Patents Assigned to Sonova
  • Patent number: 10798499
    Abstract: An exemplary hearing device is configured to selectively connect to a remote audio source configured to provide remote audio content. The hearing device operates in a first audio rendering mode in which the processor provides the user with a first audio signal based on a first combination of at least one of the ambient audio content detected by a microphone and the remote audio content. The hearing device determines, while operating in the first audio rendering mode and based on the accelerometer data, a movement of the user. The hearing device determines, based on the movement of the user, whether to switch from operating in the first audio rendering mode to operating in a second audio rendering mode in which the processor provides the user with a second audio signal based on a second combination of at least one of the ambient audio content and the remote audio content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Nadim El Guindi, Nina Stumpf, Ivo Spieler, Ullrich Sigwanz
  • Publication number: 20200314560
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for avoidance of user discomfort due to pressure differences by vent valve. In one embodiment, a method for equalizing air pressure in ear canal includes sensing a pressure difference between a pressure in ear canal (PEC) and an ambient pressure (PAMB) by a sensor of a hearing device. Based on sensing the pressure difference, an active valve is set to a first position to open a vent through the hearing device or to a second position to close the vent through the hearing device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Publication date: October 1, 2020
    Applicant: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Erwin Kuipers
  • Patent number: 10791101
    Abstract: The disclosed technology relates to broadcasting encrypted data to multiple receiver devices, where some receiver devices have long-term access to the encrypted data and some receiver devices have a temporary access to the encrypted data. Receivers having long-term access are part of a “member group” because these member group devices have a master key and the master key enables the member group devices to derive the necessary information to decrypt the encrypted broadcast. In contrast, devices with temporary access possess only a guest key and not master key, without a master key the devices need to receive the guest key from another device to decrypt the broadcast. Access to the encrypted stream can also be based on broadcasting multiple or single diversifiers, where a diversifier can include group identification information to assist in restricting access to the encrypted stream.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Stephan Gehring
  • Patent number: 10779092
    Abstract: The present invention pertains to a rechargeable hearing device (1). The proposed hearing device (1) comprises a power supply system (6) with a control unit (10) adapted to control operation of a sound system (2) of the hearing device (1) dependent on a control input signal, wherein the control input signal depends on a type information provided by an external power source (11) indicative of the type of external power source (11) from which the hearing device (1) is receiving a power signal. Moreover, the present invention provides a hearing system (100) comprising such a hearing device (1) and an external power source (11) as well as a method for operating such a hearing device (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Sudan Jürg, Aazami Sahba
  • Patent number: 10764695
    Abstract: There is provided a hearing instrument comprising a BTE part (10) to be worn behind the ear of a user, the BTE part comprising: a first side, a second side substantially parallel to the first side, and a third side connecting the first side and the second side, wherein the third side is substantially perpendicular to the user's skin when the BTE part is worn behind the ear, an antenna (24), and a transceiver (12) designed for transmission and reception at frequencies from 1 to 6 GHz and connected to the antenna via a non-radiating bifilar transmission line (40).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Javier Abadia, Yves Oesch, Francois Callias
  • Publication number: 20200274949
    Abstract: A hearing system comprising a hearing device and a connected device, wherein the hearing device comprises a microphone; a processor for processing a signal from the microphone; an output device for outputting the processed signal to an ear of the user; a memory for storing program code modules to be processed by the processor; and a transceiver for exchanging data with the connected device. In the memory of the hearing device a first set of program code modules and in the memory of the connected device a second set of program code modules different from the first set is stored. A program code module of the second set of program code modules is transferred from the connected device to the hearing device upon request from the hearing device or the connected device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Publication date: August 27, 2020
    Applicant: SONOVA AG
    Inventors: Andreas Breitenmoser, David Perels
  • Patent number: 10735876
    Abstract: The present invention proposes a method for determining hearing device features which are useful to an individual user of a hearing device (1). According to the proposed method a received input sound signal is automatically classified according to N sound classes. An overall usage quantity is then determined for each sound class from logged usage quantities of each sound class. Useful hearing device features are then determined, which are suitable for processing an input sound signal associated with sound classes having an overall usage quantity that exceeds a minimum overall usage quantity. Subsequently, providing the determined useful hearing device features in the hearing device (1) is suggested to the fitter and/or user of the hearing device (1). In a further aspect of the present invention a hearing device (1) with a classifier (7) and a logging unit (10) adapted to log usage quantities for identified sound classes is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Raymond Ngai, Betty Rule, Galen Dunning
  • Patent number: 10735870
    Abstract: There is provided a system for providing hearing assistance to a user, comprising: a table microphone unit (10) for capturing audio signals from a speaker's voice, comprising a microphone arrangement (16) comprising at least three microphones (M1, M2, M3) arranged in a non-linear manner, a beamformer unit (48) comprising a plurality of beamformers (BF1, BF2, . . . ), wherein each beamformer is configured to generate an acoustic beam (B1, B2, . . .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: William Ballande, Timothée Jost
  • Patent number: 10728676
    Abstract: A hearing device configured to be worn by a user includes a microphone, an accelerometer, and a processor. The microphone detects an audio signal. The accelerometer outputs accelerometer data associated with the hearing device. The processor is configured to 1) identify a music feature of the audio signal, the music feature indicating that the audio signal includes music content, 2) identify a movement feature of the accelerometer data, the movement feature representative of movement by the user while the microphone detects the audio signal, 3) determine a similarity measure between the music feature and the movement feature, and 4) perform, based on the similarity measure, an operation with respect to a sound processing program executable by the processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Nadim El Guindi, Ullrich Sigwanz, Thomas Wessel
  • Patent number: 10715936
    Abstract: There is provided a hearing device (10) comprising a BTLE 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Georg Dickmann, Daniel Lucas-Hirtz
  • Publication number: 20200213689
    Abstract: There is provided a microphone assembly, comprising a base body portion (12) comprising a top plate (53, 55) at its distal end; and a dome portion (14) mounted at the distal end of the base body portion and having a perforated structure with at least 50% of outwardly facing surface area of the dome portion being formed by open areas, the dome portion being made of a plastic material; at least one microphone capsule (30) located within the dome portion, and an RF antenna located (26) within the dome portion, the top plate comprising a reflection cone (53) pointing towards the dome portion in order to reflect sound (51) axially impinging on the reflection cone radially outwardly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2015
    Publication date: July 2, 2020
    Applicant: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Fabrice Charriere, Marc Herren, Samuel Harsch
  • Patent number: 10701497
    Abstract: A hearing device seal module having a tubular seal carrier formed from resilient material, defining a medial-lateral axis and a lumen configured for passage of the hearing device core, and including a seal support region with a first portion defining a first portion perimeter in a plane perpendicular to the medial-lateral axis and a second portion, lateral of the first portion, defining a second portion perimeter in a plane perpendicular to the medial-lateral axis that is less than the first portion perimeter when the seal support region is in an unstressed state, and a first seal secured to the first portion of the seal support region and extending outwardly therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Barjinder Chana, Michael Au, Erdal Karamuk
  • Patent number: 10701492
    Abstract: A method of monitoring state of health of a rechargeable battery (11) comprised within a hearing device (1) is provided, the rechargeable battery (11) being adapted to provide energy for electronic components (2, 8) of the hearing device (1), the method comprising the steps of: dividing a usage time of the hearing device (1) into time slots, determining a number of full equivalent charges applied to the rechargeable battery (11) in each of the time slots, and determining a performance level of the rechargeable battery (11) in dependence on the number of full equivalent charges per time slot. Furthermore, a hearing device adapted to perform the method and an arrangement with the hearing device are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Hans-Ueli Roeck, Kathrin Vuille-Dit-Bille, Fethi Cherigui, Sahba Aazami, Jonas Hoegberg
  • Patent number: 10694301
    Abstract: There is provided an audio transmission system, comprising a plurality of audio transmission units including at least a first audio transmission unit and a second audio transmission unit and at least one audio receiver unit, wherein the first audio transmission unit and the at least one audio receiver unit are configured to establish a first wireless link for transmitting audio data from the first audio transmission unit to the audio receiver unit, the first audio transmission unit and the second audio transmission unit are configured to establish a second wireless link for transmitting a link parameter set from the first audio transmission unit to the second audio transmission unit, the link parameter set allowing the second audio transmission unit to impersonate the first audio transmission unit for transmitting audio data from the second audio transmission unit via the first wireless link to the audio receiver device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Amre El-Hoiydi
  • Publication number: 20200186943
    Abstract: A method for providing feedback of an own voice loudness of a user of a hearing device comprises: extracting an own voice signal of the user from an audio signal acquired with a microphone of the hearing device; determining a sound level of the own voice signal from the audio signal; determining an acoustic situation of the user; determining at least one of a minimal threshold and a maximal threshold for the sound level of the own voice signal from the acoustic situation of the user; and notifying the user, when the sound level is at least one of lower than the minimal threshold and higher than the maximal threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: June 11, 2020
    Applicant: SONOVA AG
    Inventor: Manuela Feilner
  • Patent number: 10681457
    Abstract: There is provided a clip-on microphone assembly comprising a clip-on mechanism (16) for attaching the microphone assembly (10) to the cloths of a user (11); at least three microphones (20, 21, 22) for capturing audio signals from the user's voice, the microphones defining a microphone plane; an acceleration sensor (32) for generating an orientation signal by sensing gravitational acceleration in at least two orthogonal dimensions, an audio signal processing unit (34) for producing an output audio signal (36) from the captured audio signals, comprising a beamformer unit (24) for processing the captured audio signals, in order to generate the output audio signal, in a manner so as to create an acoustic beam having a direction, a DOA unit (30) for determining the direction of arrival of sound by analyzing the captured audio signals; and a control unit (26) for controlling the beamforming unit, the control unit being adapted to determine an allowed angular sector (40) of the direction of the acoustic beam accordi
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Marc Secall
  • Patent number: 10681459
    Abstract: Systems and methods for hearing devices with artifact mitigation. Some embodiments schedule, reschedule, or trigger, activities of a hearing device at points in time in order to achieve an artifact-free (or artifact-reduced) user experience. For example, some embodiments provide a method for scheduling reconfigurations of a hearing device to reduce an impact of resulting artifacts on a user experience. The method can include detecting a reconfiguration of operating characteristics (e.g., hardware or software) of a hearing device that will produce an artifact. Then, a masking event can be identified that can disguise the artifact produced by the reconfiguration of the operating characteristics. For example, the masking event can be an audio event from an audio signal received from a source external to the hearing device or a system notification generated by the hearing device. The reconfiguration can be scheduled or triggered so that the artifact is produced during the masking event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Andreas Breitenmoser, David Perels
  • Publication number: 20200162825
    Abstract: The disclosed technology relates to a hearing device configured to reduce audio artifacts related to electromagnetic interference between a transceiver and a T-coil. The hearing device can include a T-coil configured to receive audio signal; a processor configured to communicate with a transceiver, to process the EM inductive audio signal, and to provide a processed audio signal to a transducer. The processor can communicate with a memory to access instructions that include operations to: determine that the hearing device is receiving the EM inductive audio signal from the T-coil; determine that a noise associated with EM interference and the T-coil is anticipated based on the notification from the transceiver; and determine whether to apply a filter to the processed audio signal based on a sound level of the processed audio signal being below a masking threshold during a duration of the noise.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2018
    Publication date: May 21, 2020
    Applicant: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Nadim El Guindi
  • Patent number: 10652671
    Abstract: There is provided a method of operating a hearing device (10, 11) to be worn by a user, comprising: defining a plurality of hearing device services and assigning to each hearing device service a service access confirmation level selected from a plurality of hierarchically structured service access confirmation levels; providing an access software platform for enabling third party service access to the hearing device services; providing at least one application program adapted to provide a third party service to the hearing device, each application program adapted to utilize the access software platform and at least one of the hearing device services; providing a manufacturer access service for approving or denying access to the hearing device for each of the application programs depending on whether or not approval for the respective service access confirmation level(s) has been previously obtained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Hilmar Meier, Reto Kurmann, Nadim El Guindi, Thomas Wessel, Stefan Launer
  • Patent number: D889664
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Martyn Beedham