Eye glint imaging in see-through computer display systems

• US 9,836,122 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mentor Acquisition One, LLC (Magic Leap, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Osterhout Design Group
• Inventors: Border, John N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Premal
• Application Number:
  US14/884,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20160116979A1
• Time in Patent Office: 782 Days
• Field of Search: 345156
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0118 comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0127 comprising devices increasing the depth of field
• 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 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0189 Sight systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/086 Auxiliary lenses located directly on a main spectacle lens or in the immediate vicinity of main spectacles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 : Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/10 : Intensity circuits

Abstract

Disclosure herein concerns a method that includes illuminating a user'"'"'s eye with an illumination source in a head-worn display, capturing an image of the user'"'"'s eye with an eye camera in the head-worn display, wherein the image includes an eye glint produced by light from the illumination source that is reflected from a surface of the user'"'"'s eye, determining a size of an eye glint in the captured image, and identifying a change in focus distance for the user'"'"'s eye in correspondence with a change in the size of the eye glint.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

a. illuminating a user'"'"'s eye with an illumination source in a head-worn display;

b. capturing an image of the user'"'"'s eye with an eye camera in the head-worn display, wherein the image includes an eye glint produced by light from the illumination source that is reflected from a surface of the user'"'"'s eye;

c. determining a size of an eye glint in the captured image; and

d. identifying a change in focus distance for the user'"'"'s eye in correspondence with a change in the size of the eye glint.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination source is an LED.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the illumination source is a displayed image from the head-worn display.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified change in focus distance is used to determine what the user is looking at in a surrounding environment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identified change in focus distance is used to automatically select a display mode for the head-worn display.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the display mode includes whether the displayed image should be brighter or dimmer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identified change in focus distance is used to determine whether the user is looking at a displayed image or the user is looking at the surrounding environment.