Earplug sealing test

• US 8,804,972 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2008
• Issued: 08/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Source Of Sound, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Source Of Sound, Ltd.
• Inventors: Klein, Nir, Butbul, Yaakov
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Minh-Loan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Erdem, Fazli
• Application Number:
  US12/268,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20090122996A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,100 Days
• Field of Search: 381/56, 381/60, 381/72
• US Class Current: 381/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2460/15 Determination of the acoustic seal of ear moulds or ear tips of hearing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308

Abstract

Methods and system for a sealing test comprising the steps of: sealing a predefined volume of gas; sampling a predefined frequency range, whereby there is no need to inject a predefined sound wave while sampling the predefined frequency range; and determining whether the predefined volume of gas is sealed or unsealed according to the sampled frequency range.

Claims

1. An electronic earplug comprising:

a microphone, coupled to a sound tube directed towards the eardrum, such that the microphone measures interior sounds existing in the ear canal,

a sealing element, and

means for performing automatic sealing test without injecting a predefined sound wave into the ear canal for performing the automatic sealing test.

2. The electronic earplug of claim 1, wherein frequency response sampled by the microphone in the low frequencies region is different for a sealed and unsealed ear canal.

3. The electronic earplug of claim 1, wherein a sealed earplug features a distinguishable frequency response approximately in the region of 5-30 Hz.

4. A device comprising:

a microphone, coupled to a sound tube directed towards the eardrum, such that the microphone measures interior sounds existing in the ear canal,

a sealing element,

a storage element operative to store data characterizing a frequency response of a sealed volume of gas, and

a processing unit operative to analyze samples received from the microphone and to determine, without injecting a specific sound wave into the volume of gas, whether the volume of gas in which the microphone is operating in is sealed.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the device is an electronic earplug.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the gas is air and the sealed volume of air is in the ear canal.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein a sealed electronic earplug features a distinguishable frequency response in the region of 5-30 Hz.

8. The device of claim 4, wherein the gas is air, the sealed volume of air is in the ear canal, and the frequency response sampled by the microphone in the low frequencies region is different for a sealed and unsealed ear canal.

9. The device of claim 4, wherein the device does not comprise a speaker.

10. The device of claim 4, wherein the device further comprises a speaker, and the processing unit does not operate the speaker while analyzing the samples received from the microphone for determine whether the volume of gas in which the microphone is operating in is sealed.

11. The device of claim 4, wherein the device is a sealing device.

12. The device of claim 11, further comprising a speaker, and wherein the device is an earphone or a headphone.