Eye imaging in head worn computing

• US 9,532,715 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mentor Acquisition One, LLC (Magic Leap, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Osterhout Design Group
• Inventors: Haddick, John, Border, John N., Bietry, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, HUY KIM
• Application Number:
  US14/533,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 351/158, 351/206, 351/209, 351/221
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0008 provided with illuminating means A61B3/117 takes precedence; goniolenses used for laser treatment A61F9/009; illuminating means for optical instruments G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0041 characterised by display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/12 for looking at the eye fundus, e.g. ophthalmoscopes A61B3/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/117 Identification of persons methods or arrangements for recognising patterns, e.g. fingerprints, G06F18/00, G06V40/00; identification of persons by analysing their voice or speech G10L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1171 based on the shapes or appearances of their bodies or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/193 Preprocessing; Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/197 : Matching; Classification

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for imaging, recognizing, and tracking of a user'"'"'s eye that is wearing a HWC. Aspects further relate to the processing of images reflected from the user'"'"'s eye and controlling displayed content in accordance therewith. Aspects further relate to determining health conditions of the user based on eye imaging technologies.

Claims

1. An eye-imaging system, comprising:

a camera system, adapted to capture eye-image light that originates as one or more reflections from an eye of a user, the camera system positioned in a head-worn computer, wherein the head-worn computer is adapted to display digital content to a user along a common optical axis that intersects with an eye of the user such that the user can see the digital content;

a light source positioned in the head-worn computer such that it irradiates the eye of the user, along the optical axis, with a pattern of light to produce at least a portion of the reflections from the eye of the user; and

a processor adapted to analyze a difference between the irradiated pattern of light and the captured eye-image light, wherein the difference is interpreted as positional changes of the eye of the user.

2. The eye-imaging system of claim 1, wherein the display is a reflective display.

3. The eye-imaging system of claim 2, wherein the reflective display is a liquid crystal on silicon display (“

LCoS”

).

4. The eye-imaging system of claim 2, wherein the light source is further positioned to irradiate the reflective display, wherein the reflective display is arranged to produce the digital content and the pattern of light.

5. The eye-imaging system of claim 2, wherein the reflective display is a digital light processor (“

DLP”

).

6. The eye-imaging system of claim 5, further comprising a dark-light trap positioned to capture off-pixel light generated by the DLP.

7. The eye-imaging system of claim 1, wherein the display is an emissive display.

8. The eye-imaging system of claim 1, wherein the pattern of light is a grid.

9. The eye-imaging system of claim 1, wherein the pattern of light is generated with a diffractive optic.