CA2256922C - Aiming and compositional means for head--worn camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A means of aiming a head-worn wearable camera is described. It is assumed that a head-worn camera will have some form of power supply associated with it, so that the power supply can also be used to provide a plurality of light rays into an eye of the wearer of the apparatus, resulting in an electrically powered viewfinder.
The wearable viewfinder may be used by itself to give the wearer a feeling that the world is seen through a camera, so that a camera may not-be required as part of the apparatus. The wearable viewfinder is constructed so that it appears to others as ordinary eyeglasses. Some embodiments look just like ordinary unifocal eyeglasses, while other embodiments have the appearance of bifocal eyeglasses, trifocal eyeglasses, progressive eyeglasses, or reading glasses. Because of the wearer's ability to constantly see the world through the apparatus, the apparatus behaves as a true extension of the wearer's mind and body, giving rise to a new awareness of photographic composition at all times, whether shooting or simply imagining the process of shooting.

Description

Patent Application of W. Steve G. Mann for AIMING AND COMPOSITIONAL MEANS FOR HEAD-WORN
CAMERA
of which the following is a specification:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains generally to a wearable apparatus that provides the wearer with an viewfinder, graticule, reticule, or crosshairs, similar to or suitable for a camera viewfinder screen, while at the same time appearing to others as ordinary eyeglasses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In photography (and in movie and video production), it is desirable to capture events in a natural manner with minimal intervention a,nd disturbance. Current state-of-the-art photographic or video apparatus, even in its most simple "point and click" form, creates a visual disturbance to others and attracts considerable attention on account of the gesture of bringing the camera up to the eye. Even if the size of the camera could be reduced to the point of being negligible (e.g. no bigger than the eyecup of a typical camera viewfinder, for example), the very gesture of holding a device up to, or bringing a device up to the eye is unnatural and attracts considerable attention, especially in establishments such as certain gambling casinos or other corrupt establishments where photography is often prohibited.
Although public safety devices such as video surveillance systems a,re said to re-duce crime, there are still situations where crime can persist, especially when the perpetrators of the cringe are the owners of establishments in control of the surveil-lance. Thus it may be desirable to have some people wearing personal safety systems instead of relying entirely on one organization for crime reduction.
Although there exist a variety of unobtrusive personal safety devices, such as cameras concealed beneath the jewel of necktie clips, cameras concealed in baseball caps, and cameras concealed in eyeglasses, these cameras tend to produce inferior images, not just because of the technical limitations imposed by their small size, but, more importantly because they lack a means of accurately determining which objects in the scene are within the field of view of the camera to a.im the camera for obtaining a picture having good photographic or videographic composition.
Because of the lack of a viewfinder, investigative video and photojournalism made with such cameras suffers from poor composition. Accordingly, such cameras are often fitted with very wide angle lenses so that the poor aim will not result in missing important subject matter. As a result of these wide angle lenses, details in the scene a.re typically much more poorly rendered than they would be if a normal or tele lens were used.
Thus there is a problerrr in aiming a camera. used for personal safety or investigative documentary.
It is typically desired that a camera viewfinder provide a very clearly defined rectangular or oval shaped outline showing clearly what is included in the field of view of the camera. and what is not. It is also desired that the rectangular outline be in sharp focus along with the subject matter, even though the rec-tangular outline marking is typically much closer to the, eye (since it is located inside the <:amera) than the subject matter in the scene.
Alternatively, or in addition to this rectangular outline, it may be desired to have crosshairs, or a small circular outline, brackets, or the like, to indicate where the center of the camera's field of view is located. Brackets, or a snuall circular outline, may also indicate field of view of a special portion of the image, such as the portion over which automatic gain control (AGC) or automatic focus (AF) is determined.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
It is an object of this invention to provide a wearable viewfinder that may be used without a camera of any kind, so that the wearer can simply imagine what it is like to be shooting, and can hone his or her compositional skills by having a reticle, graticule, crosshairs, or the like, in front of his or her vision at all times, yet look normal to other people while wearing an embodiment of the invention.
It is a,n object of this invention to provide a method of positioning a camera in which both hands may be left free, and in which the direction in which the camera is facing is clearly indicated to the wearer of t;he apparatus of the invention by means of a marking that appears as if it were sviperimposed on the real objects in the scene, and it is desired to do so without the knowledge of others who may be observing the wearer of the apparatus.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means of acquiring a picture electronically where the spatial extent (field of view of the image may be ascertained without having to use a hand to hold any device up to the eye.
What is described is a wearable viewfinder.
Another feature of the invention is that the wearable viewfinder may be viewed in a natural manner suitable for long-term usage patterns.
There are several reasons why it might be desired to wear a viewfinder over a sustained period of time:
1. There is the notion of a photographic awareness that develops if one.
constantly views the world through a viewfinder.
?. There is the notion of a. personal visual diary of sorts, that can be made if shooting pictures occasionally while using the viewfinder constantly.
3. There is the idea of being always ready. By constantly seeing the world through the viewfinder, one can be always ready to shoot. This capability can be com-bined with a retroactive record function, such as a button that instructs a camera used together with the apparatus of the invention to "begin recording from five minutes ago", which may be useful in personal safety (crime reduction) as well as in ordinary everyday usage, st.tch as capturing a baby's first steps or the excitement of the exact moment a gift is opened at a birthday party.
4. There is the fact that the wearable viewfinder system, after being worn for a long period of time, causes a camera used with it to begin to behave as a true extension of the wearer's mind and body. As a result, the wearer's composition and shooting skills a,re often impeccable without even the need for conscious thought or effort on the part of the wearer. Shooting becomes second nature.
This lack of the need for conscious thought or effort suggests a new genre of documentary video characterized by long-term psychophysical adaptation to a viewfinder. The result can be a very natural first-person perspective documen-tary, whose artistic style is very much as if a recording could be made from a video tap of the optic. nerve of the eye itself. Events that may be so recorded in-clude involvement in activities such as horseback riding, climbing up a rope, or the like, that cannot normally be well recorded from a first-person perspective using cameras of the prior art.
It is possible with the wearable viewfinder apparatus to acquire a picture where no apparent difference in body movement or gesture between when a picture is being taken and when no picture is being taken is detectable by others.
It is possible with this invention to provide the user with a means of determining the composition of the picture from a viewfinder that is arranged such that only the user can see the viewfinder, and so that the user can ascertain the composition of a picture or take a picture or video and transmit irnage(s) to one or more remote locations to document a crime without the knowledge of perpetrators in the immediate environment.
It is possible with this invention to provide a means for a user to experience additional information such as an exposure indicator, relevant to the imagery being viewed.
It is possible with this invention to provide a means and apparatus for a user to capture a plurality of images of the same scene or objects, in a, natural process of simply looking around, and then have these images combined together into a single image of increased spatial extent, spatial resolution, dynamic range, or tonal fidelity.
It is possible with this invention to provide a stereo viewfinder means in which there are two viewfinders, one concealed in each eyeglass lens of what appears to others to be ordinary bifocal eyeglasses, or above each lens of what appears to others to be ordinary reading glasses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: Informal review of what the new invention does The proposed invention facilitates a new form of visual art, in which the artist may capture, or pretend to capture, with relatively little effort, a visual experience as viewed through a.n actual or imagined rectangular image frame, from his or her own perspective.
With some practice, it is possible to develop a very steady body posture and mode of movement, by wearing the apparatus of the invention. Thus the apparatus is useful as a training system, or for self-improvement in the domain of photographic awareness.
A typical embodiment of the invention comprises one or more laser diode light sources in a pair of eyeglasses, arranged to produce rays of light entering an eye of the wearer of the glasses. The rays of light produce brackets, c-orners, or the like, marking the edges or corners of an imagined rectangle which the wearer can use as a reference for positioning a camera. either imagined or actually borne by the eyeglasses.
The glasses may or may not contain a camera. Typically the user of the glasses not containing a camera will also own a pair of glasses that do contain a camera, and will use the viewfinder-only glasses for developing a photographic awareness over an extended period of time, in ordinary day-to--day activities.

The version of the glasses containing a camera will generally contain one or more sensor arrays. Typically one or more CCD (charge coupled device) image sensor arrays and appropriate optical elements comprise the. camera portion of the glasses.
O
Accordingly, the present invention in one aspect comprises eyeglasses with a point source of light imbedded inside the glass or plastic material from which the eyeglasses are made, or attached to a surface of the lens material, and wires to connect the source of light to the outside world. The light is so close to the eye that one cannot focus on it, but it does provide a blurry circular disk with which the wearer can orient the glasses in a particular direction with respect to a particular object.
Preferably the light source is nnoiznted outwardly, and there is also a small crosshairs scratched onto the inside surface of the eyeglass lens, so that these will appear sharp within the blurry circular disk, and will appear at all depths of focus, e.g. no matter what the wearer is looking at, the crosshairs will appear sharp and in focus, as if they formed an image with infinite field of view. The crosshairs will appear in the image of the wearer's eye lens, so that particles of dust or dirt in the eye will also be visible within the blurry circle of confusion of the point source of light. Preferably the point source of light is a resonant LED (laser diode). It should be noted that in this disclosure, the term "LED" is used in a wider sense than it is commonly used. In this disclosure, the term Light Emitting Diode (LED) means any diode that emits light, whether it be resonant, or non resonant, or whether or not it has associated with it an external resonant cavity. Thus the term "LED" denotes laser diodes, as well as ordinary LEDs that do not lase.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a plurality of point sources of light either imbedded in the lens material of the lens toward the surface furthest from the wearer's eye, or outside the lens mounted to the surface of the lens furthest from the wearer's eye, with wires running either inside the lens material or on the surface of the lens furthest from the wearer's eye. Preferably, the point sources comprise tvvo resonrlllt LEDs us<~~:1 t<> lnarh the loft and right edges of a, rectangular hovul~lmrv. or four. ogle fc>1 eaLOlc < caller c>f the rectanpllar loowllcl<:Lrv. Pre.ferallly the wires to the light sources are colic c~alc.cl along wlla,t le>ok like orc:linary c'llt lines of a, hifocaLl or trifocal ese~;laas lolls. 1'roferahly tile eyehhLS'c,s contain a cn,lllerza aligllc~<1 with those light sources so that t lm light somo'es c:an l ie used to aim the <;anlera and to determine the composition c~f the shot.
According to another aspect of the iuvelltion, there is provided a, wearallc>
viewfinder system in wllic'h four L slltl,pecl corlle.ra aloe used to clofime the fotw corners of a lect-angular hounclary used to sight: a canlerzL.
According to ancothe,r aal>cc't, of the invcmtion. there: is provided all appaLrent rect-angular acnwce~ of light which lclarhs the field of view of the. canleraL.
Preferallly the rectangular source of light is al ~-~'curC'cnlll~ cln,ta clisl>1u,1~ that 1c>ecl not necessarily be:
1'e5po1151Ve t0 ~l.ll Olltpllt Of' clle ('t1111E'1'~1 lIl ol'(lE'I' tC> l)c' Used a8 a. c'a,ITlel'a ~llllllllg 111~~1,115.
Prefcrnl->ly the c>,lltirc screen will ~ low slightly reharclloss of v~~llal, is clispla.ycd oll it. so that tho r~ctallgular shape-' of ;;lowing light forlls tho llzlsis for a oanlcra, aiming and cxlllpositiona,l aid.
According to another aapect of tlo-' illvc,ltioul. tllelw is provided lllultiple ahparellt point sources of light which <lre r(~~llly just reflections c>f a single point s<nuc:c-, of li~;llt.
in lnlltilolc' mirrors.
According to alnother aspect c~f the illvc~lti(ul, tllore iprovided verb' slllall mirrora ill or on a lens of tlm: ~;la~ses, so that the: worl,ll mirrors will. together with a point source also ill the glasses, d<.fim~ a clirectioll c>f light, vary rnuc:h like a single ray, or snmll enough c'ollectioll c>1' light raLVS tl~a,t it will he perc'~~ived ans a. small point so that an extras olarkillg or sc:rv,tc 1i will not l~(~ nueclecl.
Accxlrding to another mspecn, of tile invmlt.ion, the,ro is provided a hlaLZed mirror with point soLlrc'e tc> clcfine 1111,115- points al<_m~, a vie~~fralllo.
1'r~:fc~rmblV' this viewfralne is used to sight al calls-oral also fix~wl to the ~lusws, a,nd 1.c> cletermine the conlpositioll of a. piottlre.

Acwor~limg to ~l,m<>ther nsI>eot of t:lle illveut i<>lI_ t:here, is I>rovided a l effective grating to ul~Lk~~ a ccnltinncms viewfrzl.lne. I'rcfera.lllv t-leis viewfra.lllc~ is used to sight a c:anlera also fixed i,c~ the ~la~5ea. amt to clcterllline floc collll>c>siti<>Il of a picaure.
Acw>rding to another asI>c-~c t ~>f i:hc illi-eirti~m. tllerc~ is providc>tl a lplaz~d crating to Ill~Lko aI, c:ontinclolls vic~wl~ramnc. I'reforahlv this vic,wfraLltle. is used to sight <l c'.aunera also fix<:d to the glasses, aucl tc> cle~t~ru~iuc~ t,lm c.oml>c>sit,ion of aL
picallre.
BRIEF DESCR.I_PTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invent:ion will now he clc~~;oril>f~d in more cletalil, lIy wyy of exalllple,s which in no w~lv nre meant to lilllit the scope of the inventic>u. but; rather.
these cxa,nlplc;s will serve-' to illustra,tc; the illvclltic-m u-ith refc.rc~,nre. to t;lle ucecmnparling cLmv,ivill~;s, ill wllic~ll:
FIG. 1 illustratces tile ype<u'~.Lllce mud cenlll>rulc-alts <>f tyhioall flat -toI> bifocal eye-glaLSSes.
FIC=. 2 illustratc>s axi older atyle of l>ifowLl e~:eglasses ill wluich the wlt lice rolls along flue entire width of the lmla.
FIG. 3 ilhlstra,tes the c:ouo<mlmeut of a point sonro.e of light inside all eyeglass lolls.
FIG. 4 illustrates how the circle c>f confusion r°reatc~~-I by tll ooncer~,led point source call ho Used to ceutor the sul>jec.t matter ill the field of view of a c anlera also cc>llcealed within tlm eycyl~lssces.
FICI. 5 shows all c:nlhoclinlent cof the invention ill whii:ll t.llere are two point sources c:ollcea,lod within a.Il e~,eglmss lml.~, so that tile left u,ll~l right edges of a roctangula,r 1>onllda,ry lnav be defined.
FICx. 5a shcwvs a toll view. wliilce FICT. 5b ahclws <Ln inside view depicting hoiv th o lularkill~;s are loc'aLllv invert eel. alncl FIG. 5c sliov-,s the vlc:w seed 1w the' wearer when tllP ?~.pp~lZ'Lltll~ 1S lIl Op<.'l'~ltlUlL. ~11<>CVlTI~ hOw th(' 1118rk1I1~5 app('aI' t:() the weal'el' llOt t<>
lx' locrLlh~ iuvertc~d.

FIG. 6 shows ate emlo><limc'ut of the wo~uvxJ~lE~ viewfinder invmxtiott in which the viewhnclcr ex>ntains Four p<>int acmrcees c~f light c:c>nceal~~cl its what ahlo;ars to otlxers to look like an o xdina,ry oyeglass lcell, of orclinacy triE~c>caLl ocnustructiom.
FICx. 6a shows the inside vicvv depict;ing fcntr locally iuvert,c~d "L'' Shaped markings tlmt are locally invorted. r~n~l FIn,. 6b shows the vic>ZV as sc;en by the wc;a.rer; when the device is in ohc~ru,ticm. allowing ln~w tln, four "h' alial>ed markins appear not locally inverted.
FIG. 7 allows am emhoclinxeut ~>f tlxe weurol>le viowfiucler invention whe~rf~
a single point scnwce of light inu>eddecl ita the edge of the glu,ss <->f an eyeglass lE~xts is refiectec:l 1w two car fom vorv small mirrc~rn also itul~e ~lclc-'rl ixt tlte' eyeglass lc:ms, so that the wearer will see these two or frntr point. ac»trces in a ntanne.r similar to that presented in Fig. f>.
FIG. 8 shows an intl>re>v-mmet~t of llxe we'~ural;ale vii-~~whttclc:r invenf.ion ~-lxf~re there are two rows of very sn-tall mirrors, one rc>w clirecaly above the other row;
so that the wearer will see five points mf light cleliuing the toh and 1>ottont of a uec tatyulax:
viewfram<~.
FIG. 9 shows tlxe cotiatrw~ti~m of a f~urt,lu~r inxl>wwc-of version of the wearable vie wfincler itxvc;ntio xi wlxere a. lmlo;~rrtl>lxic process is used t<>
create essentially imfixtitely nxaxxy hoists of light defining tlm oe-lges of a rectatyulor i~iewf~raxue.
FIG. 10 chows t,lie vsc~ of the wcear~~l~le~ viewfimle-'r invention together with a V'c <arG~~,tm (wc~a,ral>If~ c:o.xtier~~ aml «-earable l~rocf~s;;s>r syatetn).
FIG. 11 slxows an enthoc:litl-ellr of the wcearo.l>le vic~wlindc-er invention with Attto-ma,tic: I3riglxtness Contrc>I (r1B<').
FIG. 12 shows twenty e~xmmhle<>f viewfra,nte s suita,lle for nsc: in the catnxera aiming a.ttd conxpositiona,l means of the inve~uticm.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
V~hile the invention shall now he clescriled with reference t,o the preferred enx-I->oolitnEnlts shown in tile. drawings. it alloulcl Ile andorstoocl that the ElesE:ription is not to unlit the invention only to the particttl<lr e:lulo>dilllmlts shou~ll lntt r~1 llE~r to cover all alterzltions, nloclific:atiolls anlEl ~~c:tttivo,le.tlt mrr~l.ll~;~mue~llts poasilplo withia the scope of thE-, ~~pl>endeEl c;laillls.
hl zlll aSpeC'.ts Of th a pl'E'sE'Tlt lt1ve11t1oI1, t'efE'rellCeS t(>
''('~1.111eI'~l'. tlleall ally' <levlC'e OI' collection of dE vic;es capable of sinlltltaueo nsly cic~tEn'lllitlinto:
dua,ntity of li;ht arriving from a plurality of Elirectious a llcl c>r at a. I>lurn,litv of loc~aticons.
clr clE~tfernlillillg some other attrilntte of light arriving from a phtrallity of Elirectiotls and or at a. phtrality of 1oc'.atiolls. Sinlilarlv leferellcc:s to 'wiEewscrm~tl" shall im~lmle nlinia ln'izcd television monitors. conlpnter nlonitc>rs, E:cotullttl-,c~r da,t<1 di,splav lnerlns, or fixe<l display means, where such fixc;El display nlea,ns i~lolucle crwshairs. graticltles, reticles.
llrackets, and other various kinds c>f vie wfru,tllc-~5. E>.tE .. a,s wc-~Il as other video display clevic:es. still picture display devices; A5C'II tE~xt clisplav clevio.nw, terminals; whether such dE:vices clireE:tly scan light onto t,llc~ retilln; c>f the < y~c~ tE> fc>rnl the 1>ercc~ptioll of an inla,ge. or whetllc~r then actually- display ur E~orlll an image or aterizll image. or tile like.
References to "processor" . or v'cc->llllmtc~l''' shall illE:lnclc~
seE~uelltial instruction. par-allE:l instrnEaion, once special purl»~se o.rE~hitc~E tilres such a,s digital siglull proc'E~ssillg ha,lElw~re. Field 1'rE>grallllll~a.l~lo (~z-ate Arrays (FPC~As).
pnogramnlal~le. logic clevic:es, a,s well as analog signal t>rc>cessitl,~ clcwic:c .
R,efc-,rences to Light Emitting Diode (LEI)) shall lee t,~lcen tc> nleatl ally diode that emits light. Thus ttsa,ge is ill re, wider sc;nse teen it is co111tnonlv ased.
In I><trtiomla.r;
within the context of this cliselosuw~ of tllo~ l~rc~sc~llt invcetltion; tile tcl'rn LED shall 1-~e taken to mean ally' diode that emits light. u-hether it he resonant;, or non resoaant, or whether or not it leave vsSOE iii c:El with it rue oxterlm,l resonant cavity. Tents the term "LED'' shall ho ttse d to E1E~11otE~ laser Eliodes. as wE~ll a,s ordina,rv LEDs that do Clot La.se.
when it is said that ol~joct ''1~~~ is ~'loorllc'~ 1>v E>lljE~rt '~B''. this shall inc:lnEle the possillilit,ic-~s thn,t A is attriE:heEl to B, that 1 is I>E>llcleEl c>llto the snrfa,cc E>f B; that A is ixllh<~<ldecl iNSicle 13, tlla.t .~L is I>art c>f I3, that A is hnilt illtc> B; or that A is B. All c .~a.lllple of "A is Q'' llli~llt l>e a. calllc~ra loea,rill~ hair of eyeglasses. ill which tire y~e;lasses thexlselves urc~ a walller~l. ill the sell~c; th<Lt there is a C'CD sensor array-s<nucwllere ill tlro eye~;la.ssc~~. a, lens ssllrlewllf.~re ill rile a e'r-~~la.sses, alld a. cu.vitv l>ctween the' two t:llat is hart of tllo r,ye~lasse-~s. <rllel llas ue> clearly soparallll<e hortioll tlmt crn11~1 llfe regarded as a sellara.te mltitv.
FICx. 1 is a clia,gr<L11 clellicting zL hair of l~ifo<~.<ll oveglasses, and Will serve to dofine the terminology pertaining to varicnls parts of the llifc>wLl fevoglosses, as this t crminol-ogy will lle lsed ill this cliaoloslu'o. Eye~;l~lssc~s aree lcrrnulllv lle.ld llpoN the head of the wcearer llv wav of tonlple siclc~ llic~c:es 110. 'l'hesr, tenlhle side pieces 110 aNhl>ort, ll~~
wa,y of a hinge held on with ri~'c~t~; 120. a frame 130. Within frame 130 are two lenses 140. LeNaes 140 contain inaet lenses 7-50 wllic.h luav have different prescriptions than leNSes 1'10 ill whiclu they nro sot. There is tvl>ic ~L.lly- ~l out: lixlc~
100 l~etweell lens 140 a,lld lens 150.
Ty~hioallv fells 110 will prc>vi~lc~ a llreacrihtioN for distant olljects while inset fells 150 will provide a hrescrilrticnr fmv Ne<Lrly olyjects. Lens 150 is collllll~rllly used for reacliNg. A.ccordillgl~~. lr~lla 14() ul,r,v, ill sc>Nlc cases, lmve iNfinite focal length (zero diohters lolls pow<~r) a.NC1 siNlhlv ~~ervc as if a1111I>ort for fells 150.
which is tvhio.ally aL
lc:NS of 1>c>sitivc focal lc-ul~;tll (c.;;. rl lllzlgllifvill~ glass).
Ill soNle caaos. fells 140 play lr<r lroxr existoNt, a;; ill t~ 1>ica.l reading glaLases, in which lens 150 is mounted clirectlv to fl':LINe 1:30. a.llcl t,llu wearer looks over fra,rlre 130 to see distant oh,jects and looks tllrorylr lolls 150 t<> sc~<~ Nearly c:>l~jects.
IN llall~ Modern multifoca,l weglasses. there is No viaillle cut line 1~~0, a.lcl illstea<1 thc~l'e is a gradual tra,NaitioN frcun the hrescriht,ioxl of fells 140 to that of lens 150.
Sllch 11111tifocal lc.llses are lcllowlr us pmrog~r;.s.5n:z~~~. Tho gc~llf>ral lnN'hc>se of well gradual tT'a1151t1o11 1S t0 a(.'C;()I111110datC' ti ','~LI'1('t~' (-)f <llStflIlC(',5, 111 ~1t11TLt1(7115 Whole th(: WE'~Ll'C'1' normally' has an inallilitv tc> fc>col,~ wcr a.nv ahhrecia,l>le range of distances, as well as for iNlllroved a,llllea,raNOe. ~iu~:x-' tllo need for lnultil~><.<11 lellsos shows zl cleficiellev 1 '?

on the h~~,rt of t: he user, tln~rc> leas lichen ra tr~~ml t<~w<~,r~l hicliug this defioie noy, .just as tlu;re lies l~c;eu a tre,md t-,owurd c mutuet lcmc:.s aucl laser ~~~~e treatments to c-~limimote the need for eyewear altogether. I-lowever, atuic.l t1<-' cle>irc> alloy come to hide: the fact flat they need bife>co,la car wo~u just orcliuauy ~lo.sses. there are others who like to wear oveglasscs. Evan acme people v~ho clo not need eyeglasses often w~:~~r so-calle<l psemlo-intellc:ctu~,l gla sses. which are glasses in which lens 1~0 has infinite fc>oul lcugth. ze,md lens 150 o,lso lms infimitc~ focal length or does mot exist. Moreover.
bifocal eyeglasses aml rere.ding ~;lr~s;;es are c>fteu aasooio.t:ced with iutc-~llectuu,ls. aml thins tleerc-' a.re people who wcmlc-1 rc~<olil~~ wear glasse s lmviug the geue,ra,l n.ppea.r<amce of those clepiotecl iu F'ib. 1. twee if tlies~~ people slid not roquire a presc;ril>tion of arty kiml; especially if t,heae l~eol~lE~ cc»clcl u,lso l~c~uefit from the: iun-eutiou.
The a vogla.ss lenses 140 may ul,e> c:ont<uin markings l i () moclo clircetly ~m t he glees.
5ncl~ nim~kings, for exanil>1e, macy lx~ the ~na,imfacamet ~s uarue or au al-~l~reviation (sue-~li re.s the let,tc-ors wGA'' e~ogzv~v~~cl cm the left lmus of Clic>rgio Arma.ni (T1I) glasses).
For illustration in this ~liac~losuw, the markings ''L'~ mml "R:' donote left a.nd right lea ses; as labeled from t,ln~ loersloective of the wearer. Such markiu~s will help make it clearer whit-.1z lens and ~lhicl~ siele~ <>f the leas is being shown.
FIG. 2 depicas the left len;: c>f an older style of l~if«c al eve glasses. The cut line ext<-mds all the way rierc~ss. ()lcle~n styles ccf 1>ifo>wul es-~e~;lusses such <us that clot>ie.tcof iii Fig. 2 o.re l~ecomiy holmul<ur ~uuou~; srnne incliv iclua,Is, so t1 vt o oyeglusses ~-ith lemes like those depict,e~l in Fig. 2 woulc_l not look l~~~ztioularl~muzsura,l. Lens 24t) is snita,l~le for looking at <Iistzaut ol-~jerta. while lens ~?n0 is snito.hlo fc~r lookiy at mea.r oL>.jects.
Lens 2=IO may lave infinite focal lengtlc (zero f><vver) if flue glasse s a,re intenelecl to he worn by a person who has moruml vision (e.g. does not: need correcaivc:
eyeu~ea.rj. Such a person zuay wear theso ~;1~~5sc~s ,~imph~ f:o f~LCilitvte doing fine s~>lderity, ueecllework, cm the like. icy virt~tc: c>f 1<~msc~s '?50 which may singly serve the sane:
~mrpose os orclinarv magnifying glassos.
Alternatively, lenses 2:>0 and 240 ma.y both he of infinite focal length. a,nd the cnt line 260 tlierc.>l~c~tweeu may: 1>e simply fur c;o stttetic purpose s.
e.g. to provide the wearer with tlu: apCzeari-c,me of n trrzcliticnml iutrelleotmo.l who mi;ht wear old--style lzifczc;al cy-~yla,sscs.
Tlts eyewea,r a depicaed in Fit;. 2 may 1>e c~ntstr~tc tcel tc> meet tl~
prescription of one who reduires Izifc~c~.al t;las,es. cor one wlto requires onlv or<lina,rv unif~wzl glasses, or ouc: wrho reclnirc;s no glasses ; t all.
Acc:ordiugly, the eyewoar as clepio.ted iu Fit;. 2 ntay be coustructec:l for nearly ayyoue; and may also loco used as a 1>a.,sis in whiolc to cc>uceal additional apparatus.
FIG. 3 chows how a, point scmrcce of light ulav loe cottoealed inside the leas tua,teria,l (t.vpicvally glass or lalaatic:) c>f a,tz cyehlu,ss lcms :190.
A satisfactory point acnweee is a very lczw l~c~wer rcwotta,ttt LED (light emitting diode). also known a,s v. Lascer Dic>cle (LD). La.so~r ~lic>dr pa,c~kazge;;
normally cvouta,in a laser diode a,ud a, plzotocliode. where-' the l>lzot,ocliode ttumitors the output and forms part c>f a. feedback loop to tnaintvitt cmnsta,ni, output level. Hov;~e-~veo.
in the in2~e.mtiou rliaclc~ac:rl here, the laser diodes arce of very low power. Iudeecl, t,~~l~ical laser diodes a,re often bright euouglt to da.tnagc> tltc: eye, and are ceri:aiuly too bright to view cc>mfortml~ly; go it is typical that the laser diodes of the iztveution will be ttaecl zit very low lower levels. Accx>rdittgly. m> f~c-~~~<11>aclc 1>hc~t,otlic>cle is normally meoclc~d at suelu low power levels.
Lens 340 maw comprise twc~ separate prescriptions, c>ue prescription. or no pre-scription a.t all, del>eudity ort tlu~ wearer's nceeds or Lack thereof. A thin wire 310;
preferalzlv made of stainless steel or outer utaterial tltai. is silver iu colour, is imbedded czn <>r wit,hiu the lens matcria,l :1-I(). Vice 310 carries c~leotrical current to the anode tertniual of an LED 321) also imlo~d<le<l iu ohe 1<~us material. W%ire 330 carries elec-trical c.mrreut from the oa Mode tc~rmiunl of t;he LED. (I'or purposes of this discloaune ~r~rr,ren.tznrr.~al cu,rre~rr,t, in wlzicl~ c~lc~cf ricity flows frcm plus to minus, i5 used rather than electron czwrent in whiolz elf,o.trons flow frmn mint;; to plus.) LEDs, imlttcliy those c>f the resonant varic,tv (LDs) uorma,ll~~ come in clear plastic luoztsings, which om~ ctnitc la.r~o (~~.~;. cm the order c>f tlirce.
millimeters in diameter).
However. the internals c>f an LED mzov l>c~ izhoedclc:d izcto the lens material 340, so that tlm lens material itaclf forms tlzf~ prot~~c~t ivu lu»sing a.rrnmd those int,<:rnmls. In thin ~~~ay, the LED 320 is tc>c> amu,ll tc> log c~~asily seen lov 11u, tumfclccl eye of som~~cnm who mi);ht he looking at tlzc woaier's eyeglasses. Thus. ao long as the LED
320 is not illurninn,tcd, it, will reuzain casczztvally invisil>lc to otlmers.
r1 miniatnro ahrou<l 321 is t~ pic.<~llv plo.o.cd over LED 3°~0 so that, people otlzcr tl>a,n thc~ wcz~r~r of the gh»ses czccllzot r ,c.sily sec tho light from Lf?I> 320.
If the; LED is of the rcaotzamt variety. it will temc-l to l~rov~i~lc li~;lit c~mtlntt, mostly in the direction toward the' ~-~~arer, so the shrcnul will ~mls~ neocl to lolool: tlzc sum.ll amomt of li;;ht coming out the back that normally drive s the lolmt<>dioclc-' of ~a. fm~cllzack control ystem. This shro izd is typically oracle in au irregular slzaL>e, sc~ that it has the a,ppE;arance of a spec of dust or atZmll pa.t°ticlc of dirt.. The sick fa,cin)tlu~ ~wc~o.rc-'r (<uml 1 .hind the LED
frcuu tlu~ wearer's I>c,rspcctiv<e) is )prcferal>ly I>laolc. whilo the side facing away from the wearer is hrefcrahly dart or dirf,-c:c>lcnuo~c:l, o,tzd my~ comprise dirt or chart particles or other impc;rfect,ions iml>edclo~d into the glass.
As~zm alternative to an LED, a fil~eu oI>tic.. or scintillatiz g filo;r optic.
or other light scnwcc iml~edclc~cl in tlzc glzms nmy 1>c usc~cl.
Vlorc~ovc.r. o, cut lime on t:ho~ izu~i~lc of tluc~ Ala.'s. such as croaslzairs scratched into the glass. ma,v loc uscel t,o pre>,jcc:c this image direcaly onto the retina of the wea.rcr;
so tlza.t it is in focm for a,11 focal clistancc s of tlzc~ wc~ureo's ~iwu eve lens.
FIG. 4 depicts sulyjc:ct tni~ttc~r l~cily c:opttuwd using a,n emulzc~climemt of t;lzc in-vention. In this example, sul>.jcwt znu ter zuav. fc>r examu>le. cwmprisc a.
clehartment store manager or clerk who 1m~ illegally clmiuecl his fire oxits shut, lout vlso (despite the use of video snrveillazzc.~~ iu 111,s dcl~art:mcmt stow<~) liav a store policy prohibiting photo hrahhv 1y catstomcers in tllc ~lepartmcat. ;;t,orc il.c c>rclPr that leis criminal activity is not dc>czumcntecl.
An arlzitra,ry point =110 on tlic pcerpetrat«r radiate s light in a,11 directions, and some of this light may be collec te~cl 1>y a. cwstonxer we<zuimg eveglaaaes in which a video c:aurera lxas been c;olxcealecl.
Light from 410 pa,aaes tlnwugh tlxe c.nstc>mer's cvE~gl<~.ss<;s. in ioa,rticltlar. through a lens 340 of the cuatomex s eyeglassf~s. a.ml t=lieu t.lxrc>ugli lons 420 of ctxst~mo:r's eye 430. Thin light converges to a. I~oiut 490 on the customer's retina.. To the loft of eve 13U is alio~Tn t.le image c>l' t:he <le~p,~rtment store mamvger npom tlxe c:ustomer's retina,, and joint, 150 of this ixuagc coarcspomls to poiui; 410 ~>f tlxe 5ulyjeca matter.
LED :32() is loe:ated in eyegla,~s 1e us 3 1U wlxiclx is vc;ry closo f-o tlm we r~rer's evc~.
Humans with uorxnal healthy vi~iou ca,xx fowzs on ol>,jocas that are l~etweem about 4 inc;le s (approximately l Ocm) a,nd infinity. away from the lens 420 in the eye 430.
Thm ol~jecae such as LED 320 w-lxic:h a,ro c;losc~u thaw 4 inches mxmt appear out of focus. LED 320 is so close tc~ tln-~ eye, in f,xci:. Mat it, will appear cxtrenxelv out of focus. Thce customer will mot lm able t,c> see the 1..ED in lxis eye gla,aaes, and in fact the cuatoxxxer will sec a, very large c ircular -slxaped blob which is the out of--focus image of the point source LED 32(1.
The o.ircular dials that one aces from a pc>ixit aouroc c~f light that is otct of focus is known as the circle o.f confu,si~rrc.
Rays of light from LED :320 a,m~ detxc>tecl by clashed lines which eye lens 420 is too we'a'l: to foc.~us. so that tlxev spr<~rLCI cnxt a,nd strike tho retina at 460, defining a circular disk of light 470. LED 320 is tvpic;ally r<xl or green. au that disk 470 appears as a large cirolf-, of reel or grc<~n light.
T'lxe, cx<~ct alxa.pe of this dish 47() is det,E~rminc~cl by tOe shape of the opening in the-' eye. and disk 470 will also show imi>c-erfc,ctiruns im the eyce lens 420.
suclx rxs c:lust on eye lens -120. or ay- irr~yularitices is tlm eve iris of leas =1'20.
Hon-ever; <lcspite tlu~sc~ irrog~ ~loritios. the cirwxlar llOo 470 will indicate. to the wearer tlu-' direction in wlxic.lx o vi~l~~o comero tlxat liar heem lxirlclen inside:. tlxe y~eglass fxvxues is painting.
Tlrcus tlxe c:uatcnner xuav mrcke use of LED 320 imlxE~<lclec:l in eyeglass lens 340 to lfi orient his wearn,lole ca,rnera in t1~ direction c>f the sizlyject m~tttc,r, and to know that the wljcct matter is ceutcr<-of in tlm wmm~r~u~s field of view.
~Iorcovcr, the colcmr a.ml state of flu-: LED (e.g. ~wlietlmr tlLe LED is flashing, and at what rate. <cnd in the case of a ttmltic:olc»w LED whether it is red or green or wliiohever other cokmrs it may a,swune,) may convey aclclitiozmi,l inforrriatic~m to the wearer c>f the nPpr~,ratl-us.
For example. tyl~ic:~~lly tho viowfinclor ~~pl~<urar,~u of tlm iirvention will eithc,r l:~o used with a, c:a,mera, or he maed tc> l>re-te~m~ wlua.t it, i,s like tc> 1>o shooting with a ca,mo;rn.
Accordingly. LED 320 tVloicallv turns rod to indicatce that a, recx~rclimg device is active.
or a transmitter is active. Tyl>ic.ally the LED legins hashing when hard disk space.
on the rc~eorcliy dcwic;c (topic ally a V'earC'cmul> bufferiy the video to a, hard drive for a glower radio transmitter) is JOc%- full. T1; rate of flashing is tvpic:a,llv used to indicate to the wearer how nmclu dish space re.mairis. Tvhic;~~llv tln; LED
will flash nmch more rapidly wham i.lm hard click is ~)o',% full tlia.u when it. i5 JO''%, foll.
In order that light frcnn t:lm L,ED that might he reficote<1 off of the inside surface of the glass :340. or ofl~ of the v~~~~~~rE;r'~ cove 430. is nc>t seen by others (wu h as the clepartmc~llt atom manager or tlm likce), LED 321) is a,ut<unz~ticnllv adjusted in lwight-ness in ac;corda.rn:e with aml>ic~ut light levels. Often tlm viewfinder a.pharatns of the invention will 1>e aced tc>gntllcer v~it,1 a oamer<u ualwl>lc-' of nmaLwimg the rtnantitv of light rc>c.oive.cl, mud also estimating tlm scc~ue contrast. Fronts this information, a con-trol voltage is provided to LED .'120 so tlmt it l~eoomc~;; l~riht when necessary (anc;h as outdoors on a sunny day) and darker whe.m it does mot need to l~c so bright (such as in a dimly lit corridor c>r stairwell of a clcha,rtment store).
One clra.wba,ek of the iuventic»i <lc~~,c:riloed in Fi;. 4 is tlmt tln~
c°.ircatlar dial: 470 varies in size depending on tlu~ ol>e.ning aucl closing of the iris; of eye lens 420. Thus although it may be usec-l t,o cc~ut,c~r tlu~ sul>,jc;ct Iriattcr in flue vieu-fimler. it: cannot easily W . used as an in<licatcor of tlm extent of coverage of the camera. as with a tra,diticmal viewfiudc;r in which tlu~ riser c:am sc~e wlu~tlmr or not the sulyject matter is wlmlly rc»itained within tlm lif~l<1 ~~f view c>f the emmera,_ FIG. 5 thereforce depicts mm ilt~l~rovod viowfinc:ler irt ~-hich two LEDs a,re ooncea,le<l with wiriy along the <:ot line c~f (or wln~rce t:lm cut lime wcmld be in) u, bifocal oveglass lens 340. LEDs 520 mud 521 nmo lie of similar oonstruct,ion tc~ LED 320 anal may be airnil~rly shrouded so thzut otltf~r~ faciy the clearer clc> tmt readily see the light fnorn LEDs 520 and 521.
u'irc :y10 carries electric current, to LED 52(l. which is cxumected in series wii:h LED 5'?1 1>y wire 511, full~m~c-~cl 1y wire 51'? wliieh cv,c>ml~lete5 the c:irc:uit. If resonant LEDs (LDs) ~rE~ used. it slmuld 1>e noted that limo the powE~r levels are dune low, they may run open loop. a,ncl ma,v in fa,ca , thus lie run in series with nc>
need t:o inclopendently rc;gttlate the' ourrout thrcmglu ea,cli one. In fact, it; is hre:feral~lc~ that the-' LEDs l~c~ wired in se-rice. so tlmt one cure current limiting resistor or o.onst<mt current drive circuit is meedc~<1 to drive lo>tli of them ra.t rc»tghly colmal l>ri~;litm~ss. 5c-,ries wiring has th E: adva,nta~;e that a single v ire mum a,loy the < nt line, or what looks like the wet line of bifocal evel;lassr~s.
Preferably wire 510. 511. rcncl ~>1'2 is sih~er in colour, rather than copper as most wiro is. sc> tl>at the wire will lmwe tile al>pear~nce of the-~ cut limy of bifocal ~~-c,glnsses.
A aatisfu,<aorv material t,o ttse Eor wire' 51(). 511, mud 512 is nichrom~_ sirza,inle ss stc~~l, or music wire.
FIG. 5a is ~a toC~ view of F'ig. 5, lookiy <ct tlic <-weglass lens 310 on od~;e~. Tlm wrfaee of f:he glass :i40 that fac e~s ~~wav frcun thc~ wc~~~rer is clesi~;nu,tecl a41, while that faeiy tenvard t,lue wearer is clesiguntecl ~s 0-lZ. LEDs 5'?() wml 5'?1 vre iml~e<lcle<I insido the' glass hut loc:r~t<~cl near wu i~» c' a',41. ()n dice other surface 342 arc: scratch marks .550 r~ml 551 which arc con;;trui t<~cl tc> lc>c>1< lilcce hart, of t.l>e optic al cut lines around mornm,l bifocal insets.
Note; in particular, how th<~sr~ c;ut limes o,rmuade in an insidc>--ottt bracket, sh~npe.
to clcfine the viewframe of a. bra,<kr~t shape.
FIG. 5b is an inside view c>f Fig. 5, looking aa.t the eyeglass lens from the wearer's 1 <

siclo. Hare tlxcre are t;wo maLrkiu~;s. and each of theso t«-<> nxarkings is locally inverted.
By locally inverted; whrLt is mo~mut is tlmt ( l.~v vre rotate-ed 180 degree s in tlxe page of t-lie fiytre. from what is to 1w seen 1>v tlxc~ wearer. This inversion arises 1>ecaaxse they will each fornx a mou -invorted image cnx tlu~ rctin~L of the eve c>f the wea.rc:r.
Because we normally see evervtlt.itxg invertf~d on the retina, and ha a come to learn that tlxeso invertr:d objects ~zrc: riglxtside up, ~:vlxen oh~jects rvre.
projected onto tlxe retina upright, they appear iuvor~;c-ol. Tlms to het ol>jec~ts to a,hpear ul:>right. they noecl to 1>c pxo.ject,ed inveotcxl. This inveotixy is locally. e.g. for each point scnuo;e of light. Thus c:adc portion of thc~ viewfrauu~ (each 1>oondary of the viewframe) is rotated 180 degree s (e.g. thrc~otll an angle of ~) in a. l~la.xxe perpencliwxlar to a,n axis frcuxx tlxe. p<>int sourw: corrcapcmding tc> that portion. tc> an eye of the wearer of the glaaaea.
FIC=. 5e is an inside viwv c>f' F'i~. 5. looking a dire ~~y~gla,ss lexm frc->m the wearer's side, bat slxowixxg how it <yope~~u,os when tho LEDs 52() ~~xul 521 a,r~~
turne c-1 on. a,nd the glass is too close to n wc~~a,ror's c~i-ce t:u 1'<>cus on. 1 u5t<-awl, liglxt from LED 52() projects an image of scra,tcli mark 55(l clirc~ctly onto tte retina. c>f the woarer's eye.
Since t,lxe image of sc;rvtc~h nxa.rh :i51) is not i>rvert~cl (e.~;. since it.
is projected directly onto tlxe retina.), it will al~l~eur to the wearer as if it. is invertecl.
This is beca.usce upright objects wre nornxo.lly tno~;~onted inverted (ul>sicle clown) on the retina. and this is what. we are used to. (,Sec for examl~lf', George \'I. Stratteux's 1896 ax~tic:le in the jcnwna,l ~'Psyc;holcigicvzl IiceTiew'~_ e.xititlcel 'venue Prelinxinary Experinxents on Vision" . for an exhl~Lmvtion of uhriylxt imxagc~s cm t;l-xe rot.iua perceived as upside--down.
and psvclxophvsic:al ~LClaptation t;lereto.) It is 1'or this reason tlmt the two halves of tlxe brackets were each l~aokwar<1s (lc>oally invettecl) wlxen xnz~clF~ or inscribed on the, glass or c>tlxer le.xxs material.
~~'lmt the wearer sees is imvamlfacing 1>ra,c.lcets a,s shown in Fig 5c. These a.re seen as dark linen within t=he oirules c>f c°c>nfitsicvn 57() a,nd 571.
Circvles of confusion 570 and 5 71 arise from LEDs ::>2t) axxcl 52-1 respectively. since c~ac:h is a, point aoltree that is too close to the eve for t1c c~re~ lens to fc>e:u a on.
Brackets 550 a.tul 551 a,re cuff iciest to incliua,to to tlu~ wearer what wl>jeca matter will toe within the <wuera~s fic-~Id of viewv a.ml what will not. 1\-lost nota,hlv. lrac:lets 55t) and 551 arc oracle to ma.t<:li e:ractlv tlte: liori~~mtal ficlcl of view c~f the rrmuera, mcl some fraction of the vcui ic~~l fic~lcl c>f coverage of rlcc came oa.
T,ypic:ally this frac,ction of vE~rtic:al coverage is 1~3; so tlmt thf~ u~earcer < <»u easily- imaginE: <L
grid 58() where there arc 12 aclcta,res of size eqwul tc> tlmt: clcfined ly~ cm,c;h 1>rn,ol.ot. Grid 580 is almvvn as ~~
dashed lice because the v~wurer closes uoi: in fa.ot seep grid 58U 1t1: merely inm.ginra it, given the visual cwos 55() acxol 551.
\~Ioreover. ainc;e brackets 551) fmol 551 define the central 1~3 horizontal striln along what will he the final hictiuwe, tlu~ wer~,rer <:u,n concentrate <>n this portion of the frame, and compose a pic;turc a sing flee well--known vrulc of thirds' in which it is suggested that the most artistica,llv plcasint; inmgea usually result: 1>v l>laoiug imhort~mnt auh.ject matter on a 1~3 l~omolary.
Sipco-' the human ceye focuses l >v flexing its lens. rather than moving its lens f'mther or closer to the image plo,no (retina.) like a cmmer~~ clc>es. then the size of the image: seen by the human oye is royghly couat;int with rcapeca to fowus. Unlike: a camera in which magnification of t,ho entire field of view arisos as it foc:uacs on closer objects (sino.e its lens nmves away frooTi the imago l~la,ne rmcl tlu~reforc: t lie f>rinc:ilml distan<:c~ iuc:rE.ases as it focuses on closer ol>jc~cts), tlu~ luunan eve rCmvinta,ius oanstn.nt;
principra.l diatunc:c.
Therefore. the viewframc will mot; only rennin in focus at a,ll time-'s (regardless c~f eye focus) ln>t will also subtend tlm .~r~nme viwal angle, reg~urclless c>f eye focus.
Tyhic~ally both 1>rac.kets will not he simult.aneouslv visible to the eye. The left bracket will he viailMe whmu tltE~ e-~~m; bola tc> tlu~ left. ra:ncl t1e night hracke t will lo-' viaihlc-~ when the o~-e looks to t,hc right, so thal; the eut,ire vi~wfra.me.
although not seen in its entirety. cam lie imagim~d in its Entirety.
Thus the viewfinder of Fig 5 l~ro>vicles the we,aLrer with a pracaical wearol~le camera.
system in which th<~rc; is at) a,wareuess of pic;tltrc: compo sition.
2t) FICx. 6 shown a,u c;nxl~c~oimerit of the wc~aral>le vi<~wlinder system in which tic viewfimlc.r uxeans is ooncealc-'<1 in oyn;;lass ions G40 confit;twed to aL~hea.u a s if it were au ordinary tl~ifoozvl c~yc~~;lass lc~us.
Tlxe name series configuration c~f LEDs as tlm,t clopioted in FIG 5 is usced, lmt, a sccoucl row higher up. in whiclx wire (i LO carries c;lf~c..txioitv to thf~
anode terminal of LED G20 which is comxectc~d in series with LED 621 lw way of wire 611, and in which wire 612 ooml>lct,cs tlxe c-.iro.llit.
Eaten imir of LE Ds has its c»~w < ~urmut lixmitixy resistor c>r the like which is tyhioaLll~-moontecl in the evegla ss frrmxxc~s so that n. sixx~;le sc't of wires ooncealc~d within tlxe frames can power the LEDs. These wires <-ire tvL>ic:ally comux tech tco a waist--worn power supply aml the wiring from tlxo ~laLssc~s to tlm bower wpply is typically w>ncc>aled within an eve~lass safety strap. .A satisfactory evcylass ~<Lfety~ strap for concealuent of wirixx~ is one sold unclex t lxe t rra,de xxa,m<~ O'roalsies" .
FIG. 6a slxows the insi<lce w~frwe :342 of lc~xxs B40 after it has l~eexx nxarked for use with the folxr LEDa dol~ictocl in FICT 6. Four '~L"- shn.L~e~l so.ratcles or similar marks are nxacle on the. inside w~fuco :;=3'? of eyehl~~ss leas 3I0. L 6a() will he sec:xx in tlxe upper left. land corner. L (-i51 will l>e scan ixi the uhl>or right e'orner. L
602 will lie seen in tlxe lower left c;orncr, anti L 653 will lie ~eexx in tie lower right, corner of tlc~
cu,xxxera's field of vic,w.
FICA. 6b shown tlxe inside wrLaLC:c :342 of 1<~ns :34() after it. lm,s locaen marked for nse with tlxe four LEDs deLaicted in I' IG 6. and when it is l~lm;ecl too close to the eve: tc>
focus on. and when further. all four LEDs are turn~ol cnx.
Altlxc»yh each L appeo,rs in it-~ I~roj>er hlm.c~ (e.t;. t:hc upper loft L
zvhpc~z~.rs to tile wearer to he sitl.iatc~cl at flit upper left corner of t-,he fr<xu~c). each-i of tlxexxx is inverted within its correspoxxdiy circh~ c>f coufusicm. LED 620 clefinea a circle of confusion G70. LED 621 defines a circle of ocmfusion 671. L,ED :~'?() defines a, circle of confusion 672. LED 521 defines a circle c>f confusion (i7B.
Note that, it is <zccel>tal~lc; iL ' lesc>, circ:lc-'s of comflxsicm. overlap.
For example 670 '~ 1 may overlap with 672, a may of role c>f cod-union 671 overlap with (>73.
However, so long as t;hF: overlap darn not ext~~tol into the -'L' --sliat>ocl marking tlio apparatus will work fine. For exa.mplc~. as long as circle ol~ o~mfitsion G70 cloc;s not extend into L 652, then L 652 will continue to 1>o clc~~~rly defined. f Otherwise, L 652 will 1>c: seen as a double image.
The apparatus of t,lie inve~ition czzn 1>e used by itself with no c;amera., in order that the wearer can a.tta,im a l~lu~tcyrez,phic; awareness lay viewing the world through the viewfinder over an extemlcxl limo periml, or the a.l>1>a,ratm of the invention ca.n he med with a camera also borne lay 1 he eyeglasses.
When the invention is med wit-,lu a c:aznero" th<~w~ ma~~ 1>e some difference in location between the canu~ra and the ovc-' l~o< a,tion wlmrf~ t lie viewfim:lers is located, introducing some orror in the viewfinder aml caLmera aligumeut a,t, c l«5e clista,m:e. For exanyole, if the wearer wishes to 1oc>k into m-i eyepiece of a teleacc>l>e or ~ui<:roscohe.
tlu-' camera.
will not likely see into tlm c-~y y ~ic~cce. aucl the cmner~a will t.lma~efore ha,vc-a failed to record thin exr>c:rience as the w~~~~rer 1cd roc:tmalh- ~~xperiem:e d it (c.g.
video recorded from the apparatus will fail tc~ show the view tlir ought t1<~ tolesc;cope or mic:roscope).
However, apart from extreme aitua.tio m such a.s this. tlm corresponclE~nc;e between the viewfimler and the c:a,mera will 1>c-' sat,isfa,cic>ry fc>r olyje~c;ts in the range of dista,ncca frcnn the camera c~.orre.spiudiy to norm<ul operation of the camera, nsec~
with the viewfinder apparatus of tile invc-~r~tion. Altorm~tivelv, 11~ camera may be positioned to collect rays of light that a,re~ c c>lline ar with t,lu' rays of light entering the eye from the viewfinc:ler, so that it o.an 1>e uae<l for u~l>,jects at a,ll distances from the < a,mera,.
FIG. 7 shown an embeolimni.~t of the invention in which vary small mirrors 710 and 720 are used to reflect linht fr<nu a siyle point aource 700 into an eye X30 of the weaxor of the glasses. This of rayemerlt is similar to that clepictecl in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. and thug tlmre maw also hoe made markings on t,lue. inside surface of the glass 705 as were ilhistratc.d iu hit;. 5aI>c. a,ml Fib;. (ial~.
Alternatively. mirrors 710 a.nd 720 may lie alacle o~ither alight;ly curved, or made '? 2 stuall enc»tglt that they )enerat~~ nryvs c>f light 71'? ~~ud 7'?2 that l~E~lta,ve. sttflicientlv like single rays of light that tltev no lenyer force large circles of confusion.
and instead pass clirc~etly through the < ettt,~~r of the lens ~'?() of ego-' r:3U tl>
forte stnvll points of light 715 and 725 on the retina of eye =130.
Tlte clashed lirtcea 713 aucl 7 '?:3 de~ttol a the surface norntals of mirrors 71() aucl 720.
Because light is shitting <liroct ly into a ye 13U. it can hue verv lc>w iu iutonsitv such that others will mot likely see tltc' light tlt~ut lea.k;; out of the ahl>aratus. Alterna,tivelv.
there nmv also hoe clwigu of liglcl: scmroe 700 tc> cause it tc> <lirewi-light lorintarih- along ray a 711 and 721 in the dir<~ctic>ns of mirrors 710 u,ml 72().
Tlierc: tna~~ hoe two mirrors 7 10 anc:l 720 for the a.rrmtt~;<-anent of light as was illus-trated in Fig. 5, or there-' nm,y 1>e fcmr mirrors 710 attcl 720. In this ease 710 denotes two mirrors one above the other. and so dogs 720. so tlta.i, the arrangement c>f light, is as clc~t>icvtc~~l itt Fig. G.
FIG. 8 shown an intlproved weu.ra >1<: viewfitulc>r. Five mirrors 810; 820.
830, 840.
and 850. define a row across t,ltc> tc>p of rl roct~ungular viewfrante.
iVlirrors dire-ectly below these, also denoted by 810, 82(). 8:3(). 840. attcl 850. cle:fine the bottom of a rectangular viewfratne. Vlit~rc>rs 310, also demote a. st<LC:lcing care above tl-ie <>tler to define nntltiple vertical points of light. c.rea,ting tlm-, left: c~clge of the; viewfrutlte. and siutilarlv for nrirrc>rs 85(.). In thi, o.ase, point smwce 700 shines out along rays 811.
821, 831. 841. and 851 to illutttitm,t;e respecaivoly mirrors 81(l. 8'?0, 8:30, 840; and 850.
The viewfrante is comprised c>f r<y-s of light e~.onver~;in:; at point 790 in the w-~itt~.u of lean -12() of ewe ~3().
Thus the ntunber of tuiz~r«r~, mad- be incrmn.sed, «r ~, aingle l~lozed mirror or hlazec-l rceflection ~;ratimg tuay ltE~ nsecl t<> ~;etteru,te each of t,l~e top ~,nd bottom of the: viewframe. For the left and right sides, single tall slender mirrors 810 and 850 nm,v be ttsecl.
FICi. 9 shown art alternut<~ elul»~olilmnt of the wearal~lc-' viewfinder system in which a light aensitivc nm,te.rial is nsecl n,lc>ng surface 900, a,trcl is illun tinated 1>v point source 700 for a.n ex1>osmc~. Point. sonroc~ 700 creates ~o done of light 1>otwee~n a.ncl imclu<ling ru,vs J11 and 921. Durinlthe illuminmtic>n of s-»uwe 7()(); o Lo>imt ,wntro.c-' t)0:~ that is coherent with sotzrcc-' 70() c rc~mtc~ r~ oott~~ of light lmt.wecu ~a,ttcl inc:lmliy toys t)()6 an ~1 cJ07. These rays of cliver~iy lil;lzt nre wonvc-ertecl tc> r~z.ys of c~mvergim~ li~l t l>y leas ~)1() which is part of the ntattufuctarinlsystem. Since sc»lrues 700 aml S)OO ~zre coherc;nt a,nd nnztn»,lly cot-tere.nt (they m~e tu~rmu,llv prvrt of a 5in~le laser ae>urce split two ways clarity titan ufactwe) an int erfere~ztwe pattern is orf~~Ltecl a.lc>ng enntlsion 9()0. After this ex1>c>sure, ontulsion S)()0 is clc-~vF~lcy>nol. A sai-isfm tort/ clev~olopnent Lmocess is rL caring process Los ma,y Oe obta,ittc~d with DuPont 1>hot~yolyn~er. so that it is riot necessary to remove mnulsion 900 from within the ~;l~zss to soak it in con~-ettt,ioua.l phocc>graphic film developer.
After development, etntzlaion S.>()0 heecumf~s u, grating that will give rise:. tc~ light rays enterity the c-yc> when illluuitt~aa:~~rl with li~ltt: sotzrc~e 70(). so that lihht soma<~ 905 and lens 1)1() nre no loyc:r nceclcxl. ~I lms itz o,c~tu»1 zzsage, lens t)1() and satire°o S)()5 will he aJ~sent. a.zzd were only present Ior tnan ztfa.cturo.
ProForalolv entzzlsion ))U() will trike:' the f<nnn of two thin lines. ouc-~
rzio>ve the other.
to form the top a,ne1 hottotn of tlo> rf~ctan~;ular viowscr<~~~n, and there' will also he twc~
lines up n,nd clown to form t-.lie' left and right sides of the viewacrc>ett.
During mantzfactlzre. a higlc lower laser of food colcere.nc;e lc,ngth n my 1->e used, u-hile nse after manufactnrc~ nticy l~c with a lower power laser 700 of lesser cc>herertcc:
length.
The L~rocess of ntalcing the reficection ~;ratin~ 1)0U is aimilar to the process of nzalc-in t; a Denisyzzk reffect:ic>n liolcy ~~nt. However, an alternative, entl>oclintent of the viewfinder may- he cottstrm~tec-1 E~c>z~ use in an c~<11;e lit L~rc>oess. or some other process.
F1C. 10 show s ;gin a tnl>oc.linzent of the w~~~raLlole viewfinder cystcm uaed together ,, with a wearable camera avatenz. Gmne,raz, 101() i5 cc>ucea,led in the nose lzricll;e of the glaases. Ofotionally. a 5cecoltcl cvantera 1()20 tray also l>e ccntcealed in the Y;lasSes, uaiy Mean zsplitter 1030 tc> merge the tzvo imal;ca into zc oonnnon center of pro jection.

The wires 1025 from the c;amcerv,(s) rise 1>ondecl to th<~ imsiclc~ of thc~
eyeglass frames 1000 where tlrev arc: c:orrccv,lecl fionu view. C'a.mera, wires travel clown eyeglass safeti~
stra.l~ 10'26. A satisfactory eye-yla,ss sa,f~ety strz~p is tlm hollow eyeklass safety stra,l>
oracle hy° the trade nar a C'roal<ies, or Churns. V~'irint; ornerges from the end of the.
eyeglass sa,fetv strap 108() wlze~ac it, nra,,y l~c~ cc>nc;ealed zurder a shirt of the wearer ref tire glassca. This wiring c-wnt,itr«t~;; our to wl~port lzzlc.h 1028 whic 1r ura,y lie worn on a belt, concealed in a shirt I>c>clcot. or clistril>ute.cl umcl~-~r clothing.
Support hack 1028 cc>mprisw battery pack 1()81, lwowessor 1082. and vie-lc~o tranamittcr 1086.
Parterv pack 1081. provides power for i>roc:essor~ 1082 a,rnl trarrsnritter 1086.
Cameras) 1010 (and 1020) are powered by virtzu~ c~f their comrection to proc:cssor 1082. 1\-Toreover.
battery pack 1081 also provides power 1y~ wa~~ of wires 10'70 to light sorwce driver 1060, which providea a viewfinder in lens 140.
FICi. 11 shows a.n enrl>odimc nt of the wc~a.rahle viewfinder system in which the brightness of the viewfinder is acl.justcd ao tlra,t w-lien entorin g a darkened room. othors Mill not notice the. glow of the eve-~. Li~;lf, sc-nrsor 119() is cornu~ca;ed by wire 1150 to a l~orly worn compzrta,tional system ('VearC'on rp) 1130. «'rearC'oml> 1130 is typioa,llv worn around the waist, hnt rrra~~ also he oorrcoaled under clothing as described in Procec4ings of tho IEEE. Vc>1. 8(i. _'v>. 11. ~ov. l J98, p. 2 ('2:3.~y151-I-cover, also online>
at http:; ~wearc:vllz.c>r~;/l~r<>cicc'n~.lltrn so t,ha,t otlu.~w cannot reaclilv sec the ~~~earC'onzh vlzharaztns. The I~e<orC"ouy is ~;muera,lly~ cc>rmect,r~cl to t,lre Iutcrnet 1y way of a TC~P~II' conneaaic>n so that video from ;z namera louwr~ lzs~ the glaaaes is transn rittecl theoeto.
The camera is comprise-~d of lens 1120 and C'C,')=) setm<~r array 1110 imbedded at the edgF: of the eyeglass lens ruatcrial 1140 which is constructed to provide an effective:
camera location ccr-incidc;rzt with ~jn eee, of the wearer of the glasses. The camera is conrzectecl by way c>f wire 1111 to tlzo W'c~a,rC.'orup 11:30 which is connectccl by wa,y of pn,c;kei, raclicz to the Internet. .~~hl>rc>pria,tu programs c>n the ~Verz,rComp as well as elaewlrere on the Internet, provide for a. person<zl safety avatem with crime notification caI>ahility.

We~l.rComp 1130 c(uttr(lls tllc-, inrclsit;v (>f t>oint so twee 70() by signal 1107, in ac-cor(lance with the briglttltess (1f the s<:ene as roporte(1 1v 1ig11t se.lsor 1190. In this wav, the re(1 plow (>f an (~ye of tlu~ wearer that alight otherwise appear to lle ilhlni-nate.cl ill reel laser light when (=llt(~rillt; az (Otrk rc>onl will log supprE;swol by Atltou latic Brightn(as Contr(>l (ABC) i1111~1entc-~llte(1 ill tho ~eo,rC'olly 11~>0.
'~'h('Il the ('21,111('1'~l 51~;11~11 111-1 1N (>1)('1'~ltl(1I1~11, tllP
<;alll('I'a 11121,1' t~l.lCe tllE' pla(:e Of Nell-sor 119(). lmt when the (:all~ra is tlt 1>('ing llsc~(l, light se llsor 1190 provides WearConlp 1130 with inforllat,ion to o(->ntr(11 the, brightlc.ss of point sonr('.e 700.
Tll(~ reas(>n for having sens(>r 1-1.90 is that wltolt tile cmller~l is not lleing used, vid(~«
capture har(lwaro atld the. (:mm(~ro c~le.ca,rolic's call 1>e shut (lc>wll. )-olt th(e viewfinder call still he active at all times. i~for(~over. sllonld the we~l,rer mish t,o shpt clown '~'earColllp 1130 to save battery power. or tllo like>, tlle.re is puovicl(~d a third route of signal flow r,o control the briglltrlcss o:F point wnrce 7 00. 'This thir(I ( c >lltrol mecllanisln is provided by wav of a direct and v(~ry silliyle azllplification of sensor 1190 by control circuit 1180. Control circltit 118(1 is little more than a sinl111e amplifier; a.ld thus redllires very littl(: llrlttery power. 5ignol L 1 r0 is tlnls tile control signal when both the camera and the WearC'oulp are sbtlt: (lov,~ll. The viwvfinder (~<111 thus roll at all times. even when n(>t shooting, or computing.
W'lll.t is Meant 1>y AB(..' is yv alttollltic lwil;htlle;ss (x>ltrol system ill which the llrigllt,ness of the vi(~wfirld(~r varies in ~ux.or(la,llc.o with t; he illlmination or llrightness of the environment, or with a i>rc(liction of wzlne. Tlllls ABC play, for example. take forms suc:ll as:
~ Vothing lllorf-' tllall a ph(>t(>( (:11 controllillt; the ltri~;lltness of n point source of light.
nothing more thalt o solazr .-:e11 p(>wering a point source of light.
~ A sophisticated control ystenl ltsing al processor.
~ A signal derived frc>1t ~u c ~~mor~ t(> ('(>11,1'0l the, 1>ri~;111,lless of a light soclrce.

~ A aignal Elerivecl front a ~~%E',lrC'olllp which ulc)nitors ;lny light:
sensin g app<lrlltus, W11<,'1'c' 11 E'LLlltE'I'Ll 15 ?11l E'?i?ltlll)1E' <)f 11, llg'ht 5E'I15111~,' ~l1)l)~Ll'21.t115.
The sv stem ntav halve a full cc)lllute,r Elispla~,- hornE' 1y the eyeglasses, ill aclditic)l to tile sinllole viE'wfin<lE~r nlfals nlsE) 1)ornc I)~' tllc, c'y~cghlsses;
c>r, alterna,tivoly, a Bull cc>n lputer cli~l)laLy borne 1y tllc' cy.'yla ses clay itself. 1)v «~a~' of a raster image or the like, define a, i le~~sE:reell. I11 this c <l,sE~, tile vvcarer neeE1 nc)t LlcE:essarilv use it to Elisplay 1111 Olltpllt 8'0111 t11(' ('~,I1181'~), 111 ()1'~lE'1' t0 llSC' It :1S 11 c'alllc'1'a allllllg E>l' COITlp051tlOllal Llid. In particular, the mere existflc~: of a rl~ste:~r, whether it display int~~;es or .just a scii text such as electronic mail. will facilit,lltc ainlinl; the ca,lnera if the oanlera is fixed to the eve glasses ill such a wav that the oltl.ilc of the raster corresponds with the field of view of the c'a.ltler<l for olyject,s locatc;E:1 ill tlu-' ra,n~e of distallcE~s frE)nl the cllmera Exlrrespoll<ling tco llorntal c)1)erati(>n of tltc c;aulc:ra. In this way thE: woarer of tile apparatus nl<lv be rE:nElirt~; entail or the like. Lillel then slul(lenlv use tile entail raster to ain l the camera to t111:E' a picture, (for ex~1,1111z1E~ to docunlerlt a crime or son le similar unexpected activitvj. ~ltllcnl~;h the cllllera ncEel not share ex~,E~.tl~-~ the aallle:
effective E;enter of prcyjectiE)n (~r c'ffective ol)ticzrl alxis Lls the 1>Llth front tllEe clisphw 1'~IStE',1' lllt0 11,11 eye Of the WE?aI'er, t 11E' ahg11111c'Tlt 1111),y%
Stlll l->E' lllade E)Vel' 11 c'e,rttllll rt3,llgc' of distances. sllc:h a s 30 centimeters to infinity. Tllus one ellll>oE-1i111E:11t of the illi-~elltioll involves alignment of a cauler<l ill E)r on a hair of eyeglasses such that objects fron l about 30 cc>lltinleters to infinity ~lrc~ ill the fic'1c1 of view of t;llE-) callleral when the weal'er of the glasses saes these c)1),jecia y)loear as if they are witllilt the raster of tho display oven when the display is lot rc'sponsive tc) all Ellltput of the E:alnera. Of cc)llrse the wearer could likely clisplyy all image (or invoke an electrc)nic vic)wfinder if the ca,lnera.
were so-connecaecl) it i8 not neE ~.swa,ry that the wearEer Elo this in order t,o llse tllc:
apparatus of the camera Llinling Llllcl c~olllpE)sitiE)llal inventic)n. While the display of the' "'carC.'onlp play toe lllm:col EIVE'r the lE~ft oyo, thE' right E;ve, clr laoth eyes (st;erc:o).
It play' be 80 pltl('.c'd th'c7.t E'Itll('I' t~.l~' clE>llllllll,llt: l'VE' Vlew 11111,tChE~S th<' ca.lnE;ra VleW, ol' that the camera is useEl E)cel Eliatltnces l)ey'c)ncl which tllE' ina.c:curac;ies of wrong--eve 2r ('.alllE'I'a1 alllllllg well I1t>t 111<1l1('O ( ~:('t~SNIVt-' V1('u'fl'LLlIIP
I)~lI"<111L1X E:1'1'OI'.
FICi. 12 shows tWC;Iltv exmllll~les czf viowfranles, arro.ngeEl foul' across anEl five-dowel. The Upper left, E-~x~z111h1~_~ currE-~spEUlcls to tlle~ <llmve--ElE~scrit>ed disllil,y raster vicwfindE;r in which a,1 xterll (a v,c,xt sEVreen) Iill;~ flee entirE> display fielEl and nlatche s tllE:~ fiE:ld of view of the camera. Tlle next oxanltlle to i:lu~ right of t,hc xterm is oleo ill which twenty five cil'E les c>f ocnlfzlsion (ont of ft>cus lit;llt ao llrces) form o. llcrc.cived reef angular bcnulclary. T11E~ ulyor rightllo st vic~u-fr~.llle Ex>rresponds to an Ellllodilllellt of the invention ill whiE;h t.W« rs»a~-~; of fivE~ Lllirror fra,Klllc-Alts a.rE~ inllzedded is the lolls material of the eyeglasses to 1:'cHect light frE>m a, sillt;le point; sE»u'ce into an e:ye of the WCarE',I' Of the glaSS('S, E:1'f'atlllg w totill of t('Il a,pparE'llt llgh t 5o111'ce5 that pl'OVldE' 8, clearly defined bounda.rv in which the wearor cull easily inla.g.ine a recaaugular fz'ame of the 1>ictllre to lie conll>E~sed.
Sonlc of the otllor E.xanlillcs <lf viewframes depicted ill this fiurc include viewfranles that ha.vc ''L'' shapcEl or rcnulElf~El >;help's t,o ~lc~fillE~ the fcnlr corners of the rcEaangular field of view of the oanlera. ()tllcr;; are silnph- crossluz,irs ill which tile length and width of the crosshairs lorovidc tlm wE-rarer with an vwu,rellws of the rectangular fielEl of view of the oa.lnera.
The four exanlplca a.loll~; the bottom row arc oxanlplE>s of lcnlgh shapes 1 hat arc fornletl c>n the refills lp ' sllillillg a, jloint scnlrE:e E>f 1ig11t let diffraction gratings (e.g.
acratchings on or ill tile c~~E~gl<u~s lolls material) which u,lso c.:ollvey a sense of a, rect-angllla.r shape. 5onle vicu-fi<lnlES. like tlm one in the l<>u-cx right hand corner of the figllrEl, are ctuite a flit nlorE> illtollse tlla.n others. sE1 ill tllcae cases. the anlo lent of light, heeds to he reduced (a,lld is f<LCt cc>lltrollet l Lmn'E~ ca,rc~fully' to ha,lallce the atmount of 1i~;11t ill the acellt~) so tll<zt tht~ vieuTfralno EloE;,s not obliterate the slllject matter when it is too intense. Likc~wiat~ tllc intensity of the light must be sufficient that tllE~
viewfralne does not facto from visiloilit,v w11eI1 the acclle l~riglztlless is much higher.
It, is for this reason. especially whE;n using sonic: of the more dE>,nse viewfi'alnE s like the one in the lower right Ila,nEl cxlrner of the figure, that ABC (automatic brightness control) of thc~ vic:wframe is sc> iml>orta,nt to au optimal embodiment of the apparatus of the c.a.zz>era aiming and cx>mpositional aplzaratus of the invention.
Tln-' vicwframes of tlu~ invent-,iori arc-' oi~t~~~u not visilzle in their erztiretv, lint. rather.
are partially visible ~lepmcliy on wlzerc. tlzc c-~ye is pointing. This when the wearer of the ~;lassc-~s looks ul~ t<>wv.rcl tlu~ ulycer loft lm,ucl corner of tlm viewfra,me, this ccirmer of t.l>e vicw~franzce bc~c~outes visil>lo 1>n1-, the otlmr pcartions of the viewfra,rnc' maw not, necessarily 1-ze visible. Vevertlzelcesa. the vie>wfra mE: in its entirety can be: imagined.
and it, fc>rnzs a lzasis for l~lu>tcyrulzlzio comlzo sition in the aetme that as the wearer looks <around th<, viowfro.rne, c>lyj~~c t,s entering c>r loavim~ the vie-ewfra,me cam 1>e rea,dilv discerned.
13F~VEhIT~ (>F THE I;~V'>~\TIC) The apparatus of this iuvento>n allows the wearer to exl>crience the viewfinder over a long period of time. For example. after wc~rzriy the apparatus sixteen hours per cla.v For several weeks, it. be,c;ins tc> ftmetic~n as a tree extension of the mind and holy. In this wa:y, hhotogral>hic ~-~c>ml~ositic>u is untch rnorc; optimal, lecaztse the act of taking pictt>re s or shooting vi<-lc~o no longer re~cluires oonsc°iczus tlought or effort.
It~Zoreover. the intentionality of rite 1>ir,tmrc~ taking prc>ceas is nc>t evident tc> others.
because picture-takiy is not tmwer~clecl lm a ~c~srme woh as holding a viewfit.zdc:r object np to the eye. Thu weu.ral~lc-~ vic;wfinrlE~r is an important element of the wearable camera invention allowing tlm we~~trer tc> fexl~E~ricenco evervclay life through a screen. a,nd the,reforo be always ready re culn are a.uything that might happen. or even a nytlzing that might have lzaly>ened lore>vicmsl;v 1y virtue of a gcueraLl photographic awareness that emo;rges when ming tlo~ ilrv~e ut.icnt over a. lzeric>cl of mayv days, c>r many years.
'~hnen used with a wea,raUle c onzera. also l~ruf: by the eyeglasses of the invention.
and properly c;aliloratecl to match the vi~wfinrler. the apparatus of the invention; is useful as a new conzmunicatic.ms ntr~clium, in the context c>f colla,lzorative photography.
collalzc>rative videograplty. a.n<1 t elfyrE pence. L~W reover, the invention may perform yo) other usefl.tl tasks such a,s tunrtiuttiu;; z~,s zt i~crsoual s<zfetv dcvioe attd Grin to deterrent.
lay virtue of its ability to nmin t.aict <~ video cliar~~ tranwnittco:l a,ml recorded a.t multiple remote locations. As a tool l~or 1>l~to ,jonxrtta,lists and rel»u~t,ex~s_ the itxvention ho.s clear achy antagca over other competing technologies.
From the f'oregoin g description, it. will tlnzs l>e evident that the present invention provides a design for a wearable can xeraz with a viewfinder. As varion s changes c:an 1»~ tnaclo in the a.lo vc embodiments uxtd operating methods without departing from the apirit, cn: scope of t,lte itmcntion. it is intenclecl thztt all mza.tter contained in the above description or shown in the acooxnpanvixtg drawings shcntld l>e interpreted as ilha5tra.tive and not, in a limiting sen se.
Variations or ntodificatic>ns to the design and construction of this invention. within the scope of the invention, maze occur to tlzoae shillo~l in the art ui>on reviewing the clia~~lowtre herein. Stwh vuriaticnus c>r modification s; if within the spirit of this invention. are intencleol to he <~m omh~t.ssecl within the scc>I>e of any claims to patent protection issuing upon this ixtveoti<>n.

Claims (62)

1. Eyeglasses containing an eyeglass lens, said eyeglass lens bearing at least one point source of electric light, said eyeglass lens also bearing at least two lengths of wire, said lengths of wire connected one to each terminal of said point source of electric light.

2. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 1 where said point source of electric light is an LED.

3. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 2 where said LED is a laser diode.

4. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 1, where said lengths of wire are approximately collinear.

5. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 4, where said lengths of wire approximately define a horizontal line below the center of the wearer's eye.

6. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 5, further including a camera borne by said eyeglasses.

7. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 6 where said camera is powered by the same power source that powers said source of electric light.~

8. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 6 where cabling from said camera and cabling for powering said source of electric light is concealed inside an eyeglass safety strap.

9. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 6 where said camera is a video camera.

10. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 5 further including a camera, and means of aiming said camera, said means of aiming said camera including a circle of confusion due to the inability of an eye of the wearer of said eyeglasses to focus on said point source.

11. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 5 further including a marking between said point source and an eye of a wearer of said eyeglasses, and further including a camera borne by said eyeglasses, where said camera is fixed with respect to said eyeglasses, said marking within a circle of confusion from said point as seen by said wearer corresponding to an aspect of the field of view of said camera, during normal operation of said camera.

12. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 6 where the intensity of said point source is responsive to an output of said camera.

13. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 6 further including a WearComp, where the intensity of said point source is responsive to an output of said WearComp.

14. Eyeglasses containing an eyeglass lens, in which a plurality of electric point sources of light are borne by the outward three quarters thickness of said eyeglass lens, where wiring connected to said point sources is also borne by said eyeglass lens.

15. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 where at least one of said point sources of light is at least partially imbedded in the lens material of said eyeglass lens.

16. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 where at least one of said point sources of light is completely imbedded in the lens material of said eyeglass lens.

17. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 where at least one of said point sources of light is affixed to a surface of said lens material, where said surface is the surface furthest from an eye of the wearer of said eyeglasses.

18. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 where said plurality of electric point sources of light are LEDs.

19. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 18 where said LEDs are laser diodes.

20. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 further including means of ABC.

21. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14 in which said eyeglass lens has one marking corresponding to each of a plurality of said point sources, said one marking between each one of said plurality of said point sources and an eye of a wearer of eyeglasses containing said eyeglass lens, said marking appearing within the circle of confusion of each one of said point sources, when worn by a wearer of said eyeglasses.

22. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 14, said eyeglass lens bearing at least four point sources of light, said lens bearing between each of said four point sources of light and an eye of the wearer of said eyeglasses, a marking, where the four of said markings form a viewframe on the retina of an eye of the wearer of said eyeglasses.

23. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 22 where said four markings are the four locally inverted corners of a rectangle, said four markings forming the image of the non-locally-inverted four corners of a rectangle when viewed by a wearer of said eyeglasses.

24. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 21 in which a wearer's view of each of said markings, corresponds approximately to the boundaries of the field of view of a camera borne by said eyeglasses, for objects within the range of distances from said camera corresponding to the normal operation of said camera.

25. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 24 where the intensity of at least one of said point sources is responsive to an output of said camera.

26. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 21 further including a WearComp, where the intensity of at least one of said point sources is responsive to an output of said WearComp.

27. Eyeglasses containing at least one light source at least partially imbedded within a lens of said eyeglasses, and further including at least one marking between said light source and an eye of a wearer of said eyeglasses, and in which said eyeglasses further include a camera borne by said eyeglasses, and where said camera is aligned with said wearer's view of said marking within the circle of confusion from said light source, said marking indicating an aspect of the field of view of said camera.

28. Eyeglasses containing a plurality of light sources at least partially imbedded within a lens of said eyeglasses, where said lens includes a marking between each of said light sources and an eye of a wearer of said eyeglasses, where said eyeglasses further include a camera concealed in said eyeglasses, where said camera is fixed with respect to said eyeglasses, where said eyeglasses further include camera aiming means, where said camera aiming means include said wearer's view of said markings each within a circle of confusion corresponding to each of said light sources, and in which said markings will define approximately at least two boundaries of the field of view of said camera.

29. Eyeglasses containing four sources borne by a lens of said eyeglasses, said lens having an "L"-shaped marking between each of said light sources and an eye of a wearer of said eyeglasses, said eyeglasses further bearing a camera, said camera aligned such that the field of view of said camera corresponds with the wearer's view of said markings each within a circle of confusion corresponding to each of said light sources, said markings each defining a corner of the field of view of said camera.

30. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 29, each of "L"-shaped marking being one of the four corners of a rectangle, each of said "L"-shaped marking being locally inverted on the lens material of said lens.

31. Eyeglasses containing an electronic display means, said electronic display means forming an approximately rectangular pattern visible to a wearer of said eye-glasses, said eyeglasses further including a camera, said camera having a field of view corresponding approximately with said rectangular pattern over the typi-cal range of distances between said camera and the subject matter within view of said camera, said electronic display means including at least one source of light embedded in lens material of said eyeglasses.

32. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 31, where said normal operation of said camera includes a mode of operation in which said rectangular pattern is a viewframe.

33. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 32, where said normal operation of said camera includes a mode of operation in which said wearer can take at least one picture of a sequence of pictures with said camera, said viewframe providing said wearer with means of aiming said camera.

34. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 31, where said operation of said camera includes a mode of operation in which said wearer can take at least one picture with said camera, said rectangular pattern providing wearer with means of determining what subject matter is within the field of view of said camera.

35. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 31, where said electronic display means is a data display means connected to a WearComp also worn by a wearer of said eyeglasses.

36. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 35, where said WearComp is responsive to an output of said camera.

37. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 35, having a mode of operation in which said display means is continues to display the same material while said camera cap-tures, processes and stores a variety of different material.

38. Eyeglasses containing a plurality of apparent light sources, at least four of said apparent light sources arising through one of at least four mirrors, where each of said four mirrors is a means of generating the corresponding one of at least four apparent light sources, by reflection from a single actual point source of light.

39. Eyeglasses containing a plurality of mirrors, at least one of said mirrors at least partially imbedded within a lends of said eyeglasses, said eyeglasses further bearing a point source of light, said point source of light powered by electricity, said point source of light embedded in the lens material of at least one lens of said eyeglasses.

40. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 39 where the number of said mirrors is at least four.

41. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 39 further including a video camera concealed in said eyeglasses, where said mirrors reflect light from said reflect light from said point source of light into an eye of the wearer of said eyeglasses, and where the rays of light reflected by said mirrors approximately match the field of view of said camera.

42. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 41 where the intensity of said intensity of said point source is responsive to an output of said camera.

43. Eyeglasses as described is Claim 41 further including a WearComp, where said point source is responsive to an output of said WearComp.

44. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 41 where said camera is powered by the same power source that powers said source of electric light.

45. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 41 where cabling from said camera and cabling for powering said source of electric light is concealed inside an eyeglass safety strap.

46. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 41 further including means of ABC.

47. Eyeglasses containing a blazed mirror borne by a lens of said eyeglasses, where said eyeglasses further include a point source of light.

48. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 47, said blazed mirror defining at least one edge of a viewframe.

49. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 48 where said eyeglasses further include a camera borne by said eyeglasses, where said camera is fixed with respect to said eyeglasses, and where said viewframe is a camera aiming means.

50. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 49 where said point source is powered by electricity, said electricity also providing a power source for said camera.

51. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 49 further including means of ABC.

52. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 49 where cabling from said camera and cabling for powering said source of electric light is concealed inside an eyeglass safety strap.

53. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 48 where said eyeglasses further include a camera borne by said eyeglasses, where said camera is fixed with respect to said eyeglasses, and where said viewframe is a means of awareness of photographic composition.

54. Eyeglasses containing a blazed grating borne by a lens of said eyeglasses, where said eyeglasses further include a point source of light.

55. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 54 where said blazed grating defines a viewframe.

56. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 55 where said eyeglasses further include a camera borne by said eyeglasses, where said camera is fixed with respect to said eyeglasses, and where said viewframe is a camera aiming means.

57. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 55 where said point source of light is derived from a laser.

58. Eyeglasses where a lens of said eyeglasses contains a developed emulsion, where said eyeglasses further include a point source of light, and where said point source of light is electric.

59. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 58 including a viewframe aligned with the field of view of a camera also borne by said eyeglasses.

60. Eyeglasses as describe in Claim 58 further including means of ABC.

61. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 59 where said camera is powered by the same power source that powers said source of electric light.

62. Eyeglasses as described in Claim 59 wherein cabling from said camera and cabling for said source of electric light is concealed inside an eyeglass safety strap.