Flexible wireless air interface system

• US 20070086601A1
• Filed: 10/16/2006
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gennum Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gennum Corporation
• Inventors: Mitchler, Dennis
• Application Number:
  US11/581,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20070086601A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/30 for homodyne or synchrodyne receivers demodulator circuits H03D1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3866 carried on the head
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 19/016 for microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/55 Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/003 Digital PA systems using, e.g. LAN or internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/552 Binaural
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/02 Amplifying systems for the deaf

Abstract

A flexible air interface is provided. The air interface may include a frame synchronization word field to delineate the start of a frame structure, an out-of-band message channel field allowing a low speed communication link between a plurality of processors attached to wireless devices, and a configurable payload field to carry main payload information. In addition, the air interface may support a plurality of modes, including a first mode providing unidirectional communication to transport audio samples, a second mode providing bidirectional communication to transport audio samples, a third mode providing bidirectional communication to transport data, and a fourth mode providing bidirectional communication to provide low-power data communication.

Claims

1. A wireless hearing instrument system, comprising:

a hearing instrument including communications circuitry for wirelessly receiving a signal from a remote transmitter, the hearing instrument being operable to process the signal to compensate for a hearing impairment of a hearing instrument user and to transmit the processed audio signal into an ear canal of the hearing instrument user;

the received signal being formatted in an air interface protocol that includes;

a frame synchronization word field to delineate the start of a frame structure;

an out-of-band message channel field to provide a low speed communication link between the remote transmitter and the wireless hearing instrument; and

a configurable payload field to carry main payload information.

2. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the remote circuitry is configured to transmit data in a plurality of modes, the plurality of modes including,

a first mode that provides unidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a second mode that provides bidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a third mode that provides bidirectional communication to transport data; and

a fourth mode that provides bidirectional communication to provide low-power data communication.

3. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the remote transmitter is included in another wireless hearing instrument.

4. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the remote transmitter is a wireless base unit.

5. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, where the remote transmitter is a wireless microphone.

6. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the frame synchronization word field is programmable.

7. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the out-of-band message channel field is a 16-bit field.

8. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the out-of-band message channel field is a clear channel and passes data to and from the plurality of processors without the data being altered.

9. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the payload information is non-audio data.

10. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the size of the configurable payload field is programmable.

11. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, further comprising a guard time field to control the amount of time when there is no data transferred to and from the plurality of processors.

12. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 8, wherein the guard time field is active in second mode, the third mode, and the fourth mode.

13. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, further comprising unused bits.

14. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, further comprising:

a ramp time field to allow RF circuitry to stabilize before data is transferred to and from the plurality of processors; and

an asleep time field to define the time in which one of the plurality of processors is put into a low power mode.

15. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 2, wherein the ramp time field and the asleep time field are active in the fourth mode.

16. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein the payload field data word length can vary between 2 and 16 bits.

17. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, wherein a number of data words in the payload field is programmable.

18. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 1, further comprising a cycle redundancy check check-sum error protection scheme.

19. The wireless hearing instrument of claim 1, further comprising a Hamming-based error correction scheme.

20. The wireless hearing instrument of claim 18, further comprising a Hamming-based error correction scheme.

21. The wireless hearing instrument of claim 14, wherein the RF circuitry is placed in a low-power mode for a portion of the frame.

22. The wireless hearing instrument of claim 14 wherein the main payload information is audio signal data.

23. A wireless hearing instrument system, comprising:

a first hearing instrument including one or more microphones for generating a signal and including communications circuitry for wirelessly transmitting the signal; and

a second hearing instrument including communications circuitry for receiving the signal from the first hearing instrument,

the communications circuitry being configured to operate in a plurality of modes, the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes, the plurality of modes comprising;

a first mode providing unidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a second mode providing bidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a third mode providing bidirectional communication to transport data; and

a fourth mode providing bidirectional communication to provide low-power data communication.

24. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 23, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes comprises a frame synchronization word field, an out-of-band message channel field and a configurable payload field.

25. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 24, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes is programmable.

26. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 24, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes further comprises a guard time field.

27. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 24, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes further comprises an unused bits field.

28. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 24, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes further comprises a ramp time field.

29. The wireless hearing instrument system of claim 24, wherein the framing structure configured to be common for the plurality of modes further comprises an asleep time field.

30. A memory for storing data for use in a hearing-related process, comprising a framing data structure, the framing data structure having a frame synchronization word field, an out-of-band message channel field, and a configurable payload field,

the frame synchronization word field delineating the start of the frame structure;

the out-of-band message channel field providing a low speed communication link between a plurality of processors attached to wireless devices; and

the configurable payload field to carry main payload information;

the framing data structure being configured to transmit data in a plurality of modes, the plurality of modes comprising;

a first mode providing unidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a second mode providing bidirectional communication to transport audio samples;

a third mode providing bidirectional communication to transport data; and

a fourth mode providing bidirectional communication to provide low-power data communication.