Digital hearing device, method and system

• US 6,754,355 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2000
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Stetzler, Trudy D., Gelabert, Pedro R., Wolf, Tod D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US09/732,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20020071583A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 381/94.2, 381/320, 381/314, 381/330, 381/313, 381/315, 381/312, 381/94.3
• US Class Current: 381/94.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/41 Detection or adaptation of hearing aid parameters or programs to listening situation, e.g. pub, forest
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/43 Signal processing in hearing aids to enhance the speech intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/356 Amplitude, e.g. amplitude shift or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/405 by combining a plurality of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/407 Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/505 using digital signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a digital hearing device is disclosed. The digital hearing aid includes a microphone for receiving sound, which may include an analog signal. The analog signal is converted by a first converter into a digital signal. Filters are provided to divide the digital signal into multiple signal parts. A signal processor may be provided for each signal part, and performs signal processing on its respective signal part. An adder adds the output of the signal processors, which results in a processed digital signal. A second converter converts the processed digital signal back into an analog signal. A speaker then outputs the analog signal. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for enhancing sound is provided. The method includes the steps of: (1) receiving sound containing an analog signal; (2) converting the analog signal to a digital signal; (3) dividing the digital signal into signal parts; (4) performing signal processing on the signal parts; (5) adding the processed signal parts, resulting in a processed digital signal; (6) converting the processed digital signal to a processed analog signal; and (7) outputting the processed analog signal. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a digital hearing system is provided. The digital hearing system includes at least one hearing device and a central processing unit. The hearing device includes a microphone for receiving sound that includes an analog signal, a transmitter for transmitting the analog signal, and a receiver for receiving a processed analog signal. The central processing unit includes a receiver for receiving the analog signal from the hearing device, a signal processor for processing the signal, and a transmitter for transmitting the processed signal to the hearing device.

Claims

1. A digital hearing device, comprising:

at least one microphone for receiving sound, the sound including an analog signal;

a first converter for converting the received analog signal to a digital signal;

a plurality of filters for dividing the digital signal into a plurality of signal parts where each filter of said plurality of filters is assigned a desired range of frequencies;

a plurality of speech detectors with a separate speech detector coupled to each filter of said plurality of filters for detecting the presence of speech in the each of the signal parts,

a signal processor provided for performing signal processing on each signal part comprising a separate programmable compression filter for each of said signal parts coupled to each corresponding filter of said plurality of filters and each speech detector for each of said signal parts and wherein said speech detector for each of said signal parts actively detect the presence of speech and change coefficient settings on said compression filter for each signal part;

an adder for adding the output of the signal processor, resulting in a processed digital signal;

a second converter for converting the processed digital signal to a processed analog signal; and

a speaker for outputting the processed analog signal.

2. The digital hearing device of claim 1, wherein the signal processor attenuates undesired signal parts.

3. The digital hearing device of claim 1, wherein the signal processor amplifies desired signal parts.

4. The digital hearing device of claim 1, wherein the first converter, the filters, the speech detectors, the signal processors, the adder, and the second converter reside on a digital signal processor chip.

5. The digital hearing device of claim 1, wherein said speech detectors include means for immediately providing signals to reconfigure the compression filter coefficients when detecting certain signal environments.

6. A method for enhancing sound, comprising:

receiving sound containing an analog signal;

converting the analog signal to a digital signal;

dividing the digital signal into a plurality of signal parts;

detecting the presence of speech in the each of the signal parts using speech detectors for each signal part;

performing signal processing on the plurality of signal parts using a separate programmable compression filter for each signal part;

changing coefficient settings on said compression filter for each signal part in response to the detected presence of speech or noise in each signal part;

adding the processed signal parts, resulting in a processed digital signal;

converting the processed digital signal to a processed analog signal; and

outputting the processed analog signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of dividing the digital signal into a plurality of signal parts comprises:

assigning each of a plurality of filters with a desired frequency range for each of the filters to pass.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of performing signal processing on the plurality of signal parts comprises:

attenuating signal parts that are undesired.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of performing signal processing on the plurality of signal parts comprises:

amplifying signal parts that are desired.

10. A digital hearing system, comprising

at least one hearing device, the hearing device comprising:

a microphone for receiving sound, the sound including an analog signal;

a transmitter for transmitting the analog signal; and

a receiver for receiving a processed analog signal;

a central processing unit, the central processing unit comprising;

a receiver for receiving the analog signal from the at least one hearing device;

a signal processor for processing the signal comprising;

a first converter for converting the received analog signal to a digital signal;

a plurality of filters for dividing the digital signal into a plurality of signal parts where each filter of said plurality of filters is assigned a desired range of frequencies;

a plurality of speech detectors with a separate speech detector coupled to each filter of said plurality of filters for detecting the presence of speech in the each of the signal parts, a signal processor provided for performing signal processing on each signal part comprising a separate programmable compression filter for each of said signal parts coupled to each corresponding filter of said plurality of filters and each speech detector for each of said signal parts and wherein said speech detector for each of said signal parts actively detect the presence of speech and change coefficient settings on said compression filter for each part, an adder for adding the output of the signal processor, resulting in a processed digital signal; and

a second converter for converting the processed digital signal to a processed analog signal;

a transmitter for transmitting the processed signal to the at least one hearing device;

a user input for receiving input from a user of the hearing system and

a display for displaying operating information to the user to permit the user to program the processing unit.

11. The digital hearing system of claim 10, wherein the central processing unit performs beamforming to enhance sound from a desired location.

12. The digital hearing system of claim 10, wherein said central processing unit further comprises:

a coupling for at least one of receiving a signal from an external appliance, and an outputting of a signal to the external appliance.

13. The digital hearing system of claim 12, wherein the external appliance comprises a telephone.

14. The digital hearing system of claim 12, wherein the external appliance comprises an audio device.

15. The digital hearing system of claim 10, wherein said central processing unit further comprises a second microphone.

16. The digital hearing system of claim 10, wherein the at least one hearing device and the central processing unit communicate wirelessly.

17. The digital hearing device of claim 10, wherein said speech detectors include means for immediately providing signals to reconfigure the compression filter coefficients when detecting certain signal environments.