System for and Method of Providing Improved Intelligibility of Television Audio for the Hearing Impaired
First Claim
1. A multimedia hearing assistance interface comprising:
- a receiver for receiving an audio data signal and conveying said signal to a digital signal processor;
a means for conveying user preference data to the digital signal processor;
the digital signal processor (“
DSP”
) for modifying at least a portion of the audio data signal based on user preference data conveyed to the DSP; and
a driver for generating an output audio signal based on the audio data signal received from the DSP.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a TV hearing system that generally includes an analog or digital TV broadcast signal feeding a hearing health interface that subsequently drives the input of a standard television. The hearing health interface further includes a receiver, a digital signal processor (DSP) logic block, a driver, an input/output (I/O) device, and optionally a direct audio driver and/or a radio frequency (RF) transmitter. Pre-established data representing a personal hearing profile of a hearing impaired user that includes correction factors for compensating for the hearing problem is supplied to the DSP logic block. The DSP logic block then selectively modifies the audio relating to the TV broadcast and presents the enhanced audio to the user. Additionally, the present invention includes a business method of establishing a hearing health network to which users may subscribe.
101 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A multimedia hearing assistance interface comprising:
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a receiver for receiving an audio data signal and conveying said signal to a digital signal processor;
a means for conveying user preference data to the digital signal processor;
the digital signal processor (“
DSP”
) for modifying at least a portion of the audio data signal based on user preference data conveyed to the DSP; and
a driver for generating an output audio signal based on the audio data signal received from the DSP. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A multimedia text display assistance interface comprising:
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a receiver for receiving a data signal comprising audio and video data and text data corresponding to the audio data, and conveying said signal to a digital signal processor;
a means for conveying user input to the digital signal processor;
the digital signal processor (“
DSP”
) for modifying the text data portion of the data signal based on said user input conveyed to the DSP; and
a driver for generating an output signal comprising video and text based on the modified data signal received from the DSP. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A multimedia hearing assistance interface comprising:
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a receiver for receiving a data signal comprising audio and video data and text data corresponding to the audio data, and conveying said signal to a digital signal processor;
the digital signal processor (“
DSP”
) for converting the text data portion of the data signal to a synthesized voice data signal; and
a driver for generating an output signal comprising video and the synthesized voice data signal received from the DSP. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A multimedia hearing assistance interface comprising:
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a receiver for receiving an audio data signal and conveying said signal to a digital signal processor;
the digital signal processor (“
DSP”
) for analyzing the frequency of the audio data signal received from the receiver in order to identify that portion of the signal which corresponds to voice, and for converting the voice portion to a synthesized speech data signal; and
a driver for generating an output audio signal comprising the synthesized speech data signal received from the DSP. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A method for providing multimedia hearing assistance, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an audio data signal;
providing user preference data;
modifying at least a portion of the received audio data signal based on said user preference data; and
generating an output audio signal based on the modified audio data signal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A method for providing text display assistance, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a data signal comprising audio and video data and text data corresponding to the audio data;
providing user input;
modifying the text data portion of the data signal based on said user input; and
generating an output signal comprising video and text based on the modified data signal. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. A method for providing hearing assistance, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a data signal comprising audio and video data and text data corresponding to the audio data;
converting the text data portion of the data signal to a synthesized voice data signal; and
generating an output signal comprising video and the synthesized voice data signal. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method for providing hearing assistance, comprising the steps of:
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receiving an audio data signal;
analyzing the frequency of the audio data signal received from the receiver in order to identify that portion of the signal which corresponds to voice, and converting the voice portion to a synthesized speech data signal; and
generating an output audio signal comprising the synthesized speech data signal. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54)
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55. A method for providing hearing assistance to a plurality of users, comprising the steps of:
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performing a hearing test on a user to ascertain any hearing problems for said user, generating a personal hearing profile for the user based on said hearing test, said profile comprising data associated with suitable correction factors for compensating said hearing problems, generating and compiling a hearing profile database comprising personal hearing profiles of a plurality of users, establishing a broadband hearing health network operable on a network server for providing access to the hearing profile database, by which an authorized user may access his personal hearing profile data, establishing a relationship with one or more cable or satellite television providers, obtaining subscribers to the network, purchasing and installing hardware to provide access for the subscriber to the network, accessing personal hearing profile by the user/subscriber from the hearing profile database by way of a network connection or by way of an input device or direct input;
performing audio enhancement of a television broadcast based on the personal hearing profile; and
generating enhanced audio output.
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Specification