Eyewear device for transmitting signal and communication method thereof

• US 9,829,715 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2012
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Chih-Jung, Liao, Yueh-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrington, Alicia M
• Application Number:
  US13/355,743
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,136 Days
• Field of Search: 359630-632, 345 7- 9
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/24 involving temporal multiplexing, e.g. using sequentially activated left and right shutters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/341 using temporal multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/398 Synchronisation thereof; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2213/008 Aspects relating to glasses for viewing stereoscopic images

Abstract

The invention provides an eyewear device for transmitting a signal and a communication method thereof. The eyewear device comprises a receiving unit, a shutter and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit is capable of receiving a synchronization signal, and the shutter performs an operation in response to the synchronization signal. Meanwhile, the transmitting unit transmits the synchronization signal to another eyewear device. By this way, each eyewear device is capable of receiving the synchronization signal, and re-transmits the synchronization signal to another eyewear device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a receiving unit of a first active 3D eyewear device for receiving a synchronization signal from an external device, wherein the synchronization signal controls left eye and right eye view operations of active 3D eyewear devices;

the first active 3D eyewear device for alternatively performing a left eye view operation and a right eye view operation in response to the synchronization signal; and

a transmitting unit of the first active 3D eyewear device electrically connected to the receiving unit of the first active eyewear device for transmitting the synchronization signal received by the receiving unit of the first active 3D eyewear device to a second active 3D eyewear device, wherein the second active 3D eyewear device cannot receive the synchronization signal from the external device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the synchronization signal comprises a multimedia signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a playing unit electrically connected to the receiving unit for playing the multimedia signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the multimedia signal comprises a caption data, an audio data, or a video data.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the playing unit is a speaker.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the playing unit is a liquid crystal display.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the synchronization signal to another eyewear device according to a Zigbee protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, or an ANT protocol.

8. A communication method for transmitting a signal with an active 3D eyewear device, the active 3D eyewear device having a receiving unit, a shutter, and a transmitting unit, the communication method comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an external signal including a synchronization signal by the receiving unit, wherein the synchronization signal controls open and close operation of the shutter;

(b) performing alternating open and close operation on right and left eye views by the shutter in response to the synchronization signal; and

(c) transmitting the external signal received by the receiving unit to another eyewear device by the transmitting unit.

9. A communication method for transmitting a signal between a plurality of active 3D eyewear devices, the eyewear devices each having a receiving unit, a shutter, and a transmitting unit, the communication method comprising the steps of;

receiving an external signal including a synchronization signal by the receiving unit of the first active 3D eyewear device, wherein the synchronization signal controls open and close operations;

performing open and close operations on a right and left eye views by the shutter of the first eyewear device in response to the synchronization signal received by the receiving unit of the first eyewear device;

transmitting the external signal received by the receiving unit of the first eyewear device to the second eyewear device by the transmitting unit of the first eyewear device;

receiving the external signal by the receiving unit of the second eyewear device from the first eyewear device;

performing an operation by the shutter of the second eyewear device in response to the synchronization signal received by the receiving unit of the second eyewear device from the transmitting unit of the first eyewear device; and

transmitting the external signal received by the receiving unit of the second eyewear device to the third eyewear device by the transmitting unit of the second eyewear device.