Patent ID: 8837760

Claim:
A bone conduction device for converting received sounds signals into a mechanical force for delivery to a recipient's skull, the device comprising: a plurality of separate, independently operable multilayer piezoelectric elements each comprising two stacked piezoelectric layers, and a passive layer disposed between and mounted to the piezoelectric layers so as to separate the piezoelectric layers from each other, wherein the piezoelectric layers are configured to deform in response to application thereto of electrical signals generated based on the received sound signals; a mass component attached to one or more of the multilayer piezoelectric elements so as to move in response to deformation of the one or more piezoelectric elements; and a coupling configured to attach the device to the recipient so as to transfer mechanical forces generated by the multilayer piezoelectric element and the mass component to the recipient's skull, wherein the device is configured to apply an electric signal to a first of the plurality of multilayer piezoelectric elements in response to receipt of a high frequency sound signal by the device, and wherein the device is configured to apply an electric signal to a second of the plurality of multilayer piezoelectric elements in response to receipt of a low frequency sound signal by the device.