Patent Publication Number: US-2011050546-A1

Title: Eyewear for people with low vision or impaired vision

Description:
1. Although there are many devices on the market today that incorporate the use of embedded electronics for viewing video information from sources such as DVD, MP3, or CAMERA outputs, and consumers have a wide choice of design features such as night vision wear and infrared capabilities for various applications, this eyewear is specifically targeted to people who live with impaired vision. 
     2. Low or impaired vision can be defined as a condition that occurs from a variety of vision disorder such as, but not limited to, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Macular Degeneration, Stroke and normal Age related conditions. The unique design of the Eyewear frame and the manipulation of the electronics embedded in the frame, allow the wearer to enjoy an enhanced quality of life in environments that would normally cause them difficulty if such a device were not worn. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     1. The uniqueness of the eyewear occurs by design of a frame that prevents the wearer from having any intrusions of exterior influence on the eye such as bright sunlight. People with low vision, bright sunlight or other above mentioned conditions could cause difficulties in total vision or clarity of vision and function. The frame is so designed as to rest snugly on the wearers face in such a manner that the eye is isolated in a constant light controlled environment. The eyewear is designed to appear as a slightly oversized pair of normal sunglasses with sufficient room behind the front shield to house the electronics. The outside appearance of the front of the eyewear is made to look like dark sunglasses, but of such a material as to prevent or minimize any intrusion of light. 
     2. The construction of the frame is of such material as to insure a lightweight comfortable wearing experience. Where possible, carbon fiber or high strength plastic construction is employed for both weight and durability. 
     3. The electronics of the device will be embedded primarily behind the front shield of the frame. Future version may have the components located in a different location in hopes to reduce the size and weight of the product. The unique use of multiple cameras will serve in both allowing the wearer to see as close to normal forward vision as possible with one camera and being able to switch to another camera for dose viewing, such as for reading normal printed material, playing cards and table games, or other close in functions. 
     4. The use of lenses with various focal lengths can be incorporated to meet the needs of the individual wearer. Since low vision applications can vary from person to person, this can give a greater choice to each individual wearer to meet a specific need. 
     5. Simplification of design is essential to assure the user has ease of operation. Three control points will be incorporated in the design. They are, ON/OFF, BRIGHTNESS CONTOL and CAMERA SELECTION. Controls will be easily identified by feel and location. Note: Future designs may contain additional user controls to adjust contrast, resolution, sharpness, etc. 
     6. The wearer will have the ability to choose which camera they wish to use for viewing. This is accomplished by use of a simple switch. For example, one camera is positioned to view straight forward on the horizontal plane for normal functions such as walking or engaging in social functions. Another camera may be used for reading and is of a closer focal length. This camera is tilted slightly downward for easy viewing, of printed material on a table, desk or on the wearers lap. This is also important, as the wearer will not have to bend the head too far downward in a position not normally used for reading. A third camera might be added for use in very low light applications (getting up in the middle of the night) with the addition of infrared lighting. 
     7. The wearer will view the camera images on high-resolution TFT (thin film transistors) modules embedded on the inside back surface of the eyewear front shield. A lens constructed in the frame of the eyewear will make it possible for the wearer to see a large clear image of what is transferred by the camera to the TFT screens. All electronic components will be covered by an inside component protection cover. Space in the component protection cover will hold the viewing lens. 
     8. Power will be supplied by a rechargeable battery pack connected by wires attached through the back end of one of the frame&#39;s earpiece. 
     9. The use of high-resolution CCD (charged coupled device) cameras is essential in the construction of the eyewear. Because of their ability to display high quality images in very low-lit conditions, this gives a person with low or impaired vision a great advantage, which previously was not available to them. For many people with low or impaired vision, a darkened environment is their greatest challenge. With the evolution of high quality, lightweight electronic components, it is now possible for people with low or impaired vision to see objects in environments that were once difficult or impossible for them to see. 
     10. The design of the binocular effect of this eyewear is also a great tool for people with low or impaired vision. It has been demonstrated that even severally damaged vision due to stroke, the brain has the ability to assemble the transferred camera image information into a single image easily understood by the viewer. With this eyewear, the wearer will experience a much enhanced quality of life. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG.  1 —Is a front view of the eyewear frame. 
       FIG.  2 —Is a rear view of the eyewear frame as illustrated in the drawing of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG.  3 —Is a schematic showing the location of the electronic components within the frame. 
       FIG.  4 —Is a drawing of the TFT (thin film transistor) and viewing lens arrangement supported by a human head. 
       FIG.  5 —Is a top view of the viewing lens and TFT (thin film transistor) modules. 
       FIG.  6 —Is a side view of the high-resolution CCD cameras mounted on the eyewear shield. 
       FIG.  7 —Is a drawing of the inner frame electronic protection cover. 
       FIG.  8 —Is a schematic drawing of the electronic component parts. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DISCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following description of the embodiments of this device, we will show that (as of now) the invention has a single purpose (but not limited to future purposes) and that is being an aid to people with low or impaired vision. By description, low or impaired vision is a condition suffered by a large percentage of any population and can range from mild to severe, which may eventually lead to the total loss of sight. For our purposes, this can include people with NIGHT BLINDNESS, TUNNEL VISION, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), MAGULAR DEGENERATION, and STROKE, just to name a few. In our studies conducted on people with the above conditions, we have demonstrated a person with NIGHT BLINDNESS, as a result of RP, had a remarkable increase in vision when wearing our eyewear. An example would be a difficult time going from brightly lit environment to a darkened environment, such as a restaurant or church, without the aid of another person. We have demonstrated that with this eyewear, they can now make the transition with ease. With victims of STROKE, where part of the vision was damage, we have demonstrated that vision restoration has occurred and a task such as reading is possible. Two very important factors in the design of this eyewear are:
         (a) Enclose wearer&#39;s eyes in an isolated environment with the absence of outside light   (b) Create a lightweight construction.       

     This invention and its design are concluded from results of studies on individuals with RP, STROKE and LOW VISION combined with personal first hand knowledge of the needs of individuals with low vision problems. Careful detail has been given to the device in:
         (a) Appearance
           Note: Other than being slightly larger than a standard pair of sunglasses, the wearer should have no attention brought to them by wearing this device   
           (b) Operation
           Note: The combination of screen sizes and lenses, power, and mounting location makes this eyewear very customizable. Striking a balance between function and cost is key to user satisfaction.   
           (c) Comfort
           Note: One important characteristics of the device is its lightweight. This will allow the wearer to wear the eyewear for a longer period of time.   
               

       FIG. 1  Shows the front view of the eyewear. The front shield  100  is straight, not curved (other designs could be curved as the product evolves). Along with a deeper top cover  101  and temple pieces  107 ,  108  deeper top cover  109 ,  110 . This allows sufficient room behind front shield  100  for easy mounting of the electronic components. Temple pieces  107  and  108  are wide in the vertical direction by design to eliminate intrusion of outside light. A lightweight soft padding  102 ,  103 , and  104  is attached to the inside outer rim of the frame to rest snugly against the wearers forehead. This design feature is used to eliminate the intrusion of outside light. Wherever possible, carbon fiber or high strength plastics will be used as a lightweight construction material. The hinge  105  and  106  of temple piece  107  and  108  allow the eyewear to fold for easy storage. 
       FIG. 2  Shows the inside rear view of the eyewear. The bottom cover  111  is attached to the bottom of the front shield  100  that is to the left of the nose bridge and the bottom cover  112  is attached to the front of the shield  100  that is to the right of the nose bridge. They are deep by design to allow room for mounting of the electronic components. A lightweight soft padding  109 , and  110  is attached to the inside outer rim to snugly fit the frame to the cheek of the wearer. This design feature is not only for wearer comfort, but is also used to eliminate the intrusion of outside light. 
       FIG. 3  Is a rear inside view of the eyewear frame, which shows the placement of the electronic components. All electronic components,  201 ,  202 ,  203 ,  204  and  205  are mounted on the inside rear shield  100  of the frame. Two (or more) additional control components  206  and  207  are mounted to temple earpiece  108  (but could be mounted someplace else as the device evolves).  201  are a TFT (thin film transistor) module for viewing with the left eye of the wearer while  202  is a TFT module for viewing with the right eye of the wearer. The placement of  201  TFT module and  202  TFT are aligned to give a binocular effect so the wearer sees only a single image. The TFT module  201  and  202  are fed information by integrated circuit driver electronic component, and are comprised of a small circuit board  203  mounted above the nose bridge of the rear of shield  100 . A high resolution CCD camera  204  is mounted on the lower portion and to the left side of the nose bridge on the rear of shield  100 . Camera  204  is positioned as to look forward or in the horizontal direction for viewing forward and side-to-side. A high resolution CCD camera  205  is mounted on the lower right portion of the rear of shield  100  to the right of the nose bridge. Camera  205  is mounted at a downward angle for viewing objects such as normal printed material by the wearer. (Note: In other designs additional cameras may be incorporated as this device evolves and improves.) Cameras  204  and  205  can be selected for individual viewing by a switch  206  mounted in the left temple earpiece  108 . An additional control  207  is for controlling the brightness on TFT module  201  and  202 . (Note: Other designs may contain additional user controls to adjust contrast, resolution, sharpness, etc.) A wire harness  209  feeds power to the components through the rearward portion of temple earpiece  108  and is connected to a rechargeable battery pack  208 . A power switch (ON/OFF)  210  is embedded in the case of battery pack  208  for disconnected power to the eyewear. 
       FIG. 4  Is a drawing of a human head with the eyewear on the face. This drawing is over exaggerated for the purpose of clarity. This is a transparent view of the eyewear to show the placement of the TFT (thin film transistor) module  201  for the left eye  2 , mounted on the rear of eyewear shield  100  and the placement of the TFT module  202  for the right eye ( 1 ), mounted on the rear of the eyewear shield  100 . Eyepiece lens  3  is mounted as to focus on TFT module  201  left eye  2 , and eyepiece lens  4 , is mounted as to focus on TFT module  202  right eye  1 . Lens  3  and  4  are mounted on an inner component protection cover  301  described in  FIG. 7 . Soft padding  102  is placed on the outer edge of the rim of top cover  101  as to snugly rest against the forehead of the wearer. This is to prevent the intrusion of outside bright light for entering inside the eyewear. 
       FIG. 5  Is a drawing showing the placement of the TFT (thin film transistor) module, their associated lenses and the viewers eyes. TFT module  201  for the left eye  2 , and TFT module  202  for the right eye  1  are mounted to the frames shield  100  on the rear of the eyewear. Viewing lens  3  for the left eye and viewing lens  4  for the right eye are mounted on the electronics protection cover  301  that is fastened to the inside and to the rear of eyewear shield  100 . Viewers left eye  2  is focused on TFT module  201  and viewer&#39;s right eye  1  is focused on TFT module  202 . The horizontal spacing of TFT module  201  left eye and TFT module  202  right eye, give a binocular effect that allows the viewer to see a single image. 
       FIG. 6  Shows the mounting of the high-resolution CCD cameras  204  and  205  to the rear of frame shield  100 . High resolution CCD camera  204  is mounted so as to see straight forward on the horizontal plane. This allows the wearer to see in a straight line to easily identify objects in front or side-to-side. Camera lens  401  sees through a pinhole drilled into frame shield  100 . Camera lens  401  can be selected at various focal lengths to meet the needs of a specific wearer. For normal vision, a focal length of lens  401  may be 3.6 mm to 4.7 mm. A high resolution CCD camera  205  is mounted so as to see in a tilted downward direction. This allows the viewer to see objects such as printed material in a normal reading position without having to tilt the head in an uncomfortable downward position. Camera lens  402  sees through a pinhole drilled into frame shield  100 . Camera lens  402  can be selected so as to bring objects such as printed material into closer view. For this purpose a lens with a focal length of 6 mm to 8 mm can be used depending on users&#39; preference. When using the eyewear, the wearer has the option of choosing either high resolution CCD camera  204  or  205  depending on their immediate needs (other models may offer other camera options users may choose from). The selection of the camera is accomplished by changing camera switch  206  to the specific camera position. 
       FIG. 7  Is a drawing showing the component protection cover  301  of the eyewear. Viewing lens  3  for the wearers left eye and viewing lens  4  for the wearers right eye are mounted in the component protection cover  301 . Component protection cover  301  is fastened to the rear of frame shield  100  in such a way that the correct focal length for lens  3  right eye and lens  4  left eye is achieved to view a clear focused image on TFT (thin film transistor) module  201  left eye and TFT module  202  right eye. 
       FIG. 8  Is a schematic drawing of the electronic components of the eyewear. All components,  201 ,  202 ,  203 ,  204 ,  205 ,  206  and  207  are embedded into the eyewear. Power supply  208  is attached by wire ( 209  not shown) through the rearward part of temple earpiece  108  and supplies power to the electronics. In the schematic,  201  is the TFT (thin film transistor) module for the left eye.  202  is the TFT module for the right eye. Display Driver  203  processes the high-resolution CCD camera outputs for viewing. Brightness Control  206  varies the brightness of TFT module  201  and TFT module  202 . Switch  207  selects which camera will be viewed. Where high resolution CCD camera  204  is for viewing objects in the horizontal plane or side-to-side, high resolution CCD camera  205  is for viewing objects closer, such as normal printed material. Power supply  208  is a rechargeable power supply to feed power to the electronics. Switch  210  is embedded in the power supply and switches the power on and off to the electronics.