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:
Oct. 23, 2012
Filed:
Oct. 02, 2008
Jonathan P. Fay, San Mateo, CA (US);
Sunil Puria, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Paul Rucker, San Francisco, CA (US);
John H. Winstead, Bend, OR (US);
Rodney C. Perkins, Woodside, CA (US);
Jonathan P. Fay, San Mateo, CA (US);
Sunil Puria, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Paul Rucker, San Francisco, CA (US);
John H. Winstead, Bend, OR (US);
Rodney C. Perkins, Woodside, CA (US);
Soundbeam LLC, Redwood City, CA (US);
Abstract
A hearing aid device for placement in an ear of a user includes an elongate support and a transducer. The elongate support has a proximal portion and a distal end, and the transducer is attached to the elongate support near the distal end. The support is adapted to position the transducer near an eardrum while the proximal portion is placed at the location near an ear canal opening. The elongate support is sized to minimize contact with the ear between the proximal portion and distal end. The elongate support permits sound waves to travel along the ear canal. In some embodiments, a microphone is positioned in the ear canal along the support, for example inside the support, to provide directionally dependent sound localization cues, and the transducer on the distal end of the elongate support comprises a coil assembly coupled to a magnet positioned on the tympanic membrane.