Waterproof Hearing Aid Button Structure Using Pad and FPC Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hearing aids with poor waterproof performance are prone to malfunction due to water or sweat intrusion, leading to reduced service life and efficiency, and traditional waterproof structures increase size and weight, while penetrate-through buttons compromise sealing.
Innovation Solution
A waterproof hearing aid design using a waterproof pad and flexible printed circuit (FPC) board to connect buttons to the circuit board, ensuring complete sealing and reducing the risk of water ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a waterproof membrane is provided inside the main body to seal the power module and circuit module, then waterproof performance is improved, but the size and weight of the main body increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional waterproof membrane from the interior of the main body and replaces it with a waterproof coating applied directly to the inner surface of the housing. This extraction of the bulky membrane structure eliminates the need for additional sealing layers, thereby reducing the overall weight and size while maintaining waterproof protection for the internal components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a thin waterproof coating film applied to the housing interior instead of a thick waterproof membrane. This thin film approach provides effective waterproof sealing while minimizing the addition of weight and volume, directly addressing the contradiction between waterproof performance and weight reduction.
2Reliability
If a waterproof membrane is provided inside the main body to seal components, then waterproof performance is improved, but the device complexity and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the waterproof membrane component from the assembly and replaces it with an integrated waterproof coating on the housing. This eliminates the need for separate membrane installation steps and reduces the number of components that need to be assembled, thereby simplifying the overall device structure and assembly process.
Solution Approach 2:
The waterproof function is merged into the housing structure itself through the application of a waterproof coating on the inner surface. This integration eliminates the need for separate waterproof membranes and sealing components, reducing device complexity and making the waterproof feature inherent to the housing rather than an added component.
3Ease of operation
If penetrate-through buttons are used to allow button action on the housing, then ease of operation is improved, but complete sealing and waterproofing cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical penetrate-through button structure with a capacitive touch sensor system. Instead of physical buttons that pierce the housing and compromise sealing, the touch sensor detects finger contact through the intact housing surface, maintaining complete waterproof sealing while providing the same user interaction functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a touch-sensitive flexible layer into the housing that can detect button presses without requiring physical penetration. This flexible sensing layer maintains the integrity of the waterproof housing while enabling button operation through capacitive or resistive touch detection, thus preserving both ease of operation and waterproof sealing.
Data Source
AI summary
A main body of a waterproof hearing aid includes a body portion, a body mounting housing located outside the body portion, and buttons located on the body mounting housing, where the body portion includes a liner, a waterproof pad located above the liner, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board, and a circuit board located inside the liner; the body mounting housing is provided with button openings; a contact end located at an inner end of each button extends into the body mounting housing from the button opening; the waterproof pad is located on the FPC board; the FPC board is connected to the circuit board; and the contact end of each button is configured to press down on a touch switch on the FPC board through the waterproof pad, thereby connecting the circuit board.