Alarm System for Hearing Impaired Individuals Having Hearing Assistive Implanted Devices
First Claim
1. An alarm system for a hearing impaired individual, said hearing impaired individual having a hearing assistive device comprising an implanted portion and an external portion, said implanted portion being implanted in said individual and receiving energy for operation from said external portion, said alarm system comprising:
- a detector for detecting at least one alarm condition;
a transmitter for generating an alarm signal at a resonant frequency of said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device responsive to detection of said at least one alarm condition by said detector, said alarm signal causing said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device to resonate and alert said hearing impaired individual of said alarm condition in the absence of said external portion of said hearing assistive device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An alarm system for certain hearing impaired individuals having implanted hearing assistive devices contains a device for detecting an alarm condition, and a transmitter which is tuned to a resonant frequency of an implanted passive energy portion of a cochlear implant or similar device. Upon detection of an alarm condition, the transmitter transmits an alarm signal at the resonant frequency, causing the implanted device to resonate even in the absence of the externally worn hearing assistive portion. Resonance is perceived by the hearing impaired individual as a buzzing or other abnormal noise, alerting the individual to the alarm condition.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An alarm system for a hearing impaired individual, said hearing impaired individual having a hearing assistive device comprising an implanted portion and an external portion, said implanted portion being implanted in said individual and receiving energy for operation from said external portion, said alarm system comprising:
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a detector for detecting at least one alarm condition; a transmitter for generating an alarm signal at a resonant frequency of said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device responsive to detection of said at least one alarm condition by said detector, said alarm signal causing said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device to resonate and alert said hearing impaired individual of said alarm condition in the absence of said external portion of said hearing assistive device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for alerting a hearing impaired individual of an alarm condition, said hearing impaired individual having a hearing assistive device comprising an implanted portion and an external portion, said implanted portion being implanted in said individual and receiving energy for operation from said external portion, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting the presence of an alarm condition in an automated device; and responsive to detecting the presence of said alarm condition, automatically transmitting an alarm signal at a resonant frequence of said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device, said alarm signal causing said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device to resonate and alert said hearing impaired individual of said alarm condition in the absence of said external portion of said hearing assistive device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A program product for alerting a hearing impaired individual of an alarm condition, said hearing impaired individual having a hearing assistive device comprising an implanted portion and an external portion, said implanted portion being implanted in said individual and receiving energy for operation from said external portion, said program product comprising:
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a plurality of instructions recorded on signal-bearing media and executable by at least one digital data processing device, wherein said instructions, when executed by said at least one digital data processing device, cause the at least one digital data processing device to perform the steps of; detecting the presence of an alarm condition; and responsive to detecting the presence of said alarm condition, transmitting an alarm signal at a resonant frequence of said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device, said alarm signal causing said implanted portion of said hearing assistive device to resonate and alert said hearing impaired individual of said alarm condition in the absence of said external portion of said hearing assistive device - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification