Hearing aid

This hearing aid comprises a main body case (1), a battery case (7) provided so that it can be pulled from inside the main body case (1) to outside of the main body case (1), a control device (14) that is actuated by electromotive force of an air battery (8) housed in the battery case (7), a microphone (4) and speaker (3) electrically connected to the control device (14), and a switching portion for cutting off power from the air battery (8) to the control device (14) in conjunction with manipulation that pulls at least part of the battery case (7) out of the main body case (1). A magnet (11) that blocks off air holes (10) in the air battery (8) is provided to the bottom part of the (7). The magnet (11) closes off the air holes (10) in conjunction with manipulation that pulls at least part of the battery case (7) out of the main body case (1).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a hearing aid equipped with an air battery.

BACKGROUND ART

A conventional hearing aid comprises a main body case, a battery case provided so that it can be pulled from inside the main body case to outside of the main body case, a control device that is actuated by electromotive force of an air battery housed in the battery case, a microphone and speaker electrically connected to the control device, and a switching portion for cutting off power from the air battery to the control device when the battery case is pulled out of the main body case.

When a hearing aid such as this is in its storage state, that is, when it has been removed from the ear at bedtime, for example, the design is such that when the battery case is pulled out of the main body case after the hearing aid is removed from the ear, a switching portion cuts off the power from the air battery to the control device.

Even when the switching portion cuts off the power from the air battery to the control device here, the air holes in the air battery are still open, and the chemical reaction with oxygen continues, so the battery capacity gradually decreases.

Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a technique for extending the life of an air battery by using a cover to open and close the air holes of the air battery, and opening and closing the switching portion with a manipulation component provided to the outer face of the main body case.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application S59-228355

SUMMARY

When the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Literature 1 is applied to a hearing aid, the manipulation component is provided to the outer face of the main body case.

Since a hearing aid needs to be made more compact, this manipulation component also ends up being very small.

However, most hearing aid users are elderly, and it is difficult for them to operate such a small manipulation component, and as a result the hearing aid ends up being difficult to operate.

In view of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hearing aid that is easier to operate.

To achieve the stated object, the present invention comprises a main body case, a battery case, a control device, a microphone and speaker, a switching portion, a magnet, and a protrusion. The battery case is provided so that it can be pulled from inside the main body case to outside of the main body case, and houses an air battery. The control device is actuated by the electromotive force of the air battery housed in the battery case. The microphone and speaker are electrically connected to the control device. The switching portion cuts off the supply of electrical power from the air battery to the control device in conjunction with manipulation that pulls at least part of the battery case out of the main body case. The magnet is provided to close off the air holes of the air battery in conjunction with manipulation that pulls at least part of the battery case out of the main body case. The protrusion biases the air battery away from the magnet in a state in which the battery case is housed in the main body case.

Advantageous Effects

With the present invention, power from the air battery to the control device can be cut off by the switching portion, and the air holes in the air battery can be covered by a lid by magnetic force from the magnet, merely by pulling at least part of the battery case, which is large enough to be grasped with the fingers, out of the main body case, so a decrease in the capacity of the air battery can be suppressed, and the hearing aid is more convenient to operate when being put away.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The hearing aid pertaining to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described through reference toFIGS. 1 to 6.

As shown inFIG. 1, the hearing aid in this embodiment is a behind-the-ear (BTE) type of hearing aid, comprising a main body case1that is worn behind the ear, an ear hook2that is linked at one end to the upper end of the main body case1, and a speaker3that is linked to the other end of the ear hook2.

Openings5and6for a microphone4(seeFIG. 3) are provided at the upper and lower parts in the approximate middle of the main body case1.

As shown inFIG. 2, a battery case7is provided inside the lower end of the main body case1in a state that allows it to be pulled out of the main body case1.

As shown inFIGS. 2 and 5, the battery case7is in the form of a container that is open on one side (the far side inFIG. 2), and an air battery8is housed inside this.

The battery case7can rotate around a rotational shaft (not shown) from the hearing aid usage state shown inFIGS. 1 and 5bto the battery replacement state shown inFIGS. 2 and 5a.

When the battery case7is changed from the hearing aid usage state shown inFIGS. 1and5bto the state shown inFIGS. 2 and 5ain which it is pulled out of the main body case1in order to replace the air battery8, a lever9shown inFIG. 1is pushed to the right side inFIG. 1.

Consequently, after part of the battery case7has been pulled out of the main body case1, the lever9or part of the battery case7exposed outside the main body case1is grasped and the battery case7is rotated to the position shown inFIGS. 2 and 5a, and in this state the air battery8is replaced.

The air battery8is in the form of a disk as shown inFIG. 4, and a plurality of air holes10are provided on one side thereof (the positive pole side). As shown inFIGS. 5aand5b, the air battery8is housed so that the side with the air holes10is in contact with the bottom side of the battery case7. In the stowed state shown inFIGS. 5aand5b, a magnet11is provided in a fixed state on the bottom face side in the battery case7.

The magnet11is large enough to cover all of the plurality of air holes10provided to the air battery8, and in a state in which the battery case7has been pulled out (FIG. 5a), the air battery8sticks to the magnet11and the air holes10are blocked off by the magnet11.

Specifically, in a state in which the hearing aid is not being used (FIG. 5a), the air holes10are blocked off by the magnet11, and this prevents the air battery8from generating power. Thus, the hearing aid can be put away without removing the air battery8. The magnet11is preferably made of a soft or elastic material.

In the hearing aid usage state shown inFIG. 5b, power is sent to a control device14(seeFIG. 3) that drives the hearing aid, by an electrical contact15that touches the negative pole of the air battery8and an electrical contact16that touches the positive pole, and this puts the hearing aid in its operating state.

The electrical contact16here pulls the air battery8away from the magnet11by biasing the air battery8to the electrical contact15side. Consequently, the air holes10are opened, air is supplied to the air battery8, and power generation begins.

As shown inFIG. 6, the electrical contact16is substantially U-shaped, and has substantially triangular protrusions at both ends.

The magnet11is disposed in the middle of the bottom part of the battery case7, and a groove17is provided around the magnet11for contact with the electrical contact16and the air battery8.

The electrical contact16is configured so as to bend downward. When the battery case7is placed inside the main body case1, first the electrical contact16is pushed down by the bottom of the battery case7, after which the battery case7is pushed farther in and the bending is eliminated as it fits into the groove17. At this point the air battery8is pushed up as shown inFIG. 5bby the electrical contact16. The air battery8therefore enters a state in which it is separated from the magnet11. As a result, the air holes10are opened up and the air battery8begins generating power, and power begins to flow to the control device14.

In other words, with the hearing aid in this embodiment, the electrical contact15and the electrical contact16are used as switching portion.

As shown inFIG. 3, in the control device14, the microphone4and speaker3are electrically connected via a power wire8a, a ground wire8b, and a signal wire8c.

With the hearing aid of this embodiment, as discussed above, power generation by the air battery8is suppressed by blocking off the air holes10with the magnet11by a simple manipulation that merely entails pulling a part (the lever9) of the battery case7that is large enough to be grasped by the fingers, out of the main body case1.

Consequently, the air holes10in the air battery8are automatically blocked off by the magnet11when a part (the lever9) of the battery case7that is easy to manipulate by a hearing aid user, such as an elderly person, is manipulated, so a decrease in battery capacity when the hearing aid is not being used can be suppressed. And of course, the flow of power from the air battery8to the control device14, the microphone4, and the speaker3is also cut off at this point. Accordingly, there will be less of a decrease in battery capacity attributable to the flow of power to the control device14, etc., when the hearing aid is not in use.

The hearing aid pertaining to another embodiment of the present invention will now be described through reference toFIGS. 7 to 9.

As shown inFIG. 7, the hearing aid in this embodiment is such that an electrical contact116that touches the positive pole side of the air battery8is provided at a position where it touches the outside face of the air battery8, and differs in this respect from the hearing aid in Embodiment 1 above, which comprised the electrical contacts15and16that touched the upper and lower faces of the air battery8. Another difference from the hearing aid in Embodiment 1 above is that biasing force imparting protrusions117are provided instead of the electrical contact16as the means for biasing the air battery8to the electrical contact15side on the negative pole side.

This embodiment is the same as the hearing aid in Embodiment 1 other than in the above respects, and those components that have the same function, the same shape, and so forth will be numbered the same and will not be described again.

Specifically, as shown inFIG. 7, with the hearing aid in this embodiment the electrical contact116that touches the positive pole of the air battery8is provided at a position where it touches the side face of the air battery8, rather than the bottom face side. In this embodiment, three biasing force imparting protrusions117are provided at positions opposite the bottom face of the air battery8within the main body case1in a state in which the battery case7has been closed.

In this embodiment, an example was described in which three of the biasing force imparting protrusions117were provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one, two, or four or more biasing force imparting protrusions may be provided, for example.

The electrical contact116is provided on the substantially cylindrical outer peripheral face side that forms a space for holding the battery case7inside the main body case1. Therefore, the electrical contact116touches the side face (positive pole) of the air battery8in a state in which the battery case7is closed.

As shown inFIG. 7, the biasing force imparting protrusions117are provided around the outer periphery on the substantially cylindrical bottom face side that forms a space for holding the battery case7inside the main body case1. Also, the biasing force imparting protrusions117are formed so that the base portions linked to the main body case1are thicker, and gradually thin towards the distal ends. Therefore, when the battery case7is closed, the bottom face of the air battery8rides up from the distal end side of the biasing force imparting protrusions117, and the air battery8is lifted up.

In other words, in the above Embodiment 1, the electrical contact16on the positive pole side was used as the means for imparting biasing force toward the electrical contact15side to the air battery8, but in this embodiment, the electrical contact116on the positive pole side is provided on the outer peripheral face side of the air battery8, so the biasing force imparting protrusions117are provided independently as the above-mentioned means for imparting biasing force.

Consequently, as shown inFIG. 8, with the hearing aid in this embodiment, in a state in which the battery case7is closed, the air battery8is biased to the electrical contact15side and lifted up by the biasing force imparting protrusions117, so the upper face (negative pole) of the air battery8and the electrical contact15come into contact, and a gap is formed between the bottom face of the air battery8and the magnet11provided to the bottom face of the battery case7(seeFIG. 9).

Thus, just as with the hearing aid in Embodiment 1 above, in the usage state of the hearing aid, the air holes10formed on the bottom face side of the air battery8will be opened up and not blocked off by the magnet11, so power generation by the air battery8begins.

Meanwhile, when the hearing aid is not in use, just as with the hearing aid in Embodiment 1 above, a part (the lever9) of the battery case7that is easy for a hearing aid user (such as an elderly person) to manipulate is manipulated to pull the battery case7out of the main body case1, which automatically blocks off the air holes10in the air battery8with the magnet11, so the decrease in battery capacity when the hearing aid is not in use can be suppressed. Also, the flow of power from the air battery8to the control device14, the microphone4, and the speaker3is of course also cut off at this point. Therefore, there will be less of a decrease in battery capacity attributable to the flow of power to the control device14, etc., when the hearing aid is not in use.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

With the present invention, the supply of power from the air battery to the control device and so forth can be cut off by the switching portion, and the air holes in the air battery can be covered by a magnet, merely by pulling at least part of the battery case, which is large enough to be grasped with the fingers, out of the main body case. Therefore, a decrease in the capacity of the air battery while the hearing aid is not in use can be suppressed, and the hearing aid is more convenient to operate when being put away, so the present invention is expected to find wide application in hearing aids in which an air battery is installed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST