Patent Application
20090156128
The present invention generally relates to eyewear, and more particularly to an eyewear communications system.
Eyewear conventionally included, for example, glasses to improve vision by focusing objects, and binoculars to enlarge objects at a distance. In recent years as technology has advanced, eyewear now include displays for providing information including pictures and streaming video.
Binocular displays include head mounted displays such as glasses and helmet mounted displays wherein a virtual image is presented to each eye. The image, usually created by a microdisplay, for example an LCD screen, may be presented to the eye by means of refractive or reflective optics, such as through a lens system. Ideally the virtual images presented to each eye are perfectly aligned and the user perceives a single image similar to their perception of real images. The images may be stored within the eyewear or provided from another source.
Some known eyewear include cameras that record what is being seen and transmit the image omni-directionally to a remote display, while other eyewear may include displays for receiving video. Furthermore, known wireless technologies do not transfer at a high enough data rate to send the video data uncompressed and transmit at a high power that drains batteries.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide eyewear that transmits information to a specific receiver at a low power expenditure. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.
Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
Eyewear is disclosed that transmits information including messages and streaming video in a limited direction to a desired receiver, such as eyewear worn by others, thereby providing a more secure transmission. The eyewear includes antenna having overlapping beams or an arrayed antenna system for providing the transmitted beam, for example, with a directivity greater than 10 dBi (10 dB more directive than an isotropic antenna). The information may be transmitted in a burst to reduce power expenditure, and may be compressed for additional security of transmission. An omni-directional transmission may be accomplished by selecting specific antennas. A separate transmitter and receiver may be operated at different frequencies for power reduction. The eyewear provides enhancements with respect to human factors by providing a hands-free viewing experience and the ability to communicate with others in the immediate vicinity.
By utilizing transmission frequencies in the millimeter wave broadband developed by the IEEE 802.15.3 task group 3c (TG3c) of 57 to 64 GHz, for example, data rates of over 2 Gbps, and optionally over 3 Gbps, will be obtainable. At these frequencies, very small antennas may be utilized, for example, a patch antenna would require only about 2 mm2. Additionally, this frequency range is in an oxygen absorption band and does not penetrate walls well (primarily line of sight), which assists in preventing unwanted eavesdropping. These advantages allow for a physically secure channel without any security overhead.
Referring to
When an image, which typically would comprise a video stream, but could also comprise a text message or a picture, is received by the image receiving device 104, it is transmitted to the microcomputer 126 via first connector 132. The image is then transmitted to the display driver 130 via second connector 134, and to first and second microdisplays 112 and 116 via third connector 136 and fourth connector 138, respectively, for viewing.
While a video displaying eyewear is the preferred embodiment, other eyewear such as glasses used to focus an image may be used with the exemplary embodiments described herein.
The eyewear 100 in accordance with the exemplary embodiment includes antennas 142 positioned on support members 140 (for securing to a user head) of the housing 102, and antennas 144 positioned on the face member 146. Optionally, a flexible securing strap 156 may be attached to the support members 140 for securing the eyewear 100 to a users head, and may include additional antenna 158. Although the embodiment shown describes an apparatus similar to a pair of eye glasses, the apparatus may take other forms, such as a helmet. A control panel 152 including one or more inputs 154 is positioned on one of the support frames 140 and coupled to the microcomputer 126. The inputs 154 may be buttons, touch panels, and may include a curser moving input more commonly referred to as a mouse.
Information, for example, text or video, may be received by any of the antennas 142, 144, 158 and provided to the image receiving device 104 (which may be a receiver in some embodiments) via antenna bus 164, wherein the information is processed. The placement of the antennas 142, 144, 158 on each of the support frames 140, face plate 146, and flexible securing strap 156 provide reception regardless of which way the head (eyewear) is turned.
Placement of the antenna 142, 144, 158 circumferentially around the eyewear 100 (around the head) allows for reception, regardless of in which direction the transmission occurs. For example, if the transmitter is directly in front of the eyewear 100, the antennas 144 probably provide the best reception. If the transmitter is behind and to one side, the antennas 142 and 158 probably provide the best reception.
Optionally, an omnidirectional signal 602 may be transmitted to each the eyewear 406, 408, 410, and receivers 412, 414 (
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
