Abstract:
A multi-purpose hearing aid cleaning device including a housing that includes a pair of housing members that are supported for relative hinging therebetween and that defines open and closed positions. A plurality of cleaning pieces are supported in the housing with each cleaning piece pivotable from a storage position in which the cleaning piece is stored in the housing to a use position in which at least a portion of the cleaning piece extends out of the housing.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates, in general, to a cleaning device for hearing aids, and pertains more particularly to a cleaning device having multiple tools for cleaning the hearing aid and for replacing the battery. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The majority of hearing aids require repair due to moisture and ear wax build-up. Most of these repairs are preventable with proper daily maintenance. In making these repairs, many times it is helpful to employ a number of different types of tools. However, there is not presently available any device that combines all the necessary tools in providing proper maintenance. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact, hand-held device which incorporates all of the necessary tools to facilitate daily cleaning. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid cleaning device that is relatively inexpensive and easy to use. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid cleaning device which enables one of many tools to be easily selected to perform the desired cleaning or maintenance. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cleaning device which also has compartments for holding batteries or other items necessary for hearing aid maintenance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention there is provided a multi-purpose cleaning device that is comprised of a housing that includes a pair of housing members that are supported for relative hinging therebetween and that defines open and closed positions, and a plurality of cleaning pieces supported in the housing with each cleaning piece pivotable from a storage position in which the cleaning piece is stored and in the housing to a use position in which at least a portion of the cleaning piece extends out of the housing. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the pair of housing members may include a bottom housing member having sidewalls and a top housing member having a locking tab for releaseable engagement with a shoulder in one sidewall of the bottom housing member. The bottom housing member has at least one ridge along the outside of each sidewall for facilitating opening the housing when in the closed position. The bottom housing member may also include one separate storage compartment. The top housing member may have one cross-shaped retainer that is disposed over the storage compartment to retain the contents therein when the device is in its closed position. The top housing member also may have posts that engage with extended cleaning pieces to lock the cleaning pieces into grooves in the bottom housing member when the pieces are in their use position when the housing is in the closed position. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the cleaning pieces are supported for pivoting along a common pivot axis. There also may be provided a pair of pivot posts at the bottom of one of said housing members that form pivots for respective cleaning pieces. The cleaning device may also include adjacent spaced pairs of pivot posts for supporting the base with the cleaning pieces pivotal therebetween. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, each cleaning piece has a tool end and an opposite pivot end including a base that is received between the pivot posts. The shaft may also have a release tab to be adapted to be received in a hole in the housing in the storage position and a flange on the opposite side of the shaft for moving each cleaning piece from the storage position to the use position. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a multi-purpose hearing aid cleaning device that is comprised of a case that includes a top housing member and a bottom housing member that are supported for relative pivoting therebetween to provide an open position and a closed position thereof and a plurality of cleaning elements supported in the bottom housing member. Each cleaning element is pivotable from a storage position in which the cleaning element is stored in the bottom housing to a use position in which the cleaning element extends out of the bottom housing. Each cleaning element has a shaft with a pivot end and an opposite tool end, the shaft of each cleaning element including means manually engageable to assist in the pivoting of each cleaning element from its storage position to its use position. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the manually engageable means include a flange disposed on the top side of the shaft. The manually engageable means may further include a release tab disposed on the bottom side of the shaft and adapted to be received in a hole in the bottom housing member in the storage position to be pushed upward to pivot the cleaning element to its use position. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the tool end of the cleaning piece is selected from the group comprising at least one of a wax removal brush, a wax removal pick, a tube and vent cleaner, a battery door opener, and a battery replacement magnet. 
     In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a multi-purpose hearing aid cleaning device that is comprised of a case that includes a top housing member and a bottom housing member that are supported for relative pivoting therebetween to provide an open position and a closed position thereof, a plurality of cleaning elements supported in the bottom housing member, each cleaning element pivotable from a storage position in which the cleaning element is stored in the bottom housing to a use position in which the cleaning element extends out of the bottom housing, each cleaning element has a shaft with a pivot end and an opposite tool end, and a plurality of retaining posts in the top housing member, each engageable with a corresponding cleaning element in its use position. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the shaft of each cleaning element includes means manually engageable to assist in the pivoting of each cleaning element from its storage position to its use position. The manually engageable means may include a release tab adapted to be received in a hole in the housing in the storage position and a flange on the opposite side of the shaft for moving each cleaning piece from the storage position to the use position. 
     In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, the bottom housing member may have at least one ridge along the outside of each sidewall for facilitating opening the case when in the closed position. The bottom housing member may include at least one separate storage compartment and the top housing member may have at least one cross shaped retainer that is disposed over the at least one storage compartment to retain the contents therein when the case is closed. The top housing member may have posts that engage with extended cleaning pieces to lock the cleaning pieces into grooves in the bottom housing member in their use position when the case is in its closed position. In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, all of the cleaning pieces are supported for pivoting along a common axis. The bottom housing member includes a pair of pivot posts that form pivots for respective cleaning pieces and each cleaning piece has a shaft having a pivot end and an opposite tool end and the pivot end may include a base that is received between the pivot posts. The tool end may be selected from the group comprising at least one of a wax removal brush, a wax removal pick, a tube and vent cleaner, a battery door opener, and a battery replacement magnet. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should now become apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of one embodiment of the cleaning device with the case in its closed position; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of the cleaning device with one tool extended with the case in its open position; 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the cleaning device with the case in its open position with two tools extended; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3  with the case in its open position; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2  but with the case in its closed position; 
         FIG. 6  is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 1  but with the case just before a fully closed position in the open position; 
         FIG. 7  is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken along line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 1  with the case in its fully closed position; and 
         FIG. 8  is a fragmentary cross-sectional view like that shown in  FIG. 4  with the case in an open position and illustrating initial releasing of the cleaning piece. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-8 . The cleaning device includes a case  10  that includes a top housing member  20  and a bottom housing member  30 . A plurality of cleaning elements  40  are supported in the bottom housing member  30  and are constructed and arranged so as to individually pivot between a storage position and a use position. By way of example, in  FIG. 2  four of the cleaning elements  40  are illustrated in their storage position and one of the cleaning elements  40  is illustrated extending from the case in its use position. Both of the housing members  20  and  30  may be constructed of a plastic or light-weight metal material. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 1  which is a top perspective view of the cleaning device with the case  10  in its closed position, without any of the cleaning elements  40  extended to their use position. The top housing member  20  and bottom housing member  30  are hinged together via hinge  60 . As noted in  FIGS. 1 and 2  the opposite sidewalls  70  of the bottom housing member  30  are provided with a ridge  32 . The ridge  32  makes it easier for the user to grasp the case  10  to open and close the case. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , this illustrates the cleaning device in a plan view with the case in its open position. This illustrates five cleaning elements  40  identified as cleaning elements  40   a ,  40   b ,  40   c ,  40   d  and  40   e . The cleaning elements  40   b ,  40   c , and  40   d  are illustrated in their storage position while the cleaning elements  40   a  and  40   e  are illustrated in its use position. Each cleaning element  40  includes a somewhat elongated shaft  45 , a pivot end  46  and a tool end  48 . When the cleaning element  40  is in its storage position, the shaft  45  is disposed on a rest  35 . This is depicted in  FIG. 4  in which the shaft  45  of cleaning element  40   b  is resting on rest  35  in its storage position. The pivot end  46  is received at the pivot posts  36  which are integrally molded with the bottom wall of the bottom housing  30 . The tool end  48  of each cleaning element  40  is different on each cleaning element to provide a complete tool set for daily maintenance. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, the tool end  48  of the cleaning elements are:  40   a  is a wax removal brush,  40   b  is a wax removal pick,  40   c  is a tube and vent cleaner,  40   d  is a battery door opener and  40   e  is a battery replacement magnet. 
     Each cleaning element  40  has a flange  42  for manual engagement to assist in moving the cleaning element from the storage position to the use position. As noted in  FIG. 3  the flanges  42  are disposed at different longitudinal positions along each of the respective cleaning elements. This makes it easier to grasp a particular flange without interfering with adjacent tools. Each cleaning element  40  is also provided with a release tab  44  as depicted in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  8 . It is noted that the release tab  44  is provided on the opposite side of the shaft  45  to the flange  42 . The release tabs  44  are all disposed along the same transverse line L 1  which corresponds to the same placement of the slightly elongated holes  38  that receive these tabs. Refer to  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which is a bottom view of the cleaning device with case  10  in its open position, release tabs  44  are disposed in holes  38  of the bottom housing member  30 . These release tabs  44  may also be manually engaged by the user to select the desired cleaning element  40  by pushing upward, as depicted in greater detail in  FIG. 8  which is a cross-sectional side view of the cleaning device. The cleaning elements  40  are then further manually moved to their use position by manually grasping the flange  42 . In  FIG. 2  the cleaning element  40   c  is in its use position and is supported in its corresponding groove  34  of the bottom housing member  30 . It is noted that in  FIG. 2  the device is shown with one tool extending and with the case open. In use the case  10  is closed to grasp the single tool. 
     Once the desired cleaning element  40  has been selected, the user manually closes the case  10  to its closed position to use the cleaning element. Normally, only one cleaning element at a time would extend from the case for its use.  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 2  but with the case is in its closed position. The cleaning element  40  is held in place in groove  34  by a pair of posts  24  which are integrally molded with the top housing member  20 . As depicted in  FIG. 5 , the posts  24  are urged against the cleaning element  40   c  to secure it in place. In the present embodiment of the invention, a pair of posts  24  is used to secure the cleaning element in place, however alternatively it may be held in place by one single post. 
     There is also depicted in  FIG. 3  two containers or compartments  50  which may be used to store batteries or other items necessary for hearing aid maintenance. The retainers  26  are integrally molded with the top housing member  20  and, as depicted, are cross-shaped but may be other shapes. These retainers  26  are disposed over the storage compartments  50  to retain the contents therein in the closed position of the case  10 . It is also noted that the compartments  50  may be spaced apart so as to allow for a longer tool end  48  on the cleaning element  40   c.    
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4  which is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3  as taken through cleaning element  40   b  that is in its storage position with the case  10  in its open position.  FIG. 4  illustrates the cleaning element  40   b  in cross section with its associated release tab  44  extending in hole  38 .  FIG. 4  also depicts the tool  40   e  extending from the case  10 . 
     Reference is now made to  FIGS. 6 and 7  which are fragmentary cross-sectional views depicting the sequence of closure of the case  10 . In  FIG. 6  the case  10  is depicted in a position just before it is closed and in  FIG. 7  it is depicted in a fully closed position. For the purpose of holding the case  10  closed, there is provided an inter-engagement between the tab  22  that extends from the top housing member  20  and the shoulder  72  in the sidewall  70  of the bottom housing member  30 . A detent arrangement is provided between these elements which includes an end rib  23  that is adapted to engage at the shoulder  72  as shown in the locked position of  FIG. 7 . When it is desired to move the case  10  to its open position, the ridges  32 , as depicted in  FIG. 1 , assist as finger grips to enable opening of the case  10 , snapping the end rib  23  away from the shoulder  72 . 
     Having now described a limited number of embodiments of the present invention, it should now become apparent to one skilled in the art that numerous other embodiments and modifications thereof are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, although representative tools have been shown, other devices may include still further types of cleaning tools. Also, fewer or greater numbers of tools may be supported in a similar manner.