Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 10/791,584, filed Mar. 2, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Wax guards prevent cerumen or ear wax from entering the shell of a hearing instrument through the receiver tube, the conduit that passes the sound generated by the receiver to the outside and ultimately towards the ear drum of the person wearing the instrument. One type of wax guard comprises a cylinder with a flange and a bridge that spans the flange, covering the opening of the cylinder. Over time however wax does work its way under the bridge and into the cylindrical portion of the wax guard and at some point the wax guard must be replaced to insure the passage of sound. 
     Since the wax guard is a fairly small component, a tool is provided to transfer the wax guard from its packaging to the receiver tube of the hearing instrument. A tool having a pair of opposing, spaced-apart elements exhibiting a degree of spring-like action is placed on the top of the bridge of the wax guard. The tool is then pushed downwardly to force apart the opposing elements so that they will slip under the bridge. Protrusions on the opposing elements of the tool enhance the tool&#39;s ability to maintain a grasp underneath the bridge. Next, the tool is lifted, pulling the wax guard out of the holder and then guides the wax guard into the end of a receiver tube. The tool can then be removed from the wax guard by sliding the tool laterally along a fine defined by the span of the bridge. The spring action of the tool allows the elements move apart and clear the bridge while insuring that the wax guard remains seated in the receiver tube. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective drawing of a wax guard; 
         FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4  depict several views of a tool for grasping and inserting a wax guard into the receiver tube of a hearing instrument; 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are drawings of a portion of the tool of  FIGS. 2-4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a drawing of wax guards in a holder and the tool grasping the bridge of one of the wax guards; 
         FIG. 8  is a photograph of the tool holding a wax guard in proximity to a receiver tube opening; 
         FIG. 9  is a photograph of the tool holding a wax guard inserted into the receiver tube opening; and 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  are photographs of the tool sliding off the bridge of a wax guard after the wax guard has been inserted into the receiver tube opening. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A wax guard  10  having a cylindrical portion  20 , a flange  22 , and a bridge  24  spanning an opening  26  is shown in  FIG. 1 . The opening  26  is at one end of the inside (not shown) of the cylindrical portion  20 . The outer surface  28  of the cylindrical portion  20  may have raised elements such as the dimples  30  shown here to create an interference fit when inserted into a receiver tube (see  FIG. 7 ). 
     A tool  100  for grasping and inserting a wax guard  10  into a receiver tube is shown in  FIGS. 2-6 .  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4  are top, side, and bottom views, respectively, of the tool  100 . The tool  100  has a shaft or support element  102  that defines an axis  104  as a dashed line in  FIG. 4 ). The top surface  110  of the support element  102  may have crenelations  112  to provide a grip for the user. 
     The portion of the tool  100  that grasps the wax guard  10  is the shown on the right in  FIGS. 2-4  and in more detail in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . A pair of flexible, opposing, spaced-apart jaws  120  are affixed to the support element or shaft  102  and oriented in a direction parallel to the tool axis  104 . The jaws  120  exhibit spring-like action and will move apart when pushed in a direction parallel to the axis  104  of the tool  100  over the bridge  24  of a wax guard  10 , which has a dimension greater than the distance between the jaws  120  in their unflexed state. 
     The inner faces  122  of the jaws  120  may be provided with protrusions  124  that will slide under the bridge  24  of the wax guard  10 . To facilitate grasping and releasing the wax guard  107  the edges of the protrusions  124  can be provided with a radius. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the wax guards  10  may come on a flat or some other holder that may be fabricated from foam or some other suitable material. The tool  100  is placed above the bridge  24  of a wax guard  10 , with the opening  126  between the jaws  120  aligned with the span of the bridge  24  and pushed downwardly onto the wax guard  10 . The downward force of the tool  100  (in the direction of the tool axis  104 ) on the bridge  24  will cause the jaws  120  to move apart. Once the protrusions  124  get past the bridge  24 , the jaws  120  will come together by virtue of the spring action of the tool  100 . The tool  100  is now lifted up, pulling the wax guard  10  out of the holder  50 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the tool  100  grasping a wax guard  10  in its jaws  120  is then positioned near a hearing instrument  200 . The instrument  200  has an opening  210  to a receiver tube  212  that will accept a wax guard  10 . The wax guard  10  is then inserted into the opening  210  as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     To remove the tool  100  from the wax guard  10 , the tool  100  may be slid laterally along a line defined by the span of the bridge  24  (transverse to the tool axis  104 , illustrated by the large arrow in  FIGS. 10 and 11 ). The spring action of the tool  100  allows the elements to move apart and clear the bridge  24 . 
     Tools  100  fabricated from polycarbonate such as Makrolon 6555 have performed satisfactorily. The dimensions of the jaws  120  are selected to yield a desired spring action and a pull force sufficient to remove the wax guard from the holder  50 .

Technology Category: 5