Customized ear tips

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10986432-B2
Application number	US-201715640055-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2017
Priority date	Jun 30, 2017
Publication date	Apr 20, 2021
Grant date	Apr 20, 2021

Abstract

The technology described in this document can be embodied in a method that includes receiving one or more electronic files comprising information on structural features of a portion of an ear of a user, generating an electronic representation of the eartip or a cast based on a portion of the information on the structural features of the portion of the ear, and producing the eartip based on the electronic representation. The eartip includes an outlet, and a sealing structure disposed around an exterior of the outlet, wherein a first end of the sealing structure is attached to the outlet, and a second, opposite end of the sealing structure is physically separated from the exterior of the outlet. Generating the electronic representation includes configuring one or more structural parameters of the outlet or the sealing structure in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of producing an eartip, the method comprising:
receiving one or more electronic files comprising information on structural features of a portion of an ear of a user;
receiving user-input indicative of an eartip-type, the eartip-type corresponding to a depth of insertion of the eartip,
generating, by one or more processing devices, an electronic representation of the eartip or a cast of the eartip based on at least a portion of the information on the structural features of the portion of the ear; and
producing the eartip based on the electronic representation, such that the eartip comprises (i) an outlet, (ii) a sealing structure disposed around an exterior of the outlet, wherein a first end of the sealing structure is attached to the outlet, and a second, opposite end of the sealing structure is physically separated from the exterior of the outlet, (iii) a body connected to the outlet, and (iv) a retaining structure connected to the body, such that when the eartip is worn by the user, the body fits in at least a part of the concha of the user's ear, and the retaining structure applies pressure to the antihelix of the user's ear,
wherein generating the electronic representation comprises configuring one or more structural parameters of the outlet or the sealing structure in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear, and configuring the one or more structural parameters of the sealing structure comprises oversizing a body end portion of the sealing structure based on the user-input to achieve the depth of insertion of the eartip.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a thickness of at least a portion of the sealing structure, the thickness being a distance between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the sealing structure.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a thickness of at least a portion of the outlet, the thickness being a distance between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the outlet.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a length and curvature of the outlet in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring an orientation of the sealing structure in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear.

6. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the one or more electronic files comprise information on structural features of an antihelix of a user, and configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a location at which the retaining structure is connected to the body.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a location at which the outlet is connected to the body.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising configuring the retaining structure in accordance with structural features of the pinna of the user's ear.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more electronic files are generated, at least in part, based on a mold of the portion of the ear of the user.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic representation of the eartip comprises a first portion of the sealing structure that is undersized with respect to a corresponding first portion of an ear canal, and a second portion of the sealing structure that is oversized with respect to a corresponding second portion of the ear canal.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
responsive to receiving the user-input indicative of the eartip-type, determining the location of at least one of the first portion and the second portion of the sealing structure with respect to the structural features of the ear canal.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
responsive to receiving the user-input indicative of the eartip type, determining the location of a distal end of the outlet with respect to the structural features of the portion of the ear.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein producing the eartip based on the electronic representation comprises:
producing a cast based on the electronic representation; and
producing the eartip using the cast.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more structural parameters comprises the length of the outlet and cross sectional area of at least a portion of the outlet, and at least one of the length and the cross sectional area is configured based on target acoustic characteristics of the eartip.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the target acoustic characteristics comprise an acoustic mass below 900 Kg/m 4 .

16. One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices having encoded thereon computer readable instructions for causing one or more processing devices to perform operations comprising:
receiving one or more electronic files comprising information on structural features of a portion of an ear of a user;
receiving user-input indicative of an eartip-type, the eartip-type corresponding to the user's preferences for a depth of insertion of the eartip; and
generating an electronic representation of an eartip or a cast for the eartip based on at least a portion of the information on the structural features of the portion of the ear, wherein the eartip comprises (i) an outlet, (ii) a sealing structure disposed around an exterior of the outlet, wherein a first end of the sealing structure is attached to the outlet, and a second, opposite end of the sealing structure is physically separated from the exterior of the outlet (iii) a body connected to the outlet, and (iv) a retaining structure connected to the body, such that when the eartip is worn by the user, the body fits in at least a part of the concha of the user's ear, and the retaining structure applies pressure to the antihelix of the user's ear,
wherein generating the electronic representation comprises configuring one or more structural parameters of the outlet or the sealing structure in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear, and configuring the one or more structural parameters of the sealing structure comprises oversizing a body end portion of the sealing structure based on the user-input to achieve the depth of insertion of the eartip.

17. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices of claim 16 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a thickness of at least a portion of the sealing structure, the thickness being a distance between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the sealing structure.

18. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices of claim 16 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a thickness of at least a portion of the outlet, the thickness being a distance between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the outlet.

19. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices of claim 16 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring a length and curvature of the outlet in accordance with the structural features of the portion of the ear.

20. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage devices of claim 16 , wherein configuring the one or more structural parameters comprises configuring an orien

Assignees

• Bose Corp

Inventors

• Paetsch Christopher R
• Dominijanni Andrew D
• Grenier John Gerard
• Fligor Brian
• Gauger Jr Daniel M

Classifications

• H04R2225/77

  Design aspects, e.g. CAD, of hearing aid tips, moulds or housings · CPC title

• H04R1/105

  Earpiece supports, e.g. ear hooks (for stereophonic headphones H04R5/0335) · CPC title

• H04R1/1058

  Manufacture or assembly · CPC title

• H04R1/1016 Primary

  Earpieces of the intra-aural type · CPC title

• H04R2460/15

  Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices · CPC title