Wireless open ear canal earpiece
First Claim
1. A communications earpiece, comprising:
- an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds;
a sound processor for processing ambient sounds received by a microphone to produce processed signals;
means for transmitting said processed signals to at least one remote unit over a wireless link; and
means for receiving signals from said remote unit which are processed and applied to a speaker in said earpiece and broadcast into the ear canal by said ear canal tube.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A communications earpiece is disclosed which can be used by hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired users so as to be able to communicate with an external device such as personal communications node or cellular phone via a wireless link. A communications earpiece comprises an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds. A sound processor amplifies the received ambient sounds to produce a processed analog signal. The processed analog signal is then converted into digital signals and transmitted to a remote unit via a wireless link. The earpiece also receives signals from the remote unit which are then processed and applied to a speaker in the earpiece.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A communications earpiece, comprising:
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an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds; a sound processor for processing ambient sounds received by a microphone to produce processed signals; means for transmitting said processed signals to at least one remote unit over a wireless link; and means for receiving signals from said remote unit which are processed and applied to a speaker in said earpiece and broadcast into the ear canal by said ear canal tube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A communications earpiece, comprising:
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an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds; a sound processor for processing ambient sounds received by a microphone to produce processed signals; means for transmitting said processed signals to at least one remote unit over a wireless link; means for receiving signals from said remote unit which are processed and applied to a speaker in said earpiece and broadcast into the ear canal by said ear canal tube; and a second ear canal tube, wherein a first end of said second ear canal tube is connected to the input of said microphone and a second end of said ear canal tube is open and is positioned near the ear canal, wherein ambient sounds enter said second end and propagate through the second ear canal tube to the input of the microphone, wherein said second end is located in said ear canal.
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16. A communications earpiece comprising:
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an ear canal tube sized for positioning in an ear canal of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds; a sound processor for processing ambient sounds received by a microphone to produce processed signals; means for transmitting said processed signals to at least one remote unit over a wireless link; means for receiving signals from said remote unit which are processed and applied to a speaker in said earpiece and broadcast into the ear canal by said ear canal tube; and a second ear canal tube wherein the microphone is located at one end of said second ear canal tube in said ear canal and is electrically connected to said sound processor via wires in said second ear canal tube. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A communications earpiece, comprising:
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a sound processor for processing ambient sounds received by a microphone to produce processed signals; means for transmitting said processed signals to at least one remote unit over a wireless link; and means for receiving signals from said remote unit which are processed and applied to a speaker in said earpiece and broadcast into the ear canal, said communications earpiece being configured for positioning in said ear of a user so that the ear canal is at least partially open for directly receiving ambient sounds. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification