Hearing Amplifier Voltage Compensation for Stable Acoustic Output
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Amplifier systems in hearing devices experience variations in acoustical signals due to gain variations caused by supply voltage fluctuations, leading to degraded sound quality and noise introduction.
Innovation Solution
An amplifier system that includes a digital signal processor, a controller unit, and an analog-to-digital converter to measure and predict supply voltage variations, generating a compensating signal to minimize gain variations and maintain consistent acoustical signal quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the amplifier operates with varying supply voltage, then power consumption is reduced, but gain variation causes acoustical signal degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of supply voltage variations and predicts offset modes before they affect the acoustical signal. The controller unit requests measured voltage during time periods when offset modes are expected to occur, allowing the digital signal processor to compensate in advance for anticipated gain variations, thereby maintaining signal quality while operating with varying supply voltage
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the measured supply voltage is fed back to the controller unit, which then generates compensation parameters for the digital signal processor. This closed-loop feedback allows the system to continuously adjust for supply voltage variations, maintaining stable acoustical output despite power management-induced voltage fluctuations
2Reliability
If the amplifier gain is increased to improve signal output, then acoustical signal quality improves, but noise introduction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary compensation signal that mediates between the varying amplifier gain and the acoustical output. The digital signal processor generates this compensating signal based on measured supply voltage and predicted offset modes, which counteracts the gain variations and prevents noise amplification while maintaining signal quality
Data Source
AI summary
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.