Hearing device and method for operating a hearing device

Abstract

The invention relates to a hearing device (2) comprising a control unit (26), a communication front end (6) having a resonant circuit (8) and a transceiver (10) for communication by means of electromagnetic induction, the transceiver (10) being switchable between a first communication channel (22) at a first frequency (f1) and a second communication channel (24) at a second frequency (f2), wherein the control unit (26) is designed to switch the transceiver (10) between the first communication channel (22) and the second communication channel (24) in order to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels (22, 24). The invention further relates to a corresponding method for operating such a hearing device (2).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a hearing device and a method of operating a hearing device. Background Art

[0002] Hearing devices are used to provide hearing-impaired users to compensate for the hearing loss of the users. To this end, the hearing device usually includes a microphone, a signal processing device and a speaker. The microphone generates an input signal, which is input to the signal processing device. The signal processing device modifies the input signal to generate an output signal. In order to compensate for the hearing loss, the input signal is amplified with a frequency-dependent amplification factor according to the user's audiogram. Finally, the output signal is output to the user through the speaker. In this way, the sound signal in the environment is modified and output to the user. The input signal and the output signal are both electrical signals, while the sound signal in the environment and the sound signal output by the speaker are acoustic signals.

[0003] Hearing devices are also mobile devices, i.e. they are usually worn by the user for long periods of time and have only small dimensions, in the case of hearing devices a maximum of a few centimeters. As mobile devices, hearing devices usually need to communicate with other devices, such as smartphones, tablets, televisions or computers. In addition, communication within the hearing device itself, in particular communication between the two individual devices in binaural hearing devices, is also advantageous. Communication can be achieved in various ways, two particularly advantageous technologies being generally near field magnetic induction (NFMI), such as radio frequency identification (RFID), on the one hand, and near field communication (NFC) on the other hand. Communication by means of NFC is defined in particular by corresponding standards.

[0004] Currently, there are many different communication methods that need to be integrated into hearing devices. Combining a variety of corresponding communication technologies into a single device is difficult, because each of these technologies requires corresponding components, which in turn require corresponding installation space, whether as analog electronic components or digital function modules integrated into digital chips. Especially in hearing devices, the installation space available for analog and digital components is usually very limited, often more limited than for smartphones or computers. This is due to the small size of hearing devices, which are usually worn in, on or behind the ear and usually need to be as inconspicuous as possible. Additional components also increase costs. Summary of the invention

[0005] In this context, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to integrate a plurality of different communication methods into a hearing device in a way that saves as much space as possible and is cost-effective. To this end, a correspondingly improved hearing device and a corresponding method for operating the hearing device are provided.

[0006] The technical problem is solved by a hearing device having the features of claim 1 and a method having the features of claim 14. Advantageous embodiments, improvements and variants are the technical solutions of the dependent claims. The descriptions related to the hearing device also apply to the method and vice versa. If method steps are described below, a preferred embodiment of the hearing device is to perform one or more of these steps by means of a control unit (control circuit) it has.

[0007] The hearing device has a communication front end ("front end" for short). The communication front end has a resonant circuit and a transceiver for communicating by means of electromagnetic induction. Communication refers in particular to sending and / or receiving signals containing data, referred to as data exchange. The signals sent and / or received by the hearing device (or a single device) are electromagnetic signals.

[0008] The resonant circuit is connected to the transceiver for sending and receiving corresponding signals during the communication process. The resonant circuit acts as an antenna. For this purpose, the resonant circuit is expediently an oscillating circuit with an induction coil and a capacitor which define the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit. In the case of communication by means of electromagnetic induction, the induction coil then acts as an antenna. The resonant frequency is in particular the carrier frequency of the communication signal. The resonant circuit is not part of the transceiver but is designed separately from it.

[0009] The transceiver comprises in particular a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is used to convert a digital signal generated by the hearing device and containing data to be transmitted into a transmission signal, which is then output by the resonant circuit. Similarly, the receiver is used to convert a reception signal received by the hearing device via the resonant circuit and containing data to be received into a digital signal, which is then further processed or can be processed by the hearing device. The digital signal is in particular located in the baseband. The transmission signal and the reception signal are located in a similar manner at preferably the same reception frequency and transmission frequency.

[0010] In the hearing device described herein, the transceiver, more specifically the receiver and / or transmitter thereof, and optionally the resonant circuit, can be switched between a first communication channel at a first frequency and a second communication channel at a second frequency.

[0011] In other words: whether the resonant circuit is switchable or not, at least the transceiver is switchable. The first and second frequencies are in particular carrier frequencies of two communication channels and thus define a transmission frequency and a reception frequency. Preferably, one or both of the communication channels are defined by a standard, the latter in particular by different standards.

[0012] As mentioned above, the hearing device also has a control unit, which is preferably part of the digital chip of the hearing device. The control unit is in particular connected to a communication front end or is part of the communication front end. The control unit is designed to switch the transceiver between the first and second communication channels in order to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels, i.e., on one of the two frequencies. As a result, the hearing device can receive and preferably send corresponding signals and data on two different communication channels via the same communication front end and in particular the same transceiver. However, it is not possible to communicate on both communication channels at the same time, which is determined by principle.

[0013] Suitably, the hearing device also has an input converter, a signal processing device and an output converter. The input converter is preferably a microphone, and the output converter is preferably a loudspeaker. The hearing device is especially assigned to a single user and is used only by the user. The hearing device is preferably used for hearing-impaired users and compensates for the user's hearing loss. To this end, the input converter generates an input signal, which is input to the signal processing device. The signal processing device is especially part of a digital chip. The signal processing device modifies the input signal to generate an output signal, whereby the output signal is the modified input signal. In order to compensate for the hearing loss, the input signal is amplified with a frequency-dependent amplification factor according to the user's audiogram. Finally, the output signal is output to the user through the output converter.

[0014] Preferably, the first communication channel is an NFC channel and the second communication channel is an NFMI channel different from the first communication channel. In this way, the transceiver is a combined NFC and NFMI transceiver. In principle, NFC can also be regarded as a NFMI technology. However, in the design described here with an NFC channel on the one hand and a NFMI channel different therefrom on the other hand, the term NFMI channel refers to this particularly proprietary NFMI technology, which does not conform to the NFC standard and differs therefrom mainly in the frequencies used and optionally also in different modulation or coding methods. Therefore, the NFMI channel referred to here does not conform to the NFC standard and is not a simple alternative NFC channel.

[0015] Suitably, the first frequency is 13.56 MHz and the second frequency is 10.6 MHz. In this design, the first frequency is particularly suitable for communication in accordance with the NFC standard, and the second frequency is suitable for another NFMI communication different from it, in particular a communication in accordance with the manufacturer's own or proprietary specifications. However, one or both of the frequencies may also have other values.

[0016] In the following, without limiting the generality, it is assumed that the first communication channel is an NFC channel at a first frequency of 13.56 MHz and the second communication channel is an NFMI channel at a second frequency of 10.6 MHz.

[0017] These two communication channels are preferably but not necessarily used for communication between different devices, that is, the one communication channel is not only a substitute for the other communication channel, but can appropriately realize different connections. In a particularly preferred design, the hearing device is a binaural hearing device, which has two monomer devices used by the same user. In particular, one of the monomer devices is worn on the left side of the user's head during normal use, and the other device is worn on the right side of the head. One of the two communication channels, preferably the NFMI channel, is designed for unidirectional or bidirectional communication between the two monomer devices. The other communication channel of the two communication channels, preferably the NFC channel, is not used for communication between the monomer devices, but is preferably used to communicate with an additional device independent of the hearing device. Here, the communication with the additional device starts either from one or both of the two monomer devices, or only from one of the monomer devices. In principle, it is also feasible that in the communication with the additional device, the one monomer device can also be used as a relay for another monomer device (due to the dual use of the transceiver, for example, there will be a corresponding time offset in the time division multiplexing method). The additional device is, for example, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a TV, a computer, etc. In other words, one of the two communication channels is preferably used only for internal communication, i.e. communication between the two individual devices, and the other of the two communication channels is preferably used only for external communication, i.e. communication between the hearing device and an additional device, i.e. another additional device that is in particular independent of the hearing device. The term "independent" means in particular that the additional device is independent, i.e. can be used even without the hearing device, has its own power supply and / or is mechanically decoupled from the hearing device.

[0018] It has been recognized here that a communication front end of a hearing device with an NFMI channel is particularly used for mutual communication between two individual devices, while the communication front end can also be used for NFC communication in a particularly simple manner, so that the corresponding components do not need to be additionally integrated into the hearing device. Instead, the existing communication front end only needs to be slightly modified in order to enable communication via the NFC channel in addition to the existing NFMI channel (which is not an NFC channel), in particular communication that complies with the NFC standard. Therefore, in addition to having general NFMI functions (such as data exchange between individual devices), the hearing device can also specifically access NFC functions, such as Bluetooth pairing, charger identification, positioning, automatic configuration of the hearing device, identification of the additional device relative to the hearing device, and vice versa. Therefore, in order to communicate on different communication channels, in particular only one separate communication front end is used.

[0019] The main adaptation here is the described switchability of the transceiver (which differs from the optional switchability of a separate resonant circuit). In other words, the transceiver can be set to receive and / or transmit signals either at a first frequency or at a second frequency. For this purpose, the receiver and / or transmitter are controlled accordingly, and in particular the receiving frequency of the receiver or the transmitting frequency of the transmitter is set here so that reception and / or transmission are optionally performed at the first frequency or the second frequency (the control unit is correspondingly designed to perform this). For this purpose, the communication front end expediently has a settable clock generator for presetting a clock (also called clock rate, clock frequency) for the transceiver. The clock generator is connected to the receiver and / or transmitter so that the clock is transmitted to the receiver and / or transmitter accordingly. The clock then determines the receiving frequency and / or the transmitting frequency accordingly. Preferably, the clock even corresponds to the carrier frequency, i.e. the transmitting frequency or the receiving frequency of the transmitter for communication on the corresponding communication channel, in other words, the clock generator directly presets the carrier frequency for the transceiver, and the carrier frequency (clock) is settable in order to switch between different communication channels. The clock generator is also called a local oscillator (LO) or a "clock circuit". The control unit is then designed to switch the transceiver by setting the clock of the clock generator, ie, switching between two different clocks. Therefore, by switching the clock generator, the first or second communication channel (at least unidirectional, preferably bidirectional) is used according to the setting.

[0020] In a suitable embodiment, the clock can be switched between the first frequency and the second frequency, i.e., in particular between two different carrier frequencies of the transceiver. Thus, the receiver uses the clock to down-convert the received signal from its carrier frequency to baseband. Conversely, the transmitter uses the clock to up-convert the transmitted signal from baseband to the carrier frequency. However, the specific conversion details are no longer important here.

[0021] Alternatively, a design is also suitable in which the frequency (especially the carrier frequency) is not selected precisely for one of the communication channels, but in which the clock can switch between one of the two frequencies and a third frequency, the third frequency being close to the other of the two frequencies (especially the carrier frequency) so that the sideband of the other frequency is located within the receiving frequency band of the transceiver, especially the carrier frequency band. This is based on the consideration that the data may be located in the sideband of the carrier frequency, so that only the corresponding frequency range on one side of the carrier frequency needs to be received. This is also called "single sideband recovery" and is possible in particular for the NFC channel, because the NFC standard defines the transmission of data by modulation, which generates sidebands on the left and right sides of the carrier frequency in the signal. It is accordingly sufficient to set the clock and therefore the receiving frequency of the receiver so that it is located on one side of the carrier frequency and the receiving frequency band around the receiving frequency then only detects one of the two sidebands. The receiving frequency and the receiving frequency band depend in particular on the auxiliary carrier frequency (for example 848 kHz according to the NFC standard). The receiving frequency is then the sum or difference of the carrier frequency (i.e. the first or second frequency) and the auxiliary carrier frequency. The reception frequency band is then located, for example, above or below the carrier frequency (optionally also including the carrier frequency) and is, for example, arranged symmetrically (optionally asymmetrically) relative to the reception frequency. A suitable bandwidth of the reception frequency band is, for example, 1.5 MHz to 2 MHz.

[0022] In particular, since the two communication channels cannot be used at the same time, in a suitable design, one of the two communication channels is a standard channel (preferably an NFMI channel), and the other communication channel is a demand channel (preferably an NFC channel). The standard channel is set and used according to the standard, and the demand channel is used as needed only when a signal is to be sent or received on the communication channel.

[0023] Preferably, the communication front end has a power detector for measuring the power at the frequency of the demand channel, and the control unit is designed to switch the transceiver from the standard channel to the demand channel when the power detector detects a power exceeding a predetermined threshold at the frequency of the demand channel. Therefore, when a signal is received on the demand channel, the transceiver switches from the standard channel to the demand channel. To this end, the power detector is suitably set to the frequency of the demand channel (e.g. 13.56 MHz for the NFC channel) and is connected to the resonant circuit so as to receive the signal from the resonant circuit and measure the power at the frequency of the demand channel therein. If the power exceeds the predetermined threshold, the transceiver is switched to the demand channel.

[0024] The control unit is expediently designed to switch the transceiver from the demand channel back to the standard channel after a predetermined time interval has expired (referred to as a "timeout") or after the communication via the demand channel has been completed. The completion of the communication is in particular detected by the control unit and indicated, for example, by corresponding data transmitted at the end of a signal.

[0025] The resonant circuit does not necessarily have to be adapted, but may provide a corresponding attenuated signal at at least one of the two frequencies, through which communication can still be carried out. However, preferably, the resonant circuit has an adjustable resonant frequency, and the control unit is designed to set the frequency of the currently used communication channel to the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit. Similar to switching the transceiver according to the frequency currently to be used, the resonant circuit will also be switched accordingly to achieve the best transmission and reception performance at the frequency of the corresponding communication channel. This design is optional in itself, but it can improve communication, otherwise one of the two communication channels can only receive and / or send signals in an attenuated manner. The resonant frequency is suitably set by setting the capacitor of the resonant circuit. To this end, the capacitor of the resonant circuit can be set accordingly.

[0026] In a preferred design, the resonant circuit is designed as load modulation (“load-modulation”) in that the resonant circuit has an adjustable resistor. The resistor is, for example, a settable current source or an ohmic resistor. The load modulation is, for example, ASK load modulation that complies with the NFC standard.

[0027] Alternatively or additionally, the transmitter has an H-bridge, and the control unit is designed to control the H-bridge so that the resonant circuit is short-circuited to achieve load modulation. The H-bridge is essentially also a settable resistor, at least for load modulation. The above statement applies first of all to load modulation. Compared with the use of resistors in the resonant circuit, a particular advantage is that the above-mentioned H-bridge is usually already present, so there is no need to add additional components to achieve load modulation specifically for NFC communication. Therefore, load modulation is completely implemented using existing components. In addition, only the control unit is additionally programmed accordingly. The H-bridge is in particular part of the transmitter. Energy is fed into the resonant circuit via the H-bridge, which then begins to oscillate at the transmission frequency. The resulting oscillation is driven correctly by the phase of the H-bridge and is also affected by phase modulation in the resonant circuit.

[0028] The digital signal processing is preferably implemented by the above-mentioned digital chip of the hearing instrument. In contrast, the above-mentioned communication front end is preferably purely analog. The received and / or transmitted data are processed by the digital chip and exchanged with the communication front end in the baseband. The communication front end is then responsible for up-converting or down-converting the data to the currently selected carrier frequency (provided by the clock generator) and transmitting or receiving via the resonant circuit.

[0029] In summary, by making minor modifications to the architecture of existing hearing devices, it is possible to extend their functional scope in terms of communication for data exchange. In particular, if the communication front end of the hearing device is already designed for communication on an NFMI channel other than an NFC channel, an additional possibility of communication via an NFC channel can be realized with the same transceiver and the same resonant circuit. For this purpose, one or more of the following adaptations (described in detail above) are expediently performed:

[0030] - The clock generator for the transceiver is designed to be programmable in order to switch between baseband and transmit / receive frequency and between two different frequencies,

[0031] - The resonant frequency of the resonant circuit is designed to be adjustable,

[0032] - use a power detector to determine when to switch between two communication channels (at least in one direction),

[0033] - implement load modulation, e.g. directly in a resonant circuit or in a transceiver,

[0034] - The control unit is accordingly designed to carry out one or more of the above-mentioned settings.

[0035] Any lower layers (e.g. “physical layer”) and / or upper layers (e.g. “protocol layer”) of the NFC channel are implemented in particular in a digital chip and are then combined with the corresponding algorithms for the NFMI channel, which are also integrated therein, in a separate digital chip and are implemented there in the form of hardware or software, respectively.

[0036] The method is generally a method for operating a hearing instrument as described above. Within the scope of the method, the control unit switches the transceiver between the first and the second communication channel as described above in order to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

[0038] Figure 1 a schematic diagram showing the hearing device and additional equipment,

[0039] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a communication front end and a control unit of a hearing device,

[0040] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the spectrum of the received signal,

[0041] Figure 4 Schematic diagram showing the control flow during operation of a hearing instrument. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] exist Figure 1 1 shows an embodiment of a hearing device 2 according to the invention, together with an additional device 4 (not drawn to scale). The hearing device 2 has a communication front end 6, one embodiment of which is Figure 2 The communication front end 6 has a resonant circuit 8 and a transceiver 10 for communicating by means of electromagnetic induction. Communication here refers to sending and / or receiving electromagnetic signals containing data, which is referred to as data exchange.

[0043] The resonant circuit 8 is connected to the transceiver 10 and is used to send and receive corresponding signals during the communication process. Figure 2 In FIG. 8 , the resonance circuit 8 is an oscillation circuit having an induction coil 12 and a capacitor 14 which define the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit 8. When communication is performed by electromagnetic induction, the induction coil 12 serves as an antenna, and the resonance frequency is the carrier frequency of the signal in communication.

[0044] The transceiver 10 has a transmitter 16 and a receiver 18. The transmitter 16 serves to convert a digital signal generated by the hearing device 2 and containing data to be transmitted into a transmission signal which is then output by the resonance circuit 8. Similarly, the receiver 18 serves to convert a reception signal received by the hearing device 2 by means of the resonance circuit 8 and containing data to be received into a digital signal which is then further processed or can be processed by the hearing device 2. The digital signal is in this case in a baseband 20. The transmission signal and the reception signal are similarly present at the same reception frequency and transmission frequency.

[0045] In the hearing device 2 described here, the transceiver 10 and the optional resonant circuit 8 can switch between a first communication channel 22 at a first frequency f1 and a second communication channel 24 at a second frequency f2. The first and second frequencies f1, f2 are carrier frequencies of the two communication channels and thus also define the transmission frequency and the reception frequency.

[0046] The hearing device 2 also has a control unit 26 which is part of a digital chip 28 of the hearing device 2. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 26 is part of the communication front end 6, alternatively simply connected thereto. The control unit 26 is designed to switch the transceiver 10 between the first and second communication channels 22, 24, so as to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels, i.e. on one of the two frequencies f1, f2. As a result, the hearing device 2 can at least receive and send corresponding signals and therefore data on two different communication channels 22, 24 by means of the same communication front end 6 and the same transceiver 10. However, in the present case, it is not possible to communicate on both communication channels 22, 24 at the same time.

[0047] In the design shown here, the hearing device 2 also has an input converter 30 (here a microphone), a signal processing device 32 and an output converter 34 (here a loudspeaker). The hearing device 2 is assigned to a single user and is used only by the user. The hearing device 2 is used to provide a hearing-impaired user and compensate for the user's hearing loss. To this end, the input converter 30 generates an input signal, which is input to the signal processing device 32. The signal processing device 32 is part of the digital chip 28 here. The signal processing device 32 modifies the input signal and generates an output signal thereby. In order to compensate for the hearing loss, the input signal is amplified by a frequency-dependent amplification factor according to the user's audiogram. Finally, the output signal is output to the user through the output converter 34.

[0048] In the illustrated embodiment, the first communication channel 22 is an NFC channel and the second communication channel 24 is a different NFMI channel. In this way, the transceiver 10 is a combined NFC and NFMI transceiver. The NFMI channel does not conform to the NFC standard here, so it is not a simple alternative NFC channel. Here, the first frequency f1 is 13.56 MHz and the second frequency f2 is 10.6 MHz, so that the first frequency f1 is suitable for communication conforming to the NFC standard and the second frequency f2 is suitable for another NFMI communication different from the standard, for example, communication conforming to a manufacturer's proprietary specification. However, the frequencies f1, f2 can also have other values.

[0049] The two communication channels 22, 24 are used here for communication between different devices, i.e. one communication channel 22 is not merely a substitute for the other communication channel 24, but rather allows different connections. Figure 1 In the embodiment of the present invention, the hearing device 2 is a binaural hearing device having two single devices 36 used by the same user. One of the single devices 36 is worn on the left side of the user's head during normal use, and the other single device 36 is worn on the right side of the head. One of the two communication channels 22, 24, here the NFMI channel 24, is designed for unidirectional or bidirectional communication between the two single devices 36. The other of the two communication channels 22, 24, here the NFC channel 22, is not used for communication between the single devices 36, but is used to communicate with the additional device 4 separately from the hearing device 2. Here, the communication with the additional device 4 starts either from the two single devices 36 or only from one of the single devices 36. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the two single devices 36 are equipped with Figure 2The digital chip 28 and the communication front end 6 are shown and are accordingly designed to communicate with the additional device 4 independently of each other via the communication channel 22. In principle, it is conceivable that in the communication with the additional device, one single device 36 can also be used as a relay for another single device 36. The additional device 4 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, a television, a computer or the like. Figure 1 The communication channel 24 in the example is used for internal communication, ie communication between two individual devices 36 , and the other communication channel 22 is used for external communication, ie communication between the hearing device 2 and an independent additional device 4 .

[0050] The transceiver 10 can be set to receive and / or transmit signals either at the first frequency f1 or at the second frequency f2. For this purpose, the receiver 18 and the transmitter 16 are controlled accordingly, and the receiving frequency of the receiver 18 or the transmitting frequency of the transmitter 16 is set to receive and / or transmit selectively at the first frequency f1 or the second frequency f2. For this purpose, Figure 2 The communication front end 6 in the embodiment has a configurable clock generator 38 for presetting a clock T (also called clock rate, clock frequency) for the transceiver 10. The clock generator 38 is connected to the receiver 18 and the transmitter 16 in such a way that the clock f is transmitted to them. The clock f determines the receiving frequency and the sending frequency. The control unit 26 is designed to set the clock f of the clock generator 38 to switch the transceiver 10, that is, to switch the clock between two different clocks. Therefore, by switching the clock generator 38, the first or second communication channel 22, 24 is then used according to the setting.

[0051] In one possible design, the clock f can be switched between a first frequency f1 and a second frequency f2. Thus, the receiver 18 uses the clock f to down-convert the received signal from its carrier frequency to the baseband 20. Conversely, the transmitter 16 uses the clock f to up-convert the transmitted signal from the baseband 20 to the carrier frequency. Alternatively, another design is also possible, in which the frequency f1, f2 is not selected exactly for one of the two communication channels 22, 24, but in which the clock f can be switched between one of the two frequencies and a third frequency f3, which is very close to the other frequency f1, f2, so that the sideband S of the third frequency f3 is located within the receiving frequency band B of the transceiver 10.

[0052] This is Figure 3 It is explained in Figure 3The frequency spectrum of a signal (more precisely a received signal of the hearing device 2) when communicating via the NFC channel 22 is shown as an example. It can be seen that the data is located in the sideband S of the carrier frequency f1 and it is sufficient to receive the corresponding frequency range only on one side of the carrier frequency f1. When communicating via the first communication channel 22, sidebands S to the left and right of the carrier frequency f1 are generated in the signal in this example. It is accordingly sufficient to set the clock and therefore the receiving frequency of the receiver 18 to another frequency f3, so that this other frequency f3 is located on one side of the carrier frequency f1 and the receiving frequency band B around the receiving frequency detects only one of the two sidebands S. The receiving frequency and the receiving frequency band B depend on the auxiliary carrier frequency (for example 848 kHz according to the NFC standard). The receiving frequency is the sum or difference of the carrier frequency (here the first frequency f1) and the auxiliary carrier frequency. Figure 3 A possible second frequency f2 is also shown in FIG.

[0053] Since the two communication channels 22 and 24 cannot be used at the same time, in the design shown here, one of the two communication channels 22 and 24 is a standard channel, here the NFMI channel 24, and the other communication channel 22 and 24 is a demand channel, here the NFC channel 22. The standard channel is set up and used according to the standard, while the demand channel is used only when needed, that is, when a signal needs to be sent or received specifically on the communication channel. This is Figure 4 , which indicates as a function of time t which communication channel 22, 24 is currently active and which frequency f1, f2 is correspondingly set current (in Figure 3 It is assumed that switching is performed between the first frequency f1 and the second frequency f2, and the third frequency f3 is not used to replace one of the frequencies f1 and f2). Therefore, Figure 4 Also shown is an embodiment of the method according to the invention in which the control unit 26 switches the transceiver 10 between the first and second communication channels 22, 24 in order to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels.

[0054] In the design shown here, the communication front end 6 has a power detector 40 for measuring power at the frequency of the demand channel (here the first frequency f1), and the control unit 26 is designed to switch the transceiver 10 from the standard channel to the demand channel if a power exceeding a predetermined threshold is measured at the frequency of the demand channel by the power detector 40. Therefore, when a signal is received on the demand channel, the transceiver 10 switches from the standard channel to the demand channel. To this end, the power detector 40 is suitably set to the frequency of the demand channel (thus here 13.56 MHz of the NFC channel 22) and is connected to the resonant circuit 8 so as to receive the signal from the resonant circuit 8 and measure the power at the frequency of the demand channel. If the power exceeds the predetermined threshold, the transceiver 10 is switched to the demand channel, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 shown.

[0055] Likewise Figure 4 As shown, in this case, the control unit 26 is also designed to switch the transceiver 10 from the demand channel to the standard channel again after a predetermined time interval has expired (a so-called "timeout"), or as shown here after the end of the communication via the demand channel is recognized by the control unit 26.

[0056] The resonant circuit 8 does not necessarily have to be adapted, but rather it may provide a corresponding attenuated signal at at least one of the two frequencies f1, f2, by means of which communication can still be performed. Figure 2 In the embodiment of the present invention, the resonant circuit 8 has an adjustable resonant frequency, and the control unit 26 is designed to set the frequencies f1, f2 of the currently used communication channels 22, 24 as the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit 8. Similar to switching the transceiver 10 according to the frequency currently to be used, the resonant circuit 8 is then also switched accordingly to achieve the best transmission and reception performance at the frequencies f1, f2 of the current communication channels. In the design shown here, the resonant frequency is adjusted by setting the capacitor 14.

[0057] exist Figure 2 In an embodiment of the invention, the resonant circuit 8 is designed for load modulation, in that the resonant circuit 8 has a settable resistor 42. The load modulation is, for example, ASK load modulation in accordance with the NFC standard. In another embodiment not shown, the transmitter 16 has an H bridge, and the control unit 26 is designed to control the H bridge to short-circuit the resonant circuit 8 to achieve so-called load modulation.

[0058] The digital signal processing is implemented here by the digital chip 28 of the hearing instrument 2 mentioned above. In contrast, the communication front end 6 described here as an example is purely analog. However, other embodiments are also possible. The received and / or transmitted data are processed by the digital chip 28 and exchanged with the communication front end 6 in the baseband 20. The communication front end 6 is then responsible for up-converting or down-converting the data to the currently selected carrier frequency f1, f2 (predetermined by the clock generator 38) and transmitting or receiving via the resonant circuit 8.

[0059] Reference numerals list

[0060] 2 Hearing devices

[0061] 4 Additional Equipment

[0062] 6 Communication front-end

[0063] 8 Resonance Circuit

[0064] 10 Transceiver

[0065] 12 Induction coil

[0066] 14 Capacitor

[0067] 16 Transmitter

[0068] 18 Receiver

[0069] 20 Baseband

[0070] 22 First communication channel (NFC channel)

[0071] 24 Second communication channel (NFMI channel)

[0072] 26 Control Unit

[0073] 28 Digital Chip

[0074] 30 Input Converter

[0075] 32 Signal processing device

[0076] 34 Output Converter

[0077] 36 Single equipment

[0078] 38 Clock Generator

[0079] 40 Power Detector

[0080] 42 Resistors

[0081] B Receiving frequency band

[0082] f Clock

[0083] f1 first frequency (carrier frequency)

[0084] f2 Second frequency (carrier frequency)

[0085] f3 third frequency

[0086] S Sideband

[0087] t time

Claims

1. A hearing device (2), - the hearing device has a control unit (26), - the hearing device has a communication front end (6) having a resonant circuit (8) and a transceiver (10) for communication by means of electromagnetic induction, - in, The transceiver (10) is capable of switching between a first communication channel (22) at a first frequency (f1) and a second communication channel (24) at a second frequency (f2), - wherein the control unit (26) is designed to switch the transceiver (10) between the first communication channel (22) and the second communication channel (24) so ​​as to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels (22, 24).

2. The hearing device (2) according to claim 1, wherein The first communication channel (22) is an NFC channel, and the second communication channel (24) is an NFMI channel different from the first communication channel.

3. The hearing device (2) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first frequency (f1) is 13.56 MHz, and the second frequency (f2) is 10.6 MHz.

4. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in, The hearing device (2) is a binaural hearing device having two single devices (36), One of the two communication channels (22, 24) is designed to enable two single devices (36) to communicate with each other.

5. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in, The communication front end (6) has a configurable clock generator (38) for presetting a clock (f) for the transceiver (10). The control unit (26) is designed to set the clock (f) of the clock generator (38) to switch the transceiver (10).

6. The hearing device (2) according to claim 5, wherein The clock (f) is switchable between the first frequency (f1) and a second frequency (f2).

7. The hearing device (2) according to claim 5, wherein The clock (f) is capable of switching between one of the two frequencies (f1, f2) and a third frequency (f3), wherein the third frequency (f3) is close to the other of the two frequencies (f1, f2) so that a sideband (S) of the other frequency (f1, f2) is located within a receiving frequency band (B) of the transceiver (10).

8. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in, One of the two communication channels (22, 24) is a standard channel, the other of the two communication channels (22, 24) is a demand channel, The communication front end (6) has a power detector (40) for measuring the power of the demand channel at the frequency (f1, f2). The control unit (26) is designed to switch the transceiver (10) from the standard channel to the demand channel when the power detector (40) detects a power exceeding a predetermined threshold at the frequency (f1, f2) of the demand channel.

9. The hearing device (2) according to claim 8, wherein The control unit (26) is designed to switch the transceiver (10) from the demand channel back to the standard channel after a predetermined time interval has elapsed or after communication via the demand channel has been completed.

10. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in, The resonant circuit (8) has an adjustable resonant frequency, The control unit (26) is designed to set the frequency (f1, f2) of the currently used communication channel (22, 24) as the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit (8).

11. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The resonant circuit (8) is designed for load modulation in that the resonant circuit (8) has an adjustable resistor (42).

12. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, in, The transceiver (10) has a transmitter (16), and the transmitter (16) has an H bridge. The control unit (26) is designed to control the H bridge to short-circuit the resonant circuit (8) to achieve load modulation.

13. The hearing device (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The first frequency (f1) and the second frequency (f2) are carrier frequencies of the two communication channels (22, 24).

14. A method of operating a hearing aid (2), - in, The hearing device (2) has a communication front end (6) having a resonant circuit (8) and a transceiver (10) for communicating by means of electromagnetic induction. - wherein the transceiver (10) is capable of switching between a first communication channel (22) at a first frequency (f1) and a second communication channel (24) at a second frequency (f2), - wherein the hearing device (2) has a control unit (26) which causes the transceiver (10) to switch between the first communication channel (22) and the second communication channel (24) in order to selectively communicate on one of the two communication channels (22, 24).

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