Device for recharging the storage battery of an intra-auricular

Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Serially connected batteries or cells – With discharge of cells or batteries

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Details

381 69, 381 692, H01M 1046

Patent

active

056104944

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a device for recharging the storage battery of an intra-auricular auditory prosthesis, to the intra-auricular auditory prosthesis which can be used with this device, and to a method for manufacturing this device.
An intra-auricular auditory prosthesis has a hollow body housing a miniaturized battery which is used for feeding the microphone, the amplifier and the receiver which said prosthesis comprises, these themselves also being miniaturized and housed in said body, and it has relatively reduced dimensions, a smooth outer wall and a specific shape adapted for it to be placed and worn in the ear.
The battery has to be changed every three to fifteen days, depending on the prostheses. To do this, it is necessary to lift the closure flap of the battery casing, remove the used battery, replace it with another, and then put the lid of the casing back in place.
It is easy to imagine the difficulties which these various successive operations can present for persons with poor control of their hands, in particular the elderly, taking into consideration the difficulties involved in gripping and holding the body of the prosthesis during its removal and during the positioning of the battery, itself difficult to grip.
The prosthesis can be lost or damaged if dropped to the ground during these maneuvers.
Moreover, the opening flap already mentioned is situated on that face of the body of the prosthesis which can be seen from the outside when said prosthesis is placed in the ear, which state of affairs is prejudicial to the visual appearance of the prosthesis.
A prosthesis does in fact exist which comprises a storage battery and a coil permitting the recharging of the storage battery by induction, that is to say without removing it from the body, and this is described in the journal "Hearing Instruments", vol. 38, no. 7 of July 1987, but this prosthesis has the disadvantage of being very bulky on account of the dimensions of the coil and, as a result, rather conspicuous and unattractive.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to remedy all these disadvantages.
To this end, the device to which it relates comprises a support having a recess which corresponds exactly to the external shape of the prosthesis and into which the latter can be introduced, and two conducting terminals which are connected to an electric current source and project from the wall of the support delimiting the said recess. The intra-auricular auditory prosthesis which can be used with this support comprises, for its part, a storage battery and two conducting surfaces connected to the terminals of the storage battery, each one capable of coming into contact with one of the conducting terminals of the support when the prosthesis is engaged in the recess which said support comprises for receiving said prosthesis.
Thus, it suffices to introduce the prosthesis into the recess of the support in order to bring the conducting surfaces which it comprises into contact with the terminals of the support and in order to be able to recharge the storage battery. Consequently, it is no longer necessary to manipulate the prosthesis, to open it in order to remove the storage battery, or to provide an unattractive flap on one of the walls of the body thereof.
The support can of course have a single or double recess depending on whether the patient has one prosthesis or two prostheses.
The support of the prosthesis is advantageously made of a flexible material, such as silicone putty.
The flexibility of this material facilitates the positioning and removal of the prosthesis and allows the latter play in relation to its support until it is placed in its correct position permitting the recharging of the storage battery.
The contact surfaces of the prosthesis are preferably situated at the bottom of two holes formed in the wall thereof and capable of being engaged on the contact terminals of the support.
In this way, when the terminals are engaged in the holes, the prosthesis is immob

REFERENCES:
patent: 3939400 (1976-02-01), Steele
patent: 4186335 (1980-01-01), Cahill
patent: 4293808 (1981-10-01), Varadi et al.
patent: 4379988 (1983-04-01), Mattatall
patent: 5210804 (1993-05-01), Schmid
patent: 5253300 (1993-10-01), Knapp
T. Gitles et al., "The Rechargeable Hearing Instrument System", Hearing Instruments, vol. 38, No. 7, 1987, pp. 16-18.
"Rechargeable ITE", Hearing Instruments, vol. 41, No. 12, Dec. 1990, p. 41.
European Search Report, 2 pages Jul. 1993.

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