[0001] The present invention relates to a receiver/loudspeaker adapted for being mounted
in a hearing aid, and comprising a receiver housing having a first substantially plane
side face with a sound opening, and a filter holder with a filter, such as a cerumen
filter, and where the filter holder comprises a substantially plane bottom face and
a sound channel extending between a first opening arranged in the substantially plane
bottom face, and a second opening adapted for releasably mounting of the filter in
the filter holder in the sound channel.
[0002] The invention also relates to a hearing aid comprising such a receiver.
Description of related art
[0003] Hearing aids of the above mentioned kind are known in a lot of different embodiments,
where the filter is mostly used as a wax guard with the primary purpose of avoiding
ear wax from migrating into the receiver.
[0004] Especially in relation to ITE "In The Ear" hearing aids there is an ongoing research
and development with respect to provide ITE hearing aids with optimal sound quality
and performance on the one hand, and on the other hand providing a hearing aid being
as discrete as possible in the ear of the user. This requires that the components
of the hearing aid, such as e.g. the receiver, the filter and its socket, and the
electronics used for providing the audible signal are to be arranged in ever smaller
spaces, and at the same time providing good sound quality.
Summary of the invention
[0005] The purpose of the present invention is therefore to provide a hearing aid where
especially the receiver and the filter socket requires reduced volume in a hearing
aid.
[0006] This is obtained with the hearing aid mentioned in the introduction, and where the
filter holder is fastened to the receiver housing, so that the substantially plane
bottom plate of the filter holder abuts the substantially plane side face of the receiver
housing, and so that the sound opening is aligned with the first opening. Thereby
the sound channel between the filter and the receiver is kept very short, so that
the required length of the hearing aid is reduced.
[0007] In a preferred embodiment the substantially plane bottom plate is fastened to the
first substantially plane side face of the receiver housing.
[0008] Furthermore the filter holder may preferably be fastened to the receiver housing
by gluing, soldering or welding.
[0009] The receiver housing may in a preferred embodiment extend within a substantially
uniform rectangular cross section in all planes parallel to the first substantially
plane side face, and the filter holder may have a cylindrical outer surface defining
an outer diameter, and where the diagonal dimension of the substantially uniform cross
section of the receiver housing is smaller than the outer diameter of the filter holder.
[0010] In a further preferred embodiment the filter holder defines a direction of detachment
of the filter from the filter socket, and the receiver/loudspeaker defines a primary
direction of sound outlet being perpendicular to the substantially plane side face,
and wherein the direction of detachment is arranged obliquely with respect to the
primary direction of sound outlet, so that the receiver/loudspeaker is easy to build
into a number of different hearing aids.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment the angle between the direction of detachment and the primary
direction of sound is within the range from 5° to 45° and preferably in the range
from 10° to 30°.
[0012] A hearing aid according to the invention comprises a hearing aid housing with a receiver
as mentioned above. The hearing aid housing comprises an outer surface and an internal
cavity adapted for containing the receiver and the hearing aid housing comprises a
filter socket wherein the filter holder is releasably mounted, so that the filter
holder provides a sound channel extending through the filter between the outer surface
and the receiver housing.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the hearing aid according to the invention the filter
socket and the receiver are relatively sized in order to allow for insertion of the
receiver housing through the channel and into the internal cavity, when the filter
is dismantled from the filter socket.
[0014] In this relation the filter holder may in one preferred embodiment be permanently
fastened to the receiver housing by gluing, soldering or welding.
[0015] In an alternative embodiment the filter holder may be releasably attached to the
receiver housing with a press fit, a frictional fit, or by means of heat releasable
glue.
Brief description of the drawings
[0016] In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference
to embodiments shown by the enclosed figures. It should be emphasized that the embodiments
shown are used for example purposes only and should not be used to limit the scope
of the invention.
Fig. 1: Is a perspective view of a receiver according to the invention.
Fig. 2: is a side view of the receiver shown in figure 1.
Fig. 3: Is a principle drawing showing a cross section of a hearing aid according
to the invention.
Fig. 4: Shows the receiver assembly shown in fig. 3.
Fig. 5: Is a perspective view of the receiver assembly shown in fig. 3 and 4.
Fig. 6: Is a principle drawing showing a cross section of another embodiment of a
hearing aid according to the invention.
Fig. 7: Shows the receiver assembly shown in fig. 6.
Fig. 8 Is a perspective view of the receiver assembly shown in fig. 6 and 7.
Detailed description of the embodiments
[0017] Fig. 1 and 2 shows a perspective view and a side view of one embodiment of a receiver
according to the invention. The receiver comprises a receiver housing 5 integral with
a filter holder 6 fixed to a side face 12 of the receiver housing 5.
[0018] Fig. 3 and 6 are principle drawings showing a cross section through hearing aids
according to different embodiments of the invention, These hearing aids are both of
the ITE (in the ear) type being adapted for being positioned completely in the ear
of the user, but it will be apparent to the skilled person that the invention will
also be applicable to other types of hearing aids being only partly positioned in
the ear of the user.
[0019] The hearing aids shown in figure 3 and 6 has a hearing aid housing 1 being closed
at one end by a face plate 2, which will normally be the only visible part of the
hearing aid, when the hearing aid is positioned in the ear of a user. Thereby the
hearing aid housing 1 and the face plate 2 encloses an internal cavity 8.
[0020] In hearing aids of the ITE type all functional devices, such as electronics 3, batteries
(not shown), wiring 4, a microphone (not shown), a receiver housing 5 and a cerumen
filter holder 6 necessary for the function of the hearing aid have to be positioned
in the narrow space provided by the internal cavity 8 in the hearing aid housing 1,
and therefore it is important to have a high degree of freedom with respect to positioning
each device in an optimal position in order to optimally utilize the space in the
hearing aid housing 1.
[0021] As it is apparent to the skilled person what functional devices are necessary or
nice to have in an ITE hearing aid, then only the electronics 3, the wiring 4, the
cerumen filter holder 6 and the receiver housing 5 are shown in fig. 3 and fig. 6.
Furthermore fig. 3 shows the filter holder without a filter unit mounted therein,
whereas fig. 6 shows that a filter unit 11 is mounted in the filter holder 6.
[0022] Normally the hearing aid housing 1 further comprises e.g. a pressure equalizing channel
7 extending from the internal cavity 8 and to the outer surface 9 on the hearing aid
housing 1. This pressure equalizing channel 7 must be arranged so that it is able
to equalize pressure differences between the faceplate 2 at the outside of the hearing
aid and the closed space in the ear of the user carrying the hearing aid, and thereby
further reducing the freedom to position the functional devices in the internal cavity
8 of the hearing aid housing 1.
[0023] In the hearing aid housing 1 a cerumen filter socket 13 is arranged in the end of
the hearing aid housing facing the inside of the ear of the user, and the filter holder
6 is mounted in the filter socket 13, having a sound channel 10 extending between
the filter holder 6 and the receiver housing 5.
[0024] The filter holder 6 shown in fig. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 is made from by deep drawing a
sheet of metal to the shape shown in the figures, and is thereafter fixed to the plane
side face 12 of the receiver housing 5 by welding, gluing or soldering. In the embodiment
shown in fig. 6, 7 and 8 the filter holder 6 is as an alternative made from a plastic
material, e.g. by injection moulding, and the filter holder 6 is thereafter mounted
on the receiver housing 5 by means of a friction fit, a snap fit or by gluing.
[0025] Thereby the receiver housing 5 and the filter holder 6 forms a sturdy connection
allowing the receiver housing 5 to be suspended only by the filter holder 6.
[0026] According to the shown embodiments of the invention the filter socket 6 is adapted
for insertion and detachment of a filter unit 11, such as a cerumen filter, and so
that the filter unit 11 can be inserted or detached in a direction of detachment as
shown by the dotted line A in fig. 4 and 7, and the receiver housing 5 has a plane
side face 12 with a sound exit opening defining a primary direction of the sound outlet
from the receiver housing 5 being perpendicular to the plane side face 12 as shown
by the dotted line B in fig. 2 and 5.
[0027] In order to provide the best options for positioning the filter/receiver assembly
in the hearing aid housing 1, so that the receiver housing 5 requires as little space
as possible in the internal cavity 8, then the filter holder 6, the sound channel
10, and the receiver housing 5 are designed so that the direction A of detachment
is arranged obliquely to the primary direction B of the sound outlet.
[0028] It will, however, be apparent to the skilled person that for many applications the
embodiment of the receiver shown in fig. 1 and 2, where the filter holder 6 is arranged
such that the primary direction of detachment is perpendicular to the sound outlet
on the side face 12 of the receiver housing 5, will be the most compact one.
[0029] The filter/filter holder 6 is mounted in the filter socket 13 in the hearing aid
housing 1, and the filter socket 13 provides a channel to the internal cavity 8 from
the outside of the hearing aid housing 1. According to the invention this passage
is made sufficiently large to allow for insertion of the receiver into the internal
cavity 8 through the channel.
[0030] Furthermore the disclosed embodiments of a hearing aid according to the invention
shows that the receiver housing 5 is mounted on the filter holder 6 which is mounted
in the filter socket 13. As shown in the figures this provides the option of having
the receiver 5 suspended only by the filter holder 6, so that it does not touch any
parts of the hearing aid housing 1.
1. A receiver adapted for being mounted in a hearing aid, the receiver comprising a receiver
housing having a first substantially plane side face with a sound opening and a filter
holder with a filter, such as a cerumen filter, the filter holder comprising a substantially
plane bottom face and a sound channel extending between a first opening arranged in
the substantially plane bottom face, and a second opening adapted for releasably mounting
of the filter in the filter holder in the sound channel, wherein the filter holder
is fastened to the receiver housing in such a way that the substantially plane bottom
plate of the filter holder abuts the substantially plane side face of the receiver
housing and the sound channel is aligned with the first opening.
2. A receiver according to claim 1, where the substantially plane bottom plate is fastened
to the first substantially plane side face of the receiver housing.
3. A receiver according to claim 2, where the filter holder is fastened to the receiver
housing by gluing, soldering or welding.
4. A receiver according to claim 1, wherein the receiver housing extends within a substantially
uniform rectangular cross section in all planes parallel to the first substantially
plane side face, the filter holder has an outer surface conforming to the receiver
housing and defining an outer opening, and the diagonal dimension of the substantially
uniform cross section of the receiver housing is smaller than the outer opening of
the filter holder.
5. A receiver according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the filter holder
defines a direction of detachment of the filter from the filter socket, the receiver
defines a primary direction of a sound outlet being perpendicular to the substantially
plane side face, and wherein the direction of detachment is arranged obliquely with
respect to the primary direction of the sound outlet.
6. A receiver according to claim 5, wherein the angle between the direction of detachment
and the primary direction of sound is within the range from 5° to 45° and preferably
in the range from 10° to 30°.
7. A hearing aid comprising a hearing aid housing with a receiver according to one or
more of the preceding claims, wherein the hearing aid housing comprises an outer surface
and an internal cavity adapted for containing the receiver and where the hearing aid
housing comprises a filter socket wherein the filter holder is releasably mounted,
so that the filter holder provides a sound channel extending through the filter between
the outer surface and the receiver housing.
8. A hearing aid according to claim 7, wherein the filter socket and the receiver are
relatively sized in order to allow for insertion of the receiver housing through the
channel and into the internal cavity, when the filter is dismantled from the filter
socket.
9. A hearing aid according to claim 7 or 8, where the filter holder is permanently fastened
to the receiver housing by gluing, soldering or welding.
10. A hearing aid according to claim 7 or 8, where the filter holder is releasably attached
to the receiver housing with a press fit, a frictional fit, or by means of heat releasable
glue.