| US 7,526,096 B2 | ||
| In the ear auxiliary microphone for behind the ear hearing prosthetic | ||
| William Vanbrooks Harrison, Valencia, Calif. (US); Lee F Hartley, Calgary (Canada); Philip A Segel, Englewood, Colo. (US); Scott Crawford, Castaic, Calif. (US); and C. Geoffrey E Fernald, La Canada, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Advanced Bionics, LLC, Valencia, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Sep. 11, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/530,869. | ||
| Application 11/530869 is a division of application No. 10/823962, filed on Apr. 14, 2004, granted, now 7,106,873. | ||
| Application 10/823962 is a division of application No. 09/927130, filed on Aug. 10, 2001, granted, now 6,775,389. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. PCT/US02/025311 (WO), filed on Aug. 08, 2002. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0003089 A1, Jan. 04, 2007 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. H04R 25/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 381—330 [381/326; 381/328] | 20 Claims |
| 1. An apparatus for use with a Behind The Ear (BTE) Implantable Cochlear Stimulation (ICS) system, the BTE including a removable
earhook and the ICS system including a speech processor, the apparatus comprising:
a microphone assembly, wherein the microphone assembly includes a microphone which converts audio sounds into electrical signals
which are processed by the speech processor to generate signals provided to an implantable circuit adapted to generate electrical
pulses to stimulate nerves in the cochlea;
means for positioning the microphone assembly to receive sound waves through a port, wherein the sound waves are directed
from a volume between a user's ear and the earpiece of a communications handset held to the ear; and
means for electrically connecting the microphone to the speech processor,
wherein the positioning means includes a first end attached to the earhook and a second end directed towards the inside of
a user's ear,
wherein the microphone assembly is attached to the second end of the positioning means.
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