Hearing apparatus with a magnetically attached battery holding device

A hearing apparatus is to be provided, with which the battery can be exchanged in an almost wear-free fashion. Provision is thus made to magnetically attach a battery compartment or a battery holding device in the housing of the hearing apparatus or hearing device. The battery holding device is inserted into an opening in the housing. A detachable magnetic connection realized by magnetic elements thus exists between the housing and the battery holding device, the principle force component of which runs in the insertion direction. It is thus possible to dispense with plug or snap connections for instance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of German application No. 10 2007 008 551.8 filed Feb. 21, 2007, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hearing apparatus with a housing and a battery holding device and/or battery compartment, which is attached to the housing. The term hearing apparatus is understood here to mean in particular a device which can be worn on the head, such as for instance a hearing device, a headset or earphones.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hearing devices are portable hearing apparatuses which are used to supply the hard-of-hearing. To accommodate the numerous individual requirements, different configurations of hearing devices such as behind-the-ear hearing devices (BTE), in-the-ear hearing devices (ITE), e.g. including conch hearing devices or channel hearing devices (CIC), are provided. The hearing devices designed by way of example are worn on the outer ear or in the auditory canal. Furthermore, bone conduction hearing aids, implantable or vibrotactile hearing aids are also available on the market. The damaged hearing is herewith either stimulated mechanically or electrically.

Essential components of the hearing devices include in principal an input converter, an amplifier and an output converter. The input converter is generally a receiving transducer, e.g. a microphone and/or an electromagnetic receiver, e.g. an induction coil. The output converter is mostly realized as an electroacoustic converter, e.g. a miniature loudspeaker, or as an electromechanical converter, e.g. a bone conduction receiver. The amplifier is usually integrated into a signal processing unit. This basic configuration is shown in the example inFIG. 1of a behind-the-ear hearing device. One or a number of microphones2for recording the ambient sound are incorporated in a hearing device housing1to be worn behind the ear. A signal processing unit3, which is similarly integrated into the hearing device housing1, processes the microphone signals and amplifies them. The output signal of the signal processing unit3is transmitted to a loudspeaker and/or receiver4, which outputs an acoustic signal. The sound is optionally transmitted to the ear drum of the device wearer via a sound tube, which is fixed with an otoplastic in the auditory canal. The power supply of the hearing device and in particular of the signal processing unit3is provided by a battery5which is likewise integrated into the hearing device housing1.

The battery of a hearing device is located in many cases in a so-called battery door and/or battery compartment, which is used as a battery holding device. The battery is inserted into this battery door. It is then attached into the hearing device housing by means of swiveling, snapping or any other fashion. To this end, mechanical structures are needed, which are subject to wear and tear over the course of time. Numerous battery exchange processes correspondingly result in a high degree of wear, which negatively influences the holding mechanism and/or the insertion, snapping or swiveling forces.

In some circumstances, an excessively high degree of wear results in the hearing device housing or the battery door having to be changed. This is however associated with a high outlay.

The publication DE 197 56 992 A1 discloses a hearing device, the power supply of which is effected by a cylindrical coin cell. One of the electrical poles, which electrically contacts the coin cell, is a permanent magnet and permanently holds the coin cell. To guarantee removal of the coin cell, a lateral borehole is provided, which allows the coin cell to be lifted out. A needle can be used for this purpose.

The publication DE 10 2005 020 322 A1 also discloses an interface device for signal transmission between a hearing aid device and an external device. A signal transmission device can be detachably attached to the hearing aid device by means of a magnetic fastener.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention thus consists in proposing a hearing apparatus, with which numerous battery exchange cycles are possible and the wear remains here as minimal as possible.

In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved by a hearing apparatus with a housing and a battery holding device, which is fastened to the housing, with it being possible to insert the battery holding device into an opening in the housing, and a detachable magnetic connection existing between the housing and the battery holding device, the principle force components of said magnetic connection running in the insertion direction.

Magnetically attaching the battery holding device to the housing of the hearing apparatus advantageously results in a constant holding force being permanently maintained between the battery holding device and the housing. This also does not change during numerous removal and reinsertion processes. In particular, mechanical wear can thus herewith be practically avoided.

The opening in the housing is preferably slit-shaped and opens toward two sides so that the battery holding device can be held on these two sides during insertion into the opening. A simple mechanical guide is thus provided so that the magnetic linkage can be achieved in a targeted fashion.

The battery holding device can comprise two protrusions and the housing can have two grooves as a guide, into which the protrusions are guided during insertion. A mechanical guide, which guides the magnetic elements on to one another, can also be achieved in this way. Mechanical guidance can be achieved especially in combination with the afore-mentioned slit-shaped opening, said mechanical guide only allowing a one-dimensional movement.

The hearing apparatus according to the invention can if necessary be equipped with an exchangeable module instead of the battery holding device and/or battery door, said exchangeable module exhibiting the same exterior dimensions as the battery holding device and being insertable into the opening instead of the battery holding device. The battery interface thus becomes a multi-functional interface. In particular, the exchangeable module can have an audio-input functionality, with corresponding electrical plug contacts being arranged on the exchangeable module as well as in the opening of the housing for the purpose of mutual contacting.

With a further embodiment of the present invention, a cavity can connect to the opening in the housing, the base of which is profiled in the insertion direction. This measure allows a polarity reversal of the battery to be prevented if the battery holding device can only be applied in precisely one position on the battery housing. A further advantage of this profiling consists in some circumstances in it not being possible to move the battery holding device at right angles to the magnetic force. This improves the holding characteristics of the battery holding device in the housing. It is particularly favorable if the base of the cavity is designed to be concave. This allows the battery holding device and/or the exchangeable module to be configured in a rounded fashion, so that it can be handled in a user-friendly fashion.

A magnet on the housing can also be arranged vertically to the opening through its center point. The battery holding device is herewith held centrally in the opening.

Furthermore, it is usually sufficient for the magnet to be significantly smaller than the opening. In particular, it is mostly sufficient if the surface of the magnet, viewed in the insertion direction, is less than 20 percent of the size of the opening in the housing. With corresponding mechanical guides, the magnetic connection can then also be produced more reliably and the magnet can be kept small, thereby being advantageous in terms of cost and weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments illustrated in more detail below represent preferred embodiments of the following invention.

In accordance with the example inFIG. 2, a hearing device housing10is provided, which has a slit-shaped opening11on its end for insertion of a so-called ‘battery door’12. The insertion and/or removal direction is characterized inFIG. 2with the arrow13.

The base14of the opening11of the hearing device housing10is designed to be concave here. A first magnetic element15is arranged in the center of the base14at its lowest point. Its dimensions from the perspective of the insertion direction13are relatively small compared with the dimensions of the opening11.

The battery door12has a recess, into which a battery16is inserted. Furthermore, the battery door12has a first surface segment17, which corresponds to the base14in the hearing device housing10and is accordingly designed to be convex. The battery door12also has a second surface segment18, which has the contour of the corresponding part of the hearing device housing10. A second magnetic element19is arranged in the center of the first surface segment17, said second magnetic element10attracting the first magnetic element15in the hearing device housing10. At least one of the two magnetic elements15,19is a magnet. The other magnetic element is then either ferromagnetic or a magnet with an opposite direction of polarity.

FIG. 3shows the front side of the hearing device housing10and the battery door12. The slit-shaped opening11can be easily identified in the hearing device housing10. The magnetic element15is located in the center of the base14of the opening11.

For the sake of clarity, the battery door12is shown below the battery housing10inFIG. 3. On the basis of the view from the front side, the second magnetic element19is illustrated there with a dashed line.

The slit-shaped opening11represents a mechanical guide during insertion of the battery door12into the opening, said mechanical guide allowing no degree of freedom in the horizontal direction, in respect ofFIG. 3. A movement of the battery door12in the vertical would still be possible. To prevent this vertical movement during insertion of the battery door12into the opening11of the hearing device housing10, the hearing device housing10has guide grooves20on the inner sides of the opening11, which run in the insertion direction13. To this end, the battery door12has matching protruding guide elements21. These are guided into the grooves20of the hearing device housing10during insertion of the battery door12. A movement of the battery door12in the vertical direction is thus also prevented. This means that the battery door12is still only able to move in one direction13, i.e. in one dimension, during insertion. Subsequently, the magnetic element19is guided in a targeted fashion onto the magnetic element15, so that the magnetic connection can be produced in a reliable and simple fashion.

FIG. 4shows the state in which the battery door12including the battery16is inserted into the hearing device housing10. The two magnetic elements15,19are linked to one another by means of magnetic forces. The surface of the hearing device housing10is flush with that of the battery door12. The battery door12can be easily removed by pulling the battery door12out of the opening11in the opposite direction. In this process, the battery door12can be grasped with two fingers on the free surfaces22(cf.FIGS. 2 and 3). For this purpose, the surfaces can be designed accordingly in a non-slip manner.

Instead of the battery door12, an exchangeable module30shown inFIG. 5can also be inserted into the opening11of the hearing device housing10. This also has a corresponding surface segment31, which corresponds to the base14of the opening11. A magnetic element is likewise provided on this surface segment31, in order to be able to produce the corresponding magnetic connection to the magnetic element15. The magnetomechanical interface of the exchangeable module30is thus the same as that of the battery door12. The exchangeable module30can itself have any function. It can thus be configured as an audio shoe or computer interface, Bluetooth interface or suchlike for instance.