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:
Jun. 10, 2014
Filed:
Jul. 21, 2012
Ryan C. Stafford, Monroe, WA (US);
James W. Stafford, Redmond, WA (US);
Ryan C. Stafford, Monroe, WA (US);
James W. Stafford, Redmond, WA (US);
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD (US);
Abstract
Method and apparatus in which optical sources deliver light to small specific areas of the cochlea for purposes of stimulation, which brings the advantage of increased spectral fidelity because the stimulation illumination can be more specifically placed than electrical-stimulation signals. In some embodiments, a plurality of light sources or light delivery devices are placed at finely-spaced locations along the cochlea but only a fraction of them are used within any short period of time due to the limitation of power delivery to the optical emitters and a restriction on heat within the cochlea due to the absorption of the optical stimulation signals. The ability to choose which optical sources are used at any given time frame provides the ability to choose the sources that illuminate and thus stimulate the particular small areas of the cochlea that generate nerve signals perceived as the semitone frequencies found in Western music.