US Ear Device Patents for August 2019

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Hearing Health & Technology Matters
September 21, 2019

Dick Tracy’s uber futuristic two-way wristwatch radio looks quaint today when one considers patent ideas like #D856328

Think of all the crimes Mr Tracy could solve as well as solutions for all that ails us if he’d been equipped with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-wristwatch-&-earbuds-included-device envisioned by that patent’s equally long title: 

“Wearable artificial intelligence (AI) data processing, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality communication eyeglass including mobile phone and mobile computing via virtual touch screen gesture and eye tracking control and neuron command”

And, what if his watch or our earbuds powered themselves by “contain[ing] flexible thermoelectric device[s] to harvest energy for their own and other wearable applications“? (feature image, patent 10388847)?

Dick Tracy and Harry Potter valued secure communication channels and privacy in their wearables. Both would applaud and use the cloaks of (audible) invisibility for private group conversations in rooms where other groups are doing the same, as envisioned by Harman International’s patent #10388297, Techniques for generating multiple listening environments via auditory devices, envisions?

 

The August 2019 List

 

Description

Patent Number

Assignee

Issued

In-ear hearing test probe devices and methods and systems using same

10368785

East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)

8/06/2019

Middle ear mucosa-like cell sheet, process of producing the same and method of using the same

10368980

Tokyo Women’s Medical University (Tokyo, JP)

8/06/2019

Reproducible placement of ABI Electrodes

10369352

MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT)

8/06/2019

Active fixation of neural tissue electrodes

10369355

MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT)

8/06/2019

Systems and methods for energy efficient and low power distributed automatic speech recognition on wearable devices

10373630

Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA)

8/06/2019

System and method for alerting a user of preference-based external sounds when listening to audio through headphones

10375465

Harman International Industries Inc. (Stamford, CT)

8/06/2019

Systems, apparatus, and methods for hearing protection

10375467

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

8/06/2019

Hearing aid having level and frequency-dependent gain

10375484

Meyer Sound Laboratories Inc. (Berkeley, CA)

8/06/2019

Hearing device comprising a microphone control system

10375485

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/06/2019

Hearing device comprising a beamformer filtering unit

10375486

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/06/2019

Method and device for filtering signals to match preferred speech levels

10375487

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

8/06/2019

Systems, devices, components and methods for reducing feedback between microphones and transducers in bone conduction magnetic hearing devices

10375488

Sophono Inc. (Minneapolis, MN)

8/06/2019

Audio system with integral hearing test

10375489

Applicant: Robert Newton Rountree, Sr. (Cotopaxi, CO)

8/06/2019

Binaural beamformer filtering unit, a hearing system and a hearing device

10375490

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/06/2019

Hearing device with a barrier element

10375491

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/06/2019

Method of fitting a hearing assistance device

10375492

Sonova AG (Stafa, CH)

8/06/2019

Binaural dialogue enhancement

10375496

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA) & Dolby International AB (Amsterdam Zuidoost, NL)

8/06/2019

Hearing aid antenna

D855810

Oticon Medical A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/06/2019

Bone fixture for medical prosthesis

10376269

Cochlear Limited (NSW, AU)

8/06/2019

System and method for treatment of non-ventilating middle ear by providing a gas pathway through the nasopharynx

10376416

Acclarent Inc. (Irvine, CA)

8/06/2019

Systems and methods for gradually adjusting a control parameter associated with a cochlear implant system

10376698

Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH)

8/13/2019

3D printed ceramic to metal assemblies for electric feedthroughs in implantable medical devices

10376703

MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT)

8/13/2019

Ear-wearable wireless communication flashlight combination device

10382851

Applicant: Antoine Smith (Bellwood, IL)

8/13/2019

Haptic feedback for head-wearable speaker mount such as headphones or earbuds to indicate ambient sound

10382866

Motorola Mobility LLC (Chicago, IL)

 

8/13/2019

Miniature hearing instrument configured for positioning at least partially in bony region of ear canal

10382871

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

 

8/13/2019

Hearing device with user driven settings adjustment

10382872

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

8/13/2019

Wearable artificial intelligence (AI) data processing, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality communication eyeglass including mobile phone and mobile computing via virtual touch screen gesture and eye tracking control and neuron command

D856328

Applicants:  Xing, Zhou Tian, Zhou, Dylan TX, Zhou, Tiger TG, Zhou, Andrew HB (Tiburon and Belvedere, CA)

 

 

 

8/13/2019

Hearing implant accessory

D856522

Cochlear Limited (NSW, AU)

8/13/2019

Ear-mountable bio-sensor device

D856523

Inova Design Solutions Ltd. (London, GB)

8/13/2019

Auditory sensitivity adjustment device

10383770

Applicant: Kumagawa, Yosuke (Kanagawa, JP)

8/13/2019

Techniques for generating multiple listening environments via auditory devices

10388297

Harman International Industries Inc. (Stamford, CT)

 

8/20/2019

Method of producing a flexible thermoelectric device to harvest energy for wearable applications

10388847

Nimbus Materials Inc. (Fremont, CA)

 

8/20/2019

Parallel power switch for hearing aid

10390146

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

8/20/2019

Frequency mapping for hearing devices

10390147

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

8/20/2019

Methods and apparatuses for setting a hearing aid to an omnidirectional microphone mode or a directional microphone mode

10390148

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

 

8/20/2019

Antenna system for a hearing aid

10390150

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

 

8/20/2019

Hearing device for receiving location information from wireless network

10390151

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

 

8/20/2019

Hearing aid having a classifier

10390152

Widex A/S (Lynge, DK)

8/20/2019

Smoothing power consumption of an active medical device

10390153

Cochlear Limited (NSW, AU)

8/20/2019

Method and apparatus for coil alignment in electromagnetic hearing implant

10390154

Ototronix LLC (Houston, TX)

 

8/20/2019

Hearing augmentation systems and methods

10390155

K/S HIMPP (Lynge, DK)

8/20/2019

Hearing protection device self-assessment of suitability and effectiveness to provide optimum protection in a high noise environment based on localized noise sampling and analysis

10390157

Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Plains, NJ)

8/20/2019

Ear shape analysis device and ear shape analysis method

10390167

Yamaha Corporation (Hamamatsushi, JP)

8/20/2019

Inductively chargeable earbud case

10390594

Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA)

8/20/2019

Display screen with animated graphical user interface

D857039

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

8/20/2019

Cochlear implants

10391311

Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH)

8/27/2019

Providing an auditory-based interface of a digital assistant

10395659

Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA)

8/27/2019

Ear-worn electronic device incorporating combined dipole and loop antenna

10396442

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

 

8/27/2019

Output driver comprising MOS switches with adjustable back biasing

10396791

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

8/27/2019

Earbud speech estimation

10397687

Cirrus Logic Inc. (Austin, TX)

8/27/2019

Neutralizing the effect of a medical device location

10397710

Cochlear Limited (NSW, AU)

8/27/2019

Method of determining objective perceptual quantities of noisy speech signals

10397711

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

8/27/2019

Method for frequency distortion of an audio signal, method for suppressing an acoustic feedback in an acoustic system and hearing aid

10397712

Sivantos PTE. Ltd. (Singapore, SG)

8/27/2019

Earpiece for a hearing device and a hearing device

10397713

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

8/27/2019

Hybrid shell for hearing aid

10397714

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

 

8/27/2019

System and method for improving data integrity and power efficiency

10397715

Cochlear Limited (NSW, AU)

8/27/2019

 

Holly Hosford-Dunn, Hearing Health MattersHolly Hosford-Dunn, PhD, owned and operated a dispensing audiology practice in Tucson and was active in management of HearingHealthMatters.org through 2017.  She holds BA degrees in Communication Sciences, Psychology and Economics; MA in Communication Disorders; PhD in Hearing Sciences. Following post-doctoral work at Max Planck Institute (Munich, DE) and Eaton-Peabody Auditory Physiology Lab (Boston), she joined the Stanford medical school faculty as director of audiology. She has authored/edited numerous text books, chapters, journals, and articles and taught Marketing and Practice Management in a variety of academic settings. She continues to consult and write on topics related to hearing health care vis-à-vis consumer demands, professional training, technological advancement, capital investment, industry consolidation, regulatory control, product and service distribution, and strategic pricing.

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