Vibratory aid for presbycusis
US4354064A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 19, 1980 |
| Grant date | Oct 12, 1982 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 19, 2000 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09B21/009
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention comprises a frequency responsive tactile stimulator. Selected mid-frequency and high frequency components are extracted from an input audio signal by a bandpass filter (18) and a high-pass filter (20). The outputs of these filters are transmitted through precision rectifiers (22, 24) and provided to modulate power drivers (26, 28). A random noise signal is generated by a noise generator (30) and limited to fixed length randomly distributed pulsed by a one-shot circuit (36). The random pulses are provided as the input to the power drivers (26, 28). The lower frequency power driver (26) drives a plurality of vibrators (42-48) which are spatially arranged on a transducer to cover a distinct area. The high frequency signal component modulates power driver (28) which drives two vibrators (50, 52) which are contiguously located to produce a punctate vibration. The use of the stimulator in accordance with the present invention together with an audio amplifier hearing aid provides the user with the ability to distinguish various high frequency signal components despite the loss of hearing for high frequency signals.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.