Hearing aid with frequency channels

• US 20060159285A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 07/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oticon A/S (William Demant Fonden)
• Original Assignee: Bernafon AG (William Demant Fonden)
• Inventors: Schefer, Matthias, Reber, Monika Bertges
• Granted Patent: US 7,796,770 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/98
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/41 Detection or adaptation of hearing aid parameters or programs to listening situation, e.g. pub, forest
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/43 Signal processing in hearing aids to enhance the speech intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/356 Amplitude, e.g. amplitude shift or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing

Abstract

The invention regards a method for sound processing in an audio device wherein an audio signal is provided and the audio signal is frequency shaped according to the need of a user of the audio device and the frequency shaped signal is served at the user in a form perceivable as sound. According to the invention at least two different frequency shaping schemes are available and a choice is made of the frequency shaping scheme to be used.

Claims

1. Method for sound processing in an audio device, wherein:

an audio input signal is provided,

the audio input signal is frequency shaped according to the need of a user of the audio device,

the frequency shaped signal is served at the user in a form perceivable as sound, whereby further,

at least two different frequency shaping schemes are available whereby each frequency shaping scheme comprise processing in a predefined number of channels m,

wherein a choice of the number of channels m is made.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the input signal is divided into n frequency ranges f₁, f₂, . . . f_n,

groups of the frequency ranges are combined to form m different signals r₁, r₂, . . . r_m where,

the gain and/or compression is calculated for each signal r, and one of the following is performed:

a;

each signal r is attenuated and or compressed according to the calculated gain/compression values, and the m attenuated signals are combined to form an output,

b;

the calculated attenuation/compression values are used for controlling a filter, whereby the input signal is subject to the filter in order to provide an output signal.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the choice of the number of channels m is made by the hearing aid user.

4. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the choice of the number of channels is performed automatically by the audio device.

5. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the choice of number of channels m is performed as a part of the adaptation of the hearing aid to the user prior to application of the hearing aid.

6. Audio device comprising a microphone for capturing an audio signal, a signal processor and an output device for presenting the audio signal to the user in a form perceivable as sound, whereby the signal processor has means for choosing the number of frequency ranges wherein signal processing is performed.

7. Audio device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the signal processor comprise a filter-block for dividing the signal into n different frequency ranges f₁, f₂, . . . , f_n and a combination unit for combining groups of selected ranges from the n frequency ranges to form m combination signals r₁, r₂, . . . , r_m, whereby further a gain and/or compression calculation block 23 is provided for the signals r₁, r₂, . . . , r_m and where a switching unit 24 is provided to effect changes in the number m of, and/or selected frequency ranges in the combination signals r₁, r₂, . . . , r_m.

8. Audio device as claimed in claim 7, wherein an amplifier and/or a compressor 22 is provided for each of the combination signals r₁, r₂, . . . , r_m wherein attenuation and/or compression of each combination signal according to the gain and/or compression values from the calculation block 23 is performable and whereby an adder 25 is provided wherein addition of the attenuated and/or compressed signals s₁, s₂, . . . , s_m are performable to generate an output signal.

9. Audio device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a controllable filter 11 is provided in the signal path an wherein a filter coefficient calculation block 5a is provided whereby filter coefficients are calculated and routed to the filter 11 such that the filter 11 will attenuate and/or compress the output signal according to the prescribed gain and/or compression values from the calculation block 23.

10. Audio device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a selection unit is provided allowing the selection of a first or a second signal processing structure whereby the first signal processing structure provides an amplifier block 5b having an amplifier and/or a compressor 22 for each of the combination signals r₁, r₂, . . . , r_m wherein attenuation and/or compression of each combination signal according to the gain and/or compression values from the calculation block is performable and whereby an adder 25 is provided wherein addition of the attenuated and/or compressed signals s₁, s₂, . . . , s_m are performable to generate an output signal, and wherein the second signal processing structure comprise controllable filter 11 in the signal path an wherein a filter coefficient calculation block 5a is provided whereby filter coefficients are calculated and routed to the filter 11 such that the filter 11 will attenuate and/or compress the output signal according to the prescribed gain and/or compression values from the calculation block 23.