This application relates generally to antennas, and more particularly to antennas for hearing assistance devices.
Examples of hearing assistance devices, also referred to herein as hearing instruments, include both prescriptive devices and non-prescriptive devices. Examples of hearing assistance devices include, but are not limited to, hearing aids, headphones, assisted listening devices, and earbuds.
Hearing instruments can provide adjustable operational modes or characteristics that improve the performance of the hearing instrument for a specific person or in a specific environment. Some of the operational characteristics are volume control, tone control, and selective signal input. These and other operational characteristics can be programmed into a hearing aid. A programmable hearing aid can be programmed using wired or wireless communication technology.
Generally, hearing instruments are small and require extensive design to fit all the necessary electronic components into the hearing instrument or attached to the hearing instrument as is the case for an antenna for wireless communication with the hearing instrument. The complexity of the design depends on the size and type of hearing instrument. For completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids, the complexity can be more extensive than for in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, behind-the-ear (BTE) or on-the-ear (OTE) hearing aids due to the compact size required to fit completely in the ear canal of an individual.
Systems for wireless hearing instruments have been proposed, in which information is wirelessly communicated between hearing instruments or between a wireless accessory device and the hearing instrument. Due to the low power requirements of modern hearing instruments, the system has a minimum amount of power allocated to maintain reliable wireless communication links. Also the small size of modern hearing instruments requires unique solutions to the problem of housing an antenna for the wireless links. The better the antenna, the lower the power consumption of both the transmitter and receiver for a given link performance.
Both the CIC and ITE hearing instruments are custom, as they are fitted and specially built for the wearer of the instrument. For example, a mold may be made of the user's ear or canal for use to build the custom instrument. In contrast, a standard instrument only needs to be programmed for the person wearing the instrument to improve hearing for that person.
An embodiment of a hearing assistance device comprises an enclosure that includes a faceplate and a shell attached to the faceplate, a power source, a flex antenna, a transmission line connected to the flex antenna, and radio circuit connected to the transmission line and electrically connected to the power source. The flex antenna has a shape of at least a substantially complete loop around the power source, and maintains separation from the power source.
According to an embodiment of a method of forming a hearing assistance device with a power source, a flexible antenna loop is placed into a shell of the device and is enclosed within housing. The flexible antenna loop is enclosed between the shell and a faceplate. The flexible antenna loop substantially encircles the power source and maintains separation from the power source.
This Summary is an overview of some of the teachings of the present application and not intended to be an exclusive or exhaustive treatment of the present subject matter. Further details about the present subject matter are found in the detailed description and appended claims. Other aspects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description and viewing the drawings that form a part thereof, each of which are not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
The following detailed description of the present subject matter refers to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which the present subject matter may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present subject matter. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present subject matter. References to “an”, “one”, or “various” embodiments in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references contemplate more than one embodiment. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of legal equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
A hearing aid is a hearing device that generally amplifies or processes sound to compensate for poor hearing and is typically worn by a hearing impaired individual. In some instances, the hearing aid is a hearing device that adjusts or modifies a frequency response to better match the frequency dependent hearing characteristics of a hearing impaired individual. Individuals may use hearing aids to receive audio data, such as digital audio data and voice messages wirelessly, which may not be available otherwise for those seriously hearing impaired.
Various embodiments include a single layer or multi-layer flex circuit with conductors that combine a transmission line and loop antenna for the purpose of conducting RF radiation to/from a radio to a radiating element within a custom hearing aid. According to some embodiments, the conductor surrounds the power source (e.g. battery) within a custom hearing instrument such that the axis of the loop is orthogonal to the axis of symmetry of the power source. In some embodiments, the antenna has multiple polarizations by including more than one loop for RF current to flow.
According to various embodiments, a conductor forms a loop and is embedded within or adhered to the faceplate of a custom hearing instrument where the conductor surrounds or substantially surrounds the battery such that the axis of the loop is orthogonal to the axis of symmetry of the battery. In some embodiments, a flex circuit transmission line is connected to the conductor acting as an antenna to conduct RF energy from the radio subsystem to the antenna. The flex circuit transmission line allows for some mobility of the hybrid circuit within a custom hearing instrument. The radio subsystem is mounted directly on the conductor acting as an antenna, in some embodiments. If a trench is formed in the faceplate to receive the antenna, some embodiments control the depth of the trench in the faceplate non-uniformly to control the pattern and directivity of the antenna.
Some hearing instrument embodiments use a single or multi-turn loop antenna that includes a single or multi-layer flex circuit conductor formed in the shape of a loop surrounding the battery and contained within a custom hearing instrument. The flex circuit has the combined function of both the radiating element (loop) and the transmission line for the purpose of conducting RF energy from a radio transmitter/receiver device to the antenna. The flexible transmission line allows the connection to the radio subsystem while allowing the circuit some mobility within the shell of the hearing instrument.
Some embodiments use a single or multi-turn loop antenna that includes a conductive metal formed in such a way as to fit around the battery and embedded within the plastic faceplate that is used in the construction of a custom hearing instrument. A transmission line connects the formed metal antenna to the radio inside the hearing instrument. The antenna may be fully or partially embedded within the plastic faceplate. In this system a flex circuit transmission line connects the metal conductor to the radio subsystem while allowing some mobility of the circuit containing the radio with the shell of the hearing instrument.
Some embodiments use a single or multi-turn loop antenna that includes a conductive metal formed in such a way as to fit around the battery and embedded within the plastic faceplate that is used in the construction of a custom hearing instrument. The radio subsystem is attached directly to the solid conductor that forms the antenna. The antenna may be fully or partially embedded within the plastic faceplate.
Some embodiments use a single or multi-turn loop antenna that use a flexible substrate that allows the antenna to conform to the shape of the shell of the hearing instrument to best maximize the aperture of the antenna.
Hybrid circuit 206 includes a foundation substrate 207, a hearing aid processing layer 208, a device layer 209 containing memory devices, and a layer having a radio frequency (RF) chip 210 and a crystal 211. The crystal 211 may be shifted to another location in hybrid circuit and replaced with a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device. The SAW device, such as a SAW filter, may be used to screen or filter out noise in frequencies that are close to the wireless operating frequency.
The hearing aid processing layer 208 and device layer 209 provide the electronics for signal processing, memory storage, and sound amplification for the hearing aid. In an embodiment, the amplifier and other electronics for a hearing may be housed in a hybrid circuit using additional layers or using less layers depending on the design of the hybrid circuit for a given hearing aid application. In an embodiment, electronic devices may be formed in the substrate containing the antenna circuit. The electronic devices may include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) designed to include a matching circuit to couple to the antenna or antenna circuit.
As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art upon reading and studying this disclosure, the elements of a hearing instrument housed in a hybrid circuit that includes an integrated antenna can be configured in various formats relative to each other for operation of the hearing instrument.
A design goal to increase quality for an antenna is to increase the aperture size of the antenna loop, and another design goal is to decrease the loss of the antenna. Magnetic material (e.g. iron) and electrical conductors within the loop increase loss. Separation between the magnetic material and the antenna decreases the amount of the loss. Various embodiments maintain separation between the antenna and the battery and electrical conductors to reduce the amount of loss.
A flex antenna uses a flex circuit, which is a type of circuitry that is bendable. The bendable characteristic is provided by forming the circuit as thin conductive traces on a thin flexible medium such as a polymeric material or other flexible dielectric material. The flex antenna includes flexible conductive traces on a flexible dielectric layer. In an embodiment, the flex antenna is disposed on substrate on a single plane or layer. In an embodiment, the antenna is configured as a flex circuit having thin metallic traces on a polyimide substrate. Such a flex design may be realized with an antenna layer or antenna layers of the order of about 0.003 inch thick. A flex design may be realized with a thickness of about 0.006 inches. Such a flex design may be realized with antenna layers of the order of about 0.004 inch thick. A flex design may be realized with a thickness of about 0.007 inches as one or multiple layers.
The dielectric layer of a flex antenna is a flexible dielectric material that provides insulation for the conductive layer. In an embodiment, the dielectric layer is a polyimide material. In an embodiment for a flex antenna, a thin conductive layer is formed in or on a thin dielectric layer, where the dielectric layer has a width slightly larger than the width of conductive layer for configuration as an antenna. An embodiment uses copper for the metal, and some embodiments plate the copper with silver or nickel or gold. Some embodiments provide a copper layer on each side of a coverlay (e.g. polyimide, liquid crystal polymer, or Teflon material). The thickness of a flex circuit will typically be smaller than a hard metal circuit, which allows for smaller designs. Additionally, the flexible nature of the flex circuit makes the fabrication of the device easier.
In various embodiments, the antenna design is modified to provide different geometries and electrical characteristics. For example, wider antennas or multiple loops electrically connected in parallel provide lower inductance and resistance than thinner or single antenna variations. In some embodiments the antennas include multiple loops electrically connected in series.
In some embodiments, the antenna is made using multi-filar wire instead of a flex circuit to provide conductors electrically connected in series or parallel.
The above detailed description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are legally entitled.
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