Information system using eyewear for communication

• US 7,313,246 B2
• Filed: 10/06/2001
• Issued: 12/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sherwood Partners Incorporated, Stryker Corporation
• Original Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, Eric C., Wang, Charles N., Gunday, Erhan H., Juergens, Albert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Con P.
• Application Number:
  US09/972,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20030068057A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,271 Days
• Field of Search: 381/334, 381/381, 381/327, 381/357, 351/158, 351/123
• US Class Current: 381/381
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3855 carried in a belt or harness
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3866 carried on the head
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1066 Constructional aspects of the interconnection between earpiece and earpiece support earpiece support for monophonic headphones H04R1/105; earpiece support for stereophonic headphones H04R5/0335
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/0335 Earpiece support, e.g. headbands or neckrests for monophonic headphones H04R1/105

Abstract

Eyewear comprises a microphone and a speaker. An eyewear neck strap couples the microphone and speaker to a wearer unit carried by the eyewear wearer. The wearer unit exchanges wireless signals with a base station. The base station is coupled to various devices such as surgical theater equipment, and/or to a telecommunication system, such as a telephone system. The eyewear enables the wearer to conduct hands-free communication such as telephone conversations and command and control operations, as well as to perform other hands-free tasks such as dictation. The wearer also receives data in audio form or as an image using a video display coupled with the eyewear.

Claims

1. An earstem for eyeglasses used in a communication system comprising:

a temple portion,

a speaker support portion for supporting a speaker mount, the speaker support comprising a loop in the earstem, with the loop slidably retaining the speaker mount between the “

legs”

of the loop for motion along the axis of the loop so that the position of the speaker mount can be adjusted by a wearer along two axes to be over at least a portion of the wearer'"'"'s concha, wherein the two axes are inclined with respect to each other and parallel to the wearer'"'"'s external ear,

an earpiece portion, wherein the joined temple, speaker support, and earpiece portions are adapted and configured to support the speaker mount away from a wearer'"'"'s outer ear with a gap sufficient to permit the wearer to hear environmental sounds without significant obstruction; and

a microphone mount that is carried by the temporal portion, wherein the microphone mount further comprises;

a cavity within the earstem for retaining a microphone, and

a first port inclined downward and forward for permitting entry of a wearer'"'"'s voice into the cavity;

a second port inclined upward and rearward for permitting entry of environmental sounds into the cavity; and

a gradient microphone retained within the cavity.

2. An eyeglasses communication system comprising:

eyeglasses comprising at least one earstem of claim 1, and a speaker and a microphone carried by the earstem,

a wearer unit operably coupled to the speaker and the microphone.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the wearer unit comprises a personal digital assistant.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the wearer unit comprises a cellular telephone.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein the wearer unit comprises a personal wireless unit for locally and wirelessly relaying signals to and from the speaker and microphone.

6. An eyeglasses local communication system comprising:

a plurality of eyeglasses, each of the eyeglasses comprising at least one earstem of claim 2, and a speaker and a microphone carried by the earstem,

a plurality of wireless wearer units, each wireless wearer unit operably coupled to the speaker and microphone associated with one of the eyeglasses associated and relaying locally and wirelessly signals to and from the coupled speaker and microphone, and

at least one base station wirelessly and operably coupled to the plurality of wireless wearer units.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the base station further comprises:

an interface to an equipment, and

a programmable device executing one or more processes that translates between voice signals exchanged with at least one of the eyeglasses and equipment signals exchanged with an equipment through the equipment interface, wherein information can be exchanged between a wearer of the eyeglasses and an interfaced equipment.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the base station further comprises:

a programmable device executing one or more processes that route voice signals between at least two of the eyeglasses so that wearers of the eyeglasses can communicate with each other.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein communication system is local to a patient care environment.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the patient care environment comprises one or more operating rooms.

11. The earstem of claim 1 wherein the loop is a “

U”

-shaped loop and is inclined downward and rearward over a wearer'"'"'s ear to permit motion of the speaker mount over the wearer'"'"'s concha.

12. The earstem of claim 11 wherein the speaker mount further comprises:

a rotatably mounted speaker with an axis of rotation eccentric with respect to the speaker mount,

wherein rotation of the rotatably mounted speaker causes the speaker to move in an approximately vertical direction.

13. The earstem of claim 12 wherein the speaker is arranged and positioned over the intertragic notch of the wearer'"'"'s ear.

14. The earstem of claim 1 further comprising a microphone mount.

15. The earstem of claim 14 wherein the microphone mount is carried by the temporal portion.

16. The earstem of claim 14 wherein the microphone mount comprises:

a cavity within the earstem for retaining a microphone, and

a first port inclined downward and forward for permitting entry of a wearer'"'"'s voice into the cavity.