VISUAL APPARATUS AND VISUAL METHOD

• US 20140121738A1
• Filed: 10/24/2013
• Published: 05/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Arafune, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,942,822 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/116
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/0543 Retinal electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36046 of the eye

Abstract

A visual apparatus includes at least one set of probes and a signal generation unit. The at least one set of probes includes a plurality of probes. The signal generation unit is configured to generate a stimulation pattern signal corresponding to information on color, and to input, to at least a part of an area ranging from a retina to a visual nerve, a plurality of pattern signals as the generated stimulation pattern signal via the plurality of probes in the at least one set of probes.

Claims

1. A visual apparatus, comprising:

at least one set of probes including a plurality of probes; and

a signal generation unit configured

to generate a stimulation pattern signal corresponding to information on color, and

to input, to at least a part of an area ranging from a retina to a visual nerve, a plurality of pattern signals as the generated stimulation pattern signal via the plurality of probes in the at least one set of probes.

2. The visual apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to generate the stimulation pattern signal for each of different colors.

3. The visual apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured

to generate a pair of pattern signals as the plurality of pattern signals, and

to output each of the pair of pattern signals from at least two proves in the at least one set of probes.

4. The visual apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the at least two probes are disposed so that one of the pair of pattern signals is input to a center portion of a receptive field of the retina and the other of the pair of pattern signals is input to a peripheral portion of the receptive field of the retina.

5. The visual apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to generate a first pattern signal and a second pattern signal as the pair of pattern signals, the first pattern signal including a pulse having a first duration, the first pattern signal having a predetermined repeated cycle, the second pattern signal including a pulse having a second duration, the second pattern signal having the same repeated cycle as that of the first pattern signal, the second duration being shorter than the first duration.

6. The visual apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the signal generation unit has, in a case where the repeated cycle is represented by T, a reference clock of T/10 to T/5 for generating the pulse.

7. The visual apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a probe array unit including a plurality of sets of probes as the at least one set of probes, the plurality of sets of probes of the probe array unit being provided corresponding to a plurality of receptive fields of the retina.

8. The visual apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured

to select a group of sets of probes disposed at arbitrary positions out of the plurality of sets of probes, and

to input the stimulation pattern signal.

9. The visual apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to select a group of sets of probes forming an arbitrary two-dimensional shape as the group of sets of probes disposed at arbitrary positions.

10. The visual apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to generate a phase difference between the stimulation pattern signals output from the plurality of sets of probes.

11. The visual apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured

to select a group of sets of probes disposed at arbitrary positions out of the plurality of sets of probes, and

to generate the phase difference between the stimulation pattern signals out of the selected group of sets of probes.

12. The visual apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the receptive field is an area in a circle having a diameter of not less than 1 μ

m and not more than 30 μ

m.

13. The visual apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to generate a signal having a repeated cycle of not less than 3.5 Hz and not more than 10 Hz as the stimulation pattern signal.

14. The visual apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the signal generation unit is configured to generate one of an electric signal and an optical signal as the stimulation pattern signal.

15. A visual method, comprising:

generating a stimulation pattern signal corresponding to information on color, the stimulation pattern signal including a plurality of pattern signals; and

inputting, to at least a part of an area ranging from a retina to a visual nerve, the plurality of pattern signals via a plurality of probes included in at least one sets of probes.