Wireless hands-free computing headset with detachable accessories controllable by motion, body gesture and/or vocal commands

• US 8,855,719 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2011
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: Jacobsen, Jeffrey J., Pombo, Stephen A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US13/018,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20110187640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,344 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566, 345/8, 345/156
• US Class Current: 455/566
• 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 2027/0187 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: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

A remote control microdisplay device that uses hand movement, body gesture, head movement, head position and/or vocal commands to control the headset, a peripheral device, a remote system, network or software application, such as to control the parameters of a field of view for the microdisplay within a larger virtual display area associated with a host application, a peripheral device or host system. The movement and/or vocal commands are detected via the headset and/or detachable peripheral device connected to the headset microdisplay device via one or more peripheral ports.

Claims

1. A headset computer (HSC) comprising:

a microdisplay operatively attached to the HSC for displaying visual information received from a local HSC processor;

a motion detector for detecting a physical movement of a body part of a user and providing a user motion input to the local HSC processor;

one or more peripheral ports located on the HSC, wherein each of the one or more peripheral ports includes a mechanical and electrical accessory mount to operatively couple to and physically support one or more peripheral devices that provide one or more peripheral input signals indicating a peripheral sensor input or that respond to a user command, the one or more peripheral devices removably attached to the peripheral port;

the local HSC processor located in the HSC and further comprising;

one or more receivers, for receiving the motion and the peripheral inputs;

one or more transmitters, for transmitting one or more user commands to control the one or more peripheral devices;

a translator, for translating user motion and/or peripheral sensor input from the one or more peripheral ports into the one or more user commands, the user command controlling the peripheral device or being executable by a host processor;

a communication interface, for forwarding the user command to a host processor, and for receiving a reply from the host processor;

a display controller, for forwarding information to be displayed on the one or more microdisplays in response to the reply, including at least an audible and/or visual confirmation of the local processor having processed the user commands and

wherein at least one of the one or more peripheral devices is a second microdisplay for displaying information received from the local HSC processor in concert with the operatively attached microdisplay.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more peripheral devices comprise:

one or more microphones, for receiving audio signals from the user, and

wherein the local HSC processor further comprises;

a speech recognizer, for processing the audio signals to produce vocal commands; and

wherein the translator further translates the vocal commands into the user commands.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the motion detector provides two or more motion inputs indicative of motion along two or more axes.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the motion detector is a camera for detecting hand and/or body gesture movements of the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 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.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the communication interface is one or more wireless links between the HSC and the host processor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the user commands are processed by the local processor to control an aspect of the presentation of visual information displayed on the microdisplay.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the user commands control a field of view.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the user commands control a zoom, pan, or scale factors.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the user command selects a hyperlink item in a web page display.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a wireless interface to two or more remote cameras or one or more other peripheral devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reply results in a cursor movement.

13. A method for operating a HSC comprising:

displaying visual information received from a local HSC processor on a microdisplay, the microdisplay operatively attached to the HSC;

detecting a physical movement of a body part of a user to provide a motion input using a motion detector;

using one or more peripheral ports as a mechanical and an electrical accessory mount for operatively coupling to and for supporting one or more peripheral devices for detecting a sensor input, the one or more peripheral devices removably attached to the peripheral port;

at the local HSC processor, the method further comprising;

translating the sensor and/or motion input into one or more user commands, the one or more user commands controlling the one or more peripheral devices or being executable by a host processor;

communicating the one or more user commands to the host processor and receiving a reply from the host processor in response to the user command;

controlling at least one aspect of the HSC, peripheral devices, host processor or visual information presented on the microdisplay based on the one or more user commands, including presenting at least an audible and/or visual confirmation of the local HSC processor having processes the one or more user commands

wherein at least one of the one or more peripheral devices is a second microdisplay for displaying information received from the local HSC processor in concert with the operatively attached microdisplay.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the aspect of the visual information is a field of view.

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

16. The method of claim 13 additionally comprising:

forwarding the user commands to a host processor using a wireless communications interface.

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

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the motion input is provided by a camera for detecting hand movement or body gesture of the user.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the user input is derived from head movement and positioning peripheral devices for detecting and tracking as little as 3 axis degrees of freedom or up to 9 axis degrees of freedom.