| 摘要 |
1,140,290. Ear-plug. DOW CORNING CORP. 13 Sept., 1967 [30 Sept., 1966], No. 41707/67. Heading B5A. [Also in Division A5] An ear-plug for a hearing aid is formed by inserting into the patient's ear canal a body 14 of protective material to prevent damage to the ear drum, inserting into the ear canal a length of flexible tubing 15, injecting into the ear canal a sufficient quantity of curable, non-slumping, conformable material 18 to surround the tubing and fill a portion of the ear canal as far as the protective material, allowing the injected material to cure, and removing the cured material with the tubing and the protective material from the ear. As shown, the protective material 14 is a cotton or other fibrous material, the injected material 18 is a roomtemperature-curing silicone rubber, and the tubing 15 is of silicone rubber or a thermoplastic material which may be heat-set into a chosen shape. A plug 16 of silicone rubber or polyurethane foam material is fitted to the end of the tubing and a reinforcing member 17 of solder is temporarily fitted into the tubing so as to hold the tubing against collapse while the curable material 18 is injected. When the injected material is set, the plug is removed from the ear and the inner end of the plug is cut and rounded off (Fig. 2, not shown) so that the end of the tube is open. A ring 19 for connection with the hearing aid may be embedded in the material 18 and the tubing 15 (and the temporary reinforcing member 17) preferably extends into the hearing aid which may be in the form, e.g. of a spectacle frame. A vent may be provided through the plug.
|
