EP0246970A1 - Hörgerätanordnungen - Google Patents

Hörgerätanordnungen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0246970A1
EP0246970A1 EP87401130A EP87401130A EP0246970A1 EP 0246970 A1 EP0246970 A1 EP 0246970A1 EP 87401130 A EP87401130 A EP 87401130A EP 87401130 A EP87401130 A EP 87401130A EP 0246970 A1 EP0246970 A1 EP 0246970A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
signal
sounds
compensation
frequencies
hearing aid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP87401130A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0246970B1 (de
Inventor
Jean-Claude Lafon
Tijani Gharbi
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Universite de Franche-Comte
Original Assignee
Universite de Franche-Comte
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Publication date
Application filed by Universite de Franche-Comte filed Critical Universite de Franche-Comte
Priority to AT87401130T priority Critical patent/ATE59260T1/de
Publication of EP0246970A1 publication Critical patent/EP0246970A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0246970B1 publication Critical patent/EP0246970B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/35—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using translation techniques
    • H04R25/353—Frequency, e.g. frequency shift or compression

Definitions

  • the invention relates to hearing aid devices intended for the deaf and in which the sounds emitted in at least a portion of the acute spectrum, sounds normally inaudible to said deaf people, are transposed into other "compensating" sounds situated in the low zone. audible of the acoustic spectrum.
  • the object of the invention is, above all, to make the devices of the kind in question such that the sounds transposed by them in the low region of the spectrum include information relating not only to the height and the intensity of the sound signals to be perceived, but also to the tones or laryngeal components of these signals.
  • the hearing aid devices of the above kind also comprise, in a manner known per se, transducer means for transforming the acoustic signals to be processed into electrical signals, means for taking at least one particular slice x i of order i , of each of these electrical signals, included in a predetermined range of high frequencies, that is to say corresponding to acute sounds, frequencies between between f i min and f i max , i being a integer between 1 and 3 and increasing in the same direction as the frequencies of the slices considered, means for developing from each of these slices x i a compensation signal S i included in a range of low frequencies, ie ie corresponding to low sounds, frequencies between F i min and F i max , the low ranges corresponding to the different compensation sounds S i being distinct from each other, means for adding the different signals compensation ows S i as well and transduction means to transform the sum signal thus obtained into a signal applicable to the deaf to be treated so as to be perceptible by him.
  • transducer means
  • the hearing aid devices are characterized in that the means for producing each compensation signal S i comprise means for multiplying the corresponding signal slice x i by a signal x ⁇ i which is either identical to this portion of signal x i or else deduced therefrom by amplitude equalization, so as to form a product signal X i , and means for taking, from this product signal X i , using a bandpass filter, the portion of said product signal whose low frequency is in the frequency range F i min to F i max , which portion constitutes the desired compensation signal S i .
  • the product signals X i considered comprise such portions at low frequency due to the properties relating to the products of the trigonometric lines.
  • each of the signals x i can be decomposed into a Fourier series, that is to say into a multitude of sinusoidal components of the type a cos 2 ⁇ ft + b sin 2 ⁇ ft (1), formula in which a and b denote constants and f , the oscillation frequency of the component considered, frequency between the two limits f i min and f i max .
  • a second component understood by the same signal x i and defined by the formula a ⁇ cos 2 ⁇ f ⁇ t + b ⁇ sin 2 ⁇ f ⁇ t (2), in which a ⁇ and b ⁇ still denote two constants and f ⁇ , the frequency of this second component, understood as f between the two limits f i min and f i max , and if we multiply these two components one by the other , the product reveals not only terms in cos 2 ⁇ (f + f ⁇ ) t and sin 2 ⁇ (f + f ⁇ ) t but also terms in cos 2 ⁇ (f + f ⁇ ) t and sin 2 ⁇ (f-f ⁇ ) t.
  • the product signal X i shows sinusoidal components oscillating at almost all frequencies of the type f-f ⁇ corresponding to differences of any two frequencies included in the range from f i min to f i max .
  • the number n of the high frequency signal slices x i which are taken from the electrical signals to be processed is equal to two, the first slice being between 1500 and 3500 Hz and the second between 5000 and 7000 Hz, - in a device according to the preceding paragraph, the ranges of low frequencies chosen for the compensation sounds S1 and S2 are respectively from 800 to 1000 Hz and from 1050 to 1200 Hz, - in a device according to the paragraph preceding the previous one, the low frequency ranges chosen for the compensation sounds S1 and S2 are respectively from 800 to 1200 Hz and from 1250 to 1900 Hz.
  • the invention includes, apart from these main provisions, certain other provisions which are preferably used at the same time and which will be more explicitly discussed below.
  • the device considered comprises, in a manner known per se: a microphone 1 suitable for transforming each of the acoustic signals A which it receives into an electrical signal E whose amplitudes and frequencies are proportional to those of said signal A, a bandpass filter 2 allowing the entire portion S o of said signal E to pass, the frequency of which is between a first very low frequency F o min of the order of 60 Hz and a second frequency F o max which depends on the degree of deafness to be treated and which is generally between 500 and 1200 Hz, being for example 800 Hz, - n electrical channels V i mounted in parallel on the filter 2 and capable of each producing an electrical compensation signal S i , the number n being an integer between 1 and 3 and the index i , an integer between 1 and n , limits included, - an adder 3 suitable for summing S of the signals S o and S i , - and a loudspeaker 4 capable of transforming the signal electric S into an acoustic signal B
  • the channels V i each comprise: a band-pass filter 5 i suitable for taking, from the electrical signal E, a slice x i of the acute spectrum inaudible to the deaf, all of these slices x i comprising the portions, of speech, most useful for l intelligibility of this word, - And means for developing compensation signals S i from these slices x i , signals included respectively in distinct ranges of low frequencies corresponding to sounds audible by the deaf.
  • Said means essentially comprise, for each channel V i : - a multiplier 6 i suitable for multiplying the slice x i by itself or by a refined signal x ⁇ i obtained from x i by amplitude equalization, which gives a product signal X i , - And a bandpass filter 7 i crossed by the single portion, of the product signal X i , which is between two low frequencies F i min and F i max .
  • Each of these low frequencies is both greater than F o max and included in the range of frequencies audible by the deaf person to be processed.
  • each time F i max ⁇ F (i + 1) min is chosen.
  • the amplitude equalization indicated above consists in making the coefficients a, b, a ⁇ and b ⁇ of formulas (1) and (2) above equal to 1.
  • the compensation signals S i can be amplified so as to take into account the fact that the low frequency range which defines the filter band of each of them s' extends over only a small portion of the entire acoustic spectrum: this is how the range of said range is for example of the order of 200 to 500 Hz while the acoustic spectrum considered is of the order of 8000 Hz.
  • the compensation signals S i produced by the above-mentioned multiplication and filtering can only be harmonics of the signals x i which gave them birth.
  • the high sampling frequencies of the two sections x1 and x2 are then advantageously included, respectively, in the range 1500 Hz (f 1 min ) to 3500 Hz (f 1 max ) and in the range 5000 Hz (f 2 min ) to 7000 Hz (f 2 max ).
  • the compensation sounds S1 and S2 are for example included respectively in the range 800 Hz (F 1 min ) to 1000 Hz (F 1 max ) and in the range 1050 Hz (F 2 min ) to 1200 Hz (F 2 max ), which corresponds to a deep deafness for which the deaf is able to perceive only the sounds whose frequency is lower than 1200 Hz.
  • the compensation sounds S1 and S2 sounds respectively included in the range 800-1200 Hz and in the range 1250-1900 Hz.
  • the sonogram a at the top of figure 2 corresponds to normal hearing.
  • the middle sonogram b corresponds to what is heard by a deaf person not equipped with a prosthesis, that is to say to the portion, of the acoustic message considered, which is filtered above 800 Hz.
  • the lower sonogram c corresponds to what a patient affected by severe deafness means equipped with a prosthesis according to the invention.
  • the vertical stripes represent the transients of the laryngeal components of sounds, or "timbres" of these sounds.
  • the invention makes it possible to incorporate into the artificially reconstituted bass sounds perceptible by the deaf, not only the “whistles” or acute components of the speech (corresponding in particular to the sounds in "z” or in “s”), but also the timbres of the vowels.
  • the invention is in no way limited to those of its modes of application and embodiments which have been more especially envisaged; on the contrary, it embraces all variants, in particular those in which the hearing aid devices considered would be arranged so as to correspond to each sound processed a signal still perceptible by the deaf to assist, but not necessarily acoustic, in particular a signal impulse applicable to said deaf person in any desirable manner perceptible to him, this application being for example carried out electrically on his auditory nerve, or even mechanically on his skin using an appropriate vibrator.

Landscapes

  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)
  • Measurement And Recording Of Electrical Phenomena And Electrical Characteristics Of The Living Body (AREA)
  • Fittings On The Vehicle Exterior For Carrying Loads, And Devices For Holding Or Mounting Articles (AREA)
  • Electrotherapy Devices (AREA)
  • Input Circuits Of Receivers And Coupling Of Receivers And Audio Equipment (AREA)
  • Adornments (AREA)
  • Stereophonic System (AREA)
EP87401130A 1986-05-23 1987-05-20 Hörgerätanordnungen Expired - Lifetime EP0246970B1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT87401130T ATE59260T1 (de) 1986-05-23 1987-05-20 Hoergeraetanordnungen.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8607408 1986-05-23
FR8607408A FR2598909B1 (fr) 1986-05-23 1986-05-23 Perfectionnements aux dispositifs de prothese auditive

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0246970A1 true EP0246970A1 (de) 1987-11-25
EP0246970B1 EP0246970B1 (de) 1990-12-19

Family

ID=9335565

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP87401130A Expired - Lifetime EP0246970B1 (de) 1986-05-23 1987-05-20 Hörgerätanordnungen

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US4843623A (de)
EP (1) EP0246970B1 (de)
AT (1) ATE59260T1 (de)
DE (1) DE3766755D1 (de)
FR (1) FR2598909B1 (de)

Families Citing this family (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5014319A (en) * 1988-02-15 1991-05-07 Avr Communications Ltd. Frequency transposing hearing aid
US6577739B1 (en) * 1997-09-19 2003-06-10 University Of Iowa Research Foundation Apparatus and methods for proportional audio compression and frequency shifting
DK1920632T3 (da) * 2005-06-27 2010-03-08 Widex As Høreapparat med forbedret højfrekvensgengivelse og fremgangsmåde til at behandle et lydsignal
EP1885156B1 (de) * 2006-08-04 2013-04-24 Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH Hörhilfe mit einem Audiosignalerzeuger
CA2820761C (en) * 2010-12-08 2015-05-19 Widex A/S Hearing aid and a method of improved audio reproduction
US9113271B2 (en) * 2011-07-14 2015-08-18 Phonak Ag Method for extending a frequency range of an input signal of a hearing device as well as a hearing device
US9113270B2 (en) * 2011-11-04 2015-08-18 Med-El Elektromedizinische Geraete Gmbh Transpositional acoustic frequency range in EAS patients
EP3128765A1 (de) * 2015-08-07 2017-02-08 Tain-Tzu Chang Verfahren zum verarbeiten eines sound tracks
KR102494080B1 (ko) * 2016-06-01 2023-02-01 삼성전자 주식회사 전자 장치 및 전자 장치의 사운드 신호 보정 방법
TWI662544B (zh) * 2018-05-28 2019-06-11 塞席爾商元鼎音訊股份有限公司 偵測環境噪音以改變播放語音頻率之方法及其聲音播放裝置
CN110690903A (zh) * 2019-09-18 2020-01-14 南京中感微电子有限公司 一种电子设备及音频模数转换方法

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1261169B (de) * 1963-02-14 1968-02-15 Centre Nat Rech Scient Hoerhilfe
US3819875A (en) * 1971-06-08 1974-06-25 Nat Res Dev Aids for deaf persons
EP0054450A1 (de) * 1980-11-28 1982-06-23 Jean-Claude Lafon Hörhilfsgeräte

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2150364A (en) * 1937-07-31 1939-03-14 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Signaling system
FR54450E (fr) * 1946-02-21 1950-05-02 Mecaniques De Vaucouleurs Atel Appareil pour le montage des pièces à usiner sur les tables de machines outils
FR2577739B1 (fr) * 1985-02-19 1992-08-21 Perez Thomas Dispositif de perception et d'analyse des sons par la voie tactile ou optique

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1261169B (de) * 1963-02-14 1968-02-15 Centre Nat Rech Scient Hoerhilfe
US3819875A (en) * 1971-06-08 1974-06-25 Nat Res Dev Aids for deaf persons
EP0054450A1 (de) * 1980-11-28 1982-06-23 Jean-Claude Lafon Hörhilfsgeräte

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON AUDIO AND ELECTROACOUSTICS, vol. AU-17, no. 3, septembre 1969, pages 202-208, New York, US; R.E. BOGNER et al.: "Frequency multiplication of speech signals" *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0246970B1 (de) 1990-12-19
FR2598909B1 (fr) 1988-08-26
DE3766755D1 (de) 1991-01-31
US4843623A (en) 1989-06-27
ATE59260T1 (de) 1991-01-15
FR2598909A1 (fr) 1987-11-27

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