EP4152769A1 - Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif - Google Patents

Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif Download PDF

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Publication number
EP4152769A1
EP4152769A1 EP21196874.8A EP21196874A EP4152769A1 EP 4152769 A1 EP4152769 A1 EP 4152769A1 EP 21196874 A EP21196874 A EP 21196874A EP 4152769 A1 EP4152769 A1 EP 4152769A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
charger
communication module
wireless communication
hearing device
indicator
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.)
Pending
Application number
EP21196874.8A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Hans-Ueli Roeck
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.)
Sonova Holding AG
Original Assignee
Sonova AG
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sonova AG filed Critical Sonova AG
Priority to EP21196874.8A priority Critical patent/EP4152769A1/fr
Publication of EP4152769A1 publication Critical patent/EP4152769A1/fr
Pending 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
    • H04R25/55—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired
    • H04R25/554—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B21/00—Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
    • G08B21/18—Status alarms
    • G08B21/24—Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
    • 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
    • H04R25/55—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception using an external connection, either wireless or wired
    • H04R25/558—Remote control, e.g. of amplification, frequency

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a charger for at least one hearing device according to claim 1.
  • a wireless network connection Functions to find lost hearing devices, e.g. based upon properties of a wireless network connection, are known in the art. They utilize the connection to a smartphone and a respective end user app as well as the signal strength properties of a wireless (e.g. Bluetooth ® ) connection to guide the user to his/her lost devices.
  • the hearing devices go into a low energy usage mode when they themselves determine to have been lost and periodically listen on the wireless radio if a known transmitter searches for them. Additionally, they might issue a regular short loud acoustic tone, e.g. when they do not detect any micro-movement (which would still be detectable when the user falls asleep), and/or flash a LED in a regular pattern. Thus, they improve their chances to get found again.
  • An end user app might then have a function to advertise its presence on the wireless connection network and listen, if a hearing device answers, thus opening up a connection, which in turn can get used to determine a signal strength and thus infer an approximate distance which is then shown to the user of the app.
  • the hearing devices are 'managed' by the support personnel such that the charger with the devices is placed in an office (and thus not the room of the inhabitants) and that the personnel ensures, that the devices get worn on a daily basis. If the inhabitant loses his/her devices during the day, the personnel start a search and rescue event some time later, often without success. Even in the case where the inhabitants are not allowed, less able to go outside the building alone.
  • the object is achieved by a charger according to claim 1 and by a system according to claim 13.
  • a charger for at least one hearing device comprises:
  • a wireless link between the charger and the hearing device may be established by means of their respective wireless communication modules. Detection of the second wireless communication module by the first wireless communication module may comprise wirelessly connecting the first and the second wireless communication module. Depending on the protocol, which may be used to establish a wireless link between two devices, which means to connect two devices wirelessly, a pairing step may be carried out.
  • the charger may detect the hearing device without being paired to the hearing device or without being connected to the hearing device.
  • the first wireless communication module is configured to establish the wireless link using one or more of Bluetooth ® , RFID and IEEE 802.11.
  • the user interface comprises a button configured to be depressed to put the user interface and the first wireless communication module into the search mode.
  • the button has an associated label indicating the function of the button.
  • the indicator comprises a visual indicator and/or an acoustical indicator and/or a vibrational indicator.
  • the visual indicator comprises a LED and/or a display.
  • the indicator comprises three or more visual indicators shaped as arrows pointing in three or more different directions to indicate a direction in which the at least one hearing device has been detected.
  • the indicator comprises three or more visual indicators having respective labels to indicate how far the at least one detected hearing device is away.
  • the first wireless communication module is configured to determine the distance to the at least one detected hearing device based on signal strength and/or the time delay of the wireless link.
  • the charger further comprises at least one directional antenna to determine a direction as to where the at least one hearing device is located.
  • the charger is further configured to automatically terminate the search mode after a predetermined time period.
  • the indicator comprises an acoustical indicator configured to indicate when the charger gets in a predetermined range of the at least one hearing device.
  • a system comprising the charger and one or more hearing devices respectively comprising a battery and a second wireless communication module.
  • the second wireless communication module comprises a passive RFID tag
  • the first wireless communication module comprises an RFID module configured to locate the RFID tag
  • the second wireless communication module is configured to advertise its presence over the wireless link.
  • the charger does not have any remote control functionality with regard to the hearing devices so the charger is not capable of changing an operating state of the hearing devices when initializing the search mode.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic view of a set of hearing devices 1 and an exemplary embodiment of a charger 2 for charging the hearing devices 1.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic view of a set of hearing devices 1 and another exemplary embodiment of a charger 2 for charging the hearing devices 1.
  • Figure 3 is a schematic view of a hearing device 1 and a charger 2.
  • the charger 2 may be available to support personnel, e.g. in an old age home.
  • the charger 2 comprises a battery 14 and a wireless communication module 12 capable of establishing a wireless link WL, e.g. using technology such as Bluetooth ® , RFID, IEEE 802.11, etc., to the hearing devices 1, which also comprise a respective battery 15 and wireless communication module 13.
  • the hearing devices 1 may respectively comprise a processor and a receiver or loudspeaker (not shown).
  • the charger 2 is configured as a handheld search device for the hearing devices 1.
  • the hearing devices 1 and the charger 2 may be 'paired' i.e. know the electronic ID of each other.
  • Pairing is a procedure which can be established during manufacturing (pre-paired sales bundle) or later on through a hearing care professional or a layman through specific gestures on the charger 2 and the hearing devices 1 as described in e.g. a user manual.
  • setting the hearing devices 1 into the charging cradle places them into a pairing mode for e.g. two minutes. Pressing afterwards the 'Start finding my Hearing devices' button for longer than two seconds sets the charger 2 into a pairing mode as well, causing the electronic ID's of hearing devices 1 in very close proximity of e.g. a few centimeters to get automatically exchanged with the charger 2. Pairing is automatically completed and acknowledged with a suitable visual or acoustic or vibrational actuator.
  • the invention combines a charger 2 having its own on board battery 14 for handheld use (in particular there is no connection to a wall charger or at least the charger 2 may be operatively separated from a wall charger or cable to be operated in a search mode), a Bluetooth ® , RFID, IEEE 802.11 or other wireless connection capability to the paired hearing devices 1 and a simple, intuitive user interface 3 to search the device.
  • Intuitive function is important, as the personnel are changing often, and new personnel may not have been instructed in such technical details.
  • the search function should be apparent to them when looking at the charger 2 and when placing the hearing devices 1 in the charger 2, e.g. in the evening, respectively when retracting the extract the hearing devices 1, e.g. in the morning.
  • the user interface 3 comprises a button 4, in particular a simple button 4, supposed to be pressed to start a search process.
  • the button 4 may have a label 6 clarifying the function of the button 4.
  • the label 6 may read "Find my HD START".
  • the user interface 3 comprises one or more indicators 5, e.g. visual indicators 5 or acoustical indicators 11, configured to indicate if the charger 2 is getting closer to the hearing devices 1 or rather further away.
  • Visual indicators 5, e.g. one or more LED's and/or a display may further be used to label the feedback to indicate how far the hearing devices 1 are away (e.g.
  • the user interface 3 comprises three visual indicators 5, e.g. LEDs, shaped as arrows pointing in different directions to indicate the direction in which the hearing devices 1 have been detected.
  • the user interface 3 comprises three visual indicators 5, e.g. LEDs, having labels 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, e.g. reading "far", “medium” and “near", to indicate how far the hearing devices 1 are away.
  • the user interface 3 may comprise the visual indicators 5 of both embodiments of figures 1 and 2 .
  • a charging cable may be separated from the charger 2 if applicable, the button 4 may be pressed and the user, e.g. the support personnel or the owner of the hearing devices 1, may walk around in/around the location where a loss of the hearing devices 1 is assumed.
  • the indicator 5 will indicate the distance to the hearing devices 1, e.g. based upon signal strength of the wireless link WL, and/or the direction in which the hearing devices 1 have been detected, and thus guide the user closer to the hearing devices 1.
  • the hearing devices 1 communicate with the charger 2 by a Bluetooth ® link to establish the wireless link WL.
  • a received signal strength indication (RSSI) and/or a time delay respectively phase shift of the radio frequency (RF) signals may be used to estimate a distance, e.g. with the levels far, medium, and near.
  • a passive RFID tag 8 may be arranged in each of the hearing devices 1 and a sufficiently powerful/sensitive RFID module 9 may be arranged in the charger 2 to locate the RFID tag 8.
  • the charger 2 may comprise at least one directional antenna 10 to provide directional information to the user as to where the hearing devices 1 might be located, e.g. similar to directional antennae as used in avalanche rescue devices.
  • the charger 2 and/or the user interface 3 may be configured to automatically terminate the search mode after a predetermined time period, e.g. 10 minutes, in order to keep the user interface 3 simple.
  • the search mode may get retriggered any time, e.g. by pressing the button 4 again.
  • the charger 2 or the user interface 3 thereof may contain an acoustical indicator 11, e.g. a loudspeaker, buzzer, etc., to indicate when the charger 2 gets in a certain range of the hearing devices 1.
  • the charger 2 may be carried around, e.g. in a coat pocket by a user such as support personnel in an old age home while performing their normal duties.
  • the charger 2 detects the proximity of the hearing devices 1 (e.g.
  • an acoustic notification sound may be played on the acoustical indicator 11 by the charger 2, prompting the support personnel to take out the charger 2 from the pocket and use the visual indicator 5 (or further acoustic notifications) to search in a close vicinity of the hearing devices 1 to finally find them.
  • the charger 2 might also use a vibration module to indicate the proximity to a lost hearing device 1.
  • the charger 2 having a wireless link WL to the hearing devices 1 might also contain further functions useful to the user, such as a remote microphone (for transmitting audio data from the charger 2 to the hearing devices 1), an IEEE 802.11 or cellular communication link (e.g. 4G and/or 5G) module to enable firmware updates, data uploading to a cloud for e.g. logging or alarm issuing purposes, high computational demand processing functions, environmental sensing and surveillance functions, etc.
  • a remote microphone for transmitting audio data from the charger 2 to the hearing devices 1
  • an IEEE 802.11 or cellular communication link e.g. 4G and/or 5G
  • While the drawings show two hearing devices 1, the skilled person readily understands that the present invention will likewise work with a different number of hearing devices 1, e.g. one, three or more hearing devices 1.
  • hearing devices 1 e.g. one, three or more hearing devices 1.
  • the charger 2 might focus on the electronic ID of the initially stronger hearing device 1 signal and completely ignore the other.
  • the first hearing device 1 it can get either switched off, placed in the charging cradle or get acknowledged with a suitable gesture, such that the charger 2 now can focus on the next strongest signal of a hearing device 1 with another electronic ID.
  • all paired hearing devices 1 can get found one after another.
EP21196874.8A 2021-09-15 2021-09-15 Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif Pending EP4152769A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP21196874.8A EP4152769A1 (fr) 2021-09-15 2021-09-15 Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP21196874.8A EP4152769A1 (fr) 2021-09-15 2021-09-15 Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP4152769A1 true EP4152769A1 (fr) 2023-03-22

Family

ID=77774800

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP21196874.8A Pending EP4152769A1 (fr) 2021-09-15 2021-09-15 Chargeur pour un dispositif auditif

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP4152769A1 (fr)

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2150076A2 (fr) * 2008-07-31 2010-02-03 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. Protection contre la perte pour appareils auditifs
JP2012039203A (ja) * 2010-08-04 2012-02-23 Panasonic Corp 補聴器システム
WO2012167840A1 (fr) * 2011-06-10 2012-12-13 Phonak Ag Procédé de localisation d'un dispositif auditif et dispositifs qui peuvent être utilisés selon ledit procédé
US20130178162A1 (en) * 2012-01-06 2013-07-11 Audiotoniq, Inc. System and method for locating a hearing aid
EP2640094A1 (fr) * 2012-03-13 2013-09-18 Bernafon AG Prothèse auditive et dispositif de détection
EP2747457A2 (fr) * 2012-12-21 2014-06-25 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Procédé et appareil de localisation de prothèse auditive

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2150076A2 (fr) * 2008-07-31 2010-02-03 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. Protection contre la perte pour appareils auditifs
JP2012039203A (ja) * 2010-08-04 2012-02-23 Panasonic Corp 補聴器システム
WO2012167840A1 (fr) * 2011-06-10 2012-12-13 Phonak Ag Procédé de localisation d'un dispositif auditif et dispositifs qui peuvent être utilisés selon ledit procédé
US20130178162A1 (en) * 2012-01-06 2013-07-11 Audiotoniq, Inc. System and method for locating a hearing aid
EP2640094A1 (fr) * 2012-03-13 2013-09-18 Bernafon AG Prothèse auditive et dispositif de détection
EP2747457A2 (fr) * 2012-12-21 2014-06-25 Starkey Laboratories, Inc. Procédé et appareil de localisation de prothèse auditive

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