Patents Assigned to Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
  • Hearing aid device, comprising a directional microphone system and a method for operating a hearing aid device
    Patent number: 7324649
    Abstract: The invention relates to a hearing aid with a signal processing unit (14) and at least two microphones (1, 2, 3) which can be coupled together to form directional microphone systems of a different order, where microphone signals (11, 12, 13) emitted by directional microphone systems of a different order can be coupled together in a weighting dependent on the frequency of the microphone signals. The invention further relates to a method for operating a hearing aid of this type.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Benno Knapp, Hartmut Ritter
  • Hearing aid device with automatic situation recognition
    Patent number: 7324650
    Abstract: The correct recognition of the auditory situation “television” often poses a problem for hearing aid devices with automatic situation recognition, since a plurality of real situations are simulated by the television audio signal. To correctly recognize the situation “television”, the invention therefore provides to detect a line signal with a particular line signal frequency output by the television device, and given the existence of such a line signal to automatically implement the auditory situation “television”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2008
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Eghart Fischer, Volkmar Hamacher, Thomas Hies, Thomas Hopf, Frank Wagner
  • Hearing aid device, and operating and adjustment methods therefor, with microphone disposed outside of the auditory canal
    Patent number: 7313241
    Abstract: For a hearing-impaired person provided with a hearing aid device with which sound acquisition ensues outside of the auditory canals of the person, the localization capability with regard to a signal source is lost. To compensate the information loss that occurs due to the acquisition of an acoustic signal outside of the auditory canals, in the signal processing in the hearing aid device of an acoustic input signal acquired by at least one microphone of the hearing aid device, the transfer function of the head or of the external ear is taken into account between the position at which the microphone is located and a position in the auditory canal of the hearing device user. The natural location capability of a person to localize a signal source in space thus is not lost given treatment with a hearing aid device that is not worn in the auditory canal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Volkmar Hamacher, Torsten Niederdränk
  • Hearing aid and method for adjusting a hearing aid
    Patent number: 7302069
    Abstract: The process of adapting a hearing aid to its wearer is to be simplified. To this end the acoustic conditions in the auditory canal, especially the acoustic impedance, are estimated by measuring the input impedance of the earpiece on the hearing aid. For adjusting the hearing aid it is worthwhile using the mechanical resonance of the system of hearing aid and auditory canal which can be detected with the aid of the input impedance. This is produced by a simplified equivalent circuit diagram from which the corresponding acoustic variables can be obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Niederdränk, Christian Weistenhöfer
  • Hearing aid and method of adapting a hearing aid
    Patent number: 7295676
    Abstract: With the adaptation of a hearing aid to a multitude of acoustic sources, head movements can be taken into consideration more rapidly. To this end, a position determining device (PB) for determining the current position of the head of the hearing aid wearer is provided, so that with the aid of the position of the head in a processing and separation unit (VE), the relative change in the acoustic source positions can be rapidly taken into consideration. Thus after each head movement, a renewed time-intensive adaptation is not required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventor: Josef Chalupper
  • Data transmission device for hearing aids
    Patent number: 7292698
    Abstract: The communication device in a hearing aid needs to be optimized with respect to spatial requirements and power consumption. To this end, provision is made for an inductor in an oscillator circuit to be used simultaneously as an antenna. Besides reducing the number of components, this also reduces the power consumption. Further optimization in terms of energy can be achieved by virtue of a comparator being used to actuate a controllable current source such that energy is fed into the oscillator circuit only during a half-cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Niederdränk, Gerhard Pfannenmüller, Gottfried Rückerl
  • Embedded internet for hearing aids
    Patent number: 7286673
    Abstract: A hearing aid has an embedded Internet interface so that the hearing aid can automatically communicate error diagnosis data to a hearing aid acoustician via the Internet so that the hearing aid user need not visit the hearing aid acoustician and so that acoustician can initiate appropriate maintenance, training or repair measures. An appertaining method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Joerg Bindner, Wolfram Meyer
  • Transmission coil system and remote control for a hearing aid
    Patent number: 7277553
    Abstract: A transmission coil system has a first and a second transmission coil in which the first transmission coil is connectable to a stimulation unit, and the second transmission coil can be used as part of a resonant circuit which can be stimulated to resonate, and having a coil core for two transmission coils that are loosely magnetically coupled to one another in that the two transmission coils are wound alongside one another on the coil core. Stimulation of the first transmission coil leads to a resonant increase in the applied voltage in the second transmission coil, and thus to an amplified transmission power. This may be used, for example, for remote control of the hearing aid, since, for example, it allows 200 bits/s data transmission over several meters from a low-voltage source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventor: Jürgen Reithinger
  • Method to adjust an auditory system and corresponding auditory system
    Patent number: 7269269
    Abstract: An adjustment of hearing device systems is achieved by an interactive adaptation that is undertaken during the operation. A classifier recognizes various auditory situations and starts interactive adaptation procedures, in the framework of which various settings are to be evaluated. Only settings that fit the auditory situation are thereby offered. As a result of the evaluations, an optimal hearing aid settings results for the respective auditory situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Volkmar Hamacher, Matthias Wesselkamp
  • Hearing device
    Patent number: 7263194
    Abstract: The space in hearing device housings (1, 2) is to be enabled to be used more intensively. To this end, the invention pro-poses dispensing with a separate microphone housing and embodying said housing in one piece with the hearing device housing. To reduce the microphone's sensitivity to body sound the corresponding attenuation can be provided in the hearing device shells or the non body-sound-sensitive Silicon microphones (5).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Niederdränk, Christian Weistenhöfer
  • Space-saving antenna arrangement for hearing aid device
    Patent number: 7260234
    Abstract: An antenna coil is present in a hearing aid device to wirelessly transmit signals between a hearing aid device and a further device. Due to the required miniaturization of hearing aid devices, only minimal space is available for the arrangement of the antenna coil in the hearing aid device. The invention therefore provides for winding the antenna coil around or on an existing electro-acoustic transducer in the hearing aid device or around a capsule surrounding the transducer. A comparatively large antenna coil, for which little additional space is required, can thereby be provided in the hearing aid device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Kasztelan, Torsten Niederdränk, Peter Nikles, Christian Weistenhöfer
  • Circuit and method for adaptation of hearing device microphones
    Patent number: 7254245
    Abstract: The microphones used in hearing devices normally possess different characteristic lines that are to be adapted to one another. For this purpose, the amplitude of an output signal of a first microphone and the amplitude of an output signal of a second microphone are measured. The output signal of the first microphone is subsequently filtered dependent on both measured amplitudes, such that the difference between the two output signals is reduced. One of the two microphones hereby serves as a reference, and an absolute normalization can be foregone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Georg-Erwin Arndt, Joachim Eggers, Thomas Hanses, Torsten Niederdränk, Hartmut Ritter, Gunter Sauer
  • Directional microphone
    Patent number: 7245734
    Abstract: A directional microphone system comprises two membranes that, on the one hand, are respectively acoustically connected via an air volume with one of two spatially separate sound entrance ports, and on the other hand are acoustically coupled with one another via a third air volume, as well as an output generator configured to generate at least one output signal of the directional microphone from the vibration of one of the two membranes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventor: Torsten Niederdraenk
  • Device and method for communication of hearing aids
    Patent number: 7245731
    Abstract: An energy-saving communication is made available in a hearing aid system. For this purpose the individual communication participants are given different priorities, by using data packets of variable length in the communication. The longer data packets of higher priority prevail when the transmission requests of lower priority are paused as long as the communication channel is busy. In this manner a suitable communication can be structured in a hearing aid system comprising, for example, of two hearing aids and a remote control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Niederdränk, Gottfried Rückerl
  • Wireless transmission system for hearing devices
    Patent number: 7239713
    Abstract: A transmission system for rearing devices is provided that, in spite of having less energy available, allows for a transmission relatively safe from interference. Such a gearing device has a self-exciting oscillation circuit as an antenna that enables an inductive coupling in the long-wave range. Additionally, or alternatively, a hearing device is provided with a receiving device that comprises a median filter device with which a median value can be determined from a plurality of values for noise signal prevention.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventor: Torsten Niederdränk
  • Device and method to adapt a hearing device
    Patent number: 7236603
    Abstract: In the adaptation of hearing devices to specific auditory situations, mistakes can be reduced between detected auditory situations, and individual classifications should be enabled. For this, evaluation data are provided for various predetermined auditory situations, and the hearing device adapted to a hearing device user using individual weighting. The individual weighting thereby ensues via a continuous weighting function that runs via supporting points which respectively represent an individual weighting of the evaluation data of one of the predetermined auditory situations. With this, a continuous and individual adaptation of the hearing device to various auditory situations is possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventor: Patrick Mergell
  • Connection piece for hearing device support hook
    Patent number: 7221770
    Abstract: In a behind-the-ear hearing device with a detachable support hook fastened to the hearing device, a narrow structural shape is enabled in the transition region between the support hook and the hearing device housing. The invention provides a one-part, metallic connection piece for a hearing device support hook, with a sound channel passing through this connection piece, with a fastening section, a stop and a fastening clip, such that forces affecting the connection piece over a plurality of regions of the connection piece can be passed into the housing of the hearing device. In comparison with a connection piece with a single region provided for force transfer, the cross-section of the hearing device housing can thereby be reduced in the region of the connection piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Werner Fickweiler, Michael Sattler
  • System and method for individualized training of hearing aid users
    Patent number: 7221765
    Abstract: In a method for individualized training of hearing aid users a number of hearing training courses are stored in a databank. An individual user profile is acquired in a training device. A transmission of the hearing training data from the databank to the training device and/or vice versa ensues via a data network before or during the implementation of the hearing training. The training thus ensues adapted to the respective user profile by means of one or more individualized hearing training courses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Josef Chalupper, Reinier Kortekaas
  • Hearing aid having an adjustable directional characteristic, and method for adjustment thereof
    Patent number: 7209568
    Abstract: In a hearing aid, as well as in a method for the operation of a hearing aid having a microphone system in which different directional characteristics can be set, the tonal quality is improved, particularly in a quiet hearing environment, by the signal delay for at least one microphone signal being increased so as to increase the transfer function in the frequency response of the microphone system, thus also improving the signal-to-noise ratio, by decreasing the proportion of the microphone noise in the microphone output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Georg-Erwin Arndt, Harald Klemenz, Hartmut Ritter
  • Hearing aid device with an output amplifier having a sigma-delta modulator
    Patent number: 7205918
    Abstract: In a digital hearing aid device with an output amplifier having a sigma-delta modulator, the output transducer has a high current consumption even when no output signal perceivable as an acoustic output signal is generated. A linear digital filtering in connection with the sigma-delta modulation reduces the number of the high-frequency edges in the (typically) pulse-density-modulated output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH
    Inventors: Torsten Niederdränk, Peter Nikles