Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices – Hearing aids – electrical – Specified casing or housing
Patent
1997-02-26
1999-11-30
Tran, Sinh
Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices
Hearing aids, electrical
Specified casing or housing
381322, H04R 2500
Patent
active
059956364
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a hearing aid, particularly an in-the-ear hearing aid in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.
When designing hearing aids, two problems occur which repeatedly lead to difficulties.
On the one hand, the aim is to make in-the-ear hearing aids as small as possible, above all for cosmetic reasons.
On the other hand, the greatest possible variety of control possibilities and features is desirable. If it is then wished to dispense with a remote control, this then poses an almost unsolvable problem.
In particular, ever smaller hearing aids do not have sufficient space to accommodate control elements for volume, high or low frequency reduction, output sound level or even for selection of different transmission characteristics or a changeover switch from the microphone to the telephone coil.
This is especially critical with in-the-ear hearing aids, because the battery cover often occupies a very large proportion of the surface area accessible to the user when wearing the hearing aid.
However, battery covers with On/Off switch have been known for a long time.
As regards the state of the art, DE 35 05 390 C2 describes an in-the-ear hearing aid with a front plate and an adjoining housing with a pivotable cover, whereby said cover possesses a recess on its inner side with the dimensions of at least part of the battery and also a hole which penetrates through the cover, with a pushbutton passing through said hole and contacting the upper side of the battery. A pressure switch which allows the circuit for the hearing aid to be closed is located under the battery, which can be moved in axial direction against a certain spring tension by the pushbutton. In addition, it is known from this patent that the volume can also be adjusted by pressing the pushbutton for a shorter or longer time.
However, this known design is so complex and complicated that the striven for or realizable reduction in the size of the instrument appears to be placed in doubt.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention uses a simpler and much more elegant method in order to permit simple activation of a large number of the hearing aid functions by means of the battery cover in addition to normal switching on of the instrument.
In order to realize this, the hearing aid designed in accordance with the invention is characterized in that it is provided with an electronic control logic and with a contact arrangement which can be actuated by pressure on the cover in closed position or the battery lid in closed position, whereby the control logic can be activated by said contact arrangement.
The arrangement is preferably such that the contact arrangement can be actuated by a spring-loaded movement of the battery cover beyond the normal closed position.
Further characteristics of the invention are described in the other claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The invention will now be described in greater detail on the basis of example embodiments in conjunction with the enclosed drawings.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows an initial example embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 2 shows another example embodiment of the invention, and
FIG. 3 a further example embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows in purely schematic form a hearing aid, for example an in-the-ear hearing aid 1, which, in addition to the normal amplifier circuit, a transmission section 2 in the housing 3 located between the microphone and earphone next to the battery 4 contained a battery compartment, which can be closed by a cover 5 articulated at the housing, is provided with an electronic control logic 6, which can be activated by way of a contact arrangement 7 by exerting pressure on the cover in its closed position.
For this purpose, the cover 5 is provided on its inner side with a metallically conductive connection 8, which is conductively connected on one side with one terminal of the battery by way of a preferably resilient contact. This resilient contact 9 contacts, for example, the s
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patent: 4425481 (1984-01-01), Mansgold et al.
patent: 4634815 (1987-01-01), Marquis
patent: 4941180 (1990-07-01), Buettner
patent: 5201007 (1993-04-01), Ward et al.
patent: 5201008 (1993-04-01), Arndt et al.
patent: 5588064 (1996-12-01), McSwiggen et al.
patent: 5687242 (1997-11-01), Iburg
Topholm & Westermann ApS
Tran Sinh
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