# US 2021/0243538 A1 · Hearing aid including induction coil > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0243538 A1 - Document ID: US20210243538A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/162,730 - Filed: 2021-01-29 - Published: 2021-08-05 - Earliest claimed: 2020-01-31 - Assignees: Oticon A/S - Applicants: Oticon A/S - Inventors: Poul HENRIKSEN; Mikkel NIELSEN - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210243538A1 ## CPC - H04R 25/602: {of batteries} - B29C 64/393: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B33Y 80/00: Products made by additive manufacturing - G06F 30/10: Geometric CAD - H01F 38/14: Inductive couplings - H02J 7/02: for charging batteries from AC mains by converters - H02J 50/10: using inductive coupling - H02J 50/90: involving detection or optimisation of position, e.g. alignment - H04B 5/26: using coils - H04B 5/79: for data transfer in combination with power transfer - H04R 1/1025: Accumulators specially adapted for earpieces; Arrangements specially adapted for charging thereof - H04R 25/552: {Binaural} - H04R 25/554: {using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils} - H04R 25/604: {of acoustic or vibrational transducers} - H04R 25/658: {Manufacture of housing parts} - B29L 2031/753: {Medical equipment; Accessories therefor (bloodbags, medical bags B29L2031/7148; artificial eyes B29L2011/0008)} - H02J 7/42: with electronic devices having internal batteries, e.g. mobile phones - H04R 25/652: {Ear tips; Ear moulds (hybrid ear moulds or post-processing thereof for their customisation H04R25/659)} - H04R 2225/025: In the ear hearing aids [ITE] hearing aids - H04R 2225/31: Aspects of the use of accumulators in hearing aids, e.g. rechargeable batteries or fuel cells - H04R 2225/51: Aspects of antennas or their circuitry in or for hearing aids - H04R 2225/77: Design aspects, e.g. CAD, of hearing aid tips, moulds or housings - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) - B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00) - B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H01F: MAGNETS; INDUCTANCES; TRANSFORMERS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR MAGNETIC PROPERTIES - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - H04B: TRANSMISSION - B29L: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES ## Abstract There is presented a hearing aid configured to be arranged at least partly in the ear canal of a specific person, the hearing aid comprising a faceplate, a custom ear shell, adapted to fit or match with the ear canal of a specific person, the custom ear shell connected to the faceplate, a rechargeable battery, an induction coil for wireless charging of the rechargeable battery, wherein the induction coil is fixed to the ear shell and furthermore a method for providing a hearing aid, said method comprising obtaining data representative of a shape and/or size of an ear canal of a specific person, establishing a digital model of the custom shell of the hearing aid for said ear canal based on said data, wherein said providing includes determining a position and/or orientation of an induction coil in an inner space of said ear shell, which position and/or orientation increases or maximizes a distance from the outer ear to the faceplate. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A hearing aid configured to be arranged at least partly in the ear canal of a specific person, the comprising: A faceplate, A custom ear shell, adapted to at least partly fit the ear canal of the specific person, the custom ear shell being connected to the faceplate, A rechargeable battery enclosed in the faceplate and custom ear shell, and An induction coil, such as a hearing aid induction coil, for wireless charging of the rechargeable battery, the induction coil being arranged at least partly in contact with the ear shell, wherein the induction coil is arranged as a printed material or deposited material on a flexible substrate. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the induction coil is separate from the rechargeable battery. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the material of the flexible substrate has a Young's modulus being lower than a Young's modulus of the material of the ear shell and/or the flexible substrate having thickness being smaller than a thickness of the ear shell. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the induction coil is arranged with respect to the ear shell so that, when the hearing aid is placed on a planar horizontal surface, an orientation of the hearing aid will have a preference for resulting in the center of gravity being closest to the surface. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the induction coil is fixed to the ear shell independently of the faceplate, such as glued to the ear shell and/or fixed to the ear shell via an interference fit and/or via a protruding structure on the inner surface of the ear shell and/or via a structure attached to the inner surface of the ear shell. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the induction coil is fixed exclusively to the ear shell, such as glued to the ear shell and/or fixed to the ear shell via an interference fit and/or via a protruding structure on the inner surface of the ear shell and/or via a structure attached to the inner surface of the ear shell. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein a main axis of the induction coil, such as an axis for which the induction coil has a minimum moment of inertia, is neither orthogonal nor parallel with a plane of the faceplate, such as a best-fit mathematical plane with respect to the faceplate, such as wherein an angle between said axis and said plane is within [5°; 85°], such as within [10°; 80°], such as within [20°; 70°], such as within [30°; 60°]. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the hearing aid comprises an antenna configured for radiowave communication with an external unit, such as comprises an antenna configured for high frequency wireless communication, such as comprises an antenna configured with an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the faceplate comprises one or more microphones, such as one microphone, such as two microphones. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) A plurality or set of the hearing aids according to claim 1, such as wherein the electronic components are identical across the plurality of hearing aids, wherein the shape and/or size of the ear shells are different with respect to each other, such as wherein the shape and/or size of the ear shells are shaped for respective left and right ears of a specific person, wherein the ear shells have different geometries with respect to each other, and wherein the positions and/or orientations of the induction coils with respect to the respective faceplate are different with respect to each other. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) A binaural hearing aid system comprising two hearing aids according to claim 1. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A system comprising: a hearing aid according to claim 1, a charger comprising a charger induction coil, wherein, when the hearing aid is positioned on/in the charger, the orientation of the hearing aid induction coil with respect to the ear shell is arranged so that the hearing aid induction coil have or has an orientation and/or placement being substantially identical to, such as identical to, an orientation and/or placement resulting in maximum induced current for a magnetic charging field from the charger induction coil upon said magnetic charging field changing magnitude. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) A method for providing a hearing aid, such as a hearing aid according to claim 1, said method comprising: Obtaining data, such as three-dimensional data, representative of a shape and/or size of an ear canal of a specific person, such as an ear canal running at least partially from the outer ear to the middle ear, establishing a digital model of the custom shell of the hearing aid for said ear canal at least partly based on said data, wherein said establishing includes determining a position and/or orientation of an induction coil in an inner space of said ear shell. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) A method for providing a hearing aid according to claim 13 and further comprising, such as comprising in this order: Obtaining the data, such as three-dimensional data, representative of an ear shell for said ear canal, Providing the ear shell, such as via three-dimensional printing according to said data representative of an ear shell for said ear canal, Attaching the induction coil to the ear shell, or arranging the induction coil in the ear shell Attaching a faceplate to/at the ear shell.