Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BRIEF SUMMARY ~F THE INVENTION
This invention concerns hearing aids of the class
designed to present direct contralateral routing of sound
to one ear of a user~ It has been discovered that many
individuals afflicted with hearing problems have only one
ear that has any useful func-tion as far as detecting sound.
Under such a condition, substantially all of the sound which
approaches the user from the side of the head remote from
the ear that is capable of detecting sound is either very
confusing or is unheard at all. In order to conduct sound
from the side of the head remote from the usable ear,
prior art devices have utilized conductors disposed within
the structure of an eyeglass type of hearing aid or have pro-
vided conductors extending along the back of a head rom
conventional hearing aid apparatus positioned on the side
remote from the good ear to a receiver disposed in sound
transmitting relationship to the good ear. For a number of
reasons, including the fact that conductors have proven to
be unreliable, such forms of hearing aids have had limited
success from an operational and acceptance standpoint by
those persons who may benefit from the use of the con-tra-
lateral relocation of sound concept.
In the present invention, the use of conductors,
wires, and/or tubes ~or such purposes, have been eliminated.
This provides a great deal of flexibility and elimina-tes the
problems formerly associated with the use of such apparatus.
Briefly, this is accomplished through the use of a magnetic
signal transmitting medium utilizing a radio carrier fre-
quency that is modula-ted at the frequency of the audible
signal under considera-tion.
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It lS therefore an object of this invention to
provide improved contralateral relocation of sound.
~nother object of this invention is to provide a conductor-
less hearing aid apparatus for detecting sound occurring on
the side of a user's body that is remote from the ear of a
user. These and other objects of our invention will become
apparent from a consideration of the appended specification,
claims and drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a sketch of an eyeglass type of hearing
aid to which the principles of our invention have been
applied;
Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views of the respective
templar members of the eyeglass apparatus shown 1I1 Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 lS an electrical schematic diagram of a
receiver as may be utilized in the apparatus of Figs. 1,
2 and 3;
Fig. 5 is an electrical schematic drawing of a
transmitter as may be used in such apparatus;
Fig. 6 is a rear view of a human head showing the
~0 apparatus in position on the head;
Fig. 7 is a sche~atic and diagrammatic representa-
tion of the operation of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1-6;
Flg. 8 is a sketch of a portion of the appara-tus
shown in Figs. 1-~; and
Fig. ~ is a fragmentary sketch showing the applica-
tion of the receiver to an ear mold disposed in the ear
canal of a user, the head and hearing aid apparatus being
shown in fragmentary form.
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DESC~IPTION OF THE PREFERRED EM~ODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, a complete eyeglass type of hearing aid
is indicated generally by reference character 10 and includes a frame ll for
receiving and carrying a pair of eyeglass lenses. A right templar member 12 and
a left templar member 13 are showT~ connected, respectively, to hinge members 14 r
and 15 that are mounted through suitable means ~not shown) on frame 11.
Right ~emplar member 12 includes a case 20 having an integrally foI~ed f!
hinge receptacle 21 at its front end for removably disposing right templar member
12 on hinge 14. Case 20 aiso includes a microphone 22 disposed near the front
end, a front circuit board 23 likewise disposed near the front end as well as f
a receiver 24 disposed near the middle ad~acent to an outlet tube 25. A rear l,~
e
circuit card 26, a battery carrier 27 and a coil and core 28 (having an axis 74)are shown disposed in the rearmost portion o~ right templar member 12. '~;
Left templar member l3 lncludes a case 30 having a hinge receptacle 31 ~.
disposed at the front end, a microphone 22 and a front circuit board disposed f
rearwardly from the front end and may also contain a receiver 34 disposed
toward the middle of left templar member 13 adjacent an outlet tube 35. A rear ~;
cireuit card 36, a battery carrier 37 and a coil and core 38 (having an axis 110) f,
are disposed in the rearward portion of left templar member 13. The cores used f~
in both members 12 and 13 may be, for example, MgFe or ~InFe, and the shape of the
cores of the coils and cores may be substantially the same.
While templar members 12 and 13 are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in section l`~
elevation, it may be apparent to those skilled in the art that cases 20 and 30 i~
may conveniently be formed of two half members adapted to be fitted and, for
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example, adhesively held together to form a complete hollow
case wlthin which the respective components may ~e contalned.
It may also be noted at this polnt that coil and core members
28 and ~8 are each possessed of a longitudinal axis indicated
by reference characters 74 and 1lO, respectively, as indicated
on Figs. l, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
In tne illustrated embodiment t templar member 13
is shown as a receiver of magnetic signals and the active
apparatus that lS utilized thereln is shown in schematic
form in Fig. 4. Similarly, templar member 12 is shown as
a transmitter of a magnetic signal and its active apparatus
is shown in Fig. 5. It may be seen that the respective
templar members may be reversed either in active components
on the inside or, by reverslng the positions on the hinyes
on frame ll.
In Fig. 4, a front circuit card 2~ is shown sepa-
rated from a rear clrcuit card 26 ~y a dasned line to lllus-
trate the physlcal separation of the several elements of
which the translating means and receiver is comprised.
~ The apparatus of Fig. 4 includes an input to rear
circuit board 26 comprised of a coil and core 28, including
a core 73 of suitable magne~ic material exhibiting high
permeability, little or no coercivity and low losses at a
predetermined frequency of operation and a coil winding 72
selected to present a high Q. ~1~he output of coil and core
28 is suitably amplified and demodulated as the signal
progresses from the rear circuit ~oard 26 to the front
circuit board 23 and to receiver 2~connected to the out-
put of transistor 71. It will be seen that the signal
3~ normally applied to coil and core ~8 is a magnetic field
of preaetermine~ frequency of oscillation that is modulated
at an audio frequency and that the audio component is
selected to drive transistor 71 which in turn drives receiver
~4 that may be pLaced in, or in a positlon to apply the
output thereof to the ear canal of the usable ear of a
user. The selection of the values of the components may
be determined by one skilled in the art wi-th which this
invention is concerned.
Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawings, a front
circuit board is indicated generally ~y reference character
33 and a rear circuit board is indicated generally by
reference character 36. These may be suitably disposed in
the referred to sections of templar member 13 with a micro-
phone 32 disposed near the front end to receive sound
appearing on the side of the body of the user at which
templar member 13 and microphone 32 are positioned. The
audio signal from mlcrophone 32 is amplified and supplied
to energize coil and core 38, which includes coil windings
105, 106 and 107 and a core 108 of like suitable material
as described in connection with core 73. It will be
recognized that coil and core 38 lS connected to provide an
oscillator operable at a predetermined frequency Which is
suitably modulated so that the output of coil and core 38
is comprised of a frequency determined by the values of the
components which is modulated at an audio frequency as
determined by the signal derived from microphone 32.
Again, those skilled in the art are ~elieved a~le to
determine the nature and values o~ components that may be
utilized to perform the function provided by the illustrated
embodiment.
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6~8
Referring to Fig. 6 ~f tne dlawlngs, tne head of
a wser is lndlcaled generally ~y reference character 1l2
and the rlght ana le~t ears are lndlcaled r~y tne letters
~ ana R. ~emplar members 1J an~ 12 are shown dlsposea
ana exten~ing downwardLy over Ihe rear or the ears of the
axes 74 an~ llu or COil an~ core devices ~8 and 3~ in
approxlma~e parallelism with respect tO tne vertlcal
axls and, as may be seen on Fi~. 1 or the drawings, axes
74 ana llu are in substantial parallelism when vlewed
lU from one side or ~he other. ~his is also shown ln Flg.
of ~he ~rawing in which tne c~il and core assem~lies 2
ana 38 are shown dlsplaced by a variable distance, D,
to indicate tha-t tnere is -d dirfe-ence ih a width of the
nea~ of a user or tha-t tllere may be a di~fernce in the
relative dlspostlons of the two elements wrlen ~he principles
of our lnventlon are dpplieu to ~ther forms of near ai~s.
In Fig. 7, the respective signa~s tnat may ~e
present on elther side of the head ~f a user are illuslrated
for alternalive silualions. Looking at the right half of
2u Flg. 7, it may be seen that two signals represented by the
compressional wave diagrams 116 and 115 are applied to tne
same lefl ear of a user undeL a condition in whlch ~t is
assumed that the left ear may properly function t~ sense
sound wnile the right ear lS unable to pr~perly sense s~un~
energy. Under -thls condltion, sound energy 115 is converted
to a modulated field of magnetic energy an~ the solid line
proceeding from rignt t~ left indicates the t~ansmission
of the modulated magnetic field to the le-ft ear whereat
i~ is conver-~ed to sound energy as represented by reference
3û character 115. Both of tne sounds impinying On the
le~t ear are tnereafler sensed r~y t~le l~ft ear. In
some circumstances, there lS only one sound impingement
on the person of the user, this being either the sound
represented by reference character 116 or -that of reference
character 115 and in either event the user is maae aware
of the source and directlon of the sound so that an lncreased
awareness of the existence of sound energy in proximity to
the body of the wearer may be attained.
On the left-hand slde of Flg. /, the usable ear
is assumed to be on the right side and it will be seen
that the opposite phenomena will occur.
Fig. 9 illustrates the application of the two
sources of sound to the one good or usable ear of a user
in which templar member 13 is shown in proximi-ty to the
ear of a wearer having a sound tube 1~0 extending lnto
an ear mold 121 that is positioned in the ear of the wearer.
If the ear mold lS a complete ear mold, it might be furnishe~
with a vent 12~ to allow transmission of sound from that
slde of the body directly into the ear canal so that the
signals represented by reference character 116 and by
; ~0 reference character 115, as illustrated on the left-hand
end of E'ig. 7, may be singly or concurrently applied to the
usable ear of the weaxer.
One operative embo~iment of the invention has been
operated very satisfactorily at a nominal frequency of
200,u00 hertz to provide, when u~illzed in con~unction
with the above described components, a low power consump-
tion that is substantlally free from interference from other
sources, such as electrosta~ic energy. At the ~eslred
frequency of operation of the magnetic carrier field, a
very selective transmission of energy from one side of the
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wearer to the other is obta~ned. The Ise of suitable circuit and component
design to provide the magnetic carrier field resu:Lts in a stable and efficient
performance that, when the Q of the resonant circuit is maintained at a .
relatlvely high value, results in a low power consumption, The magnetic field
is easily transmitted through the bone and tissue from one side of the user's
body to the others, whereas other forms Oe energy transmission are believed to
be inefficient or inoperative from a practical standpoint. Further, operation
at the nominal frequency of 150-250 Khz (preferably 200-250 Khz) allows for a
range of s~eparation between the temp~ar members or transmitter and receiver that
is compatible with the range of dimensions existing in the bodies of the users,
It may also be noted that the principles of the invention are also
applicable tt othtr torms ot hearing aids, inc:L~ding behind-LIIe-ear cypts,
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