Hearing aid adapted for embedded electronics

• US 10,051,390 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2017
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Starkey Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Starkey Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Link, Douglas F., Prchal, David, Higgins, Sidney A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Joshi, Sunita
• Application Number:
  US15/595,302
• Publication Number:
  US 20170318402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 381312-330, 29594
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/603 of mechanical or electronic switches or control elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/604 of acoustic or vibrational transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/609 of circuitry of electronic switches or control elements H04R25/603
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/65 Housing parts, e.g. shells, tips or moulds, or their manufacture

Abstract

A hearing aid comprising a microphone, a receiver, hearing aid electronics coupled to the microphone and the receiver, and conductive traces overlaying an insulator, the conductive traces configured to interconnect the hearing aid electronics and to follow non-planar contours of the insulator. Examples are provided wherein the insulator includes a hearing aid housing.

Claims

1. A hearing aid comprising:

a microphone;

a receiver;

hearing aid electronics coupled to the microphone and the receiver; and

conductive traces overlaying an insulator, the conductive traces provided using Molded Interconnect Device (MID) technology and configured to interconnect the hearing aid electronics and to follow non-planar contours of the insulator, wherein the insulator includes a hearing aid housing and wherein the hearing aid housing includes a plurality of internal cavities and the conductive traces include an inter-cavity trace configured to electrically interconnect hearing aid electronics disposed within at least two different cavities of the hearing aid housing.

2. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing electronics include a plurality of electronic devices, and

wherein an electronic device of the plurality of electronic devices is embedded in the insulator and coupled to one or more of the conductive traces.

3. The hearing aid of claim 2, wherein the electronic device includes a passive surface mount device.

4. The hearing aid of claim 2, wherein the electronic device includes an active device.

5. The hearing aid of claim 2, further comprising conductive silicone to couple the electronic device to the one or more conductive traces.

6. The hearing aid of claim 1, comprising a contact pad trace array integrated with the insulator, the contact pad trace array having a contact array pattern coupled to the conductive traces and configured to receive an electrical component having a ball grid array (BGA) type packaging.

7. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the insulator includes plastic.

8. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the insulator includes ceramic.

9. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid housing is a behind-the-ear housing.

10. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid housing is an in-the-ear housing.

11. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid housing is an in-the-canal housing.

12. The hearing aid of claim 1, wherein the hearing aid housing is a completely-in-the-canal housing.

13. A method of manufacturing a hearing aid, the method comprising:

providing a housing for the hearing aid, the housing including integrated electrical components embedded within a sidewall of the housing; and

providing multi-axis conductive traces along contours of the sidewall of the housing using Molded Interconnect Device (MID) technology, the conductive traces overlaying an insulator and following non-planar contours of the insulator, the conductive traces configured to connect the integrated electrical components to hearing aid electronics within the housing using the conductive traces, wherein the housing includes a plurality of internal cavities and the conductive traces include an inter-cavity trace configured to electrically interconnect hearing aid electronics disposed within at least two different cavities of the housing.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the integrated electronic components include a passive surface mount device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the integrated electronic components includes an active device.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising integrating a contact pad trace array with the insulator, the contact pad trace array having a contact array pattern coupled to the conductive traces and configured to receive an electrical component having a ball grid array (BGA) type packaging.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the insulator includes plastic.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the insulator includes ceramic.