Electric shaver with imaging capability

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10863071-B2
Application number	US-201615097562-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 13, 2016
Priority date	Dec 30, 2008
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

System and method for improving the shaving experience by providing improved visibility of the skin shaving area. A digital camera is integrated with the electric shaver for close image capturing of shaving area, and displaying it on a display unit. The display unit can be integral part of the electric shaver casing, or housed in a separated device which receives the image via a communication channel. The communication channel can be wireless (using radio, audio or light) or wired, such as dedicated cabling or using powerline communication. A light source is used to better illuminate the shaving area. Video compression and digital image processing techniques are used for providing for improved shaving results. The wired communication medium can simultaneously be used also for carrying power from the electric shaver assembly to the display unit, or from the display unit to the electric shaver.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A handheld device for capturing and displaying images and for identifying an element in the images, the device comprising:
a first digital camera for capturing a first image, the first digital camera comprising a first optical lens for focusing the received light and a first output for outputting a first digital signal carrying a representation of the first captured image;
a second digital camera for capturing a second image distinct from the first image, the second digital camera comprising a second optical lens for focusing the received light and a second output for outputting a second digital signal carrying a representation of the second captured image;
a multiplexer coupled to the first and second outputs for producing multiplexing the first and second digital signals to produce a multiplexed signal;
a port for coupling to a communication medium;
a transmitter coupled between the port and the multiplexer for transmitting the multiplexed signal to the communication medium;
a digital image processor coupled to the digital cameras for receiving the digital signals for receiving and processing the captured images;
a rechargeable battery coupled to power the digital cameras, the digital image processor, and the multiplexer; and
a single portable and handheld casing housing the digital cameras, the digital image processor, and the multiplexer,
wherein the casing comprises two opposed first and second exterior surfaces, the first optical lens is attached to the first surface and the second optical lens is attached to the second surface, and
wherein the digital image processor is operative to identify the element in the captured images using pattern recognition.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the multiplexer is an FDM (Frequency Domain/Division Multiplexer) multiplexer, whereby the first and second digital signals are respectively carried over distinct first and second frequency bands, and wherein the FDM multiplexer further comprising a first filter for substantially passing only the first frequency band and a second filter for substantially passing only the second frequency band.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein the multiplexer is a TDM (Time Domain/Division Multiplexer) multiplexer.

4. The device according to claim 1 further operative to compress the captured image representation, the device further comprising a video compressor coupled between the first digital camera and the transmitter for compressing the first captured image representation.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the compression is based on intraframe or interframe compression, and wherein the compression is lossy or non-lossy.

6. The device according to claim 4 , wherein the compression is according to, or based on, a standard compression algorithm which is one out of JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, and ITU-T CCIR 601.

7. The device according to claim 1 further operative for free air propagation of the captured image representations using over-the-air electromagnetic radio-frequency waves wireless communication, wherein the port is an antenna for transmitting a wireless signal over the air, and the transmitter is a wireless transmitter coupled between the antenna and the digital camera for transmitting the wireless signal.

8. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal are according to, or based on, standard (W)PAN (Wireless Personal Area Network), the antenna is a WPAN antenna and the wireless transmitter is a WPAN transmitter.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal substantially conform to, or based on, ZigBee according to IEEE 802.15.4 standard, Bluetooth according to IEEE 802.15.1 standard, or UWB (Ultra-WideBand) according to IEEE 802.15.3 standard.

10. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the wireless communication is using an unlicensed frequency band.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal are according to, or based on, standard WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), the antenna is a WLAN antenna and the wireless transmitter is a WLAN transmitter.

12. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal substantially conforms to, or based on, IEEE 802.11 standard, and is using an Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) frequency spectrum band.

13. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal are according to, or based on, cellular communication, the antenna is a cellular antenna and the wireless transmitter is a cellular transmitter, and the wireless communication is using a licensed frequency band.

14. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal substantially conforms to, or based on, 2.5G or 3G, and wherein the device is part of a cellular telephone handset.

15. The device according to claim 13 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal substantially conforms to, or based on, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), 3GSM, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), Digital AMPS according to IS-136/TDMA, iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), EVDO (Evolution Data Only), UMTS, DCS, or PCS.

16. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal are according to, or based on, WMAN, WAN, BWA, LMDS, MMDS, WiMAX, HIPERMAN, or IEEE 802.16.

17. The device according to claim 7 , wherein the wireless communication is based on a continuous 7 GHz bandwidth around a 60 GHz radio frequency.

18. The device according to claim 17 , wherein the wireless communication and the wireless signal are according to, or based on, WirelessHD™ standard.

19. The device according to claim 1 wherein the communication medium is a cable and the port is a connector for connecting to the cable, and the transmitter is a wired transmitter coupled between the connector and the digital cameras for serial digital data transmission to the cable.

20. The device according to claim 19 wherein the communication over a cable is according to, or based on, a LAN (Local area Network) standard.

21. The device according to claim 20 wherein the cable is a LAN cable according to, or based on, EIA/TIA-568 or EIA/TIA-570 and comprising UTP or STP twisted-pairs, wherein the connector is RJ-45 type, wherein the communication over the cable conforms to, or is based on, IEEE802.3 Ethernet 10BaseT, 100BaseTX, or 1000BaseT, and wherein the wired transmitter is a LAN transceiver.

22. The device according to claim 19 wherein the communication over the cable, the wired transmitter, and the connector conform to, or are based on, IEEE1394, EIA/TIA-232, or USB (Universal Serial Bus) standards.

23. The device according to claim 19 wherein the cable further concurrently carries a power signal, and wherein the device is at least in part powered from the power signal or wherein the device is operative to supply at least part of the power signal.

24. The device according to claim 23 further comprising a battery charger connected to charge the rechargeable battery, and wherein the battery charger is coupled to the connector for being p

Assignees

• May Patents Ltd

Inventors

• Binder Yehuda

Classifications

• H04N25/41

  Extracting pixel data from a plurality of image sensors simultaneously picking up an image, e.g. for increasing the field of view by combining the outputs of a plurality of sensors · CPC title

• H04N25/709

  Circuitry for control of the power supply · CPC title

• H04N23/65

  Control of camera operation in relation to power supply · CPC title

• H04N23/633

  for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera · CPC title

• H04N23/50

  Constructional details · CPC title