CN112040383A

CN112040383A - Hearing aid device

Info

Publication number: CN112040383A
Application number: CN202010854648.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马乾力; 刘天明; 吴海宁; 刘永新
Original assignee: Shenzhen Micro & Nano Integrated Circuits And Systems Research Institute
Current assignee: Shenzhen Micro & Nano Integrated Circuits And Systems Research Institute
Priority date: 2020-08-07
Filing date: 2020-08-24
Publication date: 2020-12-04

Abstract

The present invention provides a hearing aid device having an appearance of a TWS earphone, the hearing aid device having a sound play mode and a hearing aid mode, the hearing aid device including: a microphone to receive a first audio signal in an external environment; a Bluetooth transceiving component which communicates with an external device and can convert a Bluetooth signal from the external device into a second audio signal; the sound processing module is used for processing the first audio signal and the second audio signal; the loudspeaker outputs the audio information processed by the sound processing module; and a switching element for switching between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode based on the operation of the user. The hearing aid device can reduce the identification degree of the hearing aid on the appearance, is low in cost, and enables a person who wants to wear the hearing aid at will.

Description

Hearing aid device

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of audio equipment, in particular to a hearing aid device.

Background

A hearing aid device (hearing aid) is a device that helps a hearing impaired person to improve hearing. Conventional hearing aids have evolved into a variety of types, such as boxer-type, behind-the-ear, in-the-canal, and the like. However, these hearing aids have extremely high visual recognizability, which results in that hearing-impaired persons, particularly those who have a reduced hearing ability but have not reached a disabling level (hereinafter, simply referred to as "hearing-impaired persons"), are reluctant to wear the hearing aids.

For this reason, a product called "invisible hearing aid" has been developed on the basis of the conventional hearing aid. The bulk of a contact hearing aid is much smaller than a conventional hearing aid and therefore its body portion and faceplate can be worn within the canal curvature, making it difficult to observe the presence of a contact hearing aid unless standing behind the side of the wearer.

However, due to the very high volume requirements, the manufacturing of concealed hearing aids is difficult and the front shell rework rate is the highest of the various hearing aids. This results in the invisible hearing aid being expensive, beyond the purchasing power of most people.

The inventors have therefore identified a need in the art for a hearing aid that reduces the visibility of the hearing aid in appearance and is inexpensive, so that a person (especially a hearing impaired person) who wants to wear the hearing aid can also wear it at will.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome one or more deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a hearing device having the appearance of a TWS earpiece and having a sound play mode and a hearing aid mode, the hearing device comprising: a microphone to receive a first audio signal in an external environment; a Bluetooth transceiving component which communicates with an external device and can convert a Bluetooth signal from the external device into a second audio signal; the sound processing module is used for processing the first audio signal and the second audio signal; the loudspeaker outputs the audio information processed by the sound processing module; and a switching element for switching between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode based on the operation of the user.

Further, the sound processing module is configured to be capable of performing active noise reduction processing, ambient noise reduction processing, automatic gain processing, wide dynamic range compression processing, noise suppression processing, and adaptive acoustic feedback suppression processing.

Further, the sound processing module performs a wide dynamic range compression process, a noise suppression process, an automatic gain process, and an adaptive acoustic feedback suppression process on the first audio signal when the hearing assistance device is in the hearing assistance mode.

Further, the sound processing module performs active noise reduction processing, ambient noise reduction processing and automatic gain processing on the second audio signal when the hearing aid device is in a sound playing mode.

Further, the ambient noise reduction processing includes single-microphone ambient noise reduction processing and dual-microphone ambient noise reduction processing.

Further, in case the hearing aid device comprises 2 earphones having the appearance of a TWS earphone and the hearing aid device is in a sound play mode, the sound processing module further comprises processing for performing echo cancellation processing on the second audio signal.

Furthermore, the sound processing module is a chip module.

Further, the hearing aid device also includes a charging box that charges the hearing aid device.

Further, the switching element is selected from a dial switch or a touch key.

Further, the switching element is a module for switching between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode according to a voice instruction of the user.

Compared with the prior art, the hearing aid device adopts the shape of the TWS Bluetooth earphone, so that the problem of 'hearing disability' or 'disabled person' identity labeling brought by the traditional hearing aid is solved, and the psychological pressure worn by a user is reduced.

The hearing aid device of the present invention has not only a hearing aid mode but also a sound playback mode. The mode (algorithm) is switched through the switching element, so that a user can randomly realize the functions of the hearing aid and the TWS earphone playing function according to different scenes, and the method is suitable for the single-microphone to 4-microphone earphone scheme, and the use flexibility of the user is improved.

The algorithm suitable for the hearing aid mode and the algorithm suitable for the sound playing mode are implanted into a chip in a targeted mode, physical components such as a multi-frequency amplifier and the like are not needed for processing sound, the complexity and the size of a product are reduced, and meanwhile, the cost is reduced.

The hearing aid device is internally provided with the Bluetooth receiving and transmitting assembly, can communicate with external electronic equipment and plays the sound of the external electronic equipment.

The hearing aid device of the invention supplies power through the TWS earphone charging box, eliminates the space occupied by the battery in the traditional hearing aid, further reduces the volume of the hearing aid device, and simultaneously improves the cruising ability and the use convenience.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained from the drawings without inventive effort.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the appearance of a hearing aid device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the construction of a hearing aid device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the configuration of a sound processing module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a workflow diagram of a hearing device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application. The components of the embodiments of the present application, generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application, presented in the accompanying drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the application.

First, an appearance of a hearing aid device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 1. As shown in fig. 1, the hearing aid device 100 has an appearance of a substantial TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphone. This is beneficial to guide the public to view the hearing aid device as a daily headset, thereby reducing the psychological embarrassment of the wearer. The hearing aid device 100 can comprise 2 earphone bodies 101 and 102 ("dual earphone device"), or can have only 1 earphone body 101 or only 1 earphone body 102 ("single earphone device").

The hearing aid device 100 of the present embodiment has a sound playback mode and a hearing aid mode. The user can switch the hearing aid device 100 between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode according to his or her needs.

The configuration of the hearing aid device 100 according to the embodiment is described below with reference to fig. 2. Specifically, the hearing aid device 100 of the present embodiment includes a microphone 10, a bluetooth transceiver module 20, a switching element 30, a sound processing module 40, and a speaker 50.

The microphone 10 is used to receive sound (first audio signal) in the external environment. The microphone 10 is electrically connected to the switching element 30 so that the sound collected by the microphone 10 can be transmitted to the sound processing module 40.

The bluetooth transceiver module 20 is used for communicating with external devices, for example, communicating according to bluetooth standard protocol. Specifically, the bluetooth transceiver module 20 is capable of receiving a bluetooth signal from an external device and converting the bluetooth signal into sound (a second audio signal). Furthermore, the bluetooth transceiver module 20 can connect the hearing aid device and an external device to perform operations such as hearing verification and hearing parameter selection on the hearing aid device 100 via the external device. The bluetooth transceiver module 20 may be an existing bluetooth signal transceiver, such as a bluetooth antenna module. The external device may be an electronic device with bluetooth function, such as a mobile phone, a personal computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a multimedia player, and the like. The bluetooth transceiver module 20 is electrically connected to the switching element 30 so that the sound collected by the bluetooth transceiver module 20 can be transmitted to the sound processing module 40. In an alternative embodiment, the bluetooth transceiver module 20 may be directly connected to the speaker 50 via the switching element 30, i.e., directly output without processing sound from an external device.

The bluetooth transceiver module 20 should always be in the on state when the hearing aid device is operating. However, the user may temporarily turn off the bluetooth transceiver module 20 as needed, and the turning on and off of the bluetooth transceiver module 20 may be realized by hardware such as a button or a dial on the hearing aid apparatus, or may be controlled by an external device.

The sound processing module 40 is used for processing the sound (the first audio signal and the second audio signal) transmitted by the microphone 10 and the bluetooth transceiving module 20. The sound processing module 40 may be a chip module that integrates the processing functions described below, and the hearing aid device 100 is embedded therein. That is, an algorithm for realizing the functions of the following processes is written in the chip module. The chip module includes a circuit and the like for realizing the above-described processing functions, and may include, for example, a CPU for performing control, a RAM and a ROM for performing storage, an interface (I/F), and the like. The interface (I/F) may include an interface with the switching element 30, the speaker 50, and the like. The sound processing module 40 is electrically connected to a switching element 30 and a speaker 50, which will be described later.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 3, the processing that the sound processing module 40 can perform includes: active Noise Control (ANC) processing 401, ambient Noise reduction (ENC) processing 402, Automatic Gain Control (AGC) processing 403, Echo Cancellation (AEC) processing 404, Noise Suppression (NS) processing 405, Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC) processing 406, and adaptive Acoustic feedback Suppression (AFC) processing 407. The ambient noise reduction processing 402 may include, among other things, single-microphone ambient noise reduction processing 4021 and dual-microphone ambient noise reduction processing 4022.

Specifically, when the hearing aid device 100 is controlled to operate in the hearing aid mode, the sound processing module 40 is activated to perform the noise suppression process 405, the wide dynamic range compression process 406, the automatic gain process 403, and the adaptive acoustic feedback suppression process 407 on the sound. When the hearing aid device 100 is controlled to operate in the sound playing mode, the sound processing module 40 is activated to perform the active noise reduction processing 401, the ambient noise reduction processing 402 and the automatic gain processing 403 on the sound. When the hearing aid device 100 is detected to be a single-earphone device, enabling single-microphone environmental noise reduction processing 4021; and when the hearing aid device 100 is detected as the binaural device 4022, the two-microphone ambient noise reduction processing 4022 and the echo cancellation processing 404 are enabled.

The speaker 50 is used to output (play) the audio information processed by the sound processing module 40, so that the user can hear the processed (e.g., noise reduced, volume increased) sound from the external environment or from the external device. Alternatively, the speaker 50 may directly output sound from an external device.

The switching element 30 switches between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode based on the user's operation. The switching element 30 may be, for example, a dial switch or a touch key. The microphone 10 and the bluetooth transceiver module 20 are connected to the sound processing module 40 through the switching element 30. The microphone 10 or the bluetooth transceiver module 20 can be selectively electrically connected to the sound processing module 40 by operating the switching element 30, so that the hearing aid device 100 can operate in a sound playing mode or a hearing aid mode. It is also an option to integrate the function of the switching element 30 also in the chip module. Thus, the switching element 30 may be a module capable of switching between the audio playback mode and the hearing aid mode according to a voice command of the user, in addition to the form of the dial switch and the touch key.

For example, in a case where communication with a person is required, the bluetooth transceiver module 20 is in an on state to complete operations such as hearing verification and hearing parameter selection, and the user switches the hearing aid device 100 to a hearing aid mode via the switching element 30 (e.g., presses a dial switch). At this time, Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Noise Suppression (NS), Automatic Gain (AGC), adaptive acoustic feedback suppression (AFC) processing in the sound processing module 40 is turned on to process the audio signal. When it is desired to play sound (e.g., music or video), the user can switch the hearing device 100 to a sound playing mode (e.g., release the dial switch) via the switching element 30, and the bluetooth transceiver module is turned on to receive the audio signal from the external device. At this time, processing such as active noise reduction, ambient noise reduction, automatic gain, echo cancellation, etc. is turned on to process the audio signal; alternatively, an audio signal from an external device is directly output to the speaker 50.

The position of the switching element 30 is not limited as long as it is convenient for the wearer to operate. The switch element 30 may be located on the top of the TWS style hearing device, as shown in fig. 1, or some other location is possible. The user toggles this element, which causes the sound processing module 40 to switch between a sound playing mode and a hearing aid mode.

The workflow of the hearing aid device is described below in conjunction with fig. 4. First, an embodiment as a hearing aid (hearing aid mode) is described. The microphone 10 collects sound signals of the external environment (e.g., voice of the other party speaking when talking to another person). The switching element 30 is operated to establish electrical connection between the microphone 10 and the sound processing module 40. Thus, the microphone 10 converts the collected sound signal into an audio signal, and transmits the audio signal to the sound processing module 40 through the switching element 30. The sound processing module 40 performs wide dynamic range compression, noise suppression, automatic gain, adaptive acoustic feedback suppression, and the like on the audio signal to obtain a sound signal which is subjected to noise reduction, amplification, and acoustic feedback suppression and conforms to the auditory dynamic range of the user. The signal is played via speaker 50. Thus, the user can obtain ideal listening effect through the hearing aid device.

The following describes an embodiment of a hearing aid device as a general earphone (sound play mode). When the hearing aid device is used as an earphone, the user activates the bluetooth transceiver module 20 to establish bluetooth communication with an external device having a bluetooth function, and operates the switching element 30 to establish electrical connection between the bluetooth transceiver module 20 and the sound processing module 40. When the external device plays the audio file, the audio signal played can be transmitted to the bluetooth transceiving module 20 through bluetooth communication. The bluetooth transceiving module 20 transmits the audio signal to the sound processing module 40 through the switching element 30, and the sound processing module 40 performs active noise reduction (ANC), ambient noise reduction (ENC), and Automatic Gain Control (AGC) on the audio signal to eliminate interference of internal noise and external noise on the audio signal. The audio signal subjected to the noise removal processing is transmitted to and output from the speaker 50. Thus, the user can listen to the audio file through the Bluetooth headset.

Further, the hearing aid device may comprise a memory module (not shown) electrically connected to the sound processing module 40 for storing the specific times (hearing parameter curves) by which the sound processing module 40 amplifies the audio signals. The memory module may be an existing data storage device. The memory module may also be electrically connected to the bluetooth transceiver module 20 so that the amplification factor set by the external device is transmitted to the memory module through the bluetooth transceiver module 20. The user can also operate the hearing aid device to enable the storage module to store data such as audio preferred by the user.

As shown in fig. 4, the hearing parameter profile may be obtained after the hearing aid mode has been started. Of course, the hearing parameter profile may also be obtained in advance.

Further, similar to TWS headphones, the hearing aid device of the present invention can be charged using a charging cartridge.

The above description is only for various embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and all such changes or substitutions are included in the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A hearing assistance device having the appearance of a TWS earpiece and having a sound play mode and a hearing assistance mode, the hearing assistance device comprising:

a microphone to receive a first audio signal in an external environment;

a Bluetooth transceiving component which communicates with an external device and can convert a Bluetooth signal from the external device into a second audio signal;

the sound processing module is used for processing the first audio signal and the second audio signal;

the loudspeaker outputs the audio information processed by the sound processing module;

and a switching element for switching between the sound playing mode and the hearing aid mode based on the operation of the user.

2. A hearing assistance device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sound processing module is configured to enable active noise reduction processing, ambient noise reduction processing, automatic gain processing, wide dynamic range compression processing, noise suppression processing, and adaptive acoustic feedback suppression processing.

3. A hearing assistance device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sound processing module performs wide dynamic range compression processing, noise suppression processing, automatic gain processing, and adaptive acoustic feedback suppression processing on the first audio signal while the hearing assistance device is in the hearing assistance mode.

4. The hearing device of claim 2, wherein the sound processing module performs active noise reduction, ambient noise reduction, and automatic gain processing on the second audio signal while the hearing device is in the sound play mode.

5. The hearing assistance device of claim 4 wherein the ambient noise reduction processing comprises single microphone ambient noise reduction processing and dual microphone ambient noise reduction processing.

6. A hearing assistance device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sound processing module further comprises processing for performing echo cancellation processing on the second audio signal in the case where the hearing assistance device comprises 2 earphones having the appearance of a TWS earphone and where the hearing assistance device is in a sound play mode.

7. A hearing assistance device as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein the sound processing module is a chip module.

8. A hearing assistance device as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, further comprising a charging box to charge the hearing assistance device.

9. A hearing aid device as claimed in any of claims 1-6, wherein the switch element is selected from a toggle or touch button.

10. A hearing aid device as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein the switching element is a module that switches between a sound playing mode and a hearing aid mode in response to a user's voice command.