System and Method for Enhancing the Inductive Coupling Between a Hearing Aid Operating in Telecoil Mode and a Communication Device
First Claim
1. A method of assisting hearing using a hearing assistive system comprising a hearing assistive apparatus and a communication apparatus, the hearing assistive apparatus having a telecoil and a telecoil orientation tag, and the communication apparatus having a reader, a steerable inductor, and a controller, the method comprising:
- the telecoil orientation tag providing telecoil location information;
the reader of the communication apparatus obtaining the telecoil location information from the telecoil orientation tag;
the controller receiving the telecoil location information from the reader; and
the controller directing the steerable inductor to provide an inductive field in accordance with the telecoil location information.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system to optimize the relative position of an inductive field of a hearing aid compatible device and a telecoil of a hearing assistive device, are provided. A Steerable Hearing Aid Compatible Device (SHAD) has a steerable inductive field for locating an inductive field in accordance with the location of a telecoil in the hearing assistive device. A Telecoil Hearing Assistive Device (THAD) has a telecoil and telecoil orientation tag. The location of the telecoil of the THAD is determined with respect to a reference system and this telecoil location information is stored on the telecoil orientation tag as Telecoil Location Information (TLI) and provided to the SHAD. In an exemplary embodiment the telecoil orientation tag may be an RFID tag that is read by a tag reader of the SHAD. The SHAD receives the TLI and generates an inductive field in accordance with the TLI, such as a position that is parallel to the telecoil of the THAD.
43 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of assisting hearing using a hearing assistive system comprising a hearing assistive apparatus and a communication apparatus, the hearing assistive apparatus having a telecoil and a telecoil orientation tag, and the communication apparatus having a reader, a steerable inductor, and a controller, the method comprising:
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the telecoil orientation tag providing telecoil location information; the reader of the communication apparatus obtaining the telecoil location information from the telecoil orientation tag; the controller receiving the telecoil location information from the reader; and the controller directing the steerable inductor to provide an inductive field in accordance with the telecoil location information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A hearing assistive system comprising:
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a reader configured to obtain first telecoil location information and second telecoil information from a telecoil orientation tag; a controller configured to direct a steerable inductor to provide a first inductive field in accordance with the first telecoil location information and direct a second steerable inductor to provide a second inductive field in accordance with the second telecoil location information. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions executable by a processor to perform steps comprising:
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receiving telecoil location information from a telecoil orientation tag via a reader device; directing a steerable inductor to provide an inductive field in accordance with the telecoil location information. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification