Device for diagnosing and treating hearing disorders
First Claim
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1. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
- means for generating signals in the supersonic range,an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 Khz to 108 Khz, the transducer assembly having a size smaller than the human head and being adapted to be placed against the human body, andtuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electromechanical transducer assembly.
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Abstract
A device for diagnosing and treating hearing disorders including a supersonic transducer which has a resonance frequency in the supersonic range. The transducer includes a piezoelectric ceramic tube which is compressed between a head mass and an inertial mass. A tensioning rod extends between the masses and is threadedly engaged with a nut which tensions the rod to adjust the compression on the ceramic tube. A tuning circuit can be used to increase the band width at resonance.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 Khz to 108 Khz, the transducer assembly having a size smaller than the human head and being adapted to be placed against the human body, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electromechanical transducer assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 15)
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3. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electronomechanical transducer assembly, the inertial mass including a housing portion which substantially surrounds the ceramic tube and a cylindrical portion which extends inside of the ceramic tube. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6)
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7. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 Khz to 108 Khz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electronomechanical transducer assembly, the inertial mass and head mass being formed from metal selected from the class of steel, bronze, and aluminum. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electronomechanical transducer assembly, the mass of the head mass being within the range of 0.5 to 7 grams. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electronomechanical transducer assembly, the tuning means comprising a tuning circuit having a pair of tuning inductors connected in parallel to the transducer, the ceramic tube having a clamped DC capacitance of Co, the combined value of the tuning inductors creating a resonance with Co at the same frequency as the electromechanical resonant frequency of the transducer. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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16. A method for providing auditory sensation to humans in the supersonic range comprising the steps of:
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placing an electromechanical transducer against the human body, the transducer including an inertial mass, a head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and the head mass, a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the transducer, and generating signals in the supersonic range and delivering said signals to the tuning means so that the transducer provides a vibratory output having a wide band frequency response in the supersonic range. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of supersonic bone conduction for the diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus in a patient comprising the steps of:
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placing an electromechanical transducer against the the patient body, the transducer including an inertial mass, a head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and the head mass, a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 Khz to 108 Khz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the transducer, and generating masking noise signals in the supersonic range and delivering said signals to the tuning means so that the transducer provides a vibratory output having a wide band frequency range in the supersonic range so that the vibratory output of the transducer masks tinnitus in the patient.
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25. A method of supersonic bone conduction for the diagnosis and treatment of vestibular function conditions in a patient comprising the steps of:
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placing an electromechanical transducer against the body of the patient, the transducer including an inertial mass, a head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and the head mass, a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 Khz to 108 Khz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the transducer, generating signals in the supersonic range and delivering said signals to the tuning means so that the transducer provides a vibratory output having a wide band frequency response in the supersonic range, and determining whether the patient can perceive the vibratory output of the transducer.
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26. A method of supersonic bone conduction for echo location comprising the steps of:
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placing an electromechanical transducer against the human body, the transducer including an inertial mass, a head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic tube between the inertial mass and the head mass, a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic tube, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic tube, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, and tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the transducer, and generating signals in the supersonic range and delivering said signals to the tuning means so that the transducer provides a vibratory output having a wide band frequency response in the supersonic range.
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27. A device for supersonic bone conduction hearing in human subjects for allowing some level of auditory sensation comprising:
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means for generating signals in the supersonic range, an electromechanical transducer assembly for receiving said signals in the supersonic range and for providing a vibratory output, the transducer including an inertial mass, a vibrating head mass, a piezoelectric ceramic stack between the inertial mass and head mass, and a tensioning rod connected to the head mass and the inertial mass and extending through the ceramic stack, the tensioning rod exerting a compressive force on the ceramic stack, the transducer having a resonant frequency within the range of about 20 kHz to 108 kHz, the transducer assembly having a size smaller than the human head and being adapted to be placed against the human body, tuning means for broadening the frequency response of the electromechanical transducer assembly.
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Specification