Binaural hearing aid
First Claim
1. In a binaural hearing enhancement system having a right ear piece with microphone and speaker, a left ear piece with microphone and speaker and a body pack for remote electronics in the system, apparatus for enhancing left and right audio signals comprising:
- transceiver means in each ear piece for transmitting right and left input audio signals to the body pack and for receiving right and left output audio signals from the body pack;
stereo transceiver means in the body pack for receiving the right and left input audio signals from the right and left ear pieces and for transmitting right and left output audio signals from the body pack;
left filter means in the body pack for filtering the left input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by a left ear microphone or a pre-emphasis filter in the left ear piece;
right filter means in the body pack for filtering the right input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by a right ear microphone or a pre-emphasis filter in the right ear piece; and
each of left and right filter means generating a flat, linear-phase, frequency response for the left and right input audio signals in order to deliver undistorted amplitude and phase-aligned left and right signals as left and right distortion-free signals to enhancing means whereby the left and right distortion-free signals accurately reflect interaural amplitude differences and delay differences at the ears;
means for enhancing each of the left and right distortion-free signals based on audio information derived from both the left and right distortion-free signals to produce enhanced left and right output audio signals for transmission to the ear pieces.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to a hearing enhancement system having an ear device for each of the wearer'"'"'s ears, each ear device has a sound transducer, or microphone, and a sound reproducer, or speaker, and associated electronics for the microphone and speaker. Further, the electronic enhancement of the audio signals is performed at a remote digital signal processor (DSP) likely located in a body pack worn somewhere on the body by the user. There is a down-link from each ear device to the (DSP) and an up-link from the DSP to each ear device. The DSP digitally interactively processes the audio signals for each ear based on both of the audio signals received from each ear device. In other words, the enhancement of the audio signal for the left ear is based on the both the right and left audio signals received by the DSP.
In addition digital filters implemented at the DSP have a linear phase response so that time relationships at different frequencies are preserved. The digital filters have a magnitude and phase response to compensate for phase distortions due to analog filters in the signal path and due to the resonances and nulls of the ear canal.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. In a binaural hearing enhancement system having a right ear piece with microphone and speaker, a left ear piece with microphone and speaker and a body pack for remote electronics in the system, apparatus for enhancing left and right audio signals comprising:
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transceiver means in each ear piece for transmitting right and left input audio signals to the body pack and for receiving right and left output audio signals from the body pack; stereo transceiver means in the body pack for receiving the right and left input audio signals from the right and left ear pieces and for transmitting right and left output audio signals from the body pack; left filter means in the body pack for filtering the left input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by a left ear microphone or a pre-emphasis filter in the left ear piece; right filter means in the body pack for filtering the right input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by a right ear microphone or a pre-emphasis filter in the right ear piece; and each of left and right filter means generating a flat, linear-phase, frequency response for the left and right input audio signals in order to deliver undistorted amplitude and phase-aligned left and right signals as left and right distortion-free signals to enhancing means whereby the left and right distortion-free signals accurately reflect interaural amplitude differences and delay differences at the ears; means for enhancing each of the left and right distortion-free signals based on audio information derived from both the left and right distortion-free signals to produce enhanced left and right output audio signals for transmission to the ear pieces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. Binaural, digital, hearing aid apparatus comprising:
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right ear piece means for mounting microphone means for detecting sound and producing a right ear, electrical, audio signal, a speaker means for reproducing sound from a right ear, electrical, enhanced audio signal, left ear transmitter means for transmitting the right ear audio signal as radiant energy and left ear receiver means for receiving radiant energy transmission of the right ear enhanced audio signal; left ear piece means for mounting microphone means for detecting sound and producing a left ear, electrical, audio signal, a speaker means for reproducing sound from a left ear, electrical, enhanced audio signal, left ear transmitter means for transmitting the right ear audio signal as radiant energy and left ear receiver means for receiving radiant energy transmission of the right ear enhanced audio signal; remote means for receiving the left and right audio signals, enhancing the left and right audio signals, and transmitting the enhanced left and right audio signals; said remote means having means for converting the received left and right audio signals into left and right digital data; means for compensating the left and right digital data for phase and amplitude distortions in the received left and right audio signals to produce distortion-free left and right digital data that preserves amplitude and phase differences between the left and right audio signals; means for digitally processing the distortion-free left and right digital data interactively with each other to produce enhanced digital left and right data; and means for converting the enhanced digital left and right data into the left and right enhanced audio signals for transmission by said remote means. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. In a binaural hearing enhancement system having a right ear piece, a left ear piece and an audio signal processor for processing left and right audio signals in the system, apparatus for enhancing the left and right audio signals comprising:
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microphone and electronic means in each ear piece for producing an input audio signal from sound arriving at the ear piece; speaker and electronic means in each ear piece for producing sound from an output audio signal from the audio signal processor; left filter means in the audio signal processor for filtering the left input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by the microphone and electronic means in the left ear piece; right filter means in the remote electronics for filtering the right input audio signals to compensate for amplitude and phase distortion introduced in audio signals by the microphone and electronic means in the right ear piece; and each of left and right filter means generating a flat, linear-phase, frequency response for the left and right input audio signals in order to provide undistorted amplitude and phase-aligned left and right signals as left and right distortion-free signals whereby the left and right distortion-free signals accurately reflect interaural amplitude differences and delay differences at the ears; means for enhancing each of the left and right distortion-free signals based on audio information derived from both the left and right distortion-free signals to produce enhanced left and right output audio signals for the left and right ear pieces, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification