Knowles Electronics, LLC

A Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) die includes a substrate; a back plate mounted to the substrate and partially covering an aperture through the substrate; a diaphragm between the back plate and the substrate, the diaphragm comprising a central portion covering the aperture and an outer peripheral portion coupled to the substrate; a plurality of springs connecting the central portion of the diaphragm to the outer peripheral portion of the diaphragm, each spring located outwardly of the aperture; and a plurality of deflection limiters protruding from the back plate. The plurality of deflection limiters is located and configured to at least momentarily contact the diaphragm proximate the plurality of springs during operation of the MEMS die.

An ear-worn hearing device with occlusion reduction is disclosed. The hearing device includes a signal processor configured to generate an anti-occlusion signal based on a feedforward signal from a vibration sensor located to detect tissue-propagated vibration within the user's at least partially occluded ear canal. Optionally, the anti-occlusion signal can also be based on a feedback signal from a microphone located to detect sound within the at least partially occluded ear canal. Unwanted vibrations detected by the vibration sensor can optionally be removed from the anti-occlusion signal based on filtering the anti-occlusion signal.

A sensor component can include a housing, an electrical interface, and a capacitive transducer, the capacitive transducer including a first electrode and a second electrode. The sensor component can include an electrical circuit including a bias voltage source coupled to the first electrode. The bias voltage source can include a voltage booster circuit coupled to the charge pump and coupled to a reference voltage source. The voltage booster circuit can receive a reference voltage and a clock signal, increase the reference voltage, and increase a voltage of the clock signal provided to a charge pump clock input based on the increased reference voltage. The voltage booster circuit can provide the increased reference voltage to the charge pump input. The voltage booster circuit can also include a switch control circuit that controls at least two transistors of the voltage booster circuit independent of the reference voltage.

A hearing device including a spout configured for wearing on a user's concha or at least partially in a user's ear canal is disclosed. The hearing device includes a speaker having a sound outlet acoustically coupled to an opening of a spout by a speaker sound path, and a sensor having a signal input coupled to the spout opening by a sensor signal path. A partition disposed in the passage of the spout is located between the speaker sound path and the sensor signal path, wherein the partition isolates the sensor signal path from the speaker sound path along at least a portion of the spout passage.

A hearing device including a spout configured for wearing on a user's concha or at least partially in a user's ear canal is disclosed. The hearing device includes a speaker having a sound outlet acoustically coupled to an opening of the spout by a speaker sound path, a microphone having a sound port acoustically coupled to the spout opening by a microphone sound path, and a manifold covering a sound port of the microphone. The manifold includes a sound passage between the sound port of the microphone and an opening of the manifold, wherein the manifold isolates the microphone sound path from the speaker sound path along at least a portion of the spout passage.

A sensor component is disclosed including a transducer and an electrical circuit disposed in a housing. The electrical circuit includes a bias voltage source coupled to a first electrode of the transducer. A non-inverting amplifier stage is coupled to a second electrode of the transducer. An inverting amplifier stage is coupled to an output of the non-inverting amplifier stage. A negative feedback path is located between an output of the inverting amplifier stage and the first electrode of the transducer. An electrical output signal of the transducer can be attenuated by applying an attenuation signal, based on a filtered electrical signal, to the first electrode via the negative feedback path.

A Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) microphone can include a housing, an integrated circuit (IC), and a MEMS transducer. The housing can include a cover mounted on a base having a first printed circuit board (PCB) facing a second PCB. A first recess can be located in the base and be at least partially defined by an aperture through the first PCB. A second recess can be located in the base and be at least partially defined by a cavity in the first PCB. An internal electrical interface can be located in the housing on a side of the first PCB facing the second PCB. The MEMS transducer can be electrically connected to the IC and include a diaphragm that separates an interior of the housing into a front volume and a back volume, wherein the first recess and the second recess constitute a portion of the back volume.

An ear-worn hearing device includes a speaker disposed in a housing comprising a portion configured for wear over, on, or at least partially in a canal of a user's ear. Microphones are integrated with the housing, and a digital signal processing chain is coupled to and located between the microphones and the speaker. The digital signal processing chain includes active noise cancellation (ANC) circuitry configured to generate an anti-noise signal, and speaker-performance-enhancement circuitry coupled to the ANC circuitry and configured to generate a signal based on the anti-noise signal for the speaker. The digital signal processing chain is configured to communicate audio signals between the ANC circuitry and the speaker-performance-enhancement circuitry without changing a format of the audio signals.

A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensor assembly comprises a substrate, a bump stopper extending from the substrate, and a sensor suspended relative to the substrate. The sensor is configured to move relative to the substrate, wherein the bump stopper is configured to restrain the sensor travel distance and prevent contact between the sensor and the substrate. The bump stopper has a surface facing the sensor, wherein an area of contact between the sensor and the surface is less than the total area of the surface.

An ear-worn hearing device is disclosed and includes a body portion with a sound-producing transducer acoustically coupled to a sound passage of a nozzle. a resilient portion protrudes from a side of the body portion and includes a physiological or activity sensor coupled to a flexible portion of a flex harness. The resilient portion at least partially covers a portion of the flex harness without impeding operation of the sensor, wherein the flexible portion and the sensor are flexible toward and away from the body portion upon depression and release of the resilient portion.