JP2003502967A - Rear ear hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric/acoustic transducer module for a hearing-aid worn behind the ear or intra-aurally. Said transducer module has a loudspeaker, comprising a diaphragm (5), operated by an electromotive drive. The diaphragm (5) is situated in a loudspeaker housing (8) which is mounted in a capsule housing (13) in a spring-loaded manner. An intermediate gap (11) extends between the capsule housing (13) and the loudspeaker housing (8). A first chamber (R1) on one side of the diaphragm (5) in the loudspeaker housing (8) is linked to the acoustic outlet (AA) of the transducer assembly, whilst a second chamber (R2) on the other side of the diaphragm (5) in the loudspeaker housing (8) is linked (9) to the intermediate gap (11).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]   The present invention relates to a posterior ear-mounted hearing aid described in the introduction part of claim 1.

In this type of hearing aid, it is a primary object to improve the acoustic characteristics thereof and at the same time to make the best use of the space provided for use. This task is achieved by the configuration of the hearing aid described in the characterizing part of claim 1. According to this, the electro-acoustic transducer device comprises at least one mounted in the speaker housing.
It has two speakers and a diaphragm. The speaker housing is elastically supported inside the capsule member, and an intermediate space is formed between the capsule member and the speaker housing. The inside of the speaker housing is partitioned by the diaphragm,
A first chamber communicating with the sound outlet of the hearing aid and a second chamber communicating with the intermediate space through at least one opening in the speaker housing are formed.

With this arrangement, the intermediate space originally to be provided between the housing of the device and the speaker housing is practically fully utilized as the space used to improve the acoustic properties of the hearing aid. It has been found that by providing such an intermediate space, the low frequency region is expanded by several dB. Further, by providing this intermediate space, the acoustic action space on the back surface side of the diaphragm, that is, the above-mentioned second chamber, is expanded several times.

In a preferred embodiment, the encapsulation member is provided with the function of a magnetic shield and is preferably made of μ metal.

The capsule member is preferably formed in the shape of a cup made of metal, on one side of which, namely,
Mounting on the housing of the device on the open side of the cup, preferably by snapping or hooking, simplifies the mounting and dismounting of the speaker housing, in particular with the speaker.

Further, by making the speaker housing into a substantially cubic shape and fitting the four edges of the speaker housing into the capsule member via the elastic support blocks so as to be parallel to the capsule member, the speaker housing is substantially swimming. Supporting the situation is achieved in the most simple way.

[0007] Preferably, the transducer device is inserted and mounted in the housing member by a method of fitting the assembly, and is electrically connected without soldering. As described herein above, the capsule member is removably attached to the housing member. In a preferred embodiment, a substantially completely closed resonant space is formed between the capsule member and the speaker housing.

In the following, the invention or a retro-aural hearing aid according to the invention will be exemplarily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of the device.

FIG. 1 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the entire rear-ear mounted hearing aid as an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, first, individual functional blocks or functional parts will be described. The hearing aid 1 has a tubular body portion that has a central axis A and is bent into a corner or hook shape. This body part has a connecting tube 5 for connecting a tube to be inserted into the ear at the end of the bent tapered portion as a sound outlet. The connecting pipe 5 can be replaced by inserting or screwing a fitting pipe 9 attached to the housing member 3 of the main body.

The internal passage 7 of the connection pipe 5 is connected to the transmission passage 11 inside the housing member 3 through the fitting pipe 9. Further, the transmission passage 11 is connected to an electric / acoustic transducer device 15 arranged in the compartment 13 of the housing member 3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the transmission passage 11 is provided inside a bent inner part of the housing member 3, and a microphone device 17 is also provided inside a bent outer part. There is. A removable cover 19 is formed on the outside of the bend of the housing member 3 and is attached to the maximum bend of the device via a knockout shaft 21. As seen in the perspective view of the body portion of FIG. 2, the cover 19 extends along the generatrix M of the body portion to the position of the electro-acoustic transducer device 15 in FIG. When the cover 19 is removed, the microphone device 17 makes electrical contact with a flexible printed wiring cover plate (not shown) so as to be touched and preferably in a loose state, and the sound inlet. It is located near the slit 23 and is fitted into the transmission passage 11.

When the cover 19 is closed, at least two microphone openings of the microphone device 17 face the enclosure 25 mounted in the slit 23 of the cover 19. Reference numeral V is a balance adjusting space provided between the sound inlet opening (not shown) of the microphones and the enclosure 25, which are separated from each other.
Since the enclosure 25 has a passage hole between the outside environment U and the outside environment U, the sound can freely pass therethrough. Preferably, the enclosure 25 is made of a sintered material, especially polyethylene, and more preferably a water repellent coating. The enclosure 25 has a mesh size of 10 to 200 μm and an aperture ratio of preferably more than 70%. As the arrangement of the microphone device 17 and the slit 23 in the hearing aid 1, when the hearing aid is put on the ear and actually used, the enclosure 25 is not exposed to the air dynamic pressure of the outside U as much as possible. Figure 1
As can be seen in FIG. 3, it is provided so as to be located on the apex of the tubular body portion which is bent into a corner. Especially when realizing a directional acoustic / electrical transducer using at least two microphones that are separated from each other, as for suppressing the common mode, the balance adjustment effect by the installation of the space V is
A tendency to suppress the same acoustic signal, which is diversely captured along the enclosure 25, is implemented.

In addition, the enclosure 25 helps prevent fouling and is easy to clean due to the preferred water repellent coating.

Another advantage of the multi-throughhole enclosure 25 is that it is closely related to the common mode suppression described above, as it allows possible contamination to act equally on two microphones spaced apart from each other. The reduction of the direction effect (directional characteristic), which is a central problem in the conventional directional microphone, does not occur.

Regarding the inclusion 25 and its effect, European patent application EP-A-0 of the same applicant
See 847227.

Following the electrical / acoustic transducer device 15, an electronic device 27 and then a battery compartment 29 are mounted inside the housing member 3. An operation switch 31 is attached to a portion outside the housing body between the battery chamber 29 and the electronic device 27. In the perspective view of FIG. 2, in particular, the connecting tube 5, the housing member 3, the cover 19 with the sound inlet slit 23 and the enclosure 25, as well as the operating switch 31, are clearly shown.

Battery Chamber A battery chamber 29 provided in the end of the housing member 3 accommodates a cylindrical battery having flat upper and lower surfaces, or a battery 33 having an equivalent shape. In this case, the axis along the cylinder of the battery having the upper and lower planes 33u, 33o is at least substantially concentric with the longitudinal axis A of the body.

A first spring contact 35 is provided on a base portion 39 of the battery chamber 29 which is provided so as to be centered on the axis A. In addition, the second spring contact 37 is provided so as to contact the side surface of the battery 33. The battery chamber 29 can be closed by a cover 39, which is supported by the housing member 3 or the battery chamber 29 by means of a hinge-type or bayonet-type support 41. When closed, the cover 39 is positioned so as to cross the axis A and covers the battery chamber 29.

Similarly, the battery 33 is arranged laterally in the hearing aid, so that the cover 3
The surface closed by 9 is relatively large and can be more widely used, such as the additional features described below. The cover 39 of the battery chamber 29 is arranged at the bottom of the hearing aid, and the cover 39 is attached to the housing member 3 along the axis A.
Since it is lateral to the inside, no infiltration of sweat into the battery chamber 29 occurs. Further, in the configuration of the battery chamber 29, the contacts 35 and 37 are protected and provided in the chamber, so that the cover 39 does not have electrical contacts. Further, since the housing member 3 has a substantially cylindrical shape and its inner chamber is utilized, there is no wasteful space that is not actually used.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment in which the cover 39 of the battery compartment 29 is formed as a snap-fit cover. The snap hinge member 43 allows the cover 39 to be easily removed or attached at the hinged shaft 41 (FIG. 1). Further, as a preferred embodiment, a fixed lock 45 is provided in the vicinity of a latch-type mounting member 46 that acts like a spring.

FIG. 4 shows the bottom surface of the cover 39 of FIG. The fixed lock 45 can only be operated from the outside with a tool, for example a screwdriver. Further, a rotating seat plate 47 is provided, and a tool insertion slit 49 is provided in the seat plate 47. The seat plate 47 is assembled together when the locking lock 45 is attached to the snap-fit cover 39 and is especially colored in two cord styles, for example red and blue, by which the respective hearing aid can be used for the left or right ear. It is used to display the code of the business.

The embodiment of the battery compartment 29 has the further substantial advantages in addition to the advantages of the cylindrical flat battery being concentric with the axis A of the hearing aid, as described above. That is, it is an advantage related to the basic shape of the hearing aid shown in FIG.

Regarding the basic shape of the hearing aid, often as additional options, for example, a radio signal transmission interface device, a program connection plug device, an additional acoustic inlet,
It is desired to have a large battery compartment, mechanical operating device, etc. For such a purpose, it is possible to add the function shown in FIG. 5 to the battery chamber 29 shown in FIG. The battery 33 is taken out from the battery chamber 39, and instead, the plug 34 for connecting the accessory module 51 is inserted to electrically connect the contacts 35a, 37a corresponding to the battery connection.

For the attachment of such an accessory module, it is possible to provide additional contacts in the battery compartment 29.

The attached module 51 is provided with a battery chamber 29 a having a function of housing the battery 33, and a cover 39 removed from the housing member 3 is attached thereto by a latch type or bayonet type stopper. . If necessary, various types of modules 51 as described above can be stacked and attached to the basic module of the hearing aid shown in FIG. Each fixing of the accessory module 51,
Preferably, an engagement member 43a similar to the hinge member 43 on the snap-fit cover 39 and a mounting member 46 similar to the latching mounting member 46 on the cover 39.
a, or in the case of bayonet type mounting, push in / rotate lock.

This allows the hearing aid to be modularized as desired by the simplest method and means, and the battery or battery 33 can always be easily handled from the outside.

Electric / Acoustic Transducer Device FIG. 6 shows a structure and a supporting method of the transducer device 15 arranged in the housing member 3 in a form corresponding to the sectional view of FIG. The transducer device 15 includes a speaker device (not shown) housed in a capsule housing 53 in a capsule shape, and a speaker diaphragm as a part of the speaker device. The sound wave generated by the speaker diaphragm is communicated from the diaphragm rear chamber in the speaker housing 53 into the intermediate space U ₅₃ of the speaker housing 53 through the acoustic communication opening indicated by the reference numeral 55. The acoustic signal indicated by S in FIG. 6 is transmitted from the diaphragm front chamber into the transmission passage 11 described in FIG.

The speaker housing 53 as a whole is substantially held in a swimming state by a support member 57 which is elastically supported by a rubber member. The support member 57 forms a relatively large intermediate space U ₅₃ between the outer wall of the speaker housing 53 and the capsule member 59. The intermediate space U ₅₃ significantly improves the low frequency characteristic. The rear chamber of the diaphragm serves as a resonance space, and the sound waves are multiply magnified through the intermediate space U ₅₃ . The encapsulation member 59 and its fixing member 61 are tightly connected between them so that the intermediate space U ₅₃ is acoustically effective around its entire circumference.

As a result, the volume of the space that elastically supports the speaker device is utilized to the highest degree acoustically. The encapsulation member 59 preferably functions as a magnetically shielded housing and is therefore preferably made of μ metal. The capsule member 59 is formed in a cup shape and is firmly fixed to a fixing member 61 serving as a plastic fixed supporting member. As described above, the space between the capsule member 59 and the speaker housing 53 and between the fixing member 61 and the speaker housing 53 is provided with the support member 57 that preferably elastically supports rubber.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the speaker device portion described above purely in principle. In the speaker housing 53, the diaphragm 54 of the speaker device defines a diaphragm front chamber R ₁ as a first chamber and a diaphragm rear chamber R ₂ as a second chamber. The diaphragm anterior chamber R ₁ communicates with the sound outlet S of the hearing aid, the diaphragm posterior chamber R ₂ from one or more acoustic communication openings 55 to an intermediate space U formed between the capsule member 59 and the speaker housing 53. Contact ₅₃ .

Operation Switch 31 FIG. 7 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the operation switch 31. The operation switch 31 includes a toggle key 63 that pivotally pivots on a tiltable support portion 65 on the outer surface side thereof.

The tilting support portion 65 is formed on a sliding member 67, and the sliding member 67 can reciprocate linearly with respect to the housing member 3 as shown by a double-headed arrow F. A spring contact 69, which is fixed to the housing member 3 and is schematically shown, and a bridge-type contact 70 provided on the sliding member 67 are used to switch the device on / off by reciprocally moving the sliding member 67 by a toggle key 63. Do the operation.

A narrow groove 72 of a through hole is formed in the sliding member 67, and a round contact member 73 fixed to the housing member 3 projects through the narrow groove 72. The round contact member 73 is provided so as to be covered by the elastic contact member 75 attached to the sliding member 67. Resilient contact member 75 is preferably made of rubber as the keyboard member and at least partially made of a conductive plastic material, such as is known in remote control keyboards. By operating the toggle key 63 that tilts and pivots up and down, such as the two-way arrow K in FIG. 7,
The elastic contact member 75 contacts the round contact member 73 and makes an electrical connection between these members. A person skilled in the art can make various electrical connections by combining a switch section S ₁ operated by the reciprocating motion F of the sliding member 67 and a switch section S ₂ operated by the vertical movement K of the toggle key 63, but it is preferable. 7, the spring contact 69 is connected to the battery 33 of the device and the bridge contact 70
Is connected to the elastic contact member 75, whereby the round contact member 73 functions as an electric output portion of the switch device.

In this way, the operation switch 31 functions as a reciprocating on / off switch as well as a one-position toggle switch, whereby individual amplification control etc. at the stage of the electronic device 27 shown in FIG. 1 is performed. Is carried out.

That is, the operation switch 31 combines the two functions of the reciprocating switch and the toggle switch, and realizes the fusion of the functions, which is the greatest advantage of the rear-ear hearing aid of the present invention. Since the difference in operation between the two functions is clear, there is no functional error that is a problem when two switches are provided for the above-mentioned two functions.

Configuration of Housing Member 3 As seen in FIG. 5, the housing member 3 is made of a tubular member formed by bending. In the embodiment, the housing member 3 is integrally formed, preferably of plastic, and is therefore labeled M in FIG. 5, as in a conventional hearing aid configuration.
This is different from the one separated into two dish-shaped members along the bus line M indicated by. As a result, each device can be easily assembled in the housing member 3 by inserting the device toward the inside of the tubular member. Is also practically simple. A further advantage of the integrally made tubular member construction is that it is more stable than when assembling separate housing members. Thus, it is possible to reduce the strength of the walls of the housing, which allows the housing itself to be smaller, or to increase the available internal volume when maintaining the current size.

Overall Shape Advantage As can be seen in FIG. 1, the preferred housing unitary construction of the housing member 3 allows for the individual components, in particular the transmission channel 11, the electro-acoustic transducer device 15, the electronic device 2.
It can be seen that 7, the battery chamber 29 and / or the accessory module 51 are sequentially inserted into the housing member 3 along the axis for assembly. Inside the housing member 3 the guiding part of the respective device is formed as a structural part, which ensures a quick and accurate positioning. Moreover, since the mutual electrical contact between the electrically driven devices is performed by the spring contact, soldering is unnecessary. By fully testing and measuring the attached device, the assembly can be completed without worrying about problems during assembly. Such an assembly
It can be easily automated. The housing having the housing member 3 and the covers 19 and 39 is assembled according to the sealing degree corresponding to each mounting position, and is easily combined and formed as a whole.

The preferred embodiment of the electrical / acoustic transducer device 15 ensures the highest magnetic shielding of the loudspeaker and the highest acoustic transfer performance with respect to the sound passing through the hearing aid device.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of a rear-ear hearing aid according to the present invention.

[Fig. 2]   The perspective view of the hearing aid of FIG.

[Figure 3]   The perspective view which shows embodiment of the battery chamber cover in the hearing aid of FIG.

[Figure 4]   FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the battery compartment cover of FIG. 3 having left / right ear cord display members.

5 is a perspective view of the housing member of the hearing aid of FIG. 1 and a preferred accessory module attached or attachable thereto.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an electric / acoustic transducer device in the hearing aid of FIG.

[Figure 7]   FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a preferable operation switch in the hearing aid of FIG. 1.

[Figure 8]   Explanatory drawing which shows the acoustic connection relationship of the translucency device of FIG. 6 in abbreviated form.

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A substantially along a longitudinal axis (A) bent into a hook shape.
A rear-ear mounted hearing aid having a device body formed by:
/ Electric transducer (17), electric / acoustic transducer (15) and electric
A sub-device (27) and the electro-acoustic transducer (15) is
At least one speaker and diaphragm provided in the peaker housing (53)
A speaker housing (53), the speaker housing (53) is
Elastically supported in the capsule member (59) and the capsule member (59) and the speaker.
Intermediate space (U₅₃) Is formed,
The first chamber on one side of the diaphragm (54) in the housing (53) is
The speaker housing (53) is connected to the sound outlet (5) of the hearing aid and
The second chamber on the other surface side of the diaphragm (54) in the inner space (U ₅₃ ) Is attached to the back of the hearing aid. 2. The ear-mounted hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the capsule member (59) functions as a magnetic shield and is preferably made of μ metal. 3. The ear-mounted hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the capsule member (59) is a cup-shaped member attached to the housing member (3) of the device on one side. 4. The speaker housing (53) is made substantially in the shape of a cube, and elastically supported in the capsule member (59) so that its four edges are parallel to the capsule member (59). The ear-mounted hearing aid according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is fitted through a block (57). 5. The electro-acoustic transducer (15) is inserted and mounted in the housing member (3) by a method of fitting an assembly, and is electrically connected without soldering. The ear-mounted hearing aid according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: 6. The ear-mounted hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the capsule member (59) is detachably attached to the housing member (3). 7. The capsule member (59) and the speaker housing (53)
7. The hearing aid mounted on the back of the ear according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that an intermediate space (U) whose substantially entire surface is closed is formed between and.