JPH09205699A - Eardrum protection plug insertion device for ear hole make-up - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an eardrum protection plug by fitting removably the eardrum protection plug to a tip of an in-ear fiber scope so as to insert the eardrum protection plug while observing a state in the ear hole and the insert state. SOLUTION: The eardrum protection plug A with string has a throughhole Ab to be fitted to a protect plug mount 2 at a tip of the in-ear fiber scope 1. The protect plug mount 2 has a flexible guard plug receptacle 21 made of a silicon rubber or the like, whose length is equal or nearly equal to the length of the eardrum protection plug A from the tip of the fiber scope 1. The receptacle 21 has a short cylindrical base 22 extended backward and the short cylindrical base 22 is fitted to proper positions of the in-ear fiber scope 1. Then the eardrum protection plug A is fitted to the protect plug mount 2 at the tip of the fiber scope 1 by a middle throughhole Ab and pressed into contact with the guard shaped flexible receptacle 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for inserting an eardrum protective plug for mid-ear removal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the miniaturization of semiconductor parts and the like, hearing aids have been remarkably downsized, and recently, in-ear hearing aids to be inserted into ear canals have been developed. This hearing aid in the ear is like an earplug and has a built-in hearing aid circuit consisting of various required electronic components.However, since it is used while being inserted into the ear canal for a long time, It must be adapted to the shape of the ear canal, and is currently manufactured by the following procedure. (1) Make a mold of the ear hole. Make sure there are no scratches or other problems in the ear canal, and clean it. A flexible eardrum protective plug with a diameter of about 10 mm and a length of about 10 mm consisting of a cylindrical sponge with a drawing thread (Fig. 4).
(See) is pushed deep into the ear canal while projecting it with a tapered insertion tool with a light (like a penlight), and stopped within 10 mm before the eardrum. The depth to the eardrum varies from person to person, but it is usually 27 to 32 mm.
It is a degree. An appropriate amount of each of the main material of the filler and the hardener is kneaded, put in an injector and injected into the ear canal. Although this injection material is not uniform depending on the material and the ratio, it usually solidifies in about 5 minutes. Remove the solidified injection material from the ear canal and pull the string to remove the eardrum protection plug. The solidified injecting material thus taken out has a shape in the ear canal and is a master for molding synthetic resin. (2) Manufacture an in-ear hearing aid based on the modeled master. A female mold is made of synthetic resin using a master that has been modeled. An outer shell is made by forming a synthetic resin layer on the inner surface of the female mold. A hearing aid circuit consisting of various required electronic components is installed in the outer shell, and synthetic resin is injected and solidified to integrate the whole. The product thus made is removed from the female mold to obtain a finished product.

[0003]

However, when the eardrum protection plug is inserted as described above when molding the ear canal, it is difficult to grasp the insertion state, and in particular, the condition inside the eardrum protection plug can be visually checked. Since it cannot be done, it depends on the intuition of a doctor or the like who often inserts it, and it is difficult to secure an appropriate insertion position and insertion posture, and the insertion is not easy. On the other hand, even for the inserted subject, it sometimes causes pain and sometimes cannot obtain the expected in-ear hearing aid. Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve these problems by using the fiberscope in a certain state so that the eardrum protection plug can be inserted while observing the state inside the ear canal and the insertion state. is there.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 forms a protective plug attachment portion for detachably fitting an ear-middle eardrum protective plug for taking in-the-ear type at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope. It is characterized by having done. The invention of claim 2 is
The protective plug attachment part is formed by providing a stopper receiver at the tip of the ear fiber optic scope for holding a suitable length for detachably fitting the ear ear type eardrum protection plug from the tip. To do. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the brim-shaped flexible plug receiver is provided at the distal end of the in-ear fiberscope so as to have an appropriate length for detachably fitting the ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the distal end. The protective plug mounting portion is formed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a brim-shaped flexible plug receiver is provided at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope so as to hold an appropriate length for detachably fitting the ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the tip. By providing the protective plug mounting portion, a pen grip is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion. According to the invention of claim 5, the brim-shaped flexible plug receiver is provided at the distal end of the in-ear fiberscope so as to have an appropriate length for detachably fitting the ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the distal end. A protective plug mounting portion is formed, a pen grip is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion, and an electric imaging means and a light projecting means are provided at a distal end portion of the in-ear fiberscope. And

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned first or second aspect of the present invention, a mechanical retraction means for the in-ear fiberscope is provided at an appropriate position of the in-ear fiberscope. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the above-described sixth aspect, a retraction unit is provided as a mechanical retraction means behind the protection plug attachment portion of the in-ear fiberscope, and a funnel-shaped protection plug insertion guide is provided at a front end of the retraction unit. Is detachably attached, and a holder for contacting the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide with the temporal region around the ear is detachably attached.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Part 1. FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment according to claims 1 to 5. 1 to 4, A is
A tympanic membrane protective plug with a thread to be inserted into an ear canal, 1 is a thin in-ear fiberscope, 2 is a protective plug attachment part formed at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope, and 3 is behind the protective plug attachment part. It is a pen grip provided. Further, 4 is a television camera with a light projecting means connected to the end of the in-ear fiberscope, and 5 is a liquid crystal monitor for displaying a video signal from the television camera as an image. Are configured. 6 is an external power supply device for them.

The eardrum protection plug A with a thread is the same as the conventional one, and as shown in FIG. 4, it has a diameter of about 10 mm and a length of about 10 mm, which is made of a cylindrical sponge with a thread Aa for drawing out.
It has a through hole Ab which is fitted in the protective plug attaching portion 2 which is the tip portion of the in-ear fiberscope 1 in the center.

The middle ear fiberscope 1 may be an existing one in which the outer diameter of the glass fiber is 2.4 mm and the outer diameter is 2.4 mm.
The image pickup system and the light projecting system may be shared or may be separate. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the protective plug attaching portion 2 at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope 1 has a length equal to or almost equal to the length of the eardrum protective plug A from the tip of the in-ear fiberscope. Then, a brim-shaped flexible stopper receiver 21 made of silicon rubber or the like is arranged, and a short cylindrical base portion 22 extending rearward is provided in the stopper receiver, and the cylindrical base portion is placed at an appropriate position of the auricle fiberscope 1. It is fitted and fixed to. Protective plug mounting part 2
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pen grip 3 behind the
It is made of synthetic resin into a pen shape with an appropriate length and thickness that is easy to hold and handle, the tip is tapered, and the tip is fitted to the outer periphery of the cylindrical base 22 of the plug receiver 21, and The auricle fiberscope 1 is inserted in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a soft bushing 31 made of silicon rubber or the like is attached to the rear end of the auricle fiberscope 1 to prevent the inserted auricle fiberscope 1 from being broken. When the pen grip 3 is not used, the outer circumference of the cylindrical base portion 22 of the plug receiver 21 may be pressed with a heat shrinkable tube.

The television camera 4 with the light projecting means is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the CCD camera body 41 and the projector
42 is connected to the end of the in-ear fiberscope 1 through an optical system connector 43, a camera driver 44 is electrically connected to the CCD camera body 41, and a video signal is obtained from the camera driver. I am trying. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the television camera 4 with a light projecting means has a pin jack 45 for sending the video signal output from the camera driver 44 to the liquid crystal monitor 5, and also as a power supply system. , With the built-in battery 46 detachably
A built-in power supply circuit having a power supply fuse 47 is formed, and a required AC voltage is applied to each part from the built-in power supply circuit via a power switch 48 arranged in a proper place, and a power supply connected to the built-in power supply circuit. The jack 49 is provided at a proper position so that the jack 49 is connected to the output terminal of the external power supply device 6 through the power cord 61.

The liquid crystal monitor 5 may be an existing one,
It may be a cathode ray tube monitor, or a commercially available television receiver. The point is that the video output signal obtained from the camera driver of the television camera 4 with the light projecting means can be reproduced as an image. The external power supply device 6 is connected to a commercial AC power supply to obtain a DC output of a predetermined voltage from the AC power supply, and may be an AC adapter which has been generally used in the past. The DC output of the external power supply device 6 is supplied to the television camera 4 with a light projecting means and the liquid crystal monitor 5 to obtain their required operations.

The above configuration is used in the following procedure. The external power supply device 6 is activated to turn on the power switch 48 of the television camera 4 with the light projecting means and the power switch (not shown) of the liquid crystal monitor 5 so that all of them are in the operating state. If the power cord 61 interferes with the handling of the television camera 4 with the light projecting means, the power cord 61 may be removed and only the built-in battery 46 may be operated. In this operation state, the television camera 4 with the light projecting means sends the light from the projector 42 to the in-ear fiberscope 1 via the optical system connector 43, and projects the light forward from the tip of the in-ear fiberscope. Let me illuminate the front. In addition, the television camera 4 with the light projecting means uses the optical system connector 43 to transmit the reflected light (image) from the subject received by the in-ear fiberscope 1 to the CCD.
Imaged with the camera body 41 and converted into electric signals for each pixel,
This is made into a series of video signals by the camera driver 44 and sent to the liquid crystal monitor 5. The liquid crystal monitor 5 receiving the video signal forms the video signal into an image. The eardrum protective plug A is fitted into the protective plug mounting portion 2 at the tip of the ear fiberscope 1 through the through hole Ab in the center thereof, and brought into contact with the brim-shaped flexible plug receiver 21. At this time, the thread Aa of the eardrum protection plug A is hung downward. Hold the pen grip 3 and insert the eardrum protection plug A into the ear canal. At this time, the insertion status is displayed on the LCD monitor 5.
While observing, let it enter and stop at a position within 10 mm in front and behind the eardrum. Also, the thread Aa of the eardrum protection plug A is hung outside the ear canal.
The inserted eardrum protection plug A is compressed in the narrow ear canal, presses against the inner wall of the ear canal by its own restoring force, and holds its position. Pull out the fiberscope 1 in the ear. By this withdrawal, the protective plug mounting portion 2 of the in-ear fiberscope 1 is pulled out from the through hole Ab of the eardrum protective plug A, and the through hole is automatically closed based on the compression of the eardrum protective plug in the ear hole. An appropriate amount of each of the main material of the filler and the hardener is kneaded, put in an injector, injected into the ear canal, and solidified. The solidified injection material serves as a master for synthetic resin molding, which is taken out from the ear canal, and then the thread Aa is drawn to pull out the eardrum protection plug A. When the inside of the ear canal becomes negative pressure due to the withdrawal of the eardrum protection plug A, the outside air flows in through the through hole Ab in the center.

After that, the in-ear hearing aid may be manufactured as usual using the master. A finder having a magnifying lens system may be provided at the end of the in-ear fiberscope 1 so that it can be peeked. If the pen grip 3 is not used, the in-ear fiberscope 1 may be directly operated with a finger.

Part 2. FIGS. 5 to 8 show an embodiment according to claims 6 to 7. 5 to 8, A is a tympanic membrane protection plug with a thread to be inserted into the ear canal, 1
Is a thin in-ear fiberscope, and 2 is a protective plug attachment portion formed at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a television camera provided with a light projecting means connected to the end of the in-ear fiberscope, and 5 is a liquid crystal monitor for displaying a video signal from the television camera as an image, and these constitute an electric image means. doing. 6
Is an external power supply for them. The above parts are the same as those in the above-mentioned item 1, and the description thereof will be omitted with the contents of item 1.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a mechanical retracting means mounted on the tip of the in-ear fiberscope 1. This mechanical retracting means 7 is provided with a retracting unit 71 behind the protective plug mounting portion 2 of the in-ear fiber scope, a funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 is detachably attached to the front end of the retracting unit, and The funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide is detachably attached with a holder 73 for contacting the temporal region around the ear.

The retraction unit 71 has a slider 712 slid in the cylinder direction inside a cylindrical body 711 which also serves as a grip for inserting and inserting the in-ear fiberscope 1 in the cylinder direction, and the slider 712 is slid in the cylinder direction. 1 is fixed at a proper position so as to be driven, a rack 713 in a cylindrical direction is provided on the lower surface of the slider, and a pinion 714 meshing with the rack is arranged at a proper position in the cylindrical body 711 to be integrated with the pinion. The rotating pinion shaft 715 is supported by the cylindrical body 711, one end of the pinion shaft is projected to the outside of the cylindrical body, a knob 716 is attached to the protruding end, and the pinion 714 is rotated by rotating the knob to rotate the rack 713.
To the front or the rear, and the slider 712 that interlocks with this
The ear fiberscope 1 is moved in and out. The slider 712 has an insertion hole through which the in-ear fiberscope 1 is inserted in the central portion, and a slit is formed on the insertion hole, and the left and right portions thereof are screwed together.
The in-ear fiberscope 1 passed through the insertion hole is tightened. Further, guide grooves 717 are formed on both sides of the slider 712, and the guide grooves are slidably fitted to guide ridges 718 provided on both sides of the cylindrical body 711, and the movement thereof is not shown. The range is regulated by a stopper. Furthermore, the cylindrical body 711
A pair of upper and lower locking protrusions 719 are provided on the inner surface of the front end of the. The rack 713 and the pinion that mesh with each other as described above.
714 may be a friction plate and a roller that frictionally engage each other.

The funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 has a rear end portion 721.
The outer periphery of the cylindrical body is adapted to the inner periphery of the front end portion of the cylindrical body 711 of the retracting unit 71 to form a cylinder, and the rear end portion 721 has the cylindrical body.
A pair of L-shaped engagement grooves 722 that engage with the locking protrusions 719 of the 711.
The front end portion 723 is formed into a loose taper, and the inner circumference of the thinnest front end is fitted to the outer circumference of the eardrum protection plug A,
The rear end portion 721 is fitted to the front end portion of the cylindrical body 711 of the retracting unit 71, and the L-shaped engagement groove 722 is engaged with the locking protrusion 71.
It is engaged with 9 and is detachably connected. Thus, the length of the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 and the retraction unit
As for the relationship with the feeding distance of the in-ear fiberscope 1 by 71, the protective plug mounting portion 2 is located inside the front end portion 723 at the trailing end of the in-ear fiberscope 1 so that it can be pulled up to a predetermined position in the ear hole. I have to. For example,
The funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 is extended 3 mm to 5 mm from the front end and is moved in and out by 17 mm. Further, the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 is provided with an outward flange 724 near the tip thereof so as to come into contact with the edge of the ear hole.

The holder 73 is provided with a bowl-shaped holder body 731 which is put on the ear and brought into contact with the temporal region, and a funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 is detachably fitted through the middle portion of the holder body. A cushioning material provided with a fitting cylinder 732, through which a fixing screw 733 for fixing the funnel-shaped protection plug insertion guide 72 is threaded, and which is brought into contact with the temporal region on the peripheral edge of the holder body 731.
734 is attached.

Because of the above structure, in use, first, the protective plug mounting portion 2 of the in-ear fiberscope 1 is used.
Is retracted to the end of retraction, and the holder 73 is inserted from the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72, and also the retraction unit 71.
Remove the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guides 72 from the
The eardrum protection plug A is fitted into the protection plug attachment portion 2 as described above, and the funnel-shaped protection plug insertion guide 72 is attached again. Then, the holder 73 is put on the ear and brought into contact with the temporal region, and the front end 723 of the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide 72 is held by the holder.
While fitting it into the fitting cylinder 732 of 73, insert the tip of the outward flange 724 into the ear hole until it abuts the hole edge of the ear hole, and tighten the fixing screw 733 of the holder 73. Then, the knob 716 of the retracting unit 71 is rotated to retract the in-ear fiberscope 1, and the eardrum protective plug A is attached while observing the insertion state on the liquid crystal monitor 5 in the same manner as in the case 1 above. Insert it into place in the ear canal. After that, all the device-related items may be removed except that the eardrum protection plug A is left. The other operations and operations are the same as the contents described in the procedure of the above-mentioned No. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0020]

According to the inventions of claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, claim 5, claim 6, and claim 7,
With the above-mentioned configuration, while observing the inside of the ear canal and the insertion state with the fiberscope and using the fiberscope as an insertion tool, the eardrum protection plug can be accurately inserted at the proper insertion position and in the proper insertion posture. In addition, it can be safely inserted, the ear mold can be accurately taken without causing pain to the inserted subject, and the expected proper in-ear hearing aid can be provided. According to the inventions of claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, and claim 5, an appropriate length for detachably fitting the eardrum type eardrum protection plug from the tip to the tip of the ear fiberscope. Since the protective plug mounting portion is formed by providing the protective cap mounting portion by holding it, it is possible to stably and surely support the eardrum protective plug on the protective plug mounting portion, and not to insert the eardrum protective plug. There is no natural deformation. According to the inventions of claim 3, claim 4 and claim 5,
Since the plug receiver of the protective plug mounting portion is made of a brim-shaped flexible member, it does not damage the inner wall of the ear hole. According to the inventions of claims 4 and 5, since the pen grip is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion of the in-ear fiberscope,
The insertion operation can be performed easily and accurately. According to the invention of claim 5, since the electric image means and the light projecting means are provided at the distal end portion of the in-ear fiberscope, it is possible to observe a sufficiently enlarged image in the ear canal by a monitor, which is very convenient. It is useful. According to the inventions of claims 6 and 7,
Since the mechanical retraction means of the in-ear fiberscope is provided in the proper place of the in-ear fiberscope, the eardrum protection plug can be inserted mechanically stably, safely, easily and surely. According to the invention of claim 7, as the mechanical retraction means, a retraction unit is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion of the in-ear fiberscope, and the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide is detachably attached to the front end of the retraction unit. ,
Moreover, since the holder for contacting the temporal region around the ear is detachably attached to the funnel-shaped protective plug insertion guide, the mechanical retraction means can be simply embodied and manufactured at low cost. Can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration showing an embodiment according to the invention of claims 1 to 5.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a protective plug attaching portion and a pen grip of the in-ear fiber scope in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a television camera with a projector according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a tympanic membrane protection plug with a thread to be inserted into an ear canal.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of essential parts showing an embodiment according to the invention of claims 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part of the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of a main part of the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

A: eardrum protective plug with thread Aa ... thread Ab ... through hole 1 ... fiber plug in the ear 2 ... protective plug mounting part 21 ... plug receiver 22 ... cylindrical base 3 ... pen grip 31 ... bush 4 ... television with projection means Camera 41 ... CCD camera 42 ... Projector 43 ... Optical system connector 44 ... Camera driver 45 ... Pin jack 46 ... Battery 47 ... Power fuse 48 ... Power switch 49 ... Power jack 5 ... LCD monitor 6 ... External power supply 61 ... Power cord 7 ... Mechanical retraction means 71 ... Retraction unit 711 ... Cylindrical body 712 ... Slider 713 ... Rack 714 ... Pinion 715 ... Pinion shaft 716 ... Knob 717 ... Guide groove 718 ... Guide ridge 719 ... Locking protrusion 72 ... Funnel -Shaped protective plug insertion guide 721… Rear end 722… L-shaped engaging groove 723… Front end 724… Outward flange 73… Holder 731… Holder body 732… Mating cylinder 733… Fixing screw 734… Cushion Down material

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A device for inserting a tympanic membrane protective plug for mid-ear removal, characterized in that a protective plug mounting portion for detachably fitting a tympanic membrane protective plug for mid-ear removal is formed at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope. 2. A protective plug attachment portion is formed by providing a stopper receptacle at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope for holding an appropriate length for detachably fitting an ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the tip. The eardrum protective plug insertion device for mid-ear removal, which is characterized in that 3. A protection is provided by providing a brim-shaped flexible plug receiver at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope so as to hold an appropriate length for detachably fitting the ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the tip. An eardrum protective plug insertion device for mid-ear removal, characterized in that a plug mounting portion is formed. 4. A brim-shaped flexible plug receiver is provided at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope to hold a suitable length for detachably fitting an ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the tip to provide protection by providing a brim-shaped flexible plug receiver. An eardrum protective plug inserting device for mid-ear removal, characterized in that a plug mounting part is formed and a pen grip is provided behind the protective plug mounting part. 5. A protection is provided by providing a brim-shaped flexible plug receiver at the tip of the in-ear fiberscope so as to hold an appropriate length for detachably fitting an ear-mear type eardrum protection plug from the tip. A plug mounting portion is formed, a pen grip is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion, and an electric imaging means and a light projecting means are provided at the distal end of the in-ear fiberscope. Inserting device for eardrum protection plug for mid-ear removal. 6. The eardrum protective plug insertion device for mid-ear ear pickup according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a mechanical retraction means for the in-ear fiberscope is provided in a proper place of the in-ear fiberscope. 7. As a mechanical retraction means, a retraction unit is provided behind the protective plug mounting portion of the in-ear fiberscope, and a funnel-shaped protection plug insertion guide is detachably attached to the front end of the retraction unit. 7. The eardrum protection plug insertion device for mid-ear removal according to claim 6, wherein the funnel-shaped protection plug insertion guide is detachably mounted with a holder that is brought into contact with the temporal region around the ear.