Patent Publication Number: US-2016224118-A1

Title: Helmet-used touchless sensing and gesture recognition structure and helmet thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a helmet, and more particularly to a helmet with gesture recognition structure. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,784 discloses a conventional helmet display system. The helmet display system has a visor disposed on the helmet. A holographic combiner is formed on the visor. Two image projectors are disposed in the helmet for projecting images onto the holographic combiner on the visor. The holographic combiner serves to reflect the projected images to the eyes of a wearer. Also, the eyes of the wearer can see outer side through the visor. 
     Skully Company provides another conventional helmet Skully AR-1. A head-up display (HUD) is added into the helmet. The HUD is inbuilt with GPS navigation system and back lens. A wearer not only can see the outer environment in front of his body through the visor as a common helmet, but also can see the environment behind his body through the HUD. In addition, the wearer can see the GPS navigation information through the HUD. 
     There is a trend to add display function to the helmet. However, no interaction between the helmet wearer and the displayed information is disclosed, especially instinctive interaction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a gesture recognition structure applied to helmet. The gesture recognition structure is able to judge and identify different gestures and generate different gesture signals for interacting with a user interface of the helmet. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a helmet having a human-machine interface unit and a gesture recognition structure connected to the human-machine interface unit. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a motorcycle-used or automobile-used helmet. The helmet is able to produce user interface information. A part of the body of the helmet wearer can interact with the user interface information in a touchless and suspending/floating manner. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a helmet, which is able to identify a wearer&#39;s gestures without being affected by the change of external environment. 
     To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides a helmet-used gesture recognition structure. The helmet has a touchless user interface. The gesture recognition structure includes: a transmission unit for transmitting at least one signal; multiple receiving units for receiving reflection signals reflected from an input object contacting the signal; and a processing unit connected to the transmission unit and the receiving units. According to the sequence in which the receiving units respectively receive the reflection signals, the processing unit judges and identifies the position and/or motion of the input object and generates a gesture signal for interacting with the user interface. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the signal is ultrasonic signal and the reflection signals are ultrasonic reflection signals. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the transmission unit is an ultrasonic transmitter and the receiving units are ultrasonic receivers. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the input object contacts the signal in different times to produce the reflection signals in sequence. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the touchless user interface is a projected image containing multiple data. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the input object is a part of a user&#39;s body. 
     In the above helmet-used gesture recognition structure, the receiving units are at least three receiving units. Two of the receiving units are positioned on the same level and left and right arranged, while the rest receiving unit is disposed on upper side or lower side of the two receiving units. 
     The present invention also provides a helmet including: a helmet body having a front side and a human-machine interface unit for producing a touchless user interface; a transmission unit disposed on a front side of the helmet body for transmitting at least one signal; a first receiving unit disposed on the front side of the helmet body for receiving a first reflection signal reflected from an input object contacting the signal; a second receiving unit disposed on the front side of the helmet body for receiving a second reflection signal reflected from the input object contacting the signal; a third receiving unit disposed on the front side of the helmet body for receiving a third reflection signal reflected from the input object contacting the signal; and a processing unit connected to the transmission unit and the first, second and third receiving units and the human-machine interface unit, whereby according to the sequence in which the first, second and third receiving units respectively receive the first, second and third reflection signals, the processing unit judges and identifies the position and/or motion of the input object and generates a gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit in accordance with the motion of the input object for interacting with the user interface. 
     In the above helmet, the second and third receiving units are positioned on the same level and left and right arranged and the first receiving unit is disposed on upper side or lower side of the second receiving unit or the third receiving unit. 
     In the above helmet, the signal is ultrasonic signal and the first, second and third reflection signals are ultrasonic reflection signals. 
     In the above helmet, the transmission unit is an ultrasonic transmitter and the receiving units are ultrasonic receivers. 
     In the above helmet, the input object contacts the signal in different times to produce the first, second and third reflection signals in sequence. 
     In the above helmet, the touchless user interface is a projected image containing multiple data. 
     In the above helmet, the human-machine interface unit is a projector. 
     In the above helmet, the helmet body has a visor disposed on the front side of the helmet body. The human-machine interface unit serves to project the user interface onto a predetermined position of the visor. 
     In the above helmet, the human-machine interface unit is head-up display. The head-up display has a lens assembly for showing the user interface. 
     In the above helmet, the input object is a part of a user&#39;s body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the application of the gesture recognition structure of the present invention to a helmet; 
         FIG. 2  is a view showing the application of the gesture recognition structure of the present invention to a helmet; 
         FIG. 3  is a view showing the vision seen from the interior of the helmet through the visor to outer side; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement positions of the receiving units of the present invention and showing that the receiving units receive the reflection signals; 
         FIG. 5  is a matrix diagram of the gesture judgment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a view showing another embodiment of the human-machine interface unit of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a view showing another embodiment of the helmet of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram according to  FIG. 7 , showing the arrangement positions of the receiving units of the present invention and showing that the receiving units receive the reflection signals; 
         FIG. 9  is a matrix diagram of the gesture judgment according to  FIGS. 7 and 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a first aspect; 
         FIG. 11  is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a second aspect; and 
         FIG. 12  is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a third aspect. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings, wherein the same components are denoted with the same reference numerals. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a block diagram showing the application of the gesture recognition structure of the present invention to a helmet. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the gesture recognition structure  10  of the present invention includes a transmission unit  11 , multiple receiving units and a processing unit  15  connected to the transmission unit  11  and the receiving units. In a preferred embodiment, the transmission unit  11  is an ultrasonic transmitter for transmitting at least one signal. In a preferred embodiment, the signal is an ultrasonic signal. The receiving units serve to receive reflection signals. In this embodiment, the receiving units include a first receiving unit  12  for receiving a first reflection signal, a second receiving unit  13  for receiving a second reflection signal and a third receiving unit  14  for receiving a third reflection signal. In a preferred embodiment, the first to third receiving units  12 ˜ 14  are ultrasonic receivers. In a preferred embodiment, the first to third reflection signals are ultrasonic reflection signals. The processing unit  15  is further connected to a human-machine interface unit  16 . According to the sequence in which the first to third receiving units  12 ˜ 14  receive the first to third reflection signals, the processing unit  15  judges or identifies the position and/or motion of an input object and generates a corresponding gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 . 
     Please now refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a view showing the application of the gesture recognition structure of the present invention to a helmet. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the helmet  20  includes a helmet body  21  having a visor  213  disposed on front side of the helmet body  21 . The human-machine interface unit  16  is disposed in the helmet body  21 . The transmission unit  11 , the first to third receiving units  12 ˜ 14  and the processing unit  15  are disposed on front side of the helmet body  21 . 
     It should be especially noted that in this embodiment, the second and third receiving units  13 ,  14  are positioned on the same level and left and right arranged. The first receiving unit  12  is disposed on upper side or lower side of the second receiving unit  13  or the third receiving unit  14 .  FIG. 2  shows that the first receiving unit  12  is disposed on upper side of the visor  213  (such as the forehead section of the helmet  20 ). The second and third receiving units  13 ,  14  are disposed on lower side of the visor  213  (such as the chin bar of the helmet  20 ). The second receiving unit  13  is positioned on right side of the helmet body  21  for receiving the reflection signal of the front-side rightward region of the helmet body  21 . The third receiving unit  14  is positioned on left side of the helmet body  21  for receiving the reflection signal of the front-side leftward region of the helmet body  21 . 
     Please now refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a view showing the vision seen from the interior of the helmet  20  through the visor  213  to outer side. As shown in  FIG. 3  as well as  FIG. 2 , the human-machine interface unit  16  serves to produce a touchless user interface  24 . In a preferred embodiment, the human-machine interface unit  16  is a projector for projecting the user interface  24  onto a predetermined position on the visor  213 . The predetermined position is preferably on the right lower side or left lower side of the vision of the helmet wearer. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the human-machine interface unit  16  can be a head-up display (HUD) for showing the user interface  24 . Therefore, the human-machine interface unit  16  is preferably positioned on the right lower side or left lower side of the vision of the helmet wearer. The touchless user interface  24  is a projected image containing multiple data (such as weather, GPS, volume, music menu, program menu, user icon, etc.) 
     Please now refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement positions of the receiving units and showing that the receiving units receive the reflection signals. As shown in  FIG. 4  as well as  FIGS. 2 and 3 , according to the vision seen from the interior of the helmet  20  to outer side, an input object  30  is stopped or moved up and down and left and right within the distance and range of the transmission signal of the transmission unit  11  on the front side of the helmet body  21  of the helmet  20 . The signal transmitted from the transmission unit  11  is contacted and reflected by the input object  30 . When the input object  30  stops moving, the reflection signal is continuously received by the same receiving unit. When the input object  30  moves to contact the signal of the transmission unit  11 , a time difference of the reflection signal is produced. Accordingly, the first to third receiving units  12 ˜ 14  respectively sequentially receive the first reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 1 ), the second reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 2 ) and the third reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 3 ). The first receiving unit  12  is positioned on the upper side of the visor  213  to receive the first reflection signal s 1 . The second receiving unit  13  is positioned on the lower side of the visor  213  to receive the second reflection signal s 2  from the right-side region of the helmet  20 . The third receiving unit  14  is positioned on the lower side of the visor  213  to receive the third reflection signal s 3  from the left-side region of the helmet  20 . The input object  30  is a part of the user&#39;s body, such as the hand of the user. 
       FIG. 5  is a matrix diagram of the gesture judgment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5  as well as  FIGS. 1 to 4 , according to the gesture judgment matrix of  FIG. 5 , the processing unit  15  generates gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 . The judgment steps of the processing unit  15  are as follows: 
     According to the time sequence in which the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on an upper region. 
     According to that the first receiving unit  12  first receives the first reflection signal s 1  and then the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  generates a downward gesture signal. 
     According to that the first receiving unit  12  first receives the first reflection signal s 1  and then the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  generates a downward gesture signal. 
     According to that the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  and then the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  generates an upward gesture signal. 
     According to the time sequence in which the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on a right-side region. 
     According to that the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  and then the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  generates a leftward gesture signal. 
     According to that the third receiving unit  14  first receives the third reflection signal s 3  and then the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  generates an upward gesture signal. 
     According to that the third receiving unit  14  first receives the third reflection signal s 3  and then the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  generates a rightward gesture signal. 
     According to the time sequence in which the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on a left-side region. 
     Please now refer to  FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 .  FIG. 7  is a view showing another embodiment of the helmet of the present invention.  FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram according to  FIG. 7 , showing the arrangement positions of the receiving units of the present invention and showing that the receiving units receive the reflection signals.  FIG. 9  is a matrix diagram of the gesture judgment according to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . As shown in  FIGS. 7 to 9  as well as  FIG. 1 , in another embodiment, the second and third receiving units  13 ,  14  are disposed on the upper side of the visor  213  (such as the forehead section of the helmet). The second receiving unit  13  is positioned on right side of the helmet body  21  for receiving the reflection signal of the front right-side region of the helmet body  21 . The third receiving unit  14  is positioned on left side of the helmet body  21  for receiving the reflection signal of the front left-side region of the helmet body  21 . The first receiving unit  12  is disposed on lower side of the visor  213  (such as the chin bar of the helmet). 
       FIG. 8  shows a vision seen from the interior of the helmet  20  to outer side. The signal transmitted from the transmission unit  11  is contacted and reflected by the input object  30 . When the input object  30  moves to contact the signal of the transmission unit  11 , a time difference of the reflection signal is produced. Accordingly, the first to third receiving units  12 ˜ 14  respectively sequentially receive the first reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 1 ), the second reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 2 ) and the third reflection signal (indicated by arrow s 3 ). The first receiving unit  12  is positioned on the lower side of the visor  213  to receive the first reflection signal s 1 . The second receiving unit  13  is positioned on the upper side of the visor  213  to receive the second reflection signal s 2  from the right-side region of the helmet  20 . The third receiving unit  14  is positioned on the upper side of the visor  213  to receive the third reflection signal s 3  from the left-side region of the helmet  20 . The input object  30  is a part of the user&#39;s body, such as the hand of the user. 
     According to the gesture judgment matrix of  FIG. 9 , the processing unit  15  generates gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 . The judgment steps of the processing unit  15  are as follows: 
     According to the time sequence in which the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on a lower region. 
     According to that the first receiving unit  12  first receives the first reflection signal s 1  and then the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  generates an upward gesture signal. 
     According to that the first receiving unit  12  first receives the first reflection signal s 1  and then the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  generates an upward gesture signal. 
     According to that the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  and then the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  generates a downward gesture signal. 
     According to the time sequence in which the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on a right-side region. 
     According to that the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  and then the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  generates a leftward gesture signal. 
     According to that the third receiving unit  14  first receives the third reflection signal s 3  and then the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 , the processing unit  15  generates a downward gesture signal. 
     According to that the third receiving unit  14  first receives the third reflection signal s 3  and then the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2 , the processing unit  15  generates a rightward gesture signal. 
     According to the time sequence in which the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 , the processing unit  15  judges that the input object  30  is positioned on a left-side region. 
     The interaction between the input object  30  and the user interface  24  will be described hereinafter by example. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 10 , which is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a first aspect. As shown in  FIG. 10  as well as  FIGS. 1 to 5 , when the input object  30  (the hand of the wearer of the helmet  20 ) on the front side of the helmet  20  is downward moved from a first position A 1  to a second position A 2 , the first receiving unit  12  first receives the first reflection signal s 1  and then the second receiving unit  13  receives the second reflection signal s 2  or the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 . At this time, the processing unit  15  outputs a downward gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 , whereby the user interface  24  projected on the visor  213  is downward moved from the first information (such as weather information) to the second information (such as volume information). Accordingly, when the input object  30  is moved in front of the helmet  20 , the input object  30  can interact with the user interface  24  in a touchless and suspending/floating manner to downward turn the page of the information in the user interface  24 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 11 , which is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a second aspect. As shown in  FIG. 11  as well as  FIGS. 1 to 5 , when the input object  30  (the hand of the wearer of the helmet  20 ) on the front side of the helmet  20  is upward moved from a first position B 1  to a second position B 2 , the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  or the third receiving unit  14  first receives the third reflection signal s 3  and then the first receiving unit  12  receives the first reflection signal s 1 . At this time, the processing unit  15  outputs an upward gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 , whereby the user interface  24  projected on the visor  213  is upward moved from the first information (such as weather information) to the second information (such as GPS navigation). Accordingly, when the input object  30  is moved in front of the helmet  20 , the input object  30  can interact with the user interface  24  in a touchless and suspending/floating manner to upward turn the page of the information in the user interface  24 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 12 , which is a view showing the interaction between the input object and the user interface in a third aspect. As shown in  FIG. 12  as well as  FIGS. 1 to 5 , when the input object  30  (the hand of the wearer of the helmet  20 ) on the front side of the helmet  20  is leftward moved from a first position C 1  to a second position C 2 , the second receiving unit  13  first receives the second reflection signal s 2  and then the third receiving unit  14  receives the third reflection signal s 3 . At this time, the processing unit  15  outputs a leftward gesture signal to the human-machine interface unit  16 , whereby the volume information of the user interface  24  projected on the visor  213  is adjusted and minified. Accordingly, when the input object  30  is moved in front of the helmet  20 , the input object  30  can interact with the user interface  24  in a touchless and suspending/floating manner to adjust the volume. 
     In conclusion, by means of the gesture recognition structure of the present invention, the position or motion of the input object can be identified. Then, according to the motion of the input object, different gesture signals are generated to interact with the user interface. In this case, the hand of the helmet wearer can move in front of the helmet interact with the information of the user interface in a touchless and suspending/floating manner. Especially in advancing of a motorcycle, the helmet wearer can interact with the user interface without being affected by the change of external environment such as sunny day or rainy day or windy day. 
     The present invention has been described with the above embodiments thereof and it is understood that many changes and modifications in the above embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.