggested by the shorter dashed lines 26. A side elevation view of an electronics module 20 with shorter grooves 28 is shown in FIG. 8.
To ease the insertion of the module 20 into the faceplate receptacle 12, the grooves 22 may be provided with a flare 40 at the end 42 of the module 20, as shown in FIG. 9. To hold the module 20 in place in the faceplate receptacle 12, the module grooves 22 may be provided with one or two ridges 44, as illustrated in FIG. 10. When the module 20 is inserted, the ridges 44 will cut into the receptacle tongues 14, providing a more secure registration. The grooves may also have cross-sectional shapes other than rectangular, such as semi-circular 46 in FIG. 11 or triangular 48 in FIG. 12.
Patent Application
20080230495
