Hearing Device Patents in January and February 2014

https://www.sc.edu/focus_report/energy.php#.UxbGgfldW3g
Holly Hosford-Dunn
March 5, 2014

Polymer materials were the standouts in today’s round of patents.  Audiologists’ training is short on polymers so we may not fully appreciate their importance:

  •  Patent #8628831 praises polymers for their special properties such as “positional selective metallization” which can be applied to hearing aid components where “it may be desirable to combine electrical and mechanical functions in a single component, for example to make electrical circuits directly on the cover or base of a polymer-based product.
  • Patent #8609249 describes polymer applications for hearing aid device diaphragms that “require high strength flexible membranes and a venting function in order to relieve pressure buildup due to the thermal expansion of air in the device or barometric pressure changes.

While technology bounded forward, “abusive” lawsuits to capture and control intellectual property by “patent trolls” kept pace.  Efforts to quell the abuse were heard last week in the US Supreme Court where the justices weighed the difference (if any) between “meritlessness” and “objectively baseless” and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy quipped that the hearing boiled down to a “search for adjectives.”

Does Mr. Putin Owe Royalties to One of Our Former Editors?

 

Intellectual property, adjectives, and world events merged seamlessly this week in another case that has nothing to do with patents but is interesting none the less.   K. Ray Katz, hearing aid dispenser (retired) and former HearingHealthMatters editor published his 3rd book in late 2013.  It’s a well-written, lively read and I’m happy to plug it.

In a eerie case of art predicting life,  My Enemy’s Enemy describes a world power which clandestinely stirs up cultural divisiveness in a neighboring country, uses the ensuing riots as an excuse to invade the neighbor to protect fellow countrymen, and times the invasion to coincide with the Sochi Olympic games as a strategic distraction.  Does this sound familiar?  Did Mr. Putin read Ray’s book?  Should Ray sue for use/misuse of intellectual property?   Should he receive royalties on world events foretold in the book?  Is this a job for a patent troll?

Back to Patents

 

Description

Patent Number

Assignee

Filed

Issued

Closed Captioning Preferences 8619192 Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, WA).

6/21/2007

12/31/2013

Active Reduction of Electric Field Generated by a Transmit Antenna Via an Auxillary Antenna Structure 8643551 Motorola Mobility LLC (Libertyville, Ill)

10/21/2009

2/04/2014

Actuator Systems for Oral-Based Appliances 8649535 Sonitus Medical Inc (San Mateo, CA)

9/13/2012

2/11/2014

Preparation of a Polymer Article for Selective Metallization 8628831 Danmarks Tekniskie Universitet (Lyngby, DK)

3/28/2008

1/14/2014

Thin Wall Expandable Polymer Tubes Having Improved Axial and Radial Strength, and a Method of Manufacturing 8609249 Phillips Scientific Inc (Rock Hill, SC)

7/20/2011

12/17/2013

Using a Genetic Algorithm Employing an Expedited Convergence Mechanism to at Least Partially Fit a Medical Implant to a Patient Using Patient Feedback 8630964 Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU)

3/13/2013

1/14/2014
Method of Installing a Signal Processing Component in a Housing of a Hearing Apparatus and Hearing Apparatus 8644541 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

8/08/2012

2/04/2014

Hearing Device 8644540 Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark)

2/03/2010

2/04/2014

Hearing Prosthesis Having an On-Board Fitting System 8625828 Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU)

4/30/2010

1/07/2014

Vibrator for Bone Conducting Hearing Devices 8620015 Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU)

5/20/2008

12/31/2013

Method and Device for Estimating Interference Noise, Hearing Device and Hearing Aid 8634581 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

2/16/2012

 

1/21/2014

Partially Implantable Hearing Aid 8625829 Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, Switzerland)

1/21/2009

1/07/2014

Hearing Aid with an Elongate Member 6345828 GN Resound A/S (Ballerup, Denmark)

6/22/2007

1/21/2014

Hearing Aid with Wireless Battery Charging Capability 8644542 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

9/08/2009

2/04/2014

Hearing Aid Having Improved RF Immunity to RF Electromagnetic Interference Produced from a Wireless Communications Device 8644539 BlackBerry Ltd. (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)

8/13/2012

2/04/2014

Hearing Aid Having Multiple Sound Inputs and Methods Therefor 8649538 Audiotoniq Inc. (Austin, Texas)

2/08/2011

2/11/2014

Sound Message Recording System for a Hearing Aid 8634580 Widex A/S (Lynge, Denmark)

8/18/2011

1/21/2014

Method for Improving the Comprehensibility of Speech with a Hearing Aid, Together with a Hearing Aid 8644538 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

4/02/2012

2/04/2014

Hearing Aid with Magnetostrictive Electroactive Sensor 8649541 Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn)

7/11/2011

2/11/2014

Hearing Aid with Improved Localization 8638960 GN Resound A/S (Ballerup, Denmark)

1/17/2012

1/28/2014

Method for Manufacturing a Hearing Aid Having a Custom Fitted Resilient Component 8638964 Widex A/S (Lynge, Denmark)

4/08/2011

1/28/2014

Hearing Aid Earpiece and a Method of Manufacturing a Hearing Aid Earpiece 8625831 Widex A/S (Lynge, Denmark)

12/11/2008

1/07/2014

One-Size-Fits-Most Hearing Aid 8625827 Etymotic Research Inc. (Elk Grove Village, Ill)

4/26/2012

1/07/2014

Method for Loudness-Based Adjustment of the Amplification of a Hearing Aid and Associated Hearing Aid 8634566 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

3/29/2010

1/21/2014

Offending Frequency Suppression in Hearing Aids 8630437 University of Utah Research Foundation (Salt Lake City)

2/22/2011

1/14/2014

Beamforming in Hearing Aids 8630431 GN Resound A/S (Ballerup, Denmark)

12/22/2010

1/14/2014

Hearing Aid with Amorphous Loudspeaker Shielding 8649542 Siemens Medical Instruments Pte. Ltd. (Singapore)

3/28/2011

2/11/2014

Method to Reduce Feedback in Hearing Aids 8638962 Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark)

11/23/2009

1/28/2014

Method and Apparatus for Using Haptics for Fitting Hearing Aids 8649524 Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minn)

8/13/2009

2/11/2014

Method of Automatically Fitting Hearing Aid 8634567 Yoon Joo Shim (Seoul, South Korea)

11/08/2010

1/21/2014

System for Remotely Obtaining Audiometric Measurements and Adjusting Hearing Aids Via the Internet 8654986 Jose Benito Cabellero Catoira (Coruna, Spain)

10/24/2008

2/18/2014

Hearing Aid Apparatus 8654998 Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan)

6/16/2010

2/18/2014

In-the-Canal Hearing Aid Using Two Microphones

8655001 Advanced Bionics AG (Zug, Switzerland)

2/05/2010

2/18/2014

System and Method of Progressive Hearing Device Adjustment 8654999 Audiotoniq Inc. (Austin, Texas)

4/12/2011

2/18/2014

Hearing Aid Having a Behind the Ear Component 8660283 Oticon A/S (Smorum, Denmark)

3/13/2012

2/25/2014

Amplification Circuit and Hearing Aid 8660282 Etymotic Research Inc. (Elk Grove Village, Ill)

3/12/2012

2/25/2014

Hearing Aid 8660284 Panasonic Corp. (Osaka, Japan)

1/05/2012

2/25/2014

Instrument for Detecting and Alerting during an Emergency Situation 8659416 Victor M Higgins (Ovid, Mich)

1/14/2011

2/25/2014

 editor’s note:  The Patent Series is updated every two months.  Click links for patents approved in Jan/Feb 2014Nov/Dec 2013September/October 2013Jul/Aug 2013May/Jun 2013Mar/Apr 2013Jan/Feb 2013Nov/Dec 2012

title photo courtesy of University of South Carolina

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