Hearing Aid Ear-to-Ear Connectivity via BLE Time-Multiplexing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol restricts hearing aids from simultaneously being in a piconet with each other while also being connectable as a slave to external devices, limiting ear-to-ear communication and compatibility with devices like smartphones, which prefer to act as masters.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where connected hearing aids time-multiplex connectable advertisements between connection events, allowing them to alternate between master and slave roles to maintain ear-to-ear communication while remaining connectable to external devices, using a primary and secondary aid configuration with programmed or automatically determined roles, and employing a Generic Attribute Profile for data sharing through a host device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hearing aids establish a wireless connection in a piconet for ear-to-ear communication, then connectivity between hearing aids is improved, but the ability to simultaneously connect as a slave to external devices deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid dynamically switches between master and slave roles in different time intervals. During connection events, it acts as master to maintain ear-to-ear communication, and during advertising events, it acts as slave to accept connections from external devices. This dynamic role switching resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable rather than fixed in one configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The hearing aid employs periodic time-multiplexing where connectable advertisements are sent between connection events. This periodic alternation between master mode (during connection events) and slave mode (during advertising events) allows the device to maintain both ear-to-ear connectivity and compatibility with external devices at different time intervals, resolving the mutual exclusion problem.
2Ease of operation
If standard Bluetooth protocol is used for wireless communication in hearing aids, then communication capability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hearing aid uses periodic connection events and advertising events instead of continuous communication. By establishing connections only at scheduled intervals and entering low-power states between events, the device maintains necessary communication capability while significantly reducing overall power consumption compared to continuous standard Bluetooth operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by switching between different Bluetooth Low Energy modes (connection mode and advertising mode) with different power characteristics. This parameter switching allows the hearing aid to optimize power consumption by being active only when necessary and remaining in low-power states otherwise, while still providing full communication capability when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed in some examples are systems, methods, and machine readable media which allows for hearing instruments to be in a piconet with each other while being connectable as a slave to another device such as a smart phone when it comes within range. In some examples to accomplish this, one or both of the connected hearing aids may send connectable advertisements while connected with each other in the piconet by time multiplexing the advertisements between connection events.