Bone Conduction Devices Generating Tangentially-Directed Mechanical Force Using a Rotationally Moving Mass

Abstract

A bone conduction device, comprising: a sound input element configured to receive an acoustic sound signal; an electronics module configured generate an electrical signal representing said acoustic sound signal; and a transducer, comprising a mass configured to move in a rotational direction, configured to generate a vibrational force in a tangential direction with respect to a recipient's bone.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for rehabilitating the hearing of a recipient with a bone conduction device having an anchor, comprising:
 forming a mechanical coupling between the bone conduction device and the recipient's bone via the anchor;   receiving an electrical signal representative of an acoustic sound signal;   generating a vibrational force, using a mass, representative of the received electrical signal, wherein the vibrational force is tangential with respect to a surface of the recipient's bone; and   delivering said vibrational forces to the recipient's bone via the formed coupling.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said vibrational force representative of the received electrical signal is generated via a mass configured to move in a substantially linear path. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said vibrational force representative of the received electrical signal is generated via a mass configured to move in a rotational path. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said formed mechanical coupling comprises a coupling between the anchor and the device retained by magnetic forces. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said vibrational forces are generated by one or more piezoelectric elements in the device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 securing the anchor within to the bone conduction device via a socket disposed on the bone conduction device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 attaching the anchor to the recipient's bone.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the anchor is configured to osseointegrate over time with the recipient's bone after said attaching. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the anchor is fixed by one or more screws to the recipient's bone. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the anchor is attached to one or more plates fixed to the recipient's bone. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said one or more plates are configured to osseointegrate with the recipient's bone over a period of time.