Hearing assistance apparatus
First Claim
1. A hearing assistance device, comprising:
- two transducers which react to a characteristic of an acoustic wave to capture data representative of the characteristic, the device being arranged so that each transducers is located adjacent a respective ear of a person wearing the device;
a signal processor for processing said data to provide relatively more emphasis of data representing a first sound source the person is facing over data representing a second sound source the person is not facing;
at least one speaker which utilizes the data to reproduce sounds to the person; and
an active noise reduction system that provides a signal to the speaker for reducing an amount of ambient acoustic noise in the vicinity of the person that is heard by the person,wherein each transducer is selected from the group consisting of;
a first order pressure gradient directional transducer, a higher than first order pressure gradient directional transducer, a combination pressure and first order pressure gradient directional transducer, and a combination pressure and higher than first order pressure gradient directional transducer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A hearing assistance device includes two transducers which react to a characteristic of an acoustic wave to capture data representative of the characteristic. The device is arranged so that each transducers is located adjacent a respective ear of a person wearing the device. A signal processor processes the data to provide relatively more emphasis of data representing a first sound source the person is facing over data representing a second sound source the person is not facing. At least one speaker utilizes the data to reproduce sounds to the person. An active noise reduction system provides a signal to the speaker for reducing an amount of ambient acoustic noise in the vicinity of the person that is heard by the person.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A hearing assistance device, comprising:
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two transducers which react to a characteristic of an acoustic wave to capture data representative of the characteristic, the device being arranged so that each transducers is located adjacent a respective ear of a person wearing the device; a signal processor for processing said data to provide relatively more emphasis of data representing a first sound source the person is facing over data representing a second sound source the person is not facing; at least one speaker which utilizes the data to reproduce sounds to the person; and an active noise reduction system that provides a signal to the speaker for reducing an amount of ambient acoustic noise in the vicinity of the person that is heard by the person, wherein each transducer is selected from the group consisting of; a first order pressure gradient directional transducer, a higher than first order pressure gradient directional transducer, a combination pressure and first order pressure gradient directional transducer, and a combination pressure and higher than first order pressure gradient directional transducer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A hearing assistance device, comprising:
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two transducers, spaced from each other, which react to a characteristic of an acoustic wave to capture data representative of the characteristic; a signal processor for processing said data to determine based on an acceptance criteria (a) which data represents one or more sound sources located within a zone in front of the user, and (b) which data represents one or more sound sources located outside of the zone, the signal processor providing relatively less emphasis of data representing the sound source(s) outside the zone over data representing the sound source(s) inside the zone; a voice activity detector for providing an estimate signal representative of the likelihood a speech signal is present within the zone, wherein the acceptance criteria associated with the signal processor is altered based on the estimate signal; and at least one speaker which utilizes the data to reproduce sounds to the user. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification