JP2001120590A - Earplug - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive earplug to be easily inserted into the acoustic meatus, to be stably held, excellently preventing howling and to be easily operated. SOLUTION: This earplug 8, comprising a main part 8a with a cup-shaped flange 6b and an ear wall adhesion part 8b with a cup-shaped flange 7b and having a sufficient length to be inserted deep into the acoustic meatus 11, is integrally formed of silicon rubber and has a piercing hole 15 piercing in the length direction. The earplug 8 is used by connecting it to a sound guide part of a hearing aid, etc. Since the earplug 8 is easily inserted into the acoustic meatus with the cup-shaped flange 7b closely adhering to the ear wall and the earplug 8 is stably held in the acoustic meatus to block noise, howling does not occur. In this way, an inexpensive earplug to easily be operated can be acquired.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to earplugs, and more particularly to earplugs suitable for use with hearing aids.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of hearing aids have been used in hearing aids in order to prevent sound from leaking out when the earplugs are held in the ear holes.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a box-shaped hearing aid 26.
The sound received by the microphone (not shown) of the main body 25 is amplified and can be heard from the earplug 22 connected to the earphone 21 via the lead wire 23. FIG. 11 shows an example of an ear-hook hearing aid 30. Similarly, the sound received by the microphone built in the main body 29 is amplified, and can be heard from the earplug 22 connected to the sound guide tube 24.

The earplug 22 has a bowl-shaped flange with a rear end opened at the tip, and when inserted into an ear hole,
The bowl-shaped flange engages with the wall surface of the ear canal to close the ear canal, and holds the earplug 22 in the ear canal.

[0005]

However, as shown in FIG. 2, the ear canal has a first bent portion 12 and a second bent portion 13 as shown in FIG.
However, since the earplugs 22 hit the first bent portion 12 and cannot be inserted any more, the holding properties are poor, and the earplugs 22 are easily detached only by moving the mouth. In addition, since the shape of the ear canal 11 is different for each person, a gap is formed between the bowl-shaped flange to be sound-insulated and the ear canal wall 11a, so that sound leaks and howling is likely to occur.

The most effective method for preventing howling in a hearing aid is to provide a sound guide hole in an ear mold that faithfully reproduces the shape of the ear canal 11 and connect an earphone to the ear mold. Although it is possible to prevent, it is time-consuming and very difficult to make ear molds according to the shape of the different ear canal for each person, which requires high cost, and its installation is not easy, Particularly unsuitable for elderly people.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has proposed that the flexible body has a through hole in its length direction, and a flexible bowl-shaped flange is provided at the tip of the flexible body. Provided,
Japanese Patent Application No. 11-118368 (1999) discloses an earplug in which a flexible bowl-shaped flange may be detachably provided on the rear side.
Filed on April 26, 2012: Hereinafter referred to as the prior application. ).

According to the earplugs of the prior application, there is provided an inexpensive earplug which can be easily inserted into an external auditory canal having many bends, has good holding properties of the earplugs in the external ear canal by a bowl-shaped flange, and has good anti-howling properties. Cut off. However, although the earplugs of the prior application have excellent features as described above, there is still room for improvement, such as troublesome mounting and dismounting and adjusting the position of the bowl-shaped flange, and a case where the positional deviation may occur. I understood that.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an earplug with further improved operability, including insertion into an external auditory meatus, and howling prevention.

[0010]

That is, the present invention provides a flexible body of any length from the first bent portion to the second bent portion of the ear canal, and a front end to a rear end of the flexible body. And a flexible annular flange integrally provided on the flexible body at a position corresponding to the first bent portion, wherein the flexible annular flange has an ear. The present invention relates to an earplug (hereinafter, referred to as a first earplug of the present invention) in which the flexible main body is held in close contact with a wall surface.

According to the first earplug of the present invention, when the earplug is used, the tip of the main body is deformed following the bent portion of the external auditory canal due to the flexible bending property of the flexible main body. The distal end can be easily inserted deep into the ear canal, and the flexible annular flange is provided integrally, so that it is strongly adhered to the ear wall of the first bent portion on the entrance side of the ear canal without displacement. Therefore, sound can be shielded while the flexible main body is held in the ear canal with a stable and sufficient adhesion. Therefore, if these earplugs are used by being connected to a sound guide portion of a hearing aid or the like, sound can be guided through the through-hole without generating howling, and a flexible annular flange is integrally formed with the flexible body. If manufactured, the cost can be reduced, and if the diameter of the through hole is reduced so as to prevent the passage of sound waves, it can be used as a soundproof earplug.

Further, the present invention provides a flexible main body having an arbitrary length from the first bent portion to the second bent portion of the ear canal, and penetrating in a length direction from a front end to a rear end of the flexible main body. And a flexible annular flange disposed on the flexible body at a position corresponding to the first bent portion, wherein the flexible body includes a main body main portion and the annular flange. The main body part is removably fitted to the ear wall contact portion up to a certain depth of the through-hole, and the annular flange is in close contact with the ear wall surface in this fitted state. Earplugs holding the flexible body (hereinafter, referred to as earplugs)
This is referred to as the second earplug of the present invention. ).

According to the second earplug of the present invention, the main portion of the flexible main body and the tubular ear wall contact portion having the annular flange are constituted by the main portion of the main body with respect to the ear wall contact portion. Since the main ear part is inserted into the through-hole to an intermediate depth, by adjusting the insertion depth of the main body part into the ear wall surface contact part, the main ear part is formed in the same shape as the above-mentioned first ear plug, and the first ear plug is formed. Similarly, the ear canal can be easily inserted into the inner ear canal, and the annular flange is in close contact with the ear wall surface at the first bent portion of the ear canal, and has an effect equivalent to that of the above-mentioned first ear plug. If the diameter of the through-hole is small, the earplug for soundproofing can be obtained in the same manner as the first earplug. And, in the state where the main body main part is fitted into the ear wall contact part, the remaining through-hole part can be fitted with the sound guide part of the hearing aid, or can be used as a soundproof earplug, etc. Multifunctionalization according to the application is possible.

Here, the term "provided integrally" is not limited to being integrally formed, but is also a concept including a state in which parts formed separately are integrated by bonding.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the above-mentioned first and second earplugs, for example, as shown in FIG. A flexible annular flange 6b may be provided so that the flexible body 8 is inserted into the ear canal 11 as shown in FIG. 2 while being guided by the second annular flange 6b.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described as a first embodiment.
Embodiments 1, 2 and 2 based on earplugs
The third embodiment based on earplugs of the first embodiment and the fourth embodiment based on first and second earplugs will be described separately.

Embodiment 1 This embodiment is a basic embodiment of the present invention, and other embodiments to be described later are formed in accordance with Embodiment 1.

That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, for example, the main portion 8a and the ear wall contact portion 8b are integrally formed using a flexible material (for example, silicone rubber having a hardness of 30 to 50 degrees). The main portion 8a is provided with a body portion 6a having an outer shape having an annular (or spiral) concave portion, and the above-described second annular flange 6b provided at a tip portion thereof. A base 7a having a diameter larger than that of the body 6a and an annular flange 7b whose rear end is opened in a bowl shape are provided at the front end thereof.
A through hole 15 having a diameter of not less than mmφ is formed, and the entire earplug 8 is formed.

At the rear end of the same diameter portion 15a, a part of the through hole 15 is enlarged as a connection hole 15b for connection with a hearing aid or the like.

However, as described above, the annular flange 7b is preferably formed in a bowl shape whose outer edge portion 7c is opened rearward. For example, only the outer edge portion 7c may be inclined backward. The whole may be formed in a conical shape that is released rearward. The same applies to other embodiments described later.

With the above configuration, the earplug 8 of the present embodiment is preferably connected to the sound guide 16 of the hearing aid 1 and easily inserted into the external auditory canal 11, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example. Can be used as earplugs.

Embodiment 2 This embodiment is formed in the same manner as in Embodiment 1 except that the shape of the connection hole 15b on the base 7a side of the ear wall contact portion 8b is different as shown in FIG. 5, for example. Is done.

That is, as shown in FIG.
A region deeper than the connection hole 15b on the base 7a side of b is formed as a large-diameter portion 18 for engaging with a specially-shaped sound guide such as a hearing aid.

Therefore, for example, it is used as an earplug of a microminiature hearing aid 19 as shown in FIG. Such an ultra-small hearing aid 19 often has an engagement portion whose diameter is enlarged so that the connection portion with the earplug is difficult to come off because the sound guide portion 20 is also short. The earplug 8A of the present embodiment can be suitably used for a hearing aid.

Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the appearance, material and dimensions are the same as those of the earplug of the above-mentioned Embodiment 1, but as shown in FIG. Extension part 26c on body part 26a
The extended portion 26c is fitted from the front of the base portion 27a of the ear wall surface contact portion 8b to a halfway depth, and is integrally formed so as to be detachable.

Accordingly, the base 2 into which the extension 26c is fitted is provided.
The remaining through-hole 7a is connected to a hearing aid or the like as in the first embodiment as a connection hole 15b, and can be suitably used as an earplug 8B as shown in FIG.

However, in this case, the entire ear wall surface contact portion 8b may not be flexible. That is, only the outer edge 27c of the annular flange 27b is flexible, and the other portions may be harder than the outer edge 27c.

Further, the fitting depth of the extension 26c into the base 27a can be adjusted to an arbitrary depth to adjust the position of the annular flange 27b. In addition, the remaining through-hole can serve as the connection hole 15b so that the sound guide portion of the hearing aid can be firmly inserted and held, and in this case, the flexible effective length of the flexible body is not hindered. Further, the connection hole 15b on the base 27a side may be formed in the same manner as in the above-described second embodiment, and may be used as an earplug for a very small hearing aid. In any case, after the extension portion 26c is fitted into the base portion 27a, both can be bonded and integrated.

Embodiment 4 In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG.
Apart from A, the appearance, material and dimensions are formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, but as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the main portion 8a and the ear wall contact portion 8b are formed separately. rear,
It may be configured to be detachable, or may be integrated by bonding.

The through hole 15A of the earplug 8C according to the present embodiment is formed to have a diameter of 2 mmφ or less (a pinhole may be used). As a result, sound waves cannot pass through the through-hole 15A, so that they can be used as soundproof earplugs as shown in FIG.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail.

The earplug shown in FIG. 1 was manufactured in accordance with Embodiment 1 which is the basic embodiment of the present invention.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the main portion 8a and the intimate contact portion 8b of the ear wall were formed by integral molding using silicon rubber (hardness: 40 degrees) as a material. As shown, the main part 8a
Has an annular recess formed on the outer surface of the trunk 6a, a bowl-shaped flange 6b with a rearwardly open portion provided at the tip of the trunk 6a, and the ear wall surface contact portion 8b has a base 7a larger than the trunk 6a. A bowl-shaped flange 7b whose rear portion is opened is provided at the tip of a base portion 7a formed to have a diameter and bordering the main portion 8a. As a result, the number of component parts is smaller than that of the prior application, and the mounting and position adjustment of the bowl-shaped flange 7b become unnecessary, and the trouble is eliminated.

A lengthwise through hole 15 extending from the main portion 8a to the ear wall contact portion 8b was provided, and the through hole 15 was formed to have a diameter of 2 mm except for the rear end of the base 7a whose diameter was increased.

The dimensions of the main each part, the length L ₁ of the main unit 8a 10.5 mm, the length L ₂ of the ear wall contact portion 11.0m
m, concave outer diameter D ₁ of the barrel portion 6a 4.4 mm, the convex outer diameter D ₂ is 4.8 mm, 3 kinds of 5mm and 5.2 mm,
Outer diameter D ₃ of the base portion 7a is 7.6 mm, the outer diameter D ₄ of the bowl-shaped flange 7b is 11.0 mm, 12.5 mm and 14.0m
3 kinds of m, the outer diameter D ₅ of the cup-shaped flange 6b of the main portion front end and 8.0 mm, three 9.0mm and 10.0 mm, and, of which, projecting outside diameter D ₂ of the body 6a, The bowl-shaped flanges 6b and 7b were of three types in consideration of individual differences such as the size of the ear canal and the degree of bending.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the whole ear-hearing hearing aid 1 equipped with earplugs 8 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

As shown in FIG. 4, the hearing aid 1 is roughly divided into a main body 2, a sound guide section 16 including a hook 3, a connecting tube 4 and an elbow 5, and an earplug 8, and these are combined. In this state, the main body 2 is positioned behind the ear, the earplug 8 is inserted into the external auditory canal with the hook portion 3 hooked to the ear, and the switch 9 and the volume control knob 10 are used for hearing aid for a hearing-impaired person.

The hook portion 3 and the elbow 5 are made of plastic, and each has a through hole 1 having a diameter of 2 mm in the longitudinal direction.
The hook portion 3 and the elbow 5 are connected by a connecting tube 4 made of vinyl to form a sound guide portion 16.

The hook 3 is connected to the main body 2 by a screw 2a, and the distal end 5a of the elbow 5 is fitted and connected to the enlarged connection hole 15b on the base 7a side of the earplug 8, and in this connection state, a 2 mmφ penetration is made. The hole 15 has the same diameter from the sound guide 16 to the earplug 8. Further, since the diameter of the base 7a is larger than that of the body 6a, the base 7a can be easily connected to the elbow 5, and the stability of the connection is improved.

Since the earplug 8 formed as described above is extremely flexible, if the main portion 8a is inserted into the external auditory canal with the base 7a, the earplug 8 is easily inserted to the back through the bent external ear canal, The through hole 15 is not closed even if the annular concave portion of the body portion 6a effectively acts and bends.

FIG. 2 shows the earplug 8 of the present embodiment connected to the external auditory canal 11.
3 is a schematic view of a main part showing a state of being inserted into the ear canal 8, and the external auditory meatus 11 is illustrated by a broken line to clearly distinguish it from the earplug 8.

As shown in the figure, the earplug 8 of this embodiment formed as shown in FIG.
The bowl-shaped flange 6b at the tip slides on the wall of the ear canal 11 to reach the inside of the first bent portion 12 and the second bent portion 13, and in this state, the bowl-shaped flange 7b provided at a position corresponding to the first bent portion 12 is formed. The ear canal 8 is held in close contact with the wall surface of the ear canal 11 with sufficient adhesion. Therefore, the gap between the wall surface of the external auditory canal 11 and the earplug 8 is closed, and howling is not generated because the internal and external sounds are blocked. Also, since the entire earplug 8 is extremely flexible, there is no sense of incongruity when using the earplug 8,
When extracting, it can be extracted without any resistance.

The earplugs 8 of the present embodiment are not limited to ear hearing aids, and can be used by being connected to the above-mentioned box-shaped hearing aids and earphones such as audio shown in FIG.

According to the present embodiment, the main portion 8a and the ear wall contact portion 8b constituting the earplug 8 are integrally formed by using silicone rubber having a hardness of 40 degrees, so that the ear wall 8 is formed on the ear wall of the bowl-shaped flange 7b. This improves the adhesiveness of the body, streamlines the manufacturing surface, eliminates the need for attaching and detaching and adjusting the position of the bowl-shaped flange, and forms the base 7a of the ear wall contact portion 8b in a shape that is larger in diameter than the trunk 6a. Therefore, the connectivity of the hearing aid 1 to the sound guide 16 is improved, and the hearing aid 1 is easily inserted into the external auditory canal 11 with the base 7a. The strength of the integrally formed bowl-shaped flange 7b is sufficient and no positional displacement occurs. In addition, the adhesion to the ear wall surface is enhanced, and the retention of the earplugs 8 in the external auditory canal 11 is improved.

The above-described embodiment can be variously modified based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, the whole bowl-shaped flange 7b of the ear wall contact portion 8b is not flexible, only its outer edge 7c is flexible, and the other portions, including the base 7a, are harder than the outer edge 7c. There may be.

Further, the shape of the bowl-shaped flange 7b may be, for example, only a necessary portion (outer edge) may be a bowl-like shape, or may be a conical shape entirely open to the rear.

The bowl-shaped flange 6b at the tip of the main part 8a
May be omitted, and the outer shape of the body portion 6a may not be smooth unevenness, but may be a grooved recessed portion like a carved portion, or may be a spiral recessed portion instead of an annular shape.

Further, the shape and structure of the earplug 8 of the present embodiment can be arbitrarily formed other than the embodiment, and materials and materials to be used exhibit the same performance as the above embodiment. Can be used arbitrarily.

The earplugs 8 of the present embodiment can be applied to all earplugs for hearing aids other than those shown in the embodiments and the like, and can be used for earphones for radios, televisions and other various kinds of audios. It is also possible to use by connecting to.

[0051]

As described above, the earplug of the present invention
A flexible body having an arbitrary length from the first bent portion to the second bent portion of the ear canal, a through hole penetrating in a length direction from a front end to a rear end of the flexible body; A flexible annular flange provided integrally with the flexible body at a position corresponding to the bent portion, and the flexible body is held in close contact with the ear wall surface. When the earplug is used, the tip of the main body can be easily inserted deep into the ear canal while the tip of the main body is deformed following the bent portion of the ear canal due to the flexibility of the flexible body. In addition, since the flexible annular flange is integrally provided, the flexible main body is strongly adhered to the ear wall surface of the first bent portion on the entrance side of the external auditory canal without being displaced, so that the flexible main body is stabilized in the external auditory canal. And sound insulation while holding with sufficient adhesion. That. Therefore, if this earplug is used by being connected to a sound guide portion of a hearing aid or the like, sound can be guided through the through hole without generating howling, and a flexible annular flange is integrally formed with the flexible body. If the diameter of the through-hole is reduced so as to prevent the passage of sound waves, it can be used as a soundproof earplug.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an earplug according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the earplug is inserted into an external auditory canal.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the earplugs are connected to a hook-type hearing aid.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an earplug according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the earplug is inserted into an external auditory canal.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an earplug according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of a main part showing a state where the earplug is inserted into an external auditory canal.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing a state where an earplug according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is inserted into an external auditory meatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional box-shaped hearing aid.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of an ear-hook hearing aid.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ear type hearing aid 2 ... Body part 2a ... Screw 3 ... Hook part 4 ... Connecting tube 5 ... Elbow 5a ... Tip 6a, 26a ... Body part 6b , 26b ... second annular flange (bowl-shaped flange) 7a, 27a ... base 7b, 27b ... annular flange (bowl-shaped flange) 7c ... outer edge 8 ... earplug body 8a ..Main part 8b ・ ・ ・ Ear wall contact part 9 ・ ・ ・ Switch 10 ・ ・ ・ Volume control knob 11 ・ ・ ・ External auditory canal 11a ・ ・ ・ Ear wall 12 ・ ・ ・ First bent part 13 ・ ・ ・ Second bent Part 15, 15A ... Through-hole 15a ... Same diameter part 15b ... Connection hole 16, 20 ... Sound guide part 18 ... Large diameter part 19 ... Hearing aid 26c ... Extension part D ₁ · · · cylinder recess outer diameter D ₂ · · · Dototsu outer diameter D ₃ · · · base outer diameter D ₄ · · · cyclic furan Outer diameter D ₅ · · · second annular flange outside diameter phi ₁ · · · through hole inner diameter phi ₂ · · · through hole base portion inner diameter L ₁ · · · main portion length L ₂ · · · ear wall contact portion length

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flexible main body having an arbitrary length from a first bent portion to a second bent portion of an ear canal, a through hole penetrating in a length direction from a front end to a rear end of the flexible main body. A flexible annular flange integrally provided on the flexible body at a position corresponding to the first bent portion, wherein the flexible annular flange is in close contact with an ear wall surface and the flexible body is Earplugs that are retained. 2. A flexible body having an arbitrary length from a first bent portion to a second bent portion of an ear canal, and a through hole penetrating in a length direction from a front end to a rear end of the flexible body. A flexible annular flange disposed on the flexible body at a position corresponding to the first bent portion, wherein the flexible body has a main body portion and a tubular ear having the annular flange. The main body is removably fitted into the ear wall contact portion to a depth halfway through the through hole, and in this fitted state, the annular flange is brought into close contact with the ear wall surface to provide the flexibility. Earplugs that hold the body. 3. A flexible annular flange is provided at a front end of the flexible body, and the flexible body is inserted into the ear canal while being guided by the second annular flange. An earplug according to claim 1 or 2.