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US 6,674,869 B2Granted
Hearing-aid assembly using folded flex circuits
AssigneeHEI, Inc.
InventorTheodore T. Paczkowski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Hearing aids improve not only the hearing, but the lives of millions. Unfortunately, far too many sufferers of hearing loss forego the benefits of hearing aids because of size and cost of the devices. To address this need, the present inventor devised hearing-aid circuit modules that use folded flexible circuits. The modules save space and reduce the cost of manufacturing hearing aids.
Claims15
A hearing-aid assembly comprising:
- a deformable disk having a major surface;
- a container attached or mounted to the deformable disk;
- a flexible circuit module at least partially within the container and including:
- at least first, second, and third unfolded regions and a first folded region between the first and second unfolded regions and a second folded region between the second and third unfolded regions;
- one or more input-output connections mounted to one or more of the unfolded regions;
- first and second signal processing chips mounted to the first and second unfolded regions and electrically coupled to the one or more of the input-output connections;
- a microphone coupled to at least one of the input-output connections;
- and
- a receiver coupled to at least another one of the input-output connections.
6 more elements
A hearing-aid assembly comprising:
- a deformable material structure for use in forming an earshell for a hearing aid;
- a flexible circuit module positioned on the deformable material structure and including:
- at least first, second, and third unfolded regions and a first folded region between the first and second unfolded regions and a second folded region between the second and third unfolded regions;
- one or more input-output connections mounted to one or more of the unfolded regions;
- first and second components mounted to the first and second unfolded regions and electrically coupled to the one or more of the input-output connections;
- a microphone coupled to at least one of the input-output connections;
- and
- a receiver coupled to at least another one of the input-output connections,
- wherein the deformable material structure includes an integral container for the flexible circuit module.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.