JP6963591B2 - Hearing aid configuration detection - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to novel methods of obtaining configuration information for hearing aids, hearing aids configured to implement such methods, and systems for fitting hearing aids using the configuration information.

BTE (ear-hook) hearing aids are well known in the art. BTE hearing aids have a BTE housing that is shaped to be worn behind the user's pinna. The BTE housing contains components for compensating for hearing loss. A voice signal transmission member, i.e. a voice tube or conductor, transmits a signal representing a hearing-compensated voice from the BTE housing into the user's ear canal.

The output converter may be a receiver placed in the ear canal of the user of the hearing aid, a so-called ear canal receiver (Receiver-In-the-Ear). In the following, a hearing aid equipped with an ear canal receiver will be referred to as a RIE hearing aid.

In RIE hearing aids, the audio signal transmission member comprises a conductor that emits sound from the hearing aid circuit in the BTE hearing aid housing through the conductor towards the user's eardrum in the user's ear canal. The hearing loss compensated audio audio signal is propagated to the receiver located in.

An ear canal housing, earpiece, shell, or earmold for insertion into the user's ear canal may be provided to ensure and comfortably position the receiver within the user's ear canal.

In the following, the terms ear canal housing, earpiece, shell, and earmold are used interchangeably.

Hearing aid manufacturers typically provide a number of different earpieces with receivers with different output specifications, for example five different output levels.

Generally, the earpiece is also provided with audio signal transmission members of various lengths, eg, eight different lengths, to match the structure of the individual ear of the intended user.

Thereby, for example, 8 x 5 = 40 different earpieces can be used with a particular BTE housing.

In addition, it fits the user's ear, anchors the audio signal transmission member and other components in the desired position within the ear canal, and prevents the earpiece from falling out of the ear, for example when the user moves the jaw. Earpieces, shells, or earmolds can be made to order individually, or can be manufactured in a number of standard sizes, but of the earpieces that will be used with a particular BTE housing. The number will be increased further.

The earpiece may contain one or more microphones, for example a microphone used to suppress obstruction and / or one or more microphones for recording directional cues, which may be specific. It will further increase the number of earpieces that will be used with the BTE housing.

As a result, the earpieces that can be used with a particular BTE housing are extremely diverse.

Thus, even with a small number of different subassemblies, a variety of hearing aids can be provided by providing different combinations. Therefore, it is necessary to automatically detect the actual configuration (ie, configuration) of each hearing aid.

Therefore, new hearing aids
A first housing that houses the first circuit,
A second housing that houses the second circuit,
A connector configured to interconnect a first circuit with a second circuit and having a line for transmitting a first signal between the first circuit and the second circuit. ,
With
The second circuit comprises a transmitter configured to transmit a second signal with configuration information to the first circuit using a line.
The first signal does not contain configuration information.

The new hearing aid may be configured to adjust its behavior according to the configuration information.

A second circuit with a transmitter is at the time the hearing aid is activated and / or at the time the hearing aid receives a request for transmission of a second signal by the user from the hearing aid's user interface and / or such as a fitting device. When the hearing aid receives a request to transmit the second signal from the external device, it may be configured to transmit the second signal having the configuration information to the first circuit.

New methods are also provided. The method is a method for identifying a component or a combination of components connected to a circuit by a connector, and incorporates configuration information indicating the unique characteristics of the component or the combination of the components into the connector. It is a method including a step of transmitting on a line provided for transmitting information other than the configuration information.

How to configure a new hearing aid
With the step of using a connector that interconnects the first and second circuits by a line configured to transmit the first signal,
Including a step of transmitting a second signal, including configuration information about the second circuit, to the first circuit by transmitting it to the line.
The first signal does not contain configuration information.

New fitting equipment for hearing aids will also be provided. The fitting device is configured to receive configuration information.

The new fitting device may be configured to fit the hearing aid according to the configuration information.

The new fitting device may be configured to display a message in response to configuration information.

The new fitting device may be a dedicated device, or a PC with suitable fitting software, or a portable device with suitable applications (eg, tablet computer, smartphone, etc.).

By automatically identifying components or combinations of components, such as receivers in earpieces, misalignment of the hearing aid of interest is avoided.

For example, when the hearing aid is first fitted to the intended user, the automatic identification of the component (s), such as the type of receiver, allows the seller to make a quick and reliable initial fitting, eg. Inadvertent mistakes in the left and right ear canal housings can be detected automatically. In addition, the distributor is freed from the work of manually inputting the configuration information at the time of fitting, and is also freed from adjusting the wrong gain and output level due to the erroneously manually input component information.

In addition, hearing aid malfunctions due to inadvertent and unwanted combinations of components, such as inadvertently interconnecting the wrong ear canal housing to the BTE housing, are avoided. For example, if an undesired combination of components is detected, the hearing aid startup process can be stopped and / or if a suitable component combination is detected to achieve a function, the hearing aid Only that feature of can be enabled.

In addition, the correct replacement part number can be easily identified for the hearing aid of interest.

Further, when the components of the left ear and the right ear are inadvertently swapped, for example, when the ear canal housing for the right ear is inadvertently connected to the BTE housing fitted to the left ear. Can warn hearing aid users of the wrong combination of components. The user can also be warned if the wrong replacement part has been inadvertently supplied to the user and used in the hearing aid, thereby avoiding inconvenience and the distributor. You don't have to visit our sales office.

Since the line used to transmit the configuration information already exists for another purpose, the automatic identification is done without increasing the number of conductors interconnecting the first and second circuits. In this way, existing hearing aid components can be configured to implement new methods without hardware changes such as connector changes. It also minimizes connector complexity and cost.

The first signal may be an audio signal representing speech, for example, an audio signal transmitted to a receiver to emit speech towards the user's eardrum.

The second circuit may include a power supply unit. The power supply may be powered via a line. For example, the power supply may be charged by transmitting a high frequency signal f> 20 kHz to the line. The power supply may be a capacitor.

The second circuit may include a receiver. The line may be the input line of the receiver.

The transmitter may be configured to transmit a signal in which at least one signal parameter such as amplitude, frequency, phase, pulse width, etc. changes.

The transmitter may be configured to modulate the signal by amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, or the like.

The transmitter may be configured to digitally modulate the signal by phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, amplitude shift keying, quadrature amplitude modulation, and the like.

The configuration information may include information that identifies the detailed arrangement of components or components interconnected with the first and / or second circuits.

Specifically, the configuration information may include an identifier of a component of the second circuit and / or a combination of the components.

The configuration information may include an identifier of a combination of components of the second circuit.

Hearing aid types and fitting parameters can be strongly dependent on the components of the second circuit, or a combination of components.

Therefore, it is important to provide the individual user with the correct combination of the first and second circuits of the hearing aid and the correct fitting parameters of the hearing aid.

The wrong combination can lead to significant misalignment of the hearing aid.

The transmitter may be configured to transmit configuration information by shorting the lines. A short circuit can result in a voltage drop in the corresponding battery supply voltage, which is the signal of the first circuit, such as a signal processor configured to provide hearing loss compensation by the first circuit. It can be detected and decoded by the processor, whereby one component of the second circuit, or a combination of components, is identified in the first circuit.

The first housing may be an ear hook type housing, and the second housing may be an earpiece.

The second circuit may have a microcontroller programmed to short the lines according to an encoded time sequence to identify one component or combination of components of the second circuit.

Even if the RIE hearing aid is provided with a connector to easily connect / disconnect the second circuit of the second housing such as the earpiece to the first circuit of the first housing such as the BTE housing. good. For example, in this way, different types of intra-earpiece receivers can be easily connected to the BTE housing, which results in different hearing aids with different receivers.

The new fitting device may automatically respond to the received configuration information, for example, by selecting the hearing aid parameters according to the received configuration information (eg, the individual model of the identified receiver). In this way, the receiver, hearing aid, and hearing aid fitting parameters are properly combined.

The operator of the new fitting device will take appropriate action in response to the display of the configuration information, for example by adjusting the hearing aid parameters according to the configuration information (eg, the individual model of the identified receiver). obtain. In this way, the receiver, hearing aid, and hearing aid fitting parameters are properly combined.

The operator of the new fitting device may use the receiver, for example, when it is not possible to adjust the hearing aid for the particular type of receiver identified and it is reasonable to replace the receiver. By exchanging, appropriate action can be taken in response to the display of configuration information. In this way, an undesired combination of receiver, hearing aid and hearing aid fitting parameters can be found and corrected.

Hearing aids and adjustments to hearing aid parameters may be internally controlled by the hearing aids described above.

Throughout the disclosure, an "audio signal" can be used to identify any analog or digital signal that forms an important part of the hearing aid's input-to-output signal path.

Signal processing in new hearing aids and new fitting devices may be performed in dedicated hardware or in a signal processor, or in combination with dedicated hardware and one or more signal processors. You may.

As used herein, terms such as "processor," "signal processor," "controller," and "system" are either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or running software. It is intended to refer to CPU-related components.

For example, "processor", "signal processor", "controller", "system", etc. may be, but are limited to, processes, processors, objects, executables, threads of execution, and / or programs running on the processor. There is nothing.

For example, terms such as "processor," "signal processor," "controller," and "system" refer to both the application and the hardware processor running on the processor. One or more "processors", "signal processors", "controllers", "systems", etc., or any combination thereof, may be present within a process and / or execution thread. "Processor", "Signal Processor", "Controller", "System", etc., or any combination thereof, stationed on one hardware processor, and in some cases in combination with other hardware circuits. It may be present and / or may be distributed between two or more hardware processors, in some cases in combination with other hardware circuits.

Also, the processor (or similar terminology) may be any component or any combination of components capable of performing signal processing. For example, the signal processor may be an ASIC processor, an FPGA processor, a general purpose processor, a microprocessor, a circuit element, or an integrated circuit.

The hearing aid includes a first housing containing a first circuit, a second housing containing a second circuit, and a connector configured to interconnect the first circuit with the second circuit. The connector comprises a line for transmitting a first signal between the first circuit and the second circuit, and the second circuit provides a second signal having configuration information on the line. It comprises a transmitter configured to be used and transmitted to a first circuit, the first signal containing no configuration information.

Optionally, the first signal is an audio signal representing speech.

Optionally, the second circuit comprises a power supply that is charged by a third signal transmitted over the line.

Optionally, the second circuit comprises a receiver.

Optionally, the line is the input line of the receiver.

Optionally, the transmitter is configured to transmit a second signal in which at least one signal parameter selected from the group consisting of amplitude, frequency, phase, and pulse width changes.

Optionally, the second signal is modulated and the modulation is selected from the group consisting of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation.

Optionally, the second signal is digitally modulated and the digital modulation is selected from the group consisting of phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, amplitude shift keying, and quadrature amplitude modulation.

Optionally, the transmitter is configured to transmit a second signal by shorting the line.

Optionally, the configuration information includes identifiers for one or more components in the second circuit.

Optionally, the configuration information includes multiple identifiers for each component in the second circuit.

Optionally, the first housing is an ear hook type housing and the second housing is an ear hole type housing.

Hearing aid fitting devices are configured to receive configuration information.

Optionally, the fitting device is configured to fit the hearing aid based on the configuration information.

Optionally, the fitting device is configured to display a message in response to configuration information.

A method of constructing a hearing aid, the hearing aid has a connector that interconnects the first circuit of the hearing aid to the second circuit of the hearing aid, the connector being between the first circuit and the second circuit. It has a line configured to carry a first signal, the method of which transmits a second signal, including configuration information about the second circuit, to the first circuit using the line. The first signal does not include configuration information.

Yet another aspect and feature will become apparent by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments.

In the following, new methods, new hearing aids, and new fitting devices will be described in more detail with reference to drawings showing various examples.

It is a schematic diagram of an example of a new hearing aid. It is a perspective view of a new RIE type hearing aid. It is a hearing aid circuit diagram for automatic configuration detection.

The new method, the new hearing aid, and the new fitting device are then more complete, with reference to the accompanying drawings showing various examples of the new method, the new hearing aid, and the new fitting device. Explained in. It should not be understood that these novel methods, novel hearing aids, and novel fitting devices can be embodied in various forms, but are limited to the examples described herein.

It should also be noted that the drawings are merely for facilitating the description of the embodiments. These drawings are not intended to be an exclusive description of the invention or to limit the scope of the invention. Moreover, the exemplary embodiments do not have all of the aspects or advantages shown. The embodiments or advantages described for a particular embodiment need not be limited to that embodiment, and may not be so exemplified or explicitly described as such. It can also be carried out in other embodiments.

The same reference number throughout indicates the same element. Therefore, the same elements will not be described in detail for each description of each figure.

Figures 1 to 3, especially FIG. 1, show a first housing mounted behind the user's pinna 100, the BTE hearing aid housing (not shown-the outer wall has been removed to show the internal components). The RIE hearing aid 10 provided is schematically shown. The BTE housing filters at least one BTE audio input converter 14, 16, i.e., a front microphone 14 and a rear microphone 16 that convert an acoustic audio signal into their respective microphone audio audio signals, and their respective microphone audio audio signals. First, which has an optional pre-filter (not shown) and an A / D converter (not shown) for converting a microphone audio audio signal into each digital microphone audio signal. The circuits 12 are housed and the digital microphone audio audio signals are input to a processor 18 configured to generate a hearing loss compensated output signal based on the input digital audio audio signal.

The hearing loss compensated output signal is passed through a second housing (not shown-the outer wall is removed to show the internal components) through line 44 (invisible), which is an electric wire inserted in the audio signal transmission member 20. It is transmitted to the receiver 22 of the second circuit 24 housed in. The receiver 22 generates an acoustic output signal to be transmitted toward the eardrum of the user based on the output signal for which hearing loss has been compensated. The second housing is comfortably placed in the user's ear canal, as is well known in the field of BTE hearing aids, to secure and hold the receiver 22 and the audio signal transmission member 20 in a desired position within the user's ear canal. The earpiece 62 having an outer shape configured in the above is configured.

The earpiece 62 having the voice transmission member 20 is connected to the BTE housing by a connector 30 so that the earpiece 62 can be easily connected / disconnected.

The earpiece 62 includes a voice transmission member 20. A large number of various earpieces can be connected to the BTE housing by the connector 30, which accommodates the following:
That is,
a) One receiver and zero microphones b) One microphone and zero receivers c) One receiver and one microphone arranged to hold a directional cue d) One receiver and One microphone arranged to suppress the feeling of blockage e) One receiver and two microphones (for directional cue and feeling of blockage)
And so on.

The earpieces may further have receivers of various power ratings, eg, four different ratings, and may further have audio tube members 20 of various lengths, eg five different standard lengths.

Further, an earpiece configured for the left ear and an earpiece configured for the right ear are prepared respectively.

In addition, certain earpieces may include other sensors such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors, directional sensors, and the like.

Thus, a variety of earpieces can easily be brought about. Therefore, if the connector 30 automatically detects the earpiece that is actually connected to the BTE housing, it is extremely effective, for example, to avoid mistakes.

The earpiece 62 shown in the figure is a single ear canal (ITE: In-the-Ear) microphone that is placed at the entrance to the ear canal when the earpiece 62 is placed at the desired position in the user's ear canal. Accommodates 26. The ITE microphone 26 is connected to an A / D converter (not shown) in the BTE housing by using an interconnect wire (invisible) inserted in the voice transmission member 20, and optionally a pre-filter (not shown). (Not shown) is also connected.

The BTE hearing aid 10 is driven by a battery 28. The battery 28 may be rechargeable.

During use, the ITE microphone 26 is placed at the entrance to the user's ear canal. At this position, the output signal of the ITE microphone (hereinafter referred to as the ITE audio audio signal) is generated by the ITE microphone 26 in response to the acoustic audio received by the ITE microphone 26, and the spatial queue of the received acoustic audio signal is generated. Hold. In other words, the ITE microphone 26 is arranged so that its transfer function closely approximates the user's head related transfer function.

The processor 18 transmits the directional information contained in the ITE audio audio signal to the hearing loss compensated output signal, which further retains the spatial queue so that the user can maintain his or her localization ability.

The ITE microphone 26 operates near the receiver 22, resulting in an increased risk of howling, which limits the maximum stable gain available to the hearing aid 10.

However, in the hearing aid 10, the output signals of the microphones 14, 16 and the ITE microphone 26 undergo signal processing, such as, for example, performing adaptive filtering as described in detail in European Patent Application No. 12199761.3. As a result, howling is suppressed, and at the same time, the space cue is maintained and transmitted to the hearing aid user.

As described above, the microphone can be housed in the second housing, that is, the earpiece 62, in order to suppress the feeling of obstruction. The microphone is placed near the eardrum inside the ear canal when the earpiece 62 is placed at the desired position in the user's ear canal.

Usually, obstruction of the ear canal by the second housing (earpiece) causes a change in the user's sense of the user's own voice.

Sound emanating from the vocal tract (throat and mouth) is transmitted into the ear canal through the cartilage tissue between these cavities and the lateral portion of the ear canal.

When there is nothing in the ear canal, most of this sound, mostly at low frequencies, simply exits the ear canal. However, when the ear canal is blocked, this sound transmitted through the bone cannot escape from the ear canal. As a result, the sound pressure level rises within the volume of the remaining ear canal. This rise in low-frequency sound pressure will be heard as a sound, and the user will hear his or her own voice as a loud, low-pitched voice. Changes in the sense of one's own voice are, but not the only, the greatest cause of dissatisfaction with obstruction. Other obstruction problems include over-amplification at low frequencies, poor verbal clarity, deterioration of localization, physical discomfort, and inflammation / infection of the outer ear for hearing aid users with good low frequency hearing. Includes illness. Hearing aid users do not adapt to obstruction, and obstructive effects are cited by up to 27% of hearing aid wearers as a reason for their dissatisfaction with their hearing aids. This makes the need to mitigate and even eliminate the obstructive effect important.

When the earpiece is placed in the desired position within the user's ear canal, the receiver is based on the output signal of a microphone placed near the eardrum, as described in more detail in European Publication No. 2434780. , The sound transmitted through the bone can be offset, so that the user only senses and listens to the hearing loss compensated signal, thereby suppressing the obstructive effect.

FIG. 2 shows a new hearing aid 10 in the operating position. In the operating position, the BTE housing 60 is behind the user's ear, i.e. behind the pinna 100. As shown, the novel hearing aid 10 may have a flexible arm 64 intended to be placed inside the pinna 100, the arm 64, eg, around the outer circumference of the earlobe. Placed behind the beads and antihelix, they abut the antihelix and are at least partially covered by the antihelix, thereby holding the earpiece 62 in the desired position inside the user's outer ear. The arm can be preformed in the manufacturing process into a bow shape with a curvature slightly greater than the curvature of the antihelix so that it can be easily fitted into the desired position of the pinna 100.

FIG. 2 also schematically illustrates the wireless interconnection of the fitting device 70 with the internet 200 and the new BTE hearing aid 10 with the BTE hearing aid 10 and the BTE housing 60 of the user. It is shown to be in an operating position behind the ear, i.e. behind the auricle 100.

The configuration information is transmitted wirelessly to the fitting device 70 for fitting, for example, for confirmation by the operator of the fitting device 70 and for correction work that may occur if the detected earpiece type is not the desired type. It can be displayed on the display of the device 70.

The fitting device 70 is configured to fit the hearing aid 10 according to the configuration information.

The fitting device 70 has a processor 72 that is configured to respond to configuration information received from the hearing aid 10.

The fitting device may be configured to access a remote server via the Internet 200, thereby, for example, based on the received configuration information, new values of fitting parameters for, for example, a new type of earpiece 62. With respect to, the database can be accessed for additional information about the hearing aid 10.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of hearing aid circuits 12 and 24 for automatic configuration detection. In FIG. 3, the second circuit 24 is housed in a second housing, i.e., earpiece 62, but in another example, the second circuit 24 may be housed in a connector 30.

The second circuit 24 comprises a receiver 22 and a transmitter 40 in the form of a microcontroller 40 configured to transmit a code that uniquely identifies the type of earpiece 62 having the second circuit 24. For example, the code transmitted may be, for example, the power rating of the receiver 22, whether the earpiece 62 is for the left or right ear, in some cases the length of the audio transmission member 20, and in some cases the number and type of microphones 26 (blockage). Includes configuration information such as sensory and / or spatial queue) and, in some cases, the number and type of other sensors.

The receiver 22 is driven by a receiver driver 42 housed in a first housing, i.e. the BTE housing 60. During normal operation of the hearing aid 10, the receiver driver 42 transmits the hearing loss compensated audio signal to the receiver on line 44 in the audio transmission member 20.

During the activation of the hearing aid 10, the receiver driver 42 transmits a high frequency signal, preferably a signal higher than 20 kHz, on line 44. The high frequency signal charges the capacitor 46 via the diode 48, which subsequently powers the transmitter (microcontroller) 40 while transmitting the cord on line 44.

The high frequency signal is further filtered by a low frequency pass filter 50 and input to a microcontroller 40 configured to detect the presence of the high frequency signal. The microcontroller 40 is further configured to transmit a code on line 44 when it captures a high frequency signal.

The microcontroller 40 is configured to transmit a code by intermittently shorting the line 44, thereby causing a series of voltage drops in the supply voltage of the circuit in the BTE housing, which voltage drop is the circuit. It is detected by the comparator 52 of the first circuit 12 in the BTE housing 60, which has been conventionally used to monitor the voltage supply of the above.

In this way, the code is transmitted and decoded using a signal line that transmits the audio signal to the receiver, which is always present in the hearing aid and eliminates the need for additional circuits in the BTE housing.

The second circuit 24 may be configured to repeatedly transmit configuration information until no more power comes from the power supply of the second circuit, eg, the charged capacitor 46, or the second circuit 24. Circuit 24 repeatedly transmits the configuration information until it receives the confirmation signal that the configuration information has been successfully received from the first circuit, for example by transmitting a high frequency signal of a predetermined time length. It may be configured in.

Although specific embodiments have been shown and described, it should be understood that those embodiments do not limit the inventions described in the claims and are described in the claims. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The present specification and drawings are therefore to be regarded as meant by way of illustration rather than limitation. The invention described in the claims is intended to include its alternative, modified, and equivalent forms as defined by the claims.
The following are the elements described in the claims at the time of filing.
[Item 1]
A first housing that houses the first circuit,
A second housing that houses the second circuit,
A connector configured to interconnect the first circuit with the second circuit,
Hearing aids equipped with
The connector comprises a line for transmitting a first signal between the first circuit and the second circuit.
The second circuit comprises a transmitter configured to transmit a second signal with configuration information to the first circuit using the line.
The first signal does not include the configuration information.
hearing aid.
[Item 2]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the first signal is an audio signal representing voice.
[Item 3]
The hearing aid of item 1, wherein the second circuit comprises a power supply that is charged by a third signal transmitted over the line.
[Item 4]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the second circuit comprises a receiver.
[Item 5]
The hearing aid according to item 4, wherein the line is an input line of the receiver.
[Item 6]
The hearing aid of item 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the second signal in which at least one signal parameter selected from the group consisting of amplitude, frequency, phase, and pulse width changes. ..
[Item 7]
The hearing aid of item 1, wherein the second signal is modulated and the modulation is selected from the group consisting of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation.
[Item 8]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the second signal is digitally modulated and the digital modulation is selected from the group consisting of phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, amplitude shift keying, and quadrature amplitude modulation.
[Item 9]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the second signal by short-circuiting the line.
[Item 10]
The hearing aid of item 1, wherein the configuration information includes identifiers for one or more components in the second circuit.
[Item 11]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the configuration information includes a plurality of identifiers of each component in the second circuit.
[Item 12]
The hearing aid according to item 1, wherein the first housing is an ear hook type housing and the second housing is an ear hole type housing.
[Item 13]
The fitting device for a hearing aid according to item 1, which is configured to receive the configuration information.
[Item 14]
13. The fitting device of item 13, configured to fit the hearing aid based on the configuration information.
[Item 15]
13. The fitting device of item 13, configured to display a message in response to the configuration information.
[Item 16]
A method of constructing a hearing aid, wherein the hearing aid has a connector that interconnects a first circuit of the hearing aid with a second circuit of the hearing aid, the connector being the first circuit and the second circuit. It has a line configured to transmit a first signal to and from the circuit of the above method.
A step of transmitting a second signal containing configuration information about the second circuit to the first circuit using the line is included.
The first signal does not include the configuration information.
Method.

Claims (15)

A first housing that houses the first circuit,
A second housing that houses the second circuit,
A connector configured to interconnect the first circuit with the second circuit,
Hearing aids equipped with
The connector comprises a line for transmitting a first signal between the first circuit and the second circuit.
The first signal is an audio signal representing voice, and is an audio signal.
The second circuit comprises a transmitter configured to transmit a second signal having configuration information about the second circuit to the first circuit using the line.
The second circuit comprises a power supply that is charged by a third signal transmitted over the line.
The audio signal does not include the configuration information
The third signal comprises a high frequency signal having a frequency higher than 20 kHz transmitted to the power supply of the second circuit during the activation of the hearing aid.
The microcontroller of the second circuit is
The presence of the high frequency signal is detected and
When the high frequency signal is captured, a code including the configuration information is transmitted on the line .
hearing aid. The power supply device of the second circuit includes a diode electrically coupled to the third signal and a capacitor charged via the diode by the third signal according to claim 1. Hearing aids listed. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the second circuit comprises a receiver. The hearing aid according to claim 3 , wherein the line is an input line of the receiver. The second aspect of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the second signal in which at least one signal parameter selected from the group consisting of amplitude, frequency, phase, and pulse width changes. hearing aid. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the second signal is modulated and the modulation is selected from the group consisting of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the second signal is digitally modulated and the digital modulation is selected from the group consisting of phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, amplitude shift keying, and quadrature amplitude modulation. .. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the second signal by short-circuiting the line. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes identifiers of one or more components in the second circuit. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes a plurality of identifiers of each component in the second circuit. The hearing aid according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is an ear hook type housing, and the second housing is an ear hole type housing. The fitting device for a hearing aid according to claim 1, which is configured to receive the configuration information. 12. The fitting device of claim 12 , which is configured to fit the hearing aid based on the configuration information. 12. The fitting device of claim 12 , which is configured to display a message in response to the configuration information. A method of constructing a hearing aid, wherein the hearing aid has a connector that interconnects a first circuit of the hearing aid with a second circuit of the hearing aid, the connector being the first circuit and the second circuit. It has a line configured to transmit a first signal, which is an audio signal representing voice, to and from the circuit of the above method.
A step of transmitting a second signal containing configuration information about the second circuit to the first circuit using the line is included.
The second circuit comprises a power supply that is charged by a third signal transmitted over the line.
The audio signal does not include the configuration information.
The third signal comprises a high frequency signal having a frequency higher than 20 kHz.
The method further
A step of transmitting the high frequency signal to the power supply unit of the second circuit during the activation of the hearing aid.
The step of detecting the presence of the high frequency signal by the microcontroller of the second circuit,
A step of transmitting a code including the configuration information from the microcontroller on the line when the high frequency signal is captured, and a step of transmitting the code including the configuration information.
A method.

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