US 10,321,245 B2Granted

Adjustable elliptical polarization phasing and amplitude weighting for a hearing instrument

AssigneeStarkey Laboratories, Inc.

InventorsBrent Anthony Bauman, Stephen Paul Flood, Casey Edward Murray, Beau Jay Polinske, Jay Rabel

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Abstract

Multiple antennas at the receiver and/or transmitter are commonly used in wireless communications systems to provide diversity in order reduce fading and other effects brought about by multi-path propagation. Due to the size of hearing aids and the wavelengths of the frequencies used for communication, it is difficult to achieve what is called spatial diversity by disposing the multiple antennas at different locations. Described herein are techniques for providing polarization diversity in hearing aids using antennas with different polarizations and applying the appropriate phase shifts to the received and/or transmitted signals to improve the signal quality.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A hearing aid, comprising:

processing circuitry for processing an input signal from a microphone into an output signal for driving a speaker;
a wireless transceiver connected to the processing circuitry;
an antenna array connected to the wireless transceiver, wherein the antenna array comprises two or more antennas with different polarizations;
wherein the processing circuitry further comprises a transmit state machine and a receive state machine;
wherein the transmit state machine is configured to adjust the phases and amplitudes of uplink signals that drive the antennas in response to detection of a degradation in uplink signal quality detected when a packet error rate as determined from signals received from an uplink receiver exceeds a specified threshold;
and,
wherein the receive state machine is configured to adjust the phases and amplitudes of downlink signals received from the antennas in response to detection of a degradation in downlink signal quality detected from reference signals transmitted by a downlink transmitter and to adjust the phases and amplitudes of the downlink signals so as to optimize reception of the reference signals.

4 more elements

A method for operating a hearing aid, comprising:

operating a wireless transceiver to drive an antenna array during uplink transmission and receive signals from the antenna array during downlink reception, wherein the antenna array comprises two or more antennas with different polarizations;
operating a transmit state machine to adjust the phases and amplitudes of uplink signals that drive the antennas in response to a degradation in uplink signal quality detected when a packet error rate as determined from signals received from an uplink receiver exceeds a specified threshold;
and,
operating a receive state machine to adjust the phases and amplitudes of downlink signals received from the antennas in response to a degradation in downlink signal quality detected from reference signals transmitted by a downlink transmitter and to adjust the phases and amplitudes of the downlink signals so as to optimize reception of the reference signals.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/071,030Filed 15 Mar 2016
Published: US 2017/0272872 A121 Sep 2017
Granted: 11 Jun 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

H04R 25/554
Using an external connection, either wireless or wired: using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
H04B 7/0613
At the transmitting station: using simultaneous transmission
H04B 7/0617
Of weighted versions of same signal: for beam forming
H04B 7/10
Diversity systems; Multi-antenna system, i.e. transmission or reception using multiple antennas: polarisation diversity; Directional diversity

Family

US 2017/0272872 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Sep 2017
US 10,321,245 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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