Humavox is advancing the next generation of hearing aids and hearables with the introduction of wireless charging. The company will wirelessly power rechargeable batteries through the utilization of their proprietary radio frequency (RF) technology. Humavox’s technology uses one of ON Semiconductor’s energy efficient innovations to bring quality charging to hearing aids, in order to simplify the lives of the hearing impaired.
New generation hearing aids are becoming much smaller, more sophisticated and packed with dense electronics, yet still lack effective charging solutions. Humavox’s flexible hardware platform, ETERNA, includes the smallest power receiver available in the market, making it able to fit into the tiniest of hearing aids. Wireless charging technology also enables bypassing the USB port, which allows for a waterproof design. This is of significant value to hearing aid manufacturers as well as manufacturers of various hearables, such as wireless earbuds, for commercial use.
With more than 10 million hearing aids sold worldwide every year, one of the most common problems hearing aid users still encounter is dealing with constant battery replacement. In fact, some people with hearing loss avoid wearing hearing aids all-together because of the hassles related to battery issues. With Humavox’s technology, users can drop their hearing aid in its case and, regardless of the aids’ orientation in that case, the hearing aid is recharged seamlessly.
Humavox’s ETERNA platform uses HPM10, a power management IC (PMIC) from ON Semiconductor, designed specifically to support rechargeable batteries within hearing aids. This unique technology automatically detects the battery chemistry deployed in the hearing aid, and then operates as a high-efficiency regulator to provide the necessary charging supply voltage. HPM10’s built-in charger communication interface (CCIF) can send data to the hearing aid charger during the charging cycle. This enables communication of battery parameters such as battery voltage levels, current levels, temperature and different forms of battery status and failures. With HPM10’s communication interface, Humavox’s platform receives data, which can be used to optimize the charging process.
The use of state-of-the-art power management technology will allow Humavox to provide high efficiency charging combined with improved power regulation. The ETERNA hardware platform supplies hearing aids, wireless earbuds, and hearables with design flexibility, whereby the technology can be implemented in any kind of device and is able to support multiple battery types.
