Eye imaging in head worn computing

• US 9,538,915 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2014
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mentor Acquisition One, LLC (Magic Leap, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Osterhout Design Group
• Inventors: Bietry, Joseph, Haddick, John, Border, John N.
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, HUY KIM
• Application Number:
  US14/533,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20150201835A1
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• Field of Search: 351/158, 351/206, 351/209
• 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. A head-mounted computer system that includes an eye-imaging system, comprising:

a display system adapted to provide image light to a user'"'"'s eye, the display system including a see-through computer display that provides the user with a view of the surrounding environment;

a camera system to capture eye-image light that originates as one or more reflections from an eye of a user;

the camera system adapted to capture both visible light and IR light; and

an IR light source positioned in the head-worn computer such that it irradiates the eye of the user with IR light to produce at least a portion of the one or more reflections from the eye of the user;

wherein the camera system and the display system have a common optical axis at the user'"'"'s eye.

2. The head-mounted computer system of claim 1, further comprising an IR reflecting surface positioned to reflect the IR light onto the common optical axis.

3. The head-mounted computer system of claim 2, wherein the display is adapted to generate polarized image light, wherein the polarized image light is projected along the common optical axis.

4. The head-mounted computer system of claim 3, wherein the display is a reflective display and the IR reflecting surface is further adapted to reflect illumination light towards the reflective display.

5. The head-mounted computer system of claim 4, wherein the reflective display is a liquid crystal on silicon (“

LCoS”

) display.

6. The head-mounted computer system of claim 5, wherein substantially all of the illumination light is incident the reflecting surface between 45 degrees and 135 degrees relative to a front surface of the reflective display.

7. The head-mounted computer system of claim 4, wherein the reflective display is a digital light processor (“

DLP”

).

8. The head-mounted computer system of claim 7, wherein the illumination light is generated at a position adjacent to the reflective display.

9. The head-mounted computer system of claim 7, further comprising a dark-light trap positioned to capture off-pixel light.

10. The head-mounted computer system of claim 3, wherein the display is an emissive display.

11. The head-mounted computer system of claim 2, wherein the IR reflecting surface is adapted to also transmit visible light and is positioned such that the image light is transmitted through the IR reflecting surface.

12. The head mounted computer system of claim 1 wherein the camera system includes a camera that can capture visible and IR light.

13. The head mounted computer system of claim 1 wherein the camera system includes two cameras, one camera capturing visible light and another capturing IR light.