Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit with at least one loudspeaker

Abstract

In an interchangeable hearing and speaking unit with at least one loudspeaker arranged in a housing section of its housing, it is provided that the housing section with the loudspeaker is spatially extended by at least one collar section, wherein the collar section forms an earpiece at least in sections. This alternating hearing and speaking unit is particularly useful for people with hearing impairments who use a hearing aid to better understand conversations transmitted via the alternating hearing and speaking unit.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an interchangeable hearing and speaking unit with at least one loudspeaker arranged in a housing section of its housing.

[0002] Interchangeable hearing and speaking units of the aforementioned type include, for example, units connected to a landline telephone by a cord, which include a speaker placed near the ear and a microphone held in front of the mouth. Interchangeable hearing and speaking units can also be designed as portable devices, such as DECT telephones, connected to landline base stations. Still other interchangeable hearing and speaking units are designed as mobile phones.

[0003] What these interchangeable hearing and speech units have in common is that they all include a loudspeaker. This loudspeaker is located in a section of the housing of the interchangeable hearing and speech unit. The housing often has openings through which sound waves from the loudspeaker can escape, for example, when the receiver is held to the ear.

[0004] People with hearing loss have difficulty using a conventional landline or mobile phone. These difficulties also arise when wearing a hearing aid, regardless of the type used. This is due, among other things, to the flat design of the speaker housings, which prevents sound waves from passing the ear and, in particular, from reaching the hearing aid microphones.

[0005] The invention is therefore based on the object of demonstrating an alternating hearing and speaking unit of the type mentioned at the outset, which serves in particular for the hard of hearing when using a hearing aid to better understand the sounds transmitted via the alternating hearing and speaking unit, in particular conversations.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention in that the housing section with the loudspeaker is spatially extended by at least one collar section, wherein the collar section forms an earpiece at least in sections.

[0007] The invention therefore proposes a structural modification of the interchangeable hearing and speaking unit in its area and around the loudspeaker. A collar section is to be attached to the housing section, extending the housing section with the loudspeaker. This extension is designed as an earpiece, transforming the flat section of a normal telephone handset with the loudspeaker into a shell-shaped section that can be placed on the head near the ear and thus encloses the ear to absorb sound waves.

[0008] The collar section is preferably molded onto the housing so that it is firmly connected to the rest of the housing of the interchangeable hearing and speech unit. However, in the case of a portable telephone, the collar section can also be pivoted onto the housing. When making a phone call, it can be pivoted to form the collar section that can be placed against the head. When transporting the mobile phone, the collar section can then be folded against the locked keypad, for example, to reduce the overall size of the mobile phone.

[0009] According to a further development of the invention, at least one further loudspeaker is arranged in the collar section, which is connected in parallel to the loudspeaker of the interchangeable hearing and speech unit. According to this development, not only the loudspeaker is present in the interchangeable hearing and speech unit, but also at least one further loudspeaker. This is arranged in the collar section. The arrangement can be such that this loudspeaker is just close to a common location for a hearing aid microphone when the interchangeable hearing and speech unit is placed against the head in the area of ​​the ear. This enables sound waves from the telephone to be transmitted directly to the hearing aid, advantageously improving communication for the telephone user with a hearing aid. For this purpose, the collar section can, for example, have a height of approximately 2 cm in relation to the level of the loudspeaker.

[0010] To further develop the invention, it can be provided that the collar section has an edge region that extends, at least in sections, approximately along a circular arc, and that several additional loudspeakers are arranged along this edge region. This development envisions different types of hearing aids with different microphone arrangements of these hearing aids. Several different hearing aids can be achieved by the several additional loudspeakers that are arranged approximately along a circular arc.

[0011] Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings. They show: Fig. 1: a landline telephone with an interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to the invention detached from the telephone and Fig. 2: portable telephone as an interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to the invention according to a second embodiment.

[0012] The landline telephone in Fig. 1 has a housing 1 that can be placed on a desk, with keys 2 and a display 3. It has a support area 4 for a handset 5, which forms an interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to patent claim 1. The handset 5 is connected to the telephone via a cable 6.

[0013] The earpiece 5 also has a housing. This housing has openings 7 in the area of ​​a microphone and openings 7 for a loudspeaker. The microphone and loudspeaker are arranged inside the housing of the earpiece 5. The housing section with the openings 7 for the loudspeaker is spatially expanded by a collar section 8. The collar section 8 is molded onto the earpiece 5. Additional loudspeakers 9 are arranged in the collar section 8.

[0014] The housing 1 of the landline telephone also has a spatial extension 10 in the support area 4 for supporting the handset 5.

[0015] The Fig. The portable telephone shown in Figure 2 is a telephone in itself; it has a housing 11. This housing 11 again contains keys 2 and a display 3. The openings 7 for the microphone and loudspeaker are also present.

[0016] The housing 11 again has the collar section 8 according to the invention in the area of ​​the loudspeaker. This is molded onto the housing 11 and has additional loudspeakers 9.

Claims

[1] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit with at least one loudspeaker arranged in a housing section of its housing, characterized by that the housing section with the loudspeaker is spatially extended by at least one collar section (8), wherein the collar section (8) forms an earpiece at least in sections. [2] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the collar section (8) is formed onto the housing (11). [3] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to claim 1, characterized by that the collar section (8) is pivotally connected to the housing (11). [4] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one further loudspeaker (9) is arranged in the collar section (8), which is connected in parallel to the loudspeaker of the interchangeable hearing and speaking unit. [5] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the collar section (8) has a height of approximately 2 cm in relation to the plane of the loudspeaker. [6] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the collar section (8) has an edge region which at least partially runs approximately on a circular arc and that several further loudspeakers (9) are arranged along this edge region. [7] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that it is a portable phone. [8] Interchangeable hearing and speaking unit according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that it is the handset (5) of a landline telephone.

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