Optical waveguide vibration sensor for use in hearing aid
US7444877B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 20, 2003 |
| Grant date | Nov 4, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 17, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49572
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A directionally-sensitive device for detecting and processing vibration waves includes an array of polymeric optical waveguide resonators positioned between a light source, such as an LED array, and a light detector, such as a photodiode array. The resonators which are preferably oriented substantially perpendicularly with respect to incoming vibration waves, vibrate when a wave is detected, thus modulating light signals that are transmitted between the light source and the light detector. The light detector converts the modulated light into electrical signals which, in a preferred embodiment, are used to drive either the speaker of a hearing aid or the electrode array of a cochlear implant. The device is manufactured using a combination of traditional semiconductor processes and polymer microfabrication techniques.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.