Electric shaver with imaging capability

• US 9,848,174 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: May Patents Ltd.
• Original Assignee: May Patents Ltd.
• Inventors: Binder, Yehuda
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Amy
• Application Number:
  US14/945,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20160067872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 26/00 Hair-singeing apparatus; Apparatus for removing superfluous hair, e.g. tweezers removing hair using electrosurgical instruments A61B18/04, A61B18/18
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/00 Clippers or shavers operating with a plurality of cutting edges, e.g. hair clippers, dry shavers
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/3806 Accessories
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/382 Built-in accessories
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/3853 Housing or handle
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/3873 Electric features; Charging; Computing devices
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/388 Sensors; Control
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/46 providing for illuminating the area to be shaved or clipped
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/48 Accessory implements for carrying out a function other than cutting hair, e.g. attachable appliances for manicuring massage means per se A61H7/00 - A61H23/00
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 21/405 Electric features; Charging; Computing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/00 Panoramic or wide-screen photography; Photographing extended surfaces, e.g. for surveying; Photographing internal surfaces, e.g. of pipe
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/548 the power on the line being DC arrangements for feeding power H04L12/10; extracting feeding power from signals H04L25/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/194 Transmission of image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/11 for generating image signals from visible and infrared light wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/45 for generating image signals from two or more image sensors being of different type or operating in different modes, e.g. with a CMOS sensor for moving images in combination with a charge-coupled device [CCD] for still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 : Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 : Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/57 : Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 : by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 : for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/65 : Control of camera operation in relation to power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 : Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 : Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 : for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/41 : Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/709 : Circuitry for control of the power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 : Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 : Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/30 : Transforming light or analogous information into electric information scanning details H04N3/00; cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00; circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS] or control thereof H04N25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/015 : High-definition television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 : from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

System and method for improving the shaving experience by providing improved visibility of the skin shaving area. A digital camera is integrated with the electric shaver for close image capturing of shaving area, and displaying it on a display unit. The display unit can be integral part of the electric shaver casing, or housed in a separated device which receives the image via a communication channel. The communication channel can be wireless (using radio, audio or light) or wired, such as dedicated cabling or using powerline communication. A light source is used to better illuminate the shaving area. Video compression and digital image processing techniques are used for providing for improved shaving results. The wired communication medium can simultaneously be used also for carrying power from the electric shaver assembly to the display unit, or from the display unit to the electric shaver.

Claims

1. A display device for use with a cable comprising multiple wire pairs each concurrently carrying a (Direct Current) DC power signal and a digital data signal that carries a first digital image, the display device comprising:

a LAN connector for connecting to the cable;

a display component for displaying the first digital image;

a receiver coupled between the LAN connector and the display component for receiving the digital data signal from the cable via the LAN connector;

a software and a processor for executing the software coupled between the receiver and the display component for processing the first digital image; and

a single enclosure housing the LAN connector, the display component, the processor, and the receiver,

wherein the display component, the processor, and the receiver are coupled to the LAN connector for being powered only from the DC power signal.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the LAN connector is a Registered Jack (RJ) type connector.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the LAN connector is RJ-45 connector.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the wire pairs are Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) or Shielded Twisted Pair (STP).

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the cable is a Local Area Network (LAN) cable according to, substantially according to, or based on, EIA/TIA-569 or EIA/TIA-570.

6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the cable is a Category 3, 5, 5e, 6, 6e, or 7 cable.

7. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the cable includes 2 wire pairs.

8. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the cable includes 4 wire pairs.

9. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the cable is carrying Ethernet 10BaseT, 100BaseTX, or 1000BaseT according to, substantially according to, or based on, IEEE 802.3 standard.

10. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a power/data splitter coupled for passing only the DC power signal between the LAN connector and the display component for powering the display component, and between the LAN connector and the receiver for passing only the digital data signal therebetween.

11. The display device according to claim 10, wherein the DC power signal voltage level is nominally 48, 60, or 120 VDC.

12. The display device according to claim 10, wherein the DC power signal and the digital data signal are carried over the cable according to, substantially according to, or based on, IEEE 802.3af or IEEE 802.3at standards.

13. The display device according to claim 10, wherein the DC power signal is carried over at least one phantom channel over the wire pairs in the cable.

14. The display device according to claim 13, wherein the power/data splitter comprises at least one center-tap transformer.

15. The display device according to claim 10, wherein the DC power signal and the digital data signal are carried over the cable using Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) where the digital data signal is carried in a communication frequency band that is distinct from, and higher than, the DC power signal.

16. The display device according to claim 15, wherein the power/data splitter further comprising a Low Pass Filter (LPF) configured for substantially passing only the DC power signal between the LAN connector and the display component for powering the display component.

17. The display device according to claim 15, further comprising a High Pass Filter (HPF) configured for substantially passing only the communication frequency band coupled between the LAN connector and the receiver for passing only the digital data signal therebetween.

18. The display device according to claim 15, wherein the communication frequency band is above 100 Hz or above 4 MHz.

19. The display device according to claim 15, wherein the communication frequency band is below 10 MHz or below 30 MHz.

20. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a step-down DC-to-DC (DC/DC) converter coupled to the LAN connector for being powered from the DC power signal having a first voltage level, and for converting and supplying a regulated DC power having a second voltage level that is lower than the first voltage level.

21. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the first digital image is carried over the cable using a serial communication that is according to, based on, or uses, a wired PAN (Personal Area Network) or a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, and wherein the receiver is respectively a PAN or LAN receiver.

22. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the first digital image is carried unidirectionally over the cable.

23. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the communication over the cable is packet-based and is half-duplex or full-duplex.

24. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the digital data signal is further carrying a second digital image.

25. The display device according to claim 24, further operative for concurrently displaying the first and second digital images using the display component.

26. The display device according to claim 25, wherein the first and second digital images cooperatively form a 3-D image, and the display device is further operative for displaying the 3-D image.

27. The display device according to claim 25, further operative for concurrently displaying the first and the second digital images side-by-side or one-at-a-time on the display component.

28. The display device according to claim 24, wherein the digital data signal is further concurrently carrying the second digital image time-multiplexed with the first digital image.

29. The display device according to claim 28, further comprising a data de-multiplexer coupled to the receiver for de-multiplexing the received time-multiplexed digital images from the cable into distinct first and second digital images data.

30. The display device according to claim 28, further comprising in the single enclosure an additional display component for displaying the second digital image.

31. The display device according to claim 30, wherein the additional display component is connected to be powered from the DC power signal.

32. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the digital data signal is carrying digital video data that comprises the first digital image, and the display component is a digital video display.

33. The display device according to claim 32, wherein the digital video data is in a format that is according to, is substantially according to, is based on, or uses TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), RAW format, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF (Design Rule for Camera Format), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format), or DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standard.

34. The display device according to claim 32, wherein the digital video data comprises High Definition (HD) video data.

35. The display device according to claim 34, wherein the digital video data comprises, uses, or is based on, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface).

36. The display device according to claim 34, wherein the digital video data is using, or is based on, HDTV (High-Definition Television).

37. The display device according to claim 32, wherein the digital video data is in compressed form, and the display device further comprising a video de-compressor coupled between the display component and the receiver for decompressing the compressed digital video data received from the cable.

38. The display device according to claim 37, wherein the processor consists of, or comprises, the video de-compressor.

39. The display device according to claim 37, wherein the compression is according to, based on, or uses, intraframe or interframe compression.

40. The display device according to claim 37, wherein the compression is according to, based on, or uses, lossy or non-lossy compression, and is according to, based on, or uses, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) or Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard.

41. The display device according to claim 37, wherein the compression is according to, is based on, or uses, a standard compression that is JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, or ITU-T CCIR 601.

42. The display device according to claim 32, further operative for video ‘

freeze’

, wherein the display device is operative to stop the digital video data displayed by the displayed component and to display only the first digital image.

43. The display device according to claim 42, further operative to continuously display the first digital image in response to a user command.

44. The display device according to claim 1, further operative to store the first digital image.

45. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is a digital image processor for processing the first digital image using an image-processing algorithm.

46. The display device according to claim 45, wherein the digital image processor is operative to reduce camera vibrations effects;

adjust color balance, gamma or luminance;

filter pattern noise;

filter noise using a Wiener filter;

change zoom factors;

recrop;

apply an enhancement filter;

apply a smoothing filter;

apply subject-dependent filters;

or apply a coordinate transformation;

generate greater pixel density;

adjust color balance;

adjust contrast;

or adjust luminance.

47. The display device according to claim 45, wherein the digital image processor is operative to detect or identify one or more elements in the first digital image, and the image-processing algorithm comprises object detection using pattern recognition.

48. The display device according to claim 47, further operative to display the first digital image and the detected or identified elements as marked.

49. The display device according to claim 47, wherein the one or elements are human body parts.

50. The display device according to claim 49, wherein the one or elements comprise a human face.

51. The display device according to claim 49, wherein the one or elements are individual hairs or a hairy area.

52. The display device according to claim 49, further operative to display as marked the detected or identified individual hairs or the detected or identified hairy area.

53. The display device according to claim 45, wherein the digital image processor is configured for scaling the first digital image for displaying a scaled digital image on the display component.

54. The display device according to claim 45, wherein the digital image processor is configured for zooming the first digital image for displaying only a part of the first digital image by the display component.

55. The display device according to claim 45, wherein the digital image processor is configured for length encoding, delta modulation, or dynamic dithering.

56. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the digital data signal is using time-multiplexing for simultaneously carrying the first digital image and a display command, and wherein a characteristic of the displaying of the first digital image by the display component is responsive to the display command.

57. The display device according to claim 56, wherein the characteristic affected by the display command includes, or is based on, a zoom, freeze, contrast, brightness, or focus command.

58. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a skin treatment component for treating a human skin area.

59. The display device according to claim 58, wherein the skin treatment component is an electrical hair remover for removing hair from the human skin area.

60. The display device according to claim 59, wherein the skin treatment component comprises an electric motor and a cutter driven by the motor.

61. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising an electric motor connected to be powered from the DC power signal.

62. The display device according to claim 61, further comprising lens attached to be moved by the electric motor.

63. The display device according to claim 62, wherein the lens and the electric motor are operative to zoom or focus the displayed image by the display component.

64. A system comprising the display device according to claim 1 and the cable.

65. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the single enclosure is a hand-held enclosure.

66. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display component consists of, comprises, or uses, a plasma display, a flat panel display, or a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display.

67. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display component consists of, comprises, or uses, a Digital Light Processing (DLP) or a video projector.