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 Title: |
US4904078:
Eyeglass frame with electroacoustic device for the enhancement of sound intelligibility
[ Derwent Title ]
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| Country: |
US United States of America
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| Inventor: |
Gorike, Rudolf; Vienna, Austria
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| Assignee: |
None
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| Published / Filed: |
1990-02-27
/ 1988-06-15
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| Application Number: |
US1988000207272
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| IPC Code: |
Advanced:
G02C 1/00;
G02C 11/00;
G02C 11/06;
H04R 25/00;
IPC-7:
G02C 1/00;
H04R 25/00;
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| ECLA Code: |
G02C11/06; H04R25/55B; T04R25/45D;
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| U.S. Class: |
Current:
351/158;
381/313;
381/327;
Original:
351/158;
381/068.1;
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| Field of Search: |
351/158,123
381/68.1,68.5
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| Priority Number: |
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| Abstract: |
An eyeglass frame and electroacoustic device combination for the improvement of natural hearing has temples that contain or carry electronic and electroacoustic devices. To enable persons with reduced hearing to again be able to follow a conversation in noisy surroundings, e.g. to concentrate on a partner during a cocktail party situation, to clearly understand speech in reverberant rooms, to concentrate on sound from a specific direction, to enjoy again theater and concert performances, each temple of the eyeglass frame comprises, directly at its front end, a directional microphone. The direction of maximum sensitivity extends to the front of the wearer, and its direction of minimal sensitivity faces toward the electroacoustic transducer at the rear end of the temple, near the ear of the wearer. This electroacoustic transducer is arranged at the rear end of the temple on an arm of a temple. In the position of use, the transducer is applied gently against only parts of the auricle, possibly also with the interposition of a foam member, which must be acoustically fully transparent. This provides access for the natural sound from the users surrounding to the auditory meatus. This direct and undistorted access is necessary for the buildup of pinna transfer functions which help perceive the directional information of the sound source(s).
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| Attorney, Agent or Firm: |
McGlew & Tuttle ;
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| Primary / Asst. Examiners: |
Dzierzynski, P. M.;
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| Maintenance Status: |
E2 Expired Check current status
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| INPADOC Legal Status: |
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Family Legal Status Report
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| Parent Case: |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 711,400 filed Mar. 13, 1985 now abandoned.
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| Family: |
Show 8 known family members
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First Claim:
Show all 15 claims |
What is claimed is:
1. An eyeglass frame with an attached electroacoustical device for enhancement of the sound intelligibility and clarity, the eyeglass frame having a temple mounted to each end of said main frame part on opposite ends of said main frame, each of said temples including an arm portion near a rear end thereof, each temple extending away from said main frame part, and an electroacoustic transducer mounted on each arm portion and oriented to face an outer ear of the wearer, each of said arm portions being positioned so that the transducer lies adjacent the wearer's ear without disturbing entry of lower frequencies naturally into the auditory meatus, including sound reflections from the human pinna of the wearer, a unilaterally directional microphone connected to each of said temples around said front of said main frame each positioned to have a front direction of maximum sensitivity, and a rear direction of minimum sensitivity and having a spacing between said microphones substantially equivalent to the spacing between said transducers and between the ears of the wearer, electronic amplification means having a frequency range of amplification in the range above 1 kHz, mounted to each temple and connected to each unilaterally directional microphone respectively, said transducer of each arm being connected to said electronic amplification means of each respective temple for receiving amplified higher frequency signals from each respective unilaterally directional microphone and transmitting the corresponding amplified sounds to the wearer's respective ears.
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| Background / Summary: |
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| Drawing Descriptions: |
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| Description: |
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| Forward References: |
Show 70 U.S. patent(s) that reference this one
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