Patents Examined by Suhan Ni
  • Hearing device cable
    Patent number: 11523225
    Abstract: A hearing device cable including a body portion is described herein. The body portion may extend between a first end region and a second end region along a tube centerline. The body portion may include a first radial portion proximate the first end region and second radial portion proximate the second end region. The first radial portion may define a radius of curvature that is greater than or equal to a radius of curvature defined by the second radial portion. The tube centerline may lie along an x-y plane between the first and second end regions. In one or more embodiments, the body portion may define a passageway extending between the first and second end regions. Further, the hearing device cable may include a superelastic wire within the passageway extending between the first and second end regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Sidney A. Higgins, David Tourtelotte
  • Methods and systems for assessing insertion position of hearing instrument
    Patent number: 11523231
    Abstract: A speaker of a hearing instrument generates a sound that includes a range of frequencies. Furthermore, a microphone of the hearing instrument measures an acoustic response to the sound. A processing system classifies, based on the acoustic response to the sound, a depth of insertion of an in-ear assembly of the hearing instrument into an ear canal of a user. Additionally, the processing system generates an indication based on the depth of insertion of the in-ear assembly of the hearing instrument into the ear canal of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Karrie Recker, Jumana Harianawala
  • Eartips for in-ear listening devices
    Patent number: 11523205
    Abstract: Embodiments describe an eartip including an eartip body having an attachment end and an interfacing end opposite from the attachment end, and including an inner eartip body and an outer eartip body. The inner eartip body has a sidewall that extends between the interfacing end and the attachment end, and includes a groove formed in an outer surface of the sidewall. The outer eartip body is sized and shaped to be inserted into an ear canal and extends from the interfacing end toward the attachment end of the eartip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Dustin A. Hatfield, Shota Aoyagi, Timothy E. Emmott, Ethan L. Huwe, Mitchell R. Lerner, Sean T. McIntosh, Yi-Fang D. Tsai, Jason C. Della Rosa, Patrick W. Sheppard, Samuel G. Parker, David J. Feathers, Brian R. Twehues, Daniel Strongwater
  • Feedback control using a correlation measure
    Patent number: 11516600
    Abstract: A hearing aid is configured to be worn in and/or at an ear of a user, and comprises a) an input transducer for converting an input sound to an electric input signal representing sound, b) an output transducer for converting a processed electric output signal to an output sound, c) a signal processor operationally coupled to the input and output transducers and configured to apply a forward gain to the electric input signal or a signal originating therefrom, wherein the input transducer, the signal processor and the output transducer forming part of a forward path of the hearing aid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Meng Guo, Bernhard Kuenzle
  • Personal hearing device, external acoustic processing device and associated computer program product
    Patent number: 11516599
    Abstract: Disclosed is a personal hearing device, an external acoustic processing device and an associated computer program product. The personal hearing device includes: a microphone, for receiving an input acoustic signal, wherein the input acoustic signal is a mixture of sounds coming from a first acoustic source and from other acoustic source(s); a speaker; and an acoustic processing circuit, for automatically distinguishing within the input acoustic signal the sound of the first acoustic source from the sound of other acoustic source(s); wherein the acoustic processing circuit further processes the input acoustic signal by having different modifications to the sound of the first acoustic source and to the sound of other acoustic source(s), whereby the acoustic processing circuit produces an output acoustic signal to be played on the speaker.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: RELAJET TECH (TAIWAN) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yun-Shu Hsu, Po-Ju Chen
  • Display apparatus
    Patent number: 11516425
    Abstract: A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a display cell that displays an image and has a thin-plate shape; one or more vibration exciters that are disposed on rear-surface side of the display cell and cause the display cell to vibrate; and an opposing plate opposed to the display cell with an air gap in between. The display apparatus further includes a sound-spreading adjustment member that is disposed between the display cell and the two or more vibration exciters, and controls spreading of a sound generated by vibration caused by the two or more vibration exciters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Inventors: Hiroaki Maeshiba, Daisuke Yamaoka, Shinpei Kondo, Hiroki Matsuoka
  • Beam former calibration of a hearing device
    Patent number: 11510016
    Abstract: A method for adjusting a hearing device (12) adapted to be worn behind an ear (28) comprises: determining a cymba angle (54) between a cartilage (50) above the cymba (46) of the ear (28) and a viewing direction (38) of the user; estimating a tilt angle (39) of the hearing device (12) with respect to the viewing direction (38) from the cymba angle (54); and adjusting a beam former direction (37) of a beam former (34) of the hearing device (12), such that the beam former direction (37) is aligned with the viewing direction (38).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventors: Manuela Feilner, Amre El-Hoiydi
  • Display apparatus
    Patent number: 11503391
    Abstract: A display apparatus includes a display panel configured to display an image, and a sound generating device on a rear surface of the display panel and configured to vibrate the display panel to generate sound, wherein the sound generating device includes a plate, a magnet and a center pole on the plate, and an oval-shaped bobbin around the center pole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Sungtae Lee
  • Detection of feedback path change
    Patent number: 11503415
    Abstract: Methods and systems for signal processing an audio signal in a hearing device to detect when feedback path change occurs and controlling an adaptive feedback canceler to remove the feedback are provided. The hearing device includes a receiver and a microphone. An exemplary method includes detecting whether a tonal signal is caused by a feedback path change by estimating a product of a subband error signal and a subband output signal generated in response to a subband audio input signal; estimating a fast metric based on the estimated product and estimating a slow metric; and applying or maintaining an adaptation rate to the adaptive feedback canceler of the hearing device, wherein the adaptation rate applied or maintained is selected based upon a value of the difference between the fast and slow metrics compared to a threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Eargo, Inc.
    Inventors: Bryant E. Sorensen, Brenton Steele
  • Acoustic sensor and electrical circuits therefor
    Patent number: 11503412
    Abstract: An acoustic sensor assembly that produces an electrical signal representative of an acoustic signal, includes an acoustic transduction element disposed in a housing and acoustically, a heat source causing air pressure variations within the housing when energized, and an electrical circuit electrically coupled to the acoustic transduction element and to contacts on an external-device interface of the housing, wherein the electrical circuit is configured to energize the heat source and determine a non-acoustic condition or change therein based on an amplitude of air pressure variations detected by the acoustic transduction element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Knowles Electronics, LLC
    Inventors: Shandor Dektor, Stephen Cradock, Michael Pedersen
  • Electroacoustic transducer assembly
    Patent number: 11496838
    Abstract: An electroacoustic transducer assembly includes an electrostatic diaphragm having a surface. The diaphragm includes a film of flexible insulating material and electrically conductive material within the film to achieve a uniform electrical resistivity over the surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: AUDEZE, LLC
    Inventor: Dragoslav Colich
  • Compensating hidden hearing losses by attenuating high sound pressure levels
    Patent number: 11490216
    Abstract: A method for compensating hearing deficiencies with a hearing device includes receiving a sound signal; attenuating an output sound pressure level of the sound signal dependent on an input sound pressure level of the sound signal; and outputting the attenuated sound signal with a loudspeaker of the hearing device; wherein the output sound pressure level is attenuated, when the input sound pressure level is above an upper speech recognition kneepoint of a user, which upper speech recognition kneepoint is stored in the hearing device and which has been selected dependent on a sound pressure level dependent speech recognition ability of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: Sonova AG
    Inventor: Olaf Strelcyk
  • Display device and method of driving the same
    Patent number: 11483638
    Abstract: A display device includes: a display panel; a bracket disposed under the display panel; a first vibration generator disposed under the display panel, where the first vibration generator outputs sound by vibrating the display panel in a thickness direction of the display panel; and a second vibration generator disposed under the bracket, where the second vibration generator outputs horizontal vibrations by vibrating the bracket in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the thickness direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Byeong Hee Won, Joon Hak Oh
  • Audio processing device and a method for estimating a signal-to-noise-ratio of a sound signal
    Patent number: 11483663
    Abstract: A hearing aid includes a) at least one input unit for providing a time-frequency representation Y(k,n) of an electric input signal representing sound consisting of target speech and noise signal components, where k and n are frequency band and time frame indices, respectively, b) a noise reduction system configured to b1) determine an a posteriori signal to noise ratio estimate ?(k,n) of the electric input signal, and to b2) determine an a priori signal to noise signal ratio estimate ?(k,n) of the electric input signal from the a posteriori signal to noise ratio estimate ?(k,n) based on a recursive algorithm providing non-linear smoothing. The a posteriori signal to noise ratio estimate of said electric input signal is provided as a mixture of first and second different a posteriori signal to noise ratio estimates. The invention may be used in audio processing devices, such as hearing aids, headsets, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Jesper Jensen, Andreas Thelander Bertelsen, Michael Syskind Pedersen
  • Voice input apparatus
    Patent number: 11477568
    Abstract: Disclosed is a voice input apparatus including: a speaker having a diaphragm for outputting sound downward; a speaker room in which the diaphragm is accommodated; and a microphone disposed outside the speaker room, wherein the speaker room includes: a room base disposed below the diaphragm; a sound guide which is protruded upward from the room base, positioned below the diaphragm, and reflects the sound outputted from the diaphragm outward in a radial direction; and a room sidewall which is extended upward from a circumference of the room base to surround the sound guide, and has a sound discharge port for emitting the sound reflected by the sound guide to the outside of the speaker room.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventor: Youngsik Yoon
  • Headphone protector
    Patent number: 11470412
    Abstract: Some embodiments of the present invention include a headphone protector wherein said protector fits over existing ear cushions of over-ear headphones, wherein said protector comprises an outer component, and said protector comprises at least one water-resistant fabric. Some embodiments of the present invention include a headband protector, wherein said protector fits over existing headband of over-ear headphones, wherein said protector comprises an outer component, and said protector comprises at least one water-resistant fabric. Some embodiments of the present invention include a system for over-ear headphone protection, comprising two headphone protectors, wherein said protectors fit over existing ear cushions of over-ear headphones, wherein said protectors comprise an outer component, and said protectors comprise at least one water-resistant fabric.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Inventor: Carl D McAllister, II
  • Hearing assistive device with increased dynamic input range
    Patent number: 11463822
    Abstract: A hearing assistive device including an audio processing circuit with an analog-to-digital converter having an integrator integrating a voltage present in the summation point; a comparator comparing an output from the integrator with a reference voltage (Vref) and outputting a logical level in accordance with the comparison; a feedback loop coupling a feedback signal back to the summation point; and a reference voltage generation circuit being adapted to provide the reference voltage (Vref) being lower than a power supply voltage (Vbattery) and following the decay of the power supply voltage (Vbattery) with a predefined margin.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Widex A/S
    Inventor: Niels Ole Knudsen
  • Hearing aid comprising a directional microphone system
    Patent number: 11463820
    Abstract: A hearing aid comprises a forward path comprising a) at least two input transducers, each for picking up sound from the environment of the hearing aid and providing respective at least two electric input signals; b) a beamformer filter for filtering said at least two electric input signals or signals originating therefrom and providing a spatially filtered signal; c) a signal processor for processing one or more of said electric input signals or one or more signals originating therefrom, and providing one or more processed signals based thereon; and d) an output transducer for generating stimuli perceivable by the user as sound based on said one or more processed signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Anders Højsgaard Thomsen, Steen Michael Munk, Anders Meng
  • Hearing system having at least one hearing instrument worn in or on the ear of the user and method for operating such a hearing system
    Patent number: 11463818
    Abstract: A hearing system assists the hearing of a user and has a hearing instrument worn in or on the ear of the user. In operation, a sound signal from surroundings of the hearing instrument is received by an input transducer and modified in a signal processing step. The modified sound signal is output by an output transducer. A first signal component and a second signal component are derived from the received sound signal, wherein these signal components chronologically overlap. In the first signal component, the ego voice of the user is emphasized over the ambient noise, while in the second signal component, the ambient noise is emphasized over the ego voice of the user. The first signal component and the second signal component are processed in different ways in the signal processing step and combined after this processing to generate the modified sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Tobias Daniel Rosenkranz, Sebastian Best
  • Hearing aid device having wireless communication
    Patent number: 11457321
    Abstract: A hearing aid device having a telecoil and a power consuming element is disclosed. The hearing aid device further comprises an at least partial loop in the power supply line, which at least partial loop provides a magnetic signal that at least attenuates or cancels noise induced from the power draw of the power consuming component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Rune Sø, Morten Thougaard, Stefan Schaub