Earphone facility with vibration-isolated earphone

• US 8,243,976 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2009
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd. (WS Audiology A/S)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Instruments Pte Ltd (WS Audiology A/S)
• Inventors: Giese, Ulrich, Serman, Maja
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN DUC
• Application Number:
  US12/577,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20100098286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 381/312, 381/322, 381328-330, 381380-382, 181/130, 181/135
• US Class Current: 381/380
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/456 mechanically
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/604 of acoustic or vibrational transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/656 Non-customized, universal ear tips, i.e. ear tips which are not specifically adapted to the size or shape of the ear or ear canal

Abstract

An earphone facility is proposed to reduce feedback in hearing devices with an external earphone. The earphone facility includes an earphone, which is embodied to convert electrical signals, and an earpiece, which lies snugly against the auditory canal when the earphone facility is being worn. A stem is attached to the earphone, having a smaller circumference than the smallest circumference of the earphone. Also a support element is disposed between the stem and an internal wall of the earpiece, said support element holding the stem in the earpiece in a movable manner. With this structure vibrations of the earphone are barely transmitted to the earpiece so that feedback is ultimately reduced.

Claims

1. An earphone device for a hearing apparatus, comprising:

an earphone;

an earpiece that lies against an auditory canal of a user of the hearing apparatus when the earphone device is being worn by the user;

a stem that is attached to the earphone and has a smaller circumference than a smallest circumference of the earphone in relation to a common axis; and

a support element that is disposed between the stem and an internal wall of the earpiece and holds the stem movably in the earpiece.

2. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the earpiece and the support element are hollow cylinders,

wherein the support element is disposed in an interior of the earpiece, and

wherein the stem and the earphone are supported inside the support element.

3. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a material of the support element is softer than the internal wall of a tubular base part of the earpiece that supports the earpiece on an outside and supports the support element on an inside.

4. The earphone device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the material of the support element is softer than a material of the stem.

5. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support element comprises hairs or thread elements and free ends of the hairs or thread elements bear the stem.

6. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stem has a larger circumference at a free end than a circumference over an extension of the stem.

7. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an electric line rims through the stem to a terminal of the earphone.

8. The earphone device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a base part of the earpiece holds a cable for supplying the earphone with an electrical signal and a wire that is thinner than the cable and thinner than the stem for connecting the cable to the earphone.

9. The earphone device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the length of the wire is longer than a shortest distance between the cable and the stem.

10. The earphone device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the wire is a helix.

11. A hearing device, comprising:

a housing;

a microphone arranged in the housing that receives an ambient sound;

a signal processing unit integrated in the housing that processes the microphone signal; and

an earphone device arranged in the housing that outputs the processed microphone signal,

wherein the earphone device comprises;

an earphone;

an earpiece that lies against an auditory canal of a user of the hearing apparatus when the earphone device is being worn by the user;

a stem that is attached to the earphone and has a smaller circumference than a smallest circumference of the earphone in relation to a common axis; and

a support element that is disposed between the stem and an internal wall of the earpiece and holds the stem movably in the earpiece.

12. The hearing device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the hearing device is to be worn behind an ear of a user or in a cymba of the user.