VISION CORRECTION SYSTEM, METHOD AND GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON ELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVING A GRAPHICAL DISPLAY

• US 20170060399A1
• Filed: 08/24/2016
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evolution Optiks Limited
• Original Assignee: Evolution Optiks Limited
• Inventors: HOUGH, Nathan L., HOUGH, Christopher J. S., SHARPE, Jennifer K., HOUGH, Ryan M., VIGEANT, Luke A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,564,831 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/02 Viewing or reading apparatus stereoscopic systems G02B30/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0007 Image acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/00 Image enhancement or restoration
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0606 Manual adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0693 Calibration of display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/02 Networking aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/08 Biomedical applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/30 Control of display attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 : involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles

Abstract

Described are various embodiments of an electronic device having an adjustable graphical display, and a vision correction system, method and graphical user interface therefor.

Claims

1. An electronic device for use by a prescribed user having reduced visual acuity, the device comprising:

a digital display;

a hardware processor; and

a computer-readable medium having statements and instructions stored thereon for execution by said hardware processor in correcting an output image to be rendered by said digital display in accordance with a designated image correction, wherein said image correction function receives as input at least one designated user-specific vision correction parameter selected from a plurality of available correction parameters to correspond with the reduced visual acuity of the user and thereby output a correspondingly corrected output image;

wherein output of said correspondingly corrected output image via said digital display at least partially compensates for the user'"'"'s reduced visual acuity.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein said digital display comprises a light-field display having a digital output display screen and a light-field display optics layered thereon and defined by at least one light-field optics parameter, and wherein said image correction function comprises an image pre-filtering function that receives as input said at least one light-field optics parameter and said at least one designated user-specific vision correction parameter to output said correspondingly corrected output image via said light-field display.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein said computer-readable medium has further statements and instructions stored thereon for execution by said hardware processor to implement and render an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) on said display, wherein said interactive GUI incorporates a dynamic vision correction scaling function that dynamically adjusts said at least one vision correction parameter in real-time in response to a designated user interaction therewith via said GUI.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein said dynamic vision correction scaling function comprises a graphically rendered scaling function and wherein said designated user interaction comprises a continuous slide motion operation, and wherein said GUI is configured to capture and translate a user'"'"'s given continuous slide motion operation to a corresponding adjustment to said vision correction parameter scalable with a degree of said user'"'"'s given slide motion operation.

5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein said graphically rendered scaling function comprises a substantially circular graphical scale and wherein said continuous slide motion operation consists of a substantially circular motion on said substantially circular graphical scale.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a communication interface operable to communicate over a network with a network-accessible vision correction resource having stored in association therewith said plurality of available correction parameters and a user profile associated with the user;

wherein said user profile has stored in association therewith said at least one designated vision correction parameter; and

wherein identification of said user profile is communicated by the electronic device to said network-accessible resource via said communication interface to access said at least one designated vision correction parameter therefrom.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, further comprising statements and instructions that, when executed by said hardware processor, render a user login interface that receives as input user profile credentials and relays said user credentials to said network-accessible vision correction resource to access said at least one designated vision correction parameter therefrom, and wherein a given user profile is rendered accessible in response to a corresponding user login via two or more distinct electronic devices.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein said at least one designated vision correction parameter is automatically calculated by a hardware processor associated with said network-accessible resource as a function of at least one user visual acuity factor input by the user via the electronic device and communicated to the network-accessible resource via said communication interface for storage against said user profile, wherein said user visual acuity factor comprises at least one of a user demographic and a predefined user vision correction prescription.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the device consists of a digital vehicle user interface, a digital watch, or a digital reader.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises an onboard or remotely interfaceable digital camera operable to display an image captured by said camera on said digital display such that said captured image is automatically corrected in accordance with said vision correction function for consumption by the user via said digital display.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein said computer-readable medium has further statements and instructions stored thereon for execution by said hardware processor to implement and render an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) on said digital display, wherein said interactive GUI incorporates a vision toggle function that dynamically toggles responsive to user action between distinct predefined vision correction modes, and wherein said distinct predefined vision correction modes include a non-corrected mode.

12. A computer-readable medium having statements and instructions stored thereon for execution by a hardware processor to implement a vision correction application on an electronic device having a digital display to at least partially compensate for a user'"'"'s reduced visual acuity, said statements and instructions executable by said hardware processor to:

access at least one designated user vision correction parameter selected from a plurality of available correction parameters to correspond with the reduced visual acuity of the user;

correct an output image of the electronic device in accordance with a designated image correction function to output a correspondingly corrected output image, wherein said image correction function receives as input said at least one designated user vision correction parameter; and

output said correspondingly corrected output image via said digital display so to at least partially compensate for the user'"'"'s reduced visual acuity.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said computer-readable medium has further statements and instructions stored thereon for execution by said hardware processor to implement and render an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) on said digital display, wherein said interactive GUI incorporates a dynamic vision correction scaling function that dynamically adjusts said at least one vision correction parameter in real-time in response to a designated user interaction therewith via said GUI, wherein said dynamic vision correction scaling function comprises a graphically rendered scaling function and wherein said designated user interaction comprises a continuous slide motion operation, and wherein said GUI is configured to capture and translate a user'"'"'s given continuous slide motion operation to a corresponding adjustment to said vision correction parameter scalable with a degree of said user'"'"'s given slide motion operation.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises statements and instructions to implement and render an interactive graphical user interface (GUI) on said digital display, wherein said interactive GUI incorporates a vision toggle function that dynamically toggles responsive to user action between distinct predefined vision correction modes corresponding to distinct vision correction parameters, and wherein said distinct predefined vision correction modes include a non-corrected mode.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said computer-readable medium further comprises statements and instructions to process an image captured by an onboard or remotely interfaceable camera such that said captured image is automatically corrected in accordance with said vision correction function for consumption by the user via said digital display.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the computer-readable medium is operable to access a display distance parameter representative of a distance between the user and the digital display and execute said vision correction function as a function of said distance.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable medium is executable on distinct device types, and wherein said display distance parameter is predefined for each of said distinct device types.

18. A network-enabled vision correction system to implement vision correction on a plurality of electronic devices, each having a digital output display screen, a hardware processor, a computer-readable medium, and a communication interface, the system comprising:

a network-accessible vision correction server having stored in association therewith a user profile for each system user, wherein each said user profile has stored in association therewith a respective system user identifier and at least one respective vision correction parameter selected from a plurality of vision correction parameters to at least partially correspond with a reduced visual acuity of said respective system user;

a software application executable on each of the devices and comprising statements and instructions executable by the hardware processor thereof in correcting an output image to be rendered by the digital display thereof in accordance with a designated image correction function, wherein said image correction function receives as input said at least one vision correction parameter accessed from a given user profile as selected for a given system user, and thereby outputs a correspondingly corrected output image via said digital display to at least partially compensate for a reduced visual acuity of said given system user.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a light-field optics to be layered on the digital output display screen of each of the devices, wherein said light-field optics is defined by at least one light-field optics parameter, and wherein said image correction function is configured to account for said light-field optics parameter in correcting said output image.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein said at least one vision correction parameter is automatically calculated by a server-accessible hardware processor as a function of at least one user visual acuity factor input by the user via the electronic device and communicated to said server via the communication interface for storage against said user profile, wherein said user visual acuity factor comprises at least one of a user demographic and a predefined user vision correction prescription.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein said user profile is remotely accessible upon user identification from any of said electronic devices so to execute said correspondingly corrected output image via any of said electronic devices in response to said user identification.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein said electronic devices comprise any one or more of cellular telephones, smartphones, smart watches or other smart devices, an onboard vehicle navigation or entertainment system, a network interfaceable vehicle dashboard and/or controls, and the like.

23. A network-enabled vision correction method to implement vision correction on a plurality of electronic devices, each having a digital output display screen, a hardware processor, a computer-readable medium, and a communication interface, the method comprising:

providing access to a vision correction application executable on each of the remote electronic devices to correct an output image to be rendered by the digital display in accordance with a designated image correction function;

storing on a remote server a respective user profile for each of a plurality of registered users, and storing in association therewith at least one designated vision correction parameter corresponding with a respective reduced visual acuity for each of said registered user and a respective digital user identifier usable in remotely identifying each of said registered users;

receiving at an application server over the network a given digital user identifier from a given registered user operating any given one of the remote electronic devices;

the application server;

identifying said given registered user against a corresponding stored user profile as a function of said given digital user identifier;

retrieving said at least one designated vision correction parameter stored in association therewith; and

transmitting said at least one designated vision correction parameter over the network to said given one of the remote electronic devices so to invoke execution of said designated image correction function thereon based at least in part on said at least one designated vision correction parameter and thereby output a correspondingly corrected output image via the digital display to at least partially compensate for a reduced visual acuity of said given registered user.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said vision correction application is further executable to graphically render a real-time vision correction adjustment interface that dynamically adjusts said at least one designated vision correction parameter in real-time responsive to user interaction with said interface in dynamically adjusting said corrected output image accordingly, and digitally record an adjusted vision correction parameter corresponding to a preferred corrected output image setting selected by said given registered user user via said interface, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving over the network a vision correction parameter adjustment command at said application server from said given one of the remote electronic devices indicative of said adjusted vision correction parameter; and

storing said adjusted vision correction parameter against said given user profile.