Claims
- 1-34. (Cancelled)
- 35. A hearing aid comprising:
a directional microphone assembly comprising a housing having opposing side walls, the opposing sides walls having opposing sound ducts formed thereon; and a directional microphone cartridge comprising opposing side portions, wherein the opposing side portions of the directional microphone cartridge extend at least partially into the opposing sound ducts of the opposing side walls of the directional microphone assembly thereby reducing an overall dimension of the directional microphone assembly.
- 36. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein the opposing side portions of the directional microphone cartridge have a first length therebetween, and the opposing side walls of the directional microphone assembly have a second length therebetween, and wherein the first length is longer than the second length.
- 37. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein each of the opposing sound ducts has an inside volume, and wherein at least a portion of at least one inside volume is formed by a surface of the directional microphone cartridge extending at least partially into an interior of the opposing sound ducts.
- 38. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein each of the opposing sound ducts forms a sound passage having an inside volume formed at least in part by a portion of a top surface and a portion of a side surface of the directional microphone cartridge extending into an interior of the opposing sound ducts.
- 39. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein at least one of the opposing sound ducts of the directional microphone assembly is adapted to receive a restrictor inserted therein, the restrictor and an interior of the at least one of the opposing sound ducts having a frictional fitting relationship, the restrictor being positioned flush with a top surface of the directional microphone cartridge within the at least one of the opposing sounds ducts, wherein the restrictor increases an acoustical inertance of a sound passage formed by the interior of the at least one of the opposing sound ducts.
- 40. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein the directional microphone assembly further comprises acoustic dampers disposed in top portions of the opposing sound ducts, wherein the acoustic dampers are inserted into inlets of the opposing sound ducts in a frictional fit manner.
- 41. The hearing aid according to claim 35, wherein the directional microphone cartridge comprises an equalization circuit, the equalization circuit comprising a plurality of electrical contacts for operatively connecting the equalization circuit to additional hearing aid circuitry comprising a hearing aid amplifier.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application makes reference to and claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/973,078 filed on Oct. 5, 2001, which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/237,988 filed Oct. 5, 2000 and hereby incorporates herein by reference the respective entireties thereof.
[0002] This application also makes reference to and claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/565,262 filed on May 5, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 09/252,572 filed Feb. 18, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 08/775,139 filed Dec. 31, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,147 issued Mar. 2, 1999 and hereby incorporates herein by reference the respective entireties thereof.
[0003] This application also hereby incorporates herein by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/237,988, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,147, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,056 in their respective entireties.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60237988 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09973078 |
Oct 2001 |
US |
Child |
10889420 |
Jul 2004 |
US |
Parent |
09565262 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
10889420 |
Jul 2004 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09252572 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
Child |
09565262 |
May 2000 |
US |
Parent |
08775139 |
Dec 1996 |
US |
Child |
09252572 |
Feb 1999 |
US |