Hearing device comprising an amplifier system for minimizing variation in an acoustical signal caused by variation in gain of an amplifier

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11082776-B2
Application number	US-201916728895-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2019
Priority date	Oct 31, 2016
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

The disclosure presents a method and an amplifier system for minimizing variation in an acoustical signal caused by variation in gain of an amplifier, comprising a battery for providing a supply voltage to the amplifier, a digital signal processor for providing the acoustical signal to the amplifier, a controller unit receiving an enablement signal when the supply voltage is in an offset mode, and based on the enablement signal requesting a measured voltage during a time period, and a first analog-to-digital converter configured for measuring the supply voltage to the amplifier when receiving the request from the controller unit or the first analog-to-digital converter is configured for measuring the supply voltage to the amplifier continuously, and where variations in the measured voltage relates to variations in the supply voltage during the time period. Furthermore, the controller unit is configured to predict offset modes (i.e. changes) in the supply voltage based on the enablement signals and a fitting of the measured voltages, and wherein the controller unit is configured to generate a compensating signal based on the fitting and transmit the compensating signal to the digital signal processor, the digital signal processor is then configured to minimize variation in the acoustical signal at the output of the amplifier by compensating the variation in gain of the amplifier based on the compensating signal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hearing device comprising an amplifier system comprising:
an amplifier,
a battery configured to provide a supply voltage to the amplifier,
a digital signal processor configured to provide an acoustical signal to the amplifier,
an external processing unit is also provided the supply voltage from the battery, the external processing unit being configured to provide an enablement signal when the external processing unit performs a processing that causes a short-term drop in the supply voltage, the external processing unit being configured to transmit the enablement signal to a controller unit configured to receive the enablement signal, and

wherein the controller unit is configured to generate a compensating signal based on the enablement signal received, the controller unit is configured to transmit the compensating signal to the digital signal processor, and the digital signal processor is configured to minimize the variation in the acoustical signal by providing the compensating signal into the acoustical signal.

2. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the external processing unit is configured to measure the supply voltage Vcc from the battery, and, based on the measured supply voltage, the external processing unit is configured to generate the enablement signal.

3. A hearing device according to claim 2 , wherein the enablement signal is generated if the measured supply voltage Vcc is below or above an average supply voltage over a given time period indicating that the supply voltage is in an offset mode.

4. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the acoustical signal at the output of the amplifier is expressed by a transfer function, the digital signal processor is configured to modify the transfer function by introducing a constant which is calculated based on the compensating signal into the transfer function, and the digital signal processor is configured to vary the constant based on the compensating signal for minimizing variation in the acoustical signal caused by variation in the gain of the amplifier.

5. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the digital signal processor comprises a noise shaper configured to quantize the acoustical signal before transmitting the acoustical signal to the amplifier, and wherein the noise shaper is further configured to receive the compensating signal.

6. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the enablement signal is configured to inform the controller unit the event of the enablement signal, and the controller unit is configured to distinguish between the received enablement signals and perform a fitting of the measured voltages which are relevant for a specific event.

7. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the hearing device is a hearing aid.

8. A hearing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processing is an event selected from a wireless transmit event, a wireless receive event, a memory write event, and a memory read event.

9. A hearing device according to claim 8 , wherein the time period is a time period of the transmit or receive event or a time period of the memory write or read event or a time period of a measurement of the supply voltage.

10. A hearing device comprising an amplifier system comprising:
an amplifier,
a battery configured to provide a supply voltage to the amplifier,
a digital signal processor configured to provide an acoustical signal to the amplifier,
an external processing unit configured to provide an enablement signal when the external processing unit performs an event, such as a wireless transmit or receive event or a memory write or read event, and the external processing unit is configured to transmit the enablement signal to a controller unit configured to receive the enablement signal,

wherein:
the controller unit is configured to generate a compensating signal based on the enablement signal received, the controller unit is configured to transmit the compensating signal to the digital signal processor, and the digital signal processor is configured to minimize the variation in the acoustical signal by providing the compensating signal into the acoustical signal,
the controller unit is further configured to receive the enablement signal when the supply voltage is in an offset mode, wherein the supply voltage is in the offset mode when the supply voltage short termly drops below or above a supply voltage threshold, and the controller unit is further configured to transmit a request for a measured voltage during a time period based on the enablement signal, and
a first analog-to-digital converter is configured to measure during the time period the supply voltage to the amplifier based on the request for the measured voltage transmitted by the controller unit, and

wherein the controller unit is configured to determine another offset mode in the supply voltage based on a fitting of measured voltages of the supply voltage to the amplifier.

11. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the external processing unit is supplied by the same battery as the amplifier.

12. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the controller unit is configured to generate the compensating signal based on an estimation of variation in the supply voltage in the another offset mode provided by the fitting of the measured voltages, the controller unit is configured to transmit the compensating signal to the digital signal processor, the digital signal processor is configured to minimize the variation in the acoustical signal by providing the compensating signal into the acoustical signal, and the compensating signal provides an amplification of the acoustical signal during another time period of the another offset mode.

13. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the fitting is based on a fitting of measured amplitudes of the measured voltages of the supply voltage to the amplifier as a function of a second parameter and/or based on a fitting of measured time periods of the respective measured amplitudes as a function of the second parameter, where the second parameter is a time of when the supply voltage is measured.

14. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein a second analog-to-digital converter is configured to detect the time period of when the supply voltage is in the offset mode, and wherein the second analog-to-digital converter is configured to transmit the enablement signal in the digital domain to the controller unit.

15. An hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the first analog-to-digital converter is configured to sample the supply voltage to the amplifier or on the output of the amplifier.

16. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the fitting of the measured supply voltages is based on a linear fitting, polynomial fitting or any mathematical fitting method.

17. A hearing device according to claim 10 , wherein the hearing device is a hearing aid.

18. A method for minimizing variation in an acoustical signal caused by variation in a supply voltage to an amplifier, comprising:
providing a supply voltage from a battery to the amplifier,
providing an acoustical signal from a digital signal processor to the amplifier,
receiving by a controller unit, from an external processing unit which is supplied by the battery, an enablement signal when the supply voltage is in an offset mode, wherein the supply voltage is in the offset mode when the supply voltage short termly drops below or above a supply voltage threshold as a result of a processing perfo

Assignees

• Oticon As

Inventors

• BHAT Vijay Kumar
• Henriksen Poul
• Piedras Alberto Escolar

Classifications

• H03F1/30 Primary

  Modifications of amplifiers to reduce influence of variations of temperature or supply voltage {or other physical parameters (in differential amplifiers H03F3/45479)} · CPC title

• H03F2200/321

  Use of a microprocessor in an amplifier circuit or its control circuit · CPC title

• H04R2225/33

  Aspects relating to adaptation of the battery voltage, e.g. its regulation, increase or decrease · CPC title

• H03F2200/471

  the voltage being sensed · CPC title

• H04R25/453 Primary

  electronically · CPC title