SEALING SLEEVE FOR PROTECTION OF COMPONENTS IN A HEARING DEVICE

Abstract

Described is a hearing device, wherein the engine module is enfolded in an elastic sealing sleeve. The sealing sleeve is configured to fit tightly on the engine module and comprises a sleeve opening configured for allowing the engine module to pass through during assembly or disassembly of the hearing device, and a rigid housing shell covers at least part of the elastic sealing sleeve.

Claims

1. A head-wearable hearing device configured for placement at, or in, an ear of a user, the hearing device comprising: an engine module comprising a plurality of electronic components being held in place at least partly by a rigid frame; an elastic sealing sleeve, made of a soft and compliant material, being configured to fit tightly on the engine module, the sealing sleeve comprising a sleeve opening configured for allowing the engine module to pass through during assembly or disassembly of the hearing device; wherein the hearing device further comprises a rigid housing shell covering at least a part of the elastic sealing sleeve.

2. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the rigid housing shell covers an entirety of the sealing sleeve.

3. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic components comprises a microphone, wherein the sealing sleeve further comprises a microphone opening, and wherein the microphone is configured to receive sound via the microphone opening at the sealing sleeve.

4. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electronic components comprises a rechargeable battery.

5. The head-wearable hearing device according claim 4, wherein the rechargeable battery is configured to have a voltage, when unused and fully charged, of at least 3V.

6. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing sleeve is removeable from the engine module without the use of one or more tools.

7. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the elastic sealing sleeve is anywhere between 0.03 mm and 2.0 mm.

8. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the elastic sealing sleeve is anywhere between 0.08 mm and 1.0 mm.

9. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein a thickness of the elastic sealing sleeve is anywhere between 0.1 and 0.6 mm.

10. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sealing sleeve is made of silicone, rubber, or TPE.

11. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sealing sleeve comprises one or more microphone openings, and wherein the sleeve opening and the one or more microphone openings are the only openings at the elastic sealing sleeve.

12. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sealing sleeve also comprises a connection opening and one or more microphone openings, and wherein the sleeve opening, the connection opening, and the one or more microphone openings are the only openings at the elastic sealing sleeve.

13. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic sealing sleeve is manufactured as a single mold.

14. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the rigid frame comprises a protrusion configured to extend at least partly through the sleeve opening to plug the opening.

15. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 1, wherein the head-wearable hearing device is an outside hearing aid

16. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 15, wherein the outside hearing aid comprises a behind-the-ear hearing aid or a receiver-in-ear hearing aid.

17. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 15, wherein the sealing sleeve comprises a connection opening configured to allow connection between one or more of the electronic components and one or more components outside the hearing device.

18. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 17, wherein the one or more components comprise an earmold or a receiver.

19. The head-wearable hearing device according to claim 17, further comprising a tubular part mounted on the rigid housing shell and configured to allow the one or more of the electronic components to be connected to the one or more components outside the hearing device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an embodiment of an elastic sealing sleeve for enfolding an engine module of a head-wearable hearing device;

[0034] FIG. 2 is an illustration of electronic components that may be present in an engine module;

[0035] FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of an engine module comprising a rigid frame holding electronic components;

[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sealing sleeve enfolding an engine module; and

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a head-wearable hearing device with a sealing sleeve enfolding an engine module and a rigid housing shell covering the sealing sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Various embodiments are described hereinafter with reference to the figures. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Like elements will, thus, not be described in detail with respect to the description of each figure. It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the claimed invention or as a limitation on the scope of the claimed invention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment needs not have all the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and can be practiced in any other embodiments even if not so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described.

[0039] Various aspects and embodiments of a sealing sleeve for enfolding an engine module and a head-wearable hearing device comprising a sealing sleeve as disclosed herein will now be described with reference to the figures.

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an elastic sealing sleeve 1 for use with an engine module of a head-wearable hearing device; The sealing sleeve 1 has a sleeve opening 14 through which an engine module 4 can be passed through during assembly or disassembly of the hearing device.

[0041] An engine module 4 of a head-wearable hearing devices comprises a number of electronic components 6, see FIGS. 2 and 3, such as e.g. one or more batteries 24, microphones 10, printed circuit board circuitry, processors, radio receiver(s), Bluetooth™ transceiver(s), etc., which can be shielded by a sealing sleeve 1 as the one shown in FIG. 1.

[0042] During assembly, the engine module 4 is inserted into the sealing sleeve 1 through the sleeve opening 14 by stretching the elastic material and rolling it over the engine module 4 to enfold it. The sealing sleeve 1 has to be manufactured to suit the specific engine module 4 that it will enfold so that it will fit tightly and such that further openings in the sealing sleeve 1 will match the needs of the specific engine module 4. An advantage of the sealing sleeve is that no complex tools, such as specialized screwdrivers etc. or the like, are needed to remove or add the sealing sleeve.

[0043] The sealing sleeve 1 in FIG. 1 has two microphone openings 16, which are configured to allow sound to travel to a microphone input 12 comprised in an engine module 4 via the microphone openings 16.

[0044] The sealing sleeve 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a sealing sleeve suitable for enfolding an engine module 4 of an outside hearing aid, where the electronic components 6 in the engine module 4 need to be connected to components that reside outside the hearing device, such as components that reside in the ear of a user during use. To facilitate wired connection between the electronic components 6 of the engine module 4 and components residing in the ear of the user, the sealing sleeve 1 has a connection opening 22.

[0045] The sealing sleeve 1 is always manufactured to fit an engine module 4 having a particular form factor such that the sealing sleeve 1 will fit tightly on the engine module 4 after assembly.

[0046] FIG. 2 is an illustration of various electronic components 6 that may be present in an engine module 4 of a hearing device. Specifically shown is: two microphones 10 having microphone inputs 12, an LED 28 and a battery 24. The microphones 10 shown in FIG. 2 are mounted on a printed circuit board surface and are each adapted to receive incoming sound via a microphone input 12 (only one microphone input 12 is visible in FIG. 2).

[0047] In FIG. 3 is shown a rigid frame 8 holding electronic components 6 such as those shown in FIG. 2 in place in an engine module 4. The rigid frame 8 has a protrusion 20, which is configured to fit into the sleeve opening 14 in a sealing sleeve 1, as shown in FIG. 4. The microphone input 12 and LED 28 are not covered by the rigid frame 8, which has an open structure.

[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sealing sleeve 1 enfolding an engine module 4. The sealing sleeve 1 of FIG. 4 is suitable for an outside hearing aid, such as a behind-the-ear or receiver-in-ear type hearing aid, where the engine module 4 sits behind the ear of the user during use and a tube extends between the hearing aid to a custom earmold that fits inside the user's ear canal, where it will reside during use.

[0049] A protrusion 20 on the rigid frame 8, which holds the electronic components 6 in the engine module 4, extends at least partly through the sleeve opening 14 such that the sleeve opening 14 is sealed by the pressure from the tight-fitting sealing sleeve 1.

[0050] Two microphone openings 16 in the sealing sleeve 1 are configured to allow sound to pass from the outside to a microphone input 12 in the engine module 4, which is enfolded by the sealing sleeve 1. The microphone openings 16 may be fitted with one or more filters or have in-built filters, which allow sound to pass, but act to keep out dirt, grease, etc. from the engine module 4.

[0051] A connection opening 22 in the sealing sleeve 1 is configured to allow the tube to connect one or more of the electronic components 6 in the engine module 4 to one or more components outside the engine module 4. As an example, a receiver-in-ear hearing aid usually has wiring between the receiver, which is in the ear of the user during use, and a processor and/or other electronic component(s) within the engine module. The connection opening 22 is sealed at least partly by the tube extending between the hearing aid and the earmold.

[0052] The engine module 4 can be almost completely sealed off from the environment by the sealing sleeve 1. Thus, the sealing sleeve 1 acts to inhibit or even prevent humidity from getting in contact with the electronic components 6 of the engine module 4, which reduces or prevents corrosion of the metallic parts. Further, grit, dust, ear wax, grease, etc. is partially or wholly prevented from entering the engine module 4, which extends the lifetime of the electronic components 6 within. All embodiments of the sealing sleeve 1 fit tightly around the engine module 4 it is made for and therefore it requires some effort to remove the sealing sleeve 1 thus hindering a user of the hearing device from accessing the engine module 4 during normal use of the hearing device. At the same time, a technician can easily access the engine module 4 by simply extracting the engine module 4 from the elastic sealing sleeve 1. In addition, the sealing sleeve 1 may also act to somewhat reduce shock due to the hearing device being dropped or for other reasons sustaining an impact, which could cause one or more of the electronic components 6 in the engine module 4 to stop functioning.

[0053] In FIG. 5 is shown an embodiment of a head-wearable hearing device, where the rigid housing shell 18 covers the sealing sleeve in its entirety. Due to the protection provided by the sealing sleeve 1, the rigid housing shell 18 is not alone in safeguarding the engine module 4 and can be made e.g. to be lighter and/or from a different material compared to a hard shell that is alone in protecting the engine module 4. This also allows the rigid housing shell 18 to have a different construction from a hard shell that must safeguard the engine module 4 alone and the rigid housing shell 18 is more flexible with respect to satisfying design purposes other than protection of the engine module 4.

[0054] In FIG. 5 can also be seen corresponding microphone openings 30 in the housing shell, which align with microphone openings 16 in the sealing sleeve 1, as seen in FIG. 4.

[0055] Also shown in FIG. 5 is a tube 26 for connecting one or more of the electronic components in the engine module to one or more components outside the engine module. The connection opening 22 in the sealing sleeve, seen in FIG. 4, which allows for a wired connection out of the engine module 4 is protected by the tubular part 26, also known as a hook, mounted on the housing shell 18. The tubular part 26 shown in FIG. 5 is round, but may in other embodiments have a different cross-section such as round, oval, square, etc.

[0056] Some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing, but it should be stressed that the claimed invention is not limited to these, but may be embodied in other ways within the subject matter defined in the claims.

[0057] In the claims enumerating several features, some or all of these features may be embodied by one and the same element, component or item. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims or described in different embodiments does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0058] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, elements, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, steps, components or groups thereof.

[0059] Although particular features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed invention, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0060] 1 sealing sleeve [0061] 2 head-wearable hearing device [0062] 4 engine module [0063] 6 electronic components [0064] 8 frame [0065] 10 microphone [0066] 12 microphone input [0067] 14 sleeve opening [0068] 16 microphone opening [0069] 18 housing shell [0070] 20 protrusion [0071] 22 connection opening [0072] 24 battery [0073] 26 tube [0074] 28 LED [0075] 30 microphone opening in housing shell