JPS6327520Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in hearing aids that are worn on the auricle, specifically behind-the-ear and glasses-type hearing aids (hereinafter simply referred to as hearing aids).

The aim is to eliminate the negative effects of water, especially sweat, on hearing aids. Still another purpose is to ensure that zinc-air batteries can function as a power source, which has recently come to be used in hearing aids because of their light weight and long life.

By the way, box-shaped hearing aids are used by being stored in the pocket of clothing, so although the earphones and earphone cord may get wet, the hearing aid itself is relatively unlikely to be affected by sweat; Not a problem. However, since the hearing aids mentioned above are worn on the pinna of the ear, they are in constant contact with the skin.
The negative effects of sweat could not be overlooked. In other words, when water such as sweat or rain enters the hearing aid case and stays there, it corrodes the electronic components and eventually causes malfunctions.

In response to this, various waterproofing measures have been proposed in the past, but none are very effective. In the first place, if the waterproof structure that has been proposed in the past is adopted, hearing aids that are required to be made smaller will generally have to be made larger, which is undesirable.Moreover, the presence of microphones, switches, volume controls, etc. that take in sound is undesirable. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to make a hearing aid completely sealed, that is, to have a completely waterproof structure.

Although the present invention aims to eliminate the harmful effects of water as typified by sweat, the idea is different from conventional waterproofing measures that prevent sweat from entering the hearing aid case. Based on this premise, we paid attention to how quickly the sweat that had entered the hearing aid case could be drained out of the hearing aid case, or how quickly we could encourage the evaporation of sweat that remained inside the case.

That is, as is well known, behind-the-ear hearing aids are generally rectangular parallelepipeds that are slightly curved in the longitudinal direction. Note that the end of the temple of the spectacle-type hearing aid, that is, the part that is worn on the auricle, also has a similar shape. Therefore, when a hearing aid is worn in the ear, sweat usually enters from above and accumulates inside the hearing aid body. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has created a passageway leading to the outside world of the hearing aid in the bottom part, which is the lower part of the hearing aid body, so that the sweat that gradually flows down inside the hearing aid body can be easily drained out of the hearing aid body. be. Further, the presence of this passage allows air to circulate between the hearing aid body and the outside world, which helps dry the inside of the hearing aid body and helps remove moisture still remaining inside the body.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described regarding a behind-the-ear hearing aid.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a behind-the-ear hearing aid, and the hearing aid main body 2 has a rectangular cross-section. That is, the hearing aid main body 2 is comprised of a pair of side parts 3, a back part 4, a ventral part 5, and a bottom part 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes an ear hook portion, which is curved in consideration of being hooked onto the auricle. A sound guide tube (not shown) and further an ear plug (not shown) are connected to the tip of the ear hook part 7, and the sound from the earphone built into the hearing aid body 2 is transmitted to the ear plug. As shown in FIG. 2, 8 is a lid constituting a battery storage chamber 9 that is provided in the lower part of the hearing aid main body 2, close to the bottom surface, and extends from the back surface 4 to the bottom surface 6 and further to the ventral surface 5. It is provided. This lid 8 is rotatable so that it can be opened and closed. Therefore, the button type battery is placed on the curved portion of the lid 8 and housed therein. Note that 10 is a volume for adjusting the volume, and 11 is a switch for turning on the power.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the bottom portion 6 of the hearing aid body 2. As shown in FIG. 6A is a bottom case member forming the bottom part 6 of the hearing aid main body 2, and 12 is a joint between the lid 8 and the bottom case member 6A. 13 is the joint part 12
This is a passage formed by cutting out the bottom case member 6A side. Therefore, the passage 1 provided in the bottom part 6
3, the battery chamber 9 inside the hearing aid is directly connected to the outside world. Furthermore, since the battery housing chamber 9 does not have a sealed structure inside the hearing aid, the inside of the hearing aid can communicate with the outside world through a passage.

By the way, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a notch, that is, a passage 13 is formed on the side of the bottom case member 6A in the joint part 12 of the lid 8 with the bottom case member 6A, but this is shown in FIG. As shown, lid 8
The side may be cut out to form the passage 13, or the fifth
As shown in the figure, a passage 13 may be formed by providing notches in both the lid 8 and the bottom case member 6A.
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, holes may be formed in the lid 8 to serve as passages 13. In this case, if the periphery of the hole is slightly protruded outward, this passage 13
It is effective in preventing sweat from entering through the skin.

Although the above embodiments have been described for behind-the-ear hearing aids, the same applies to spectacle hearing aids. That is, the end of the temple that is hooked onto the pinna has approximately the same shape as that of the behind-the-ear hearing aid. In addition, in a spectacle-type hearing aid, an electric circuit such as an amplifier is built into the end of the temple. Therefore, the bent end portion housing the amplifier etc. can be regarded as the same as the hearing aid main body in the above embodiment.

Various embodiments have been described above, but the point is that a passage is provided in the bottom portion of the hearing aid body that is located below the hearing aid body when the hearing aid body is attached to the auricle. Therefore, water such as sweat that has entered the hearing aid body will fall to the outside world through this passage, and the moisture remaining inside the hearing aid will dry out due to the air circulation due to the existence of this passage. This will speed up the process. Furthermore, if the battery storage chamber is configured below the hearing aid body, close to the bottom part,
By forming the passage in the bottom part, air flows into the battery storage chamber through the passage, and even when a zinc-air battery is used, the battery does not suffocate, which is preferable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are general views showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 are enlarged views of the bottom surface showing the main parts. FIG. 6A is also an enlarged view of the bottom portion.
Figure 6B is also an enlarged view of the ventral region. 2... Hearing aid body, 6... Bottom part, 9... Battery storage chamber, 13... Passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of claims for utility model registration] (1) Passage 13 through which the inside of the hearing aid body 2 communicates with the outside world
A hearing aid that is used by being worn on an auricle provided on the bottom part 6 of the hearing aid main body 2. (2) Utility model registration claim No. 1 in which the passage 13 directly leads to the battery storage chamber 9 inside the hearing aid body 2
Hearing aids that are worn on the pinna as described in (1).