(12) United States Patent
(10) Patent No.: US 8,098,206 B2
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Schiitzle (45) Date of Patent: Jan. 17, 2012 (54) ANTENNA ARRANGEMENT FOR HEARING (58) Field of Classification Search ................ .. 343/720, DEVICE APPLICATIONS 343/725, 726, 787, 788, 702, 850, 860 See application file for complete search history. (75) Inventor: Ulrich Schéitzle, Erlangen (DE) _ (56) References Cited (73) Assignee: Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH’ Erlangen (DE) U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 5,764,190 A 6/1998 Murch et al. * ( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this JROChelle """"""""""" " 343/788 . . , , an et al. Patent 15 extended or adlusted under 35 6,909,401 B2 * 6/2005 Rutfors et 91. .............. .. 343/702 U.S.C. l54(b) by 369 days. 2005/0237254 A1 10/2005 K910 etal. (21) APPL N O; 12/309,712 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 11 2004 000 520 T5 3/2006 (22) PCT Filed: Jul. 27, 2007 E; 2% JP 2001332930 A 11/2001 (86) PCT No.: PCT/EP2007/057745 W0 WO 02/05381 A1 1/2002 § 371 (OX1), * cited by examiner (2), (4) Date: Jan‘ 27’ 2009 Primary Examiner * Michael C Wimer (87) PCT Pub. No.: WO2008/012355 (57) ABSTRACT PCT Pub. Date: J an, 31, 2008 A device having an electric antenna and a magnetic antenna is described, the antennas being spatially arranged in immediate (65) Prior Publication Data mutual proximity. The electric antenna has at least one current-carrying electric conductor Which acts as a resonator for Us 2009/0315787 A1 Dec‘ 24’ 2009 the electric antenna, While the magnetic antenna has a coil _ _ With at least one current-carrying conductor loop Which acts Related U's' Apphcatlon Data as an inductor of the magnetic antenna. Thus the electric (60) Provisional application No. 60/834,310, filed on Jul. antenna and the magnetic antenna are Spatially arranged rela28, 2006_ tive to each other such that the direction of the current in the electric conductor of the electric antenna extends substan(51) Int_ CL tially at right angles to the direction of the current in the H01Q 21/30 (200601) conductor loop of the magnetic antenna. (52) U.S. Cl. ...................................... .. 343/725; 343/788 17 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets 25 p. I 21 21 _____ ___ _____'___ _ ____________________l_________________i___ __; :22. 3 _ 1 5 \-22 \-23 5 ' " 7' """""""""""" 2 ':' : : : : : :1::':::::::::::::3:I:::::::::::::::::::::::::j " " ' 251-’ " 3 ‘-252 1 I 2 \_ ~ 1 R *--12 “~ 24 1 1 “f 1 0 /V
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U.S. Patent Jan. 17,2012 Sheet 2 012 US 8,098,206 B2
1 ANTENNA ARRANGEMENT FOR HEARING DEVICE APPLICATIONS
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is the US National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2007/057745 filed Jul. 27, 2007 and claims the benefit thereof. The International Application claims the benefit of the U.S. provisional patent application filed on Jul. 28, 2006, and assigned application No. 60/834, 310, both of the applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The invention relates to an antenna arrangement in Which a magnetic antenna for a short transmission range and an electric antenna for a longer transmission range are combined in a unit for hearing device applications such that there is no mutual interference.
Hearing devices noWadays can be provided With special devices for Wireless transmission for programming or interlinking purposes. This involves the use of both magnetic and electric antennas, Which are integrated into the hearing device, although it is difficult to integrate them into a hearing device oWing to the confined space. As a rule, a minimum physical siZe is necessary if a satisfactory antenna gain is to be achieved. If, on the other hand, not just one but a plurality of antennas is to be integrated in a hearing device, for example one antenna for a short transmission range and one for a longer transmission range, integration becomes all the more difficult. The reason is the added problem of arranging the antennas in the confined space in the hearing device housing such that there is as little mutual interference as possible. This problem has not previously been satisfactorily solved.
Hearing devices having tWo magnetic antennas are already knoWn. OWing to the mutual interference of the tWo antennas they have to be spaced a minimum distance apart, hoWever. Complex design measures are necessary in order to position the tWo antennas as far apart as possible. Also already knoWn are, moreover, hearing devices in Which an electric Bluetooth antenna has been arranged in direct proximity to magnetic antennas. The mutual interference suppression of the antennas resulting from this arrangement is achieved by complex, multi-stage filtering measures. A relatively large amount of space is required to accommodate complex filters of this kind in hearing device housings. The cost of manufacturing the hearing device is also thereby increased.
An object of the invention is to identify a Way of arranging a plurality of antennas in immediate mutual proximity Without mutual interference occurring. This object is achieved by means of a device according to the independent claim. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims.
A device has an electric antenna and a magnetic antenna Which are spatially arranged in immediate mutual proximity. The electric antenna in this instance has at least one currentcarrying electric conductor Which acts as a resonator. The magnetic antenna, on the other hand, has a coil With at least one current-carrying conductor loop Which acts as an induc
tor of the magnetic antenna. The tWo antennas (20, 30) are spatially arranged relative to each other such that the direction of the current in the electric conductor of the electric antenna extends substantially at right angles to the direction of the current in the conductor loop of the magnetic antenna. This prevents an electromagnetic alternating field generated by the electric antenna from generating any induced currents in the Windings of the magnetic antenna. The tWo antennas can thus be positioned in close proximity Without mutual interference.
In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, a filter is arranged betWeen the electric antenna and the magnetic antenna. This additional measure makes it possible to ensure that the tWo antennas are effectively isolated from each other.
According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the filter is in the form of an LC high pass. Since the frequencies of the tWo antennas are generally very different from each other, this simple filter is enough to enable the antennas to be effectively isolated from each other. Where the electric antenna has an adapter loop, it is also particularly advantageous to use this adapter loop as an inductor for the LC high pass. This makes it possible to dispense With additional components. In a further advantageous embodiment, the filter is formed by virtue of the arrangement of a capacitor at each end of the adapter loop. This makes it possible to achieve particularly effective isolation of the electric antenna from the magnetic antenna.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the magnetic antenna is in the form of a cylindrical coil With a ferromagnetic core, the ferromagnetic core being made from a material having a loW electric conductivity and also having a loW frequency-dependent relative permeability for the frequency of the electric antenna, such that field displacement of the electric antenna is avoided. The magnetic field of the coil is strengthened as a result of the use of the ferromagnetic core. The loW electric conductivity of the coil core prevents eddy currents from being induced therein. Its loW frequency-dependent relative permeability ensures that there is no disruptive field displacement of the electric antenna.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the antennas are arranged on opposite sides of a printed circuit board. Since, in this case, the tWo antennas use the same base area of the printed circuit board, a particularly space-saving antenna arrangement is thereby possible.
It is very advantageous for the electric antenna to be in the form of a printed conductor structure on the printed circuit board. An antenna of this kind can be very easily and inexpensively produced. Furthermore, this antenna requires a particularly small amount of space.
According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the electric antenna is in the form of a monopole antenna Which is fed by an HF generator, the electric antenna having transformer adaptation to the line impedance of the HF generator. As a result of its design and its ease of adaptation to the line impedance, this “inverted F” antenna is Well-suited to transmission procedures operating at frequencies of around 2.5 GHZ. Since an inductor is already present in the form of a section of this antenna, it is particularly easy to produce a filter to isolate the antennas from each other.
Lastly, according to further embodiments of the invention the device is in the form of a radio relay unit for hearing device applications or in the form of a hearing device. Precisely because of the confined space in such a device, the proposed space-saving antenna arrangement is particularly Well-suited to hearing device applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention Will be explained in more detail beloW With reference to draWings in Which:
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