Patents Examined by Joshua A Kaufman
  • Optical microphone and method using the same
    Patent number: 9628921
    Abstract: An optical microphone comprises a light source configured to emit a light beam and an acoustic sensor configured to reflect the light beam. The acoustic sensor includes single-wall nanotubes and deflects in response to pressure waves. An optional reflector of the optical microphone is configured to re-reflect the light beam from the acoustic sensor. A detector is configured to detect the light beam from the acoustic sensor or the reflector, and thus measures the pressure waves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: THOMSON LICENSING
    Inventors: Holger Kropp, Jens Spille, Malte Borsum
  • Hearing aid radio power supply
    Patent number: 9628922
    Abstract: A hearing aid includes: an input transducer configured to output an audio signal based on a signal applied to the input transducer; a processor configured to compensate a hearing loss of a user of the hearing aid and output a hearing loss compensated audio signal; an output transducer configured to output an auditory output signal based on the hearing loss compensated audio signal, wherein the auditory output signal is to be received by a human auditory system; a wireless communication unit configured to communicate wirelessly with another device; an energy storage unit coupled to supply the wireless communication unit with power; and a current limiting unit coupled for control of replenishment of the energy storage unit with energy from a power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: GN HEARING A/S
    Inventors: Kim Rasmussen, Ebbe Skammelsen
  • Routing conductors to electro-acoustic transducer voice coils
    Patent number: 9628884
    Abstract: An electro-acoustic transducer includes a cone, a voice coil connected to the cone, and magnetic circuit that defines a gap within which the voice coil is disposed. The magnetic circuit is configured for creating magnetic flux across the gap for the voice coil to interact with, thereby to drive motion of the cone. A conductor is included for providing an input signal to the voice coil. A first portion of the conductor is fixedly secured to the magnetic circuit such that the first portion of the conductor does not move relative to the magnetic circuit while the cone is in motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Bose Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher A. Pare, Adam Sears, George Nichols
  • Microspeaker acoustical resistance assembly
    Patent number: 9628903
    Abstract: An electro-acoustic transducer is provided that comprises a diaphragm and a magnet assembly comprising a magnet and a back plate. The back plate comprises at least one first vent. The diaphragm generates sound during a movement of the diaphragm relative to the back plate. The transducer further comprises a printed circuit board comprising at least one second vent and a cavity between the printed circuit board and the back plate that separates the at least one first vent from the at least one second vent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Bose Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew D. Munro, Christopher A. Pare, Lei Cheng, Nicholas John Joseph, Benjamin G. K. Peterson
  • Integrated package containing MEMS acoustic sensor and environmental sensor and methodology for fabricating same
    Patent number: 9617144
    Abstract: An integrated package of at least one environmental sensor and at least one MEMS acoustic sensor is disclosed. The package contains a shared port that exposes both sensors to the environment, wherein the environmental sensor measures characteristics of the environment and the acoustic sensor measures sound waves. The port exposes the environmental sensor to an air flow and the acoustic sensor to sound waves. An example of the acoustic sensor is a microphone and an example of the environmental sensor is a humidity sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2017
    Assignee: INVENSENSE, INC.
    Inventors: Julius Ming-Lin Tsai, Baris Cagdaser, Martin Lim, Aleksey S. Khenkin
  • Sound processor apparatus with dual-mode earhook interface assembly
    Patent number: 9615180
    Abstract: An exemplary sound processor apparatus includes 1) an earhook interface assembly that includes a plurality of contacts and that is configured to interchangeably connect to a microphone assembly and an EAS receiver assembly by way of the plurality of contacts, and 2) a control module communicatively coupled to the plurality of contacts and that is configured to selectively operate in an input mode or in an output mode. While operating in the input mode, the control module uses the plurality of contacts as input ports to receive one or more audio signals detected by the microphone assembly while the microphone assembly is connected to the earhook interface assembly. While operating in the output mode, the control module uses the plurality of contacts as output ports to output one or more EAS signals to the EAS receiver assembly while the EAS receiver assembly is connected to the earhook interface assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignee: Advanced Bionics AG
    Inventors: Lee F. Hartley, Lakshmi N. Mishra, R. Tissa Karunasiri, Logan P. Palmer
  • Electronic machine, and automobile and accommodation unit provided with the same
    Patent number: 9615166
    Abstract: Provided is an electronic machine that is provided with a speaker and that enables a direction of the speaker to be appropriately and arbitrarily changed. The electronic machine includes a speaker unit, housings, and a rotating device. The speaker unit is supported by the housing. The rotating device includes a first rotating device configured to rotate the speaker unit with respect to the housings about a direction intersecting with an axis of the housings serving as a rotational axis, and a second rotating device configured to rotate the speaker unit with respect to the housings about the axis of the housings serving as a rotational axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Assignees: PIONEER CORPORATION, TOHOKU PIONEER CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroaki Watanabe, Nobuyuki Sato, Takeru Miki, Toshiya Kosaka, Eitaro Unno, Takahiro Kudo, Yoshihiko Takeda
  • Engaging structure for installation of a loudspeaker
    Patent number: 9615156
    Abstract: An engaging structure is used for installation of a loudspeaker into an installation hole of a partition. The installation hole extends through first and second faces of the partition. The engaging structure includes a receiving portion and a plurality of clamping units. The receiving portion has a receiving hole for receiving the loudspeaker. The clamping units are coupled with the receiving portion and surround the receiving hole. Each clamping unit includes first and second clamping members. The first clamping member includes a first end connected to a first end of the second clamping member, and a second end connected to a first wheel. The first wheel abuts with an inner periphery of the partition. The second clamping member includes a second end connected to a second wheel, and the second wheel abuts with one of the first and second faces of the partition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2017
    Inventor: Tzu-Chung Chang
  • Speaker mounting assembly
    Patent number: 9602902
    Abstract: An assembly for mounting a speaker to a surface includes a bracket having an elongated arcuate section and two end sections angled approximately perpendicular to the arcuate section. The end sections are attached on opposite sides of a speaker. A support device is provided, having a main body with a central channel, and channel guides running along each side of the central channel. The channel guides slidably retain the arcuate section of the bracket in the channel when the bracket is slid into the channel under the channel guides. A clamp is connected to the main body for clamping the bracket in place within the channel. A speaker can be mounted to the surface by attaching the bracket to the speaker, attaching the support device to the surface, sliding the bracket into the channel and moving the clamp to the locked position to lock the bracket in place.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Bogen Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: William Kieltyka, Thomas Nelson, Allen Boothroyd
  • Hearing aid comprising a flexible connection member
    Patent number: 9591415
    Abstract: A hearing aid device configured to be inserted into the ear canal of a hearing aid user. The hearing aid includes a receiver, a hearing instrument body, and a connection member extending between the hearing instrument body and the receiver. The connection member is a permanent part of the hearing aid device and the connection member has a stiffness that allows the receiver to be inserted into the ear canal by moving the hearing instrument body towards the eardrum. The connection member achieves a first stiffness sufficiently large to insert the hearing aid device into the ear canal and achieves a second significantly reduced stiffness which makes the hearing aid device comfortable to wear for the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Karsten Bo Rasmussen, Povl Koch
  • Self-calibration of multi-microphone noise reduction system for hearing assistance devices using an auxiliary device
    Patent number: 9591411
    Abstract: A hearing assistance system calibrates a noise reduction system of a hearing assistance device. The system comprises a hearing assistance device, and an auxiliary device. The hearing assistance device comprises a multitude of input units, and a multi-channel beamformer filtering unit configured to determine filter weights for a beamformed signal. The system further comprises a user interface for activating a calibration mode. The auxiliary device comprises an output transducer for converting an electric calibration signal to an acoustic calibration sound signal. The system is configured to estimate a look vector for a target signal originating from a target signal source located at a specific location relative to the user based on the acoustic calibration sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Jesper Jensen, Michael Syskind Pedersen
  • Method for operating a hearing device and a hearing device
    Patent number: 9584932
    Abstract: A method for operating a hearing device including an ambient microphone, a signal processing unit, a receiver and an ear canal microphone. The method includes steps of filtering the audio signal processed by the signal processing unit with a filter having a transfer function including a transfer function from an output of the receiver to an input of the ear canal microphone when the hearing device is turned on and being worn in an ear canal of the user, computing a difference between the audio signal picked up by the ear canal microphone and the filtered signal, and detecting a presence of own-voice of the user based on the difference. Furthermore, a hearing device including an own-voice detection unit is provided, which is adapted to perform the proposed method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2017
    Assignee: SONOVA AG
    Inventors: Thomas Zurbruegg, Andre Niederberger
  • Cover and electronic device having same
    Patent number: 9571910
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a speaker, and a cover covering the speaker. The cover includes a transparent main portion, and a non-transparent border portion. The non-transparent border portion includes a substrate integrated with the transparent main portion. The substrate of the border portion defines a plurality of through holes corresponding to the speaker to transmit sound output from the speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignees: INTERFACE OPTOELECTRONIC (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD., GENERAL INTERFACE SOLUTION LIMITED
    Inventors: Chien-Chih Lu, Juin-Ming Wu, Wei-Cheng Lou
  • Kinetic event detection in microphones
    Patent number: 9560444
    Abstract: In one implementation, the output of a microphone is modified based on movement. A circuit or other controller is in communication with a microphone that generates an electrical signal based on sounds waves and a motion sensor. The motion sensor may be coupled to the microphone, coupled to a device including the microphone, or coupled to an object in the vicinity of the microphone. The controller is configured to receive the electrical signal from the microphone and motion data from the motion sensor. The controller is configured to perform a comparison of the motion data to a threshold level and adjust the electrical signal in response to the comparison of the motion data to a threshold acceleration level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Allen Niedzwiedz, Christopher Blayne Dreier
  • Method of operating a hearing aid and a hearing aid
    Patent number: 9532148
    Abstract: A method of processing a signal in a hearing aid (50) comprises splitting an input signal into a multitude N of hearing aid frequency bands, receiving an input signal from an acoustical-electrical transducer, splitting the input signal into a multitude N of hearing aid frequency bands using a first filterbank, estimating speech, noise and hearing loss levels in said frequency bands, using an auditory model of the cochlea for a hearing impaired person to provide excitation values for speech and noise in said frequency bands, using said excitation values to calculated a speech intelligibility measure and optimizing said speech intelligibility measure by iteratively varying the applied gain in the hearing aid frequency bands. The invention also provides a hearing aid (50).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: Widex A/S
    Inventors: Ole Hau, Morten Love Jepsen
  • Ultrathin speaker module
    Patent number: 9525933
    Abstract: An ultrathin speaker module, comprising: a casing provided with a sound hole thereon; a speaker unit comprising a diaphragm; a first separating wall provided with a diaphragm accommodating hole, wherein the diaphragm is fixed in the diaphragm accommodating hole, and the first separating wall and the diaphragm separate the internal space of the casing into an upper space and a lower space; and a second separating wall, which separates the upper space into one first upper cavity and at least one second upper cavity, wherein the first upper cavity comprises the diaphragm and forms a front acoustic cavity, and the front acoustic cavity is in communication with the outside through the sound hole on the casing; and the at least one second upper cavity is in communication with the lower space through a through hole on the first separating wall, and forms a rear acoustic cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: GOERTEK INC.
    Inventors: Gang Chen, Shuangshuang Fan, Dan Han, Yun Yang
  • Acoustic device having active drivers mounted to a passive radiator diaphragm
    Patent number: 9525932
    Abstract: A balanced acoustic device includes an enclosure defining an acoustic chamber, a first passive radiator diaphragm having an active driver assembly and a second passive radiator diaphragm having a plurality of active driver assemblies that are laterally offset. The moving mass of the first passive radiator assembly is substantially equal to the moving mass of the second passive radiator assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2016
    Assignee: BOSE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Roman Litovsky, Chester Smith Williams
  • Binaural hearing assistance system comprising binaural noise reduction
    Patent number: 9516430
    Abstract: A binaural hearing assistance system includes left and right hearing assistance devices, and a user interface. The left and right hearing assistance devices comprises a) at least two input units for providing a time-frequency representation of an input signal in a number of frequency bands and a number of time instances; and b) a multi-input unit noise reduction system comprising a multi-channel beamformer filtering unit operationally coupled to said at least two input units and configured to provide a beamformed signal. The binaural hearing assistance system is configured to allow a user to indicate a direction to or location of a target signal source relative to the user via said user interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Jesper Jensen, Michael Syskind Pedersen, Jan Mark De Haan
  • Double diaphragm MEMS microphone without a backplate element
    Patent number: 9510107
    Abstract: A sensor structure may include a first suspended structure and a second suspended structure disposed from the first suspended structure to form a volume. The first suspended structure and the second suspended structure may be arranged relative to each other such that a received pressure wave entering the volume between the first suspended structure and the second suspended structure generates a displacement of the first suspended structure to a first direction and a displacement of the second suspended structure to a second direction different from the first direction and the displacement may generate a measurable signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Alfons Dehe, Marina Fekry Megally Bastarous
  • Piezoelectric ceramic dual-frequency earphone structure
    Patent number: 9503805
    Abstract: A piezoelectric ceramic dual-frequency earphone structure includes an earphone housing, a dynamic transducer, a piezoelectric ceramic transducer and a circuit board. The piezoelectric ceramic transducer is installed in the receiving region. The piezoelectric ceramic transducer is connected to the dynamic transducer via a support unit and a positioning unit. The circuit board is assembled in the receiving region and connected to acoustic signal cables. The acoustic signal cables are connected to a dynamic voice coil of the dynamic transducer and the piezoelectric ceramic transducer. When electric signals are applied to a ceramic membrane of the piezoelectric ceramic transducer, a metal sheet of the piezoelectric ceramic transducer is vibrated to generate high frequency sound, and the high frequency sound are then mixed with the sound from the dynamic transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2016
    Assignee: JETVOX ACOUSTIC CORP.
    Inventors: To-Teng Huang, Ming-Fang Hung