Eye glint imaging in see-through computer display systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12093453-B2
Application number	US-202318304303-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2023
Priority date	Jan 21, 2014
Publication date	Sep 17, 2024
Grant date	Sep 17, 2024

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.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wearable head device comprising: a see-through display configured to present content to an eye of a user of the wearable head device, such that presenting the content to the eye produces an eye glint; one or more sensors; and one or more processors configured to perform a method comprising: capturing, via the one or more sensors, an image of the eye glint; determining, based on the image of the eye glint, a level of sharpness associated with the content; in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is below a threshold, increasing the level of sharpness; and in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is not below the threshold, forgoing increasing the level of sharpness; capturing, via the one or more sensors, an image of the iris of the eye; and determining a gaze location of the user based on the image of the eye glint and further based on the image of the iris; wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination of the gaze location relative to the see-through display.

2. The wearable device of claim 1 , further comprising a wearable device optic configured to provide the content to the see-through display, wherein increasing the level of sharpness comprises adjusting a focus of the wearable device optic.

3. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the see-through display comprises a first region corresponding to a central region of the see-through display and a second region corresponding to a peripheral region of the see-through display.

4. The wearable device of claim 3 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether the gaze location of the user is associated with the first region,
wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the gaze location is associated with the first region.

5. The wearable device of claim 3 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether the gaze location of a user is associated with the second region,
wherein forgoing increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the gaze location is associated with the second region.

6. A method comprising: presenting, via a see-through display of a wearable head device, content to an eye of a user of the wearable head device, such that presenting the content to the eye produces an eye glint; capturing, via one or more sensors of the wearable head device, an image of the eye glint; determining, based on the image of the eye glint, a level of sharpness associated with the content; in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is below a threshold, increasing the level of sharpness; and in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is not below the threshold, forgoing increasing the level of sharpness; capturing, via the one or more sensors, an image of the iris of the eye; and determining a gaze location of the user based on the image of the eye glint and further based on the image of the iris;
wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination of the gaze location relative to the see-through display.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein increasing the level of sharpness comprises adjusting a focus of a wearable device optic, the wearable device optic configured to provide the content to the see-through display.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the see-through display comprises a first region corresponding to a central region of the see-through display and a second region corresponding to a peripheral region of the see-through display.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether the gaze location of the user is associated with the first region,
wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the gaze location is associated with the first region.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether the gaze location of the user is associated with the second region,
wherein forgoing increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the gaze location is associated with the second region.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, comprising: presenting, via a see-through display of a wearable head device, content to an eye of a user of the wearable head device, such that presenting the content to the eye produces an eye glint; capturing, via one or more sensors of the wearable head device, an image of the eye glint; determining, based on the image of the eye glint, a level of sharpness associated with the content; in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is below a threshold, increasing the level of sharpness; and in accordance with a determination that the level of sharpness is not below the threshold, forgoing increasing the level of sharpness; capturing, via the one or more sensors, an image of the iris of the eye; and determining a gaze location of the user based on the image of the eye glint and further based on the image of the iris;
wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination of the gaze location relative to the see-through display.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein increasing the level of sharpness comprises adjusting a focus of a wearable device optic, the wearable device optic configured to provide the content to the see-through display.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the see-through display comprises a first region corresponding to a central region of the see-through display and a second region corresponding to a peripheral region of the see-through display.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises determining whether the gaze location of the user is associated with the first region or the second region,
wherein increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the view target is associated with the first region, and
wherein forgoing increasing the level of sharpness is performed further in accordance with a determination that the view target is associated with the second region.

Assignees

• Mentor Acquisition One Llc

Inventors

• Border John N

Classifications

• G09G2354/00

  Aspects of interface with display user · CPC title

• G09G5/10

  Intensity circuits · CPC title

• G09G5/003

  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 title

• G06T19/006

  Mixed reality (object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/005

  Input arrangements through a video camera · CPC title