Portable system programming hearing aids

• US 6,888,948 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2002
• Issued: 05/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Starkey Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Micro Ear Technology Incorporated (Starkey Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Preves, David A., Hagen, Lawrence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Huyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): DABNEY, PHYLESHA LARVINIA
• Application Number:
  US10/096,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20020168075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 381/312, 381/314, 381/323, 381/315, 381/333, 381/388, 381/306, 710300-302, 710/69, 710 8- 14
• US Class Current: 381/314
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/502 using analog signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/558 Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/70 Adaptation of deaf aid to hearing loss, e.g. initial electronic fitting

Abstract

An improved hearing aid programming system with a host computer for providing at least one hearing aid program and having at least one personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA) defined port in combination with a PCMCIA card inserted in the port and arranged for interacting with the host computer for controlling programming of a hearing aid. The host computer provides power and ground to the PCMCIA card and provides for downloading the hearing aid programming software to the PCMCIA card upon initialization. A microprocessor on the PCMCIA card executes the programming software. A hearing aid interface for adjusting voltage levels and impedance levels is adapted for coupling signals to the hearing aid being programmed. A portable programming arrangement utilizes a portable multiprogram unit to store one or more hearing aid programs, and having an electrical interconnection to a portable multiprogram unit interface, whereby one or more programs selected at the host computer can be downloaded and stored in the portable multiprogram unit. The portable multiprogram unit includes a wireless interconnection for transmitting selected ones of the programs to hearing aids to be programmed.

Claims

1. A hearing aid programming system comprising:

a host computer to provide at least one hearing aid program;

a hearing aid programming card coupled to the host computer to interact with the host computer to control downloading of the at least one hearing aid program from the host computer for use in programming at least one hearing aid; and

portable programming means removably coupled to the hearing aid programming card for storing one or more selected programs downloaded from the host computer, the portable programming means including

an ear select to set the at least one hearing aid to be programmed as a left hearing aid or right hearing aid;

program select buttons to activate the selected programs downloaded for the left hearing aid or right hearing aid selected by the ear select; and

coupling means for wirelessly coupling the at least one hearing aid program to at least one hearing aid to be programmed.

2. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the portable programming means is adapted for programming at least one digitally programmable hearing aid.

3. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 2, wherein the portable programming means includes:

storage means for storing the one or more selected programs downloaded from the host computer;

control means for controlling selection of a selected one of the one or more selected programs to be utilized in programming a digitally programmable hearing aid; and

a transmitter for transmitting the selected one of the one or more selected programs to the digitally programmable hearing aid to be programmed.

4. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 3, wherein the transmitter includes:

wireless transmission means for transmitting digital signals indicative of the selected one of the one or more programs.

5. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 4, wherein the wireless transmission means includes:

infrared signal transmission means for transmitting digital signals indicative of the selected one of the one or more programs.

6. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the host computer comprises a hand-held computer.

7. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the host computer is a lap-top computer.

8. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes a PCMCIA defined card Type selected from a Type I Card, a Type II Card, or a Type III Card.

9. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes card information structure (CIS) means for providing predetermined card identifications signals to the host computer means.

10. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 9, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes:

memory means for storing initialization software to cause the host computer to download hearing aid programming software to a volatile storage means, for at least temporarily storing hearing and programming software, and for at least temporarily storing selected hearing aid programs downloaded from the host computer.

11. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes a serial data port.

12. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 1, wherein the hearing aid programming card is configured as a memory card.

13. For use with a host computer having a memory system for storing hearing aid programs for a user, and operating system software, a hearing aid programming card comprising:

memory means for storing hearing aid programming software and for temporarily storing hearing aid programs;

interface means to couple to the host computer for providing card information structure (CIS) signals indicative of the identification of the hearing aid programming card and for providing interface control with the host computer;

microprocessor means coupled to the memory means and to the interface means for executing the hearing aid programming software; and

hearing aid interface means coupled to the microprocessor means for providing hearing aid programs to program a hearing aid, the hearing aid interface means including a first variable impedance circuit to connect to a left hearing aid and a second variable impedance circuit to connect to a right hearing aid.

14. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 13 wherein the hearing aid programming card further includes portable programming interface means coupled to the microprocessor means for downloading one or more selected hearing aid programs from the host computer for use in programming at least one digitally programmable hearing aid.

15. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 14, and further including coupling means for coupling to a hearing aid.

16. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 15, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes a PCMCIA defined card Type selected from a Type 1 Card a Type II Card, or a Type III Card.

17. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 15, wherein the coupling means includes:

portable programming means at least temporarily coupled to the portable programming interface means, for storing the downloaded one or more selected hearing aid programs, the portable programming means including program selection means for selecting one of the downloaded one or more selected hearing aid programs, and wireless transmission means for transmitting the selected one of the downloaded one or more selected hearing aid programs to a selected digitally programmable hearing aid.

18. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 17, wherein the program selection means includes:

hearing aid selection means for selecting a right ear hearing aid or a left ear hearing aid to be programmed.

19. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 15, wherein the host computer at least temporarily stores one or more selected programs to be utilized in digitally programming at least one hearing aid, and the coupling means includes portable programming means for storing one or more selected hearing aid programs downloaded from the host computer by the microprocessor means.

20. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 19, further including:

control means for controlling selection of one of the one or more selected programs; and

transmitting means for transmitting the selected one of the one or more programs to the selected digitally programmable hearing aid to be programmed.

21. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 15, wherein the hearing aid programming card includes a serial data port.

22. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 15, wherein the hearing aid programming card is configured as a memory card.

23. For use with a host computer having a memory for storing predetermined hearing aid programs and programming software, and operating with an operating system, a hearing programmer system comprising:

host interface means for providing communication with the host computer and for providing configuration control signals to the host computer for use by the operating system to verify the configuration and for receiving power and signals from the host computer;

processor means coupled to the host interface means for performing hearing aid programming functions, including downloading the predetermined hearing aid programs from the host computer;

initialization means coupled to the processor means for causing the processor means to request downloading of the predetermined hearing aid program from the host computer memory;

memory means coupled to the processor means for temporarily storing the predetermined hearing aid program downloaded from the host computer;

portable multiprogram unit interface means coupled to the processor means for providing indication of the predetermined hearing aid program signals and for receiving control signals; and

coupling means for coupling the portable multiprogram unit interface means to a portable multiprogram unit to provide a communication path on which hearing aid program signals are sent to the portable multiprogram unit and on which control signals are received from the portable multiprogram unit.

24. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 23, wherein the host interface means includes card information structure means for identifying the characteristics of the hearing aid programming system.

25. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 24, wherein the initialization means includes:

nonvolatile storage means for storing initialization instructions for controlling initialization of the processor means.

26. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 25, wherein the initialization instructions include instructions for responding to the processor means for downloading the programming software and for storing the programming software in the memory means.

27. A hearing aid programming system as in claim 26, wherein the processor means retrieves the programming software from the memory means and executes the programming software for downloading the predetermined hearing aid programs from the host computer to the portable multiprogram unit interface means.

28. A method for programming a hearing aid comprising:

storing one or more programs for programming a digital hearing aid in a host computer, each of the one or more programs defining a predetermined set of hearing adjusted parameters for hearing aids to be programmed;

coupling a hearing aid programming card to the host computer;

coupling a portable programming unit to the hearing aid programming card;

downloading selected ones of the one or more programs from the host computer through the hearing aid programming card to the portable programming unit;

decoupling the portable programming unit from the hearing aid programming card;

selectively actuating an ear select in the portable programming unit to select a right digitally programmable hearing aid or a left digitally programmable hearing aid as a hearing aid to be programmed;

selectively actuating a program select button in the portable programming unit to select one of the selected ones of the one or more programs to program the selected right digitally programmable hearing aid or left digitally programmable hearing aid; and

selectively actuating the portable programming unit to wirelessly transmit the selected one of the selected ones of the one or more programs to the selected digitally programmable hearing aid to program the digitally programmable hearing aid to a first set of hearing adjusted parameters.

29. The method of claim 28, and further including:

selectively reactivating the portable programming unit to transmit a different selected one of the one or more programs to selected digitally programmable hearing aid to program the digitally programmable hearing aid to a second set of hearing adjusted parameters.

30. For use with a host computer having a memory system for storing one or more selected hearing aid programs defining hearing adjusted parameters, hearing aid programming software, and operating system software, a hearing aid programming card comprising:

a memory to store hearing aid programming software;

an interface coupled to the host computer, the interface including a card information structure (CIS) to provide CIS signals indicative of the identification of the hearing aid programming card and to provide interface control with the host computer;

a microprocessor coupled to the memory and to the interface, the microprocessor to execute the programming software to download one or more selected hearing aid programs from the host computer;

a hearing aid interface coupled to the microprocessor to provide signals for programming a hearing aid; and

a portable multiprogramming unit interface coupled to the microprocessor to provide the downloaded hearing aid programs to another unit for use in programming one or more hearing aids.

31. A hearing aid programming card as in claim 30, further including in combination:

a portable multiprogram unit removably coupled to the portable multiprogram unit interface, the portable multiprogram unit including a program storage system to store the downloaded ones of the one or more selected hearing aid programs, a control system for selecting one of the one or more selected hearing aid programs, and a wireless transmitter to transmit the one of the one or more selected hearing aid programs.