Beamforming microphone system
First Claim
1. A system for assisting a patient with hearing, the system comprising:
- a first microphone configured to generate a first audio signal in response to a sound, and a second microphone configured to generate a second audio signal in response to the sound;
a first processing circuit for respectively producing first and second responses from the first and second audio signals, wherein the first processing circuit delays the first response with respect to the second response in accordance with a delay period;
a subtractor for subtracting the first and second responses to create an output signal, wherein the output signal is a function of a location of the sound relative to the first and second microphones; and
a second processing circuit for configuring the output signal for presentation to hardware for assisting the patient with hearing;
wherein at least one of the first microphone and the second microphones comprise an in-the-ear microphone, while the first processing circuit is within a portion located outside the ear,wherein the hardware for assisting the patient with hearing comprises an implanted portion of a cochlear implant system, andwherein the first processing circuit, the subtractor, and the second processing circuit are all within an external portion of the cochlear implant system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for generating a beamforming signal is disclosed. A beam forming signal is generated by disposing a first microphone and a second microphone in horizontal coplanar alignment. The first and second microphones are used to detect a known signal to generate a first response and a second response. The first response is processed along a first signal path communicatively linked to the first microphone, and the second response is processed along a second signal path communicatively linked to the second microphone. The first and second responses are matched, and the matched responses are combined to generate the beamforming signal on a combined signal path.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for assisting a patient with hearing, the system comprising:
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a first microphone configured to generate a first audio signal in response to a sound, and a second microphone configured to generate a second audio signal in response to the sound; a first processing circuit for respectively producing first and second responses from the first and second audio signals, wherein the first processing circuit delays the first response with respect to the second response in accordance with a delay period; a subtractor for subtracting the first and second responses to create an output signal, wherein the output signal is a function of a location of the sound relative to the first and second microphones; and a second processing circuit for configuring the output signal for presentation to hardware for assisting the patient with hearing; wherein at least one of the first microphone and the second microphones comprise an in-the-ear microphone, while the first processing circuit is within a portion located outside the ear, wherein the hardware for assisting the patient with hearing comprises an implanted portion of a cochlear implant system, and wherein the first processing circuit, the subtractor, and the second processing circuit are all within an external portion of the cochlear implant system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for assisting a patient with hearing, the method comprising:
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generating a first audio signal from a first microphone in response to a sound and generating a second audio signal from a second microphone in response to the sound; creating first and second responses from the first and second audio signals, wherein the first response is delayed with respect to the second response by a delay period; forming a first output signal, wherein the first output signal comprises a difference between the delayed first response and the second response; and forming from the first output signal at least one second output signal for presentation to hardware for assisting the patient with hearing; wherein at least one of the first and the second microphones comprise an in-the-ear microphone and the first and second responses are created in an area outside the ear, wherein the hardware for assisting the patient with hearing comprises an internal portion of an implantable cochlear system, wherein the at least one second output signal is presented from an external portion of the cochlear implant system, and wherein the at least one second output signal is presented from the external portion to the implanted portion wirelessly. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for assisting a patient with hearing, the system comprising:
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a first microphone configured to generate a first audio signal in response to a sound, and a second microphone configured to generate a second audio signal in response to the sound; a first processing circuit for respectively producing first and second responses from the first and second audio signals, wherein the first processing circuit delays the first response with respect to the second response in accordance with a delay period; a subtractor that creates an output signal as a function of a location of the sound relative to the first and second microphones by subtracting the first response from the second response; and a second processing circuit for configuring the output signal for presentation to hardware for assisting the patient with hearing; wherein the first processing circuit, the subtractor, and the second processing circuit are all within an external portion of the cochlear implant system.
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Specification