Lapel microphone micro-display system incorporating mobile information access system

• US 8,862,186 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2011
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: Jacobsen, Jeffrey J., Parkinson, Christopher, Pombo, Stephen A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US13/236,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20120075177A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 345/8, 345/156
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• 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: G09G 2340/145 related to small screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information

Abstract

A shoulder mounted lapel microphone housing that encloses a microdisplay, a computer, and other communication system components. A microdisplay element is located on or in the microphone housing. Other electronic circuits, such as a microcomputer, one or more wired and wireless interfaces, associated memory or storage devices, auxiliary device mounts and the like are packaged in the microphone housing and/or in an optional pager sized gateway device having a belt clip. Motion, gesture, and/or audio processing circuits in the system provide a way for the user to input commands to the system without a keyboard or mouse. The system provides connectivity to other computing devices such as cellular phones, smartphones, laptop computers, or the like.

Claims

1. A lapel device comprising:

a shoulder microphone form factor housing, wherein the housing is adapted to mount to a lapel area of a user

a microdisplay arranged in the housing, for displaying visual information received from a local processor;

a microphone arranged in the housing, for providing an audio input;

one or more motion detectors providing one or more motion sensor inputs indicating at least a user motion;

a wireless communications interface arranged in the housing, for establishing a communications link with a host processor, the host processor being located apart from the lapel device and executing a user command formed and issued by the local processor;

the local processor arranged in the housing and operatively coupled to the microdisplay, the microphone, the one or more motion detectors, and the wireless interface, and further including;

one or more receivers, for receiving the audio input and the one or more motion sensor inputs;

a translator, for translating the one or more motion sensor inputs and/or the audio input into the user command; and

a display controller, for forwarding further information to be displayed on the microdisplay in response to the host processor execution of the user command.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising:

a second component comprising a wearable housing, the wearable housing adapted to be wearable on a body part other than a head or the lapel area of the user, the second component containing additional electronic circuitry operatively coupled to a second processor.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the second processor of the second component incorporates one or more of a speech recognizer, gesture recognizer, display driver, or high power wireless communications interface.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein the second component exchanges information with the lapel device via a short range wireless communications interface.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the wireless communications interface is selected from Bluetooth or WiFi.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless communications interface further includes a cellular, 3G, 4G, LTE or other long range radio.

7. The device of claim 2 wherein the wearable housing adapted to be wearable on a body part other than the head or the lapel area of the user further comprises a belt clip.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the motion detector provides two or more motion inputs indicative of the motion of the user along two or more axes.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the motion detector is a camera for detecting hand and/or body gesture movements of the user.

10. The device of claim 8 wherein the motion detector is a head movement tracking device for detecting 3 axis up to 9 axis degrees of freedom head movements of the user.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless communications interface establishes a communications link with a host processor arranged in two or more remote cameras or one or more other peripheral devices.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein a reply from the host processor results in information being displayed on the microdisplay.

13. A method of operating a lapel device comprising:

mounting a lapel device having a shoulder microphone form factor housing to a lapel area of a user, the form factor housing enclosing;

a microdisplay;

a microphone;

one or more motion detectors;

one or more wireless communication interfaces; and

a local processor;

displaying visual information received from the local processor on the microdisplay;

sensing a user motion using the one or more motion detectors to provide a motion sensor input;

receiving an audio input using the microphone to provide an audio input

translating the motion sensor input and/or the audio input into a user command;

establishing a communications link using the one or more wireless communications interfaces between the lapel device and a host processor, the user command being executable by the host processor, and the host processor being located apart from the lapel device; and

controlling at least one aspect of the visual information presented on the microdisplay based on the user command as executed by the host processor.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the aspect of the visual information is a zoom, pan, scale factor and or 3D effect of information displayed.

15. The method of claim 13 additionally comprising:

forwarding the user command to the host processor using the wireless communications interface,

receiving a reply from the host processor as a result of execution of the user command, and

using the received reply to control the at least one aspect of the visual information.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the motion sensor input is indicative of motion of the user in two or more axes.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein one of the one or more motion detectors is a camera and the sensed user motion is a hand movement or body gesture of the user.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

mounting a gateway device having a pager-sized form factor to an area other than the lapel area and a head of the user, the gateway device including a short range wireless communications interface, a long range wireless communications interface, a memory or other storage device, and a gateway processor;

establishing a short range communications link between the lapel device and the gateway device;

forwarding the motion sensor input and the audio input to the gateway processor;

translating the motion sensor input and/or the audio command;

establishing a long range communications link between the gateway device and the host processor;

forwarding the user command to the host processor;

receiving a reply from the host processor, based on the user command, at the gateway device, the reply controlling the at least one aspect of the visual information presented on the microdisplay based on the user command.

19. A lapel microdisplay system comprising:

a lapel device including;

a housing, having a form factor of a lapel microphone, configured to mount to a lapel area of a user, and enclosing;

a microdisplay for displaying visual information received from a lapel device processor;

a microphone, operatively coupled to the lapel device processor, for providing an audio input to the lapel device processor;

a motion detector, operatively coupled to the lapel device processor, for sensing a movement of a body part of the user and providing a motion input based on the sensed movement;

a first short range wireless communications interface operatively coupled to the lapel device processor and establishing a short range communications link between the lapel device and a gateway device, and the first short range wireless communications interface forwarding the audio input and the motion input from the lapel device to the gateway device;

the gateway device, having a pager-sized form factor, configured to mount to an area of the user other than the lapel area and head of the user, and further including;

a second short range wireless communications interface, operatively coupled to a gateway processor, for communicating with the lapel device;

a first long range wireless communications interface, operatively coupled to the gateway processor, for establishing a second communications link between the gateway device and a host device;

the gateway processor in response to communications with the lapel device translating the audio input and motion input into a user command executable by the host device and forwarding the user command to the host device using the first long range communications interface; and

the host device, including a second long range communications interface for communicating with the gateway device, the host processor generating a reply including further visual information to be displayed on the microdisplay of the lapel device based on results of executing the user command, and forwarding the reply to the gateway device, the gateway device relaying the reply including the further visual information to the lapel device for responsively displaying on the microdisplay.