Patent Publication Number: US-6985598-B1

Title: Programming system for programming hearing aids

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to hearing aids, and in particular to an apparatus and method for making an electrical connection between a programmable hearing aid and a programming unit. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Programmable hearing aids have certain characteristics (e.g., frequency response, attack and release times, automatic gain control, etc.) that are adjustable by a hearing aid dispenser. Conventionally, such hearing aids are programmed in situ, i.e., while they are in the patient&#39;s ear. This permits the patient and dispenser to evaluate the programming of the hearing aid and to adjust the programming if the performance of the hearing aid is substandard. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,095 to Hanright relates to a hearing aid programming system whereby electrical connections necessary to program the hearing aid are accessed through a slot adjacent to the battery access door of the hearing aid. In this system, the access door is opened and the end portion of a cable is inserted in the slot beside the door. The door is then closed to provide a connection between the hearing aid and a programming unit by crimping the cable against electrical leads within the hearing aid. 
   After using the cable several times, the end portion of the cable that is inserted into the hearing aid can wear and fail to provide an adequate electrical connection between the hearing aid and the programming unit. Accordingly, the entire cable must be replaced. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the invention, a system is provided for programming a hearing aid having a housing, a faceplate attached to the housing, a programmable hearing aid circuit contained within the housing, a plurality of programming terminals located inside the housing and electrically connected to the circuit, and a battery door. 
   The faceplate has an opening for receiving the battery door. The door is hingedly connected to the faceplate so it is moveable between an open position and a closed position. An edge of the door is spaced apart from the faceplate to define a narrow slot bounded by the edge and the faceplate. The slot is adjacent the programming terminals. 
   The programming system includes a connector operably attached to a programming unit and also removably receiving a multi-electrode programming strip. The strip is dimensioned to fit into the slot of the hearing aid and has a like plurality of electrodes dimensioned to mate with the hearing aid terminals. The strip is dimensioned to cooperate in a manner that when the strip has been fully inserted into the housing through the slot with the electrodes facing the terminals and the door is in the closed position, the electrodes are pressed against the terminals and make electrical contact therewith. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood with reference to the following illustrative and non-limiting drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an enlarged partially exploded perspective view of a conventional programmable completely-in-canal hearing aid having a battery door; 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged top view of the hearing aid of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged top view about the battery door of the hearing aid of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of the hearing aid of  FIG. 1  along plane  4 — 4 ; 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are an enlarged plan view and a bottom view, respectively, of a programming strip to be received within the slot beside the battery door of the hearing aid of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the programming strip of  FIGS. 5A and 5B ; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged end view of a connector for removably receiving the programming strip of  FIG. 6  and operably attaching the strip to a programming unit; 
       FIG. 8  is a side view of the connector of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a top view of the connector of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective assembly view of the connector of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 11  is a cross sectional view of the connector of  FIG. 7  along plane  11 — 11  of  FIG. 9  with a latch in the open position; 
       FIG. 12  is similar to  FIG. 11  with the programming strip received by the connector and the latch in the closed position; 
       FIGS. 13 and 14  show the programming strip inserted into the hearing aid with the battery door open and closed, respectively; 
       FIG. 15  is a cross sectional view along plane  15 — 15  of  FIG. 13 ; 
       FIGS. 16A–F  depicted various views of an alternative embodiment of a connector for removably receiving the programming strip of  FIG. 7  an operably connecting the strip to a programming unit; and 
       FIG. 17  is an assembly view of the connector of  FIG. 16  for removably receiving the programming strip an operably attached to a programming unit via a cable assembly. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   A programmable completely-in-canal hearing aid  12  is depicted in  FIG. 1 . The hearing aid  12  includes a housing  14  and a faceplate  16 . The faceplate  16  closes off the hearing aid housing  14  and supports a battery door  18 , a retrieval line  20 , and a microphone  22 . The faceplate  16  also includes a vent  24  and a rectangular opening  26  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ). 
   The opening  26  is shaped to mate with the battery door  18  described below, and is rectangular because conventional battery doors (e.g., door  18 ) fit into rectangular openings. However, it is possible to use an opening  26  of another shape. 
   The battery door  18  is conventional and designed to receive a hearing aid battery (not shown) and hold the battery in position as the battery door is opened and closed. When a battery is located in the battery door  18  and the door is closed, the anode and cathode of the battery are urged against corresponding terminals (not shown) within the hearing aid  12  to provide power to circuit  28  ( FIG. 4 ) discussed below. Such terminals are conventional and are not discussed further. 
   As is conventional in this art, to provide a hinge for the battery door  18 , the faceplate  16  is provided with a metal pin  30  embedded at its ends in the faceplate. The pin  30  is adjacent one end  32  of the opening  30  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The battery door  18  is provided with a snap-in clip  34  that snaps onto the pin  30  to hingedly secure the door  18  to the faceplate  16  and thereby allow the door to be opened and closed. 
   The exterior surface  36  of the door  18  has four edges; two elongated sides  38  and  39 , a proximal end  40  and a distal end  42 . In conventional fashion, mating regions on the faceplate  16  and the distal end  42  form a latch that keeps the door  18  latched when in the closed position. The door  18  is dimensioned to have the closest possible fit within the opening  26 , except along one of the edges  36 ,  38 ,  40  and  42 . Along this edge, the door  18  is slightly undersized, forming a slot that is bounded by the edge and by the opening  26 . As will be described in more detail below, this slot is used as an access port into which a flexible programming strip  44  (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) is inserted to program the hearing aid  12 . 
   The slot  46  is bounded by the proximal end  40  of the door  18  and the end  32  of the opening  26 . (See  FIG. 3 .) This makes it possible to use a completely conventional battery door  18 . However, it is possible to locate the slot  46  elsewhere around the door  18 . 
   In an embodiment, the slot  46  is 4 mils wide to accommodate a programming strip made of conventional 3.8 mil flexible printed circuit board. To achieve this thickness, it is necessary to make the faceplate  16 , the pin  30  and the door  18  to tight tolerances. However, if desired, the slot  46  can have a different width. 
   A programmable hearing aid circuit  28  ( FIGS. 4 , and  13 – 15 ) is provided inside the housing  14 . The circuit  28  is connected directly or indirectly to the microphone  22  and to the receiver (not shown) located in the medial tip  48  of the hearing aid. In the preferred embodiment, the circuit  28  is designed with power supplied to the circuit from the battery (not shown), three terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54  (see  FIG. 15 ) are sufficient to program the circuit and to read the settings that have been programmed into it. However, in alternative embodiments, more or fewer terminals can be used instead. 
   The terminals  50 ,  52  and  54  are located on a support  56  integral with the faceplate  16 . The support  56  is curved to follow the shape of the battery door  18  when the battery door is in the closed position. The terminals  50 ,  52  and  54  are part of a flexible copper-Kapton printed circuit board  57  connected to the circuit  28 . Alternatively, the terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54  can be individual components embedded in the support  56  and connected to the circuit  28  such as by hard-wiring. 
   A programming strip  44  such as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 ,  6 ,  13  and  14  is used to program the hearing aid  12 . Advantageously, the strip  44  is flexible and 3.8 mils thick, and is formed using copper as the electrical conductors and Kapton as the substrate. As will be seen below, the strip  44  is designed so it operates properly regardless of the direction in which it is inserted into the slot  46 . However, for clarity, the operation of the programming strip  44  will first be explained with reference to its three electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62 . 
   The electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62  are dimensioned to mate with the terminals  50 ,  52  and  54  respectively. The electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62  are operably connected to an external programming unit ( FIG. 12 ) via a connector  64  ( FIGS. 10–14 ) attached to a cable  66 . The programming unit provides electrical signals to the electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62 , and when these electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62  are connected to the terminals  50 ,  52  and  54  and the battery is installed, these signals are used to program the circuit  28 . 
   The programming strip  44  is dimensioned to fit into the slot  46  adjacent the battery door  18 . If desired, the strip  44  can be ridged and the support  56  and printed circuit board  57  can be grooved to match. The programming strip  44  can also be thicker at its distal end than at its proximal end. Persons skilled in the art can adapt the shapes of the strip  44  and the support  56  to serve in whatever particular application is desired. 
   Turning to  FIGS. 7–12 , an opening  68  in the connector  64  provides for receiving a portion  69  of the programming strip  56  while allowing another portion  70  of the strip extending from the connector  64  to be inserted into the hearing aid  12 . The connector  64  includes a plurality of electrically conductive metal or metal alloy contacts  70  mounted to an electrically insulative plastic base block  72 . The contacts  70  are arranged into an adjustable group  73  of three contacts and a corresponding fixed group  74  of three contacts mounted on opposite sides of block  72 . Accordingly, the adjustably contact group  73  is spaced from the fixed group  74  by a distance adequate for insertion of the programming strip between the contact groups. 
   The connector  64  includes a plastic housing having a front cap  76  and a rear cap  77 . The front cap  74  receives a portion of the base block  72  and the distal end portions of both the adjustable and fixed contact groups  73  and  74 , respectively. The rear cap  77  also receives a portion of the base block  72  and the proximal end portions of the adjustable and fixed contact groups  73  and  74 . Further, the rear cap  77  receives the proximal end of a cable strain relief member  78  wherein cable  66  extends into through a longitudinal bore  80  passing through the strain relief member. 
   The cable  66  includes a plurality of electrical leads operably attached by conventional means to the contacts  70  within the connector  64 . Also, as stated previously, the cable  66  is operably connected to a hearing aid programming unit. 
   Pivotally mounted to the connector  64  is a locking lever arm  82  that can be moved by a user between a programming strip release position and a clamping position. The lever arm  82  abuts against the adjustable group  73  of contacts  70 . Movement of the lever arm  82  to the clamping position (i.e.,  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  12 ) results in the arm moving and locking the adjustable group  73  of contacts  70  toward the fixed group  74  of contacts. Accordingly, the portion  69  of the programing strip  44  within the connector  64  is clamped between the adjustable group  73  of contacts  70  and the fixed group  74  of contacts. Moreover, the connector contacts  70  are brought into contact with the electrodes  58 , 60 , 62  of the programming strip  44 . This results in the hearing aid programming unit being operably connected to the programing strip electrodes  58 , 60 , 62 . 
   The lever arm  82  is held in the clamping position by the memory of the adjustably group  73  of contacts  70  resiliently applying pressure against the lever arm to maintain its position. However, the lever arm  82  can be released from the clamping position by a user applying adequate force to overcome the pressure applied by the adjustably group  73  of contacts  70 . 
   Turning to  FIGS. 13 and 14 , to program the hearing aid  12 , the battery door  18  is opened and a battery (not shown) is placed therein. The programing strip  44  is then inserted into the slot  46  in such a manner that the electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62  face the terminals  50 ,  52  and  54 . Insertion can continue until the connector  64  strikes the faceplate  16  or another part of the aid. As can be seen in  FIG. 13 , the programming strip  44  is then suspended between the door  18  and the printed circuit board  57 . 
   When the battery door  18  is closed, it presses the programming strip  44  against the printed circuit board  57  so the electrodes  58 ,  60  and  62  make electrical contact with the terminals  50 ,  52  and  54  respectively. At the same time, the battery (not shown) is connected to the circuit  28 . In this condition, the circuit  28  can be programmed by, or read by, the programming unit. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the strip  44  actually has electrodes on both sides. On the reverse side, the strip  44  has three electrodes  84 ,  86  and  88 . 
   Also, each contact  70  in the adjustable group  73  is operably attached by a conductive lead or the like (not show) to an oppositely mounted contact within the fixed group  74 . Accordingly, when the programming strip  44  is clamped between the contacts  70  in the adjustably group  73  and fixed group  74 , electrodes  84  and  58  are in electrical communication with each other along with the same conductor in the cable  66 , electrodes  86  and  60  are in electrical communication with each other along with the same conductor in the cable  66 , and electrodes  88  and  62  are in electrical communication with each other along with the same conductor in the cable  66 . By using this structure, it does not matter whether the programming strip  44  is inserted into the hearing aid  12  with the electrodes  58 ,  60 ,  62  facing the terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54 , or whether the electrodes  88 ,  86 ,  64  face the terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54 . Similarly, it does not matter whether the programming strip  44  is inserted into the connector  64  with the terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54  facing the adjustably group  73  of contacts  70  or the fixed group  74  of contacts. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the programming strip  44  is advantageously inserted into the hearing aid  12  when the battery door  18  open. This is to minimize wear and physical stress on the strip  44 , but it is not required. It is alternatively possible to make strip  44  comparatively rigid and to, e.g., supply springs that would urge the terminals  50 ,  52 ,  54  towards the door  18 . 
   Turning to  FIGS. 16A–F and 17  an alternative embodiment is depicted of a connector for removably receiving the programming strip of  FIG. 7  and operably connecting it to a programming unit. In the FIGURES, the last two digits within the 100 series of reference numbers correspond in structure and/or function with like numbered elements previously described. 
   The front  176  of the connector  164  includes an opening  68  for receiving a programming strip  144 . The connector  164  has a lever arm  182  that can be moved and locked to a closed position to secure the a portion of the programming strip  144  within the slot  168  of the connector and to place the electrodes  158 , 160 , 162  in electrical communication therewith. 
   The rear  177  of the connector  164  includes a jack  190  for receiving a plug  192  operably attached to cable  166 . Insertion of the plug  192  into the jack  190  establishes a connection between the programming unit and the connector  164 , via both cable  166  and a cable connector  194  operably attached thereto. The cable connector  194  provides for removably connecting the cable  166  to the programming unit. Preferably, the jack  190  includes a plurality of pins that are received by corresponding sockets in the plug  192 . 
   In a further alternative embodiment, the jack  190  of the connector  164  can be adapted to receive, and clamp onto, the end of another flexible programming strip extending from a programming cable such at shown in  FIGS. 7A ,  7 B and  8  of U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,095 to Hanright. 
   Although a preferred embodiment has been described above, the scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims.