A HINGE ASSEMBLY FOR A HEARING AID |
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申请号 | EP05700626.4 | 申请日 | 2005-02-03 | 公开(公告)号 | EP1847153B1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2011-10-05 |
申请人 | WIDEX A/S; | 发明人 | NIELSEN, Dennis, Brian; OLSEN, Jørgen, Mejner; TØPHOLM,Jan; | ||||
摘要 | A hinge assembly for a hearing aid, in particular for a lid of a battery compartment of a hearing aid, said hinge assembly comprising a first part, a second part and a third part comprising a shaft. The first part comprises a pair of grooves adapted for receiving respective end parts of said shaft, both of said grooves being open at one end generally facing away from said battery compartment. The second part comprises a through bore adapted for receiving a middle portion of said shaft between said respective end parts. The hinge assembly further comprising means for closing said grooves at said open ends. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention generally relates to a hearing aid. More specifically the invention relates to a hinge assembly for a hearing aid, in particular a hinge assembly for a lid of a battery compartment of a hearing aid. The invention also relates to a method for assembling such a hinge assembly. It is well known in the field of hearing aids to provide the ON/OFF switching function in connection with the battery compartment. An example can be found in Also, hearing aids, in which the battery compartment is fixed in the housing and covered by a pivotally movable lid are known. An example of such is found in Having both the opening motion and the actuation motion for the off operation as the same motion, however, may be undesirable, because it involves the risk of opening the battery compartment entirely instead of simply interrupting the electric circuit. This may lead to the battery falling out and getting lost. It is therefore desirable to provide the ON/OFF switching motion as a sliding motion of the movable lid, and the opening motion for removal of the battery as a pivotal motion. Furthermore, in connection with pivotal lids for battery compartments it has been known to provide a metal shaft located in recesses in the hearing aid housing and passing through a bore in the lid. The use of a metal shaft in connection with the lid, however, has the drawback that if the lid is subjected to excessive forces, e.g. if the hearing aid is dropped and inadvertently stepped upon, the lid or even the housing of the hearing aid will break. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge assembly, in particular for a hearing aid, which provides the desired switching facilities and overcomes the above drawbacks. According to a first aspect of the invention this object is achieved by a hinge assembly for a hearing aid, in particular for a lid of a battery compartment of a hearing aid, said hinge assembly comprising a first part, a second part and a third part comprising a shaft, said first part comprising a pair of grooves adapted for receiving respective end parts of said shaft, both of said grooves being open at one end generally facing away from said battery compartment, said second part comprising a through bore adapted for receiving a portion of said shaft between said respective end parts, said hinge assembly further comprising means for limiting the linear motion of said end parts in said grooves. Such an assembly provides the possibility of having an easily removable shaft, for easy replacement in the event it should break. This is achieved because means for limiting the linear motion of said end parts in said grooves, allows the grooves to be reopened in order to insert a new shaft in the grooves. Moreover the fact that the grooves face away from the battery compartment, prevents the lid from being drawn out of the groove when the lid is moved from the closed ON-POSITION to the closed OFF-POSITION. According to a preferred embodiment, said first part is associated with the battery compartment, said second part is associated with the lid and a third part comprises the shaft. This allows the grooves to be formed integrally with the first part which again may be formed integrally with the part closing the hearing aid housing, which is more convenient because there is more room on the closing part than on the lid. The first part may thus be made bigger and sturdier. According to a preferred embodiment, a central part of said portion of said shaft has a larger cross-sectional dimension than said end parts, said central part having a cross-sectional dimension essentially corresponding to the diameter of said through bore and said end parts having a diameter corresponding essentially to the width of said grooves. This allows the ends of the shaft protruding from the through bore to flex radially in said bore. In particular, tapered transition parts are located between said central part and said end parts. Preferably said end parts and said central part are cylindrical and the transition parts frusto-conical. This allows the shaft to have good strength while maintaining the desired flexibility. In the embodiment said hinge assembly comprises means for securing the lid in the closed ON-POSITION. This prevents inadvertent switching-off of the hearing aid, and consequently the positioning of the lid in a position where it might inadvertently be opened. In the embodiment said means, said first part and said second part comprise a linear cam arrangement with a cam surface and a cam follower. This allows the controlled motion of the lid between at least two stable rest positions, in particular the ON-POSITION and the OFF-POSITION. In another example said hinge assembly com prises means for securing the lid in the open position. This provides a stable open position, allowing insertion and/or removal of the battery without the lid getting in the way. In a specific example of said means, said first part and said second part comprise a rotary cam arrangement with a cam surface and a rotary cam follower. This allows the controlled motion of the lid between at least two stable rest positions, in particular the OFF-POSITION and the open position. In both of said above solutions, the flexibility of the shaft allows the movement of the cam followers over the cam surfaces between the stable positions, because the flexing thereof allows deflection of the lid in a direction transverse to the linear direction of movement or in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the pivotal motion. According to the embodiment said means for limiting the motion of the end parts, comprise means for closing said grooves at said open ends. This prevents the end parts of the shaft to inadvertently leave the grooves during manipulation of the lid, such as during the ON/OFF switching motion. According to the embodiment, said means for closing said grooves comprise a fourth part. This part may then conveniently be manufactured as a separate part. According to a further example, the fourth part comprises snap acting locking means adapted for cooperation with said first part. This is advantageous because it allows an easy assembling of the hinge assembly, while also allowing the assembly to be disassembled for possible repair. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for making a hinge assembly for a hearing aid, said methods comprising the steps of providing a shaft having respective end parts, providing a first part comprising a pair of grooves adapted for receiving said respective end parts of said shaft, both of said grooves being open at one end generally facing away from said battery compartment, providing a second part comprising a through bore adapted for receiving a portion of said shaft between said respective end parts, providing a means for closing said grooves at said open ends, inserting said shaft in the through bore of the second part in such a way that the end parts of said shaft extend from respective ends of said through bore, inserting said end parts of said shaft in respective grooves in the first part, closing said grooves with said means for closing the grooves. This method constitutes an easy way of assembling the hinge arrangement. This is particularly advantageous if the hinge assembly has to be reassembled, e.g. after replacement of a broken part thereof. According to the embodiment of the method according to the invention, said closing means is provided as a separate fourth part, and said grooves are closed by means of said fourth part. This allows the method to be performed manually. According to a further example of the method according to the invention, said fourth part comprises snap acting locking means adapted for cooperation with said first part, and said fourth part is snapped into engagement with said first part. This is in particular advantageous in order to allow the manual assembly of the hinge arrangement. The invention will now be described in further detail based on a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, and with reference to the drawings. In the drawings,
In The lid 6 of the hearing aid 1 may be moved linearly between the positions of The shaft 12 is shown in greater detail in It should be noted that, because the shaft 12 need not rotate in the through bore 11 neither the central part 15 of the shaft 12 nor the through bore 11 need to be cylindrical. Rather, they may have instead have other cross-sectional shapes than circular, e.g. polygonal. In that case too, the shaft 12 and the through bore 11 preferably have the same cross-sectional shape. Evidently, the transition parts 16 may in that case have a cross section differing from circular, e.g. have the same polygonal cross-section as the centre part 15. In this respect it should also be noted that, the transition parts 16 need not have a taper, but could have the same cross-sectional dimensions along their entire length. Thus, the cross-sectional dimensions of the centre part 15 of the shaft 12 is adapted to the cross-sectional dimensions of the through bore 10. The diameters of the end parts 14 are adapted to the width of the grooves 9. The length of the shaft 12 is selected so as to allow the end parts 14 to extend from either end of the through bore 11, when the shaft is inserted therein. Preferably, as will be explained below, the tips of the shaft 12 have a chamfer 17. To assemble the hinge assembly the shaft 12 is inserted into the bore 11, such that the end parts 14 extend from the through bore 11 at both ends thereof. The end parts 14 of the shaft 12 are then inserted into the respective grooves 9 in the first part 5 from the open ends 9a. With the ends 14 of the shaft 12 placed in the respective grooves 9, the shaft 12 may now slide freely along the lengths of the grooves 9, as well as rotate therein. Preferably, the shaft 12 may also rotate in the through bore 11 in the second part 10. To prevent the end parts 14 from sliding out of the open ends 9a of the grooves 9, the fourth part 13 is then mounted. In order to secure the fourth part 13 in the desired place, where it closes the open ends 9a of the grooves 9, it has snap acting locking means cooperating with the first part 5. These are best seen in With the hinge mounted this way the lid 6 may be moved between the three positions illustrated in In the closed ON-POSITION of To secure the lid from undesired linear motion, i.e. out of the closed ON-POSITION of The shape of the shaft 12 as described above is adapted to facilitate essentially linear motion of the cam follower along the cam surface. Because the transition parts 16 get narrower towards the ends of the through bore 11, the transition parts 16 of the shaft 12 may flex inside the through bore 11. This allows the lid 6 with the rounded middle part 27 of the second part 10 to be lifted over the raised part 28, without the use of excessive force, while the ends 14 of the shaft 12 remain in the grooves 9. The lid 6 may thus easily be slid between the closed ON-POSITION of For securing the lid against undesired rotation in the closed OFF-POSITION of During the rotary motion from the closed OFF-POSITION of the lid 6 to the open position, or vice versa, the corner 29 slides along the flat surface 26, which is best seen in In the preferred embodiment, the corner 32 and the surface 33 at the other end of the second part 10 do not constitute or comprise a cam. Rather, as is best seen in The lid 6 comprises a number of movable contacts 35, 36, 37. When the lid is closed, the contacts 37 engage the one of the terminals, in the present case the positive terminal, of a battery placed in the battery compartment. As long as the battery lid 6 is closed, the contacts 37 remain in contact with the battery terminal. When the lid 6 of the hearing aid 1 is moved from the closed OFF-POSITION to the closed ON-POSITION, the surface 33 passes over the surface 34 allowing the contact 35 to engage the fixed contact mounted in or on that surface 34. This closes the supply circuit from the battery to the electronics in the earplug 2 in the hearing aid 1, thus switching the hearing aid 1 on. During the same motion the cam follower 27 is moved past the raised part, thus securing the lid 6 in the ON-POSITION. If the movement is reversed, the lid 6 will move to the OFF-POSITION where the contact 35 does not engage the fixed contact in or on the surface 34. Similarly, when the lid 6 of the hearing aid 1 is moved from the closed OFF-POSITION to the closed ON-POSITION, the contact 36 of the switching means 8 passes over the surface 38 of the closing part 3, in or on which surface 38 a further fixed contact is mounted. The fixed contact is connected to control circuitry within the hearing aid housing 1. The contact 36, however, does not engage the contact in or on the fixed surface 38 during this motion. The contact 36 may however be brought into engagement with the contact in or on the surface 38, by pressing the push-button 7. When the push-button is released, the contact 36 will move out of engagement with the fixed contact in or on the surface 38, by its own resiliency. Pressing the push-button repeatedly will provide a number of impulses for the control circuitry of the hearing aid 1, thereby allowing e.g. change of programme. |