JPS5843700A - Ear-insertion type hearing aid - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To freely set a distance between an ear-plug and an earphone, and to make performance of a hearing aid approach an ear characteristic, by forming a sound leading-out path which is bypassed like zigzag, etc., between a sound hole projecting part for coupling the ear-plug and an earphone sound hole formed on the hearing aid body. CONSTITUTION:A sound leading-out part 15 having a sound leading-out path 16 which has been bypassed spirally or like zigzag is formed between a sound hole projecting part 13 for coupling an ear-plug 14 provided on a hearing aid body 11, and an earphone sound hole 12A formed on the body 11. One of this sound leading-out part 15 is constituted of a sound leading-out member 15A, and in its inside, a groove 16A which constitutes a sound leading-out path 16 is formed almost spirally, and on one end of its groove 16A, a sound hole 16B communicating with the outside is formed, and communicates with a sound path 13B of the projecting part 13. Also, the other is constituted of a sound leading-out member 15B, and in its inside, a groove 16A' which constitutes the sound leading-out path 16 is formed, also a sound hole 16C communicating with the outside is formed, an earphone 12 is coupled with the rear side of the member 15B through an earphone tube 17, and a characteristic of a hearing aid is made to approach performance of an ear.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in in-the-ear type hearing aids, and in particular to improvements in the sound output path from the earphones to the earplugs. The purpose is to prevent malfunctions.

In-the-ear hearing aids refer to hearing aids in which the earmold is attached directly to the hearing aid body and is inserted into the ear canal like a small earphone.

Incidentally, in-the-ear hearing aids are used by being inserted into the external auditory canal as described above, and therefore are constructed in a small size. Therefore, the first
As shown in the figure, the distance l from the tip of the earmold 1 to the sound hole M of the earphone 3 in the in-ear hearing aid main body 2 is inevitably short. Specifically, this distance l is generally 5 to 7@■. For this reason, the earphones are easily exposed to high humidity in the ear canal, inevitably causing rust or malfunction of the earphones due to poor insulation. This earhook is a type of hearing aid (the earhook is attached to the back of the auricle depending on the part, and even the earphones are stored inside the hearing aid body, and the sound from the earphones is guided through the earhook part to the earplug by a sound conductor tube.) ), the above-mentioned distance is long due to its configuration, and is generally 70 mm.
To some extent, I don't see any problems like those found in in-the-ear hearing aids.

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by making the distance from the tip of the earmold to the earphone sound hole as long as possible, but the small size of in-ear hearing aids, which are inserted into the ear canal, Therefore, it is difficult to provide a long sound guide tube inside and outside of this small hearing aid body.

Therefore, the present invention has been developed by forming the passage from the tip of the earmold to the earphone, that is, the sound output path, not in a single linear shape as in the past, but in a detoured shape such as a spiral or zigzag shape. , the above-mentioned problem is solved by making the sound output path sufficiently long without compromising the miniaturization of the in-the-ear type hearing aid.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 2, numeral 11 is the hearing aid main body which includes an earphone 12, an electronic circuit such as an amplifier (not shown), a battery (not shown), etc. The helmet and 12A are earphone sound holes.1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a sound hole projecting portion projecting outward from the hearing aid main body 11, which guides the sound generated in the earphone 12 to the outside, and also contributes to connection with the earplug 14. The sound hole protruding portion 13 is a fitting portion 14A formed on the earplug 14.
The connection with the ear plug 14 is achieved by press-fitting the ear plug 14 into the ear plug 14. In this embodiment, the sound hole protrusion 13 is formed into a substantially spherical shape, but this allows the protrusion angle of the ear plug 14 to be made variable.
This is to suitably fit the shape of the ear canal of a hearing aid wearer, and if the purpose is simply to connect the ear plug 14 and the sound hole protrusion 13, it is not necessary to use this shape, and the shape shown in FIG. There is no problem even if the sound hole protruding portion 4 is the same.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a sound guide ridge formed by forming the sound guide path 16 in a spiral shape, and is provided interposed between the sound hole protrusion 13 and the earphone 12.

By the way, various means can be considered for forming the spiral sound guide path 16, but in this embodiment, a groove is provided in each of the sound guide path members having a two-part structure, and the two parts are bonded together to form a sealed seal. It forms a sound output path. That is, what is shown in the first and second drawings is a sound guide member 15A constituting one side of the sound guide ridge portion 15, in which a groove 16A serving as a sound guide path 16 is formed in a substantially spiral shape. A sound hole 16B communicating with the outside is formed at one end of this groove 16A. As clearly shown in FIG. 3B, the sound hole 16B is approximately 1 in front of the sound hole protrusion 13 formed integrally with the sound guiding member 15A.
It communicates with 3B. However, it is not always necessary to integrally mold the sound hole protrusion 13, and the sound hole protrusion 13 may be provided separately. What is shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 4B is the other sound guiding member 15B that constitutes the sound guiding mountain portion 15.

A groove 16A' that becomes the sound guide crest 16 is formed inside the groove,
Moreover, a sound hole 16C that communicates with the outside is formed. Fourth
Earphones 12 are connected via earphone tubes 17 from the back surface of the sound guide member 15B so as to correspond to the sound holes 160 as shown in Figure B.

By butting the sound guide member 15A and the sound guide member 15B, a spiral sound guide path 16 is formed due to the presence of the grooves 16A and 16A', and a spiral sound guide path 16 is formed from the sound hole 12A of the earphone 12 to the sound hole protrusion 13. This ensures a sufficiently long path, that is, a long enough path to reach the center, making it possible to transmit sound. However, as shown in Fig. C, the above-mentioned shape can be maintained even if the two are not formed in particular but are constructed on a flat surface and the two are bonded together.

The sound guide ridge portion 15 formed by butting together is provided in front of the earphone 12 of the hearing aid main body 11, that is, the sound hole protrusion portion 1
3 and the earphone 12. In this case, when molding the case of the hearing aid body 11, the sound guiding crest 1
If 5 is double molded, sound leakage from the abutting surfaces can be completely prevented, which is convenient.

Note that the sound guide mountain portion 15 in this embodiment has a thickness of 3.6 mm.
By using one with dimensions of 5.61111% vertically and 4.7ffl horizontally, the distance from the tip of the earplug 14 to the sound hole of the earphone 12 is 25II! ls degree, and was able to secure a distance approximately 4 to 5 times greater than that of conventional systems.

In the above embodiment, the sound guide mountain portion having the spiral sound guide path is configured separately from the hearing aid main body case, but there is a sound guide member 15B on the hearing aid main body case wall, which corresponds to the sound guide member 15B described in the above embodiment. Pre-swage and form it in one piece so that it has the following configuration,
Similar effects can be obtained by laminating a member corresponding to the sound guiding member 15A described in the above embodiment later.

Alternatively, the sound hole protrusion and the earphone sound hole may be connected with a sound guide tube made of synthetic resin, etc., and this sound guide tube may be formed in a spiral shape and placed inside the side wall of the hearing aid body case. You can get the following effect.

Can be made into various shapes.

The one shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the sound guiding member 15B mentioned in the above embodiment, and in this case, only the sound guiding member 15C is provided with a groove 16, and the other sound guiding member ( (not shown) may be made flat and bonded together. Furthermore, 160
′ is the sound hole that communicates with the earphone. Naturally, the other sound guide member is provided with a sound hole that communicates with the sound hole protrusion.

As described above, the present invention provides an in-the-ear type hearing aid that has a sound output path detoured in a spiral shape, zigzag shape, etc. between the sound hole protrusion that is coupled to the earplug and the sound hole of the earphone. It has a sound guiding ridge. Therefore, the length of time during which sound is transmitted from the tip of the earplug that opens into the ear canal to the earphone sound hole can be made sufficiently long, making it possible to prevent the effects of high humidity inside the ear canal on the earphone. It is possible.

Further, the peak frequency due to resonance due to the characteristics of the hearing aid mainly depends on the length of the sound guiding crest.

Therefore, by adopting the present invention, the distance from the tip of the earmold to the earphone sound hole can be set freely to some extent, so the peak frequency due to resonance can be set at a convenient location, for example in the ear canal. There is also the advantage that it is possible to match the resonance and provide a hearing aid with performance close to the ear characteristic. 、；゛

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side sectional view showing a conventional example. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 91 is a plan view showing the inside of the sound guiding member according to the present invention. FIG. 3B is also a side sectional view. Fig. 4B is a plan view showing the inside of the sound guiding member according to the present invention, and Fig. 4B is a side sectional view. FIG. C is also a plan view showing another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the sound guiding member according to the present invention. 11: Hearing aid body, 12: Earphone, 12A: Earphone sound hole, 13: Sound hole protrusion, 15: Sound guide crest, I
6: Sound lead-out path. Patent applicant Rion Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] +1) Between the sound hole protrusion provided in the hearing aid body and to which the earplug is coupled, and the earphone sound hole formed in the hearing aid body, there is a detour in a spiral shape, zigzag shape, etc. An in-the-ear hearing aid characterized by forming a sound output path. (2) The in-the-ear type hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the sound guide portion in which the sound guide path is formed is formed by joining two divided members. (3) The in-ear type hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the sound guide portion in which the sound guide path is formed is formed by double molding when molding the case of the hearing aid main body. (4) The in-the-ear hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the sound output path is formed by a sound guide tube that is disposed along the inner wall of the case of the hearing aid main body.