Continuous Flow Earmold Tubing Connector

Earmolds of soft plastic material are known and used to connect tubing from the ear hook of behind the ear hearing aids and the sound conduction member of spectacle-type hearing aids. The earmolds fit in the ears of hearing-impaired persons and they include sound conduction openings in which an end of the tubing is located. The tubing-receiving section of the sound conduction opening in which the end of the tubing is to be frictionally secured has a larger diameter than the remaining section of the sound conduction opening to accommodate the tubing so that the inside diameter of the tubing is the same as the diameter of the remaining section of the sound conduction opening.

As a result of the use of friction to secure the tubing end in the tubing-receiving section of the sound conduction opening, the inside diameter of the tubing is reduced thereby creating discontinuities in the sound conduction path between the hearing aid and the eardrum which changes the response of the hearing aid.

Connectors have been used to connect the tubing to the ear mold and these are right-angled tubular members with one leg frictionally secured in the tubing-receiving section of the sound-conduction opening and the tubing fits onto the other leg of the connector. This creates a discontinuity and also changes the response of the hearing aid.

The present invention relates to connectors and more particularly to connectors for connecting sound conduction tubing to a sound conduction opening in an earmold.

The present invention is realized by an elbow-shaped connector that is molded from plastic material. It has about an 80 degree bend and includes a sound conduction tubular passage therealong having the same diameter along its length. One leg of the connector defines a tubing-receiving section for receiving an end of the sound conduction tubing therein; the internal diameter of the tubing-receiving section being only slightly greater than the outside diameter of the sound conduction tubing to enable the tubing to be easily fitted into the tubing-receiving section and the internal diameter of the sound conduction tubing is the same as the diameter of the sound conduction tubular passage in the connector. The other leg of the connector is provided with a nubbin having a conically-shaped barb at its outer end and a surface adjacent the barb of reduced diameter. The other leg is inserted in a section of a sound conduction bore of an earmold which has a configuration conforming to that of the conically-shaped barb and surface of reduced diameter thereby latching the connector in position in the sound conduction bore of the earmold with the remaining section of the sound conduction bore having the same diameter as that of the sound conduction tubular passage and the sound conduction tubing.

An object of the present invention is to provide a connector for connecting sound conduction tubing from a hearing aid to a sound conduction opening of an earmold.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a connector for connecting sound conduction tubing from a hearing aid to a sound conduction opening of an earmold so that the diameter of the sound conduction path along the sound conduction tubing, the sound conduction passage in the connector and the sound conduction opening is the same therealong.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a section of an earmold connector to receive an end of a sound conduction tubing therein so that the internal diameter of the sound conduction tubing is the same as a sound conduction passage in the connector.

An additional object of the present invention is the provision of an earmold connector having latch means to latchingly secure the connector within a sound conduction opening of an earmold.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a chamber in an earmold connector between the end of the sound conduction tubing and the tubing-receiving section of the connector to form a resonating chamber to better process sound of higher frequency.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to be understood that variations of the present invention can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective and exploded view of an earmold, earmold tubing connector, sound conduction tubing and hearing aid;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the parts assembled together;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the earmold, earmold tubing connector and sound conduction tubing; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment.

A conventional earmold 10 is molded from a plastic material to conform to and frictionally fit within a person's ear. The earmold is a pliable plastic that is compressible when finger and thumb pressure is applied thereto which classifies it as a soft plastic material. The earmold can also be made of a hard plastic material such as Lucite plastic.

The earmold includes a sound conduction opening or sound bore 12 extending from the bridge 14 and through the canal 16 which extends into the ear canal. The outer part of sound conduction bore 12 has a nubbin-receiving section defining section 12a having a diameter larger than bore 12 and a section 12b in the form of a frustum of a cone; bore 12 has the same diameter therealong from section 12b to the end of canal 16.

A connector 18 is molded from a suibable plastic material such as clear vinyl. It is elbow-shaped and has a bend of 80 degrees instead of 90 degrees for a better fit into sections 12a and 12b of bore 12, retention of the connector therein and orientation to receive one end of sound conduction tubing 20 therein which is also made of clear vinyl plastic like connector 18.

Connector 18 has a nubbin 22 at one end and a tubing receiving section 24 at the other end. Tubing receiving section 24 has a bore 26 that has a diameter only slightly larger than the outside diameter of sound conduction tubing 20 so that tubing 20 can be readily fitted within bore 26 against shoulder 28 with a conventional vinyl glue being used to secure tubing 20 within connector 18.

A sound conduction tubular passage 30 extends through connector 18 from bore 26 to the outer end of nubbin 22 and its diameter is the same as the inside diameter of sound conduction tubing 20 thereby defining a sound conduction path having the same diameter therealong.

Nubbin 22 has a conically-shaped surface of reduced diameter 32 and a conically-shaped barb 32 which mate with and conform to sections 12a and 12b respectively of sound conduction bore 12 in earmold 10 when nubbin 22 is force fitted into the nubbin-receiving section of bore 12. This can be done because connector 12 is flexible and nubbin 22 can be fitted into the nubbin receiving section.

When nubbin 22 is fitted into the nubbin-receiving section of bore 12 so that reduced-diameter surface 32 fits with section 12a and conically-shaped barb 32 fits within section 12b, a sealed connection is made and nubbin 22 is latchably secured with the nubbin-receiving section of bore 12 to connect sound conduction tubing 20 to the sound conduction bore 20 of earmold 10. This arrangement enables connector 18 to be easily unlatched from the earmold to enable tubing 20, connector 18 and bore 12 to be cleaned.

The diameter of bore 12 from section 12b to the outer end of canal 16 is the same as sound conduction tubular passage 30. Thus, when tubing 20 is secured within bore 26 and nubbin 22 is latchably connected within sections 12a and 12b of bore 12, a sound conduction path of the same diameter extends therealong which does not change the acoustical characteristics of amplified sound emanating from hearing aid 36 which has its ear hook 38 connected onto sound conduction tubing 20. Hearing aid 36 can be a behind the ear or spectacles hearing aid. The sound conduction passageway in the ear hook 38 and in the spectacles hearing aid has a diameter the same as the internal diameter of the sound conduction tubing. In this way, the fidelity of the frequencies of sound signals amplified by the hearing aid are more true because the sound conduction path along the sound conduction passageway, the sound conduction tubing, the sound conduction tubular passage and the sound conduction bore has the same diameter therealong.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention wherein the end of sound conduction tubing 20 is spaced from shoulder 28 within bore 26. This forms a chamber between the end of tubing 20 and sound conduction tubular passage 30. This chamber defines a resonating chamber to increase the processing of high frequency signals.

The present invention enables easy latchable connection of tubing from the hearing aid to the earmold and disconnection therefrom, provides a sound conduction path from the hearing aid to the end of the canal having the same diameter therealong and can form a resonating chamber in the connection of the tubing to the connector to increase high frequency signals.

Although the invention has been described as hereinbefore set forth, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed in the accompanying claims.