JP2900128B2 - In-ear type sound listening device and storage case - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-ear type sound listening apparatus and a storage case, and is suitably applied to a hearing aid and a storage case for storing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an in-ear type hearing aid in which a body case containing all components such as a microphone, an amplifier, and a speaker for taking in a hearing aid is inserted into an ear hole of a wearer. This type of hearing aid has limited parts such as a battery serving as a power source, a volume adjusting dial, and other controls.
Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a take-out knob for the wearer to take out the main body case from the inside of the ear hole, and various measures have been taken in terms of operability in view of the fact that many wearers are elderly.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, there is an in-ear type hearing aid 1 provided with a take-out knob 3 which is rotatable in the direction of arrow a or the opposite direction to the upper part of a main body case 2. When the hearing aid 1 is taken out of the ear canal, the take-out knob 3 is brought to a standing state as shown in the figure from a state in which the take-out knob 3 is laid down by a finger, and is then pulled and pulled in the direction of arrow b. Thus hearing aid 1
Can be taken out of the ear canal.

As shown in FIG. 8, there has been proposed a hearing aid 5 in which a take-out knob 6 has a function of a power switch (Japanese Utility Model Application No. 3-58408). This hearing aid 5 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), when the take-out knob 6 is at the turning position corresponding to the upper surface of the main body case 7, the power is on. On the other hand, when it is desired to turn off the power, the take-out knob 6 is turned in the direction of arrow c to obtain the state shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), it is raised in an upper turning position so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the main body case 7.

At this time, the cam 6 formed on the take-out knob 6
A rotates the battery holder 8 in the direction of arrow d while abutting on one end 8A of the battery holder 8. As a result, battery 9
Is rotated together with the battery holder 8, the electrode 9A of the battery 9 is separated from the battery contact piece 10A connected to the hearing aid processing circuit, and the power is turned off. Also, the wearer can take out the hearing aid 5 from the inside of the ear canal by pulling and pulling the take-out knob 6 standing upright at the upper rotation position.

[0006]

However, in the hearing aid 1 described above with reference to FIG. 7, since a power switch (not shown) is provided separately from the take-out knob 3, the power may be forgotten to be turned off after use. The power supply may be wasted. In the hearing aid 5 described above with reference to FIG. 8, it is considered that the power supply is turned off at the time of removal from the ear canal, so that it is almost impossible to forget to turn off the power. When stored in such a state, the power supply will also be consumed.
Further, the hearing aid 5 has a problem that the configuration becomes very complicated as is apparent from the drawing.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, there has been proposed a hearing aid 20 having a simple configuration and avoiding battery consumption due to forgetting to turn off the power (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-26880).
The hearing aid 20 is provided with a magnetic switch 21 that is turned on and off by a magnetic field on the hearing aid 20 side, and a magnet 26 is provided on the hearing aid storage case 25 side, so that the hearing aid 20 is stored in the storage case 25.
When the magnetic switch 21 is housed in the apparatus, the magnetic switch 21 is turned off by a magnetic field from the magnet 26. 2
2 is a main body case, 23 is a dial for volume adjustment, 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes a lid of the battery chamber.

However, there is a problem that the power supply of the hearing aid 20 cannot be turned off unless the hearing aid 20 is stored in the storage case 25. So magnet 2 to turn off the power
It is conceivable that the switch can be turned off at any time if one is always carried, but this is not practical. In addition to the problems described above, in the hearing aids 1 and 5 as described above, when the hearing aids 1 and 5 are taken out of the ear holes, it is necessary to perform an operation of setting the take-out knobs 3 and 6 from a lying state to a standing state. This operation of raising the very small take-off knobs 3 and 6 in a very narrow ear canal was quite cumbersome even for a dexterous person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an in-ear type sound listening apparatus and a storage case having a simple configuration which can be easily taken out of an ear hole and can avoid forgetting to turn off power. It is assumed that.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided an in-ear type sound listening device 30 for inserting a main body case 31 into an ear hole and transmitting a listening sound into an external auditory canal of a wearer. A battery 39 is provided on a panel surface outside the main body case 31 when the main body case 31 is inserted into the ear hole so as to be rotatable with respect to the panel surface, and serves as a power supply.
And a battery when the battery holding means 33 is in the first rotation position, and electrically connected to the electrode of the battery 39, and when the battery holding means 33 is in the second rotation position. Battery connection means 41C whose connection to
42 and a takeout knob 34 formed on the battery holding means 33 so as to protrude from the outer surface of the battery holding means 33 and serving as a takeout means for taking out the main body case 31 from the inside of the ear hole.
When one end of the take-out knob 34 corresponding to the free end side of the battery holding means 33 facing the rotating shaft side is pulled in a predetermined direction away from the panel surface of the main body case 31, the battery holding means 33 rotates. It works.

In the present invention, the battery 3 as a power source is
Battery holding means 33 provided on the main body case 31 so as to rotate between a first turning position where the power is turned on and a second turning position where the power is turned off, and a battery holding means. 3
3, a storage case 50 for storing the sound listening device 30 having a take-out knob 34 serving as a take-out means for taking out the main body case 31 from the ear hole. The first and second case halves 51, 52 for accommodating the sound listening device 30
Provided on the first case half 51,
And a fixing means 54 for fixing the battery holding means 33 by supporting the main body case 31 in accordance with the closing operation of the first and second case halves 51 and 52. A pressing and moving means 55 for moving the battery holding means 33 to the second rotation position by pressing is provided.

[0012]

When the main knob 31 is pulled while the main body case 31 is inserted into the ear hole, the main body case 31 is pulled.
Can be taken out of the ear hole, and when one end of the take-out knob 34 is pulled, the battery holding means 33 rotates to cut off the connection between the battery connecting means 41C and 42 and the electrode of the battery 39, or The battery 39 can be taken out of the holding means 33. Accordingly, the function of taking out the main body case 31 from the inside of the ear hole to the take-out knob 34 and the battery holding means 3
3 can be provided with a function for rotating it, and these two functions can be easily used properly depending on the pulling position of the knob 34.

When the sound listening apparatus 30 is stored in the storage case 50, the battery holding means 33 is fixed to the fixing means 54 provided on the first case half 51 via the take-out knob 34, and then the first When the second case half 52 is closed with respect to the case half 51, only the main body case 31 is moved by the pressing / moving means 55 provided on the second case half 52. As a result, the battery holding means 33 is
Is turned to the second rotation position, and the power of the sound listening device 30 is turned off. Thus, it is possible to realize the sound listening device 30 and the storage case 50 having a simple configuration, which have good operability and can avoid forgetting to turn off the power.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.

(1) Hearing Aid In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a hearing aid as a whole. A main body case 31 having an outer shape adapted to an ear hole of a wearer includes a microphone, an earphone, a hearing aid processing circuit, and these electronic components. And a battery for driving the battery. An earwax preventing member 32 for preventing earwax from penetrating into the sound path is detachably attached to the tip of the eardrum when inserted into the ear canal. On the other hand, a battery holder 33 is provided rotatably with respect to the main body case 31 on a surface facing the outside when inserted into the ear hole (hereinafter referred to as a panel surface). Further, on the upper surface of the battery holder 33, an extraction knob 34 protruding from the battery holder 33 is formed integrally with the battery holder 33.

Thus, when taking out the hearing aid 30 from the ear canal, the wearer can easily take out the hearing aid 30 by picking and pulling the extraction knob 34 with a finger. After the removal, the user removes the knob 34 while holding the main body case 31 with a finger to rotate the battery holder 33 in the direction of arrow e, thereby turning off the power (the state shown in FIG. 1) and further rotating the battery holder 33. By doing so, the battery can be replaced.

Here, the take-out knob 34 is formed so as to be vertically long along the opening of the ear hole, taking into account that the opening of the ear hole is vertically long. Thus, the wearer can easily pick the take-out knob 34. Further, a constriction 35 is formed at a joint (hereinafter referred to as a root) between the take-out knob 34 and the battery holder 33, and the wearer pulls a fingertip on the constriction 35 without slipping the fingertip. The removal knob 34 can be pulled. Also, by taking out the take-out knob 34 vertically long,
The area of the base of the take-out knob 34 can be increased, and the strength can be remarkably increased as compared with, for example, a case where a rod-shaped take-out knob is integrally formed with the battery holder 33.

Further, notches 36A and 36B are formed at shoulder portions of the main body case 31 on both sides of the take-out knob 34 so that the inclined surface is directed toward the take-out knob 34. Thereby, when the wearer gropings and picks out the removal knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 located in the ear hole, the wearer can use the body case 3
The take-out knob 34 can be easily picked without disturbing 1.

In the hearing aid 30, since the external appearance of the take-out knob 34 indicated by the arrow f in the longitudinal direction is symmetrical with respect to both directions from the center, apparently, which one is the rotation axis side or the free end side of the battery holder 33? I do not know. For this reason, the battery holder 3
A protrusion 37 is formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the take-out knob 34, which corresponds to the free end side of No. 3 to indicate the rotation direction.

Therefore, the wearer confirms the position of the projection 37 with his / her eyes or fingers, and pulls the take-out knob 34 in the confirmed position in the direction of arrow e, thereby causing the battery holder 33 to move in the direction of arrow e.
It is possible to switch the power supply and replace the battery by rotating in the direction. Needless to say, the projection 37 may be provided on the rotating shaft side of the battery holder 33. By using the hearing aid 30 in this manner, it is possible to easily take out the hearing aid 30 without requiring a complicated operation such as raising the takeout knob in a narrow ear hole as in the related art. In addition, the power can be easily turned on and off even in the ear hole.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the structure of the battery holder 33 and the on / off state of the power supply in accordance with the rotation of the battery holder 33. The battery holder 33 is a holder part made of a semicircular flexible member. A button type battery 39 serving as a power source is held at 38. A bearing 40 is formed at one end of the battery holder 33, and a rotating shaft (not shown) provided on the body case 31 side is fitted into the bearing 40.

The anode side of the battery holder 33 when the battery is stored is open over the entire surface, as shown in FIG. 2A.
The positive electrode 41A provided on the side is always in contact with the battery 39. In the battery holder 33, a window 42 penetrating through the thickness of the battery holder 33 is formed on the cathode side when the battery 39 is stored.
The negative electrode 41B provided on the side contacts the battery 39 only through the window 42. Further, a recess 4 is provided near the window 42.
3 are formed.

With this configuration, when the battery holder 33 is in the first rotation state in which it coincides with the outer surface of the main body case 31, as shown in FIG. 3A, the letter-shaped contact piece 41C of the negative electrode 41B is formed. Is in contact with the cathode of the battery 39 through the window 42, so that the hearing aid 30 is turned on. On the other hand, when the battery holder 33 is rotated by the wearer in the direction of arrow e to be in the state shown in FIG.
Is separated from the window 42 so that the negative electrode 41B and the battery 3
The cathode 9 is in a non-contact state, and the hearing aid 30 is turned off.

At this time, since the contact piece 41C is fitted into the concave portion 43, the rotation of the battery holder 33 is stabilized at this position. However, when the battery holder 33 is further rotated in the direction of arrow e by applying a certain force or more from this state, the contact piece 41C is separated from the concave portion 43, and the battery holder 33 is further rotated in the direction of arrow e. Thereby, the battery holder 33
Pivots completely to a position where it comes out of the main body case 31, and the battery 39 can be replaced in this state.

(2) Storage Case In FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 denotes a storage case for housing the hearing aid 30 as a whole, and the lower lid 5 for housing the hearing aid 30.
1 and an upper lid 52 attached to the lower lid 51 so as to be openable and closable about a rotation axis (not shown). The lower lid 51 has a holding member 5 formed in a semicircular shape along the outer surface of the hearing aid 30 and having a U-shaped cutout 53.
4 are provided. When the hearing aid 30 is placed in a predetermined position of the lower lid 51, the holding member 54 abuts the notch 53 so as to sandwich the constriction 35 of the take-out knob 34, thereby fixing and holding the battery holder 33.

When the upper lid 52 is closed to the lower lid 51, a pressing member 55 projecting toward the lower lid 51 is provided at a position of the upper lid 52 facing the shoulder of the hearing aid body case 31. When the upper lid 52 is closed, the pressing member 55 comes into contact with the shoulder of the main body case 31. Here, the pressing member 55 includes the upper lid 52.
An inclined surface 55A is formed such that its height decreases as the distance from the rotating shaft (not shown) increases, and as the upper lid 52 rotates in the closing direction, the contact position with the main body case 31 increases. Moves from a high position to a low position on the inclined surface 55A.

As a result, when the upper lid 52 is rotated in the closing direction, only the main body case 31 is rotated by the pressing member 55 with the battery holder 33 held by the holding member 54. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5A, the hearing aid 30 housed in the lower lid 51 while the power is on, once the upper lid 52 is closed and opened again, is shown in FIG. 5B. As described above, the battery holder 33 is turned to the second turning position with respect to the main body case 31 to be in the power-off state. Thus, the power of the hearing aid 30 can be turned off simply by closing the upper lid 52.

The lower lid 51 of the storage case 50 has a structure shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), a urethane interior member 56 is provided. The interior member 56 has a hollow 57 for housing the hearing aid 30 and a hollow 58 for housing the battery.
Are formed. Here, the cutout 57 is formed slightly larger than the outer shape of the hearing aid 30 so that the main body case 31 of the hearing aid 30 can be easily turned from the power-on state to the power-off state as described above. I have. Here, by providing the interior member 56 in this way, besides being able to improve the external appearance,
An effect is obtained that the hearing aid 30 can be easily put in a predetermined position on the lower lid 51.

(3) Operation of the embodiment In the above configuration, the wearer of the hearing aid picks up the take-out knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 inserted into the ear hole with a finger and pulls the same to pull the entire hearing aid 30 out of the ear hole. Can be taken out. At this time, the take-out knob 34 is formed large, so that the wearer can easily pick the take-out knob 34 by inserting two fingers along the ear canal,
Further, the take-out knob 34 can be pulled without sliding the finger by using the constriction 35 as a trigger. If you want to turn off the power while the hearing aid 30 is inserted in the ear hole,
If the pullout knob 34 is pulled at the position of the protrusion 37, the battery holder 33 rotates with respect to the main body case 31 and the power can be easily turned off. In this case, the projection 37
Are formed on the free end side of the battery holder 33.

After taking out the hearing aid 30 from the ear canal,
When the hearing aid 30 is stored in the storage case 50 such as at bedtime, the hearing aid 30 is placed in a predetermined position of the lower cover while the take-out knob 34 is fitted into the holding member 54 formed on the lower cover 51 of the storage case 50. In this state, when the upper lid 52 is closed in the closing direction indicated by the arrow f in FIG. 6A, first, the upper end portion of the inclined surface 55A of the pressing member 55 contacts the shoulder of the main body case 31 (FIG. A)). When the upper lid 52 is further turned in the closing direction from this state, the main body case 31 is turned while being pressed by the inclined surface 55A in accordance with this turning operation. At this time, since the battery holder 33 is fixed and held by the holding member 54, only the main body case 31 rotates relatively to the battery holder 33 (FIG. 6B). As a result, the power of the hearing aid 30 is turned off.

In this manner, the power of the hearing aid 30 is automatically turned off in response to the closing operation of the upper lid 52. As a result, unnecessary consumption of the battery due to forgetting to turn off the power can be reliably avoided.

(4) Advantages of the Embodiment According to the above configuration, since the take-out knob 34 is provided integrally with the battery holder 33, the hearing aid can be easily inserted from the inside of the ear canal without performing a complicated operation of raising the take-out knob. 30
Can be taken out.

Further, since the constriction 35 is formed at the base of the extraction knob 34, the extraction knob 34 can be reliably pinched, and the hearing aid 30 can be more easily extracted from the ear canal. In addition, since the protrusion 37 indicating the rotation direction of the battery holder 33 is provided on the upper surface of the take-out knob 34, the battery holder 33 can be easily turned off and the battery can be replaced without mistakenly rotating the battery holder 33. be able to.

Further, the take-out knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 is supported on the lower lid 51 side of the hearing aid storage case 50 to support the battery holder 3.
A holding member 54 for fixing the hearing aid body 3 is provided on the upper lid 52 side of the storage case 50 in accordance with the closing operation of the upper lid 52 to push the hearing aid body case 31 to rotate the hearing aid body case 31 with respect to the battery holder 33. By providing the member 55, the hearing aid storage case 50 that can easily turn off the power of the hearing aid 30 can be realized.

(5) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the battery holder 33 is held by the holding member 54 formed in a semicircular shape along the outer surface of the hearing aid 30 and having a U-shaped notch 53. The case of fixing and holding is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an elliptical hole is formed at the position of the constriction 35 of the take-out knob 34 of the hearing aid 30 and the lower cover 51 is fitted into the hole. If a protrusion is provided in place of the holding member 54 so as to fit, the battery holder 33 can be fixedly held on the lower lid 51 as in the embodiment. Thus, the removal knob 34 is supported in accordance with the shape of the removal knob 34 and the battery holder 33 is
Can be widely applied.

In the above embodiment, the inclined surface 55
Although the case where the pressing member 55 having A is provided on the upper lid 52 side has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the main body case 31 is rotated with respect to the battery holder A pressing member having an inclined surface to be obtained is provided on the lower lid 51 side, and a projection for pressing the main body case 31 toward the lower lid 51 in accordance with the closing operation of the upper lid 52 is formed.
The same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained even if it is provided on the side.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the upper lid 52 and the lower lid 51 are rotatable relative to each other has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A first case half that fixes and holds 33 and a pressing portion for rotating the case body 31 are provided, and a second case half that can be opened and closed with respect to the first case half is provided. What should I do?

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the hearing aid 30 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to, for example, a radio device or a communication device having a built-in receiver in a main body case. The present invention can be widely applied to a sound listening device in which a main body case containing electronic parts such as a speaker is inserted into an ear hole and a listening sound is transmitted into an external auditory canal.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the main body case is inserted into the ear hole, the main body case is provided on the outer panel surface so as to be rotatable with respect to the panel surface. A battery holding means for holding the battery, the battery being electrically connected to an electrode of the battery when the battery holding means is in the first rotation position, and being connected to the electrode when the battery holding means is in the second rotation position. The battery holding means is provided with a battery connecting means which is cut off, and a takeout knob which is formed on the battery holding means so as to protrude from the outer surface of the battery holding means and serves as a takeout means for taking out the main body case from the inside of the ear hole. The battery holding means is rotated when one end of a take-out knob corresponding to a free end side opposite to the rotating shaft side of the means is pulled in a predetermined direction away from the panel surface of the main body case,
The take-out knob can have a function of taking out the main body case from the inside of the ear hole and a function of rotating the battery holding means, and these two functions can be easily taken out by the pulling position of the take-out knob. Can be used properly,
Thus, an in-ear type sound listening device with good operability and a simple configuration can be realized.

Further, according to the present invention, the main body case holds a battery as a power source and pivots between a first turning position where the power is turned on and a second turning position where the power is turned off. In a storage case for storing a sound listening device having a provided battery holding means and a takeout knob formed integrally with the battery holding means and serving as a takeout means for taking out the main body case from the ear hole, they are provided to be openable and closable with each other. First and second case halves for accommodating the sound listening device when closed, and fixing means provided on the first case half for supporting the takeout knob to fix the battery holding means. The battery holding means is provided on the second case half, contacts the body case in response to the closing operation of the first and second case halves, and presses and moves the body case to rotate the battery holding means in the second rotation. Pressing to rotate to position By was provided and means can be realized storage case having a simple structure capable of avoiding the off forgotten power during storage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an in-ear hearing aid showing one embodiment of a sound listening device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a battery holder.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a battery holder and electrodes for explaining a power on / off operation based on rotation of the battery holder.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing an embodiment of a storage case according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state where the hearing aid is stored in a storage case and a state after storage.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view of a storage case for explaining a power-off operation by the storage case.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a conventional hearing aid.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional hearing aid.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a conventional hearing aid and a storage case.

[Explanation of symbols]

30 hearing aid, 31 body case, 33 battery holder, 34 removal knob, 35 constriction, 37 projection 39, battery, 41A, 41B electrodes, 41C
... Contact piece, 50 ... Storage case, 51 ... Lower lid, 52 ...
Upper cover, 54 holding member, 55 pressing member, 55A
... Slope.

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] [Claim 1] Insert the main body case into the ear canal, in-ear sound hearing device to be transmitted to the ear canal of the wearer listening sound out of the body case when the body case is inserted into the ear the panel surface side, is provided rotatably with respect to the panel surface, and the cell holding means for holding a battery as a power source, the electrode of the battery when the battery retaining means is in the first rotational position A battery connecting means that is electrically connected and is disconnected from the electrode when the battery holding means is in the second pivot position; and a battery holding means that protrudes from an outer surface of the battery holding means. It is formed, comprising a take-out knob as a retrieving means for retrieving the main body case from inside the ear, the upper
The battery holding means corresponds to the free end side facing the rotating shaft side.
Is one end of the take-out knob on the panel surface of the body case?
When pulled in a predetermined direction away from the
-Ear sound hearing device being characterized in that so as to rotate. 2. A take- out knob according to claim 1, wherein said take-out knob is in a direction from said rotation axis side of said battery holding means to said free end side.
Battery holding means so as to have an elongated shape along
The in- ear type sound listening device according to claim 1, wherein the device is formed as follows . 3. The battery holding means according to claim 2, wherein
At the one end or the other end of the takeout knob corresponding to the free end,
The in- ear type sound listening device according to claim 1, wherein an identifier for identifying the one end or the other end is provided . 4. A battery holder provided in a main body case for holding a battery serving as a power source and rotating between a first turning position where the power is turned on and a second turning position where the power is turned off. Means and a pickup case formed integrally with the battery holding means and having a take-out knob serving as a take-out means for taking out the main body case from the ear hole. First and second case halves for accommodating the sound listening device, fixing means provided on the first case half, and supporting the takeout knob to fix the battery holding means, The battery holding means is provided in the second case half, and presses the main body case in response to the closing operation of the first and second case halves, thereby moving the battery holding means to the second pivot position. Pressing and moving means Storage case, characterized in that it comprises. 5. The storage case according to claim 4, wherein the first and second case halves are formed so as to be rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis. 6. The storage case according to claim 4, wherein an inclined surface is formed in the pressing and moving means.