Variable Pitch Alarm Tone Control for Hearing Sensitivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ambient condition detectors often emit tonal patterns with a fixed pitch that may not be optimally heard by all users, particularly the elderly, due to varying high-frequency hearing sensitivities, and are influenced by ambient noise, necessitating a solution to adapt tone pitch for better detection.
Innovation Solution
The integration of control electronics with audio pitch control capabilities in ambient condition detectors, allowing for user-selectable tonal patterns with distinct pitch tones and temporal spacings, and the option for verbal outputs to indicate conditions and locations, enabling customizable alerts that can be heard clearly amidst noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed pitch tonal pattern is emitted by the ambient condition detector, then the device structure is simple, but the alert effectiveness is reduced for users with varying hearing sensitivities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements variable pitch capability that allows the alarm tone to change frequency dynamically. The system can switch between different pitch patterns (e.g., high pitch, low pitch, alternating pitch) to adapt to different user hearing needs and ambient noise conditions, resolving the contradiction between maintaining simple structure and improving alert effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the frequency parameter of the alarm tone to improve detectability. By providing multiple pitch options (e.g., 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4 kHz) and allowing selection based on user preference or ambient conditions, the system maintains reliability across different hearing sensitivities without requiring complete system redesign.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single average pitch tone (e.g., 3 kHz) is used, then the device is easy to manufacture, but it cannot accommodate users with different hearing sensitivities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the alarm system universal by incorporating multiple pitch capabilities within a single device. The system can function across different hearing sensitivity ranges (from high-frequency to low-frequency preference) and various ambient noise conditions, allowing one device to serve diverse user needs without requiring multiple specialized devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts its pitch output based on user selection or ambient conditions. By implementing variable pitch control, the single device can adjust its characteristics to match different user requirements, achieving universality without complicating the fundamental device architecture.
3Reliability
If the alarm tone pitch is fixed, then the tonal pattern is simple to generate, but it may be masked by ambient noise or not heard clearly by all users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the frequency parameter of the alarm tone to improve detection effectiveness. By providing multiple pitch options and allowing selection based on user preference or ambient noise conditions, the system ensures reliable detection across different hearing sensitivities and environmental contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic tonal patterns with varying pitch sequences. The alarm emits repeated tone groups with different pitch arrangements (e.g., high-low-alternating, ramped sequences) that enhance detectability by creating distinctive acoustic signatures that are harder to mask by ambient noise.
Data Source
AI summary
An ambient condition detector outputs an alarm comprising a tonal pattern comprising at least two distinctly different pitch tones in one embodiment of the invention. Another embodiment comprises a detector whereby a user can select a pitch tone to be output within a tonal pattern alarm when the detector senses an ambient condition. Options include verbal output to indicate the type of ambient condition sensed and/or the location of the detector sensing the ambient condition.