Hearing assistance system
US10735870B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 7, 2016 |
| Grant date | Aug 4, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 7, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R2430/20
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
There is provided a system for providing hearing assistance to a user, comprising: a table microphone unit (10) for capturing audio signals from a speaker's voice, comprising a microphone arrangement (16) comprising at least three microphones (M1, M2, M3) arranged in a non-linear manner, a beamformer unit (48) comprising a plurality of beamformers (BF1, BF2, . . . ), wherein each beamformer is configured to generate an acoustic beam (B1, B2, . . . ) by beamforming processing of audio signals captured by a subset of the microphones in such a manner that the acoustic beam has a fixed direction, an audio signal analyzer unit (52) for analyzing the beams in order to determine at least one acoustic parameter for each acoustic beam, a beam selection unit (54) for selecting one of the acoustic beams as the presently active beam based on the values of the at least one acoustic parameter, an output unit (60) for providing an acoustic output stream (26), wherein the output unit is configured to provide, during stationary phases of the beam selection, the presently active beam as the output stream, and to provide, during a transition period starting upon switching of the beam selection from a…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.