Magnetic User Interface Controls

• US 20160021470A1
• Filed: 07/17/2015
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Original Assignee: Cochlear Limited
• Inventors: Gustafsson, Johan
• Granted Patent: US 9,986,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/61 Aspects relating to mechanical or electronic switches or control elements, e.g. functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/603 of mechanical or electronic switches or control elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/606 acting directly on the eardrum, the ossicles or the skull, e.g. mastoid, tooth, maxillary or mandibular bone, or mechanically stimulating the cochlea, e.g. at the oval window

Abstract

A device includes a magnetic field source that generates a rotationally asymmetric magnetic field, a magnetic field sensor that generates a signal that is indicative of a position of the magnetic field sensor in the rotationally asymmetric magnetic field, and a processor coupled to the magnetic field sensor. The processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor to control one or more operational settings of the medical device.

Claims

1. A medical device comprising:

a magnetic field source that generates a rotationally asymmetric magnetic field;

a magnetic field sensor that generates a signal that is indicative of a position of the magnetic field sensor in the rotationally asymmetric magnetic field; and

a processor coupled to the magnetic field sensor, wherein the processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor to control one or more operational settings of the medical device.

2. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor to identify a direction and a magnitude of movement of the magnetic field sensor in the rotationally asymmetric magnetic field, and wherein the processor is configured to use the direction and magnitude to control the one or more operational settings of the medical device.

3. The medical device system of claim 2, wherein the magnetic field source is disposed in a first component of the medical device and the magnetic field sensor is disposed in a second component of the medical device, wherein the second component of the medical device further includes a second magnetic field source that generates a second magnetic field that is complimentary to the first rotationally asymmetric magnetic field, and wherein the first component and the second component are configured to be coupled together by the first rotationally asymmetric magnetic field and the second complimentary magnetic field.

4. The medical device of claim 3, wherein the first component is configured to be implanted in a recipient, and the second component is configured to be disposed externally to the recipient.

5. The medical device of claim 3, wherein the second component further includes a sound input component for receiving an electrical signal that represents an audio signal, and an output component for transmitting the electrical signal to the first component, and wherein the processor is configured to apply the electrical signal to the output component for transmission of the electrical signal to the first component.

6. The medical device of claim 1, further comprising a manual input component configured to receive a manual input, wherein the processor is coupled to the manual input component, and wherein the processor is configured to process the manual input received by the manual input component, and to use the manual input and the signal from the magnetic field sensor to control the one or more operational settings of the medical device.

7. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the magnetic field source is disposed in a first component of the medical device and the magnetic field sensor is disposed in a separate second component of the medical device, wherein the second component of the medical device further includes a coupling component for coupling the second component to the first component.

8. The medical device of claim 7, wherein the second component further includes a sound input component that is configured to receive an electrical signal that represents an audio signal, and an actuator that is configured to use the electrical signal to provide auditory stimulation to a recipient of the medical device.

9. The medical device of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor using a signal analysis algorithm to distinguish between user-input movements and non-user-input movements, wherein the processor is configured to control one or more operational settings of the medical device in response to the user-input movements but not the non-user-input movements.

10. A hearing prosthesis comprising:

a first component;

a second component;

a magnetic field sensor included with the first component, wherein the magnetic field sensor is configured to generate a signal that is indicative of a magnetic field;

a magnetic field source included with the second component, wherein the magnetic field source is configured to generate the magnetic field, and wherein the magnetic field is an asymmetric magnetic field; and

a processor coupled to the magnetic field sensor, wherein the processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor to control one or more operational settings of the hearing prosthesis.

11. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to process the signal from the magnetic field sensor to identify a direction and magnitude of movement of the magnetic field sensor in the asymmetric magnetic field, and wherein the processor is configured to use the direction and magnitude to control the one or more operational settings of the hearing prosthesis.

12. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, further comprising a coupling component included with the first component, and wherein the first component and the second component are configured to be coupled together by the coupling component and the magnetic field source.

13. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, wherein the first component is configured to be disposed externally from a recipient, and the second component is configured to be implanted in the recipient.

14. The hearing prosthesis claim 10, wherein the first component further includes a sound input component for receiving an electrical signal that represents an audio signal.

15. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, further comprising a manual input component included with the first component, wherein the processor is coupled to the manual input component, and wherein the processor is configured to process a manual input received by the manual input component, and to use the manual input and the signal from the magnetic field sensor to control the one or more operational settings of the hearing prosthesis.

16. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, wherein the one or more operational settings include a volume setting and a user stimulation program.

17. The hearing prosthesis of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of magnetic field sensors included with the first component, wherein at least one of the magnetic field sensors is configured to sense a magnetic field in two or more axes.

18. A method for controlling operational settings of a medical device, comprising:

generating a signal using a magnetic field sensor, wherein the signal is indicative of a changing position of the magnetic field sensor in a magnetic field;

processing the signal using a processor, wherein processing the signal includes identifying a user-input movement; and

controlling, using the processor, one or more operational settings of the medical device in response to identifying a user-input movement.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that the user-input is a rotation in a first direction and responsively increasing a volume of the medical device;

determining, by the processor, that the user-input is a rotation in a second direction that is different from the first direction and responsively decreasing a volume of the medical device;

and wherein processing the signal using the processor further includes determining a magnitude of the user-input movement, and wherein an amount of increase and decrease in the volume is based on the determined magnitude.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the magnetic field is a symmetric magnetic field, and wherein the step of generating a signal is performed using a plurality of magnetic field sensors.