Talk to the Hand Puppet
Patent #10200773 envisions a simple but clever fix for a vexing noise problem common to all handsfree phone communicators, especially those with hearing loss and hearing aids. When you speak on a call, the phone’s mic picks up your voice along with all other environmental noise competition. The phone call recipient may or may not hear your voice over the noise, depending on how many sirens are going by, whether you’re running a faucet, if the car’s a/c is blasting away … whatever.
Fig 1. Wired-up index finger from patent #10200773.
And, of course, it depends how far your mouth is from the pick-up mic. Clip-on mics in various guises can address this issue and enable more Truly Hands Free talking while multitasking, although mic clipping has its own annoyances.
Mics in Hearables of all types are closer to your mouth which can give speech the advantage over noise, especially if noise reduction algorithms are involved. But noise will win if it’s loud and/or close enough. We know this because in the old days we cupped hands over phone receivers and even today we get close and cup hand over ear to hear what someone is saying in noise.
It’s reflexive, so why not take advantage of what comes naturally? That’s the thinking of this patent which doesn’t quite achieve handsfree but whittles it down to one suited-up index finger (Fig 1) as follows:
“… a mobile communication device configured to be worn on an index finger of a user’s hand. The device includes a case, a microphone, a switch, and a power source. The microphone and the switch are strategically located along a shape of the case so that as worn on the user’s index finger and when the switch is activated by the thumb of the user’s hand, the hand naturally cups about the microphone to form a barrier to ambient noise. Further, the microphone can readily be located near a corner of the user’s mouth for optimal speech-receiving conditions.”
The February 2019 List
|
Description |
Patent Number |
Assignee |
Issued |
|
Perception change-based adjustments in hearing prostheses |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Systems and methods for non-obtrusive adjustment of auditory prostheses |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Implantable hearing assistance apparatus and corresponding systems and methods |
Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Individualized rehabilitation training of a hearing prosthesis recipient |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/05/2019 |
|
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Speech enhancement for headsets with in-ear microphones |
MediaTek Inc. (Hsinchu, TW) |
2/05/2019 |
|
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Battery assembly for a hearing device |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Finger-wearable mobile communication device |
Applicant: Carroll, David W (Grantsburg, WI) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Headphone off-ear detection |
Avnera Corp (Beaverton, OR) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Method of operating a hearing system for conducting telephone calls and a corresponding hearing system |
Sonova AG (Stafa, CH) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Hearing device comprising a feedback cancellation system based on signal energy relocation |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) & Bernafon AG (Berne, CH) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Microphone inlet for hearing aid |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Cochlear implant headpiece |
Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Hearing device with sealed microphone opening |
Sivantos Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
In ear wireless headset |
Shenzhen Grandsun Electronic Co. Ltd. (Shenzhen, Guangdong, CN) |
2/05/2019 |
|
|
Wearable disease prevention device |
No Touch LLC (St Paul, MN) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
System for inner ear drug delivery via trans-round window membrane injection |
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. (Cambridge, MA) |
2/12/2019 |
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Solubilized compositions for controlled proliferation of stem cells / generating inner ear hair cells using GSK3 inhibitors: I |
Frequency Therapeutics Inc. (Woburn, MA) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Digital communications in an implantable system |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Noise reduction methodology for wearable devices employing multitude of sensors |
Applicant: Forte, Stephen P (Beverly Hills, CA) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Remotely controlling a hearing device |
Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
In-ear active noise reduction earphone |
Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Sound transducer for insertion in an ear |
Vibrosonic GmbH (Mannheim, DE) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Hearing device comprising a feedback detector |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Hearing aid having a classifier |
Widex A/S (Lynge, DK |
2/12/2019 |
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|
Audio assist system for pairing between a hearing aid and audio system |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/12/2019 |
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Occlusion control system for a hearing instrument and a hearing instrument |
GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) |
2/12/2019 |
|
|
Ear instrument to which various instruments and accessories can be fixed |
Applicant: Lee, Seung Chul (Daegu, KR) |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Epidermal down-growth barrier |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Wireless communication in an implantable medical device system |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Acoustic device |
GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK) |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Hearing aid system and a method of operating a hearing aid system |
Widex A/S (Lynge, DK |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Waterproof molded membrane for microphone |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/19/2019 |
|
|
Low power intermittent messaging for hearing assistance devices |
Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN) |
2/19/2019 |
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|
User interface and method to discover hearing sensitivity of user on smart phone |
Bitwave PTE LTD (Singapore, SG) |
2/26/2019 |
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Active unipolar dry electrode open ear wireless headset and brain computer interface |
Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA) |
2/26/2019 |
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|
Method of treating ear pain |
Try This First Inc. (Walnut Creek, CA) |
2/26/2019 |
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|
Electrode lead that avoids electrode array migration from the cochlea |
MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Wearable device, system and method for name recollection |
Sony Corporation (Tokyo, JP) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
In-ear wireless device with bone conduction mic communication |
Acouva Inc. (San Francisco, CA) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Tri-micro low frequency filter tri-ear bud tips and horn boost with ratchet ear bud lock |
Acouva Inc. (San Francisco, CA) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Configuration of hearing prosthesis sound processor based on control signal characterization of audio |
Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, NSW, AU) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Method of operating a hearing aid system and a hearing aid system |
Widex A/S (Lynge, DK) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Method of localizing a sound source, a hearing device, and a hearing system |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Antenna unit |
Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Mobile wireless controller for a hearing aid |
AN Direct BV (Rotterdam, NL) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Hearing aid that can be introduced into the auditory canal and hearing aid system |
Eberhard Karls Universität Tubingen Medizinische Fakultat (Tubingen, DE) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Photoactive self-cleaning hearing assistance device |
Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN) |
2/26/2019 |
|
|
Hearing loss compensation apparatus and method using 3D equal loudness contour |
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Suwon-si, KR) |
2/26/2019 |
Holly 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.
