Hearing aid with digital compression recapture
First Claim
1. A method of restoring a compressed signal in an input stage of a device, comprising:
- detecting when a first digital signal representative of an input signal is above a threshold value to produce a gain control signal;
reducing gain of an amplifier to a value below the threshold value based on the gain control signal; and
restoring an output signal of the input stage to include a compressed portion of the input signal, the compressed portion of the input signal represented by a second digital signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, devices, and methods are provided to inhibit apparent amplitude modulation in non-linear processing that causes distortion in a processed signal. One aspect of the invention includes a hearing aid. The hearing aid includes a microphone to receive an input signal, a speaker to reproduce the input signal, and a processor. The processor processes the input signal using a gain. The processor includes an inhibitor, which inhibits distortions, and an adjuster, which adjusts the gain. The inhibitor acts to smooth an envelope of the input signal to inhibit undesired modulation. The adjuster adjusts the gain if the envelope is either above or below a threshold. The hearing aid further includes a compression recapture system to supply the compressed portion of the input signal to more closely reproduce the actual input signal.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of restoring a compressed signal in an input stage of a device, comprising:
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detecting when a first digital signal representative of an input signal is above a threshold value to produce a gain control signal; reducing gain of an amplifier to a value below the threshold value based on the gain control signal; and restoring an output signal of the input stage to include a compressed portion of the input signal, the compressed portion of the input signal represented by a second digital signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An apparatus, comprising:
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means for detecting when a first digital signal representative of an input signal is above a threshold value to produce a gain control signal, wherein the input signal is received at the input stage of a device; means for reducing gain of an amplifier to a value below the threshold value based on the gain control signal; and means for restoring an output signal of the input stage to include a compressed portion of the input signal, the compressed portion of the input signal represented by a second digital signal. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An method, comprising:
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providing an input to receive an input signal and output an analog signal; connecting a variable gain amplifier to the input to selectively compress the analog signal, the variable gain amplifier including a digital gain control; connecting an analog to digital converter to the input to receive the analog signal and output a first digital signal; forming a compression recapture system for outputting a second digital signal that essentially represents a compressed portion of the analog signal; and providing an output to reproduce the input signal based on the first and second digital signals. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification