Search Patents
  • Patent number: 7471799
    Abstract: Method of noise reduction in a hearing aid or a listening device to be used by a hearing impaired person in which the noise reduction is provided primarily in the frequency range wherein the hearing impaired has the smallest hearing loss or the best hearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Joachim Neumann, Søren Laugesen
  • Patent number: 7590254
    Abstract: The invention relates to a hearing aid comprising a signal path with an input transducer, a signal processor and an output transducer, the signal processor being adapted to produce a compensation signal capable of at least partly attenuating acoustic signals bypassing the signal path and entering the ear canal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Jes Olsen
  • 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
  • Patent number: 7756283
    Abstract: This invention relates to a system (300) for measuring acoustic properties of a vent (126) in a hearing aid. The system (300) comprises: a microphone (202) converting ambient sound pressure to an electric sound signal; a signal processing unit (302) connected to the microphone (202) and generating a processed electric sound signal; and a speaker (204) converting the processed electric sound signal to a processed sound pressure. In addition, the system comprises a determining means, which is adapted to determine the acoustic properties by measuring the acoustic feedback from the speaker 204 to the microphone (202).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Lars Bramsløw
  • Patent number: 8649539
    Abstract: A method for processing the signals from two or more microphones in a listening device, and a listening device for conducting the method which has a casing holding the microphones, a signal processing unit which provides an output signal corresponding to the microphone signals and suited to the user's hearing, and a receiver unit for delivering the output signal to the user whereby the signals from the microphones are analyzed in order to detect when the casing of the listening device is being touched, whereby further the signal processing of the signal processing unit changes whenever touching of the casing is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Kim S. Petersen
  • Patent number: 7106871
    Abstract: A method for canceling feedback in an acoustic system including a microphone, a signal path, a speaker and means for detecting presence of feedback between the speaker and the microphone, the method including providing an LMS algorithm for processing the signal; where the LMS algorithm operates with a predetermined adaptation speed when feedback is not present; where the LMS algorithm operates an adaptation speed faster than the predetermined adaptation speed when feedback is present, and where the means for detecting the presence of feedback is used to control the adaptation speed selection o the LMS algorithm, where the feedback detection means comprises bandwidth detection means for determining the presence of a feedback signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Jakob Nielsen, Michael Ekelid
  • Patent number: 7995779
    Abstract: A method for processing the signals from two or more microphones in a listening device, and a listening device for conducting the method which has a casing holding the microphones, a signal processing unit which provides an output signal corresponding to the microphone signals and suited to the user's hearing, and a receiver unit for delivering the output signal to the user whereby the signals from the microphones are analyzed in order to detect when the casing of the listening device is being touched, whereby further the signal processing of the signal processing unit changes whenever touching of the casing is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2011
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Kim S. Petersen
  • Patent number: 8229148
    Abstract: This invention relates to a hearing instrument, which comprises a first microphone converting ambient sound to an ambient sound signal, a signal processor generating a processed sound signal based on the ambient sound signal, a controllable output stage generating a driving signal based on the processed sound signal and in accordance with a control signal, a speaker unit generating a sound in the ear canal based on said driving signal, a second microphone located in the ear canal of the user and converting the sound in the ear canal to the monitor sound signal, and a linearization stage comparing the processed sound signal and the monitor sound signal and generating the control signal based thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Karsten Bo Rasmussen, Steen Michael Munk
  • Patent number: 7245732
    Abstract: A digital hearing aid system includes a signal path with an input transducer, a signal processor and an output transducer, a part of the system being intended for delivering sound into an ear canal of a hearing aid user leaving the ear canal with an unobstructed cross-sectional area corresponding to a vent channel with a diameter of at least 3 mm or a total area of at least 7.07 mm2. The signal path is designed to have a signal delay less than 15 ms. The hearing aid signal path furthermore preferably includes means for providing an adaptive feedback compensation. The signal processor is adjusted to provide increased gain in low frequency areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Mie Ø. Jørgensen, Lars Bramsløw
  • Patent number: 8180081
    Abstract: This invention relates to a system (100) and method for synthesizing an audio input signal of a hearing device. The system (100) comprises a microphone unit (102) for converting the audio input signal to an electric signal, a filter unit (110) for removing a selected frequency band of the electric signal and pass a filtered signal, a synthesizer unit (118) for synthesizing the selected frequency band of the electric signal based on the filtered signal thereby generating a synthesized signal, a combiner unit (120) for combining the filtered signal and the synthesized signal so as to generate a combined signal, and finally an output unit (122, 124, 126) for converting the combined signal to an audio output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2012
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Thomas Lunner
  • Publication number: 20120308060
    Abstract: A listening device comprises an input transducer providing an electric input signal comprising audio and a detector coupled to the input transducer, for determining whether the electric input signal is a broadband signal or not and providing a detection signal in response. The listening device furthermore comprises a controllable filter for filtering the electric input signal being coupled to the detector and the input transducer and for outputting a filtered electric input signal such that a component of the electric input signal in the tinnitus frequency range is dampened, if the detection signal indicates that the electric input signal is a broadband signal, and outputting an unfiltered electric input signal such that a component of the electric input signal in the tinnitus frequency range is not dampened, if the detection signal indicates that the electric input signal is not a broadband signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 6, 2012
    Applicant: OTICON A/S
    Inventor: Niels Henrik PONTOPPIDAN
  • Patent number: 7477754
    Abstract: A method for counteracting the occlusion effect of an electronic device delivering an audio signal to the ear, like a hearing aid or an active ear protector, where the electronic device includes a transmission path with an external microphone or input line which receives a signal from the environment and an signal processor and a receiver which receives processes signal from the signal from the signal processor and delivers sound signals to the ear, whereby an ear piece is inserted into the ear canal and totally or partially blocks the canal. The sound conditions in the cavity between the ear piece and the tympanic membrane are directly or indirectly determined, and whenever condition leading to occlusion problems are determined, the transmission characteristics of the transmission path or the receiver changes in order to counteract the occlusion effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2009
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Karsten Bo Rasmussen, Søren Laugesen
  • Patent number: 8130991
    Abstract: This invention relates to a hearing instrument (100), which comprises a first microphone (102) converting ambient sound to an ambient sound signal, a signal processor (104) generating a processed sound signal based on the ambient sound signal, a controllable output stage (106) generating a driving signal based on the processed sound signal and in accordance with a control signal, a speaker unit (110) generating a sound in the ear canal based on said driving signal, a second microphone (116) located in the ear canal of the user and converting the sound in the ear canal to the monitor sound signal, and a linearization stage (108) comparing the processed sound signal and the monitor sound signal and generating the control signal based thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Karsten Bo Rasmussen, Steen Michael Munk
  • Patent number: 8638962
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method of reducing feedback in a hearing aid adapted to be worn by a user, the method comprising the step of: receiving an audio input signal in an input transducer in the hearing aid; wherein the method further comprises the steps of: transforming the input signal into the frequency domain; dividing the audio signal into a plurality of frequency bands; determining a threshold frequency over which a plurality of upper frequency bands lies; multiplying each of the plurality of upper frequency bands by a random phase, thereby obtaining a plurality of phase randomized upper frequency bands; synthesizing the plurality of phase randomized upper frequency bands and the lower frequency bands to an output signal; transforming the output signal into the time-domain; and transmitting the output signal to an output transducer of the hearing aid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Thomas Bo Elmedyb, Michael Syskind Pedersen, Ulrik Kjems, Thomas Kaulberg
  • Patent number: 8976990
    Abstract: A listening device comprises an input transducer providing an electric input signal comprising audio and a detector coupled to the input transducer, for determining whether the electric input signal is a broadband signal or not and providing a detection signal in response. The listening device furthermore comprises a controllable filter for filtering the electric input signal being coupled to the detector and the input transducer and for outputting a filtered electric input signal such that a component of the electric input signal in the tinnitus frequency range is dampened, if the detection signal indicates that the electric input signal is a broadband signal, and outputting an unfiltered electric input signal such that a component of the electric input signal in the tinnitus frequency range is not dampened, if the detection signal indicates that the electric input signal is not a broadband signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Niels Henrik Pontoppidan
  • Patent number: 11862138
    Abstract: A hearing device comprises a forward path comprising an input transducer providing at an electric input signal representative of environment sound, a signal processor for processing said at least one electric input signal and providing a processed signal, and a loudspeaker connected to a speaker sound outlet providing an output sound to an eardrum of the user in dependence of said processed signal. The hearing device comprises an ITE-part adapted for being located in an ear canal of the user, an active emission canceller providing an electric sound cancelling signal, and an environment facing loudspeaker providing an output sound to the environment. The electric sound cancelling signal is determined in dependence of said processed signal to attenuate sound leaked from the speaker sound outlet to the environment when played by the environment facing loudspeaker. The environment facing loudspeaker has a sound outlet on an environment facing surface of the ITE-part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Bernhard Kuenzle, Meng Guo
  • Patent number: 8538052
    Abstract: The invention regards a scheme for generating a probe noise signal to be used in an anti feedback system of an audio system. The audio system comprises e.g. a microphone for capturing an audio signal, an audio signal processor for adaptation of the audio signal and a receiver for generation of an audible signal. According to an embodiment of the invention, a noise signal is injected into the audio signal path between the microphone and the receiver and used for estimating acoustical feedback, the noise signal being generated by the following steps: converting a digitized audio signal to the frequency domain, in order to obtain a series of magnitude and phase values, changing the phase values such that the phase of the resulting signal becomes less correlated, preferably substantially un-correlated, to the original signal, converting the magnitude and phase back to a time domain signal using the changed phase values. The invention may e.g. be used in a hearing aid, a headset or a pair of headphones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Thomas Bo Elmedyb, Johan Hellgren
  • Publication number: 20140056435
    Abstract: A method comprises processing M subband communication signals and N target-cancelled signals in each subband with a set of beamformer coefficients to obtain an inverse target-cancelled covariance matrix of order N in each band; using a target absence signal to obtain an initial estimate of the noise power in a beamformer output signal averaged over recent frames with target absence in each subband; multiplying the initial noise estimate with a noise correction factor to obtain a refined estimate of the power of the beamformer output noise signal component in each subband; processing the refined estimate with the magnitude of the beamformer output to obtain a postfilter gain value in each subband; processing the beamformer output signal with the postfilter gain value to obtain a postfilter output signal in each subband; and processing the postfilter output subband signals to obtain an enhanced beamformed output signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Publication date: February 27, 2014
    Applicants: Retune DSP ApS, OTICON A/S
    Inventors: Ulrik KJEMS, Jesper JENSEN
  • Patent number: 8238565
    Abstract: A system for adapting a hearing aid to a user includes a unit generating an image of the user's ear together with a model of the hearing aid, wherein the model of the hearing aid in-situ includes a physical model of the hearing aid inserted in the user's ear prior to generating the image. The system also generates a mesh based on the image, calculates acoustic response to a simulated acoustic signal in the mesh, calculates a frequency response curve for a fixed position in the mesh, and identifies an optimal position of a microphone of the hearing aid in-situ from the acoustic response. They system also includes a comparator configured to compare the frequency response curve for the fixed position in the mesh with a maximum frequency response curve for the mesh stored by the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventor: Rene Burmand Johannesson
  • Patent number: 8798297
    Abstract: A listening device system includes two listening devices, each having its own separate housing. The first device includes an input transducer housed within the housing for converting an input sound to an electrical input signal which includes a direct and an acoustic feedback part, and a feedback cancellation system. The feedback cancellation system includes an adaptive FBC filter including a variable FBC filter part, and an FBC update algorithm part for updating the variable FBC filter part. The FBC update algorithm part receives first and second input signals influenced by the electrical input and the electrical output signals. The second listening device includes an input transducer housed within its housing producing an electrical update signal essentially consisting of the direct part of said electrical input signal. The update signal is conveyed from the second device to the first device, where feedback cancellation parameters are adjusted based on that signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignee: Oticon A/S
    Inventors: Thomas Bo Elmedyb, Johan Hellgren