HEARING AID SYSTEM

• US 3,770,911 A
• Filed: 07/21/1972
• Issued: 11/06/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Elmer Victor Carlson, Hugh Shaler Knowles
• Original Assignee: Elmer Victor Carlson, Hugh Shaler Knowles
• Inventors: Carlson, Elmer Victor, Knowles, Hugh Shaler
• Primary Examiner(s): Blakeslee, Ralph D.
• Application Number:
  US05/273,943
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 179/107,121D
• US Class Current: 381/313
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/06 Hearing aids construction of hearing aids H04R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/38 in which sound waves act upon both sides of a diaphragm and incorporating acoustic phase-shifting means, e.g. pressure-gradient microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/402 using contructional means

Abstract

A hearing aid system for providing improved and adjustable directivity.

Claims

1. A hearing aid including a housing, a directional microphone in said housing, said microphone having at least two spaced sound ports, said housing having at least two spaced sound openings, means for acoustically coupling said sound openings to respective ones of said sound ports, and means for adjustably varying the effective acoustical delay between said sound ports for determining the directivity of said hearing aid.

2. A hearing aid as in claim 1 wherein said sound openings and sound ports are in longitudinal spaced relation to form relative front and rear openings and front and rear sound ports, and means are provided for varying the separation between said sound openings.

3. A hearing aid as in claim 2 further including an acoustical chamber in said housing, means for mounting said microphone in said chamber to separate said chamber into a front cavity and a rear cavity, the front sound opening communicating with the front cavity and the front sound port;

and, the rear sound opening communicating with the rear cavity and the rear sound port.

4. A hearing aid as in claim 2 wherein said microphone is mounted to provide a front cavity region and a back cavity region in said chamber, a passageway connecting said front and rear cavity regions, and means for selectively restricting said passageway whereby said chamber acoustically changes from functioning as a single cavity to functioning as two separate cavities thereby to determine the directional characteristics of the hearing aid.

5. A hearing aid as in claim 4 wherein said means for selectively restricting said passageway is a vane mounted in said passageway, said vane being rotatable from a first or open position to a second or closed position to restrict and close said opening.

6. A hearing aid as in claim 4 further including means attached to said vane and extending outwardly of the hearing aid housing for manually selecting the position of the said vane.

7. A hearing aid including an acoustical chamber in said housing, a microphone mounted in said housing, said microphone having an acoustical cavity and having relative front and rear sound ports coupling to the cavity, said housing having spaced sound openings in relative front and rear positions, said rear sound port providing an acoustical phase shift, and means for adjustably changing the effective acoustical phase shift thereof to thereby determine the directivity of said hearing aid.

8. A hearing aid as in claim 7 wherein said microphone includes a plurality of sound ports, and means for selectively closing said sound ports to determine the directivity of the hearing aid.

9. A hearing aid as in claim 7 wherein means are provided for mounting said microphone in said chamber, and means for changing the volume of the microphone cavity to change the directivity of said hearing aid.

10. A hearing aid as in claim 7 wherein said means for adjustably changing the acoustical phase shift comprises means for changing the size of said opening responsive inversely to the barometric pressure.

11. A hearing aid as in claim 9 further including a plate, bellows means positioning said plate adjacent said rear opening, said bellows means being responsive to barometric pressure to thereby change the position of said plate relative to said rear port to thereby change the acoustical impedance of said rear port.

12. A hearing aid as in claim 9 further including a plate mounted in said cavity, said plate connected to a mOvable member, resilient expandable affixed to said cavity and expandable as said plate is moved in said cavity, said member being manually positionable to vary the position of said plate in said cavity and hence the effective size of said cavity to thereby vary the directivity of the hearing aid.

13. A hearing aid including a housing having an acoustical chamber therein, a directional microphone mounted in said chamber, said microphone having at least two spaced sound ports, said housing having at least two spaced sound openings, means for acoustically and selectively coupling said openings to said sound ports, and means for varying the spacing between the sound openings to provide an effective acoustical spacing different from the spacing between said sound ports to thereby vary the directivity of the hearing aid.

14. A hearing aid as in claim 13 wherein the orientation of the minimal response sensitivity of the hearing aid may be determined by the orientation and relative separation of the sound openings.

15. A hearing aid as in claim 13 further including a first tube connecting one of said openings to one of said sound ports and a second tubing for connecting the other of said openings to the other of said sound ports.

16. A hearing aid as in claim 15 wherein a first opening faces a frontal direction and a second opening faces in an upward direction, and means for adjusting the position of said second tubing to thereby adjustably vary the distance between the two openings.

17. A hearing aid as in claim 13 wherein said microphone is mounted in said chamber to form a front and a rear cavity, means for adjusting the separation between the openings to thereby determine the directivity of said hearing aid.

18. A hearing aid as in claim 13 including a series of longitudinally spaced openings, and means for selectively closing said openings to vary the directivity of said hearing aid.