The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 21, 2006
Filed:
Nov. 15, 2002
Mead C. Killion, Elk Grove Village, IL (US);
Dan Mapes-riordan, Evanston, IL (US);
Mead C. Killion, Elk Grove Village, IL (US);
Dan Mapes-Riordan, Evanston, IL (US);
Etymotic Research, Inc., Elk Grove Village, IL (US);
Abstract
An improved analog-to-digital converter device suitable for use in digital hearing aids, and methods for operating such a device are disclosed. Aspects of the present invention may provide a full 16–18 bits (96–108 dB) of dynamic range in a digital hearing aid circuit using 14-bit analog-to-digital converters typically available for hearing aid use. An embodiment of the present invention may use two analog-to-digital converters that are clocked by the same sampling trigger. One of the converters may be preceded by an amplifier having, for example, 24 dB of gain, while the other converter may be preceded by an amplifier having 0 dB of gain. The output of the first converter or the output of the second converter may be used, or a combination of the two outputs may be used to produce audio for the hearing aid user, depending upon input signal level.