Doze detector
First Claim
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1. A detector for detecting blinks of an eye, comprising:
- light sensing means comprising first and second light emitting elements and first and second light receiving elements, wherein the first light emitting element projects light onto one half of the eye, the second light emitting element projects light onto the other half of the eye, the first light receiving element receives a first reflected light beam from the one half of the eye, and the second light receiving element receives a second reflected light beam from the other half of the eye, said first light receiving element outputting a first output signal representative of the first reflected light beam and said second light receiving element outputting a second output signal representative of the second reflected light beam; and
processing means for processing the first and second output signals so as to determine whether a blink has occurred, and for determining that a blink has occurred only when both said first output signal and said second output signal are representative of a blink;
wherein said processing means comprises means for obtaining a Boolean product of the first and second output signals, and wherein said processing means determines whether a blink has occurred using said Boolean product.
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Abstract
A doze detector detects when the user begins to go to sleep, by detecting the blinks of the user'"'"'s eye, regardless of the position of the iris, using at least two reflection type sensors. A blink is determined to have occurred only when both light detecting elements detect a blink. The number and/or duration of the blinks is then used to determine whether the user is beginning to doze. An alarm can then be produced to prevent the user from going to sleep.
69 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A detector for detecting blinks of an eye, comprising:
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light sensing means comprising first and second light emitting elements and first and second light receiving elements, wherein the first light emitting element projects light onto one half of the eye, the second light emitting element projects light onto the other half of the eye, the first light receiving element receives a first reflected light beam from the one half of the eye, and the second light receiving element receives a second reflected light beam from the other half of the eye, said first light receiving element outputting a first output signal representative of the first reflected light beam and said second light receiving element outputting a second output signal representative of the second reflected light beam; and processing means for processing the first and second output signals so as to determine whether a blink has occurred, and for determining that a blink has occurred only when both said first output signal and said second output signal are representative of a blink; wherein said processing means comprises means for obtaining a Boolean product of the first and second output signals, and wherein said processing means determines whether a blink has occurred using said Boolean product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A detector for detecting blinks of an eye, comprising:
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light sensing means comprising first and second light emitting elements and first and second light receiving elements, wherein the first light emitting element projects light onto one half of the eye, the second light emitting element projects light onto the other half of the eye, the first light receiving element receives a first reflected light beam from the one half of the eye, and the second light receiving element receives a second reflected light beam from the other half of the eye, said first light receiving element outputting a first output signal representative of the first reflected light beam and said second light receiving element outputting a second output signal representative of the second reflected light beam; and processing means for processing the first and second output signals so as to determine whether a blink has occurred, and for determining that a blink has occurred only when both said first output signal and said second output signal are representative of a blink; wherein said processing means comprises means for determining the sum of the first and second output signals, and wherein said processing means determines whether a blink has occurred using said sum. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for detecting blinks of an eye, comprising:
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projecting a first light beam onto one half of the eye and a second light beam onto the other half of the eye; receiving a first reflected light beam from the one half of the eye and a second reflected light beam from the other half of the eye; outputting a first output signal representative of the first reflected light beam and a second output signal representative of the second reflected light beam; and determining whether a blink has occurred using said first and second output signals, wherein a blink is determined to have occurred only when both said first output signal and said second output signal are representative of a blink; wherein said determining step includes obtaining a Boolean product of the first and second output signals, and wherein said Boolean product is used to determine whether a blink has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for detecting blinks of an eye, comprising:
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projecting a first light beam onto one half of the eye and a second light beam onto the other half of the eye; receiving a first reflected light beam from one half of the eye and a second reflected light beam from the other half of the eye; outputting a first output signal representative of the first reflected light beam and a second output signal representative of the second reflected light beam; and determining whether a blink has occurred using said first and second output signals, wherein a blink is determined to have occurred only when both said first output signal and said second output signal are representative of a blink; wherein said determining step includes calculating the sum of the first and second output signals, and wherein said sum is used to determine whether a blink has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification