Patents by Inventor Thomas A. Pilgrim

Thomas A. Pilgrim has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11540042
    Abstract: A method for rejecting inherent noise of a microphone arrangement that includes a first microphone and a second microphone. The first microphone generates a first microphone signal from an ambient sound signal and the second microphone generates a second microphone signal from the ambient sound signal. A measure of correlation between the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal is ascertained, and inherent noise of the first microphone and/or of the second microphone in the first or second microphone signal is rejected on the basis of the measure of correlation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Cecil Wilson, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Patent number: 11438707
    Abstract: A method operates a hearing aid system in which a dynamic range scheme for an automatic gain control is modified depending on the situation. A gain factor is set by the automatic gain control which has a dynamic range processor operated with a dynamic range scheme defining the gain factor in dependence on a level of an input signal. A corresponding hearing aid system carries out this method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Sebastian Best, Thomas Pilgrim, Cecil Wilson
  • Publication number: 20210266657
    Abstract: A method for rejecting inherent noise of a microphone arrangement that includes a first microphone and a second microphone. The first microphone generates a first microphone signal from an ambient sound signal and the second microphone generates a second microphone signal from the ambient sound signal. A measure of correlation between the first microphone signal and the second microphone signal is ascertained, and inherent noise of the first microphone and/or of the second microphone in the first or second microphone signal is rejected on the basis of the measure of correlation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Publication date: August 26, 2021
    Inventors: Cecil Wilson, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Patent number: 10966032
    Abstract: An input signal is provided with a low microphone noise in a hearing apparatus. The microphone noise in the input signal of the hearing apparatus is reduced, by the input signal being filtered by a Wiener filter, if a noise power determined at the input signal is smaller than a predetermined limit value. The Wiener filter is however deactivated, if the noise power is greater than the limit value or equal to the limit value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Thomas Pilgrim, Henning Puder
  • Publication number: 20210067884
    Abstract: A method operates a hearing aid system in which a dynamic range scheme for an automatic gain control is modified depending on the situation. A gain factor is set by the automatic gain control which has a dynamic range processor operated with a dynamic range scheme defining the gain factor in dependence on a level of an input signal. A corresponding hearing aid system carries out this method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Publication date: March 4, 2021
    Inventors: Sebastian Best, Thomas Pilgrim, Cecil Wilson
  • Patent number: 10856089
    Abstract: A method operates a hearing aid where the hearing aid generates an input signal from acoustic signals from the environment. The hearing aid has a signal processor which is configured to modify the input signal and thereby generate an output signal. The signal processor has an automatic gain control for modifying the input signal, and has a compressor that can be operated with a compression scheme. The environment is divided into a plurality of directions of which one is selected by a direction determination unit as a relevant direction. The input signal is modified in a direction-dependent manner by the compressor being operated with a compression scheme, which is set dependent on the relevant direction, so that acoustic signals from the relevant direction are emphasized compared to acoustic signals from other directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Sebastian Best, Thomas Pilgrim, Christoph Lueken
  • Publication number: 20190349692
    Abstract: A method operates a hearing aid where the hearing aid generates an input signal from acoustic signals from the environment. The hearing aid has a signal processor which is configured to modify the input signal and thereby generate an output signal. The signal processor has an automatic gain control for modifying the input signal, and has a compressor that can be operated with a compression scheme. The environment is divided into a plurality of directions of which one is selected by a direction determination unit as a relevant direction. The input signal is modified in a direction-dependent manner by the compressor being operated with a compression scheme, which is set dependent on the relevant direction, so that acoustic signals from the relevant direction are emphasized compared to acoustic signals from other directions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2019
    Publication date: November 14, 2019
    Inventors: Sebastian Best, Thomas Pilgrim, Christoph Lueken
  • Patent number: 10306378
    Abstract: A method for operating a hearing device, in particular a hearing aid device, in which a first analog signal is provided. A second analog signal is generated by a preamplifier based on the first analog signal, and a first digital signal is generated by an A/D converter based on the second analog signal. A second digital signal is generated by an amplifier based on the first digital signal, and a third digital signal, in which a noise is reduced in comparison with the second digital signal, is generated by a noise suppression unit based on a second digital signal. The preamplifier, amplifier, and noise suppression unit are set using a value characterizing the first digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Stefan Petrausch, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Publication number: 20180139546
    Abstract: An input signal is provided with a low microphone noise in a hearing apparatus. The microphone noise in the input signal of the hearing apparatus is reduced, by the input signal being filtered by a Wiener filter, if a noise power determined at the input signal is smaller than a predetermined limit value. The Wiener filter is however deactivated, if the noise power is greater than the limit value or equal to the limit value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Publication date: May 17, 2018
    Inventors: THOMAS PILGRIM, HENNING PUDER
  • Publication number: 20180132045
    Abstract: A method for operating a hearing device, in particular a hearing aid device, in which a first analog signal is provided. A second analog signal is generated by a preamplifier based on the first analog signal, and a first digital signal is generated by an A/D converter based on the second analog signal. A second digital signal is generated by an amplifier based on the first digital signal, and a third digital signal, in which a noise is reduced in comparison with the second digital signal, is generated by a noise suppression unit based on a second digital signal. The preamplifier, amplifier, and noise suppression unit are set using a value characterizing the first digital signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2017
    Publication date: May 10, 2018
    Applicant: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Stefan PETRAUSCH, Thomas PILGRIM
  • Patent number: 9913051
    Abstract: An input signal is provided with a low microphone noise in a hearing apparatus. The microphone noise in the input signal of the hearing apparatus is reduced, by the input signal being filtered by a Wiener filter, if a noise power determined at the input signal is smaller than a predetermined limit value. The Wiener filter is however deactivated, if the noise power is greater than the limit value or equal to the limit value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2018
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Thomas Pilgrim, Henning Puder
  • Patent number: 9258655
    Abstract: Artifacts occurring during frequency compression, in particular in the case of hearing aids, are avoided or reduced. The method compresses the frequency of an audio signal having a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic. The audio signal is provided in a plurality of frequency channels. The harmonic of the audio signal is shifted or mapped from a first frequency channel of the plurality of frequency channels into a second frequency channel. In addition a frequency which is likewise harmonic with respect to the fundamental frequency is estimated in the second frequency channel, the harmonic being shifted or mapped onto the estimated frequency. As a result the harmonic pattern is preserved in the compressed signal and the artifacts are reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert Bäuml, Ulrich Kornagel, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Patent number: 9124963
    Abstract: A hearing apparatus that processes an audio signal by adaptive filtering operates efficiently. The hearing apparatus has a first stage transformation unit and at least two second stage transformation units. Each of the second stage transformation units splits the signal of one of the first stage channels through transformation onto sub-channels of the channel. A filter unit in each channel that has a second stage transformation unit filters the signal of the channel depending on weighting factors that are determined in each case for the sub-channels. The filter units are configured to exchange weighting factors among themselves, which means that only some of the weighting factors actually need to be calculated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2015
    Assignee: Sivantos Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Rainer Martin, Thomas Pilgrim, Henning Puder, Alexander Schasse, Wolfgang Soergel
  • Patent number: 9031269
    Abstract: A method and device for frequency compression of audio signals to reduce the occurrence of artifacts. A component of the audio signal having a plurality of frequency channels is shifted from a first frequency channel into a second frequency channel. A dominant instantaneous frequency is determined in the first frequency channel. During shifting or mapping, first the entire first frequency channel, including the dominant instantaneous frequency, is shifted or mapped into the second frequency channel, wherein the dominant instantaneous frequency obtains an intermediate frequency position. A final frequency position for the dominant instantaneous frequency is determined using a predefined compression characteristic in the second frequency channel, starting from the frequency position of the dominant instantaneous frequency in the first frequency channel. Finally, the dominant instantaneous frequency is shifted or mapped from the intermediate frequency position to the final frequency position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert Bäuml, Ulrich Kornagel, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Patent number: 8908892
    Abstract: A hearing aid device suitable for executing a frequency compression is optimized to achieve a better assignment between channels of a source frequency range and channels of a target frequency range. A frequency range that can be transmitted by the hearing aid device is split into a number of frequency bands, after which a number of adjacent frequency bands are combined into at least one group of frequency bands and then one frequency band is selected from each group of frequency bands. The selected frequency bands are moved respectively into a target frequency band permanently assigned to the respective group. This prevents that a number of frequency bands from the source frequency range are shifted to the same target frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert Bäuml, Ulrich Kornagel, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Publication number: 20140140555
    Abstract: An input signal is provided with a low microphone noise in a hearing apparatus. The microphone noise in the input signal of the hearing apparatus is reduced, by the input signal being filtered by a Wiener filter, if a noise power determined at the input signal is smaller than a predetermined limit value. The Wiener filter is however deactivated, if the noise power is greater than the limit value or equal to the limit value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2012
    Publication date: May 22, 2014
    Applicant: SIEMENS MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Thomas Pilgrim, Henning Puder
  • Publication number: 20120076335
    Abstract: A hearing aid device suitable for executing a frequency compression is optimized to achieve a better assignment between channels of a source frequency range and channels of a target frequency range. A frequency range that can be transmitted by the hearing aid device is split into a number of frequency bands, after which a number of adjacent frequency bands are combined into at least one group of frequency bands and then one frequency band is selected from each group of frequency bands. The selected frequency bands are moved respectively into a target frequency band permanently assigned to the respective group. This prevents that a number of frequency bands from the source frequency range are shifted to the same target frequency band.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: SIEMENS MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: ROBERT BÄUML, ULRICH KORNAGEL, THOMAS PILGRIM
  • Publication number: 20120076332
    Abstract: Artifacts occurring during frequency compression, in particular in the case of hearing aids, are avoided or reduced. The method compresses the frequency of an audio signal having a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic. The audio signal is provided in a plurality of frequency channels. The harmonic of the audio signal is shifted or mapped from a first frequency channel of the plurality of frequency channels into a second frequency channel. In addition a frequency which is likewise harmonic with respect to the fundamental frequency is estimated in the second frequency channel, the harmonic being shifted or mapped onto the estimated frequency. As a result the harmonic pattern is preserved in the compressed signal and the artifacts are reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: SIEMENS MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Robert Bäuml, Ulrich Kornagel, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Publication number: 20120076333
    Abstract: A method and device for frequency compression of audio signals to reduce the occurrence of artifacts. A component of the audio signal having a plurality of frequency channels is shifted from a first frequency channel into a second frequency channel. A dominant instantaneous frequency is determined in the first frequency channel. During shifting or mapping, first the entire first frequency channel, including the dominant instantaneous frequency, is shifted or mapped into the second frequency channel, wherein the dominant instantaneous frequency obtains an intermediate frequency position. A final frequency position for the dominant instantaneous frequency is determined using a predefined compression characteristic in the second frequency channel, starting from the frequency position of the dominant instantaneous frequency in the first frequency channel. Finally, the dominant instantaneous frequency is shifted or mapped from the intermediate frequency position to the final frequency position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: SIEMENS MEDICAL INSTRUMENTS PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Robert Bäuml, Ulrich Kornagel, Thomas Pilgrim
  • Patent number: 4630419
    Abstract: The invention relates to building components, for example studs for supporting wall boards, made of a plaster-resin mixture, with a fibrous sheet embedded near the surface. Components according to the invention have excellent fire-resistant properties. Such components can be made by, for example, introducing a plaster-resin slurry into a mould lined with fibrous sheets, and allowing the slurry to set, or they may be made continuously by, for example, passing the slurry and sheets through one or more suitably profiled conveyors, vibration being employed to cause the slurry to penetrate through the sheets. Such components may be of H, C or U section for use as, for example, studs. They can also be used, for example, as ceiling panels or acoustic tiles, for which purposes they may be of hollow or channel form, and be filled with fibrous or other porous material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 23, 1986
    Assignee: BPB Industries Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Thomas A. Pilgrim