 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Title: |
US6356392:
Compact image display system for eyeglasses or other head-borne frames
[ Derwent Title ]
>> View Certificate of Correction for this publication

|
Country: |
US United States of America

|
| |
Inventor: |
Spitzer, Mark B.; Sharon, MA

|
Assignee: |
The Microoptical Corporation, Westwood, MA
other patents from MICROOPTICAL CORPORATION (780254) (approx. 14)
News, Profiles, Stocks and More about this company

|
Published / Filed: |
2002-03-12
/ 2000-08-31

|
Application Number: |
US2000000652629

|
IPC Code: |
Advanced:
G02B 27/01;
G02B 27/02;
G02B 27/14;
G02C 7/10;
G02C 7/12;
G02C 11/00;
G02C 11/06;
G02F 1/13;
G09F 9/00;
H04N 5/64;
H04R 1/10;
G02B 5/30;
G02B 27/00;
IPC-7:
G02B 27/14;
G09G 5/00;

|
ECLA Code: |
G02B27/01C; G02B27/01C1; G02B27/01C2; G02B27/10K; G02B27/10M; G02B27/14H; G02C7/10A; G02C7/12; G02C11/06; S02B5/30; S02B27/01F2; S02B27/01F3; S02B27/01A2; S02B27/01A9; S02B27/01A10; S02B27/01C3; S02B27/01D4;

|
U.S. Class: |
359/630;
345/008;

|
Field of Search: |
359/630,631,633,638
345/007,8,9

|
Government Interest: |
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
The invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DAAK60-96-C-3018 awarded by the Soldier Systems Command of the United States Army. The Government has certain rights in the invention.

|
Priority Number: |

|
Abstract: |
A head-mountable image display system provides an image to a user's eye separate from ambient light. The system includes an optical relay having an optical pathway to receive light from a display element. The optical relay also permits passage of ambient light toward the user's eye. An eyepiece assembly is disposed to redirect light on the optical pathway to the user's eye. The system is highly compact, allowing the integration of the display system with eyeglasses, a face mask, such as a diver's mask, a head set, or the like.

|
Attorney, Agent or Firm: |
Weingarten, Schurgin, Gagnebin & Hayes LLP ;

|
Primary / Asst. Examiners: |
Mack, Ricky;

|
Maintenance Status: |
CC Certificate of Correction issued View Certificate of Correction

|
INPADOC Legal Status: |
Show legal status actions
Family Legal Status Report

|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Parent Case: |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/271,597, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,974, filed Mar. 17, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/844,098, now U.S. Pat No. 5,886,822, filed on Apr. 18, 1997, and of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/170,887, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,372, filed on Oct. 14, 1998, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/027,998, filed on Oct. 8, 1996, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/064,430, filed Oct. 30, 1997, the disclosures of both of which are also incorporated by reference herein.

|
Designated Country: |
AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE KR

|
Family: |
Show 41 known family members

|
First Claim:
Show all 21 claims |
What is claimed is:
1. An image display assembly for use with a head-borne eyewear assembly supported by a user's head, the image display assembly comprising:
- a housing assembly having a mounting mechanism disposed to removably mount to the head-borne eyewear assembly;
- circuitry disposed within the housing assembly to receive data or video signals;
- an electronic imaging assembly supported by the housing assembly and in communication with the circuitry within the housing assembly and operative to produce an image separate from ambient light; and
- an optical pathway disposed to transmit the image from the electronic imaging assembly through the housing assembly to an exit.

|
Background / Summary: |
Show background / summary

|
Drawing Descriptions: |
Show drawing descriptions

|
Description: |
Show description

|
Forward References: |
Show 47 U.S. patent(s) that reference this one

|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
U.S. References: |
Go to Result Set:
All U.S. references
| Forward references (47)
|
Backward references (115)
|
Citation Link

Buy PDF |
Patent |
Pub.Date |
Inventor |
Assignee |
Title |
|
USD195365* |
1963-06 |
Holt |
|
|
|
US3192826* |
1965-07 |
Papke |
|
|
|
US3216308* |
1965-11 |
Northcutt |
|
|
|
US3229580* |
1966-01 |
Mitchell |
|
|
|
US3524710 |
1970-08 |
Rickert |
|
SELF-LUMINOUS REFLEX SIGHT
|
|
US3610825 |
1971-10 |
Fritzel |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
IMAGE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A VISION SYSTEM
|
|
US3787109 |
1974-01 |
Vizenor |
Honeywell Inc. |
INSIDE HELMET SIGHT APPARATUS
|
|
US3885095 |
1975-05 |
Wolfson et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Combined head-up multisensor display
|
|
US3915548 |
1975-10 |
Opittek et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Holographic lens and liquid crystal image source for head-up display
|
|
US3923370 |
1975-12 |
Mostrom |
Honeywell Inc. |
Head mounted displays
|
|
US3936605 |
1976-02 |
Upton |
Textron, Inc. |
Eyeglass mounted visual display
|
|
US3940204 |
1976-02 |
Withrington |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Optical display systems utilizing holographic lenses
|
|
USRE28847 |
1976-06 |
Vizenor |
Honeywell Inc. |
Inside helmet sight display apparatus
|
|
US4052073 |
1977-10 |
Miller |
|
Blackjack play director
|
|
US4082432 |
1978-04 |
Kirschner |
Sundstrand Data Control, Inc. |
Head-up visual display system using on-axis optics with image window at the focal plane of the collimating mirror
|
|
US4195915 |
1980-04 |
Lichty et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Liquid crystal image projector system
|
|
US4218111 |
1980-08 |
Withrington |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Holographic head-up displays
|
|
US4447128 |
1984-05 |
Ferrer |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Diffraction head up display solar radiation filter
|
|
US4550984 |
1985-11 |
Reymond |
Thomson CSF |
Head-mounted or helmet-mounted sighting device
|
|
US4649434 |
1987-03 |
Weinblatt |
|
Eyeglass-frame mountable view monitoring device
|
|
US4664475 |
1987-05 |
Ferrer |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Combiner mounting and stowage mechanism
|
|
US4665385 |
1987-05 |
Henderson |
|
Hazardous condition monitoring system
|
|
US4704000 |
1987-11 |
Pekar et al. |
Research Triangle Institute |
Vision enhancing system
|
|
US4722601 |
1988-02 |
McFarlane |
Ferranti plc |
Apparatus for determining the direction of a line of sight
|
|
US4751691 |
1988-06 |
Perera |
|
Optical projection time-piece attachment for spectacles or combination thereof
|
|
US4753514 |
1988-06 |
Kubik |
Iota Instrumentation Co. |
Headwear-mounted periscopic display device
|
|
US4799765 |
1989-01 |
Ferrer |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Integrated head-up and panel display unit
|
|
US4806001 |
1989-02 |
Okabe et al. |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Objective for an endoscope
|
|
US4806011 |
1989-02 |
Bettinger |
|
Spectacle-mounted ocular display apparatus
|
|
US4818048 |
1989-04 |
Moss |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Holographic head-up control panel
|
|
US4826287 |
1989-05 |
Cook et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Display system having coma-control plate in relay lens
|
|
US4852988 |
1989-08 |
Velez et al. |
Applied Science Laboratories |
Visor and camera providing a parallax-free field-of-view image for a head-mounted eye movement measurement system
|
|
US4853306 |
1989-08 |
Wreede et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Method and apparatus for dehydrating dichromatic gelatin holograms
|
|
US4867551 |
1989-09 |
Perera |
|
Display projection optical system for spectacles or sunglasses
|
|
US4869575 |
1989-09 |
Kubik |
Iota Instrumentation Company |
Headwear-mounted periscopic display device
|
|
US4884137 |
1989-11 |
Hanson et al. |
Varo, Inc. |
Head mounted video display and remote camera system
|
|
US4902083 |
1990-02 |
Wells |
Reflection Technology, Inc. |
Low vibration resonant scanning unit for miniature optical display apparatus
|
|
US4934773 |
1990-06 |
Becker |
Reflection Technology, Inc. |
Miniature video display system
|
|
US4961626 |
1990-10 |
Fournier et al. |
United Techologies Corporation |
Direct incorporation of night vision in a helmet mounted display
|
|
US4968117 |
1990-11 |
Chern et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Graded index asperhic combiners and display system utilizing same
|
|
US4973132 |
1990-11 |
McDonald et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Polarized holographic heads up display
|
|
US4973139 |
1990-11 |
Weinhrauch et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Automotive head-up display
|
|
US4988183 |
1991-01 |
Kasahara et al. |
Konan Camera Research Institute, Inc. |
Eye movement inspection device
|
|
US5003300 |
1991-03 |
Wells |
Reflection Technology, Inc. |
Head mounted display for miniature video display system
|
|
US5013134 |
1991-05 |
Smith |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Ghost-free automotive head-up display employing a wedged windshield
|
|
US5028119 |
1991-07 |
Hegg et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Aircraft head-up display
|
|
US5044709 |
1991-09 |
Smith et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
LED array polarized image source/0 degree hologram virtual image head up display
|
|
US5050962 |
1991-09 |
Monnier et al. |
Thomson-CSF |
Display device for ergonomic sights with a large field of observation
|
|
US5053755 |
1991-10 |
Smith et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Automotive head-up display with high brightness in daytime and high contrast in nighttime
|
|
US5129716 |
1992-07 |
Holakovszky et al. |
|
Stereoscopic video image display appliance wearable on head like spectacles
|
|
US5138470 |
1992-08 |
Moss et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Guard holograms
|
|
US5162828 |
1992-11 |
Furness et al. |
|
Display system for a head mounted viewing transparency
|
|
US5184250 |
1993-02 |
Lacroix |
Thomson-CSF |
Device for the display of simulated images for helmets
|
|
US5212471 |
1993-05 |
McDonald |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Polarized heads up display
|
|
US5214425 |
1993-05 |
Wreede |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Superimposed tell-tales
|
|
US5231379 |
1993-07 |
Wood et al. |
Hughes Flight Dynamics, Inc. |
Automobile head-up display system with apparatus for positioning source information
|
|
US5281957 |
1994-01 |
Schoolman |
Schoolman Scientific Corp. |
Portable computer and head mounted display
|
|
US5281960 |
1994-01 |
Dwyer, III |
Silhouette Technology, Inc. |
Helmet mounted display
|
|
US5309169 |
1994-05 |
Lippert |
Honeywell Inc. |
Visor display with fiber optic faceplate correction
|
|
US5320538 |
1994-06 |
Baum |
Hughes Training, Inc. |
Interactive aircraft training system and method
|
|
US5325386 |
1994-06 |
Jewell et al. |
Bandgap Technology Corporation |
Vertical-cavity surface emitting laser assay display system
|
|
US5334991 |
1994-08 |
Wells et al. |
Reflection Technology |
Dual image head-mounted display
|
|
US5348477 |
1994-09 |
Welch et al. |
CAE Electronics Ltd. |
High definition television head mounted display unit
|
|
US5359669 |
1994-10 |
Shanley et al. |
Motorola, Inc. |
Remote retinal scan identifier
|
|
US5367345 |
1994-11 |
DaSilva |
|
Audio-adapted eyeglass retainer
|
|
US5369415 |
1994-11 |
Richard et al. |
Motorola, Inc. |
Direct retinal scan display with planar imager
|
|
US5381267 |
1995-01 |
Woody |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Movable head-up-display (HUD) combiner assembly including locking linkage mechanism
|
|
US5384654 |
1995-01 |
Iba |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Image observation device
|
|
US5392158 |
1995-02 |
Tosaki |
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. |
Head-mounted image display
|
|
US5416876 |
1995-05 |
Ansley et al. |
Hughes Training, Inc. |
Fiber optic ribbon subminiature display for head/helmet mounted display
|
|
US5446507 |
1995-08 |
Chang |
General Scientific Corporation |
Spectacle frame for telemicroscopes and the like
|
|
US5455591 |
1995-10 |
Hui |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Precision high speed perspective transformation from range-azimuth format to elevation-azimuth format
|
|
US5459612 |
1995-10 |
Ingleton |
GEC-Marconi Limited |
Display system
|
|
US5469185 |
1995-11 |
Lebby et al. |
Motorola, Inc. |
Remote sensory unit and driver
|
|
US5491510 |
1996-02 |
Gove |
Texas Instruments Incorporated |
System and method for simultaneously viewing a scene and an obscured object
|
|
US5506728 |
1996-04 |
Edwards et al. |
Kaiser Aerospace & Electronics Corporation |
Dual combiner eyepiece
|
|
US5519410 |
1996-05 |
Smalanskas et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Virtual image display management system with head-up display
|
|
US5537253 |
1996-07 |
Cox et al. |
Honeywell Inc. |
Head mounted display utilizing diffractive optical elements
|
|
US5539578 |
1996-07 |
Togino et al. |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Image display apparatus
|
|
US5576887 |
1996-11 |
Ferrin et al. |
Honeywell Inc. |
Head gear display system using off-axis image sources
|
|
US5579148 |
1996-11 |
Nishikawa et al. |
Nippondenso Co., Ltd. |
Two-dimensional optical scanner
|
|
US5583590 |
1996-12 |
Clupper |
Wabash Scientific Corp. |
Alert monitoring system
|
|
US5585871 |
1996-12 |
Linden |
|
Multi-function display apparatus
|
|
US5589846 |
1996-12 |
Kobayashi |
Olumpus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Head mounted image display
|
|
US5596451 |
1997-01 |
Handschy et al. |
Displaytech, Inc. |
Miniature image generator including optics arrangement
|
|
US5606743 |
1997-02 |
Vogt et al. |
|
Radio eyewear
|
|
US5610765 |
1997-03 |
Colucci |
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Optical path extender for compact imaging display systems
|
|
US5626410 |
1997-05 |
Chambers et al. |
Palomar Technologies Corporation |
Rear projection screen with uniform brightness for tiling the images from an array of projectors
|
|
US5629790 |
1997-05 |
Neukermans et al. |
|
Micromachined torsional scanner
|
|
US5648789 |
1997-07 |
Beadles et al. |
National Captioning Institute, Inc. |
Method and apparatus for closed captioning at a performance
|
|
US5653751 |
1997-08 |
Samiy et al. |
|
Systems and methods for projecting an image onto a retina
|
|
US5654827 |
1997-08 |
Reichert |
Elop Electrooptics Industries Ltd. |
Optical system
|
|
US5654828 |
1997-08 |
Togino et al. |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Optical system and visual display apparatus
|
|
US5671037 |
1997-09 |
Ogasawara et al. |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Head mounted image display having at least four supporting points
|
|
US5673139 |
1997-09 |
Johnson |
Medcom, Inc. |
Microelectromechanical television scanning device and method for making the same
|
|
US5682173 |
1997-10 |
Holakovszky et al. |
|
Image Display device
|
|
US5699194 |
1997-12 |
Takahashi |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Image display apparatus comprising an internally reflecting ocular optical system
|
|
US5712649 |
1998-01 |
Tosaki |
Sega Enterprises |
Head-mounted image display
|
|
US5717479 |
1998-02 |
Rickards |
|
Industrial safety assembly including disposable ear protection and earphone
|
|
US5719588 |
1998-02 |
Johnson |
Nashua Corporation |
Viewing device
|
|
US5744788 |
1998-04 |
Metlitsky et al. |
Symbol Technologies, Inc. |
Voice-activated optical scanning system
|
|
US5751493 |
1998-05 |
Hur |
Daewoo Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Head-mounted display apparatus with a single image display device
|
|
US5808589 |
1998-09 |
Fergason |
|
Optical system for a head mounted display combining high and low resolution images
|
|
US5815126 |
1998-09 |
Fan et al. |
Kopin Corporation |
Monocular portable communication and display system
|
|
US5815326 |
1998-09 |
Takahashi |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Image display apparatus
|
|
US5880888 |
1999-03 |
Schoenmakers et al. |
Hughes Aircraft Company |
Helmet mounted display system
|
|
US5886822 |
1999-03 |
Spitzer |
The Microoptical Corporation |
Image combining system for eyeglasses and face masks
|
|
US5903395 |
1999-05 |
Rallison et al. |
i-O Display Systems LLC |
Personal visual display system
|
|
US5943171 |
1999-08 |
Budd et al. |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Head mounted displays utilizing reflection light valves
|
|
US5973845 |
1999-10 |
Hildebrand et al. |
|
Miniature synthesized virtual image electronic display
|
|
US5991103 |
1999-11 |
Togino |
Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. |
Prism optical system
|
|
US6005720 |
1999-12 |
Watters et al. |
Virtual Vision, Inc. |
Reflective micro-display system
|
|
US6023372 |
2000-02 |
Spitzer et al. |
The Microoptical Corporation |
Light weight, compact remountable electronic display device for eyeglasses or other head-borne eyewear frames
|
|
US6081304 |
2000-06 |
Kuriyama et al. |
NEC Corporation |
Image display apparatus
|
|
US6091546 |
2000-07 |
Spitzer |
The Microoptical Corporation |
Eyeglass interface system
|
| * some details unavailable |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Foreign References: |

|
Other Abstract Info: |
DERABS G1998-240994
DERABS G1999-337508
DERABS G1999-337509
DERABS G2001-024333

|
Other References: |
"The Wearable PC, Wired for wear: IBM researchers demonstrate a wearable ThinkPad Prototype", www.ibm.com/News/Is/1998/09/jp-3.phtml.
"Technical Prototype, See the specifications for IBM's new wearable PC Prototype", www.ibm.com/News/Is/1998/09/jp-4.phtm.
Ferrin, Frank J., "An update on optical systems for military head mounted displays", presented at SPIE's "AeroSense", Apr. 5-9, 1999, 8 pages.
Rotier, Donald J., "Optical Approaches to the Helmet Mounted Display", SPIE vol. 1116 Helmet-Mounted Displays (1989), pp. 14-18.
Ditlea, Steve, "Inside Big Blue", Popular Mechanics, Dec. 98, pp. 54-59.
"Mission Impossible: Video Glasses and Sunglasses, The Absolute Ultimate In Covert Video Surveillance", www.pimall.com/nais/e.vsunglass.html, Oct. 27, 1998, pp. 1-4.
Video I/O interface for wearable computers, M.B. Spitzer et al., Proceedings of SPIE Conference 3689, Helmet and Head-Mounted Displays IV, Orlando, Florida, Apr. 5 and 6, 1999. (Provided herein).
Real-Time American Sign Language Recognition: Using Desk and Wearable Computer Based Video, Thad Starner et al., Perpetual Computing TR#466, MIT Media Lab., to appear IEEE PAMI '98, submitted Apr. 26, 1996.
`WearCam` (The Wearable Camera): Personal Imaging Systems for long-term use in wearable tetherless computer-mediated reality and personal Photo/Videographic Memory Prosthesis, Steve Mann, Digest of Papers of the Second International Symposium on Wearable Computers, Oct. 19-20, 1998, Pittsburgh, PA, pp. 124-131, sponsored by IEEE Computer Society Task Force on Wearable Information Systems.

|


|
Nominate this for the Gallery...

|
|