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Hearing Innovations Incorporated

Charles S Richardson

Arnold S Lippa

Fiona A M McKenzie

Farid Dibachi

The present invention provides a new technique for solving the problem of detecting and locating soft faults, such as frays, in electrical conductor wires. This new technique utilizes the nonlinear ferroelectric capacitive properties of piezoelectric ceramic elements, such as PZT, in conjunction with an antenna coil, to realize a tuned antenna receiver circuit with significantly increased reception sensitivity. The present invention consists of a battery powered, hand-held transmitter, with an output terminal for physical connectors, and a battery powered, hand-held receiver. Soft faults are detected and accurately located, to within a half inch distance of the actual soft fault, as the receiver is passed along the path of the electrical conductor wire, by the operator, who determines a reduction or cessation of the visible and audible indicators. The ultrasonic frequency piezoelectric transducer also enables the receiver to be used as an ultrasonic frequency detector for detecting electrical arcing from powered transmission lines.

Method to and apparatus for detecting and locating a fault in an electrical conductor wire

Apparatus and method for shifting the frequency range of an audio frequency range signal using digital frequency shifting and single sideband amplitude modulation techniques. In one embodiment, a frequency shifted single sideband, amplitude modulated signal is formed for application to the human hearing sensory system to provide enhanced hearing for hearing impaired persons. In another embodiment, the audio signal is shifted to an ultrasonic frequency range utilizing digital signal processing techniques in which an audio frequency signal is frequency shifted by modulation to a carrier frequency and in which a single sideband modulated signal is formed. The digital single sideband amplitude modulation techniques of this embodiment are also applicable to digital modulation systems for uses other than in hearing aids. In another embodiment, analog single sideband modulation is utilized for frequency shifting in a hearing aid application.

Frequency transpositional hearing aid with digital and single sideband modulation

A hearing aid apparatus and method of the type in which audio frequency signals are frequency upshifted to ultrasonic frequency bands and are applied as vibrations to the human body to generate a hearing response. Frequency upshifting of the audio frequency signals to the ultrasonic frequency band is attained in one embodiment by amplitude modulation of an ultrasonic frequency carrier signal with an audio frequency modulating signal to form a modulated signal in which one of the two sidebands is either completely or substantially suppressed and a modulated signal having only one predominant sideband is thus derived for application to the human sensory system to generate a hearing response.

Frequency transpositional hearing aid with single sideband modulation

A leader wire made from a more flexible 7.times.19 stainless steel cable rather than the standard 7.times.7 cable leader wire includes a loop at one end and a swivel at the other. A first hook is attached to the loop at the end of the leader. Intermediate the two ends is a second hook which is movable along the length of the leader. A length of thin copper wire is twisted around the leader at a position between the second hook and the swivel and is movable therealong. The copper wire can be held in place, however, by a small sleeve that passes over the same. The wire is utilized to hold the mouth of the bait fish closed and to hold the bait fish in place by wrapping the wire around the same.

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Tucson, AZ, United States of America

Charles S Richardson