WO2006101425A1

WO2006101425A1 - Ear shell with communication chip

Info

Publication number: WO2006101425A1
Application number: PCT/SE2005/000428
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter Stevrin
Original assignee: Peter Stevrin
Priority date: 2005-03-23
Filing date: 2005-03-23
Publication date: 2006-09-28

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ear shell (1) including a sound reproducing device (7) connected to a signal processor (2) arranged to communicate with an external device via a communication link. Sound, which has been transferred through the communication link, can be reproduced by the sound reproducing device (7). The ear shell (1) according to the invention also comprises a microphone (5), which is connected to the signal processor (2) and is arranged to catch surrounding sound to be processed in the signal processor. A user will therefore be able to hear surrounding sound even when the ear shell (1) is inserted into the ear.

Description

The field of the technology

The present invention is related to ear shells of the kind as defined in the introduction of claim 1.

Background of the invention

The use of hearing aids increases all the time, partly depending on the age structure, i.e. that more and more individuals are becoming older and are affected by age-related impaired hearing, but also that younger individuals are affected by hearing damages (e.g. noise damages, tinnitus). There are many problems associated with hearing aids . One such problem is that for different reasons it can be difficult to get individuals to use a hearing aid. The individual who needs a hearing aid often denies the need, as impaired hearing is often seen as a sickness, and because the user does not want to be affected by other negative comments from other people about hearing aids. Further, especially elder individuals find hearing aids very difficult to handle and are too small electronic devices, which they do not manage to use. Changing batteries often means great difficulties for elder people.

Another problem associated with hearing aids is that these often have disadvantages, when a user is talking in a mobile phone. An individual with impaired hearing talking in a mobile phone cannot hear the surrounding sounds, which means that he or she experiences isolation from the surroundings. Many individuals have very unpleasant experiences of this situation. Thus, individuals with impaired hearing have difficulties talking in mobile phones, or they experience this as being very unpleasant, despite that the hearing aids generally are becoming more and more advanced.

The problems mentioned above are of course not only related to individuals with impaired hearing, but are problems also for individuals with normal hearing. Thus, this problem also arises in other situations not involving the use of hearing aids. One example is individuals using hands free equipment connected to a communication device, for example a mobile phone, a communication radio, a stationary phone and so on. Individuals using two ear shells (e.g. when one ear shell is for talking in a mobile phone and the other hear shell is for listening to music can also experience isolation from the sur- roundings . This can furthermore be very dangerous, when the individual does not realize, what is happening around him/her, when both ear shells are used at the same time.

A handsfree equipment comprises an earpiece with a loudspeaker connected to a communication device. Often there is also a separate microphone connected to the communication device.

US 6,021,207 is aimed at solving the problem and to offer a device improving hands free communication with a mobile phone, and discloses an earpiece with a microphone and a loudspeaker, and with some possibilities to improve the audibility by using anti-noise processing at receiving sound signals. This application is thus not related to a hearing aid, but an earpiece with some possibilities to decrease noise in a received sound signal.

There is thus a need of an improved and user-friendly ear shell, which can be used in all situations, e.g. so that indi- viduals with impaired hearing without difficulties can talk in a mobile phone, not being exposed to the unpleasant effects as described above.

The object of the invention and the most distinctive features

One abject of the present invention is to offer a hearing aid solving the problems mentioned above. More specifically, the object of the present invention is to offer a very small ear shell with which a user does not experience isolation from the surroundings, when using an ear shell. Another object of the present invention is to offer a hearing-amplifying embodiment, which a user will experience to be favourable to use, because it has attractive functions, foremost communication possibili- ties, which actually makes the user to really use it.

These and other objectives are achieved according to the present invention with an ear shell according to claim 1.

According to the present invention the objectives mentioned above are achieved by offering an ear shell, which includes at least one microphone, a signal processor connected thereto for processing the signal depending on the sound picked-up, and a sound reproducing means connected to the signal processor. The signal processor of the ear shell is further arranged for communication with an external communication device, through a wireless communication link, and is for that purpose equipped with a communication chip, which makes possible wireless communication with a corresponding communication chip in said ex- ternal communication device, whereby the ear shell can communicate with said external device and vice versa. The ear shell can in its entirety, i.e. with its signal processor and the communication chip belonging to it, be inserted into the ear of a user, whereby the insertable ear shell can serve partly as a hearing aid for reproducing surrounding sounds, partly as a communication device for wireless communication in the form of speech through said external device. The user can thus hear sounds in the surroundings despite talking in e.g. a mobile phone, and experiences no isolation from the surroundings using the ear shell.

According to a preferred embodiment the signal processor in- eludes means in order to amplify sounds, which have been received from the one or several microphones, whereby the ear shell functions as a small hearing aid. A very small and user- friendly hearing aid will thus be provided, which will be experienced as favourable and comfortable to use by the user.

According to another preferred embodiment the signal processor includes means for setting a low threshold value for received sounds, by which the loudspeakers are activated, if said threshold value is exceeded. A user can thus set one or sev- eral microphones in such a way that not all sounds automatically go to the loudspeaker, by which some surrounding noise can be subtracted. In one alternative embodiment there is also an upper threshold value, by which some sounds exceeding this threshold value are subtracted. The user will thus be saved from excessive surrounding noise.

According to another preferred embodiment the at least one microphone is arranged to receive the speech of the user for transmission of this speech to the external device mentioned above. Hereby a small, handy ear shell can be offered, which the user in a simple manner also can use for talking in e.g. a mobile phone. According to another preferred embodiment the signal processor is arranged to subtract the speech of the user, which is received by the at least one microphone. By that arrangement the user does not have to listen to his or hers own voice in the ear shell.

Different aspects of the present invention will have further advantages, which will be evident from the following detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates in a schematic way an ear shell according to the invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates a block diagram showing the major components in a system according to the invention.

Fig. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an alternative embodi- ment of the invention.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

The ear shell according to the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.

With reference to Fig. 1 the ear shell according to the invention will now be described. The ear shell 1 includes a signal processor, preferably a digital processor, which is commer- cially available on the market. A microcontroller 3 is connected to the microprocessor 2, and the microcontroller 3 includes an antenna for communication with an external device, such as e.g. a mobile phone. Also the microcontroller 3 can be one commercially available on the market. The signal processor 2 and microcontroller 3 can of course also be arranged on the same chip. The ear shell 1 further includes a sound reproduction embodiment, such as a loudspeaker 7 for transmission of sound to the ear of a user. According to the invention the ear shell 1 also includes one or several small microphones 5. These microphones can e.g. be silicon microphones, which are commercially available on the market. Analog-to-digital (A/D) 4 and digital-to-analog (D/A) 6 converters, respectively, are needed for conversion of analog signals to digital signals and vice versa, as is known within this field.

Said one or more microphones 5 are arranged in order to receive sound from the surroundings and to send these sound sig- nals to the signal processor 2. By providing the microphones 5 in the ear shell a user can catch sound from the surroundings and will therefore not experience him-/her-self as isolated. The user can hear surrounding sounds, such as voices from loudspeakers at an airport, car noise, warnings and so on, and dangerous situations, where the user does not hear what is going on in the surroundings, can be avoided.

The signal processor 2 can be set at different frequencies, and different threshold values can also be used. A user can e.g. set the signal processor 2 in such a way that only some of the sounds received by the microphones 5 are forwarded to the loudspeaker 7. The user's own speech can be received and either be subtracted from the sound signals before they are transmitted to the loudspeaker 7 and the ear of the user, or be transmitted too to a communication device. If the user's own speech is removed from the sound signal, which is transmitted to the loud speaker 7, he/she does not have to listen to his/her own voice. Said threshold values might include not transmitting certain frequencies, which are received by the microphones 5, not transmitting sound exceeding certain sound levels to the loudspeaker 7, and so on.

The signal processor 2 might also include a hearing amplifying function, which can be used by people with impaired hearing.

Said one or several microphones 5 as well as the loudspeaker 7 are thus included in the ear shell 1, which is very small. A practical and user-friendly ear shell will thus be provided, because the ear shell 1 according to the invention can be used both to listen with and to talk into.

The ear shell 1 can be used together with a communication de- vice, such as a mobile phone. The communication link between the ear shell 1 and the communication device is a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, IR, radio link and so on. The communication part of the present invention is described more in detail below in connection with one embodiment, wherein the ear shell is used as a hearing aid. It is understood that the communication module, which is described herein, also might be used when the ear shell 1 does not comprise any sound amplifying functions .

Finally, the ear shell comprises an energy source, e.g. in the form of a battery (not shown) . The battery is preferably rechargeable, but any suitable battery can of course be used.

The present invention provides in an alternative embodiment a very handy hearing aid, with one further function in that it can also be used for communication with e.g. a mobile phone. The hearing aid, which is an ear shell described above with a hearing amplifying function, has then a communication chip in- eluded, which makes it possible to have communication with an external communication device, e.g. a mobile phone, which has a corresponding communication chip integrated. The communication chip can be a standardized one and also include a micro- controller.

The whole system consists of four different, interconnected parts, so that the communication options mentioned above can be provided, as will now be described in the following.

The first part is of course the hearing aid 8 itself (i.e. the ear shell 1 with a hearing amplifying function) , which is provided with a communication chip according to the description above .

The second part consists of a very compact device, which acts as a control device for the hearing aid 8 and has the features needed to control information connected to the hearing aid 8. This compact device is here called control unit 9. The control unit 9 has a communication chip, corresponding to the one placed in the hearing aid 8. This makes it possible for the control unit 9 to communicate with the hearing aid 8 and vice versa. From the control unit 9 there is a connection to a communication module 10, which will be described below. In the control unit there is inter alia a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) for the control of different functions in the hearing aid 8, so that hearing and also talking can be more efficient. The location of the chip inside the control unit is such that e.g. the battery consumption in the hearing aid 8 can be lowered, as will be described later. The control unit 9 communicates directly with the hearing aid 8 and can make different changes regarding all kinds of relevant information and all relevant signals into the hearing aid, e.g. change of volume, make ad- justments regarding situations with different conditions for an individual with impaired hearing to catch sounds (different sound situations) , program change, change of frequencies of the hearing aid 8, removing disturbing sounds, e.g. background noise.

The third part is a communication module 10, which is connected to an external device, e.g. a mobile phone. A mobile phone is used below as an illustrative example for this exter- nal device for explaining the invention. It is realized, however, that there are other external devices, with which the ear shell could communicate, e.g. a portable computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) , a cordless phone and so on. The communication module 10 comprises a communication chip, which corresponds to a chip placed into the hearing aid 8, and these two communication chips together make communication possible between the hearing aid 8 and the mobile phone 11. The communication module 10 is connected to the mobile phone 11 in its interface, so that the hearing aid 8 can communicate with the mobile phone.

The communication module 10 consists of a separate unit that can be made very small. The communication module 10 can in an alternative embodiment be integrated with the mobile phone 11, e.g. it can be included into the mobile phone already at the manufacturing of the mobile phone 11. In one further alternative embodiment the communication module 10 is integrated with the control unit described above into one single unit. In this embodiment this integrated unit is provided with an interface, which corresponds to the interface of the mobile phone. The integrated unit is then connected to the mobile phone by being designed as a plug-in unit. By that design the integrated unit can use the battery of the mobile phone 11 and the control unit 9 does not have to be furnished with its own battery. The integrated unit can further use the interface of the mobile phone in the form of buttons and display, with which the user are familiar. The integrated unit can be made very small, e.g. with a width of about 40 mm, a length of 20 mm and a thickness of 15 mm, and it is easy to connect it with the interface of the mobile phone 11. The integrated unit can thus even be made very light and it is then very easy to carry, when it is needed, but it can also be left at home, when it is not needed.

The fourth part consists of the mobile phone 11, and it can be a usual mobile phone furnished with an integrated communication module 10, or alternatively furnished with means to re- ceive a, plug-in unit including a communication module 10, as described above.

There are several alternatives for providing communication between the hearing aid 8 and the mobile phone 11. The first al- ternative, indicated in Fig. 2 with I is that the communication takes place via the control unit 9 to the communication module 10 and then to the mobile phone 11. This communication module 10 is connected to the mobile phone (integrated or as a plug-in unit, according to what is described above) , which sends back information to the hearing aid in the same way. One other alternative, indicated in Fig. 2 with II, is that the communication goes directly between the hearing aid₍8 and the communication module 10, which is connected to the mobile phone 11. A third alternative, indicated in Fig. 3 with III, is that the communication between the hearing aid 8 and the mobile phone goes directly from the hearing aid 8 to the mobile phone 11, which then has an integrated communication chip, as is described above. A fourth alternative, indicated in Fig. 3 with IV, is that the communication goes to an integrated unit, which consists of the control unit 9 and the communication module 10, which is connected to a mobile phone 11.

These four alternatives are shown schematically in Figs. 1 and 2. The dotted squares in the Figs, give possible versions of integrated units, i.e. the mobile phone 11, and the communication module 10 can consist of a integrated unit, see Fig. 2, or the control unit 9 and the communication module 10 can be an integrated unit, see Fig. 3. The continuous arrows show the four alternatives for communication between the hearing aid 8 and a mobile phone 11.

The hearing aid 8 is designed in such a way that it amplifies certain sounds and eventually wakens others. It thus includes a loudspeaker and the hearing aid according to the invention also includes, in one embodiment, a microphone, for receiving speech and transmission thereof to a mobile phone. The embodiment with a microphone thus makes an earset. In order to make background sound more noiseless, this can be done, when the hearing aid sends sound as anti-phase against the noise, which surrounds the individual. In this way it will be noiseless at the eardrum. For this application the loudspeaker in the hearing aid is used. The wanted information is then sent via the loudspeaker into the hearing aid, so that the individual with the hearing aid 8 catches it.

Regarding amplification of different types of sources in the surroundings and depressing other, this can be done with an array of amplifiers and filters, respectively. Filters, that can filter off some frequencies or, alternatively, let through others, can be mounted in the hearing aid 8. In order to achieve this, a DSP-chip could be included in the hearing aid 8, or alternatively in the control unit 9.

The invention is partly made possible because the digital sig- nal processing now enters a second generation regarding the development of digital signal processor chips. This makes it possible to equip hearing aids with completely new features. Another important step in the development is that these chips have a size that makes it possible to integrate them into hearing aids or earpieces. This means that the hearing aid can be used both to hear with and to talk into. The hearing aid or the ear shell can thus communicate with other devices, which have a corresponding chip, e.g. a mobile phone, as has been described above.

As mentioned above it is not only individuals with impaired hearing, who can have an advantage of a hearing aid. Anybody who wants to be able to communicate with someone else via a communication device would take an advantage of a device ac- cording to the invention. This could be an individual who wants to have a headset/earset . This means that employees at a call centre can use a hearing device according to the invention in order to handle incoming and outgoing phone calls as this device does not have any disturbing cables, and as it can be adapted with customized solutions for the ears of the individuals, it is a very efficient means at work, especially as also individuals with impaired hearing can use the device.

Claims

1. Ear shell including at least one microphone (5), one connected digital signal processor (2) for processing of the sig- nal depending on the sound received by said at least one microphone, and a sound reproducing device (7) connected to the signal processor, characterized in that the digital signal processor (2) further is arranged for communication with one external communication device via a wireless communication link and for this purpose is provided with a communication chip, which makes wireless communication possible with a corresponding communication chip within said external communication device by means of which the ear shell can communicate with said external device and vice versa, and that the ear shell is entirely inserted into an ear of a user, i.e. with its digital signal processor (2) and added communication chip, by means of which the inserted ear shell can be used as a hearing aid for reproducing external sound and as a communica- tion device for wireless communication in the form of speech via said external device.

2. Ear shell according to claim 1, wherein the digital signal processor (2) includes means in order to regulate a threshold value for received sound, by which the ear shell (1) is activated if said threshold value is exceeded.

3. Ear shell according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one microphone (5) is arranged in order to receive the speech of the user for forwarding of this speech to said external device.

4. Ear shell according to any of the claims 1 - 2, wherein the signal processor (2) is arranged to subtract the speech of the user received by at least one microphone (4), before transmission to the mentioned sound reproducing device (7), by which the user does not hear the own voice in the ear shell (D •

5. Ear shell according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a control unit (9) is arranged to communicate with said ear shell (1) and with an external device.

6. Ear shell according to claim 5, wherein said control unit is arranged in order to manage said ear shell (1) regarding different functions in said ear shell (1) .

7. Ear shell according to claim 6, wherein said functions include one or several ways to change the volume for an amplifying function, to make adaptations regarding different hearing situations, to change frequencies which have been trans- mitted to said loudspeakers to filter off disturbing sound.

8. Ear shell according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the digital signal processor (2) includes a device for amplifying sound, which has been received via at least one mi- crophone (5) , by which the ear shell (1) functions as a hearing aid.