EP0924958B1 - Directional hearing device - Google Patents
Directional hearing device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0924958B1 EP0924958B1 EP19980204331 EP98204331A EP0924958B1 EP 0924958 B1 EP0924958 B1 EP 0924958B1 EP 19980204331 EP19980204331 EP 19980204331 EP 98204331 A EP98204331 A EP 98204331A EP 0924958 B1 EP0924958 B1 EP 0924958B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- output
- summer
- processor
- pass filter
- hearing device
- 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.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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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
- H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
- H04R25/407—Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
-
- 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
- H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
- H04R25/402—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic using contructional means
Definitions
- the invention relates to a hearing device comprising three microphones, two processors, in each case two of the microphones being pairwise electrically coupled to a first and a second processor, each processor comprising a first summer for providing a difference signal of the microphone signals, and an integrator connected to the output of the first summer; an output for further processing in a reproducer being connected to the processor.
- Such a hearing apparatus is known from the international patent application WO 95/12961.
- This application relates to a directional microphone system. Of each time two microphones, the output signals are amplified both proportionally and integratingly and supplied to a summer.
- US-A-4,334,740 describes a directional microphone system comprising an array of four microphones, the signals of two of which are subtracted in a summer, the output signal of this summer being coupled to an integrator and the output signal of this integrator being amplified in a first amplifier.
- the signals of the other two microphones are added and the added signal is amplified in a second amplifier.
- the output signals of the first and second amplifier are added again to provide the output signal of the microphone system.
- the directivity is very important to achieve a high audibility of speech.
- the acoustic signals should be selectively amplified: only the speech signals or other important audio information should be amplified, not the inevitable undesired noise.
- each processor comprises a second summer providing a sum signal of the microphone signals, and a proportional amplifier connected to the output of the second summer; and a third summer, which is coupled to the outputs of the proportional amplifier and the integrator, the third summer providing a sum signal of the output signals of the proportional amplifier and the integrator, the output of the third summer forming the output of the processor;
- the output of the third summer of the first processor is connected to the input of a low-pass filter;
- the output of the third summer of the second processor is connected to the input of a high-pass filter;
- the outputs of the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter are connected to the inputs of a fourth summer for providing at the output thereof a sum signal of the output signals of the low-pass filter and the high-pass filter; and the output of the fourth summer forms the output for further processing in a reproducer.
- FIG. 1 two microphones m 1 and m 2 are schematically shown, which form part of a hearing device according to the invention.
- the microphones m 1 and m 2 are, for instance, omnidirectional microphones spaced apart a given distance.
- the processor is schematically indicated by dash lines.
- the microphones m 1 and m 2 are electrically coupled in any suitable manner to a first summer S1 for providing a difference signal of these microphone signals. Furthermore, an integrator I is connected to this first summer S1. As is known to those skilled in the art, an integrator can be composed using analog electronics.
- the microphones m 1 and m 2 are also electrically coupled in any suitable manner to a second summer S2 for providing a sum signal of these microphone signals.
- a proportional amplifier P is connected to this second summer.
- Both the integrator I and the proportional amplifier P have their outputs coupled to a third summer S3 which provides a sum signal of the signal from the proportional amplifier P and the signal from the integrator I.
- the sum signal from the third summer S3 forms the output U for further processing in a reproducer (not shown).
- the output signal is the input signal for the reproducer.
- the hearing device shown in Fig. 1 is adapted for a specific frequency range.
- Fig. 2 shows three omnidirectional microphones m 1 , m 2 , and m 3 for a hearing device and two processors GP1 and GP2 with output signals U 1 and U 2 , respectively.
- the distance between m 1 and m 2 is different from the distance between m 1 and m 2 .
- these microphones in each case two are connected pairwise to a first and a second processor, GP1 indicating a low-frequency gradient processor and GP2 a high-frequency gradient processor, respectively.
- processors are designed in the same manner as the processor shown in Fig.1.
- a low-pass filter LF is connected to the processor GP1, while a high-pass filter HF is connected to the processor GP2.
- the low-pass filter LF and the high-pass filter HF are connected to a fourth summer S4 which can provide a sum signal of LF and HF.
- the output of the summer S4 feeds the reproducer (not shown).
- the cross-over frequency of the high-pass filter and the low-pass filter can be optimized such that the output has a flat frequency response.
- Figs. 3a and 3b show graphs of results of an advantageous embodiment according to the invention.
- the microphone distances were 0.1 m for the low-frequency microphone pair and 0.016 m for the high-frequency microphone pair.
- the graduations are logarithmic.
- Fig. 3a the horizontal axis indicates the frequency in Hz, while the vertical axis shows the frequency response in dB.
- Fig. 3b the horizontal axis indicates the frequency in Hz, while the vertical axis shows the directivity index in dB.
- the directivity index is a measure, generally accepted by skilled persons, of the directional behavior of a microphone or microphone arrangement.
- the graphs show that between 100 Hz and 5000 Hz the frequency response is flat and the directivity index is nearly constant.
- the hearing device according to the invention may advantageously be accommodated in or on a side piece of eyeglasses.
- the electric power may then be supplied by, e.g., a battery or solar cell.
- the electrical output signal may be fed to the reproducer via a plug contact or a coil generating an electromagnetic field which can be received by a listening coil in the hearing apparatus.
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Neurosurgery (AREA)
- Otolaryngology (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Circuit For Audible Band Transducer (AREA)
- Obtaining Desirable Characteristics In Audible-Bandwidth Transducers (AREA)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
NZ509646A NZ509646A (en) | 1998-07-06 | 1999-06-30 | Farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors with in vivo radiosensitizing properties |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
NL1007858A NL1007858C2 (nl) | 1997-12-19 | 1997-12-19 | Richtingsgevoelige gehoorinrichting. |
NL1007858 | 1997-12-19 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0924958A1 EP0924958A1 (en) | 1999-06-23 |
EP0924958B1 true EP0924958B1 (en) | 2004-05-19 |
Family
ID=19766226
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19980204331 Expired - Lifetime EP0924958B1 (en) | 1997-12-19 | 1998-12-18 | Directional hearing device |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0924958B1 (nl) |
DE (1) | DE69823971T2 (nl) |
DK (1) | DK0924958T3 (nl) |
NL (1) | NL1007858C2 (nl) |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2000076268A2 (de) | 1999-06-02 | 2000-12-14 | Siemens Audiologische Technik Gmbh | Hörhilfsgerät mit richtmikrofonsystem sowie verfahren zum betrieb eines hörhilfsgeräts |
NL1015111C2 (nl) * | 2000-05-04 | 2001-11-06 | Ronald Jan Geluk | Microfoon met frequentie-afhankelijke richtwerking. |
ATE450986T1 (de) † | 2005-09-30 | 2009-12-15 | Siemens Audiologische Technik | Verfahren zum betrieb eines hörhilfegerätesystems zur binauralen versorgung eines benutzers |
Family Cites Families (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4334740A (en) * | 1978-09-12 | 1982-06-15 | Polaroid Corporation | Receiving system having pre-selected directional response |
DE8529458U1 (de) * | 1985-10-16 | 1987-05-07 | Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München | Hörgerät |
US5193117A (en) * | 1989-11-27 | 1993-03-09 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Microphone apparatus |
US5463694A (en) * | 1993-11-01 | 1995-10-31 | Motorola | Gradient directional microphone system and method therefor |
US5473701A (en) * | 1993-11-05 | 1995-12-05 | At&T Corp. | Adaptive microphone array |
DE4436272A1 (de) * | 1994-10-11 | 1996-04-18 | Schalltechnik Dr Ing Schoeps G | Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Beeinflussung der Richtcharakteristiken einer akustoelektrischen Empfangsanordnung |
-
1997
- 1997-12-19 NL NL1007858A patent/NL1007858C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1998
- 1998-12-18 DK DK98204331T patent/DK0924958T3/da active
- 1998-12-18 DE DE1998623971 patent/DE69823971T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1998-12-18 EP EP19980204331 patent/EP0924958B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DK0924958T3 (da) | 2004-09-27 |
NL1007858C2 (nl) | 1999-06-22 |
DE69823971T2 (de) | 2005-06-23 |
DE69823971D1 (de) | 2004-06-24 |
EP0924958A1 (en) | 1999-06-23 |
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