Patent Application
20170289710
This document relates generally to hearing assistance systems and more particularly to a hearing assistance device that includes an antenna for wireless communication and a balanced feed-line connecting the antenna to a communication circuit.
Hearing aids are used to assist patients suffering hearing loss by transmitting amplified sounds to ear canals. The sounds may be detected from a patient's environment using the microphone in a hearing aid and/or received from a streaming device via a wireless link. Wireless communication may also be performed for programming the hearing aid and receiving information from the hearing aid. In one example, a hearing aid is worn in and/or around a patient's ear. Patients generally prefer that their hearing aids are minimally visible or invisible, do not interfere with their daily activities, and easy to maintain. The hearing aids may each include an antenna for the wireless communication. Given the spatial restrictions, likely accompanied by low-power requirements and interference between various metal parts in the hearing aid, there is a need for providing the hearing aid with a stable and reliable wireless communication system without increasing the size and power consumption of the hearing aid.
A hearing assistance device, such as a hearing aid, includes an antenna connected to a communication circuit through a feed-line for wireless communication. The antenna and the feed-line are configured and placed such at capacitance between their conductors is approximately minimized. In one embodiment, the feed-line includes feed-line conductors each including a major portion approximately perpendicular to an antenna conductor. In another embodiment, the feed-line includes a feed-line conductor crossing the antenna conductor, and at least one of the antenna conductor and the feed-line conductor includes a notch in the crossing area to reduce the crossing area.
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. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
The following detailed description of the present subject matter refers to subject matter in 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. 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 demonstrative and not to he taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present subject matter is defined by the appended claims, along with the scope of legal equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
This document discusses a hearing assistance device including an antenna that is connected to a communication circuit through a balanced feed-line (transmission line) for wireless communication with another device. Feed-line-related factors that affect performance of the wireless communication may include, but are not be limited to, feed-line capacitance and loss, electrical imbalance, unwanted interaction with the antenna, and/or radiated harmonic emissions. Some antenna and feed-line configurations each may address part of the problems or address one problem while causing or worsening another. For example, connecting the feed-line from sides of the antenna may reduce feed-line capacitance while increasing electrical imbalance and level of radiated harmonic emissions. Crossing between antenna and feed-line conductors may introduce a fixed differential capacitance that cannot he adjusted to optimize the performance of wireless communication. The present subject matter provides a balanced feed-line to connect the antenna to the communication circuit to allow for optimization of the performance of the wireless communication. In various embodiments, geometry of the feed-line and placement of the feed-line relative to the antenna are determined to reduce or minimize feed-line capacitance and loss, electrical imbalance, unwanted interaction between the teed-line and the antenna, and/or radiated harmonic emissions when the present subject matter is applied to the hearing assistance device, such as a hearing aid.
Antenna 106 is connected to communication circuit 104 through feed-line 105 to receive signals from, and transmits signals to, another device. In various embodiments, feed-line 105 carries radio-frequency (RF) signals for the wireless communication and includes a gradual transition from one section to another section of RF circuitry. This gradual transition substantially removes RF discontinuities, which can degrade performance of the wireless communication.
Feed-line 105 has a geometry and placement determined to ensure quality of the wireless communication. In one embodiment, a “flare-out” approach to the feed-line geometry and placement avoids crossover of differential lines that causes parasitic capacitance by configuring the planes of conductors of antenna 106 and feed-line 105 to be normal to each other, rather than a configuration, for example, where the plane of a feed-line conductor may be parallel to the plane of an antenna conductor. In another embodiment, a “neck-down” approach to the feed-line geometry and placement reduces parasitic capacitance by reducing the exposure (overlapping or crossing area) of a feed-line conductor on to an antenna conductor when the plane of the feed-line conductor is parallel to the plane of the antenna conductor. In various embodiments, the conductors of antenna 106 and feed-line 105 (i.e., the antenna conductor(s) and the feed-line conductor(s)) are each a conductive trace (e.g., a metal trace such as a copper trace) on a flex circuit substrate. The “neck-down” approach may be applied, for example, when implementation of the “flare-out” approach is difficult due to the size and space constraints in the design of the hearing assistance device. Various embodiments of feed-line 105 and its placement relative to antenna 106 are discussed by way of example, but not by way of restriction, with reference to
In another embodiment, a notch similar to notch 715 may be introduced into antenna 606, instead of feed-line branch 705B, at the crossing area. In various embodiments, one or more notches similar to notch 715 may be introduced to one or more conductors of one or more of antenna 606 and feed-line 705 at their crossing area(s).
The present subject matter is demonstrated for hearing assistance devices, including hearing aids, including but not limited to, invisibly-in-canal (IIC), completely-in-canal (CIC), in-the-canal (ITC), in-the-ear (ITE), BTE, or receiver-in-canal (RIC) type hearing aids. It is understood that BTE type hearing aids may include devices that reside substantially behind the ear or over the ear. Such devices may include hearing aids with receivers associated with the electronics portion of the behind-the-ear device, or hearing aids of the type having receivers in the ear canal of the user, including but not limited to receiver-in-canal (RIC) or receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) designs. The present subject matter can also be used in hearing assistance devices generally, such as cochlear implant type hearing devices, wireless earphones, and wireless ear buds. It is understood that other hearing assistance devices not expressly stated herein may be used in conjunction with the present subject matter.
This application is intended to cover adaptations or variations of the present subject matter. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the present subject matter should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of legal equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/267,676, filed May 1, 2014, which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/818,375, filed on May 1, 2013, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61818375 | May 2013 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14267676 | May 2014 | US |
| Child | 15493353 | US |
