Hearing aid

• US 6,580,798 B1
• Filed: 07/10/2000
• Issued: 06/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oticon A/S (William Demant Fonden)
• Original Assignee: Bernafon AG (William Demant Fonden)
• Inventors: Schaub, Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, SINH N
• Application Number:
  US09/612,849
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 381/312, 381/316, 381/317, 381/318, 381/320, 381/321, 381/94
• US Class Current: 381/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/43 Signal processing in hearing aids to enhance the speech intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/502 using analog signal processing

Abstract

The suppression of interfering noise in an input signal (7) takes place in a main signal path (5), which contains neither a transformation in the frequency range nor a splitting-up into partial band signals, but only a suppression filter (4). The transmission function of the suppression filter (4) is periodically newly determined on the basis of attenuation factors, which are determined in a signal analysis path (6), which lies parallel to the main signal path (5). The attenuation factors are utilized for the attenuation of signal components in frequency bands with a significant proportion of interfering noise. The suppression filter (4) is implemented as transversal filter, the impulse response of which is periodically newly calculated as a weighted sum of the impulse responses of transversal band-pass filters. The signal analysis path (6) comprises transversal half-band filters (1a-1g) with successively reduced processing rate arranged in a tree structure, which enable a splitting up into partial signals in eight or more frequency bands with a high clearness of modulation. In this manner, processing with a low signal delay and an investigation of the proportion of interfering noise in a sufficient number of frequency bands becomes possible at all with a sufficiently high clearness of modulation

Claims

1. An electronic circuit device, for the suppression of interfering signals in an input signal (7), comprising

means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components,

a main signal path (5) incorporating said means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components in the input signal (7), an output signal (u_n) of these means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation being an output signal (8) of the device, and

a signal analysis path (6), lying parallel to the main signal path (5), said signal analysis path (6) comprising means (1a-1g, 2a-2h, 3a-3h) for periodic calculation of frequency-dependent attenuation factors (a_j), only from the input signal (7),

wherein

the signal analysis path (6) is connected to the main signal path (5) in such a manner that the attenuation factors (a_j) are applied to the means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation;

and

the means (1a-1g, 2a-2h, 3a-3h) for the periodic calculation of the attenuation factors (a_j) have means (1a-1g) for splitting up the input signal (7) into at least eight practically not overlapping frequency bands and, for the purpose of determination of the range of variation (r) of signal powers (p) in immediately-past, short-time segments for every frequency band, contain means (3a-3h) for an iterative updating of separate estimated values (s_o, s_u) for upper and lower barriers.

2. Device in accordance with claim 1, wherein every means (3a-3h) for an iterative updating of the range of variation (r) of signal powers (p) on the basis of the upper and lower barrier (s_o, s_u) calculates the difference with respect to its previous value and cubes this difference.

3. In a circuit having parallel signal paths, a method of suppressing interfering signals in an input signal (7), wherein signal components are attenuated in dependence upon frequency, comprising

splitting up the input signal (7) up into a main signal path (5) and into a signal analysis path (6) lying parallel to the main signal path (5),

generating, in the main signal path (5), an output signal (8) by frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components, and

periodically calculating, in the signal analysis path (6), frequency-dependent attenuation factors (a_j), only from the input signal (7), by splitting up the input signal into at least eight frequency bands with practically no overlap, and determining a range of variation (r) of signal powers (p) in immediately-past, short-time segments in every frequency band, including iterative updating of separate estimated values (s_o, s_u) for an upper barrier and a lower barrier, and

utilizing the thus-calculated attenuation factors (a_j) for the frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components in said output signal generating step.

4. Method in accordance with claim 3, wherein, during the iterative updating of the range of variation (r) of signal powers (p), the difference with respect to its previous value is calculated on the basis of the upper and lower barrier (s_o, s_u) and this difference is cubed.

5. Method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the splitting-up of the input signal (7) takes place in a tree structure.

6. A device for the suppression of interfering signals in an input signal (7), with means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components,

a main signal path (5) incorporating said means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components in the input signal (7), an output signal u_n of these means (4) for the frequency-dependent attenuation being an output signal (8) of the device, and

a signal analysis path (6) lying parallel to the main signal path (5), said signal analysis path (6) comprising means (1a-1g, 2a-2h, 3a-3h) for periodic calculation of frequency-dependent attenuation factors (a_j) from the input signal (7),

said means (1a-1g, 2a-2h, 3a-3h) for periodic calculation of frequency-dependent attenuation factors (a_j) being configured to measure, in every one of a plurality of frequency bands, a range of variation (r) of signal powers (p) in an immediate past, an attenuation factor being the greater, the smaller the range of variation (r) is,

wherein the signal analysis path (6) is connected to the main signal path (5) in such a manner that the attenuation factors (a_j) are available to the means (4) for frequency-dependent attenuation.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6, wherein said device is a hearing aid.

8. A method for suppression of interfering signals in an input signal (7), wherein signal components are attenuated in dependence upon the frequency, comprising the steps of

splitting up the input signal (7) up into a main signal path (5) and into a signal analysis path (6) lying parallel to the main signal path (5),

generating, in the main signal path (5), an output signal (8) by frequency-dependent attenuation of signal components,

periodically calculating, in every one of a plurality of frequency bands in the signal analysis path (6), a range of variation (r) of signal powers (p), and

calculating, from said range of variation (r), frequency-dependent attenuation factors (a_j), and

using the attenuation factors (a_j) to perform said frequency-dependent attenuation of said signal components.