Mobile Terminal Hearing Compensation via Digital Filter Coefficients
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional hearing aids are often expensive, costly to maintain, and aesthetically unacceptable, leading to underutilization among individuals with hearing impairments, as they are not affordable or appealing for many Americans who could benefit from them.
Innovation Solution
A mobile terminal equipped with a processor for conducting hearing tests, determining coefficients for digital filters, and processing audio signals to adjust gain, compress, or expand frequencies, effectively serving as a hearing aid by transmitting processed signals to an earphone, which can be updated based on changing hearing profiles and used in various orientations with multiple microphones.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hearing aids are used, then hearing impairment is compensated, but the device is expensive and aesthetically unacceptable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines hearing aid functionality with a mobile terminal (smartphone), merging two devices into one. The mobile terminal's existing microphones, processors, and speakers are utilized to provide hearing compensation, eliminating the need for a separate hearing aid device and reducing overall cost while maintaining aesthetic appeal.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile terminal is designed to serve multiple functions: communication, entertainment, and hearing compensation. By making the device universal, it reduces the need for specialized hearing aid equipment, thereby lowering costs and improving aesthetic acceptance while maintaining effective hearing compensation.
2Reliability
If conventional hearing aids are used, then hearing impairment is compensated, but maintenance and adjustment costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile terminal provides self-service capabilities for hearing compensation through automated algorithms and software-based processing. The device can automatically adjust parameters and perform diagnostics without requiring professional audiologist intervention, significantly reducing maintenance and adjustment costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical and electronic hearing aid components with software-based digital signal processing. By substituting hardware adjustments with software algorithms, the system eliminates the need for physical maintenance and professional fitting adjustments, reducing ongoing costs.
3Reliability
If digital signal processing is implemented, then hearing compensation is provided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hearing compensation functionality from a complex dedicated hearing aid device and implements it within the existing mobile terminal architecture. By leveraging the mobile terminal's already-present processing capabilities, the system avoids adding significant complexity while maintaining effective hearing compensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses software copying and simulation techniques to replicate hearing aid functionality within the mobile terminal. By copying the essential processing algorithms into the mobile terminal's software environment, the system achieves hearing compensation without requiring complex hardware modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile terminal includes a processor that is programmed to provide a user of the mobile terminal with a hearing test and to determine a set of coefficients. A microphone is configured to receive audio signals therethrough. A digital filter is programmed with the determined set of coefficients and is configured to process the audio signals and transmit the processed audio signals to an earphone.