Patent Publication Number: US-11650435-B2

Title: Eyewear tether

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/887,570 entitled EYEWEAR TETHER, filed on Aug. 15, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated fully herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventional eyewear includes a frame that supports lenses. The frame has a bridge that is configured to receive the nose of the wearer in order to position the frame on the wearer&#39;s face such that the lenses are adjacent the eyes of the wearer. The eyewear additionally includes temples extending from the edges of the frame. The temples are configured to engage the ears of the wearer to further support the frame in the proper position on the wearer&#39;s face. Eyewear is evolving to include electronics. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawing figures depict one or more implementations, by way of example only, not by way of limitations. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of an example eyewear device; 
         FIG.  2 A  is a front view of a frame of the eyewear device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  2 B  is a top view of the frame of the eyewear device of  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of an example temple; 
         FIG.  4 A  is a cross-sectional view of an example tether; 
         FIG.  4 B  is a cross-sectional view of another example tether; 
         FIG.  5    is a flow chart of example steps confirming proper installation of a tether to eyewear; 
         FIG.  6    is a flow chart of example steps for detecting connection of a tether in a step of  FIG.  5   ; 
         FIG.  7    is a flow chart of example steps for identifying proper installation of the tether in another step of  FIG.  5   ; and 
         FIG.  8    is a block diagram of example electronics of an eyewear device and connections of the eyewear device with other components. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In accordance with some examples, an eyewear device is described that includes a tether capable of power transmission, data transmission, or both. The tether attaches to the temples of the eyewear and passes behind the head of the user when worn to create power or data connections between the left and right sides of the eyewear to supplement or replace power or data transmission between the left and right sides of the eyewear through the frame. Electronics positioned in the left/right sides of the eyewear include, by way of non-limiting examples, batteries, light emitting diodes (LEDs), cameras, speakers, microphones, or other electro-mechanical component necessary. The tether enables power/data to flow between electronics positioned in a left side of the eyewear (e.g., left half of frame or respective temple) and a right side of the eyewear (e.g., right half of frame or respective temple) without having to go through the bridge area of the frame, thereby freeing designers from mechanical constraints, which expand aesthetic options. Additionally, the tether creates manufacturing options. The tether may include a flexible PCB (FPC) or ribbon cable connecting the two sides around the wearer&#39;s head from the back. The FPC or cable may additionally include a sheath, e.g., of fabric, woven fabric, flexible plastic, or rubber) to protect the FPC or cable from environmental conditions, as well as prevent it from kinking and damaging the electrical traces/wires/components on the FPC. These and other examples are described below. 
     Numerous specific details are set forth herein by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings. 
       FIG.  1    depicts an example eyewear device  100 . The eyewear device  100  includes a frame  102 , a first temple  104   a  extending from a first edge  110   a  of the frame  102 , a second temple  104   b  extending from a second edge  110   b  of the frame  102 , and a tether  106  coupling the first temple  104   a  to the second temple  104   b . The tether  106  can provide power, data, and synchronization signal transmission between the temples  104 . 
     The frame  102  supports one or more optical elements  108  within a field of view of a user/wearer when worn by the user. As used herein, the term “optical elements” refers to lenses, transparent pieces of glass or plastic, projectors, screens, displays and other devices for presenting visual images or through which visual images may be perceived by a wearer. The frame  102  includes a bridge  112  for receiving a nose of the wearer. The frame  102  supports two optical elements  108 , one on each side of the bridge  112 . The frame  102  additionally supports a first camera  114   a  and a second camera  114   b  for capturing images/video. 
     The first temple  104   a  includes a proximate end  116   a  adjacent a first edge  110   a  of the frame  102  and a distal end  118   a . Likewise, the second temple  104   b  includes a proximate end  116   b  adjacent a second edge  110   b  of the frame  102  and a distal end  118   b . In an example, the first temple  104   a  is coupled to the first edge  110   a  of the frame  102  (e.g., by an articulated joint/hinge) and the second temple  104  is coupled to the second edge  110   b  of the frame  102  in the same manner. In another example, the temples  104  are integrally formed with frame  102 . 
     In an example, the frame  102  and temples  104  are constructed of a plastics material, cellulosic plastic (e.g., cellulosic acetate), an eco-plastic material, a thermoplastic material, or the like. Core wires (not shown) may be embedded within the frame  102  or temples  104 . The core wires provide structural integrity and act as a heat sink to transfer heat generated by electronic components (described below) with the frame/temples to reduce the likelihood of localized heating adjacent electronic components. The core wires may be constructed of a relatively flexible conductive metal or metal alloy material such as one or more of an aluminum, an alloy of aluminum, alloys of nickel-silver, and a stainless steel, for example. In other examples, the frame  102 , temples  104 , or both are formed substantially of metal or a metal alloy. 
       FIG.  2 A  depicts a front view of the frame  102 . The frame  102  includes a transmission line  200 . The transmission line  200  includes one or more conductive lines (e.g., traces on a flexible printed circuit board) extending through the bridge  112  between electronic components (e.g., cameras  114  and associated processing circuitry) adjacent the edges  110  of the frame  102 . In some examples, all power and communications between the edges  110  of the frame  102  pass through the temples  104  ( FIG.  1   ). In these examples, the transmission line  200  may be omitted. 
       FIG.  2 B  is a top view of the frame  102 . The frame  102  supports electrical/electronic components  202   a  and  202   b  near respective edges  110   a  and  110   b  of the frame. Example components  202  includes cameras  114 , projectors, indicators, processors, memory, transceivers (TX/RX, with both TX and RX combined in a single component or implemented as separate components), etc. Suitable cameras, projectors, indicators, processors, memory, and TX/RXs will be understood by one of skill in the art from the description herein. In an example, the processors are configured to communicate with one another through the transceivers via the tether. 
     The frame  102  supports a first hinge component  204   a  and a second hinge component  204   b  for mating with hinge components on respective temples  104 . The frame  102  additionally includes a first electrical contact  206   a  and a second electrical contact  206   b . The first electrical contact  206   a  is coupled to transmission line  200  and components  202   a  and the second electrical contact  206   b  is coupled to transmission line  200  and components  202   b . The electrical contacts are configured and positioned to engage mating electrical contacts (contacts  304 ;  FIG.  3   ) on the respective temples  104  when the temples  104  are rotated about the hinges  204  in a wearable condition. 
       FIG.  3    depicts an example temple  104 . The temple  104  includes a transmission line  300  including one or more conductive lines (e.g., traces on a flexible printed circuit board) extending through the temple  104 . The temple  104  also includes a mating hinge component  302  configured to mate with respective hinge components  204  on the frame  102  and a fitting  306  (e.g., magnetic or friction fit component) configured and positioned to physically engage an end of the tether  106 . The temple  104  additionally includes an electrical contact  304  coupled to the transmission line  300  adjacent the proximate end  116  of the temple  104  and an electrical contact  308  coupled to the transmission line  300  adjacent the distal end  118  of the temple  104  such that the electrical contacts  304 / 308  are interconnected via the transmission line  300 . 
     In the illustrated example, the mating hinge component  302  and electrical contact  304  are configured and positioned such that electrical contact is established between the contact  206  of the frame and the contact  304  of the temple  104  when the temple  104  is rotated into a wearable condition about the hinge components  204 / 302 . In alternative examples, the electrical contacts  206 / 304  may be interconnected by a ribbon cable or other conductor such that they are in contact in both the wearable condition and a folded condition. Additionally, although  FIGS.  1 ,  2 A,  2 B , and  3  show electrical/electronic components  202  positioned in and supported by the frame  102 , some or all of the electrical/electronic components  202  may be positioned in and supported by the temples  104 . Furthermore, although one transmission line and contact is illustrated, additional transmission lines and contacts may be present (e.g., a power transmission line/contact, a ground transmission line/contact, a positive (+) data transmission line/contact, a negative (−) data transmission line/contact, and a clock synchronization transmission line/contact). 
       FIG.  4 A  depicts a cross-section of an example tether  106 . The tether  106  includes a sheath  400 . The sheath  400  may be flexible material such as fabric, woven fabric, flexible plastic, or rubber, to protect transmission lines surrounded by the sheath  400 . A first connector  402   a  of the tether  106  is positioned on the sheath  400  adjacent a first end of the tether  106 , e.g., to engage a fitting  306  of a temple  104  of an eyewear device  100 . Likewise, a second connector  402   b  of the tether  106  is positioned adjacent on the sheath  400  adjacent a second end of the tether  106 , e.g., to engage a fitting  306  of the other temple  104  of the eyewear device  100 . 
     The tether  106  includes five transmission lines  404   a - e  surrounded by the sheath  400 . Each transmission line  404   a - e  includes respective first electrical contacts  406   a - e  adjacent a first end of the tether  106  for engaging corresponding contacts  308  of a temple  104  and respective second electrical contacts  408   a - e  for engaging corresponding contacts  308  of the other temple  104 . A first transmission line  404   a  may be a power transmission line, a second transmission line  404   b  may be a ground transmission line, a third transmission line  404   c  may be a positive (+) data transmission line, a fourth transmission line  404   d  may be a negative (−) data transmission line, and a fifth transmission line  404   e  may be a clock synchronization transmission line. More or fewer transmission lines may be included within the sheath  400 . 
     The electrical contacts  304 / 306  may be grouped within a connector. The connector may be a standard connector such as a universal serial bus (USB) type B or type C connector or a proprietary connector. The corresponding connectors  308  of the temples  104  are configured to mate with the connectors of the tether  106 . 
     In one example, the tether  106  is permanently affixed to the temples  104 . In accordance with this example, the contacts may be the transmission line carrying the power/signal. In other examples, at least one of the ends of the tether  106  may be removed from a respective temple  104 . In accordance with this example, the tether can be completely removed or one end of the tether  106  may be removed to expose the corresponding contacts, e.g., for providing access for charging electrical/electronic components within the eyewear temple  104  or frame  102 . 
       FIG.  4 B  illustrates another example tether  106 . The illustrated tether  106  includes a first tether portion  106   a  and a second tether portion  106   b . The two portions may include mating connectors  410   a / 410   b  (e.g., magnetic or friction fit for interconnecting the sheath  400 ) and respective contacts  414   a - e / 416   a - e  for interconnecting the transmission lines. The electrical contacts  414   a - e / 416   a - e  may be grouped within mating connectors, e.g., standard connector such as USB type B or type C connector or a proprietary connector. In accordance with this example, a portion of the tether  106   a, b  may be permanently fixed to the respective temples  104  and connected/disconnected by the wearer to facilitate putting on and removal of the eyewear device  100 . 
       FIGS.  5 - 7    depict example methods  500  for identifying proper installation of a tether for the eyewear device  100 . Although shown as occurring serially, the blocks of  FIGS.  5 - 7    may be reordered or parallelized depending on the implementation. Additionally, one or more of the blocks may be omitted. Furthermore, although the methods are described with reference to the eyewear device  100  described herein, the methods may be implemented using other eyewear devices. 
     At block  502 , detect tether connection to the eyewear device. In an example, a processor (e.g., processor  822  or processor  832 ;  FIG.  8   ) detects connection of the tether (e.g., the first mating connector of the tether to a first connector of a temple of the eyewear). The processor detects the connection responsive to a signal from a connector in the temple adjacent the distal end of the temple. In one example, the detector may be electro-magnetic detector that detects a change in the magnetic field when the mating connector of the tether is brought into contact with the temple. In another example, the detector may be a pair of wires that are interconnected to complete a circuit when the mating connector of the tether is brought into contact with a connector in the temple. In accordance with this example, the processor may periodically measure resistance and detect connection when the measured resistance matches a known value or may periodically send a signal and detect connection when a responsive signal is received. 
       FIG.  6    depicts an example method for detecting connection of a tether in the method of  FIG.  5   . At block  602 , a connection signal is generated. A detector (such as an electromagnetic sensor) positioned adjacent the distal end of a temple may generate a signal when the tether is brought into contact with the tether in the vicinity of the detector. At block  604 , receive the connection signal. The processor of the eyewear device may receive the generated connection signal from the detector. At block  606 , compare the connection signal to a known affirmative connection value or range of values. The processor may compare the connection signal to a value or range of values stored in a memory accessible to the processor. At block  608 , identify the tether is connected responsive to a match with the affirmative connection value or range of values. The processor may identify the connection in response to identifying a match with the affirmative connection value or range of values. 
     Referring back to  FIG.  5   , at block  504 , send a communication signal from the first side of the eyewear device to the tether. In an example, the processor in a first side of the eyewear (e.g., the left or the right side) sends (via a corresponding transceiver) to the tether, a communication signal responsive to detection of the connection of the tether. 
     At block  506 , receive the communication signal at the second side of eyewear device from the tether. In an example, the processor in a second side of the eyewear (e.g., the right or the left side) receives (via a corresponding transceiver) the communication signal from the tether. 
     At block  508 , send a responsive communication from the second side of the eyewear to the tether. In an example, the processor in the second side sends (via the corresponding transceiver) a responsive communication to the tether. In accordance with this example, the processor processes and compares the received communication signal from the first side of the eyewear, generates a responsive communication, and sends the responsive communication. 
     At block  510 , receive the responsive communication at the first side of eyewear device from the tether. In an example, the first processor in the first side receives (via the corresponding transceiver) the responsive communication from the tether. 
     At block  512 , process the responsive communication to identify proper installation of the tether. In an example, the first processor processes the responsive communication from the tether to identify proper installation. Identification of proper installation may include comparing the responsive communication to an anticipated communication value(s) (blocks  702 ;  FIG.  7   ) and identifying proper installation of the tether if there is a match between the responsive communication and the anticipated communication values(s) (block  704 ). If there is not a match between the responsive communication and the anticipated communication values(s) it may be determined by the processor that the installation was unsuccessful/improper. 
     At block  514 , notify the user of the proper installation of the tether. In an example, the processor controls the notifications to the user. Notification of proper installation may include illuminating a green LED on the eyewear or the tether, verbally presenting dialog such as “tether properly installed” via a speaker (not shown), or presenting an image or text indicating proper installation on the optical element  108 . Notification of improper installation may also be presented. Notification of improper installation may include illuminating a red LED, verbally presenting dialog such as “tether not properly installed” via a speaker (not shown), or presenting an image or text indicating improper installation on the optical element  108 . 
       FIG.  8    depicts a high-level functional block diagram including example electronic components disposed in the eyewear device  100 . The illustrated electronic components include a processor  832  and a memory  834 , which includes static memory, dynamic memory, or a combination thereof. Each side of the eyewear device  100  may include one or more of the electronic components. Some of the components (such as a processor) may or may not be present in both sides while other components (such as wireless circuitry) may or may not be present only in one side. 
     Memory  834  includes instructions for execution by processor  832  to implement functionality of eyewear device  100  including instructions for processor  832  to detect connection of a tether and identify proper installation of the tether. Processor  832  receives power from battery (not shown) and executes instructions stored in memory  834 , or integrated with the processor  832  on-chip, to perform functionality of eyewear device  100  such as image processing for optical element  108 , controlling operation of eyewear device  100 , and communicating with external devices via wireless connections. 
     The eyewear device  100  may form part of a system by communicating with a mobile device  890  and a server system  898  connected via various networks. Mobile device  890  may be a smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, access point, or any other such device capable of connecting with eyewear device  100  using both a low-power wireless connection  825  and a high-speed wireless connection  837 . Mobile device  890  is connected to server system  898  and network  895 . The network  895  may include any combination of wired and wireless connections. 
     Eyewear device  100  includes at least two visible light cameras  114 A, B (one associated with the left side and one associated with the right side). Eyewear device  100  further includes two optical elements  108 A, B (one associated with the left side and one associated with the right side) and an indicator  840  such as one or more light emitting diodes (LED). Eyewear device  100  also includes image display driver  842 , image processor  812 , low-power circuitry  820 , and high-speed circuitry  830 . The components shown in  FIG.  11    for the eyewear device  100  are located on one or more circuit boards, for example a PCB or flexible PCB, in the temples. Alternatively, or additionally, the depicted components can be located in the housings, frames, hinges, or bridge of the eyewear device  100 . Left and right visible light cameras  114 A, B can include digital camera elements such as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, charge coupled device, a lens, or any other respective visible or light capturing elements that may be used to capture data, including images of scenes with unknown objects. 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , high-speed circuitry  830  includes high-speed processor  832 , memory  834 , and high-speed wireless circuitry  836 . In the example, the image display driver  842  is coupled to the high-speed circuitry  830  and operated by the high-speed processor  832  in order to drive the left and right optical elements  108 A, B. High-speed processor  832  may be any processor capable of managing high-speed communications and operation of any general computing system needed for eyewear device  100 . High-speed processor  832  includes processing resources needed for managing high-speed data transfers on high-speed wireless connection  837  to a wireless local area network (WLAN) using high-speed wireless circuitry  836 . In certain examples, the high-speed processor  832  executes an operating system such as a LINUX operating system or other such operating system of the eyewear device  100  and the operating system is stored in memory  834  for execution. In addition to any other responsibilities, the high-speed processor  832  executing a software architecture for the eyewear device  100  is used to manage data transfers with high-speed wireless circuitry  836 . In certain examples, high-speed wireless circuitry  836  is configured to implement Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communication standards, also referred to herein as Wi-Fi. In other examples, other high-speed communications standards may be implemented by high-speed wireless circuitry  836 . 
     Low-power wireless circuitry  824  and the high-speed wireless circuitry  836  of the eyewear device  100  can include short range transceivers (Bluetooth™) and wireless wide, local, or wide area network transceivers (e.g., cellular or WiFi). Mobile device  890 , including the transceivers communicating via the low-power wireless connection  825  and high-speed wireless connection  837 , may be implemented using details of the architecture of the eyewear device  100 , as can other elements of network  895 . 
     Memory  834  includes any storage device capable of storing various data and applications, including, among other things, color maps, camera data generated by the left and right visible light cameras  114 A, B and the image processor  812 , as well as images generated for display by the image display driver  842  on the optical elements  180 A, B. While memory  834  is shown as integrated with high-speed circuitry  830 , in other examples, memory  834  may be an independent standalone element of the eyewear device  100 . In certain such examples, electrical routing lines may provide a connection through a chip that includes the high-speed processor  832  from the image processor  812  or low-power processor  822  to the memory  834 . In other examples, the high-speed processor  832  may manage addressing of memory  834  such that the low-power processor  822  will boot the high-speed processor  832  any time that a read or write operation involving memory  834  is needed. 
     Server system  898  may be one or more computing devices as part of a service or network computing system, for example, that include a processor, a memory, and network communication interface to communicate over the network  895  with the mobile device  890  and eyewear device  100 . Eyewear device  100  may be connected with a host computer. For example, the eyewear device  100  is paired with the mobile device  890  via the high-speed wireless connection  837  or connected to the server system  898  via the network  895 . 
     Output components of the eyewear device  100  include visual components, such as the left and right optical elements  108 A, B (e.g., see-through display, a display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a projector, or a waveguide). The optical elements  180 A, B may be driven by the image display driver  842 . The output components of the eyewear device  100  further include acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor), other signal generators, and so forth. The input components of the eyewear device  100 , the mobile device  890 , and server system  898 , may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components), point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provides location and force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and the like. 
     Eyewear device  100  may optionally include additional peripheral device elements. Such peripheral device elements may include biometric sensors, additional sensors, or display elements integrated with eyewear device  100 . For example, peripheral device elements may include any I/O components including output components, motion components, position components, indicators, or any other such elements described herein. 
     For example, biometric components may be used to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voice identification, retinal identification, facial identification, fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram based identification), and the like. The motion components include acceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensor components, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth. The position components include location sensor components to generate location coordinates (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver component), WiFi or Bluetooth™ transceivers to generate positioning system coordinates, altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like. Such positioning system coordinates can also be received over wireless connections  825  and  837  from the mobile device  890  via the low-power wireless circuitry  824  or high-speed wireless circuitry  836 . 
     According to some examples, an “application” or “applications” are program(s) that execute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languages can be employed to create one or more of the applications, structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programming languages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, a third party application (e.g., an application developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or another mobile operating systems. In this example, the third-party application can invoke API calls provided by the operating system to facilitate functionality described herein. 
     The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises or includes a list of elements or steps does not include only those elements or steps but may include other elements or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element preceded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. 
     Unless otherwise stated, any and all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. Such amounts are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain. For example, unless expressly stated otherwise, a parameter value or the like may vary by as much as ±10% from the stated amount. 
     In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various examples for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed examples require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, the subject matter to be protected lies in less than all features of any single disclosed example. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as separately claimed subject matter. 
     While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that they may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present concepts.