Patents Examined by Brian Ensey
  • Patent number: 11961382
    Abstract: A method for operating a hearing aid system. The hearing aid system includes a hearing aid with at least one input transducer, an output transducer, and a motion sensor. The movement of a hearing aid system user is captured as movement data of the motion sensor. A probability for a future fall or trip event on the part of the hearing aid system user is determined on the basis of the captured movement data. A perceptible warning signal is generated when the probability reaches or exceeds a stored threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Ronny Hannemann, Tobias Wurzbacher
  • Patent number: 11962962
    Abstract: Disclosed is a sound producing device and an electronic product, the sound producing device including a front cover and a shell which are bonded together; wherein a diaphragm is accommodated in a cavity enclosed by the front cover and shell, an upper surface of the front cover away from the diaphragm is covered with an elastic sealing piece, and the elastic sealing piece and the front cover are bonded by hot pressing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Goertek Inc.
    Inventors: Xiaodong Cai, Linlin Zhang, Zhilei Han
  • Patent number: 11924604
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a speaker adapter, and a dual core speaker assembly. The speaker adapter includes: a main body, symmetrically provided with two mounting portions at both sides for matching with speakers respectively; a bottom base, extending from and around the main body, for supporting the main body; and an inner cavity formed within the main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Harman International Industries, Incorporated
    Inventors: Bo Sun, Jian Wang, Cathy Chen, Na Liu
  • Patent number: 11924613
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are method, system, and computer program product embodiments for performing the continuous tuning of received audio input from an earpiece, wherein the audio input is independently altered in the frequency domain for output to an earpiece worn by a user based on tuning profiles chosen by the user, or in combination with power conservation tuning profile auto-switching modes, including a time only and location only mode, switching tuning profiles based on data analyzed from various electronic sensors, for an optimal experience.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: Listen and Be Heard LLC
    Inventor: Narendar Bahadur Sahgal
  • Patent number: 11917387
    Abstract: Aspects of the subject technology relate to electronic devices having speakers such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) speakers. A MEMS speaker can include an electrostatically driven, corrugated MEMS structure to move air without a magnet, coil, or traditional speaker membrane, and thus provide a low-power, compact speaker with a large acoustically active area in a small volume. Neighboring folds in the corrugated MEMS structure may form pairs of MEMS electrodes that can be pushed together and/or pulled apart to deform the MEMS structure in a breathing motion that generates pressure differentials on opposing sides of the corrugated MEMS structure to generate sound. Additional modes of operation are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Gokhan Hatipoglu, Onur I. Ilkorur, Pablo Seoane Vieites, Christopher Wilk, Peter C. Hrudey
  • Patent number: 11917388
    Abstract: A speaker device includes a speaker unit including a magnetic circuit and a diaphragm, connected to the magnetic circuit and being capable of generating sound waves by electrically driving the magnetic circuit to vibrate the diaphragm; and a Helmholtz resonator connected to the speaker unit. The diaphragm includes a first surface oriented to a sealed space, and a second surface that is back surface of the first surface and is oriented to the Helmholtz resonator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Foster Electric Company, Limited
    Inventor: Takayuki Tabata
  • Patent number: 11917371
    Abstract: An exemplary system includes a processor communicatively coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions to access configuration parameters indicative of a current configuration of a hearing device and determine, based on the configuration parameters, a plurality of text-based notifications associated with the current configuration of the hearing device. Each text-based notification included in the plurality of text-based notifications may be indicative of a different issue to be considered when fitting the hearing device to a user. The processor may further execute the instructions to present, within a graphical user interface view displayed by a display device, a hearing device fitting interface concurrently with a listing of at least some of the plurality of text-based notifications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2024
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Felix Wunderli, Martin Rahn
  • Patent number: 11910159
    Abstract: An object is to provide a laminated piezoelectric element capable of preventing a short circuit between adjacent piezoelectric films and an electroacoustic transducer using the laminated piezoelectric element. The object is solved by laminating a plurality of layers of piezoelectric films polarized in a thickness direction, in which a piezoelectric layer is interposed between two thin film electrodes, and causing polarization directions of the adjacent piezoelectric films to be opposite to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Tetsu Miyoshi
  • Patent number: 11902735
    Abstract: An artificial-reality device for audio playback is provided. The artificial-reality device includes: (i) a head-mounted display including at least one lens, and (ii) one or more transducers, coupled to the head-mounted display. The transducers are configured to generate signals that vibrate the at least one lens of the head-mounted display. The at least one lens generates acoustic waves that correspond to media presented by the head-mounted display when vibrated by the one or more transducers. Characteristics of the signals generated by the one or more transducers cause the acoustic waves generated by the at least one lens to be directed towards at least one ear of a user of the artificial reality device. Values of the characteristics for the signals are determined based on: (i) the media presented by the head-mounted display and (ii) characteristics of the at least one lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventor: Morteza Khaleghimeybodi
  • Patent number: 11902747
    Abstract: A hearing aid includes neural network circuitry configured to implement a neural network trained to separate a speech subsignal and a noise subsignal from an input audio signal, and digital processing circuitry. The digital processing circuitry includes a speech wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) pipeline and a noise WDRC pipeline. The speech WDRC pipeline is configured to apply a set of speech fitting curves to the speech subsignal based at least in part on the level of the speech subsignal. The noise WDRC pipeline is configured to apply a set of noise fitting curves to the noise subsignal based at least in part on the level of the noise subsignal. The set of speech fitting curves is different from the set of noise fitting curves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Chromatic Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Morris, Igor Lovchinsky, Andrew J. Casper
  • Patent number: 11882413
    Abstract: Disclosed are system and methods for automated fitting of a hearing aid, through an automated hearing test based upon which a suitable set of hearing aid parameters is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: TUNED LTD.
    Inventors: Omri Gavish, Ron Ganot
  • Patent number: 11877123
    Abstract: Presented herein are audio training techniques that facilitate the rehabilitation of a recipient of an auditory prosthesis. In certain embodiments, the audio training techniques presented herein may include real time training aspects in which the recipient's surrounding (ambient) auditory environment, including the sounds present therein, is analyzed in real time. The recipient can then be provided with a real time identity (e.g., audible or visible representation/description) of the sounds present in the auditory environment. The identity of the sounds can be provided to the recipient automatically and/or in response to recipient queries.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: Cochlear Limited
    Inventors: Alexander von Brasch, Stephen Fung, Kartik Natarajan
  • Patent number: 11863939
    Abstract: An exemplary system includes a memory storing instructions and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to determine that an audio streaming session is to be initiated in which an audio signal is streamed to a hearing device, provide, based on the determining that the audio streaming session is to be initiated, an option for a user to select an ambient sound attenuation setting for use by the hearing device during the audio streaming session, detect a selection by the user of the option; and direct, based on the user selecting the option, the hearing device to initiate the audio streaming session and attenuate, in accordance with the ambient sound attenuation setting, ambient sound during the audio streaming session.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Matthias Riepenhoff, Erwin Kuipers
  • Patent number: 11856370
    Abstract: An electronic device configured to communicate with a binaural hearing device, includes: a wireless communication unit configured to wirelessly receive, from the binaural hearing device, a signal indicating an orientation of a head of a user of the binaural hearing device; a memory storing head-related transfer functions (HRTF) respectively for a left ear and a right ear of the user; an input transducer configured to capture sound at a distance from the user; and a processing unit configured to provide a spatialized binaural audio signal based on the captured sound, the orientation of the head of the user, and the head-related transfer functions (HRTF); wherein the wireless communication unit is configured to transmit the spatialized binaural audio signal to the binaural hearing device for allowing the binaural hearing device to provide left and right audio outputs based on the spatialized binaural audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: GN HEARING A/S
    Inventors: Changxue Ma, Andrew Dittberner, Eugene Brandewie
  • Patent number: 11849298
    Abstract: Disclosed in embodiments of the present disclosure are a diaphragm assembly, a loudspeaker module and an electronic device, the diaphragm assembly including a diaphragm body and an intermediate patch plate, wherein the diaphragm body includes a first diaphragm body and a second diaphragm body; the first diaphragm body is provided with a first hole; the intermediate patch plate includes a first intermediate patch plate; the second diaphragm body at least partially cover the first hole; the first intermediate patch plate is respectively connected to the first diaphragm body and the second diaphragm body; the first intermediate patch plate is configured to have an enclosed structure, or the intermediate patch plate includes a second intermediate patch plate connected to the second diaphragm body, such that the mid-high frequency curves of the loudspeaker module are smoother, thereby effectively improving the mid-high frequency tone quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: MERRY ELECTRONICS (SUZHOU) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Pengjiang Wei, Yuanyuan Zhang
  • Patent number: 11849285
    Abstract: A hearing aid device includes at least one user input unit for controlling an operation mode of the hearing aid device, at least one signal line connecting the at least one user input unit with a control unit for controlling the hearing aid device, and an antenna module comprising at least two electrically conductive and electrically connectable layers forming a layered structure. The at least one user input unit is arranged at one of the layers of the antenna module, and the at least one signal line is provided at an inner surface of one of the layers facing one other layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Oticon Medical A/S
    Inventors: Oleksandr Rybalko, Jens Troelsen, Rune Sø, Morten Thougaard
  • Patent number: 11849294
    Abstract: A sound transmission system for a headrest has a bone conduction speaker and bone conduction microphone mounted on the same printed circuit board. Additional components of the bone conduction two-way sound transmission system, such as a control unit, contact sensors or proximity sensors, and an antenna for communication with external electronic devices can be mounted on the same printed circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: MARTUR ITALY S.R.L.
    Inventors: Can Üstünberk, Tiziano Serra, Marco Borri, Varol Korkmaz
  • Patent number: 11849286
    Abstract: According to some embodiments, an ear-worn device, e.g., a hearing aid, is provided that operates both as an over-the-counter device, as well as a prescription device. Features stored on the ear-worn device may be used to amplify, enhance, de-noise, or otherwise process audio signals in a manner desired by the user. Some features, or settings of those features, process audio signals in a manner that is unsafe for users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and thus are disabled when the ear-worn device is operating as an over-the-counter device. Such features and settings may be enabled after the ear-worn device is fit to the user by a licensed professional.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Chromatic Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew de Jonge, Andrew J. Casper, Nicholas Morris
  • Patent number: 11832071
    Abstract: An audio converter system is provided. The system comprises an audio input configured to receive a source audio, an audio output configured to couple to a hybrid speaker comprising at least two nondirectional speakers and a directional speaker, and a processor configured to generate an output audio for the hybrid speaker based on the source audio by: identifying a specific sound in the source audio, isolating the specific sound from the source audio, generating a directional speaker output for the directional speaker of the hybrid speaker based on the specific sound, and generating at least two channels of nondirectional speaker output for the at least two nondirectional speakers of the hybrid speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Takeo Matsukawa, Jaekwon Yoo
  • Patent number: 11832057
    Abstract: A piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems microphone can be mounted on a printed circuit board. The microphone can include a substrate with an opening between a bottom end of the substrate and a top end of the substrate. The microphone can include a single piezoelectric film layer disposed over the top end of the substrate and defining a diaphragm structure, the single piezoelectric film layer having substantially zero residual stress and formed from a piezoelectric wafer. The microphone can include one or more electrodes disposed over the diaphragm structure. The diaphragm structure is configured to deflect when subjected to sound pressure via the opening in the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
    Inventors: Yu Hui, Guofeng Chen