EYEWEAR

• US 20200133025A1
• Filed: 03/06/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2017
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsui Chemicals Incorporated (Mitsui Chemicals)
• Original Assignee: Mitsui Chemicals Incorporated (Mitsui Chemicals)
• Inventors: MURAMATSU, Akihiro, OKADA, Yoshinobu, HIKOSAKA, Eiichiro, AONO, Akifumi
• Application Number:
  US16/493,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20200133025A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/14 of variable focal length
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/083 Electrooptic lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/101 having an electro-optical light valve electro-optical elements per se G02F
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13475 in which at least one liquid crystal cell or layer is doped with a pleochroic dye, e.g. GH-LC cell G02F1/13476 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/294 Variable focal length devices

Abstract

Eyewear having: a frame; an optical module held by the frame and changing optical properties by electric control; a sensing unit that obtains information pertaining to a usage environment; and a control unit that, on the basis of the information obtained by the sensing unit, changes the optical properties of the optical module. The control unit switches between a mode in which optical properties of can be changed and a mode in which optical properties cannot be changed, on the basis of the information obtained by the sensing unit, and changes the optical properties of the optical module when in the mode in which optical properties can be changed. As a result, eyewear is provided that can switch between modes that change or do not change optical properties, in accordance with the usage environment.

Claims

1. An eyewear, comprising:

a frame;

an optical module to be disposed on the frame, the optical module having an optical property to be changed by electric control;

a sensing section that acquires information on usage environments; and

a control section that changes the optical property of the optical module based on the information acquired through the sensing section, wherein;

the control section performs switching between a mode in which the optical property is changeable and a mode in which the optical property is unchangeable, based on the information acquired through the sensing section, and

the control section changes the optical property of the optical module in the mode in which the optical property is changeable.

2. The eyewear according to claim 1, wherein the information on the usage environments is at least one of the following:

geographical positional information;

an activity state of a user;

a posture of the user;

a wearing state of the eyewear on the user;

an inclination of the eyewear;

light intensity under the usage environments; and

presence or absence of detection of another apparatus.

3. The eyewear according to claim 1, further comprising an input section that receives input operation, wherein

the mode in which the optical property is changeable includes:

an automatic mode in which the control section automatically changes the optical property when the information acquired through the sensing section satisfies a predetermined condition, and

a manual mode in which the control section changes the optical property upon reception of input operation of a user on the input section, and

the control section selectively executes either the automatic mode or the manual mode.

4. The eyewear according to claim 1, wherein the optical property is a light transmittance or a light refractive index.

5. The eyewear according to claim 1, wherein the mode in which the optical property is changeable includes:

a mode in which a first optical property is changeable, the mode changing the first optical property of the optical module, and

a mode in which a second optical property is changeable, the mode changing the second optical property of the optical module.

6. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein the optical module includes:

a first electroactive portion in which the first optical property is changed by control by the control section; and

a second electroactive portion in which the second optical property is changed by control by the control section.

7. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein the control section performs switching between the mode in which the optical property is changeable and the mode in which the optical property is unchangeable, based on geographical positional information and light intensity under the usage environments.

8. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein

the mode in which the first optical property is changeable includes a plurality of modes with different patterns of changing the first optical property of the optical module, and

in the mode in which the optical property is changeable, the control section performs switching to any one of the plurality of modes, based on the information acquired through the sensing section.

9. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein the control section performs switching between the changeable mode and the unchangeable mode independently for each of the first optical property and the second optical property of the optical module, based on the information acquired through the sensing section.

10. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein the control section performs, based on a result of switching between the changeable mode and the unchangeable mode for one of the first optical property and the second optical property, switching between the changeable mode and the unchangeable mode for the other of the first optical property and the second optical property.

11. The eyewear according to claim 5, wherein

the first optical property is a transmittance, and

the second optical property is a refractive index.