Nova Patents
US3239093A

Hearing aid casing of the miniature type

Abstract

This record has no abstract on file.

US3239093A, drawing sheet 1
Sheet 1 of 7

Term

Term ended

Expired 8 March 1983, 43.5 years ago.

  1. Priority
  2. Filed
  3. Granted
  4. Expired
  5. Today

6 claims: 6 independent, 0 dependent

  1. 1
    I claim:1. In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising: two shell parts provided with complementary edge portions facing each other and adapted to be assembled gg into said casing, said edge portions being partially at least approximately linear and partially relatively strongly curved to form relatively sharper bends, and mutually interengageable locking means at said θθ edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essentially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, said complementary under-cut means being provided with cooperating inclined surfaces which abut against each other with said casing assembled, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being smaller within the regions of said bends than in the approximately linear regions of said edge portions.
  2. 2
    In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising:two shell parts provided with complementary edge portions facing each other and adapted to be assembled into said casing, said edge portions being partially at least approximately linear and partially relatively str ongly curved to form relatively sharper bends, and mutually interengageable locking means at said edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essentially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, said complementary under-cut means being provided with cooperating inclined surfaces which abut against each other with said casing assembled, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being smaller within the regions of said bends than in the approximately linear regions of said edge portions, said angle being of the order 7°-10° within said approximately linear regions and being of the order of 3°-5° within the regions of said bends.
  3. 3
    In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising:two shell parts provided with complementary edge portions facing each other and adapted to be assembled into said casing, said edge portions being partially at least approximately linear and partially relatively strongly curved to form relatively sharper bends, and mutually interengageable locking means at said edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essentially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, whereby said casing is held together exclusively by said locking means, faces which abut against each other with said casing said complementary under-cut means being provided with substantially rectilinear cooperating inclined surassembled, the inclined surfaces at the outer undercut means sloping inwardly of said casing in the direction of the free extremity thereof, and the inclined surfaces at the inner under-cut means sloping outwardly of said casing in the direction of the free extremity thereof, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being smaller within the regions of said bends than in the approximately linear regions of said edge portions, said angle being of the order 7°-10° within said approximately linear regions and being of the order of 3°-5° within the regions of said bends, the under-cut means provided with said outwardly inclined surfaces being somewhat higher than the depth of the complementary under-cut means provided with said inwardly inclined surfaces to provide a gap between the two parts.
  4. 4
    In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising:two shell parts provided with complementary edge portions facing each other and adapted to be assembled into said casing, 3,239,093 said edge portions being partially at least approximately linear and partially relatively strongly curved to form relatively sharper bends, and mutually interengageable locking means at said edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essentially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, whereby said casing is held together exclusively by said locking means, said complementary under-cut means being provided with substantially rectilinear cooperating inclined surfaces which abut against each other with said casing assembled, the inclined surfaces at the outer under-cut means sloping inwardly of said casing in the direction of the free extremity thereof, and the inclined surfaces at the inner under-cut means sloping outwardly of said casing in the direction of the free extremity thereof, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being smaller within the regions of said bends than in the approximately linear regions of said edge portions, said angle being of the order 7°-10° within said approximately linear regions and being of the order of 3°-5° within the regions of said bends, the under-cut means provided with said outwardly inclined surfaces being somewhat higher than the depth of the complementary under-cut means provided with said inwardly inclined surfaces to provide a gap between the two parts, said shell parts being made of styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer.
  5. 5
    In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising:two shell parts provided with complementary edge portions facing each other and adapted to be assembled into said casing, and mutually interengageable locking means at said edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essentially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, said complementary under-cut means being provided with cooperating inclined surfaces which abut against each other with said casing assembled, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being of the order of 7°-10° within said approximately linear regions and being of the order of 3°-5° within the regions of said bends. 8
  6. 6
    In a miniature hearing aid apparatus in which miniature elements are arranged within a plastic casing, said casing comprising:two shell parts provided with complementary edge por5 tions facing each other and adapted to be assembled into said casing, and mutually interengageable locking means at said edge portions for holding the two parts together in the assembled condition of the casing and essen1θ tially consisting of only complementary under-cut means operable to elastically engage one with the other with said two shell parts assembled into said casing, whereby said casing is held together exclusively by said locking means, 15 said complementary under-cut means being provided with substantially rectilinear cooperating inclined sunrfaces which abut against each other with said casing assembled, the inclined surfaces at the outer under-cut means sloping inwardly of said casing in 20 the direction of the free extremity thereof, and the inclined surfaces at the inner under-cut means sloping outwardly of said casing in the direction of the free extremity thereof, said inclined surfaces forming an acute angle, which is 25 less than 20° and larger than 3°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the separating plane between said shell parts, said angle being of the order 7°-10° within said approximately linear regions and being of the order 30 of 3°-5° within the regions of said beads. the under-cut means provided with said outwardly inclined surfaces being somewhat higher than the depth of the complementary under-cut means provided with said inwardly inclined surfaces to provide a gap be35 tween the two parts. References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,597,087 5/1952 Cowgill____________117—161 2,674,547 4/1954 Paxton et al.-------117—161 2,720,332 10/1955 Holt _______________ 220—60 2,959,645 11/1960 Ladd______________ 220—4 X 45 2,998,896 9/1961 Miller--------------- 220—4 3,031,537 4/1962 Rose______________ 179—107 3,035,127 5/1962 Strzalkowski________179—107 3,095,995 7/1963 Foster______________ 220—60 50 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,114,848 10/1961 Germany. THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 55 ROBERT H. ROSE, EARLE I. DRUMMOND, Examiners. H. W. GARNER, G. E. LOWRANCE, Assistant Examiners.
Independent claims6