Manufacturing methods and systems for rapid production of hearing-aid shells
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing an in-the-ear shell, comprising the steps of:
- automatically generating a first three-dimensional digital model of a surface that describes a shape of an ear canal of a subject as a 2-manifold surface having zero or nonzero functional boundary, from captured three-dimensional data;
generating a second three-dimensional digital model of a thickened in-the-ear shell from the first three-dimensional digital model;
printing the second three-dimensional digital model as an in-the-ear shell; and
performing quality assurance by comparing at least two of the first three-dimensional digital model, the second three-dimensional digital model and a third three-dimensional digital model derived from the printed in-the-ear shell.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus and computer program products provide efficient techniques for designing and printing shells of hearing-aid devices with a high degree of quality assurance and reliability and with a reduced number of manual and time consuming production steps and operations. These techniques also preferably provide hearing-aid shells having internal volumes that can approach a maximum allowable ratio of internal volume relative to external volume. These high internal volumes facilitate the inclusion of hearing-aid electrical components having higher degrees of functionality and/or the use of smaller and less conspicuous hearing-aid shells. A preferred method includes operations to generate a watertight digital model of a hearing-aid shell by thickening a three-dimensional digital model of a shell surface in a manner that eliminates self-intersections and results in a thickened model having an internal volume that is a high percentage of an external volume of the model. This thickening operation preferably includes nonuniformly thickening the digital model of a shell surface about a directed path that identifies a location of an undersurface hearing-aid vent. This directed path may be drawn on the shell surface by a technician (e.g., audiologist) or computer-aided design operator, for example. Operations are then preferably performed to generate a digital model of an undersurface hearing-aid vent in the thickened model of the shell surface, at a location proximate the directed path.
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Citations
116 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing an in-the-ear shell, comprising the steps of:
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automatically generating a first three-dimensional digital model of a surface that describes a shape of an ear canal of a subject as a 2-manifold surface having zero or nonzero functional boundary, from captured three-dimensional data;
generating a second three-dimensional digital model of a thickened in-the-ear shell from the first three-dimensional digital model;
printing the second three-dimensional digital model as an in-the-ear shell; and
performing quality assurance by comparing at least two of the first three-dimensional digital model, the second three-dimensional digital model and a third three-dimensional digital model derived from the printed in-the-ear shell. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of manufacturing an in-the-ear shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a three-dimensional digital model of an in-the-ear shell surface from scan data; and
generating a thickened model of the in-the-ear shell from the three-dimensional digital model of an in-the-ear shell surface. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating scan data as a point cloud representation of a non star-shaped surface that describes a shape of an ear canal;
generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from scan data by;
processing the point cloud representation using a wrap function that, independent of connectivity information linking points in the point cloud representation by edges and triangles, automatically converts the point cloud representation into a surface triangulation; and
converting the surface triangulation into the three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface, by cutting, trimming and/or otherwise detailing the surface triangulation; and
generating a thickened model of the hearing-aid shell from the three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from scan data; and
generating a thickened model of the hearing-aid shell that comprises a digital representation of a receiver hole therein and a digital representation of a mounting flange that surrounds the receiver hole and extends into an interior of the thickened model, from the three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a point cloud representation of a non star-shaped surface that describes a shape of an ear canal, from multiple partial scans of the non star-shape surface; and
generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from the point cloud representation by;
processing the point cloud representation using a wrap function that, independent of connectivity information linking points in the point cloud representation by edges and triangles, automatically converts the point cloud representation into a surface triangulation; and
converting the surface triangulation into the three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a point cloud representation of a non star-shaped surface that describes a shape of an ear canal, from multiple overlapping scans of the non star-shape surface; and
generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from the point cloud representation by;
processing the point cloud representation using a wrap function that converts the point cloud representation into a surface triangulation; and
converting the surface triangulation into the three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface that is star-shaped. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a point cloud representation of a non star-shaped surface that describes a shape of an ear canal, from multiple partial scans of the non star-shape surface;
wrapping the point cloud representation into a non star-shaped surface triangulation;
cutting and/or trimming the non star-shaped surface triangulation into a three-dimensional digital model of a star-shaped hearing-aid shell surface;
thickening the digital model of the star-shaped hearing-aid shell surface;
printing the thickened digital model of the star-shaped hearing-aid shell surface as a hearing-aid shell; and
performing quality assurance by comparing two or more of a digital model derived from a scan of the printed hearing-aid shell, the three-dimensional digital model of a star-shaped hearing-aid shell surface, the non-star shaped surface triangulation and a digital full-ear cast.
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37. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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nonuniformly thickening a three-dimensional digital model of a shell surface about a directed path thereon to define a thickened model; and
generating an undersurface hearing-aid vent in the thickened model of the shell surface, at a location proximate the directed path. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from point cloud data;
automatically nonuniformly thickening the digital model about a directed path that identifies a desired location of an undersurface hearing-aid vent, to determine a thickened model having an entirely offset inner shell surface; and
generating the vent in the thickened model, at a location proximate the directed path. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61)
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62. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the step of:
generating a watertight model of a hearing-aid shell by nonuniformly thickening a digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface about a portion of the shell surface that defines a desired location of an undersurface hearing-aid vent. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a surface triangulation of the hearing-aid shell from point cloud data describing a shape of at least a portion of an ear canal of a subject;
generating a watertight 2-manifold triangulation of the hearing-aid shell from the surface triangulation;
generating a 2-manifold with nonzero boundary triangulation of the vent that is compatible with the watertight 2-manifold triangulation of the hearing aid shell; and
printing a three-dimensional hearing-aid shell based on the watertight 2-manifold triangulation of the hearing-aid shell and the 2-manifold with nonzero boundary vent triangulation. - View Dependent Claims (69)
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70. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the step of:
thickening a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface using operations that move each of a plurality of vertices on the shell surface along a respective path that is normal to an inner shell surface. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. An automated hearing-aid shell manufacturing system, comprising:
a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code comprising;
computer-readable program code that generates a first digital model of a hearing-aid shell from point cloud data; and
computer-readable program code that determines whether first internal hearing-aid components can fit properly within an interior volume of the first digital model of the hearing-aid shell. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78)
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79. An automated hearing-aid shell manufacturing system, comprising:
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a scanning tool that generates point cloud data describing a shape of at least a portion of an ear canal of a subject, from the ear canal of the subject or an impression of the ear canal of the subject; and
a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code comprising;
computer-readable program code that generates a digital model of a hearing-aid shell from the point cloud data; and
computer-readable program code that determines whether size specifications of internal hearing-aid components are compatible with an interior volume of the digital model of the hearing-aid shell. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85)
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86. A method of generating a digital model of a hearing-aid shell, comprising the step of:
generating a three-dimensional model of a hearing-aid shell surface by modifying a shape of a first digital model of a positive or negative representation of at least a portion of an ear canal of a subject to more closely conform to a shape of a digital template of a hearing-aid shell and/or modifying the shape of the digital template to more closely conform to the shape of the first digital model. - View Dependent Claims (87, 88)
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89. A method of manufacturing a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating a first digital representation of a positive or negative image of at least a portion of an ear canal of a subject;
generating a second digital representation of a hearing-aid shell that has a shape that conforms to the ear canal of the subject; and
printing a hearing-aid shell that conforms to the ear canal of the subject, based on the second digital representation. - View Dependent Claims (90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95)
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96. An automated hearing-aid shell manufacturing system, comprising:
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a scanning tool that generates point cloud data describing a shape of at least a portion of an ear canal of a subject, from the ear canal of the subject or an impression of the ear canal of the subject; and
a computer-aided design tool that is communicatively coupled to said scanning tool, said computer-aided design tool comprising;
a display; and
a computer system communicatively coupled to said display, said computer system comprising a processor and a computer program product readable by the processor and tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform the method steps of;
generating a first digital model of at least a portion of the ear canal of the subject from the point cloud data;
aligning a digital template of a hearing-aid shell with the first digital model; and
generating a three-dimensional model of a hearing-aid shell surface by modifying a shape of the digital template to more closely conform to a shape of the first digital model and/or modifying the shape of the first digital model to more closely conform to the shape of the digital template. - View Dependent Claims (97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107)
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108. A method of generating a digital model of a hearing-aid shell, comprising the step of:
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generating a first three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell;
printing a hearing-aid shell based on the first three-dimensional digital model;
generating point cloud data by scanning the printed hearing-aid shell; and
generating a second three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell surface from the point cloud data. - View Dependent Claims (109, 110, 111)
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112. A method of generating a three-dimensional digital model of a hearing-aid shell, comprising the steps of:
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generating an intermediate model of a hearing-aid shell having a partially offset inner surface by locally thickening a three-dimensional model of a hearing-aid shell surface using operations that move each of a plurality of vertices on the shell surface along a respective path that is defined by a respective normalized adjusted normal to the shell surface; and
thenglobally or locally thickening the intermediate model to define an entirely offset inner surface of a thickened model of the shell surface, using operations that move each of a plurality of vertices on the partially offset inner surface along a respective path that is defined by a respective normalized readjusted normal to the partially offset inner surface. - View Dependent Claims (113, 114, 115, 116)
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Specification