HEARING AID CONFIGURATION WITH A LANYARD WITH INTEGRATED ANTENNA AND ASSOCIATED METHOD FOR WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF DATA

• US 20100254553A1
• Filed: 04/05/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd. (WS Audiology A/S)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Instruments Pte Ltd (WS Audiology A/S)
• Inventors: Schätzle, Ulrich, Nikles, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,340,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/314
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

A hearing aid configuration and an associated method provide wireless transmission of data between a hearing aid and an external unit. The external unit, for example a programming device, is worn with a lanyard around the neck of a hearing aid user. The configuration additionally contains at least one second antenna disposed in the lanyard and at least one third antenna arranged in the lanyard which is connected by an electric series circuit to the second antenna. The advantage of this is that the lanyard can be made long enough to be comfortable to wear and a sufficiently high receive signal of the wireless data transmission is still guaranteed in the external unit.

Claims

1. A hearing aid configuration for wireless transmission of data, comprising:

a hearing aid;

an external unit exchanging the data with said hearing aid;

a lanyard on which said external unit is able to be worn around a neck of a hearing aid wearer;

an electric series circuit;

at least one second antenna disposed in said lanyard; and

at least one third antenna disposed in said lanyard and is connected by said electric series circuit to said second antenna.

2. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, wherein said second and third antennas are inductive antennas.

3. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, wherein the data is able to be coupled from said hearing aid into said second antenna and that the data coupled into said second antenna is able to be coupled from said third antenna into said external unit.

4. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one first antenna disposed in said hearing aid; and

at least one fourth antenna arranged in said external unit.

5. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, wherein said external unit is a hearing aid programming device.

6. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, wherein said second antenna is disposed in a vicinity of said hearing aid and said third antenna in a vicinity of said external unit.

7. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 4, wherein said second antenna is disposed such that, when the hearing aid wearer turns his head, said first antenna approaches said second antenna.

8. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, further comprising two diodes oriented in opposing directions which are disposed in parallel to said third antenna.

9. The hearing aid configuration according to claim 1, further comprising at least one first capacitor and one second capacitor which are disposed in series to said second and third antennas.

10. A method for wireless transmission of data between a hearing aid and an external unit, which comprises the steps of:

emitting of the data by at least one first antenna disposed in the hearing aid;

accepting the data emitted by the first antenna by at least one second antenna;

emitting the data accepted by the second antenna by at least one third antenna electrically connected to the second antenna; and

accepting the data emitted by the first antenna and the third antenna by at least one fourth antenna disposed in the external unit.

11. The method according to claim 10, which further comprises providing a lanyard, in which the at least one second and at least one third antenna are disposed.

12. The method according to claim 10, which further comprises disposing the second antenna in a vicinity of the hearing aid and the third antenna in the vicinity of the external unit.

13. The method according to claim 10, which further comprises disposing the at least one second antenna such that, when the hearing aid wearer turns his head, the first antenna is approached by the second antenna.

14. The method according to claim 10, which further comprises providing inductive antennas as the first, second, third and fourth antennas.