Patent Application
20240179481
The inventive technology relates generally to hearing devices, and more particularly relates to methods and apparatuses for antennas of the hearing devices. In particular, the inventive technology relates to dipole antennas having meandering shapes, therefore requiring less space within the confines of the in-the-ear hearing device.
A hearing device is a device supporting hearing activity in general. Some hearing devices (for example “hearing aid devices”, “hearing aids”, “hearing instruments”) are designed to be worn continuously behind the ear or inside the ear for extended periods of time. Hearing devices may be used to improve the hearing capability or communication capability of a user, for instance by compensating a hearing loss of a hearing-impaired user, in which case the hearing device is commonly referred to as a hearing instrument such as a hearing aid, or hearing prosthesis. A hearing device may also be used to output sound based on an audio signal which may be communicated, e.g., streamed, by a wire or wirelessly to the hearing device from a streaming source as e.g., a streaming service or an external microphone. A hearing device may also be used to reproduce a sound in a user's ear canal detected by a microphone. The reproduced sound may be amplified to account for a hearing loss, such as in a hearing instrument, or may be output without accounting for a hearing loss, for instance to provide for a faithful reproduction of detected ambient sound and/or to add sound features of an augmented reality in the reproduced ambient sound, such as in a hearable. A hearing device may also provide for a situational enhancement of an acoustic scene, e.g., beamforming and/or active noise cancelling (ANC), with or without amplification of the reproduced sound. A hearing device may also be implemented as a hearing protection device, such as an earplug, configured to protect the user's hearing.
Different types of hearing devices configured to be worn at an ear include earbuds, earphones, hearables, and hearing instruments such as receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aids, behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids, invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) hearing aids, completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids, cochlear implant systems configured to provide electrical stimulation representative of audio content to a user, a bimodal hearing system configured to provide both amplification and electrical stimulation representative of audio content to a user, or any other suitable hearing prostheses. A hearing system comprising two hearing devices configured to be worn at different ears of the user is sometimes also referred to as a binaural hearing device.
Hearing devices are small and delicate instruments that typically include many electronic and metallic components contained in a housing that is small enough to fit at least a portion of the instrument in the ear canal of a human. The compaction of electronic and metallic components in combination with a small size of a housing of the hearing device impose design constraints on the radio frequency antennas that are used in hearing devices that have wireless communication capabilities. Furthermore, as antennas become electrically small compared to the frequency of operation, a trade-off between antenna aperture and radiated efficiency arises. Accordingly, the antennas that are characterized by small size, small power consumption, and good sensitivity are still needed.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter.
The inventive technology is directed to antennas used in hearing devices. In some embodiments of the hearing devices, the antenna is preferably miniaturized while preserving efficiency which in turn drives more desirable form factors with efficient power consumption and overall customer satisfaction with wireless connectivity. The inventive technology employs an improved conventional meander line antenna that can achieve required length of conductive traces in a relatively compact space, thus improving overall packaging of the hearing device. Meander line dipole antennas are antennas having a structure including folded conductive patterns that form a folded dipole antenna. Because of the meandering folds of their conductive traces, the meandering line dipole antennas require less space to achieve performance that is comparable with that of a larger, conventional dipole antenna. In different embodiments, the meandering conductive lines of the antenna are shaped as patterns of rectangular, triangular, other polynomial, sinusoidal, spline, or other meandering folds.
In some embodiments, packaging of the meander line antenna may be improved by the meandering folds (also referred to as meandering loops, meandering detours, or meandering deviations) of the conductive traces. These meandering folds may be disposed perpendicularly to the principal plane of the face plate, thus reducing the required size of the face plate. In some embodiments, the smaller size of the meander line antenna may enable a smaller shell of the hearing device, therefore improving a fit of the hearing aid inside the user's ear.
The conductive lines of the meander line antenna may be encapsulated in a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) or deposited on the surface of the PCB for easier handling and packaging inside the hearing device. In some embodiments, the meander line antenna may be held within a trench of a face plate of the hearing device, therefore facilitating better radiative properties and/or easier assembly of the antenna. Furthermore, the PCB that carries meander line antenna may at least partially run along an elevated structure (wall) of the face plate to reduce a seepage of the glue used during the assembly process into the trench of the face plate.
In one embodiment, a hearing device includes: a housing configured for insertion in an ear canal of a user; a face plate of the housing configured to carry electronic components of the hearing device; and a meander line antenna operatively coupled to the electronic components of the hearing devices. The conductive traces of the meander line antenna are at least partially shaped as meandering folds that are configured perpendicularly with respect to a principal plane of the face plate.
In one aspect, the hearing device further includes a printed circuit board that is a flexible printed circuit board, where the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are carried by the printed circuit board.
In one aspect, the printed circuit board includes a first edge that is at least partially housed in a trench of the face plate and a second edge that is opposite from the first edge. The trench follows a perimeter of the face plate.
In one aspect, the first edge of the printed circuit board at least partially follows a bottom of the trench.
In another aspect, the printed circuit board is at least partially aligned against a wall configured in the face plate. The second edge of the printed circuit board is flush with at least a portion of an edge of the wall.
In one aspect, the printed circuit board has a non-uniform width between the first edge and the second edge.
In another aspect, the printed circuit board has a non-uniform thickness.
In one aspect, the meander line antenna is a dipole antenna. Dipole arms of the dipole antenna are electrically coupled through electrical contacts.
In one aspect, the dipole arms of the meander line antenna have different lengths.
In one aspect, the meandering folds include a first plurality of the meandering folds and a second plurality of the meandering folds. The first plurality of the meandering folds is closer to the electrical contacts than the second plurality of the meandering folds. Individual meandering folds of the first plurality of the meandering folds are configured closer to each other than individual meandering folds of the second plurality of the meandering folds.
In another aspect, the individual meandering folds of the first plurality of the meandering folds are smaller than individual meandering folds of the second plurality of the meandering folds.
In one aspect, the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are shaped as a rectangular pattern.
In one aspect, the meandering folds are at least partially housed in a trench of the face plate. The meandering folds are mutually connected by connection sections that at least partially follow a bottom of the trench.
In another aspect, the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are shaped as a triangular pattern.
In one aspect, the wherein the triangular pattern includes connecting sections.
In one aspect, a shape of the meandering folds is selected from a group consisting of a polynomial pattern, a sinusoidal pattern, and a spline pattern.
In one aspect, a spacing among individual traces of the meander line antenna is non-uniform along a span of the meander line antenna.
In one embodiment, a hearing device includes: a housing configured for insertion in an ear canal of a user; a face plate of the housing configured to carry electronic components of the hearing device; and a meander line antenna operatively coupled to the electronic components of the hearing devices. The conductive traces of the meander line antenna are at least partially shaped as meandering folds that are configured perpendicularly with respect to a principal plane of the face plate. The meander line antenna is a dipole antenna having dipole arms of different lengths.
In one aspect, the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are carried by a printed circuit board (PCB) that is a flexible printed circuit board.
In one aspect, the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are shaped as a rectangular pattern or a triangular pattern.
In one aspect, the meandering folds are at least partially housed in a trench of the face plate. Connecting sections of the pattern of rectangular meandering folds at least partially follow a bottom of the trench.
In one aspect, a shape of the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are shaped as a polynomial pattern, a sinusoidal pattern, or a spline pattern.
In one aspect, a spacing among individual meandering folds of the meander line antenna is non-uniform along a span of the meander line antenna.
In one aspect, the printed circuit board includes a first edge that faces the face plate and a second edge that is opposite from the first edge. The printed circuit board has a non-uniform width between the first edge and the second edge. The printed circuit board is at least partially housed in a trench configured in the face plate. The first edge follows a bottom of the trench. The second edge of the printed circuit board is flush with at least a portion of a wall of the face plate.
In one aspect, the meandering folds of the meander line antenna are shaped as a triangular pattern.
In another aspect, the triangular pattern includes connecting sections that are configured parallel to the face plate.
The foregoing aspects and the attendant advantages of the inventive technology will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following disclosure describes various embodiments of systems and associated methods for in-ear acoustic readout of data from a hearing device. A person skilled in the art will also understand that the technology may have additional embodiments, and that the technology may be practiced without several of the details of the embodiments described below with reference to
The hearing device assembly 1000 is an assembly that includes a hearing device base 100 with its associated electronics and a receiver 200, these two subassemblies getting mechanically and electrically coupled during later phases of the manufacturing process by placing the receiver 200 on top of the hearing device base 100. The hearing device base 100 includes a meander line antenna 110 that is at least partially held within a trench 322 (also referred to as a channel) and/or a wall 324, as explained in more details with respect to
In the context of this specification, the word ‘pattern’ encompasses patterns that include a repetition of shapes of the same size as well as the patterns that include shapes having different sizes. In different embodiments, the shapes (folds) in a pattern may be arranged at same distances or at different distances from each other. In some embodiments, the pattern may refer to a collection of shapes that includes a mixture of one type of shapes and another type of shapes. These different types of shapes may be mixed and arranged next to each other either individually or as groups. Therefore, in different embodiments, individual meandering folds of the pattern of the metal traces may have same size or different sizes.
In general, the lengths L1 and L2 of the two arms of the meandering antenna may be different. The lengths of the conductive traces of the two different arms may also be different. Furthermore, the rectangular or triangular meandering folds of the pattern may be larger in one area of the meander line antenna 110, and smaller (or denser) in another area of the meander line antenna 110. In the embodiments illustrated in
Other antenna-tuning mechanisms (antenna TMs) may be used in different embodiments. For example, the shapes of the meandering folds may be different along the dimension L1 and/or L2. Furthermore, the width of the conductive trace itself may vary.
As illustrated in
The antenna arms 110-1 and 110-2 of the meander line antenna 110 are electrically connected through the contacts 115. As explained above, the lengths L1 and L2 of the individual arms of the meander line antenna may have same or different lengths (spans). In some embodiments, different lengths of the individual arms of the antenna, i.e., a non-symmetrical antenna, may result in a more compact packaging of the antenna.
As explained above, the outer edges 116 of the PCB 112 and the connecting sections 134 of the metal traces 114 of the meandering folds may be contoured to better follow the shape of trenches inside the faceplate, thus enabling certain packaging and assembly advantages as described below. For example, the outer edge 116 of the PCB may follow (i.e., be aligned with) the bottom of the trench in the face plate. Thus, the meandering folds 124 in turn also follow the shape of the outer edges 116. In some embodiments, the width of the PCB 112 may be uniform along the entire span of the of the individual arms of the meander line antenna. In some embodiments, the PCB has a thickness that varies along its length. Such a variable thickness of the PCB may be achieved by, for example, increasing the count-of or the thickness-of the core layers to stiffen the PCB. In other embodiments, a variable width of the PCB may set the conductive traces closer to the outer surface of the wall, therefore increasing antenna aperture.
In some embodiments, the flex circuit 112 is at least partially located into its proper place based on a location of the wall 324. For example, the outer edge of the wall 324 may be offset from the outer edge of the trench 322 by a height difference ΔH. Therefore, the assembler may additionally verify the proper assembly of the flex circuit 112 by verifying the height difference ΔH. In other embodiments, the wall 324 may be configured such that the flex circuit, when properly assembled, reaches the outer edge of the wall 324. The wall 324 may include a ledge 325, which creates a glue-surface on the outer side of the wall 324. During the assembly process, the shell of the hearing aid can be glued to the ledge 325.
The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for the purpose of describing specific embodiment, rather than limiting the present disclosure. The terms “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” in a singular form in the embodiments of the present disclosure and the attached claims are also intended to include plural forms thereof, unless noted otherwise.
Many embodiments of the technology described above may take the form of computer- or controller-executable instructions, including routines executed by a programmable computer or controller. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the technology can be practiced on computer/controller systems other than those shown and described above. The technology can be embodied in a special-purpose computer, controller or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured or constructed to perform one or more of the computer-executable instructions described above. Such computers, controllers and data processors may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium with executable instructions. Accordingly, the terms “computer” and “controller” as generally used herein refer to any data processor and can include Internet appliances and hand-held devices (including palm-top computers, wearable computers, cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems, processor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network computers, mini computers and the like).
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the technology have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the disclosure. Moreover, while various advantages and features associated with certain embodiments have been described above in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages and/or features, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages and/or features to fall within the scope of the technology. Where methods are described, the methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order. Accordingly, the disclosure can encompass other embodiments not expressly shown or described herein. In the context of this disclosure, the term “about,” approximately” and similar means +/−5% of the stated value.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, lists of two or more elements of the form, for example, “at least one of A, B, and C,” is intended to mean (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C), and further includes all similar permutations when any other quantity of elements is listed.
