JPH1155797A - Manufacture of shell for hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To perform a skillful operation for cutting a face plate at a portion protruding from a shell outer shape, and as a result, there is a variation in product quality and man-hours. SOLUTION: A predetermined face plate 1 commonly used.
1. A flange portion 5 for fixing the face plate 11 with screws and a hearing aid shell body 7 having the flange portion 5 formed at an end portion are provided by a rapid prototyping method.
It is produced integrally by the system.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a shell or the like forming an in-ear hearing aid using a rapid prototyping system (RPS). Here, R. P. S means that the shape and dimensions of the object are three-dimensional CA from the two-dimensional drawing.
Convert the data into D data or convert the shape measurement data of the object to be measured measured in a non-contact manner with a laser or the like into three-dimensional CAD data. Based on the three-dimensional CAD data, a liquid, powder,
It refers to a method of creating a resin model using resin as a material, regardless of the form of the material such as a film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional method of manufacturing a shell for a hearing aid, a shell is manufactured in accordance with the shape of the ear canal of a user, and components are attached to a ready-made face plate larger than the end face of the shell, and the shell is attached to the end face of the shell. There is known a method in which a face plate is bonded and fixed, and then a portion of the face plate protruding from the outer shape of the shell is cut out to smoothly finish the cut surface.

[0003]

However, the conventional manufacturing method requires a skilled operation for bonding and fixing the face plate to the shell and cutting off the face plate at a portion protruding from the outer shape of the shell. Face plate must be removed. Peeling off the face plate requires skilled work and man-hours. As a result, there is a problem that variations in products and man-hours are required even for a skilled person.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to manufacture a shell for a hearing aid or the like which does not require skill and has a small variation in quality. It seeks to provide a way.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a predetermined face plate commonly used, a flange portion for fixing the face plate with screws or the like, and the flange portion at an end. The hearing aid shell body to be formed is R.A. P. It is manufactured integrally with S.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a method for manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shell manufactured by the method for manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a face plate and a shell. Cross section of the
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an in-ear hearing aid using a shell or the like manufactured according to the present invention.

The method of manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like according to the present invention is disclosed in P. As an example of S, an ultraviolet curable liquid resin is used. That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, a tank 2 filled with a photosensitive resin liquid 1 containing a UV-curable liquid resin as a main component, and a table 3 that moves up and down in the tank 2
And an ultraviolet laser 4 above the tank 2 and capable of positioning at least two degrees of freedom (such as a rectangular coordinate system or a polar coordinate system).
This is carried out by an optical shaping device including an ultraviolet laser control device provided with the above.

In this case, since the three-dimensional CAD data is used, it is possible to arbitrarily determine whether to mold from the flange or from the eardrum side of the shell. As an example, a method of molding from a flange will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a flange portion 5 for fixing a face plate with screws or the like is manufactured by a stereolithography method. The ultraviolet laser 4 is moved based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the user-specific flange portion 5 collected in advance, and the ultraviolet laser light 6 is irradiated on the photosensitive resin liquid 1 at the target position to irradiate the photosensitive resin. The liquid 1 is cured to form one layer.

Since the face plate uses a common standard product, the positions of the screw holes formed in the flange portion 5 are aligned with the through holes of the face plate by three-dimensional CAD.
The data has been entered in advance.

The distance between the ultraviolet laser 4 and the surface of the table 3 is set to an optimum distance for performing the optical shaping method. Therefore, the table 3 is sequentially lowered by one layer each time the shell is formed by one layer.

Next, the table 3 is lowered by a distance corresponding to one layer, and similarly, the ultraviolet laser 4 is moved based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the flange portion 5 so that the ultraviolet laser light 6 is located at the target position. The photosensitive resin liquid 1 is cured by irradiating the resin liquid 1 to form a total of two layers. By repeating the same steps, a flange portion 5 is manufactured as shown in FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), the shell body 7 is moved following the flange portion 5, and the ultraviolet laser 4 is moved based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the shell body 7 unique to the user collected in advance. Then, the photosensitive resin liquid 1 at the target position is irradiated with the ultraviolet laser light 6 to cure the photosensitive resin liquid 1 and form one layer.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the ultraviolet laser 4 is moved based on the three-dimensional CAD data of the shell body 7 while sequentially lowering the table 3 by a distance of one layer, and The photosensitive resin liquid 1 at a target position is irradiated with the laser beam 6 to cure the photosensitive resin liquid 1 and to form one layer at a time.

Then, as shown in FIG.
And the shell 9 composed of the shell body 7 are integrally manufactured. Shell 9 is better than the shell made by the conventional method.
The overall thickness can be reduced. Reference numeral 5a denotes a screw hole for fixing the face plate to the flange portion 5 with a screw. The number of screw holes is not limited to four, but it is sufficient that the screw holes can be stably connected.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flange portion 5 is made according to a face plate 11 which is a common standard product, and the shell 9a has a small external auditory canal shape.
(FIG. 3 (a)) and shell 9b for a large external auditory canal shape
It is manufactured according to the size of the shell such as (FIG. 3B). That is, the shape and area of the common face plate 11 whose shape and area are known in advance are determined so that the common face plate 11 fits the shell 9 without excess or shortage.

FIG. 4 shows a commonly used face plate 1.
1 and R.I. P. Ear-type hearing aid 10 using a shell 9 formed by a flange portion 5 and a shell body 7 made by S
FIG. Here, 12 is a microphone, 13 is an earphone, 14 is a battery holder, 15 is a vent hole, and 16 is a screw for fixing the face plate 11 to the flange portion 5. Note that, in this embodiment, the case where a liquid resin is used has been described, but the form is not limited to powder or film.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the face plate is adhered and fixed to the shell, the face plate is cut off the face plate protruding from the outer shape of the shell, and further, the face plate is adhered and fixed at the time of repair. No skillful work is required to peel off, and the number of man-hours can be reduced. Thus, a hearing aid case including a face plate and a shell with little variation in quality and man-hour can be manufactured. Further, according to the present invention, the screw connection between the face plate and the shell can be performed by the flange portion without increasing the thickness of the shell, that is, without reducing the internal space of the shell and without increasing the outer shape of the shell. It is possible and can meet the demand for an in-ear hearing aid which is required to be as small as possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a method for manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a shell manufactured by a method of manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a face plate and a shell, and FIG.
Is the case of a shell with a small ear canal shape, and (b) is the case of a shell with a large ear canal shape

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an in-ear hearing aid using a shell or the like manufactured according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... photosensitive resin liquid, 2 ... tank, 3 ... stand, 4 ... ultraviolet laser, 5 ... flange part, 6 ... ultraviolet laser beam, 7 ... shell main body, 9, 9a, 9b ... shell, 10 ... in-ear hearing aid ,
11: face plate, 16: screw.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A predetermined face plate commonly used is prepared, and a flange portion for fixing the face plate with screws or the like and a hearing aid shell body having the flange portion formed at an end portion are provided by a rapid prototyping system. A method of manufacturing a hearing aid shell or the like, characterized by being integrally manufactured.