Patent · US Expired

Binaural hearing aid

US5479522A · kind A · utility

170Cited by
8References
15Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 17, 1993
Grant dateDec 26, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 17, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04R25/554
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

This invention relates to a hearing enhancement system having an ear device for each of the wearer's ears, each ear device has a sound transducer, or microphone, and a sound reproducer, or speaker, and associated electronics for the microphone and speaker. Further, the electronic enhancement of the audio signals is performed at a remote digital signal processor (DSP) likely located in a body pack worn somewhere on the body by the user. There is a down-link from each ear device to the (DSP) and an up-link from the DSP to each ear device. The DSP digitally interactively processes the audio signals for each ear based on both of the audio signals received from each ear device. In other words, the enhancement of the audio signal for the left ear is based on the both the right and left audio signals received by the DSP. In addition digital filters implemented at the DSP have a linear phase response so that time relationships at different frequencies are preserved. The digital filters have a magnitude and phase response to compensate for phase distortions due to analog filters in the signal path and due to the resonances and nulls of the ear canal.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.