EP3614697B1 - Elastic damping element for a receiver of a hearing device and hearing device comprising such a damping element - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an elastic damping element for the vibration-damping mounting of a receiver within a hearing instrument. The invention further relates to a hearing instrument with such an elastic damping element.

A "hearing instrument" is a general term used to describe devices that record ambient sound, modify the signal and emit a modified sound signal to the ear of a person wearing the hearing instrument.

A hearing instrument that is designed to provide hearing-impaired people and that processes, in particular amplifies, acoustic signals from the environment in such a way that the hearing impairment is fully or partially compensated is referred to here and below as a "hearing aid". A hearing aid usually comprises an input converter, for example in the form of a microphone, a signal processing unit with an amplifier, and an output converter. The output converter is usually implemented as a miniature loudspeaker and is also referred to as a "receiver".

In addition to hearing aids, there are also hearing instruments that are designed for people with normal hearing in order to protect the hearing of the wearer or to support sound perception (e.g. understanding speech in complex noise environments) for certain purposes. Such hearing instruments are often constructed in a similar way to hearing aids and in particular also include the above-mentioned components of input converter, signal processing and output converter.

In order to meet the many individual needs, different types of hearing instruments are offered. With so-called BTE hearing instruments (Behind-The-Ear, BTE for short), a housing equipped with the input transducer, signal processing and a battery is worn behind the ear. Depending on the design, the receiver can either be placed directly in the wearer's ear canal (so-called ex-receiver hearing instruments or receiver-in-the-canal, RIC for short). Alternatively, the receiver is placed inside the housing itself. In this case, a flexible sound tube, also known as a "tube", conducts the acoustic output signals of the receiver from the housing to the ear canal (tube hearing instruments). With so-called ITE hearing instruments (In-the-Ear, IdO for short), a housing containing all functional components including the microphone and the receiver is worn at least partially in the ear canal. So-called CIC (Completely-in-Canal) hearing instruments are similar to ITE hearing instruments, but are worn completely in the ear canal.

Regardless of the design, a safe and, in particular, oscillation- and vibration-damped mounting of the receiver within the hearing instrument housing is necessary, in particular to minimize or avoid the occurrence of acoustic feedback.

To achieve effective vibration damping, the receiver of a hearing instrument is usually mounted with individually shaped bearings that are adapted to the respective receiver design, the available space in the hearing instrument and the required amplification of the hearing instrument. A common way to dampen a receiver is to use a rubber band or rubber bag that is wrapped around the back of the receiver so that it does not hit the hard housing wall of the hearing instrument housing. In addition, receivers are often enclosed in chambers made of plastic or metal to avoid the transmission of airborne sound within the housing of the respective hearing instrument as far as possible.

The mechanical support of the receiver is usually achieved by means of a sound tube made of rubber or an elastomer, which engages the sound outlet of the receiver and also directs the sound generated by the receiver to the output of the housing of the hearing instrument. However, the use of the sound tube as the main mechanical support for the receiver is disadvantageous in that the various functions of the sound tube, namely the mechanical holding function, the damping function and the sound conduction function, would require contradictory designs of the sound tube and are therefore difficult to reconcile with one another. For example, in terms of effective vibration damping, a comparatively soft design of the sound tube would be advantageous, but this would be disadvantageous for a low-vibration mechanical support of the receiver and sound conduction.

Out of EP 3 337 191 A1 an elastic damping element for the vibration-damping mounting of a receiver within a hearing instrument is known. The damping element comprises a plate-shaped base body. Several retaining projections protrude from a first surface of this base body. Each retaining projection has a contact surface at its distal end with which the retaining projection rests against a housing of a receiver assembly surrounding the receiver. Each retaining projection corresponds to a recess which is formed in a second surface of the base body opposite the first surface, flush with the associated retaining projection, in order to achieve a reduced material thickness.

Additional damping elements for a receiver of a hearing instrument are made of EP 2 087 769 A2 ( WO 2007/038897 A2 ), EP 2 753 102 A1 and WO 2013/107500 A1 known.

The invention is therefore based on the object of enabling a safe and, with regard to vibration damping, effective mounting of a receiver within a hearing instrument.

With regard to an elastic damping element, this object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 1. With regard to a hearing instrument, the object is achieved according to the invention by the features of claim 8. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are set out in the subclaims and the following description.

The elastic damping element is used for the vibration-damping mounting of a receiver within a hearing instrument. It comprises a hollow (in particular, but not necessarily elastic itself) base body, from the inner surface of which several elastic holding projections protrude. Each of these holding projections has a contact surface for the receiver to be mounted at a distal end (i.e. facing away from the inner surface of the base body). According to the invention, at least one of the holding projections corresponds to a recess which is formed flush with the holding projection on the outer surface of the base body, so that the damping element has a reduced material thickness in the area of the corresponding holding projection (compared to a corresponding body with a smooth outer wall). As a result of the recess, the corresponding holding projection thus forms a hollow shape which is open to the outside.

The recess and its specific design make it possible to adapt the damping properties of each retaining projection individually, regardless of the material of the damping element and with a high degree of flexibility and precision to the vibration behavior of the listener, in order to keep it stable on the one hand, but on the other hand to dampen it particularly effectively and adapted to the direction and intensity of movement of the respective listener type.

In particular, the or each recess creates a hollow volume into which the material of the retaining projection can escape when compressed by the receiver. A sound tube coupling the sound output of the receiver to the outside of the housing of the hearing instrument is largely mechanically relieved by the damping element according to the invention and can therefore be better adapted in terms of its sound transmission and damping properties. be optimized than a conventional sound tube with a load-bearing function. The at least one recess that is open to the outside also enables - in comparison to damping elements with closed air cushions - a simple manufacture of the damping element, for example by injection molding.

Preferably, each of the retaining projections is in the form of a conical knob. The conical knobs hold the earpiece in a suspended state in the damping element. This keeps the friction losses necessarily caused by the damping to a minimum, which in turn enables a high sound output to be achieved at the earpiece's sound output.

In a practical design, the elastic base body is designed as a tube that completely surrounds the earpiece - preferably with a cross-section that is adapted to the earpiece (e.g. rectangular). In other words, the base body is open on two opposite sides. The earpiece is preferably inserted into the tube-shaped damping element in such a way that its sound outlet and the opposite back of the earpiece are arranged on the open sides of the damping element. During operation, the earpiece is therefore only slightly restricted in its movement along its main vibration direction - usually parallel to the sound outlet.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, different retaining projections of the damping element have a different degree of filling. In this embodiment, the damping element therefore comprises at least two retaining projections, each of which is completely or partially hollowed out by a corresponding depression, with these depressions having a different depth. This in turn enables a particularly flexible and individual adaptation of each retaining projection to the vibration behavior of the earpiece. In addition to hollow and/or partially filled retaining projections, the damping element can also comprise one or more completely filled retaining projections, i.e. retaining projections without an associated depression, in the area of which the outer wall of the damping element is thus smooth.

The base body and the retaining projections are preferably made of an elastomeric material and particularly preferably of a fluoroelastomer and/or a fluoro-silicone elastomer. For example, the base body and/or the retaining projections are made of a fluoroelastomer which is sold by DuPont under the trade name "Viton".

In a suitable embodiment of the invention, the base body and the retaining projections are made of the same material, in particular in one piece (monolithic). In an advantageous alternative embodiment, however, the retaining projections are made of a softer material than the base body. The base body and the retaining projections are expediently (but not necessarily) manufactured in a two-component injection molding process. A combination of metal/elastomer or plastic/elastomer is also conceivable within the scope of the invention.

According to the invention, the base body is provided with an opening (i.e. an opening extending from the inside to the outside of the base body) in the area of at least one retaining projection, with the retaining projection being inserted, in particular injected, into this opening. This design makes it possible for the retaining projection to penetrate through the wall of the base body when loaded by the earpiece, which is particularly facilitated by the external recess in the area of the retaining projection. This mobility of the retaining projection or projections makes it possible to design the base body to be comparatively hard and thus stable while at the same time maintaining a high level of elastic flexibility of the damping element.

The hearing instrument according to the invention comprises a housing, a receiver and the elastic damping element according to the invention in accordance with one of the previously described embodiments. The receiver is mounted within the hearing instrument housing in a vibration-damping manner by means of the elastic damping element. For this purpose, the receiver is surrounded by the elastic damping element, in particular on its outer circumference.

The advantages of the individual embodiments described for the damping element according to the invention can be transferred analogously to corresponding embodiments of the hearing instrument according to the invention.

The damping element according to the invention can be advantageously used in hearing instruments of the designs described above, i.e. both in BTE devices and in ITE devices.

Fig. 1

in perspektivischer Darstellung eine erste Ausführungsform eines elastischen Dämpfungselements zur schwingungsdämpfenden Lagerung eines Hörers eines Hörinstrumentes,

Fig. 2

in einem Querschnitt das elastische Dämpfungselement mit dem Hörer gemäß Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 und 4

in Darstellung gemäß Fig. 1 bzw. Fig. 2 das derartige elastische Dämpfungselement mit einem darin gelagerten Hörer,

Fig. 5 und 6

in Darstellung gemäß Fig. 1 bzw. Fig. 2 eine erfindungsgemäße Ausführungsform des elastischen Dämpfungselements mit einem darin angeordneten Hörer,

Fig. 7 und 8

in Darstellung gemäß Fig. 1 bzw. Fig. 2 eine weitere Ausführungsform des elastischen Dämpfungselements mit einem darin angeordneten Hörer,

Fig. 9 und 10

in Darstellung gemäß Fig. 1 bzw. Fig. 2 eine weitere erfindungsgemäße Ausführungsform des elastischen Dämpfungselements mit einem darin angeordneten Hörer,

Fig. 11

in Detaildarstellung analog zu Fig. 6 das dortige Dämpfungselement in einem Ruhezustand und einem durch den Hörer belasteten Zustand, sowie

Fig. 12

in schematischer Darstellung ein Hörinstrument mit einem mittels des elastischen Dämpfungselements gelagerten Hörer.

Examples of implementation are explained in more detail below using a drawing. Shown are:

Fig.1

in perspective view a first embodiment of an elastic damping element for the vibration-damping mounting of a receiver of a hearing instrument,

Fig.2

in a cross section the elastic damping element with the earpiece according to Fig.1 ,

Fig. 3 and 4

in representation according to Fig.1 or. Fig.2 such elastic damping element with a receiver mounted therein,

Fig. 5 and 6

in representation according to Fig.1 or. Fig.2 an embodiment of the elastic damping element according to the invention with a receiver arranged therein,

Figs. 7 and 8

in representation according to Fig.1 or. Fig.2 a further embodiment of the elastic damping element with a receiver arranged therein,

Figs. 9 and 10

in representation according to Fig.1 or. Fig. 2 a further embodiment of the elastic damping element according to the invention with a receiver arranged therein,

Fig. 11

in detail analogous to Fig.6 the damping element there in a resting state and a state loaded by the listener, as well as

Fig. 12

A schematic representation of a hearing instrument with a receiver supported by an elastic damping element.

Corresponding parts are always provided with the same reference symbols in all figures.

The Fig. 1 and 2 show an elastic damping element 1, which is used for the vibration-damping mounting of a handset 2 ( Fig.3 ) within a hearing instrument designed as a hearing aid 3 ( Fig. 12 ) serves.

The elastic damping element 1 comprises an elastic, tubular base body 5 made of a fluoro-silicone elastomer (in particular "Viton") with an approximately square cross-section. The damping element 1 also comprises several holding projections 6 in the form of conical knobs that protrude from an inner surface 7 of the base body 5 into the interior space enclosed by it. Each of the holding projections 6 has a contact surface 8 for the earpiece 2 to be supported on its distal end (i.e. facing away from the inner surface 7).

In the embodiment according to the Fig. 1 and 2 Each retaining projection 6 corresponds to a recess 9 which is made in an outer surface 10 of the base body 5 in alignment with the respective retaining projection 6. As a result of the corresponding recesses 9, the retaining projections 6 each form a hollow shape open towards the outer surface 10 (for example in the manner of a stamped dent).

According to the Fig. 3 and 4 the earpiece 2 is inserted into the interior of the damping element 1 as intended, so that its outer circumference 11 is in contact with the contact surfaces 8 of the retaining projections 6. The tubular base body 5 of the damping element 1 completely encloses the side surfaces of the receiver 2. A connection 12 of the receiver 2 for a sound tube and a rear side of the receiver 2 opposite this connection 12 are arranged on the open sides of the tubular base body 5.

The Fig. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the elastic damping element 1. This differs from the damping element 1 made in one piece from a single material according to the Fig. 1 to 4 in that the base body 5 and the retaining projections 6 are made of different materials 13 and 14 respectively. The material 13 used for the base body 5 is harder than the material 14 from which the retaining projections 6 are made. In a preferred embodiment, the material 13 and the material 14 are both fluoro-silicone elastomers (in particular "Viton") with different hardnesses.

In the execution according to the Fig. 5 and 6 the base body 5 consisting of the comparatively hard material 13 is provided with openings 15, wherein a retaining projection 6 made of the comparatively soft material 14 including the associated recess 9 is injected into each opening 15. The damping element 1 according to Fig. 5 and 6 is manufactured in a two-component injection molding process.

In the Figs. 7 and 8 a third variant of the elastic damping element 1 is shown, which according to the type of embodiment according to Fig. 1 to 4 made of a single material in one piece. The damping element 1 according to Fig. 1 to 4 The design differs according to Figs. 7 and 8 but because the recesses 9 have a different depth. Accordingly, the corresponding retaining projections 6 have a different degree of filling and thus also a different elasticity.

In the example shown, the degree of filling of the retaining projections increases downwards, so that the earpiece 2 in the upper area of the damping element 1 is mounted more softly than in the lower area. The retaining projections 6 arranged on a lower side 16 of the base body 5 are even completely filled. These retaining projections 6 arranged on the lower side 16 are therefore not assigned a corresponding depression on the outer surface 8 of the base body 5. Rather, the outer surface 8 is flat in the area of the lower side 16. The terms "lower side" as well as "top" and "bottom" refer only to the orientation of the damping element 1 in the drawing and do not describe any orientation of the damping element 1 in the surrounding space when the damping element 1 is installed in a hearing aid 3.

The degree of filling of the individual retaining projections 6 is selected in adaptation to the vibration behavior of the receiver 2 such that a particularly effective acoustic damping of the receiver 2 is achieved, i.e. that a transmission of vibrations of the receiver 2 to other components of the hearing aid 3 comprising the receiver 2 and the damping element 1 is particularly effectively suppressed.

The Figs. 9 and 10 show a fourth variant of the elastic damping element 1, in which the design features of the Fig. 5 to 8 shown damping elements 1 are combined. Specifically, the damping element 1 has according to the Figs. 9 and 10 the two-component structure of the damping element 1 made of different hard materials 13 and 14 according to the Fig. 5 and 6 in combination with the varying degree of filling of the retaining projections 6 of the damping element according to the Figs. 7 and 8 on.

Fig. 11 shows two contrasting partial sections analogous to Fig.5 , how the retaining projections 6 of the damping element 1 (here for example in the embodiment according to Fig. 5 and 6 ) deform from their rest position (left half of the image) when subjected to a load by the vibrating earpiece 2 (right half of the image; shown here greatly exaggerated for illustration purposes). It can be seen in particular from the illustration that the retaining projections 6 can expand over the outer surface 10 of the base body 5 under load, while the base body 5 remains largely dimensionally stable.

Fig. 12 shows a hearing aid 3 with a housing 20 in which the receiver 2 mounted in the damping element 1 is installed. The hearing aid 3 also comprises two microphones 21, a battery 22 and a signal processing unit 23.

The holding projections 6 of the damping element 1 allow the earpiece 2 to be suspended so that it can move relatively freely in its main vibration direction, which is parallel to the axis of the base body 5.

The invention is particularly clear from the embodiments described above, but is nevertheless not limited to these embodiments. Rather, further embodiments of the invention can be derived from the claims and the above description.

The Fig. 1 to 4 and 7 and 8 do not belong to the claimed invention, since none of the retaining projections 6 is inserted into a corresponding opening 15 of the base body 5. However, these embodiments describe further parts and structures which are also used in the embodiments according to the invention according to Fig. 5, 6 and 9 to 12 are realized.

List of reference symbols

1

Damping element

2

Listener

3

Hearing instrument

5

Base body

6

Holding projection

7

Inner surface (of the base body)

8th

Contact surface

9

deepening

10

Outer surface (of the base body)

11

Outer circumference (of the handset)

12

Connection

13

material

14

material

15

breakthrough

16

bottom

20

Housing

21

microphone

22

battery

23

Signal processing unit

Claims (8)

1. Elastic damping element (1) for vibration-damping mounting of a receiver (2) within a hearing instrument (3), comprising a hollow main body (5) from whose inner surface (7) multiple holding projections (6) protrude, wherein each holding projection (6) has at its distal end an abutment surface (8) for the receiver (2) to be mounted, wherein corresponding to at least one of the holding projections (6) is a depression (9) which, for achieving a reduced material thickness, is formed in an outer surface (10) of the main body (5) so as to be aligned with the associated holding projection (6), and wherein at least one of the holding projections (6) is inserted into a corresponding aperture (15) of the main body (5).
2. Elastic damping element (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the holding projections (6) are each designed in the form of a conical stud.
3. Elastic damping element (1) according to Claim 1 or 2,
   wherein the elastic main body (5) is designed as a tube which completely surrounds the receiver (2).
4. Elastic damping element (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3,
   wherein corresponding to two holding projections (6) is in each case one depression (9) which is formed in the outer surface (10) of the main body (5), and wherein the depressions (9) have different depths.
5. Elastic damping element (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 4,
   wherein the holding projections (6) are formed from a softer material (14) than the main body (5).
6. Elastic damping element (1) according to Claim 5, wherein the main body (5) and the holding projections (6) are formed as a two-component injection-moulded part.
7. Elastic damping element (1) according to Claim 5 or 6,
   wherein at least one of the holding projections (6) is injection-moulded into the corresponding aperture (15) of the main body (5).
8. Hearing instrument (3) having a housing (20), having a receiver (2) and having an elastic damping element (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the receiver (2) is mounted in a vibration-damping manner within the housing (20) by means of the elastic damping element (1).

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