Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
  • H04M1/21—Combinations with auxiliary equipment, e.g. with clocks or memoranda pads
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
  • H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
  • H04M1/6041—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
  • H04M1/6058—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/72—Mobile telephones; Cordless telephones, i.e. devices for establishing wireless links to base stations without route selection
  • H04M1/724—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
  • H04M1/72475—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones specially adapted for disabled users
  • H04M1/72478—User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones specially adapted for disabled users for hearing-impaired users
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
  • H04R25/00—Electric hearing aids
  • H04R25/55—Electric hearing aids using an external connection, either wireless or wired
  • H04R25/554—Electric hearing aids using an external connection, either wireless or wired using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/02—Constructional features of telephone sets
  • H04M1/04—Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers
  • H04M1/05—Supports for telephone transmitters or receivers specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
  • H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
  • H04M1/6041—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M1/00—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers
  • H04M1/60—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers
  • H04M1/6033—Substation equipment, e.g. for use by subscribers including speech amplifiers for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets
  • H04M1/6041—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
  • H04M1/6058—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone
  • H04M1/6066—Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use involving the use of a headset accessory device connected to the portable telephone including a wireless connection

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a sound amplification device, intended in particular to improve the hearing acuity of hearing impaired people, and comprising, in known manner, means for acquiring said sounds, means for amplifying said sounds and means for restoring said amplified sounds.
• the oldest of them is in the form of a box the size of a cigarette packet, intended to be carried on the chest, containing a microphone and an amplification circuit, and connected through wires, to ear tips fitted with earphones.
• this box Although allowing a very high degree of amplification of sounds, this box has the disadvantage of being particularly bulky and unsightly, and is therefore hardly used any more than by bedridden or disabled people who are not very concerned about their appearance.
• Another sound amplification device also consists of a reduced size housing, having substantially the shape of the outline of the ear, intended to be held in place behind the roof by a hook to which is connected a tube connecting the housing to an earmold and allowing the sound to be directed towards the ear canal.
• the object of the present invention is therefore to provide a sound amplification device having a pleasant aesthetic appearance, which is easy to use while having significant listening comfort, and which cannot be assimilated to a hearing aid. classic by the people concerned.
• the invention provides a device for amplifying sounds, in particular for the hearing impaired, comprising means for acquiring said sounds, means for amplifying said sounds, and means for restoring said amplified sounds, the assembly being integrated in a mobile telephone connected to at least one earpiece.
• the mobile telephone and / or the earpiece include at least one microphone for the acquisition of said sounds.
• said mobile telephone is equipped with an amplifier delivering a gain having a preferential response curve over a frequency band between 1 kHz and 4 kHz.
• connection between the mobile telephone and the earpiece is of the contactless type.
• connection between the mobile telephone and the earpiece can nevertheless be of the wired type.
• the mobile telephone comprises means for adjusting the sound volume of the restored sounds.
• the mobile telephone also comprises means for adjusting the tone of the restored sounds.
• the mobile telephone is equipped with an electrical input of “Jack” type making it possible to acquire sounds originating in particular from a television set or a Hi-Fi system.
• the present device is also characterized in that the mobile telephone and / or the earpiece include means making it possible to select the mode of acquisition of the sounds.
• the mobile telephone comprises means making it possible to display on its screen the various selected parameters of use.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a sound amplification device according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 represents a schematic view of a variant presentation of the same device.
• the invention relates to a device 1 for the hearing impaired, capable of increasing the sound volume of the environment in which they operate.
• such a device 1 is in the form of a mobile telephone 2 connected to two earphones 3 capable of reproducing the sounds, once amplified, directly in the ear canal of the user.
• the earphones 3 also make it possible to follow a conventional telephone conversation, the sound of the latter being amplified only if necessary.
• the earphones 3 can therefore be used both for ambient listening and for telephone listening.
• the mobile phone 2 and the earphones 3 are each equipped with microphones 4, 5 capable of acquiring ambient sound.
• the microphone 4 located on the mobile telephone 2 it may be that which conventionally equips any mobile telephone or an additional microphone, more particularly dedicated to the acquisition of ambient sounds.
• the sound can be taken, as the case may be, in a monophonic manner, in a stereophonic manner, while the listening may be carried out in a monaural, binaural monophonic or binaural stereophonic manner, the latter being particularly suitable in the case the sound amplification of a concert.
• the mobile telephone 2 is preferably equipped with an amplifier, not shown, delivering a gain having a preferential response curve over a frequency band between 1 kHz and 4 kHz, at the level of at least one of the earphones ear 3.
• the mobile telephone 2 also has a switch 6 capable of allowing the adjustment of the sound volume of the sounds before their restitution, so as to allow adaptation of the device 1 as a function of both the hearing acuity of the user than the noise level of the environment in which it is located.
• this switch can be placed on the mobile phone 2 or on the link to the earphones 3.
• Another switch 7 also makes it possible to adjust the tone of the sound, which can improve the way in which it is perceived by the user.
• volume or tone can also be adjusted using the keys on the keyboard 10 mobile phone 2, through a menu specific to the sound amplification function.
• sound can also be acquired thanks to the audio frequency coil, housed either in the mobile phone or in an earpiece, in certain rooms equipped with a magnetic loop, which allows, for example, amplify sounds from music concerts or cinematographic films, etc.
• the sound can be acquired via an electrical input of “Jack” type with which the mobile telephone 2 is equipped and which is capable of acquiring sound from, for example, a television set or of a Hi-Fi system.
• the mobile telephone 2 includes means, for example a switch 8, making it possible to select the sound acquisition mode, namely by means of the microphone (s) 4, the microphone (s) 5 located on the earphones 3, the audio frequency coil or the "Jack" socket.
• This switch can be located within one earpiece or the wire connecting it to the mobile phone (2).
• the screen 9 of the mobile telephone 2 can also be used to indicate the selections made, in terms of acquisition mode, volume level or tone adjustment.
• said earphones 3 can be connected to the mobile telephone 2 via a conventional wired link, or even in a particularly advantageous embodiment, via a contactless link, such as in particular that using a communication protocol of the so-called “bluetooth” type, which makes it possible to move the mobile telephone 2 away from the earphones 3 while preserving the various functionalities.
• the device 1 according to the invention therefore has many advantages over traditional sound amplification devices.
• the position of the microphones 4, 5 makes it possible on the one hand to provide comfortable and effective listening by improving the signal / noise ratio, and on the other hand not to amplify the user's own voice.
• such a device 1 due to its integration into a mobile phone 2 is not assimilated to a hearing aid and is therefore better accepted by the persons concerned, in particular those who have only one slight hearing loss.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Otolaryngology (AREA)
• Neurosurgery (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Telephone Set Structure (AREA)
• Telephone Function (AREA)
• Headphones And Earphones (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=32947314

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2003
  • 2003-03-31 FR FR0303950A patent/FR2853197B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2004
  • 2004-03-30 WO PCT/FR2004/050135 patent/WO2004091185A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2004-03-30 EP EP04724311A patent/EP1609294A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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