Hearing instrument system with a rechargeable battery
View Patent ↗A hearing instrument system with a rechargeable battery or accumulator is optimized for everyday use, in particular for EOL detection, and the performance and service life of the accumulator. A hearing instrument, an accumulator system, and a charging system each have an energy transfer interface and a communication interface. The energy transfer interface and communication interface on the accumulator side can establish an energy transfer link and/or communication link on the charge and hearing instrument side. The accumulator system provides energy to the hearing instrument and transmits state of charge information generated by an accumulator control facility to the hearing instrument by way of the respective communication link. The transmission of the state of charge information enables a reliable state of charge detection in the case of batteries, whose state of charge cannot be identified on their voltage, for instance Li-ion systems with closed-loop controlled voltage.
1. A hearing instrument system, comprising:
a hearing instrument having an energy transfer interface and a communication interface;
an accumulator system having an accumulator, an energy transfer interface, a communication interface and an accumulator control facility; and
a charging system having an energy transfer interface, a communication interface and a charge control facility;
wherein said energy transfer interface of said accumulator system is configured to establish an energy transfer link with said energy transfer interface of said hearing instrument for supplying energy stored in said accumulator to said hearing instrument as a constant voltage, wherein said energy transfer link between said accumulator system and said energy transfer interface of said hearing instrument is also embodied as a communication link for transferring data;
wherein said energy transfer interface of said accumulator system is also configured to establish an energy transfer link with said energy transfer interface of said charging system;
wherein said energy transfer interface of said accumulator system is configured to establish an energy transfer link with said energy transfer interface of said hearing instrument for supplying energy stored in said accumulator to said hearing instrument as a constant voltage, and to establish an energy transfer link with said energy transfer interface of said charging system;
wherein said communication interface of said accumulator system is configured to establish a communication link with said communication interface of said hearing instrument and with said communication interface of said charging system;
wherein said accumulator system is configured to transfer an item of information relating to the accumulator and generated by said accumulator control facility to one or both of said hearing instrument or said charging system by way of the respective said communication link; and
said accumulator system is configured to transfer an item of state of charge information dependent on a state of charge of said accumulator and determined by said accumulator control facility to said hearing instrument by varying the constant voltage of the energy supply;
wherein said accumulator system is configured to provide a supply voltage to said hearing instrument by way of the energy transfer and communication link and said accumulator system transmits the state of charge information by setting the supply voltage to a predetermined value.
2. The hearing instrument system according to claim 1 , wherein said accumulator system is configured to provide a supply voltage to said hearing instrument by way of the energy transfer and communication link and said accumulator system transmits the state of charge information by modulating a predetermined signal on the supply voltage.
3. The hearing instrument system according to claim 1 , wherein said accumulator system is configured to transfer an item of accumulator information determined by said accumulator control facility by way of the corresponding said communication link to said hearing instrument and/or said charging system.
4. The hearing instrument system according to claim 3 , wherein item of accumulator information determined by said accumulator control facility is one or a plurality of accumulator parameters selected from the group consisting of:
a number of effected charging cycles;
a duration of a charging process;
a temperature of a charging process;
a total discharge;
a connection with polarity reversal;
a fault in a charging process;
a State of Health;
an impedance of the accumulator;
a charge quantity;
a residual capacity;
an overall capacity; and
a type of accumulator.
5. The hearing instrument system according to claim 4 , wherein the fault in the charging process pertains to voltage, current, or temperature, and the parameter relating to the type of accumulator pertains to accumulator chemistry, serial number, or other production information.
6. The hearing instrument system according to claim 1 , wherein said energy transfer interface and said communication interface of said accumulator system consist of the same electrical contacts.
7. The hearing instrument system according to claim 6 , wherein said energy transfer interface and said communication interface of said accumulator system consist of two electrical contacts.
8. The hearing instrument system according to claim 1 , wherein said energy transfer interface of said accumulator system comprises two electrical contacts, and said communication interface of said accumulator system comprises at least one further electrical contact.
9. The hearing instrument system according to claim 1 , wherein said energy transfer link between said accumulator system and said hearing instrument comprises electrical contacts and said energy transfer link and/or said communication link between said accumulator system and said charging system are wireless.