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US 7,024,012 B2Granted
Compact modular in-the-ear hearing aid
AssigneeWidex A/S
InventorJørgen Mejner Olsen
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AssigneeWidex A/S
InventorJørgen Mejner Olsen
Estimating the term…
A modular hearing aid for arrangement in a user's ear comprises a hollow plug (1) adapted to the ear canal and having a generally irregular conical shape and an exterior opening which is covered by a faceplate (2), in which a recess (8) is formed for removable arrangement of a battery (23) as well as an electronic module (4) comprising a microphone part (5), a signal processing part (6) and a sound reproducer (7). The recess (8) comprises a first region (9) for insertion of the battery (23) and a second region (10) coherent with the first region for placing of a socket part (11) of the electronic module (4), and at the edge of the recess (8) the faceplate (2) is formed with engaging means (12–16) for the socket part (11), whereas further parts of the electronic module (4) are placed below the faceplate (2). The recess (8) is formed such that at removal of the battery (23) the first and second regions (9, 10) together allow passage also of said further parts (6,7) for removal of the complete electronic module.
A method of manufacturing a hearing aid, comprising the steps of providing a shell, said shell being adapted to the ear canal of a user and having an outward opening, providing a faceplate, said faceplate having a recess, joining said faceplate to said shell to cover said outward opening and to define a housing, adapting an outer contour of said faceplate according to a contour of said shell, providing an electronic module, said electronic module having components for sound reception, signal processing and sound reproduction, and mounting said electronic module in said housing by passing at least part of said electronic module through said recess and into said housing and engaging said electronic module with said housing.
A method of manufacturing a hearing aid housing, comprising the steps of providing a shell, said shell being adapted to the ear canal of a user and having an outward opening, providing a faceplate, said faceplate having a recess, said recess having a first region for the insertion of a battery and a second region contiguous with said first region for receiving a socket part of an electronic module, joining said faceplate to said shell to cover said outward opening and to define a housing, and adapting an outer con-tour of said faceplate according to a contour of said shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.