US Ear Device Patents for September 2019

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Hearing Health & Technology Matters
November 6, 2019

Ears Gone Wild

 

With the proliferation of voice assistants talking to an even greater proliferation of IoT devices, not to mention everybody talking at once, it’s a jungle out there. Orion Labs, among others, considers the advantages of facilitated linking of user devices to other communication devices so wearers can figure out what’s up in group situations (#10402612). 

In the midst of this wild jungle, the external ear remains a beacon of biometric calm as a means of identification and recognition. The University of South Florida’s patent #10423823 aims to capitalize on that by hunting and capturing ears on the go: 

The ear is stable over time, less invasive to capture … there are fewer privacy issues for the ear than there are for the face.…With the advances in computer vision and pattern recognition techniques, research of ear recognition is shifting to a more challenging scenario whereby ear images are acquired from real-world settings, commonly referred to as “unconstrained ears” or “ears in the wild”.

 

The September 2019 List

 

Description

Patent Number

Assignee

Issued

Implantable auditory prosthesis having isolated components

10398891

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/03/2019

Wearable group communication device linking

10402612

Orion Labs (San Francisco, CA)

9/03/2019

Low-power, always-listening, voice command detection and capture

10403279

Avnera Corporation (Beaverton, OR)

9/03/2019

Method and apparatus for fast recognition of a hearing device user’s own voice, and hearing aid

10403306

Sivantos Pte. Ltd (Singapore, SG)

9/03/2019

Near field magnetic induction communication over multiple channels

10404323

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/03/2019

Audio signal processing for hearing impairment compensation with a hearing aid device and a speaker

10405095

Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA)

9/03/2019

Hearing aid radio power supply

10405108

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

9/03/2019

Systems and methods for hearing assistance device antenna

10405109

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/03/2019

Radio frequency MEMS devices for improved wireless performance for hearing assistance devices

10405110

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/03/2019

Active occlusion cancellation

10405111

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

9/03/2019

Automated assessment and adjustment of tinnitus-masker impact on speech intelligibility during fitting

10405112

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/03/2019

Active substances for preventing hearing deterioration, the composition containing the active substances, and the preparation method thereof

10405504

Grape King Bio Ltd. (Taoyung, TW)

9/10/2019

Treatment of the ear

10406334

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/10/2019

Input selection for an auditory prosthesis

10406359

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/10/2019

Headpieceless hearing assistance apparatus, systems and methods with distributed power

10406372

Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH)

9/10/2019

Multi-factor control of ear stimulation

10406376

Elwha LLC (Bellevue, WA)

9/10/2019

Integrated wearable noise dosimeter

10408671

Verily Life Sciences LLC (Mountain View, CA)

9/10/2019

Digital identification of devices attached to serial communication cables

10409545

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/10/2019

Methods and systems for searching utilizing acoustical context

10409860

Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL)

9/10/2019

Ear-borne audio device conversation recording and compressed data transmission 

10410634

SmartEar Inc (San Francisco, CA)

9/10/2019

Determining contextual relevance in multi-auditory scenarios

10410639

International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)

9/10/2019

Personal audio assistant device and method

10410649

Staton Techiya LLC (Delray Beach, FL)

9/10/2019

Reproduction of ambient environmental sound for acoustic transparency of ear canal device system and method

10412478

BRAGI GmbH (Munchen, DE)

9/10/2019

Wearable personal acoustic device having outloud and private operational modes

10412480

Bose Corporation (Framingham, MA)

9/10/2019

Method for operating a hearing device, hearing device and binaural hearing device system

10412507

Sivantos Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG)

9/10/2019

Distortion free filter bank for a hearing device

10412508

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

9/10/2019

Binaural hearing aid system with feedback suppression

10412509

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

9/10/2019

Bone conduction devices utilizing multiple actuatorsBone conduction devices utilizing multiple actuators

10412510

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/10/2019

Hearing aid

10412511

SRIS Tech Limited (Purley Surrey, GB)

9/10/2019

Hearing device

10412513

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

9/10/2019

Hearing device antenna with optimized orientation

10412514

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/10/2019

Fitting of hearing devices

10412515

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/10/2019

Blocked microphone detection

10412518

Cirrus Logic Inc (Austin, Tx)

9/10/2019

Switching binaural sound

10412519

Applicants: Lyren, Philip Scott (Bangkok, TH) & Norris, Glen A (Tokyo, JP)

9/10/2019

Environment discovery via time-synchronized networked loudspeakers

10412532

Harman International Industries Inc (Stamford, CT)

9/10/2019

Hearing aid device

D859662

Oticon A/S (Smorum, DK)

9/10/2019

Apparatus, systems and methods for obtaining cleaner physiological information signals

10413197

Valencell Inc. (Raleigh, NC)

9/17/2019

EEG monitoring system and method of monitoring an EEG

10413208

Widex A/S (Lynge, DK)

9/17/2019

Fast fitting for cochlear implants

10413726

MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT)

9/17/2019

Hearing auxiliary device and hearing auxiliary processing method

10413727

Silicon Motion Inc. (Hsinchu County, TW)

9/17/2019

Electrocochleography testing in hearing prostheses

10413728

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/17/2019

Sound processing with increased noise suppression

10418047

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/17/2019

Systems and methods for wirelessly transmitting power and data from an active headpiece to a cochlear implant

10418862

Advanced Bionics AG (Staefa, CH)

9/17/2019

Retaining binaural cues when mixing microphone signals

10419851

Cirrus Logic, Inc (Austin, TX)

9/17/2019

Module for installation in a hearing aid

10419859

Sivantos Pte. Ltd. (Singapore, SG)

9/17/2019

Eye-mounted hearing aid

10419860

International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)

9/17/2019

Convertibility of a bone conduction device

10419861

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/17/2019

Incus short process attachment for implantable float transducer

10419862

MED-EL Elektromedizinische Geraete GmbH (Innsbruck, AT)

9/17/2019

Methods and systems for rendering binaural audio content

10419865

The DIRECTTV Group Inc. (El Segundo, CA)

9/17/2019

Augmented hearing system

10419869

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA)

9/17/2019

Unconstrained ear recognition using a combination of deep learning and handcrafted features

10423823

University of South Florida (Tampa, FL)

9/24/2019

Charging system with compressible contacts

10424955

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/24/2019

Ear bud or dome

10425714

Sonion Nederland B.V. (Hoofddorp, NL)

9/24/2019

Interposer stack inside a substrate for a hearing assistance device

10425724

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

 

9/24/2019

Hearing assistance system in a multi-talker acoustic network

10425727

Sonova AG (Stafa, CH)

9/24/2019

Adaptive binaural beamforming with preservation of spatial cues in hearing assistance devices

10425745

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

 

9/24/2019

Method for operating a hearing apparatus, and hearing apparatus

10425746

Sivantos PTE. Ltd. (Singapore, SG)

9/24/2019

Hearing aid with spatial signal enhancement

10425747

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

9/24/2019

Antennas for standard fit hearing assistance devices

10425748

Starkey Laboratories Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN)

9/24/2019

Hearing instrument having an antenna system

10425749

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

9/24/2019

Prosthesis adapter

10425750

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/24/2019

Dual power supply

10425751

Cochlear Limited (Macquarie University, AU)

9/24/2019

Hearing aid with plug connection for earpiece

10425752

Sivantos Pte. Ltd (Singapore, SG)

9/24/2019

Generating binaural audio in response to multi-channel audio using at least one feedback delay network

10425763

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (San Francisco, CA)

 

9/24/2019

Earbud tip

D860974

Applicant: Gordon, Robert (Orlando, FL)

9/24/2019

Hearing aid for the deaf

D861171

GN Hearing A/S (Ballerup, DK)

 

9/24/2019

**featured image courtesy of Party City

 

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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