US2477046A - Ornamental cover for hearing aid earphones - Google Patents

Description

July 26, 1949. M. B. DAVENPORT ORNAMENTAL COVER FOR HEARING AID EARPHONES Filed Aug. 28, 1943 INVENTOR. L 5,3096;

1/] I v I flTfOR/VEy Patented July 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE :ORNAMENTAL oovca Foa HEARING esarnomss May B. Davenport, Mobile, Ala.

Application August 2 1943., Serial .No- 509,402

ordinary earrings would be noticed, this being due to their color for the most part, but being also partly due to their position with reference to the ear. Usually such hearing aids are black and so contrast strongly with the flesh color of the ear. For this reason many persons who should use hearing aids as a matter of comfort and convenience and even as a matter of safety hesitate or refuse to use them, and they also hesitate for the reason that the unthinking and ignorant find them a cause of mirth, either by reason of their outstanding appearance or because they do not understand why such black things should be worn so conspicuously. As a general rule ladies object to the appearance of these hearing aids, but it is also true that young persons of both sexes dislike to appear otherwise than normal, and that many such persons would use hearing aids if that could be done without subjecting themselves to undesired attention and even to ridicule.

It is an object of my invention to provide a hearing aid that shall bear a strong resemblance to an ordinary earring or clasp or car bob and so shall not attract attention such as is now drawn by the hearing aids in common use, which are located otherwise than in the conventional position of an earring or the like, and which usually contrast strongly in color with the flesh near them.

Another object of the invention is to provide an earpiece that shall include a receiver so formed that it can receive and hold a conventional earring or clasp or the like, so that similar ornamental rings, clasps, etc., may actually be worn at each side of the face, and so that any one of several pairs may be worn alternatively at the choice of the owner, all with the same earphone.

Another object of the invention is to provide earphones with a sort of camouflaging means adapted to be positioned at the lower ends of the ear lobes, thus corresponding in location and appearance to earrings or the like as ordinarily worn. Thus an earring may be worn at one side of the face and a hearing aid at the other, yet both may give the same impression to the casual observer.

Referring to the drawings, which are made a part of this application and in which similar parts are indicated by similar characters of reference:

Fig, 1 a three-quarter view of a womans face, illustrating the use of my device,

Fig. 2, a full face view, showing my device and also showing an earring in the other ear,

Fig. 3, a vertical section of one form of the invention,

Fig. 4, an elevation of another form of the invention, showing the same in position in the ear, but with a detachable part omitted to show the method of connection of 'the parts,

Fig. 5, a rear view of the removable cap that is omitted from Fig. 4,

Fig. 6, an enlarged side view of parts shown in Figs. 4 and 5, showing one mode of attachment of the receiver to the mounting in the ear.

In the drawings, reference character Ill indicates a mounting member such as is made by taking a mold of the ear of the person who is to use the hearing aid, this mold being so taken that the mounting reproduced therefrom fits in the ear and is held in place by reason of its shape. This mounting is similar, in a general way, to those now in use, but instead of being so formed as to hold the receiver for the telephone at about the middle of the ear (thus increasing the conspicuousness of the hearing aid) in the case of my invention the extension reaches down to the bottom of the ear lobe or approximately 50, thereby to support the receiver at the usual position for an earring as customarily worn by many persons. The mounting member is preferably made of moldable material that is colorless or is colored to imitate the color of the skin of the user. The usual sound-conducting passage l2 extends upward and inward from the miniature telephone receiver [3 to the interior of the ear, said passage ending at the usual point with relation to the middle ear. The shape of the mounting member varies, of course, with the shape of the ear in which it fits.

I have shown the receiver III in Fig. 3 as being attached to the mounting member by screw threads H, but this connection may be made in any suitable or conventional manner, either permanently or detachably. Conventional wires [4' lead from the telephone in the receiver to a bat tery or transmitter (not shown). The receiver in this figure is shown as having secured thereto, as by means of cement, an ornamental cap or cover l5. The cover may be of any desired color, such as white, mother of pearl, etc.; in other words, it may resemble an earring or clasp or it mounting 10' carries the receiver l3 which is attached to the mounting by means of a light spring ring or the like I! that engages in matching grooves in the respective parts, and which is readily detachable by the use of slight force. Here the cap or cover is attached to the receiver [3' by means of a slot 20 having a narrow neck to receive the neck of a hook-like T-shaped connector I9, said slot being formed with a wider part to receive the crossbar of said T-shaped connector. v It will readily be seen that the detachable connections of Figs. 4 to 6 may be varied in many ways. Thus, a common form of earring having a resilient hook to fit back of and grip the ear lobe may be substituted for the member shown at la, the shape of the slot 20, being slightly changed in shape and proportions to receive such a hook. In general it Wil1 be evident that many variations may be made in the device of my invention by those skilled in the art, all without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as set forth in the appended claims;

The term earring is used in the specification as a generic term to indicate ear ornaments attached to the lobe of the ear or adjacent thereto. Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim is: 7

1. A hearing aid comprising a mounting member adaptedfto fit in the ear of the user, said member having a portion extending downward over the ear lobe, a telephone receiver supported at the lower end of said extension, an ornamental Icap or cover for said receiver, and a sound passageway extending from the receiver to the ear canal.

2. A hearing aid as in claim 1, including quickly detachable means connecting said cover to the receiver.

MAY B. DAVENPORT.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record inthe file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,601,063 Frederick Sept. 28, 1926 1,733,579 Coolbroth Oct. 29, 1929 1,753,817 Aber Apr. 8, 1930 1,852,130 Schier Apr, 5, 1932 1,893,474 Lieber Jan. 3, 1933 Williams May 11, 1943

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