Hearing aid with inductively coupled electromagnetic resonator antenna
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
- a case;
a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and
an antenna including;
a primary antenna element wired to the hearing aid circuit; and
one or more secondary antenna elements wirelessly coupled to the primary antenna element and configured to receive near field electromagnetic energy radiated from the primary antenna and to radiate far field electromagnetic energy to communicate with the other device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hearing aid includes an antenna for wireless communication with another device. The antenna includes a primary element connected to the circuit of the hearing aid and one or more secondary elements parasitically coupled to the primary element. This antenna configuration substantially increases radiation efficiency when compared to an antenna with the primary element alone, without substantially increasing the size, power consumption, and complexity of the hearing aid.
32 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
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a case; a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and an antenna including; a primary antenna element wired to the hearing aid circuit; and one or more secondary antenna elements wirelessly coupled to the primary antenna element and configured to receive near field electromagnetic energy radiated from the primary antenna and to radiate far field electromagnetic energy to communicate with the other device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13)
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9. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
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a case; a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and an antenna including; a primary antenna element wired to the hearing aid circuit; and one or more secondary antenna elements parasitically coupled to the primary antenna element, wherein the one or more secondary antenna elements are each tuned to have a standalone resonant frequency different from a resonant frequency of the primary antenna element by a specified offset. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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14. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
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a case; a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and an antenna including; a primary antenna element electrically coupled to the hearing aid circuit; and one or more secondary antenna elements each embedded in or affixed to the case and configured to be inductively coupled to the primary antenna element to receive near field electromagnetic energy from the primary antenna element. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 22)
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19. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
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a case; a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and an antenna including; a primary antenna element electrically coupled to the hearing aid circuit; and one or more secondary antenna elements each embedded in or affixed to the case and configured to be inductively coupled to the primary antenna element, wherein the one of more secondary antenna elements each comprise a conductive loop and a secondary capacitor connected to the conductive loop. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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23. A hearing aid capable of performing wireless communication with another device, the hearing aid comprising:
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a case; a hearing aid circuit housed in the case, the hearing aid circuit configured to perform the wireless communication; and an antenna including; a primary antenna element electrically coupled to the hearing aid circuit; and one or more secondary antenna elements each embedded in or affixed to the case and configured to be inductively coupled to the primary antenna element, wherein the one or more secondary antenna elements comprise a plurality of loops each orthogonally polarized relative to the other one or more loops of the plurality of loops.
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24. A method for transmitting a signal from a hearing aid using wireless communication, the method comprising:
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modulating a radio frequency carrier using the signal; radiating a near field electromagnetic energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from a primary antenna element housed in a case of the hearing aid; receiving the near field electromagnetic energy using one or more secondary antenna elements parasitically coupled to the primary antenna element, the one or more secondary antenna elements incorporated into the case or housed in the case; and radiating a far field electromagnetic energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from the one or more second antenna elements.
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25. A method for transmitting a signal from a hearing aid using wireless communication, the method comprising:
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modulating a radio frequency carrier using the signal; radiating a first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from a primary antenna element housed in a case of the hearing aid; receiving the first energy using one or more secondary antenna elements parasitically coupled to the primary antenna element, the one or more secondary antenna elements incorporated into the case or housed in the case; radiating a second first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from the one or more second antenna elements; and tuning the one or more secondary antenna elements such that the one or more secondary antenna elements each have a standalone resonant frequency different from a resonant frequency of the primary antenna element by a specified offset.
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26. A method for transmitting a signal from a hearing aid using wireless communication, the method comprising:
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modulating a radio frequency carrier using the signal; radiating a first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from a primary antenna element housed in a case of the hearing aid; receiving the first energy using one or more secondary antenna elements parasitically coupled to the primary antenna element, the one or more secondary antenna elements incorporated into the case or housed in the case and including a plurality of secondary antenna elements; radiating a second first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from the one or more second antenna elements; and tuning the secondary antenna elements to be resonant at substantially different frequencies.
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27. A method for transmitting a signal from a hearing aid using wireless communication, the method comprising:
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modulating a radio frequency carrier using the signal; radiating a first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from a primary antenna element housed in a case of the hearing aid; receiving the first energy using one or more secondary antenna elements parasitically coupled to the primary antenna element, the one or more secondary antenna elements incorporated into the case or housed in the case and including a plurality of secondary antenna elements, and further comprising; radiating a second first energy representing the modulated radio frequency carrier from the one or more second antenna elements; and arranging the plurality of secondary antenna elements into a plurality of groups each including one or more elements of the plurality of secondary antenna elements, the groups having substantially different standalone resonant frequencies. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification