VIDEO EYEWEAR FOR SMART PHONE GAMES

• US 20110169928A1
• Filed: 01/10/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: Choi, Hong, Gassel, John, Parkinson, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 8,754,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/53
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 with head-mounted left-right displays

Abstract

Connections, software programming and interaction between a smart phone and a Head Mounted Display (HMD) or other video eyewear to improve user experience. The signal from an accelerometer and/or a touch screen in a smart phone is used only for certain control of an application program, such as to steer a racing car or a plane or to move a game persona character within a virtual space. The main scene for the game is displayed in the HMD and not the smart phone screen. One or more inputs from the HMD such as a head tracker or camera, are connected to the smart phone either via a wire or wirelessly such as via WiFi or Bluetooth. The head tracking and/or camera inputs are used as another input to the game, such as to pan/zoom or change the viewpoint of the user. In a still further implementation, the HMD also can have an integrated processor to make it a “smart” HMD. The game can take advantage of the processing power in such a smart HMD, to implement functions such as side-by-side video processing to provide 3D video to the user.

Claims

1. A method for operating a smart phone comprising:

connecting the smart phone to a video eyewear device via a wired or wireless interface;

accepting a user input signal from an accelerometer and/or a touch screen in the smart phone, the user input signal indicating control over movement of an object in a graphical world space defined in an application program executing on the smart phone;

deriving video data signal indicating a main scene for the world space;

forwarding the video data signals over the interface for display only on the video eyewear;

accepting input signals from the video eyewear device indicative of head movement; and

using the input head movement signals as other input data to control the application program.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the video eyewear is a Head Mounted Display.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the video signals are further processed by the video eyewear device to provide three dimensional (3D) video processing.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the input signals indicative of head movement are used by the smart phone to control a viewpoint in the graphical world space in the application program.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical world space is used to implement a game program.

6. The method of claim 1 additionally comprising:

accepting additional input from a touch screen, and

providing the touch screen input to the eyewear to indicate a cursor location in the main scene.

7. A smart phone apparatus comprising:

a processor for executing an application program;

an input device for providing a user input signal to the application program to indicate control over movement of an object in a graphical world space defined in the application program;

an interface to a video eyewear device, the interface for providing a video data signal indicating a main scene for the graphical world space, and for accepting input head movement signals from the video eyewear device indicative of user head movement; and

wherein that input head movement signals are also provided to the processor as other input data to control the application program.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the video eyewear device is a Head Mounted Display.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the video signals are further processed by the video eyewear device to provide three dimensional (3D) video processing.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the input signals indicative of head movement are used by the application program to control a viewpoint in the graphical world space.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the application program implements a game.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 additionally comprising:

a touch sensitive surface, for accepting additional touch input from a user; and

wherein the interface further provides the touch input to the eyewear device as indicating a cursor location in the main scene.

13. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the input device is an accelerometer and/or a touch screen.

14. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the interface between the smart phone and the eyewear device is a wired or a wireless interface.