Patent Grant
10317703
The invention relates to the field of management of an active lens.
The invention relates more particularly to a management system of an active lens, the management system comprising an active lens, a sensor and a control unit designed for controlling the active ophthalmic lens according to data measured by the sensor.
Such a management system, wherein the active lens is an active ophthalmic lens, is known from patent application US 2010/0277687 A1.
A drawback of the management system according to the above-referred patent application is that it does not allow a sufficiently fine control of the active ophthalmic lens, notably in order to fully respond to special requirements of wearer.
In this context, the present invention provides a management system and method to overcome at least the above-mentioned drawback.
To this end, the management system of the invention comprises:
The management system thus allows taking into account data relating to the light coming from the incident light passing through the active lens in controlling the active lens.
When the active lens is an active ophthalmic lens, the management system is notably capable to take into account a large diversity of wearer's ophthalmic requirements, for instance on medical purposes.
According to a particular embodiment, the control unit is designed for:
Thus the management system further allows taking into account data relating to the light coming from the incident light and passing through the active lens as a feedback in order to finely control the active lens.
Other embodiments, introduced below, take advantage of the operative feedback to allow fine control of the active lens in order to respond to particular encountered requirements, such as for instance particular deficiency, disease or injury of wearer's eye. These embodiments may be combined with each other for instance in order to respond to any kind of accumulated requirements.
According to a first embodiment of this kind, the active lens is an active ophthalmic lens and the management system further comprises:
According to a second embodiment, the active lens comprises an optical filter for filtering harmful and/or chronobiological blue light and each of the first and second sensors comprises harmful and/or chronobiological blue light sensor, respectively.
The management system thus allows a fine and stabilized control of the efficiency and selectivity of the active lens for filtering of harmful or chronobiological blue light as a function of the light environment and/or as a function of the time of day.
According to a third embodiment:
Indeed, if a specific wavelength or wavelength combination is detected by the first sensor, the active lens may be activated and thus partially or totally filter out this wavelength or wavelength combination. The second sensor ensures the proper functioning and adjusts the filtering efficacy and/or selectivity if needed. The management system thus allows notably a contrast difference of the transmitted light within the viewed scene according to the spectral distribution of the colors of a scene to be viewed through the active lens. When the active lens is an active ophthalmic lens, such a contrast difference is particularly adapted to colorblind people.
According to a fourth embodiment:
The management system thus allows detecting of devices emitting polarized light, then allows adapting the selection of polarization(s) performed by the active lens.
According to a fifth embodiment, the active lens is an active ophthalmic lens and:
The management system thus allows a personalized and optimized management of chronobiological light through a continuous control of the quantity and spectrum of chronobiological light received by the wearer, for instance as a function of his/her activity, the time of day, the geolocation and/or some personal parameters. This embodiment is particularly suitable in the context of a chronobiological treatment by light therapy.
The present invention relates also to an eyewear comprising the above described management system, wherein the active lens (1) is an active ophthalmic lens.
The present invention relates also to an active lens, comprising at least:
The present invention further relates also to a management method associated with the here above described management system.
The present invention relates furthermore to a computer program product stored on storage medium and executable by processing means of the above described management system, this computer program product having a sequence of instructions for implementing said associated management method.
The here above described advantages achieved owing to the technical features of the here above described management system are also achieved owing to the other aspects of the present invention.
Other technical features or advantages of the present invention will clearly stand out from the detailed description which is done below, by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention, with specific reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention may be helpful for any wearer of spectacles equipped with an active lens 1, which can change state according to the environment or a manual or automatic control. Nevertheless, an active lens does not be regarded as limited to an active ophthalmic lens. Indeed, an active lens as considered in the present invention may encompass lenses of spectacles which do not have any kind of therapeutic effect, like eyeshade or sunshade.
The operating mode of such active lenses may be completely predefined if the active lens has a simple function. For instance, an electrochromic lens may obey an on/off order given by the wearer.
Nonetheless, and notably in accordance with the present invention, the operating mode of such active lenses may be adapted to a setting, notably if several simultaneously active lenses (eg electrochromic and polarizer) are used, and/or depending on the time of day and/or the type of activity (sport, study, reading, domestic activity . . . ).
Referring to
An ophthalmic lens can be a corrective lens, a non corrective lens, solar lens and/or tinted lens.
There are different kinds of active lenses. They generally change their behavior according to an external order. For instance, the active lens 1 may be an electrochromic lens. An active lens 1 may be controlled by electrical activation.
The active lens 1 may comprise several layers corresponding to several functions. These functions may comprise:
Referring to
Referring to
When the active lens 1 is an active ophthalmic lens (AOL), each sensor may be placed on the frame of eyewear (or spectacles), closed to the wearer eyes. When an optical waveguide is further used, a sensor 2, 3 may be placed on the sidepiece (or bow) of the eyewear.
The first and/or second sensors 2, 3 may be camera(s), or more specialized sensor(s), for example for accurately detecting a light intensity or a wavelength to be eliminated. More particularly, each sensor may be:
The first and second sensors 2, 3 are connected to an electronic device called control unit 4 that is designed for analyzing the measured data, and for driving the active lens 1 with a particular method, that is for instance a method adapted to the wearer and/or to the image modification allowed by the active lens 1. This may be a wired or wireless connection. This connection may further involve a sensor interface 234, as illustrated on
The control unit 4 allows, from a database and a preliminary program, to enslave the operation of the active lens 1 in function of the light flux received by the eye and regarding the chosen function(s) of the active lens. The control unit 4 is designed for controlling the active lens 1 at least according to data measured by the first and second sensors 2, 3. The control unit 4 is more particularly designed for:
As illustrated on
In an embodiment, the first and second sensors 2, 3 may be placed in a row arrangement, i.e. are aligned on the active lens.
As illustrated on
Wireless connection of the control unit 4 to an external processor 100 is also possible; thus the management of the active lens 1 may be made by the use of the external processor 100 and the control unit 4 advantageously needs less processing resources. The decision and way to activate the active lens 1 may be determined locally (on or near the active lens 1) or remotely (on the external device).
As illustrated on
Wireless connection of the control unit 4 to the Internet is also possible, for instance via the external devices 100. In such a case, regulation may be done with information about the wearer and his environment coming from the internet, and the management of the active lens 1 may be determined by a remote controller comprised in an Internet server.
The management method according to several embodiments of the present invention is more particularly described here below with references to
As illustrated on
The controlling step 40 may more particularly consists in:
With the active lens 1 being an active ophthalmic lens (AOL), the management method according to a first embodiment may further comprise, before, on or after each of the measuring steps 20 and 30:
As illustrated on
Each set of gathered data may determine an expected behavior of the active lens 1 according to some predefined behavioral rules stored in the storing means 42 and implemented by the processing means 41. The current state or behavior of the active lens 1 may either be already known and stored in the storing means 42 or be determined by the control unit 4, for instance by testing of the active lens electronic driver(s) 43. The expected behavior may be compared to the current one 4104. If 4105 the expected behavior is the same than the current one, no change in the activation of the active lens 1 will be ordered. On the contrary, if 4105 the expected behavior is different from the current one, the control unit 4 will control 40 the active lens in order to bring it in the expected state 4106. In order to achieve this, the control unit 4 may implement the preliminary program stored in the storing means 42 to ‘translate’ the difference between the current state and the expected state in order(s) used by the active lens electronic driver(s) 43 to send suitable electrical signal(s) and change 4106 the state of the active lens 1.
In an alternative embodiment, the management system and the related management method are similar than the ones previously described except for the following differences:
The first sensor is suppressed and replaced by a first light source arranged to provide data relating to an incident light on the active lens.
The first light source is oriented towards the eye.
The first light source may be a LED.
The four following embodiments describe below may be implemented using the method according to the invention. The here above described management system may be used to control an active and fine control of visual and/or non-visual functions regulated by the interaction between the wearer's eye and the light.
According to a first embodiment of the management method, there is provided an active and controlled filtering of harmful blue depending on the light environment.
The active lens 1 is an active spectral filter which rejects harmful blue light, that is to say light of wavelengths comprised between 400 nm and 465 nm, preferably between 415 nm and 455 nm. These wavelengths are involved in the progressive degeneration of cells in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and by extension chronic exposure to these wavelengths is a risk factor in the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The active filter is constituted for example of cholesteric phase liquid crystal introduced into a cell formed by two substrates made in mineral lens or in optically transparent plastic. One or both of the substrates bear transparent conductive electrodes. These electrodes are used to apply an electric field which varies the orientation of the liquid crystals, thus changing the profile of the spectral filter (selectivity and efficiency).
The front sensor 2 is a level sensor of the exposure to harmful blue light. It may more particularly be a luxmeter calibrated on a blue LED or a photodiode sensitive to harmful blue light for example. The rear sensor 3 detects the level of exposure to harmful blue after filtering by the active filter lens 1. The combination of the two sensors on the front and rear allows to:
In an alternative embodiment, the front sensor 2 is replaced by a blue Led.
Furthermore, the active spectral filter of harmful blue light may be activated only when harmful blue light is detected by at least one of the front and rear sensors 2, 3, in order to reduce glare.
According to a second embodiment of the management method, there is provided an active and regulated filtering of chronobiological blue light depending on the luminous environment and/or on the time of day and/or geolocation.
The active lens 1 is an active spectral filter which rejects chronobiological blue light, that is to say light of wavelengths comprised between 465 nm and 520 nm, preferably between 465 nm and 495 nm. These wavelengths, absorbed by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC) are involved in regulating many non-visual biological functions, including the sleep-wake cycle, pupillary reflex, cognition, mood, body temperature . . . .
Suitable modulation of light between 465 nm and 495 nm is essential for proper synchronization of chronobiological rhythms. The active filter is constituted for example of cholesteric phase liquid crystal introduced into a cell formed by two substrates made in mineral lens or optically transparent plastic. One or both of the substrates bear transparent conductive electrodes. These electrodes are used to apply an electric field which varies the orientation of the liquid crystals, thus changing the profile of the spectral filter.
The front sensor 2 is a level sensor of the exposure to chronobiological blue light. It may more particularly be a luxmeter calibrated on a blue turquoise LED or a photodiode sensitive to harmful blue light for example.
In an alternative embodiment, the front sensor 2 is replaced by a blue LED.
The rear sensor 3 detects the level of exposure to chronobiological blue light after filtering by the active lens 1.
The closed loop control provides:
According to a third embodiment of the management method, there is provided a light therapy application by suitably enriching received chronobiological light in function of the light environment, the time of day, the activity or the geolocation.
The active lens 1 comprises a light source of selective emission such as the blue-turquoise chronobiological light (around 480 nm, this latter value being the center of chronobiological band in the blue-turquoise) or the near-green chronobiological light (around 500 nm). The light source is facing the wearer's eye and preferably does not interfere with vision. The light source comprises for instance one or more LEDs. The use of green monochromatic LED centered around 500 nm has several advantages:
The front sensor 2 measures exposure level to chronobiological light. In accordance with a determined brightness threshold, to be associated with an individual profile and/or an individual activity and/or the time of day, the sensor controls the activation of the light source.
The rear sensor 3 controls the light source and finely adjusts level if necessary.
According to a fourth embodiment of the management method, there is provided a contrast difference for color-blind according to the spectral distribution of the colors of a viewed scene.
The active lens 1 may be one or an overlay of active spectral filter(s) allowing to partially or totally cut one or more selective wavelength bands in the visible range, depending on the type of color blindness and its severity.
The active spectral filters comprise for example controllable cholesteric liquid crystal such as according to the first and second embodiments described here above.
The front sensor 2 is a light sensor, for instance a camera, to measure the spatial distribution colors in a scene, typically the spatial distribution of red and green colors, and/or energetic power of the scene light. This measured spectral distribution and/or energetic power allows controlling the activation of the filtering profile (one or more notch filters).
The rear sensor 3 checks the activation of the filter(s) and finally adjusts the spectral profile sensed by the wearer.
The most common type of dichromacy occurs due to the absence of M (medium, green wavelengths) or L (long, red wavelengths) cone photopigment. It is the red-green axis in the color space that is affected, i.e. hues along the red-green axis appear more as neutral greys. In these cases, if the viewed scene contains different green and red spatial areas, the active lens 1 will be activated thanks to the front sensor 2 and will totally filter out green or red wavelengths. Thus, by contrast difference, one of the two colours will appear totally black, which will allow the dichromatic wearer to see a significant differentiation between green and red and to better understand the scene. The real sensor 3 will check if the contrast difference is activated and will adjust the filtering efficacy and selectivity if needed.
According to a fifth embodiment of the management method, and as illustrated on
The first sensor 2 may comprise a camera designed for capturing a first image as said data relating to an incident light on the active lens 1; and the second sensor 3 may comprise a camera designed for capturing a second image as said data relating to a light transmitted from the incident light through the active lens 1.
The control unit (4) is then designed for comparing the first and second images with each other and controlling the active lens 1 at least according to a result of said comparison.
The image comparison is made to detect a device that emits polarized light such as an LCD screen or a polarized light source, and the result may be the deactivation or activation or activation mode change of the polarising lens to enable or disable the view of the polarized light.
The management system thus allows detecting of devices emitting polarized light, then allows adapting the selection of polarization(s) performed by the active lens 1.
As illustrated on
Each set of images may be analyzed 4203 by comparing the one to the other according to some predefined behavioral rules stored in the storing means 42 and implemented by the processing means 41. The images are more particularly analyzed in terms of light color and intensity change(s) and to detect zone(s) of significant change(s). If 4204 no zone of significant change(s) is detected, no change will be brought to the lens activation. On the contrary, if 4204 at least one zone of significant change(s) is detected, the control unit 4 then may determine 4205 whether or not other polarization modes are available. To determine whether or not other polarization modes have to be considered depends not only on the performed image comparison, but may also depend on a desired behavior defined in function of data measured by other sensors, such as sensors 5, 6 for instance, and/or in function of external data. For instance, it can be decided to mask a screen in order to not disturb the visual field of the viewer with not relevant data; on the contrary, it can be decided to make a screen appear to show relevant data. For example, these considerations may be helpful for an aircraft pilot. Then the active lens 1 is controlled 40 accordingly. This controlling step may comprise changing 4206 the polarization mode. Any change of the polarization mode may consist in activating another polarization mode than the one already performed or deactivating the polarization already performed by the active lens 1. The decision on whether a change of polarization mode has to be performed or not and the decision about the change to be performed may also be taken in function of the position of the screen.
The control unit 4 may implement the preliminary program stored in the storing means 42 to ‘translate’ the result of the performed comparison in order(s) which are dedicated to be used by the active lens electronic driver(s) 43 to send suitable electrical signal(s) to the active lens 1.
Other embodiments may be envisaged which are in the scope of the appendix claims.
For instance, according to an embodiment of the management system, the management system comprises a white LED, serving as a reference light source and a photodetector arranged to measure data relating to a light transmitted from the incident light through the active lens.
Such a management system provides a transmission control of the electrochromic filter to ensure the desired transmission is applied.
The measurement of transmission is compared with a transmission set value, and a PID servo manages torque voltage/current supplied to the active lens to achieve the desired transmission.
Advantageously, such a management system allows to overcome internal and external conditions of the active lens which impact the efficiency of the active lens such as aging problems of the device, weather conditions (temperature) and/or the variation of internal parameters (resistivity ITO, voltage drop, contact losses, etc . . . ).
In another example, the active lens is an electrochromic active lens, user may want to activate the electrochromism in the outdoor, but darken even more if he/she wants to read a message on a screen behind the active lens.
In another embodiment, it is also possible to enable the light therapy method over time, and measure the flux naturally received in order to be able to determine if there is a need to add an additional light source. For another example, in an indoor environment, it may be decided by the management system according to the present invention to cut the polarizer filter to see LCD screens without effect of cross-polarization.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14307205 | Dec 2014 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2015/081202 | 12/23/2015 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016/107813 | 7/7/2016 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030231293 | Blum et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20100277687 | Shehadeh et al. | Nov 2010 | A1 |
| 20120140167 | Blum | Jun 2012 | A1 |
| 20120215291 | Pugh | Aug 2012 | A1 |
| 20150323795 | Alton | Nov 2015 | A1 |
| 20160070105 | Tannoudiji | Mar 2016 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2631706 | Aug 2013 | EP |
| 2778752 | Sep 2014 | EP |
| 20130091881 | Aug 2013 | KR |
| Entry |
|---|
| ISR/WO for International Appln. No. PCT/EP2015/081202; dated Apr. 1, 2016. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170357107 A1 | Dec 2017 | US |
