DISTRICT OFFICE
TORONTO
1~1CJV ~ ~ ZDU1 Patent Application TORONTO
of PROPRIE'T~ INTELLECTUELLE
Steve l~Ta.xln for SMART SUNGLASSES OR COMPUTER INFORMATION DISPLAY
BUILT INTO EYEWEAR HAVING ORDINARY APPEARANCE, POSSIBLY WITH SIGHT LICENSE
of which the following is a specification:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains generally to a wearable apparatus that provides the wearer with an electronic display device, graticule. reticule, or crosshairs, similar to or suitable for a camera viewfinder screen, or for a wearable c:onxputer information (llSl)11L~', ()r tll(' llkE-.', ~~'1111P a t t:he Se1111e. tulle apI)eax'lllg t0 otll(-'1'S a5 Ol'C1111~Lx'~' E'~'E'g11155E'S.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Visual wearalolc computers of the 1970s auEl early 1980 s (up to and inclu(lillg 1981. being the "sevE.nties" of wearable conlpLlting) once tended to have an unusual appearance. primarily hecaalse of the (lisplay device over at least one eye of the user.
Thin era was characterized toy headworn devices. e.g. hE;lmets, and headsets, such as deviE:es having an appearance of lxeadphones, with a,pparatLls attache(1 thereto.
Tlu'olxghout the early 1980 s a change front head nxounted (lisplays to eyeglass mounted (Iisplays took place as described in a. wearable computing textbook recently p llblished by ,lohn Wilev and Sons, entitled "Intelligent Image Processing'' . ISBN
0-471-40637-G. 38I pages, published November 2, 2001.
Tlu'Enlghout the 1990x, the apparatus evolved into what appears as if it were or-dinary looking eyEeglasses. Various version of the "nixleties'~ enlbodinlent place com-ponents illsiEle the eyeglasse s.
Thus we wearri,l~le computing for Intelligent, Image Processing (Personal Imaging) follows, in terms of physical appearance, tlxree distinct eras:
~ the seventies: headworn, helmets. headsets, headplxones. etc.;
~ the eibhties: smart, sunglasses, eyewear with components that persons other than the wearer can see:
~ the nineties: cyewear having a,n ordinary ahpearancx: to others, preferably such that the apparatus is not detected by others.
~~'ithin the coxxtext of the wnineties" ~;c-~nerat,ioxx s~~stems. it is desired that there be no sharp edges, and that preferably therefore, the inside surface have little or negative c;xxrva.ture (e.g. be not c.xcessivcly convex. and in fact. ideally it would he approximately fiat or concave toward the eye) and that the outside surface match approxinxately the curvature of the eyeglasses on the outside.
Aco;ordixxgh~, a wedge-shaped opt;ic;al element nxouxxted within or inside eyeglasses provides a, view toward safety and ordinary appearance.
Preferably- thin wedge-shaped optical element is mounted in the lower portion of the field of view of at least one eye of tlxe wearer of the eyeglasses, e.g. it is prc:ferablv mounted below the optical axis of straiglxt-ahead vision.
Preferably this wedge-shaped optical element is mounted so that the «~edge points upward, so that the fatter c:ud hoists downward toward a, display element concealed within the lower portion of the eyeglass frames, or within a lower portion of an eyeglass lens.
In this way, the apparatus will have the aphea,rauce of ordinary bifocal eyeglasses or ordinary reading glasses.
Preferably; either loth eyes have a display, or if only one eye has a, display, the other lens of the eyeglasses has a dunnny element, to match the plzvsical a,hpearanc;e of the flmctiouing element. Thus both eyeglass lenses preferably have-' roughly identical appearance, so that the ey glasses overall have: a noruxal appearance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is possible with this invention to provide a wearable viewfinder that ma,y be used without a, camera of any kind, so that the wearer ca,n simply imagine what it is like to be shooting, and can hone his or her compositional skills loy having a reticle, graticule. crossha,irs. or the like, in front of his or her vision at all tunes while wearing au enrl~odimeat of the invention.
It is possible with this inveni:ion t,o provide a wcarahle eyeglass base cl device allowing the wearer to view data, such as from the screen of a weara l>le computer (wearcomp) systcnr but where the device appears to others to be simply a pair of ordinary e~'egla ses.
~Vhfm used with a canrcra. the invention cam provide a viewfinder in which a very natural first-person perspective documentary results. A computational system.
ei-ther built into the wearable camera,, or worn on the hotly elsewhere a,rrd connected to the camera system, may lie used to enhance images. This may be of value to the vis~ra,lly impaired. The computer may also perform other tasks such as object recognition. Becaaase the device is worn constantly, it may also fr.urction a,s a photo-gra,phic:wideogra.hhic memory aid, e.g. t,o help in way-finding through the recall and display of previously captmced imagery. For example, the wearable camera system may recognize the facce of someone within the camera's field of view a,nd superimpose the name of the person it recognized into the viewfinder. This is presented to the wearer in the form of a virtual name t,ag.
Au important aspect of the iuvc:ntiou, when combined with a camera, is tirewa-pability of the apparatus to mediate (augment, and to a, limited extent diminish, or otherwise alter) the visual perception of reality.
It is possible with this invention to provide the user with a. nrearrs of determining the composition of the picture fz~om a display device drat is located such that only tlm: user care see thc~ ~lisplyy device, a.nd sc> drat the riser c;an ascertain thewonrpo-sition of a picture or take a. picture or video and transmit ima,ge(s) to one or more remote locations, possibly as a personal safety device for use without the knowledge of perpetrators. criminals. or terrorists in the in nneclial-,e environment.
It is possible with this invention to provido the user with a means of determining the composition of the picture from a display device that is located such that only the user can see the display device, a s well as an optional additional display device that the user ca.n show to others if and when the user desires to do so.
It is possible with this invention ro provide a means for a user to experience a ddirional information overlaid on top of his or her visual field of view such that the information is relevant to the imagery being viewed.
It is possible with this invention to provide a means and apparatus for a user to capture a plurality of images of the same scene or o lyjecas, in a, natural process of simply looking around. and then have these images c;ombincd together into a single image of increased spatial extent, spatial resolution. dynamic. range. or tonal fid<~lit~~.
D
When used as a viewfinder the invention is simply a, mean s of determining the extent of cxwera,ge of the: camera in a natural manner. and may comprise either of:
~ A reticle, graticule, rPCtangle, or other marking that appears to float within a.
portion of the field of view.
~ A display device that shows a video image, or some other dynamic information perhaps related to the video image coming from a <;amera,.
Other uses include a computer screen or other information that might include orga-niter. calendar, clock, airliaie information. etc..
One aspect of the invention allows a photographer or videographer to wear the apparatus continuously and therefore always end up with the ability to produce a picture: from something that was seen a couple of minutes ago. This ma,y be useful to everyone in the sense that, we may not want to miss a great photo opportmity.
and often great photo opportunities only become known to us after we have had time to think about something we previously saw.
J
Such a,n appara us might also be of use in personal safety, as a, sousveillance (un-dersight) system to I>a,lance excessive surveillance: (oversight). Although there a,re a growing number of video surveillance cameras installed in t,lic environment allegedly for ymblic safety" , there have been recent cpiestions a t:o the true benefit of wch cen-tralized surveillance infrastructure s. especially when the stirveillanc;e is not 1>alauced with a, reasonable degree of sousveillance. Most notably there ha,vce Keen several ex-amples in which such centralized itifrastructnre has been abused by the owners of it (as in roundup a, clet;ainmen t, and execution of pe.acc.ful demonstrators).
Woreovc;r.
"p mlolic sa,fet,v'' systems mad- fa.il tc> protect individuals against crimes committed by the organiia.tions that installed the systems. The a,ppa.ratm of this invention allows the storage and retrieval of images 1>y tram smittinand rec:orcling images a one or more remote locations. Images may be transmitted and re.cordecl in different coun-tries, so that they would be difficult to destroy, in the event that the perpetrator of a crime might wish to do so through the political mac:hinerv of a single country, state, or organization.
The apparatus of the invention allows information to I~o clisplyved to t1 :
wearer in a, natural manner. without giving am unusual aPpea,rancc to others (such as a, potential assailant or human rights viola.tor), and therefore cam lie, used as a sousveilla,nce system, c>r simply a.s a personal oryaniif~r.
According to one aspect of the invention, tlmre is provided a display system in eyet;lassea, wherein a wedge slla,hecl display optic has a convex outer 5ttrfac~e mat chin g am approximate curvature anal positioning of the leas of typical eyeglasses.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a wearable camera concealed in the eyeglasses, in which the above: mentioned crosshairs are used to aim thfe camera.
According to another aspect of the invention, Chore is provided eyeglasses in which a viewscrcen in the eyeglasses provides an olE~ctronic viewfinder connected to the (~
output of the camera. also concealed in tlm eyeglass frames. Preferably this viewfinder allows the wearer to examine not just composition. lmt also exposure.
contrast. and details of the image, as well as nets information wch as that determined by an object recognition program that might, for example. recognize faces of people in the picture and rcrnimd the veearer who it is that the wearer wantccl to photograph, or remind the wearer of pPOple in the picture who are not satisfied with their picture portraits, or who need to bee re photobra,phed in hotter lighting or the like, or thc~
wearable face recognizes might recognize people and construct a family tree in the viewfinder so for example, a wedding photographer could orient himself for best shot of the group by understanding and arranging individuals in a. meaningful order.
According to another aspcca of t,he, invention there is provided au information display having tlue alyearaLnce of ordinary cycglasse s.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more dc-Mail, by wa,y of examples which in no way are meant to limit. the scope of the invention, but, rather, these examples will serve to ilhastra,te the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates the principle and components of typical eyeglass display of the invention.
FIG. 2 ilhistrates a,n outwardly displaying embodiment of the invention in which the optical elements form part of the outer surface of the eyeglasses.
FIG. 3 ilhastrates a downwardly displaying embodiment of the invention having the appearance of ordinary bifocal eyegla sses.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
While the invention shall now be described with reference, t,c~ the preferred em-bodiments shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the intention is not to limit the invention only to the particular embodiments shown but ra her to cover all alterations, modifications <Lnd equivalent arrangements po5sihle within the scope of appended claims.
In all aspects of the present invention; references to ''c.a.mera" mean any device or collection of devices capable of simultaneously determining ~ quantity of ligl-it arriving frot-n a plurality of directions and or at a plurality of locations, or determining some other attribute of light arriving from a plurality of directions and or at a plurality of locations. Similarly references to ''viewscroen" shall not 1>e limite,d to just minia-turized television monitors or computer monitors. lout shall also inc~ludc computer data disf>lay means, as well as fixed cLisplay means. where wch fixed clispla,v means include crosshairs, graticules. reticles, laraclcots, etc., and other video displa,v devices, still picture clispluv dcwices, ASC,'II text display devices. terminals, and systems that directly scan light onto the retina of the eye to form the; perccptinn of an image.
References to ~'hrocessor''. or "computer" sha,llinclucle sectueutial instruction, par-allel instruction, and special purpose architectures such a s digital signal processing hardware, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), progrannnable logic devices.
os well a s analog signal prooc;ssing devices.
~-''llen it is said that object ''A'' is vborne" by olyject ''B", this shall include the possibilities that A is attached to B, that A is part of B, that A is hmilt into B, or that A is B.
FIG. 1 is a diagranL depicting a pair of eyeglasses, h awing temple side pieces of frame 100 with frames that support eyegla,se lenses 100L. Tlne term ''lens'' is used in the wide sense to include lenses having infinite focal length, as found; for example, in decorative or fashionable nc>m-corrective evewc;~.r, or in sunglasses whc:rc:
lensc;s 100L
provic:lc light control (attenuation, polarization. etc.~.
Au eye axis EA of an oye 150 of the wearer is clcfined a an axis when looking straight ahead. A viewing axis VA of eye. 150 is definec:l when looking off-axis. The dir<-ectiou of off-axis looking for the viewing axis is a direction of looking such that tire eye is looking at the center of a.n ima.ge of a display element 130 as magnified.
focused. or the like, by olztics 110. Satisfactory optics a.rce the optics manufactured by Canon; as clcscribed in U.S. Pat. No. G,2J2,301. or otl~r similar wedgo--shaped optics with displyv Element oloposite an apex of the wedge.
Viewing Axis VA pray be in ayv of various directions. In a proferrc.d embodiment of tire invention, for a right eye system, VA is to the right or downwards of e.ye axis EA, and for a left eye system. VA is to the left or downwards of eye axis EA.
Without loan of generality. Fig. 1 depicts a right eye outward system, where it is understood that either or both eyes may be ac:comrnoc:lated with display capability in eitlror an inurard or downward (or even upward or inward) embodiment without departing from the spirit of tlm: invention.
Optics 110 lras an outer surface Sl, and am inner (cyeward) surface S2. If optics 110 has a corner 110C on a.n eyeward side, the corner is preferably rounded so that it is not a sharp wrface. Alternatively, a shroud 1105 forms an eyc~ protection surface.
so the entire inward surface S2 nratchca shroud 1105 to form a continuously smooth surface. Slwoud 1105 also forms a light-tight, seal along with eyeglass frames 100.
Optics 110 also has an apex 110A. In the: outward embodiment an apex 110 A
hoists inward. In the outward right-eye enzbc>diment, the wearer may see the image display as being straight ahead, sz.rc:h that EA and VA are approximately collinear, but preferably the image displyy is off' to the side. In the preferred outward right-c:,y~e embodiment; the wearer looks to the right to sec along a. viewing axis VA.
Thc: ahal>e of optics 110 is w-ich f;lzat tlrc irmvard wrfacc S2, (<z.long with a shroud 1105. if present) forms a smooth safe inward surfa< a for the eyeglasses.
Opposite the apcex llOA is a magnifying sarfacce, S3. A display elcernent 130 dc:~fines a display axis DA. The outward end of display axis DA is angled in au outward direction away from eye 150, whera.s the, inward end of display axis DA is angled inward toward eve 150.
A portion 120 of eyeglass lenses 100L will typically allow some sec-around ca-pability, so that the wearc-er of the glasses cam see arouml the display optic 11(). In a preferred embodiment of the eyeglasses, the portion 120 allows the wearer to see straight ahead. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the optics 110 begins to block the wearer's view from roughly straz,ight ahead, to an outward portion of straight ahead. In some preferred embodiments, when the wearer looks outward to sec' the display, the wearer can sec, above arid 1 glow the optics 110, so tha the wearer has full atel~co vision in a good i~ortion of the field of view around the displyy.
'fairing 140~~' is concealed inside ordinary looking oyeglass safety straps to c.onneca to a, pocked sized computer, or the like. Alternatively the computer rma,y he luzilt into the eyeglass frame s. Oilier devices in the a vcglasse s such as a microplmuce, speakers.
indicator lights. c°anrora s, etc-., allow the eyeglasses to fraction as a telephone. video-phone, pocket organizer, personal safety device, or the like. For example, in some, but riot, necessarily all embodiments of the invention. cue or more cameras 1GOL.
1G0C, and 1GOR myy be present. Preferably a right camera 1608, a,ncl a. center camera 1GOC' (preferably concealed in the nosebridge of the glasses) L~rovide outputs to a processor for interpolation of viewpoint, to achieve au effective viewpoint of eye 150.
Preferably the dimensional stability of the eyeglass frames is such that the epipolar geometry across cameras 1600 and 1G0R, is su fficiently fixed, tha it ca,n he, determined in one calibration step. Thus two irlra.ges, a center image from camera, 160C' and a right image from camera 1608. eau 1 ; processed jointly 1-~y wa.,y of a coordinate transfornra tion that causes epipolar lines to be parallel alcmg one axis. Tlmn the interpolation between these two cameras is a simple matter. Preferably the outputs of the two cameras are somewhat identical so that interpolation errors at worst provide an im-age no worse than just incorrectly selecting viewpoint 1GOC' or 1G0R. not exactly at ey~e 150.
In other embodiments, a near infrared camera and a source of infrared illumina-tion in the eyeglasses provide some kind of night vision capability.
Alternatively, an infrared bolometer or other kind of thermal imaging system in the eyeglass frames may provide passive IR vision system with no light scurrce required.
An infrared camera may also he incorporated into tlxc system My nxaking swfa.ce Sl into a hot mirror and allowing light to he reflected from subject nxat,ter onto the hot mirror. Another embodiment has one or both lensca 100L heixxg hot mirrors for reflection of infrared light hack to au IR canxera.
A deta,chal~le module may be pla.cc;d on the glasses when using them as an IR.
vision system, so that tlxey fraction ordinarily as only a display. and then beconxe a dermal vision system when the detachable portion is used.
In another embodiment. the eyeglasses nyv display inxages from other body worn inxaging systenxs. snclx as a nec:kworn infrared bolonxeter, concealed in neck wear.
In this case, the relative orientation of eyeglasses and neckwear may be determined l>y inertial guic:laxxce: systems upon each of tlmae two itenxs, s~> tlxat:
their relative orientation is known. Other sensors that determine relative orientation a,nd position feed this infornxa.tion to a processor to conxtnxte a,xxd overlay 3D scene infornxation and annotation.
Tlnxs a computer mediated reality environnxent is possible, whcrin the apparatus does not have an unnsna.l appea,rancc. In this way personal safety environments can be created in which large corporate or governnxent organizations may cot necessarily be safe harbours for terrorists. With the possibility that an ordinary person might captwe good quality images of terrorist or state-Sponsored terrorist a,ctivitv. there is a risk. for these c;ngaging in and supporting such activity of being discovered.
Such an apparatus mayl also inclxule a siglxt license featxwe. A siglxt license is a license to see. A siglxt licence nxay he downloaded over tlxe network to enable the eycegla sses to operate. For exanxyle. a. retinal or iris scans<~r in tlme eycgla ses xxx~Ly license the eyeglasses to provide sight to tho wearer, lnxt not, to others who might steal t lxe eyegliLSSes.
A comnmaication between the apparatus anal room lighting. lxeating, ventilation, and the like, of an intelligent, lmilding may provide a situation in which liglxts in the room turn off a.ut,omatically when a. person without a seeing license enters the room.
The intelligent huikling ca,n know if persons have a seeing license. a,nd also it can know how many people are in a room. If the number of per sons in a room exceeds the munher of licenses detected. the lights can go off automatically. Some persons with sight licenses may have the eyegla,sscs of the invc~mtion such that the eve.gla saes automatically stu,rt operating when tlm room lights turn off.
Those with sight licenses whc> arc. wearing the eyeglasses car assist others with sight licenses who clo not leave eyeglasses. These lic:cnsced person s can l~c-' assisted into an adjoining room, or other locv,tion. leaving only the unlicensed persons in the dark.
Windows in the building can lie equipped with kerr cells, electrochromic mate-vials, or other light control materials so that, any natural light can be turned off to make rooms dark when desired. Tlms in the presence of trouble. terrorism, crime, or suspicion. a sight license enforcement signal c;an he sent so that only- those with sight.
liconscs cr~,n see properly. Fo rging agents can also be sent tlwough tln-~
ductwork to reduce vision further, in the event that unlic:ensc:d individuals might carry unautho-rized seeing aids such ms pocket ilhzminators, flashlights cigarette lighters.
or other contraband.
A seeing license downloadec:l into e.veglasses of the inventic>n with infrared bolome-ter or thermal camera will allow licensed persons to continue seeiy through darkness.
fog, and other sight license circumvention prevention measures.
Additionally, certain markings, indicia. etc.. in buildiys and other places may be provided to those with a sibht license. Licensed looking a.t certain materials is thus possible. Such infrastruc,tl-ire can be used to keep terrorists (oz~
those suspected of possible terrorism) in the-' dvrk. Moreover, sim:e those with sight licenses can he processed more easily, and since there becomes a benefit tc~ becoming among those being certain not to he terrorists, there is a.n incentive to enroll in a. brou p of non-terrorists. Unregistc;red aliens become c:a,tegorizcd among those suspc~ctc-~d of terrorism, communism, witchcraft, plague; disease, or what;c;ver else is the preferred category for wl-iich to sti ;matize a non-c:locile portion of the population.
Other licenses may he incorporated. For oxample, all clocks in the environment may be cduipped with special license servers, so that if there a,rc unlicemed parsons in view of a clock, the clock does not properly display time. Theroforc;
umdesira,bles ca.n be kept from knowing the time of day. l~'Ioreover. a Mock bmilt into the eyeglasses can operate when a, license is detected. Thus liccrme-wear can he used to allow licensed indivichza.ls to have information, while ensuring that molesiral>les are kept in the dark.
l~-Ioreover, 1y replacing public services suoli a large clock towers. with licensed public services like time transmitters that can be rcc civcd b~- licc~nsod individuals, it eau he made harder for unlicensed (t-tnprocesscd) persons t,o carry out their da.y-to-day lives.
A license can be coupled to other activity, such as vaccination, so that unva,cci-hated persons get fewer and fewer services, to the extent that t.lzeir lives arc; made more difficult. This will provide an incentive to get with the program, and enroll for a vaccinID (T~-T) vaccine chip implant combined with identification and tracking device. ~'accinlD (TVI) ensures that those receiving a vaccine dispensing identifying implant can be. tracked for further softwea,r upgrades to their vaccine identification device.
Those not yc;t implanted or processed will be suspect c.d of witchcraft, terrorisnn, or whatever else is mnfazshiona 1>1e at the time.
Thus the information displyy of the invention can be used in a license network.
such a s a sight lirensc>, information lic~mse, reading liceme, wa,lkiizg license. license to sit (as described in http:~~wearca,m.or ~seatsale~index.htm) or the like.
FIG. 2 d<-epicts an enh>odiment of the invention in which an outer surface suclx as S1 of optics 110 is actually part of, or blended into the outer surface 10051 of the cvogla.ssos or c:~-egla,ss leas 100L. Tlm: optics 110 may be actually part of flue e;yeglaas lens 100L. or may be bonded to the: eyeglass lens 100L, preferably with index-matching adhesive, so that there is no apparent discontinuity. In scum: embodiments;
lens 100L
may be tinted in areas around optics 110, so that thEae surrounding areas of the lens 100L match the a,ppearanc:e of optics 110. Especially if optics 110 has a mirrored or partially silvered or partially refic:ctivc outer w~face S1, then it is desired to tint the lens 100L to match this mirrored or partially silvered, or partially reflective cnxter surface Sl.
Preferably canxera.s, if present, a.re all angled toward the same field of view FOV
as provided by the display apha,ratus. Thug in this exanxple. one or nxore canxeras (such as c:anxera,s 160L. 1600, a.nd 160R) would a.11 he pointed toward the right, so that tliev would lave-~ tlxe saxme field of view FOV as axx eye 150 sees on tlxe display apparatus of the ixmention.
A dummy optic 110D preferably nxatches the appearance of the nxain optic 110.
The dummy optic may also have only the surface structure, so that there is a less severe distortion in which case inner wrface 110DS2 of the dunnxxy optic: ma,y be absent ox leas inclined with respect to the outer surface. The optics 110 (and possibly 110D) may be progressive, like progressive nmltifooal eyeglasses, so that, the optics Mend into the eyeglass structure. a,nd are not particularly visible to others.
Others can sec: the wearexv5 ayes wlxen looking at the wearer straiglxt on. whcerca,s the distortion in the seeing of the wea,rer'S eyes would only l~E; seen from one side (or the other).
FIG. 3 i5 a diagra.nx depicting a,n eml~odinxent. of the invention in a pair of bifocal eyeglasses, a.xxd will serve to define the terminology pertaining to various parts of the bifocal eyeglasses. Eyeglasses arcs nornxa,lly lxe~ld upon the head of the wearer by way of temple side pieces 310. These temple side piece s 310 syoport, loy way of a hinge held on with rivets 320, a frame 330. Within frame 330 are two lenses 340.
Lenses 340 contain inset lenses 350 which might ordinarily have different prescriptions than lease s 340 in wlic~h they are set. Thus. within tlxc; context of the invention, optics 110 nxay 1e concealed by way of inset lenses 350, either as part of inset lenses 350, or in place of inset lenses 350.
There is typically a cut linc> 360 between lens 340 and lens 350. This cut line forms the apex 110A of optics 110. Alternatively, a ~xxore progxessive kind of eyeglass lens can be made in which optics 110 are <;ontinuously mnl~edded into the eyeglass lenses 340.
In ordinary usage of bifocal eyeglasses. lens 340 would provide a.
prescription for distant olzjects while inset lens 3,00 world provide a prc;sc;ription for nearby objects.
Lea s 350 would be conmzonly used for reading. Accordingly, lens 340 woidd. in some cases, have infinite focal length (zero power) and simply serve as a, support for lens 350, which «~oulcl t,y-pically be a leas of positive focal length (c.g. a zlzagnifyiug glass).
Therefore. in the context of the presezzt, invention, lens 350 being part of the information display. results in a natural user-interface in which the wearer simply looks downward to rc:.ad material from the cozr~puter screen. This user-interface is intuitive a.nd e,asv to learn. lecause many people a,rc~ already familiar with bifocal eyeglasses in the cvontc!xt of roa,ding paper 1>a ccl media, or the likc>. so using the carne arrangement to read a conzpzzte:r screen is quickly lca,rned.
In some cases. lens 340 znyy 1>c non existent, a s in typical reading glasses.
in «>hich lens 350 is mounted directly to frame 330, and tlzc wearer looks aver frame 330 to see distant olyjects and would look thrcntglz lens 350 to see nearby olyjc:cts sac;h as the pages of a. pooh. Thus an embodiment of the invention may be one in which there is no lens 310. and u~lzerein lens 350 is optics 110. This optics 110 is momted directly to the eyeglass frames, with the apex 110A of optics 110 mounted at the top, so that the wearer looks over the apex 110A to see the real world. The wearer looks dov~nward to sece the computer generated world.
In the bifocals eznbodinzcut. apex 11UA corresponds to ctzt line 3G0. However, in many modern nniltifocal eyeglasses, there is no visihk~ cut lice 3G0, and instead there is a, gradual ( "progressive" ) transition from the prescription of lens 340 to that of leas 350. Such nnzltifocal lenses a,re known as proyr~.ssi~~e. The purpose of such gradual transition is to acconnnodate a, variety of distances. in situations where the wearer normally has an inability to focus over any appreciable ra,uge of distances, as well as for improved appearance. Sine;c: the need for multifoca,l lenses shows a, deficiency omthe part of tire user, them ha,s been a trend toward hiding this deficiency, just a5 tlrcre has been a tread toward contact lenses and lacer eye tread-,nrerrts to eliminate the need for eyewcar altogether. However. a.rnid the desire among Borne to hido the fact drat then need bifocals or even just ordinary glassc;s, there are others who like to wear eyeglasses. Even some people wlro do n<>t nc-eel eyeglasses often wear so-oalled psfnrdo--irrtcllectrra,l glasses. which are glasses in which lens 340 has infinite:
focal length. llorcover, bifocal eycglassc,s anc:l reacting glasses arc often associated with intellectuals, and thus there is a portion of society that would readily wear glasseshaving the general appearance of those depicted in FIG. 3, even if they did Trot rectuire a. prescription of any kind.
The eyeglass leases 340 may also cc>utain markings 370 oracle directly on tlrc glass.
Such markings, for example, nray~ be the rnauufacturer's name or an abbreviation (suc:h as the letters "GA" engraved on the left lens of Giorgio Arrnani (trade-mark) glasses). For illu st.ration in thin disclosure, the markings "L'' and vR."
denote left and right lc-~naes. as labeled from these perspective of the wearer. Such markinga may also 1-~c~ useful to conceal other optical elements.
)3.ivets 320 may also be used to conceal camera s. Alternatively, camera leas open-ings can be made to have the appearance of rivets 320. Onc or more cameras such as one in tire noselridgc, and one at one or loth sides of the eyeglass franrcs, can he angled down to match the fic;ld of view of the downward eurlodiment of the inven-tion. Additionally, a, processor can lie used to int.erpola,t,e viewpoints tc>
get the eye viewpoint. Alternatively, a computer system, informed by a computer vision system froth the cameras. can be used to synthesize a, computer generated world as rendered from the viewpoint of an eve of the wearer.
Fronr the foregoing description, it, will thus be evident that the present invention provides a design for a wearable display or ca,rncra viewfinder. As various changes ca,n be made in the alcove cnrlodiments and operating methods without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in t1 accompanying drawings should he interpreted as ilhistra.tive and not in a limiting sense.
Variations or modifications to the design and construction of this invention, within the scope of the invention, may occur to those skilled in the mrt upon reviewing the disclosure herein. Such vario,tions or modifications, if within the spirit of this invention, arc; intended to l~c~ encx>mpassed within the Scot>c of anv claims to patent protection issuiy upon this invention.