Patent Grant
10297910
This document relates generally to hearing systems and more particularly to a hearing device with a bowtie antenna.
Hearing devices provide sound for the wearer. Some examples of hearing devices are headsets, hearing aids, speakers, cochlear implants, bone conduction devices, and personal listening devices. Hearing devices may be capable of performing wireless communication between each other and/or other devices. For example, hearing aids provide amplification to compensate for hearing loss by transmitting amplified sounds to their ear canals. The sounds may be detected from the wearer'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. For performing such wireless communication, hearing devices such as hearing aids may each include a wireless transceiver and an antenna.
A hearing device can perform wireless communication with another device using a bowtie antenna. In various embodiments, the bowtie antenna can include two conductive plates and one or more notches in at least one of the two conductive plates. The one or more notches can be sized, shaped, and/or positioned to approximately optimize performance of the bowtie antenna for one or more frequency bands of the wireless communication. In various embodiments, the hearing device can receive energy using the bowtie antenna and charge a rechargeable battery using the received energy.
In an exemplary embodiment, a hearing device include an electronic circuit and a shell housing at least portions of the electronic circuit. The electronic circuit can receive one or more input signals, produce an output sound using the received one or more input signals, and transmit the output sound to the wearer. The electronic circuit can include a bowtie antenna and a communication circuit. The bowtie antenna can include a first conductive plate, a second conductive plate, one or more notches in at least one of the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, and an antenna feed connected to the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate. The one or more notches can be configured to approximately optimize performance of wireless communication for one or more specified frequency bands. The communication circuit can perform the wireless communication using the bowtie antenna
In an exemplary embodiment, a hearing device include an electronic circuit and a shell housing at least portions of the electronic circuit. The electronic circuit can receive one or more input signals, produce an output sound using the received one or more input signals, and transmit the output sound to the wearer. The electronic circuit can include a bowtie antenna, a communication circuit, a rechargeable battery, and a power circuit. The bowtie antenna include a first conductive plate, a second conductive plate, and an antenna feed connected to the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate. The communication circuit can perform wireless communication using the bowtie antenna. The power circuit can receive energy using the bowtie antenna and charge the rechargeable battery using the received energy.
In an exemplary embodiment, a method for operating a hearing device is provided. The method can include receiving one or more input signals, processing the received one or more input signals to produce one or more output signals using a processing circuit of the hearing device, and producing an output sound using a first output signal using a receiver of the hearing device. A first input signal of the one or more input signals can be received via wireless communication using a communication circuit of the hearing device coupled to a bowtie antenna of the hearing device. The bowtie antenna can include a first conductive plate, a second conductive plate, and one or more notches in at least one of the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate, the one or more notches configured to approximately optimize a parameter for one or more specified frequency bands of the wireless communication. The parameter is associated with performance of the wireless communication.
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 be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present subject matter is defined by the appended claims, along with the full scope of legal equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
This document discusses, among other things, a hearing device including a bowtie antenna optimized for wireless communication. In various embodiments, the bowtie antenna can allow for ear-to-ear communication with another hearing device worn by the same wearer and/or communication with another device capable of communication with the hearing device, such as a programming device, a cellphone, an audio streaming device, a device configured to send one or more types of notification to the wearer, and a device configured to allow the wearer to use the hearing device as a remote controller. In various embodiments, the hearing device is powered by a rechargeable battery and can include a battery charging circuit that receives energy using the bowtie antenna.
A bowtie antenna (also spelled as “bow-tie antenna” or “bow tie antenna”) can include two conductive objects and be fed at a gap between the two conductive objects. Each conductive object can be formed by one or more conductive (e.g., metal) wires or plates. Examples of the bowtie antenna as used in hearing aids are discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/706,173, entitled “HEARING AID BOWTIE ANTENNA OPTIMIZED FOR EAR TO EAR COMMUNICATIONS”, filed on May 7, 2015, assigned to Starkey Laboratories, Inc., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Bowtie antennas are generally known as dipole broadband antennas, and can be referred to as “butterfly” antennas or “biconical” antennas.
Performance of an antenna in wireless communication, such as its radiation efficiency, depends on impedance matching between the feed point of the antenna and the output of the communication circuit such as a transceiver. The impedance of the antenna is a function of the operating frequency of the wireless communication. When used in a hearing device that is to be worn on a wearer's head, such as in a hearing aid to be worn in or about an ear of the wearer, the impedance of the antenna can be substantially affected by the presence of human tissue. Such effect is known as head loading and can make the performance of the antenna when the hearing device is worn (referred to as “on head performance”) substantially different from the performance of the antenna when the hearing device is not worn. Impedance of the antenna including effect of head loading depends on configuration and placement of the antenna, which are constrained by size and placement of other components of the hearing device. When a pair of binaural hearing devices are worn by the wearer, asymmetric antenna performances of the hearing devices worn on the right and left side of the wearer's head may result from placement of components in these hearing devices. Such factors contribute to difficulty in impedance matching and hence limit realized gain of the antenna.
A hearing device such as a hearing aid can be powered by a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery can be wirelessly recharged using a recharging device magnetically or electromagnetically coupled to a battery charging circuit in the hearing device, eliminating the need for removing battery from the hearing device for recharging. An antenna is needed to receive the energy magnetically or electromagnetically transmitted to the hearing aid. Separate antennas can be used for the wireless communication and battery charging, but using an additional antenna in a hearing device such as hearing aid may be undesirable.
The present subject matter provides for optimization of the bowtie antenna for specific frequency bands by introducing one or more notches to modify aperture of the antenna. In various embodiments, the one or more notches can be sized, shaped, and placed on the conductive plates of the bowtie antenna based on placement of other components in the hearing device and on head performance of the wireless communication using the antenna. For example, shape, size and placement of each notch can initially be selected based on available space in the hearing device, and then manipulated to achieve the desired performance of the wireless communication. When notches are placed in both conductive plates of the bowtie antenna, the placement can be symmetric or asymmetric, depending on specific hearing device configuration and available space as determined by the placement of other components. In various embodiments, the aperture of the antenna can be modified by the notches to broaden impedance bandwidth for better impedance matching. The broadened impedance bandwidth may also reduce the antenna performance asymmetry when a pair of binaural hearing devices are worn by the wearer. An experiment showed that introduction of notches to a bowtie antenna improved antenna performance of a hearing aid by reducing the resonance at 4.8 GHz (harmonic) and improving the resonance at 2.4 GHz (operation frequency), and the notched bowtie antenna provided a broader impedance bandwidth that resulted in a better realized antenna gain. In various embodiments, notches can be made in a different manner depending upon design considerations specific to each hearing device. In various embodiments, the antenna performance can be further improved by increasing or approximately maximizing physical aperture of the bowtie antenna within the design constraints of the hearing device. In some embodiments, the bowtie antenna can be used for both wireless communication and battery charging. The bowtie antenna can be optimized (e.g., notched) for a dual-band application, with a first frequency band for the wireless communication and a substantially different second frequency band for the battery charging. The bowtie antenna can be dual fed or can be controllably connected to one of the communication and battery charging circuits using a switch. The antenna can be tuned for battery charging in free space when the rechargeable battery is to be charged while the hearing device is not being worn.
While application in a hearing aid is specifically discussed as an example, the present subject matter can be applied in any hearing device capable of wireless communication using a bowtie antenna. In various embodiments, the bowtie antenna can be sized, shaped, and placed in the hearing device, such as contained within or incorporated into a housing of the hearing device.
Hearing aid circuit 102 can perform wireless communication using bowtie antenna 104. In various embodiments, bowtie antenna 104 can include one or more notches 130 in its conductive structure to approximately optimize performance of the wireless communication for one or more specified frequency bands. In some embodiments, hearing aid 100 can include a rechargeable battery. Hearing aid circuit 102 can receive energy using bowtie antenna 104, and can charge the rechargeable battery using the received energy.
Bowtie 204 can include a first conductive plate 210, a second conductive plate 211, and an antenna feed (as referred to as feed point) 212 connected to first conductive plate 210 and second conductive plate 211. In various embodiment, first conductive plate 210 and second conductive plate 211 can each include a conductive sheet (rather than one or more wires). Bowtie antenna 104 can represent an example of bowtie antenna 204 as configured and placed in a hearing aid.
In various embodiments, bowtie antenna 404 can be formed by introducing the one or more notches to bowtie antenna 304. The introduction of the one or more notches modify the aperture of bowtie antenna 304, such that bowtie antenna 404 has an aperture that is substantially different from that of bowtie antenna 304. The one or more notches can each have an approximately triangular, rectangular, circular, or irregular shape, depending on design considerations such as the placement of the circuit components of hearing aid circuit 102 and/or ease of modifying size of each notch for the optimization. In various embodiments, the one or more notches can be configured (e.g., sized, shaped, and positioned in conductive plates 410 and/or 411) to approximately maximize a radiation efficiency of bowtie antenna 404. In various embodiments, the one or more notches can be configured (e.g., sized, shaped, and positioned in conductive plates 410 and/or 411) to approximately optimize the impedance bandwidth of bowtie antenna 404. In various embodiments, the one or more notches can be configured (e.g., sized, shaped, and positioned in conductive plates 410 and/or 411) to provide bowtie antenna 404 with a specified impedance bandwidth. In various embodiments, the one or more notches can be configured (e.g., sized, shaped, and positioned in conductive plates 410 and/or 411) to approximately to maximize the impedance bandwidth of bowtie antenna 404.
In various embodiments, each of conductive plates 410 and 411 includes one or more notches 430. In various embodiments, the one or more notches in conductive plate 410 and the one or more notches in conductive plate 411 are substantially symmetric, such as illustrated in
Hearing devices typically include at least one enclosure or housing, a microphone, hearing device electronics including processing electronics, and a speaker or “receiver.” Hearing devices may include a power source, such as a battery. In various embodiments, the battery may be rechargeable. In various embodiments, multiple energy sources may be employed. It is understood that in various embodiments the microphone is optional. It is understood that in various embodiments the receiver is optional. It is understood that variations in communications protocols, antenna configurations, and combinations of components may be employed without departing from the scope of the present subject matter. Antenna configurations may vary and may be included within an enclosure for the electronics or be external to an enclosure for the electronics. Thus, the examples set forth herein are intended to be demonstrative and not a limiting or exhaustive depiction of variations.
It is understood that digital hearing aids include a processor. In digital hearing aids with a processor, programmable gains may be employed to adjust the hearing aid output to a wearer's particular hearing impairment. The processor may be a digital signal processor (DSP), microprocessor, microcontroller, other digital logic, or combinations thereof. The processing may be done by a single processor, or may be distributed over different devices. The processing of signals referenced in this application can be performed using the processor or over different devices. Processing may be done in the digital domain, the analog domain, or combinations thereof. Processing may be done using subband processing techniques. Processing may be done using frequency domain or time domain approaches. Some processing may involve both frequency and time domain aspects. For brevity, in some examples drawings may omit certain blocks that perform frequency synthesis, frequency analysis, analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, amplification, buffering, and certain types of filtering and processing. In various embodiments the processor is adapted to perform instructions stored in one or more memories, which may or may not be explicitly shown. Various types of memory may be used, including volatile and nonvolatile forms of memory. In various embodiments, the processor or other processing devices execute instructions to perform a number of signal processing tasks. Such embodiments may include analog components in communication with the processor to perform signal processing tasks, such as sound reception by a microphone, or playing of sound using a receiver (i.e., in applications where such transducers are used). In various embodiments, different realizations of the block diagrams, circuits, and processes set forth herein can be created by one of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.
Various embodiments of the present subject matter support wireless communications with a hearing device. In various embodiments the wireless communications can include standard or nonstandard communications. Some examples of standard wireless communications include, but not limited to, Bluetooth™, low energy Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 (wireless LANs), 802.15 (WPANs), and 802.16 (WiMAX). Cellular communications may include, but not limited to, CDMA, GSM, ZigBee, and ultra-wideband (UWB) technologies. In various embodiments, the communications are radio frequency communications. In various embodiments the communications are optical communications, such as infrared communications. In various embodiments, the communications are inductive communications. In various embodiments, the communications are ultrasound communications. Although embodiments of the present system may be demonstrated as radio communication systems, it is possible that other forms of wireless communications can be used. It is understood that past and present standards can be used. It is also contemplated that future versions of these standards and new future standards may be employed without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.
The wireless communications support a connection from other devices. Such connections include, but are not limited to, one or more mono or stereo connections or digital connections having link protocols including, but not limited to 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.4, 802.5, USB, ATM, Fibre-channel, Firewire or 1394, InfiniBand, or a native streaming interface. In various embodiments, such connections include all past and present link protocols. It is also contemplated that future versions of these protocols and new protocols may be employed without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.
In various embodiments, the present subject matter is used in hearing devices that are configured to communicate with mobile phones. In such embodiments, the hearing device may be operable to perform one or more of the following: answer incoming calls, hang up on calls, and/or provide two way telephone communications. In various embodiments, the present subject matter is used in hearing devices configured to communicate with packet-based devices. In various embodiments, the present subject matter includes hearing devices configured to communicate with streaming audio devices. In various embodiments, the present subject matter includes hearing devices configured to communicate with Wi-Fi devices. In various embodiments, the present subject matter includes hearing devices capable of being controlled by remote control devices.
It is further understood that different hearing devices may embody the present subject matter without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The devices depicted in the figures are intended to demonstrate the subject matter, but not necessarily in a limited, exhaustive, or exclusive sense. It is also understood that the present subject matter can be used with a device designed for use in the right ear or the left ear or both ears of the wearer.
The present subject matter may be employed in hearing devices, such as hearing aids, headsets, headphones, and similar hearing devices.
The present subject matter may be employed in hearing devices having additional sensors. Such sensors include, but are not limited to, magnetic field sensors, telecoils, temperature sensors, accelerometers and proximity sensors.
The present subject matter is demonstrated for hearing devices, including hearing aids, including but not limited to, behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), receiver-in-canal (RIC), or completely-in-the-canal (CIC) type hearing aids. It is understood that behind-the-ear 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. The present subject matter can also be used in deep insertion devices having a transducer, such as a receiver or microphone. The present subject matter can be used in devices whether such devices are standard or custom fit and whether they provide an open or an occlusive design. It is understood that other hearing 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.
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