System and method for enhancing the inductive coupling between a hearing aid operating in telecoil mode and a communications device

• US 8,837,759 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2012
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cingular Wireless II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Frerking, Melvin Duane, Hirvela, George O'Quinn
• Primary Examiner(s): Ni, Suhan
• Application Number:
  US13/648,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20130034254A1
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 381312-215, 381/323, 381/326, 381330-331
• US Class Current: 381/315
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72478 for hearing-impaired users
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/43 Signal processing in hearing aids to enhance the speech intelligibility
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/55 Communication between hearing aids and external devices via a network for data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2225/61 Aspects relating to mechanical or electronic switches or control elements, e.g. functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/43 Electronic input selection or mixing based on input signal analysis, e.g. mixing or selection between microphone and telecoil or between microphones with different directivity characteristics H04R25/407 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/603 of mechanical or electronic switches or control elements

Abstract

A method and system to optimize the relative position of an inductive field of a hearing aid compatible device and a telecoil of a hearing assistive device, are provided. A Steerable Hearing Aid Compatible Device (SHAD) has a steerable inductive field for locating an inductive field in accordance with the location of a telecoil in the hearing assistive device. A Telecoil Hearing Assistive Device (THAD) has a telecoil and telecoil orientation tag. The location of the telecoil of the THAD is determined with respect to a reference system and this telecoil location information is stored on the telecoil orientation tag as Telecoil Location Information (TLI) and provided to the SHAD. In an exemplary embodiment the telecoil orientation tag may be an RFID tag that is read by a tag reader of the SHAD. The SHAD receives the TLI and generates an inductive field in accordance with the TLI, such as a position that is parallel to the telecoil of the THAD.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, by a processor, a hearing-assistive-device reference system;

generating, by the processor, using a location determined at a telecoil of a hearing-assistive device and using the hearing-assistive-device reference system, telecoil location information; and

initiating coupling, using the telecoil location information, of the telecoil and an inductive field emitted by a communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a communication-device reference system for use in initiating the coupling.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising correlating the hearing-assistive-device reference system and the communication-device reference system for initiating the coupling.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising initiating storage of the telecoil location information on a telecoil orientation tag.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the telecoil orientation tag comprises a radio-frequency identification tag.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the telecoil location information to the communication device.

7. A hearing-assistive apparatus, comprising:

a telecoil configured to couple with an inductive field of a communication device; and

a telecoil orientation tag configured to provide telecoil location information to the communication device;

wherein the telecoil location information indicates a location of the telecoil with respect to a predetermined reference system.

8. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 7, wherein the telecoil location information indicates at least two points in a three dimensional coordinate system.

9. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a processor in communication with the telecoil.

10. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a computer-readable storage medium having instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to process a signal received by the telecoil.

11. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the processor, in executing the instructions to process the signal, transmits the signal to an audio output device; and

the hearing-assistive apparatus further comprises the audio output device being configured to receive the signal from the processor and to output the signal.

12. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter configured to receive the signal from the telecoil, convert the signal to a digital signal, and provide the digital signal to the processor.

13. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a digital-to-analog converter configured to receive the digital signal from the processor, convert the digital signal to an analog signal, and to provide the analog signal to the audio output device.

14. The hearing-assistive apparatus of claim 7, wherein the telecoil orientation tag comprises a radio-frequency identification tag.