Multi-Coil Field Generation in an Electronic Contact Lens System

• US 20190331938A1
• Filed: 04/30/2018
• Published: 10/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tectus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Spy Eye, LLC
• Inventors: Owens, Thomas Llewellyn, Pang, Hawk Yin
• Granted Patent: US 10,895,762 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/14 Inductive couplings for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling H02J50/10
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/80 involving the exchange of data, concerning supply or distribution of electric power, between transmitting devices and receiving devices

Abstract

An augmented reality system includes an electronic contact lens and a plurality of conductive coils to be worn, for instance, around a neck, around an arm, or on a chest of a user. The conductive coils can inductively couple to the electronic contact lens by producing magnetic fields that the electronic contact lens can convert into power. A direction of the resulting magnetic at the electronic contact lens can rotate over time, enabling the electronic contact lens to periodically form a strong inductive coupling with the plurality of conductive coils despite the orientation of the electronic contact lens. The electronic contact lens can also output a feedback signal representative of the power produced at the electronic contact lens or an orientation signal representative of the orientation of the eye, and the magnetic fields produced by the conductive coils can be altered based on the feedback signal or orientation signal.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of wearable conductive coils each configured to generate a corresponding time varying magnetic field for providing power to an electronic contact lens; and

a controller configured to drive the plurality of wearable conductive coils such that a direction of a resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens changes over time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller drives a different AC signal to each of the plurality of wearable conductive coils, the AC signals having a same frequency and a different phase.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the direction of the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens rotates 360 degrees over time.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein two or more of the AC signals have different magnitudes, and wherein the magnitudes of the two or more AC signals are varied periodically.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wearable conductive coils includes a first conductive coil and a second conductive coil, the first conductive coil configured to produce a first magnetic field in a first direction and the second conductive coil configured to produce a second magnetic field in a second direction different than the first direction when the first conductive coil is worn in a first orientation and the second conductive coil is worn in a second orientation different than the first orientation.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first conductive coil is configured to be worn around a neck of a person and the second conductive coil is configured to be worn on a chest of the person.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the first coil and the second coil are not co-planar.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of wearable conductive coils includes a third conductive coil, wherein the third conductive coil is configured to produce a third magnetic field in a third direction different than the first direction and the second direction when the third conductive coil is worn in a third orientation different than the first orientation and the second orientation, and wherein the third direction is not coplanar with a plane defined by the first direction and the second direction.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the wearable conductive coil is configured to be worn around a neck of a person, the second conductive coil is configured to be worn on a chest of the person, and the third conductive coil is configured to be worn around a shoulder of the person.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the direction of the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens changes within a plane.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens is equal to a sum of each magnetic field produced by a corresponding conductive coil of the plurality of conductive coils.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic contact lens comprises a power circuit configured to produce power in response to the resulting magnetic field.

13. A method for providing power to an electronic contact lens, comprising:

driving, by a controller, a first wearable conductive coil to produce a first magnetic field; and

driving, by the controller, a second wearable conductive coil to produce a second magnetic field such that a direction of a resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens changes over time.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the controller drives a different AC signal to each of the first conductive coil and the second conductive coil, the AC signals having same a frequency and a different phase.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein a the direction of the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens rotates 360 degrees over time.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the first conductive coil is configured to produce the first magnetic field in a first direction and the second conductive coil is configured to produce the second magnetic field in a second direction different than the first direction when the first conductive coil is worn in a first orientation and the second conductive coil is worn in a second orientation different than the first orientation.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the direction of the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens changes within a plane.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

driving, by the controller, a third wearable conductive coil to produce a third magnetic field, wherein the direction of the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens changes in three dimensions.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the resulting magnetic field at the electronic contact lens is equal to a sum of the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the electronic contact lens comprises a power circuit configured to produce power in response to the resulting magnetic field.