Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices – Sound effects – Reverberators
Patent
1991-05-30
1993-04-13
Ng, Jin F.
Electrical audio signal processing systems and devices
Sound effects
Reverberators
381 682, 381 686, H04R 2500
Patent
active
052029271
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to any remote-controllable, programmable, hearing aid system, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,432.
In this system, a basic transmission characteristic is permanently set in the actual hearing aid in the individual stages of the transmission channel from the microphone to the earphone. Other transmission characteristics are stored in an external control unit and can be optionally selected by operation of a switch or pushbutton and transmitted to the receiver provided in the hearing aid by means of a transmitter incorporated in the external control unit.
After demodulation and corresponding processing, the signals picked up by the hearing aid serve the purpose of setting a different transmission characteristic of the hearing aid between the microphone and earphone for adaptation to one of several environmental situations digitally stored in an external control unit, for example in the form of control parameters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, this already very good system can be further improved by moving away completely from fixed transmission functions both in the hearing aid itself and in the control unit and thus not just considerably improving the versatility of the device but also decisively simplifying programming.
This is achieved by the invention by means of the characteristics of patent claim 1.
Refer to the other claims for further characteristics of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of the hearing aid in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 shows an external control unit and
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a further realization form of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a remote-controllable, programmable hearing aid system which consists of an external control unit 1 and an actual hearing aid 2, whereby the latter may be a device to be worn behind the ear or a device to be worn in the ear, for example.
In-ear devices may also be devices which are worn directly at the concha.
The control unit may possibly have the form of a device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,432, but may also be a programming device intended for a hearing aid acoustic specialist, this then allowing the control unit to be programmed in accordance with the above patent.
For simplicity's sake, let us take the first example for explanation purposes.
The control unit 1 contains a keypad 3 with a large number of keys or pushbuttons for input of audiometric data/information, data/information related to environmental situations and for calling data/information for a display.
This keypad 3 is connected to a data processor 4, i.e. microprocessor, to which a first memory 5 for audiometry data and a second memory 6 for data describing various environmental situations are connected in turn.
In addition, a display 7, for example in the form of a liquid-crystal display, is connected to the data processor 4. Finally, a transmitter 8 is also connected to the data processor 4, whereby the former is intended for wireless transmission of data/parameters to the actual hearing aid. An antenna 9 is provided on the transmitter for this purpose.
The hearing aid possesses a receiving antenna 10. The signals received there are demodulated in a receiver 11 and output to a control parameter register 12. There, the parameters intended for a specific transmission characteristic are converted from serial form to parallel form and supplied to individual stages of an amplifier and signal processor 13 for the respectively required adjustments of the transmission characteristic between the microphone 14 and earphone 15.
The control unit 1 with its keypad 3 is used, as already mentioned, for input of the audiometric data of a patient. These data relate in each case to the hearing loss at a number of discrete frequencies, i.e. at 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz etc.
Each of these values is entered by means of the key
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Le Huyen D.
Ng Jin F.
Topholm & Westermann ApS
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