Abstract:
Apparatus and method for eye-exercise utilizing a set of goggles, the set of goggles containing a display suitably positioned for a wearer to observe a set of LEDs, which when lit in a sequential manner cause the wearer to exercise the muscles of the eye. One set of LEDs is arranged in linear patterns along a horizontal line, a vertical line and two oblique lines at approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal. Another set of LEDs is arranged in a circular pattern around the periphery of the display. Alternate embodiments include the feature of illuminating cartoon characters or other interesting graphics so that the eye-exercise method may be effective for children.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application no. 60/900,525 filed Feb. 9, 2007. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to human eye health. In particular, the invention teaches a method and apparatus for eye-exercising. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Studies have indicated that frequent users of computers, those that look at a computer screen for extended periods, can lose 1% to 2% of their eyesight per year. The minimal movement of the eyes causes the muscles of the eyes to atrophy resulting in diminishing eyesight. Children are especially susceptible and can lose their eyesight at a faster rate. With proper exercises, the eyesight lost due to weakened eye muscles about the eye can be regained. The regeneration rate in children is much greater than that of adults to the degree of 15% to 20%. 
         [0004]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple to use and inexpensive means of eye exercise for the individual wishing to prevent premature eyesight loss due to atrophy of the eye muscles, especially the ciliary muscles. 
         [0005]    According to ancient traditions in the Middle East and Asia, an effective eye exercise is to cause the eye to focus on an object (a pencil for example) while moving it in a variety of ways to bring the object to the edge of peripheral vision: up and down, side to side, diagonally up and down on both diagonals. The traditions include the technique of moving the object in a circle about the perimeter of peripheral vision in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. It is another object of the present invention to provide a programmed method for causing an individual to perform these same traditional eye movements. 
         [0006]    The invention utilizes a set of goggles, the set of goggles containing a display suitably positioned for a wearer to observe a set of LEDs, which when lit in a sequential manner cause the wearer to exercise the muscles of the eye. One set of LEDs is arranged in linear patterns along a horizontal line, a vertical line and two oblique lines at approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal. Another set of LEDs is arranged in a circular pattern around the periphery of the display. The LEDs light up one at time through the various straight line patterns. The user follows the currently lit LED with their eyes through the full range of motion. One the straight line patterns have been completed, the LEDs light up around the circumference of each goggle in a circular pattern, first clockwise and then counterclockwise. A processor controls how fast the LEDs move through the pattern and how many repetitions of a given pattern are performed. An individual wishing to improve his or her vision is instructed to complete the exercises at least once a day and can do so in a variety of environments. 
         [0007]    An alternate embodiment includes the feature of illuminating cartoon characters or other interesting graphics in the straight line and circular patterns so that the eye-exercise method may be useful and effective for children. 
         [0008]    In the prior art there are a number of vision improvement systems. Zahn in U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,473 teaches the use of goggles for a sports display, but does not disclose any program for eye exercise. 
         [0009]    Sadanage in U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,934 teaches a head-mounted eye exercise mechanism wherein the user views an image through a set of lenses and prisms that are rotating while varying the object position laterally and axially. The apparatus appears complex, utilizing optical components such as lenses and optical wedges which are not simple to manufacture and not inexpensive. 
         [0010]    Blaine in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,527 describes a handheld device and method for exercising the occulomotor accommodation system of the eyes by movement of distorted images. This system also has a relatively complex mechanical and optical system. 
         [0011]    Mehr in U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,690 describes a goggle-like device worn on the head and having a single embedded light that flashes on and off at user settable frequencies. There is no peripheral exercise of the eye muscles in Mehr. 
         [0012]    In Nimtsovitch, PCT W098/11819 an eye exercise apparatus is disclosed which is bench mounted or hand held, but not compatible with a device worn on the head. 
         [0013]    Liberman in US Patent Application 2004/0075811A1 describes several embodiments of an invention that includes the lighting of objects in vertical, horizontal and oblique lines using alternating wavelengths of light (colors of objects) to exercise the muscles of the eye. One embodiment of Liberman is a head set likened to a set of goggles used for virtual reality demonstrations or games. Liberman also teaches the technique for a table mounted device, a computer display and a large screen TV and in all cases teaches how to optimally arrange the sequence of colors which is the key inventive notion. A shortfall in Liberman is the lack of exercise for peripheral vision since Liberman does not describe an exercise of moving the eyes in a circular motion near the perimeter of peripheral vision. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descriptions of exemplary embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally represent like parts of exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
         [0015]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a set of eye-exercise goggles for exercising the muscles of the eye wherein the exercise consists of linear eye movement and circular eye movement, the set of eye-exercise goggles being attached to a wearer&#39;s head and positioned in front of the wearer&#39;s eyes. 
         [0016]    The set of eye-exercise goggles comprises a left frame and a right frame to which a seal is attached for sealing light and to which a hinge is attached so that the frames may be folded together; a means for attaching the goggles to the head; a display assembly attached to each frame and set in front of the eyes. The display assembly is further comprised of a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged in a horizontal line, a set of LEDs arranged in a vertical line, a set of LEDs arranged in an oblique line, a set of LEDs arranged in a circle near the periphery of the display assembly, a control circuit electrically connected to the sets of LEDs and attached to display assembly containing electronic circuitry for automatically lighting LEDs in a sequential manner including lighting the LEDs in a circle around the periphery of the goggles. The display assembly also has at least one battery holder with battery and an on/off switch attached to battery and electrically connected to control circuit. 
         [0017]    The eye-exercise goggles may have a repetition switch means for setting the number of repetitions of lighting the LEDs. The eye-exercise goggles may also have a timing switch means for setting the frequency at which the sequence of LEDs are lit. 
         [0018]    The display assembly may include an inner cover between the LEDs and the wearer&#39;s eyes. Furthermore, in an alternate embodiment, said inner cover may have a set of objects imprinted on it that may include cartoon characters or other interesting characters, wherein the imprinted objects are arranged to display said characters to create an animation. It is a useful feature of the alternate embodiment of the present invention that the inner cover is constructed to snap into position on the frame and that the inner cover contains a means for being releasing from the snapped position. 
         [0019]    The preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a method of eye-exercise using eye-exercise goggles to be worn on a wearer&#39;s head which contain a set of frames for holding a display assembly, the display assembly having a plurality of LEDs arranged in linear horizontal, linear vertical, linear oblique and circular patterns, the circular pattern being near the edge of peripheral vision and the linear patterns having both ends near the edge of peripheral vision; wherein the display assembly has a set of control electronics for controlling the lighting of LEDs, the method of eye-exercise comprising the steps of placing goggles on wearer&#39;s head, switching power on to the control electronics, lighting LEDs in the various linear patterns and lighting LEDs in clockwise and counterclockwise circular patterns. 
         [0020]    The method of the preferred embodiment may include the step of setting a number of repetitions that the lighting of patterns may be repeated and furthermore execute the repetition of the lighting of each pattern by the number of repetitions. The frequency of LED lighting may also be adjusted. 
         [0021]    In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a method of eye-exercise uses eye-exercise goggles to be worn on a wearer&#39;s head which contain a set of frames for holding a display assembly, the display assembly having a plurality of objects capable of being illuminated, the objects being arranged in linear horizontal, linear vertical, linear oblique and circular patterns, the circular pattern being near the edge of peripheral vision and the linear patterns having both ends near the edge of peripheral vision; wherein the display assembly has a set of control electronics for controlling the illuminating of the set objects, the method of eye-exercise comprising the steps of placing goggles on wearer&#39;s head, switching power on to the control electronics, illuminating objects in various linear patterns and illuminating objects in clockwise and counterclockwise circular patterns. 
         [0022]    The method of the alternate embodiment may include the step of setting a number of repetitions that the illumination of object patterns may be repeated and furthermore execute the repetition of the illumination of object patterns by the number of repetitions. The frequency of illumination may also be adjusted. 
         [0023]    The alternate embodiment of the present invention includes a means for changing objects whereby the plurality of objects are imprinted on a removable inner cover which may be removed and replaced with a different set of objects. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]      FIG. 1  is a perspective drawing of the eye-exercise goggles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0025]      FIG. 2   a  is a cross-sectional drawing of the left frame of the eye-exercise goggles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0026]      FIG. 2   b  is a cross-sectional drawing of the right frame of the eye-exercise goggles of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0027]      FIG. 3   a  is a perspective drawing of the right display assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0028]      FIG. 3   b  is a perspective drawing of the left display assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of the LED assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0030]      FIG. 5  is an electrical schematic of a control circuit for the right frame within the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
           [0031]      FIG. 6  is an electrical schematic of a control circuit for the left frame within the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0032]      FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing of the inner cover of a display assembly in alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the inner cover has imprinted objects. 
           [0033]      FIG. 8  is a circuit diagram of a modulation circuit that accomplishes a variation of LED intensity. 
           [0034]      FIG. 9  is a drawing of a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0035]      FIG. 10  is a cross section view of the preferred embodiment of the frame of the invention. 
           [0036]      FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b  show an alternate embodiment of the shape of the face shield for a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0037]    The present invention is explained herein according to a preferred embodiment which is shown in  FIG. 1  as a perspective drawing of a pair of eye-exercise goggles  50  and in  FIG. 2  as a cross-section of said goggles. Eye-exercise goggles  50  have a left frame  51 L and a right frame  51 R, the two frames being connected together with hinge  52 , the left frame  51 L having a left display assembly  55 L and the right frame  51 R having a right display assembly  55 R. Left frame  51 L has a first slot  61 L and right frame  51 R has a second slot  61 R; a strap  60  is tied between first slot  61 L and second slot  61 R, strap  60  containing strap fastener  62  for adjusting strap  60  length. Surrounding left frame  51 L and right frame  51 R is a rubber seal  53  ( FIG. 2 ) molded to fit typical human facial features. Eye-exercise goggles  50  are intended to be placed upon a users head with the two frames  51 L and  51 R covering the users eyes and strap  60  placed around the users head so as to hold the goggles comfortably and securely during movement of the head. Normal eyeglass type arms are also effective for securing the goggles to a users head. Rubber seal  53  together with left frame  51 L and right frame  51 R, left display assembly  55 L and right display assembly  55 R, block external light from entering the users eyes. 
         [0038]    Eye-exercise goggles  50  serve as a means for exercising a user&#39;s eye muscles by lighting a number of LEDs built into the display assemblies and utilizing electronics contained therein. To the left display assembly  55 L is attached a first set of LEDs  70 L. Similarly, to the right display assembly  55 R is attached a second set of LEDs  70 R. 
         [0039]    Switching to  FIG. 2 , a cross-section of the left frame  51 L shows that the first set of LEDs  70 L in the left display assembly  55 L are mounted on LED assembly  75 L so that the LEDs illuminate the space toward eye  65 L. A semi-transparent inner cover  56 L is attached to the frame  51 L to enclose the left display assembly  55 L on the inside and an outer cover  58 L is attached to the left frame  51 L to enclose the left display assembly  55 L on the outside. The LED assembly  75 L is attached to a control circuit  90 L. In the preferred embodiment the LED assembly  75 L is made of a separate PCB and mechanically and electrically attached to control circuit  90 L using board-to-board inline connectors. Control circuit  90 L has attached to it a set of electronic IC components  92 L that function together to control the LED assembly  75 L so that LEDs in the first set of LEDs  70 L illuminate in pre-defined sequences. The IC components  92 L are typically low-power CMOS types. In  FIG. 2   b , right display assembly  55 R and right frame  51 R are built in a similar fashion to left display assembly  55 L and left frame  51 L, comprising LED assembly  75 R housing the second set of LEDs  70 R, inner cover  56 R, outer cover  58 R, control circuit  90 R and a set of electronic components  92 R are assembled in the same way as described for left display assembly  55 L and left frame  51 L. 
         [0040]    Returning to  FIG. 1 , left frame  51 L has a battery  57 L stored in a battery compartment that is integrated into left frame  51 L, battery  57 L being electrically connected to control circuit  90 L and providing power for it via an on/off button  80  which is integrated into the left frame  51 L, on/off button  80  being connected to battery  57 L and control circuit  90 L. For the right eye, right frame  51 R has a battery  57 R stored in a battery compartment that is integrated into the frame, battery  57 R being electrically connected to control circuit  90 R and providing power for it via on/off button  80  also connected to battery  57 R and control circuit  90 R. 
         [0041]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, other electronic controls are integrated into the goggle frames: a timing control button  82  which is electrically connected to control circuit  90 L and is used for setting the rate at which the LEDs are illuminated in both frames; a repetitions control button  83 , which is electrically connected to control circuit  90 R and is used for setting a number of repeated illumination sequences. 
         [0042]    The left frame  51 L and right frame  51 R are made of molded plastic as are inner covers  56 L and  56 R and as are outer covers  58 L and  58 R. LEDs are chosen to be green in the preferred embodiment. The inner covers are typically transparent to green light but may block other colors, the outer covers are typically opaque. The strap  60  is made of an elastic material such as rubber. The left frame  51 L and right frame  51 R, left display assembly  55 L and right display assembly  55 R are constructed so that the display assemblies  55 L and  55 R are held in place by snapping the inner covers and outer covers into place. Hinge  52  is made of a flexible material, preferably rubber and integrated with rubber seal  53  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. With hinge  52  feature, eye-exercise goggles  50  may be folded compactly for convenience, for example, for use during an airline flight wherein eye-exercise goggles  50  may be used as either a stray light blocker for sleeping or as an eye-exerciser. 
         [0043]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, control circuit  90 R and LED assembly  75 R in right display assembly  55 R are constructed on two respective substrates.  FIG. 3   a  is a perspective drawing of right display assembly  55 R, wherein control circuit  90 R has a first set of connectors  95 R and LED assembly  75 R has a second set of connectors  96 R, the first set of connectors  95 R mating with the second set of connectors  96 R and thereby holding the respective substrates in electrical and mechanical contact with each other. The substrates are circular in shape with diameter of approximately 2 inches. The connectors within the sets of connectors  95 R and  96 R may be standard 0.100 inch spacing PCB headers and receptacles. 
         [0044]    In  FIG. 3   b , the left display assembly  55 L also has two substrates, a control circuit  90 L having a first set of connectors  95 L and LED assembly  75 L having a second set of connectors  96 L, the first set of connectors  95 L mating with the second set of connectors  96 L and thereby holding the respective substrates in electrical and mechanical contact with each other. The substrates and contacts have essentially the same dimensions and mechanical specifications as the right display assembly  55 R. 
         [0045]    LED assembly  75 L and LED assembly  75 R are identical in the preferred embodiment of the present invention and described fully by LED assembly  75 R of  FIG. 4 . LED assembly  75 R has a substrate  101  upon which is mounted the second set of LEDs  70 R comprising  39  LEDs organized into lines and a circle as follows: a center LED  120  placed in the center of the substrate, a first group of six LEDs  121  positioned along a horizontal line from A to B excluding the two outer LEDs, a second group of six LEDs  122  positioned along a vertical line from C to D, a third group of six LEDs  123  positioned along an oblique line from E to F, a fourth group of six LEDs  124  positioned along an oblique line from G to H, a fifth group of seven LEDs  125  positioned around the circumference of LED assembly  75 R from I to J, and a sixth group of seven LEDs  126  positioned around the circumference of LED assembly  75 R from K to L. 
         [0046]    Each group of LEDs achieves electrical connection to the control circuit  90 R via the second set of connectors  96 R which are further comprised of a cathode rail connector  130  and an anode rail connector  131 . Cathode rail connector  130  is tied to a set of cathode electrical traces, the set of cathode electrical traces being comprised of trace  101 , trace  102 , trace  103 , trace  104 , trace  105 , trace  106 , and trace  107 . Anode rail connector  131  is tied to a set of anode electrical traces, the set of anode electrical traces being comprised of trace  111 , trace  112 , trace  113 , trace  114 , trace  115 , trace  116 , and trace  117 . The anodes of LEDs in the second set of LEDs  70 R are connected to the anode electrical traces and the cathodes of LEDs in the second set of LEDs  70 R are connected to the cathode electrical traces. 
         [0047]    Groups of LEDs share the same cathode trace: the first group of LEDs  121  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  101 , the second group of LEDs  122  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  102 , the third group of LEDs  123  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  103 , the fourth group of LEDs  124  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  104 , the fifth group of LEDs  125  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  105 , the sixth group of LEDs  126  has all of their cathodes connected to trace  106 . The center LED has its cathode tied to trace  107 . 
         [0048]    The anode traces are connected such that trace  111  and trace  117  are always connected on the outside anodes of a group of LEDs trace  111  being connected on the leftmost uppermost LED in each group of LEDs and trace  117  being connected on the rightmost lowest LED in each group of LEDs. The trace connections trace  112 , trace  113 , . . . trace  116  are laid in order with trace  112  being closes to trace  111 . For example, in second group of LEDs  122 , the uppermost LED near C is tied to trace  111 , the next LED below it is tied to trace  112 , the third LED below that is tied to trace  113 , the center LED is tied to trace  114 , the fifth LED below that is tied to trace  115 , the sixth LED below that is tied to trace  116  and the lowest LED near D is tied to trace  117 . 
         [0049]    Control circuit  90 R will drive the electrical voltages on the set of cathode electrical traces and the set of anode electrical traces of LED assembly  75 R in such a way as to light the LEDs in a specific sequence by driving the cathode trace tied to a particular group of LEDs to ground potential, including the cathode trace  107  tied to the center LED, and then driving each anode trace sequentially to a positive potential. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first group of LEDs  121  is lit first from A to B to A, then the second group of LEDs  122  is lit from C to D to C, then the third group of LEDs  123  is lit from E to F to E., then the fourth group of LEDs  124  is lit from G to H to G, then the fifth group of LEDs  125  is lit from I clockwise to J, then the sixth group of LEDs  126  is lit from K to L, then the sixth group of LEDs  126  is lit again from L to K, and finally the fifth group of LEDs  125  is lit from J to I. 
         [0050]    Control circuit  90 L for the left eye is synchronized with control circuit  90 R for the right eye so that control circuit  90 L will drive electrical voltages in synchronization with and in same specific sequence on LED assembly  75 L as is done on LED assembly  75 R. 
         [0051]      FIG. 5  is a drawing of the circuit schematic for control circuit  90 R in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Control circuit  90 R has three main functional components that work together to drive LED assembly  75 R: a cathode driver function for sequentially selecting and driving each group of LEDs starting with the first group of LEDs; and ending with the fifth and sixth groups of LEDs; an anode driver function for sequentially selecting and driving LED anodes of a selected group of LEDs; and a clear/stop function that resets control circuit  90 R to a known starting state and leaves control circuit  90 R in a known stopping state. The functions as described are taught by constructing a discrete component CMOS logic circuit. From this description, it will be apparent to those normally skilled in the art how to implement the logic in other embodiments using programmable logic devices, such as GALs or CPLDs, to replace all or some of the discrete logic components. 
         [0052]    Control circuit  90 R is connected to battery  57 R, battery  57 R supplying a +VCC rail from its positive terminal and a ground rail from its negative terminal. 
         [0053]    Describing the anode driving function first, control circuit  90 R has a first counter  204  which is a binary up/down counter of type  4029 ; a bcd decimal decoder  205  of type  4028 ; has a first D-type flip-flop  201   a  of type  4013  (one of two flip-flops on a  4013  IC); a second D-type flip-flop  201   b  (two of two flip-flops on the  4013  IC); and has access to an oscillator signal from OSC signal  224 , operating at a frequency of about 1 Hz and varied by adjusting the timing control button  82 . 
         [0054]    In the following description, the logic function of each IC associated with the given pin is shown in parenthesis. Logic “high” is by definition in a state near +VCC potential and logic “low” is in a state at ground potential. 
         [0055]    First counter  204  pins  4 ,  3 ,  13  and  12  (preset inputs PA,PB,PC and PD) and pin  5  (EN) are tied to ground, pin  15  (CLOCK) is tied to OSC signal  224 , pin  9  (BIN/BCD) is tied “high” placing the device in binary mode, pin  1  (LOAD) is tied to START signal  225  (described below), pin  10  (UP/DN) is connected to first flip-flop  201   a  pin  1  (Q), and pins  6 ,  11 , and  14  (bcd outputs A, B and C) are tied to pins  10 ,  13 , and  12  (bcd inputs A,B, and C) respectively, of decoder  205 . 
         [0056]    Decoder  205  pin  11  (bcd input D) is tied to pin  13  (Q) of flip-flop  201   b . Decoder  205  pins  3 ,  14 ,  2 ,  15 ,  1 ,  6 ,  7  (outputs  0 ,  1 , . . .  6 ) are tied to anode traces  111 ,  112 , . . . ,  117  of LED assembly  75 R, respectively, through a set of current limiting resistors  232  to anode connector  231  also contained on control circuit  90 R. Anode connector  231  mates with anode rail connector  131  of LED assembly  75 R to complete the connection to traces  111 ,  112 , . . .  117  of LED assembly  75 R. Decoder  205  pin  3  (output  0 ) is also tied to pin  6  (SET) of first flip-flop  201   a ; pin  7  (output  6 ) is also tied to pin  4  (RST) of first flip-flop  201   a.    
         [0057]    First flip-flop  201   a  pins  3  and  5  (inputs CL and D) are tied to ground, pin  1  (Q) is also tied to pin  5  (in) of an XOR gate  203   a  (described further below), pin  2  (not Q) is tied to pin  1  (in) of an XOR gate  203   b , pin  1  (Q) is also tied to pin  15  (CLOCK) of a second binary up/down counter  206  (described further below). XOR gate  203   a  and second binary up/down counter  206  are parts within control circuit  90 R. 
         [0058]    The anode driving function is as follows: On a positive pulse on START signal  225 , first counter  204  loads a zero into its counter and decoder  205  sets output  0  (zero) to logic “high”, all other outputs to logic “low”. In turn, first flip-flop  201   a  sets its Q output to logic “high” forcing first counter  204  to count forward. After START  225  pulse returns to logic “low”, first counter  204  begins to count forward, clocked by OSC signal  224 . When a count of 6 (six) is obtained, the decoder sets output  6  (six) to “high” and all other outputs “low”, causing first flip-flop  201   a  to reset its Q output to logic “low”. This action then forces first counter  204  to count backward until decoder  205  sets output  0  (zero) to logic “high” again. First counter  204  continues to count forward to 6 (six) and backward to 0 (zero) repeatedly. 
         [0059]    As decoder  205  outputs are made “high”, so are their associated traces  111 , 112 , . . .  117  of LED assembly  75 R, thereby causing a corresponding LED on LED assembly  75 R to be lit in a selected group of LEDs, the groups of LEDs having their cathodes tied together so that a group so selected will have its cathode traces driven to ground. The cathode driving function of control circuit  90 R selects and drives the groups of LEDs. 
         [0060]    Describing the cathode driving function of control circuit  90 R in detail, control circuit  90 R has a second binary up/down counter  206  of type  4029  operated in a decrementing mode; a decade counter  207  of type  4017 ; a selector switch  222  which stores a number of repetitions; and a set of XOR gates XOR  203   a , XOR  203   b , XOR  203   c  and XOR  203   d  each of which is one quadrant of IC type  4070 . Control circuit  90 R also has a set of NAND gates, NAND  202   a , NAND  202   b , NAND  202   c  and NAND  202   d  each of which is one quadrant of IC type  4011 . Control circuit  90 R also has a set of inverting buffers, INV  208   a , INV  208   b , . . . INV  208   e  all of which are contained on an inverter IC of type  4069 . Control circuit  90 R also has a reload circuit associated with second binary up/down counter  206  consisting of resistor  213 , capacitor  214  and NAND gate  202   d . Selection switch  222  is connected to repetitions control button  83  contained on right frame  51 R. 
         [0061]    Second binary up/down counter  206  pins  5 ,  9 , and  10  (EN, BIN/BCD, and UP/DN) are tied “low” so that second binary up/down counter  206  is enabled and operating in bcd mode with decremental counting; pin  1  (LOAD) is tied to the output of NAND  202   d . Second binary up/down counter  206  pins  6 ,  11 ,  14 , and  2  (A, B, C and D inputs) are connected to selector switch  222  which outputs its number of repetitions, selected from 1 to 9, on these same pins. Second binary up/down counter  206  pin  7  (OUT) is tied to decade counter  207  pin  14  (CLOCK) and further tied to SYNC signal  226 . 
         [0062]    Decade counter  207  pin  13  (EN) is tied to ground, pin  1 - 5  (RST) is tied to START signal  225 . Decade counter  207  pins  3 ,  2 ,  4 ,  7  and  10  (outputs  0  . . .  4 ) are tied to respectively to the first inverter IC input pins  5 ,  9 ,  1 ,  13  and  3  associated with INV  208   a , INV  208   b , INV  208   c , INV  208   d  and INV  208   e . Outputs of first inverter IC on pins  4 ,  10 ,  3  and  11  are tied to trace  101 , trace  102 , trace  103  and trace  104  of LED assembly  75 R, respectively so that decade counter  207  outputs ( 0 - 3 ) drive the first group of LEDs  121 , second group of LEDs  122 , third group of LEDs  123  and fourth group of LEDs  124  on LED assembly  75 R. 
         [0063]    Decade counter  207  pin  1  (output  5 ) is tied to pin  12  (in) of XOR  203   c . Pin  13  (in) of XOR  203   c  is tied to +VCC so that XOR  203   c  acts as a non-inverting buffer. Decade counter  207  pin  1  (output  5 ) is also tied to pin  6  (in) of XOR  203   a  and to pin  2  (in) of XOR  203   b . Pin  5  (output  6 ) of decade counter  207  is tied to pin  8  (SET) second flip-flop  201   b.    
         [0064]    Pin  6  (out) of INV  208   a , pin  8  (out) of INV  208   b , pin  10  (out) of INV  208   c , pin  12  (out) of INV  208   d , pin  10  (out) of NAND gate  202   a , pin  11 (out) of NAND gate  202   b  and pin  3  (out) of NAND gate  202   c  are tied to, respectively, to trace  101 , trace  102 , . . . trace  107  of LED assembly  75 R through cathode connector  230  being mated to cathode rail connector  130  of LED assembly  75 R. 
         [0065]    NAND gate  202   a  pin  8  (in) is tied to XOR gate  203   a  pin  4  (out). NAND gate  202   a  pin  9  (in) is tied to NAND gate  202   c  pin  3  (out). 
         [0066]    NAND gate  202   b  pin  12  (in) is tied to XOR gate  203   b  pin  3  (out). NAND gate  202   b  pin  13  (in) is tied to NAND gate  202   c  pin  3  (out). 
         [0067]    NAND gate  202   c  pin  2  (in) is tied to XOR gate  203   c  pin  11  (out). NAND gate  202   c  pin  1  (in) is tied to INV  208   e  pin  4  (out). 
         [0068]    The reload circuit associated with second binary up/down counter  206  is connected as follows: pin  7  (OUT) of second binary up/down counter  206  is connected to pin  5  (in) of NAND  202   d  through resistor  213 ; pin  5  (in) of NAND  202   d  is also connected to capacitor  214 , the other terminal of capacitor  214  being connected to ground. Pin  6  of NAND  202   d  is connected to the second flip-flop  201   a  pin  12  (not Q). 
         [0069]    The cathode driving function is as follows: On a positive pulse on START signal  225 , decade counter  207  loads a zero and sets its output  0  to logic “high”, all other outputs to logic “low”. This action enables the first group of LEDs  121  on LED assembly  75 R. A logic “high” appears on pin  5  of NAND  202   d  due to the action of the clear/stop function (described below) resulting from the positive pulse on START signal  225 . A logic “low” initially appears on pin  6  of NAND  202   d  and then, after a delay determined by the RC time constant of resistor  213  and capacitor  214 , pin  6  goes “high”. This causes a brief logic “high” to occur at pin  1  of second binary up/down counter  206 , thereby loading the counter with the preset number of repetitions and then enabling the second binary up/down counter  206  to count clock signals. 
         [0070]    Second binary up/down counter  206  is clocked every time the first flip-flop  201   a  is set, that being when the first counter  204  has reached a count of zero after cycling forward and backward through all the LEDs in the enabled group of LEDs. Second binary up/down counter  206  decrements by the number of repetitions, down to zero allowing first counter  204  to cycle the number of repetitions through all the LEDs in the enabled group of LEDs. Upon reaching a count of zero, pin  7  (OUT) of second binary up/down counter  206  goes to ground which causes reload circuit to reload second binary up/down counter  206  with the number of repetitions, and then clocks decade counter  207  causing it to increment its count by one. When decade counter increments its count by one, the next group of LEDs are enabled driving their cathodes to ground. During the immediate oscillator cycles after a positive pulse on START signal  225 , the enabled group is the first group of LEDs  121  on LED assembly  75 R. After decade counter  207  is incremented the second group of LEDs  122  is enabled and so on until output  6  of decade counter  207  goes “high” at which time the control circuit  90 R will stop. 
         [0071]    The logic to set the voltage on traces  101 ,  102 , . . .  104  of LED assembly  75 R to ground and thereby enable their corresponding groups of LEDs is straightforward: when an output pin of decade counter  207  is driven “high” its corresponding trace is driven “low”. 
         [0072]    The remaining logic of the cathode driving function of control circuit  90 R uses the XOR gates  203   a - 203   c , NAND gates  202   a - 202   c , and inverter INV  208   e  to drive the voltage on trace  105 , trace  106  and trace  107  of LED assembly  75 R. A straightforward way to describe the remaining logic of the cathode driving function is by a truth table. The truth table of table 1 has two input columns: counter value, meaning the value contained within decade counter  207  and on its output pins; Q, meaning that a one (1) is entered if pin  1  of first flip-flop  201   a  is “high”, zero (0) if the same pin  1  is logic “low”, X is entered if it doesn&#39;t matter. Note that Q=1 implies that the LEDs are being lit from trace  111  to trace  117  and that Q=0 implies that the LEDs are being lit backwards from trace  117  down to trace  111 . 
         [0073]    The truth table of table 1 has three output columns: trace  105  is a zero (0) if logic “low” and the fifth group of LEDs is enabled, trace  105  is a one (1) if logic “high” and the fifth group of LEDs is not enabled; trace  106  is a zero (0) if logic “low” and the sixth group of LEDs is enabled, trace  105  is a one (1) if logic “high” and the sixth group of LEDs is not enabled; trace  107  is a zero (0) if logic “low” and the center LED is enabled, trace  107  is a one (1) if logic “high” and the center LED is not enabled. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Truth table for LED group selection logic. 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Inputs 
                 Outputs 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Decade counter 207 
                   
                 Trace 
                 Trace 
                 Trace 
               
               
                 Counter value 
                 Q 
                 105 
                 106 
                 107 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 0, 1 . . . 3 
                 X 
                 1 
                 1 
                 0 
               
               
                   
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 4 
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                 5 
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 5 
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                   
                 X 
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0074]    The clear/stop function is now described. XOR gate  203   d  pin  9  (in) is connected to resistor  211  and capacitor  212 , the other side of capacitor  212  being connected to +VCC, the other side of resistor  211  being connected to ground. XOR gate  203   d  pin  8  (in) is connected to ground. When control circuit  90 R is first connected to +VCC, meaning that on/off switch  80  is in the on position, the combination of XOR gate  203   d , capacitor  212  and resistor  211  creates a brief positive pulse on pin  10  (output) of XOR gate  203   d . Pin  10  of XOR gate  203   d  is tied to START signal  225  and besides the connections already explained, is tied to pin  10  (RST) of second flip-flop  201   b . Other clearing actions have already been explained in the context of the anode and cathode driving functions. 
         [0075]    Second flip-flop  201   b  has pin  11  (CL) and pin  9  (D) tied to ground. Upon receiving a positive pulse on START signal  225 , second flip-flop  201   b  resets pin  13  (Q) “low” and sets pin  12  (not Q) “high”. Second flip-flop  201   b  remains in this state until decade counter  207  counts up to a value of six (6). Then pin  8  (SET) of second flip-flop  201   b  is driven “high” which sets pin  13  (Q) “high” and resets pin  12  (not Q) “low”, thereby turning off all LEDs and disabling the cathode driving function from further operation since the states of second binary up/down counter  206  and decade counter  207  will remain fixed. 
         [0076]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the left frame  51 L contains a left display assembly  55 L in which its LED assembly  75 L and control circuit  90 L operate together and in synchronization with control circuit  90 R to produce the same LED lighting patterns as those produced by control circuit  90 R. In particular, the OSC signal  224 , START signal  225 , SYNC signal  226  and ground are connected via ribbon cable to the left control circuit  90 L. 
         [0077]      FIG. 6  is a drawing of the circuit schematic for control circuit  90 L in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Control circuit  90 L has three main functional components that work together to drive LED assembly  75 L: a cathode driver function for sequentially selecting and driving each group of LEDs starting with the first group of LEDs and ending with the fifth and sixth groups of LEDs; an anode driver function for sequentially selecting and driving LED anodes of a selected group of LEDs; and an oscillator function  310  that produces OSC signal  224 . The functions as described are taught by constructing a discrete component CMOS logic circuit. From this description, it will be apparent to those normally skilled in the art how to implement the logic in other embodiments using programmable logic devices, such as GALs or CPLDs, to replace all or some of the discrete logic components. 
         [0078]    Control circuit  90 L is connected to battery  57 L, battery  57 L supplying a +VCC potential from its positive terminal and a ground potential from its negative terminal. 
         [0079]    Describing the anode driving function first, control circuit  90 L has a first counter  304  which is a binary up/down counter of type  4029 ; a bcd decimal decoder  305  of type  4028 ; a first D-type flip-flop  301   a  of type  4013  (one of two flip-flops on a  4013  IC); a second D-type flip-flop  301   b  (two of two flip-flops on the  4013  IC); and is connected to oscillator signal OSC signal  224 . 
         [0080]    First counter  304  pins  4 ,  3 ,  13  and  12  (preset inputs PA,PB,PC and PD) and pin  5  (EN) are tied to ground, pin  15  (CLOCK) is tied to OSC signal  224 , pin  9  (BIN/BCD) is tied “high” placing the device in binary mode, pin  1  (LOAD) is tied to START signal  225 , pin  10  (UP/DN) is connected to first flip-flop  301   a  pin  1  (Q), and pins  6 ,  11 , and  14  (bcd outputs A, B and C) are tied to pins  10 ,  13 , and  12  (bcd inputs A,B, and C) respectively, of decoder  305 . 
         [0081]    Decoder  305  pin  11  (bcd input D) is tied to pin  13  (Q) of second flip-flop  301   b . Decoder  305  pins  3 ,  14 ,  2 ,  15 ,  1 ,  6 ,  7  (outputs  0 ,  1 , . . .  6 ) are tied to anode traces  111 ,  112 , . . . ,  117  of LED assembly  75 L, respectively, through a set of current limiting resistors  332  to anode connector  331  also contained on control circuit  90 L. Anode connector  331  mates with anode rail connector  131  of LED assembly  75 L to complete the connection to traces  111 ,  112 , . . .  117  of LED assembly  75 L. Decoder  305  pin  3  (output  0 ) is also tied to pin  6  (SET) of first flip-flop  301   a ; pin  7  (output  6 ) is also tied to pin  4  (RST) of first flip-flop  301   a.    
         [0082]    First flip-flop  301   a  pins  3  and  5  (inputs CL and D) are tied to ground, pin  1  (Q) is also tied to pin  5  (in) of an XOR gate  303   a  (described further below), pin  2  (not Q) is tied to pin  1  (in) of an XOR gate  303   b . XOR gate  303   a  is a part included on control circuit  90 L. 
         [0083]    The anode driving function is as follows: On a positive pulse on START signal  225 , first counter  304  loads a zero into its counter and decoder  305  sets output  0  (zero) to logic “high”, all other outputs to logic “low”. In turn, first flip-flop  301   a  sets its Q output to logic “high” forcing first counter  304  to count forward. After START signal  225  pulse returns to logic “low”, first counter  304  begins to count forward, clocked by OSC signal  224 , in synchronization with first counter  204  of control circuit  90 R. When a count of 6 (six) is obtained, the decoder sets output  6  (six) to “high” and all other outputs “low”, causing first flip-flop  301   a  to reset its Q output to logic “low”. This action then forces first counter  304  to count backward until decoder  305  sets output  0  (zero) to logic “high” again. First counter  304  continues to count forward to 6 (six) and backward to 0 (zero) repeatedly. 
         [0084]    As decoder  305  outputs are made “high”, so are their associated traces  111 ,  112 , . . .  117  of LED assembly  75 L, thereby causing the corresponding LED on LED assembly  75 L to be lit within a selected group of LEDs, the groups of LEDs having their cathodes tied together so that a group so selected will have its cathode traces driven to ground. The cathode driving function of control circuit  90 L selects and drives the groups of LEDs on LED assembly  75 L. 
         [0085]    Describing the cathode driving function of control circuit  90 L now, has a decade counter  307  of type  4017 , has a set of XOR gates XOR  303   a , XOR  303   b  and XOR  303   c  each of which is one quadrant of IC type  4070 . Control circuit  90 L also has a set of NAND gates, NAND  302   a  , NAND  302   b  , NAND  302   c  and NAND  302   d  each of which is one quadrant of IC type  4011 . Control circuit  90 L also has a set of inverting buffers, INV  308   a , INV  308   b , . . . NV  308   e  all of which are contained on an inverter IC of type  4069 . 
         [0086]    Decade counter  307  pin  13  (EN) is tied to ground, pin  15  (RST) is tied to START signal  225  and pin  14  is tied to SYNC signal  226 . Decade counter  307  pins  3 , 2 , 4 ,  7  and  10  (outputs  0  . . .  4 ) are tied to respectively to the first inverter IC input pins  5 ,  9 ,  1 ,  13  and  3  associated with INV  308   a , INV  308   b , INV  308   c , INV  308   d  and INV  308   e . Outputs of first inverter IC on pins  4 ,  10 ,  3  and  11  are tied to trace  101 , trace  102 , trace  103  and trace  104  of LED assembly  75 L respectively so that decade counter  307  outputs ( 0 - 3 ) drive the first group of LEDs  121 , the second group of LEDs  122 , the third group of LEDs  123  and the fourth group of LEDs  124  of LED assembly  75 L. 
         [0087]    Decade counter  307  pin  1  (output  5 ) is tied to pin  12  (in) of XOR  303   c . Pin  13  (in) of XOR  303   c  is tied to +VCC so that XOR  303   c  acts as a non-inverting buffer. Decade counter  307  pin  1  (output  5 ) is also tied to pin  6  (in) of XOR  303   a  and to pin  2  (in) of XOR  303   b . Pin  5  (output  6 ) of decade counter  307  is tied to pin  8  (SET) second flip-flop  301   b.    
         [0088]    Pin  6  (out) of INV  308   a , pin  8  (out) of INV  308   b , pin  10  (out) of INV  308   c , pin  12  (out) of INV  308   d , pin  10  (out) of NAND gate  302   a , pin  11 (out) of NAND gate  302   b  and pin  3  (out) of NAND gate  302   c  are tied to, respectively, to trace  101 , trace  102 , . . . trace  107  of LED assembly  75 L through cathode connector  330  being mated to cathode rail connector  130  on LED assembly  75 L. 
         [0089]    NAND gate  302   a  pin  8  (in) is tied to XOR gate  303   a  pin  4  (out). NAND gate  302   a  pin  9  (in) is tied to NAND gate  302   c  pin  3  (out). 
         [0090]    NAND gate  302   b  pin  12  (in) is tied to XOR gate  303   b  pin  3  (out). NAND gate  302   b  pin  13  (in) is tied to NAND gate  302   c  pin  3  (out). 
         [0091]    NAND gate  302   c  pin  2  (in) is tied to XOR gate  303   c  pin  11  (out). NAND gate  302   c  pin  1  (in) is tied to INV  308   e  pin  4  (out). 
         [0092]    The cathode driving function is as follows: On a positive pulse on START signal  225 , decade counter  307  loads a zero and sets its output  0  to logic “high”, all other outputs to logic “low”. This action enables the first group of LEDs  121  through trace  101  on LED assembly  75 L. 
         [0093]    SYNC signal  226  clocks decade counter  307  causing it to increment its count by one. When decade counter increments its count by one, the next group of LEDs are enabled driving their cathodes to ground. During the immediate oscillator cycles after a positive pulse on START signal  225 , the enabled group is the first group of LEDs  121  on LED assembly  75 L. After decade counter  307  is incremented the second group of LEDs  122  is enabled and so on until output  6  of decade counter  307  goes “high” at which time the control circuit  90 L will stop. 
         [0094]    The logic to set the voltage on traces  101 ,  102 , . . .  104  of LED assembly  75 L to ground and thereby enable their corresponding groups of LEDs is straightforward: when an output pin of decade counter  307  is driven “high” its corresponding trace is driven “low”. 
         [0095]    The remaining logic of the cathode driving function of control circuit  90 L uses the XOR gates  303   a - 303   c , NAND gates  302   a - 302   c , and inverter INV  308   e  to drive the voltages on trace  105 , trace  106  and trace  107  of LED assembly  75 L, the remaining logic being described by the truth table of Table 1 with decade counter  307  substituted for decade counter  207  in column 1. 
         [0096]    Second flip-flop  301   b  has pin  11  (CL) and pin  9  (D) tied to ground. Upon receiving a positive pulse on START signal  225 , second flip-flop  301   b  resets pin  13  (Q) “low” and sets pin  12  (not Q) “high”. Second flip-flop  301   b  remains in this state until decade counter  307  counts up to a value of six (6). Then pin  8  (SET) of second flip-flop  301   b  is driven “high” which sets pin  13  (Q) “high” and resets pin  12  (not Q) “low”, thereby turning off all LEDs and disabling the cathode driving function on control circuit  90 L from further operation since the states of second binary up/down counter  206  and decade counter  307  will remain fixed. 
         [0097]    Oscillator function  310  of control circuit  90 L is accomplished using an astable multivibrator comprised of NAND  302   d  functioning as an inverter with one input tied to +VCC. The other input, pin  6 , is tied to the output of an inverter INV  308   f , pin  2 , which is part of the inverter IC  4069 . The output of NAND  302   d , pin  4 , is connected to capacitor  311 ; resistor  312  and resistor  313  are connected to capacitor  311 ; resistor  312  is connected to the input, pin  1 , of INV  308   f . Timing control  82  potentiometer is connected to resistor  313  and the output of INV  308   f , pin  2 . The values of capacitor  311 , resistor  312  and resistor  313 , and timing control  82  potentiometer are chosen to put the frequency of OSC signal  224  in the range of 0.3 Hz to 3 Hz, the nominal values of the components being: capacitor  311 , 10 uf; resistor  312  470k-ohm; resistor  313 , 10 k-ohm; timing control  82  potentiometer, zero to 100 k-ohm. 
         [0098]    In another aspect of the present invention inner cover  56 L and inner cover  56 R may be attached to frame  51 L and frame  51 R in such a way that they are easily removed and replaced by different inner covers with different sets of objects imprinted on them. A set of such removable inner covers may accompany the eye-exercise glasses so that a child may choose between them, increasing the probability that the child will successfully complete the exercises. One mechanism for attaching inner covers  56 L and  56 R to the frames  51 L and  51 R, respectively, includes a snap fit with a release tab on the inner cover to pull for removal. Inner cover  56 L has a release tab  410  which may also serve to locate the position of the objects in alignment with the LEDs. 
         [0099]    In a second embodiment of the present invention, LED light intensity is modified during the eye exercise and in the preferred embodiment the light intensity modification is asynchronous with OSC signal  224 . The “rate” of advancement of the pattern is referred to as the “rate vector”. The variation of LED intensity is referred to as the intensity vector. The rate vector and the “intensity vector” can be in phase or out of phase and can be synchronous, asynchronous or position related. Those skilled in the art will also recognize that a function can be impressed on the difference between the rate vector and the intensity vector. Variation of LED intensity has two primary beneficial effects on the wearer: first, LED intensity variation causes the wearer to concentrate more acutely on the position of the LEDs so that the exercise more efficiently stimulates the brain to eye coordination; second, LED intensity variation causes stimulation of the pupil function. The intensity vector can capitalizes on the natural affinity of human eye physiology for tracking a lighted object. 
         [0100]      FIG. 8  shows a circuit diagram of a modulation circuit that accomplishes a variation of LED intensity. The modulation circuit  500  has inputs  501  and outputs  502  which are comprised of eight input lines and eight output lines that are inserted between points A and B in control circuit  90 R, labeled point  250  and point  251 , respectively in  FIG. 5 ; and inserted between points C and D in control circuit  90 L labeled point  350  and point  351 , respectively in  FIG. 6 . Points A and B represent a position in control circuit of  90 R between decoder  205  and LED current limiting resistors  232 . Points C and D represent a position in control circuit of  90 L between the decoder  305  and LED current limiting resistors  332 . 
         [0101]    Modulation circuit  500  is comprised of a set of three 555 type timer integrated circuits: astable oscillator  510 , astable modulator  520  and pulse width modulator (PWM)  530 , wherein PWM  530  is connected by inverter  540  to the output enable pins of two eight-line tri-state buffers of the 74x244 type. The 555 ICs and the 74x244 are CMOS types for low power: for example one-half of a TLC556 dual timer from Texas Instruments and a 74HC244 from Philips Semiconductors. Astable oscillator  510  is a 555 timer connected in an astable mode of oscillation wherein the frequency of oscillation is given by fo=1.44/(R 1 +R 2 )C 1 . Output of astable oscillator  510  on output pin  511  is the trigger input of PWM  530  on pin  532  and sets the frequency of the PWM signal  545  generated on the output of inverter  540 , inverter  540  being connected to pin  533  of PWM  530 . Astable modulator  520  is a 555 timer connected in an astable mode of operation wherein the frequency of oscillation is given by fm= 1 . 44 /(R 3 +R 4 )C 3 . fm is typically between 0.2 and 0.4 Hz while f 0  is on the order of 60 to 100 Hz, f 0  being large enough to avoid not to cause observable flicker. The output of astable modulator  520  is taken from connection  521  wherein a sawtooth like waveform is generated; connection  521  being connected to the modulation input pin  531  of PWM  530 . PWM  530  is a 555 timer connected in a pulse width modulation mode wherein the time constant R 5 *C 5  is typically about one-half of (R 1 +R 2 )C 1 . As the amplitude of the sawtooth like waveform increases and decreases, the duty cycle of pulses in PWM signal  545  increases and decreases. The astable oscillator and pulse width modulation modes of 555 timer ICs are well-known in the art and described in detail in a number of publications, one such publication being the datasheets for the TLC555 and TLC556 from Texas Instruments Corporation. 
         [0102]    PWM signal  545  drives the output enable pins of two tri-state buffers, buffer  550  and buffer  560 ; the buffer  550  having inputs  501  and outputs  502  and the buffer  560  having inputs  503  and outputs  504 . When PWM signal  545  is logic high the outputs  502  and  504  are driven to a high impedance state so that the inputs signals  501  and  503  do not pass through to the LEDs: the LEDs are turned off. When PWM signal  545  is logic low, the inputs  501  and  503  appear at the outputs  502  and  504 , respectively, and the LEDs are driven according to the decoder  205  and decoder  305  outputs, respectively. The LEDs being driven according to PWM signal  545  have a power variations applied to them according to the duty cycle variations in PWM signal  545 , the power variation being at the frequency of the sawtooth modulation which is fm. 
         [0103]    Typical values for components of  FIG. 8  are for resistors: R 1 =5 k-ohm, R 2 =75 k-ohm, R 3 =400 k-ohm, R 4 =1.2 M-ohm, R 5 =100 k-ohm; for capacitors C 1 =0.1 uF, C 3 =2 uF and C 5 =0.1 uF; C 2  and C 3  are bypass capacitors nominally 0.01 uF. 
         [0104]    A feature of the present invention is the modification of inner cover  56 L and inner cover  56 R by imprinting objects on them as shown in  FIG. 7 . Inner cover  56 L has a set of objects  400  imprinted thereon. Imprinted objects  400  are illuminated as the LEDs are lit in sequence according to A to B to A, C to D to C, E to F to E, G to H to G, I to J, K to L, L to K, J to I patterns. Set of objects  400  may be chosen to have a wide appeal to children, utilizing popular cartoon characters or other figures that serve to hold the attention of a child&#39;s eye. Animation may be accomplished by having ‘frames’ of objects become illuminated while the LEDs are lit in sequence, for example the life cycle of a butterfly could be shown around the circular set of LEDs from I to J to K to L. The number of objects is generally not limited to the number of LEDs. Objects on inner cover  56 R are made to match the objects on inner cover  56 L. 
         [0105]    In another embodiment of the present invention the eye exercise goggles take the form of scuba diving goggles wherein a single display is viewed by both eyes. Such a set of goggles is shown in  FIG. 9 . Eye-exercise goggles  650  have a single frame  651  with a single display assembly  655 . Left side of frame  651  has a first slot  661 L and right side of frame  651  has a second slot  661 R; a strap  660  is tied between first slot  661 L and second slot  661 R, strap  660  containing strap fastener  662  for adjusting strap  660  length. Surrounding frame  651  is a rubber seal  653  molded to fit typical human facial features. Eye-exercise goggles  650  are intended to be placed upon a users head with the frame  651  covering the user&#39;s eyes and strap  660  placed around the users head so as to hold the goggles comfortably and securely during movement of the head. Rubber seal  653  together with frame  651  and display assembly  655  block external light from entering the user&#39;s eyes. 
         [0106]    Eye-exercise goggles  650  serve as a means for exercising a user&#39;s eye muscles by lighting a number of LEDs built into the display assemblies and utilizing electronics contained therein. To the display assembly  655  is attached a set of LEDs  670 . Switching to  FIG. 10 , a cross-section of the frame  651  shows that set of LEDs  670  in the display assembly  655  are mounted on LED assembly  675  so that the LEDs illuminate the space toward eye  665 . A semi-transparent inner cover  656  is attached to frame  651  to enclose the display assembly  655  on the inside and an outer cover  658  is attached to frame  651  to enclose the display assembly  655  on the outside. LED assembly  675  is attached to a control circuit  690 . LED assembly  675  is made of a separate PCB and mechanically and electrically attached to control circuit  690  using board-to-board inline connectors. Control circuit  690  has attached to it a set of electronic IC components  692  that function together to control LED assembly  675  so that LEDs in the set of LEDs  670  illuminate in pre-defined sequences similar to those described for eye-exercise goggles  50  above. Control circuit  690  is similar to control circuit  90 R with the oscillator function  310  of control circuit  90 L included. There is only one control circuit, one display and one set of LEDs for the eye-exercise goggles  650 . The set of LEDs  670  are arranged in an ellipse surrounding near the edge of display assembly  655 , but otherwise the LED assembly  675  is electronically similar to LED assembly  75 L or  75 R and the circuit functioning in the same way as for eye-exercise goggles  50 . 
         [0107]    Returning to  FIG. 9 , frame  651  has a battery  657  stored in a battery compartment that is integrated into frame  651 , battery  657  being electrically connected to control circuit  690  and providing power for it via an on/off button  680  which is integrated into frame  651 , on/off button  680  being connected to battery  657  and control circuit  690 . Other electronic controls are integrated into the goggle frames: a timing control button  682  which is electrically connected to control circuit  690  and used for setting the rate at which the LEDs are illuminated; a repetitions control button  683 , which is electrically connected to control circuit  690  and is used for setting a number of repeated illumination sequences. 
         [0108]    The frame  651  is made of molded plastic as are inner cover  656  and as are outer cover  658 . LEDs are chosen to be green as in the preferred embodiment. The inner covers are typically transparent to green light but may block other colors, the outer covers are typically opaque. The strap  660  is made of an elastic material such as rubber. The frame  651 , display assembly  655  are constructed so that the display assembly  655  is held in place by snapping the inner covers and outer covers into place. 
         [0109]    Having the LEDs arranged into a single elliptical pattern as in the second embodiment has the advantage of exercising the eyes near the periphery of vision and in full cooperation with each other. The cooperation between the left and the right eye in focusing on a single LED causes further inducement of correct brain to eye coordination. Brain to eye coordination is further exercised when the brain is caused to focus more intently on the lighted LED as for example, when the intensity of the LED pattern is modulated slowly to increase and decrease as the pattern progresses around the ellipse or along the linear patterns. 
         [0110]    Referring to  FIGS. 11   a  and  11   b , an alternate embodiment of the physical shape of the present invention is shown. In  FIG. 11   a , bifurcated and rounded PCB board  1105  is shown encased in a rounded face shield. The face shield is comprised of a left half  1108  and a right half  1107 . Earpiece  1120  is hinged to left half  1108 . Earpiece  1115  is hinged to right half  1107 . The rounded PCB board allows a wider field of view  1109  than with flat embodiments of the PCB board. In  FIG. 11   b , the side view of this preferred embodiment shows the shape of the face shield. The face shield is semispherical. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the field of view vertically  1111  is also extended by the shape of the PCB board  1105 . The distance from the wearer&#39;s eyes is constant for each orbital position of the wearer&#39;s eyes. The embodiment is provided with a hinge  1106 . In use, the face shield is “reverse folded”, bringing the faces of the left half and the right half together and folding the earpieces inward. 
         [0111]    While the preferred embodiment provides adequate description of the invention, other embodiments are easily conceived using slightly different materials or different electronic configurations. For example, the control electronics of control circuit  90 R may all be placed on one frame and a ribbon cable connected to the LED assembly of both frames established to the control circuit. The invention herein should not be limited by similar improvements so conceived.