Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/011—Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality
  • G06F3/013—Eye tracking input arrangements
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
  • A61F4/00—Methods or devices enabling patients or disabled persons to operate an apparatus or a device not forming part of the body 

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device for making it possible for in particular disabled persons without capability to speak and to move their arms to communi ⁇ cate with the environment, but the device of the in ⁇ vention may also have sound and healthy persons as user group.
• the nursing staff In order to obtain this it is possible for the nursing staff to either show the disabled person a text and ask him to for instance wink two times if he agrees with the content of the text and once if he has another opi ⁇ nion. It is also possible for the other person to say something to the disabled person and he may answer by appropriate winking.
• This person desires also to control said machine or the like in an easy and reliable way.
• Such a control carried out by means of a foot pedal may in many situations 'be unsuitable or not accomplishable, for instance when the person in question carries out the work in the standing position.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a device of the above type which eliminates the draw ⁇ backs according to above for the persons with the above-mentioned communication problems.
• this object' is obtained by providing a device of this kind with means adapted to detect the direction of the pupil of one of the eyes of said person and means adapted to evaluate the direction information from said previous means so as to deliver a signal, the character of which depends on the direction of the eye of a person.
• the means detect in what direction the person is looking and the evaluating means generates a signal which depends on this direction, different directions of the gaze being suitably coordinated with different information which the disabled person wants to communicate to the environment, and the signals from the evaluating means may in this way be decoded in an appropriate manner by a suitable apparatus, for example a computer.
• the information emanating from the disabled person may control any type of machine, may be stored in a memory of a computer in order to later on be read by nursing staff, be led to a room in which the nursing staff stays in order to, for in ⁇ stance, produce an alarm or the like.
• the drawing shows a very simplified, schematic perspective view of the device according to the inven ⁇ tion.
• Parts of the device according to the invention are arranged at mutually fixed distances on a common carrier ( 1 ) , the real configuration of which is not shown in the figure, but which is indicated by a frame 1.
• the carrier 1 is intended to be located in the vicinity in front of one of the eyes 2 of the person in a fixed and very exact position with respect to the eye.
• the proportions of the eye 2 of the person and the carrier 1 will in the practise be completely different from the one indicated in the figure, more exactly the carrier should be thinner than illustrated with respect to the eye, but for the sake of illustration the proportions have- been changed.
• the carrier 1 is dis ⁇ posed on a spectacle-frame-like element, which for spectacle wearers may be constituted by the spectacles themselves.
• the device has a first plane mirror 3 which is so arranged that the light emitted by the eye 2 of the person strikes said mirror and is reflected towards a first lense 4 which is adapted to focus said light, so that it strikes a second, considerably smaller lense 5 which is adapted to influence the light emitted by the eye to strike a comparatively small second plane mirror 6 located there behind, which is so di ⁇ rected that it guides said light towards the cross section surface of a cable 7 with optical fibres. Accordingly, the light struck on said cross section surface corresponds to an image of the eye 2.
• the light information arriving to the cable 7 is led on by this and transmitted to a light sensitive ele ⁇ ment 8, for example a photo diod.
• the light information does here be converted into an image which corresponds to the direction of the eye, which is made possible by the fact that different parts of the eye emit light of different intensity, for instance the light intensity emitted per surface unit from the pupil is considerably lower than the one from the white part of the eye.
• the mutual location of the elements 3-6, the cross section surface of the cable 7 arranged on the carrier and the eye 2 must of course be very exactly fixed in order to render an accurate determination of the position of the eye possible.
• the elements with the reference numbers 3 to 8 form together a means for detecting the direction of the pupil and by that of the eye 2.
• the cable 7 with the optical fibres may preferably be led . to an appropriate place at a distance from the disabled person.
• the information about the position of the eye is sent on from the light sensitive element 8 to an evaluating means 9, which here is indicated by a block and in the practise can be an appropriate com puter unit, which is arranged to evaluate this position information and on different outputs deliver a signal, the character of which depends on the direction of the eye of the person.
• the output 10 may for example through a lead be connected to an apparatus not shown, which for instance may release an alarm at a certain character of said signal .and at other signal characters perform other operations.
• the device has also an apparatus 12 preferably located in the vicinity of the evaluating means 9 for showing a -disabled person pictures.
• the showing apparatus 12 is here only indicated by a block and may in the practis be an appropriate picture-generating apparatus, as for example a slide picture projector.
• the picture shown by the apparatus 12 is through a second cable 13 with optical fibres led to the carrier 1 , on which the extremity of said cable 13 is disposed with 'the cross section surface in the fixed position and so directed that the light from said second cable 13 strikes a third lense 14 located on the carrier, which third lense is adapted to forward the light from the apparatus 12 towards a third plane mirror 15, which is so arranged that it reflects the latter light towards the first lense 4, but beside the second plane mirror 6 and the second lense 5.
• the light from the apparatus 12 will strike the first plane mirror 3 and behind this plane mirror produce a virtual image 16 perceptable to the eye 2, which picture corresponds to the picture gene ⁇ rated by the showing apparatus 12.
• the picture 16 shown to the disabled person has prefe ⁇ rably the form of a "menu", which in the example has been represented by means of four different picture fields 17.
• the different picture fields represent the questions if the person desires to drink something, eat something, carry out his toilet or get a new picture shown by the apparatus 12.
• the different picture fields 17 are located at a cer ⁇ tain distance from each other, so as to force the eye 2 of the person to carry out a direction change which can be registered with reliability when it moves again from one picture field to another.
• the person may in every opportunity of communication with the device first of all look at differently lo- cated signs on a first picture, whereupon a computer connected thereto may define a system of coordinates. After that it is only necessary to assure a fixed mutual location during the continued communication, or possibly check the system of coordinates after a certain number of pictures and if necessary define it again.
• light emitting diods are provided, which shine in the square in question as a confirmation of the release of the desired function by the device.
• these pictures are also shown by the appa ⁇ ratus 12.
• the first plane mirror 3 is preferably semi-transparent, especially in order to make it possible for the person to see the surroundings, but also so as to make it pos ⁇ sible for light from the surroundings to penetrate the mirror and strike the eye 2 of 'the person, so that it is partly reflected by the latter and generates an image of the instantaneous position of the eye.
• a black plate 18 is arranged on the carrier 1 in an appropriate position with respect to the optical system constituted by the elements 3-7.
• the evaluating means 9 is through the output 11 also connected to the showing apparatus 12 in order to render a control of the picture showing carried out by means of the position of the eye 2 possible.
• the function of the device according to the invention is as follows: By means of the showing apparatus 12 and the optical system with the elements 13, 14, 15, 4 and 3 a virtual image 16 perceptable by the eye 2 of , the person is shown. The person directs the gaze towards the picture field 17 corresponding to his wish. An image of the eye 2 which corresponds to this gaze direc ⁇ tion is led- through the optical system 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 to the light sensitive element 8 and then to the evalua ⁇ ting means 9.
• the evaluating means is adapted to, when the gaze of the person has rested a predetermined period of time, the length of which preferably is adjustable according to the ability and the wishes of the user, upon a picture field forward appropriate information through one of the outputs 10 and 11.
• the informa ⁇ tion from the evaluating means brings an apparatus not shown to carry out certain operations or control the showing apparatus 12, for instance when the person in question rests the gaze of his eyes on the lower, right picture field for a change of picture.
• the showing apparatus 12 is intended to normally be switched off at the same time as the detecting means 3-8 is adapted to permanently detect the direction of the eye and the evaluating means is arranged to, if the person during the certain period of time direct the gaze in a direction he otherwise seldom or never look in for a longer period of time, through the output 11 send a signal to the apparatus 12 for switching it on in order to show pictures.
• the device makes it possible for the disabled person to be spared from looking on pictures during periods of time when he does not desire to send any messages.
• the device is also so designed that it through the evaluating means 9, when the apparatus 12 is switched on, automatically switches said apparatus off in the case that the gaze of the eye of the person during a predetermined period of time does not rest on any of the picture fields 17.
• the person can during a predetermined period of time, for example five seconds, rest the gaze on the middle of the picture.
• the output 10 of the eva ⁇ sieing means 9 may be led to an appropriate machine or the like for controlling the same. It is also conceivable that the optical cable 7 is left.out and the light sensitive element 8 is located on the carrier 1 , so that the eye image from the se ⁇ cond plane mirror 6 strikes directly upon the light sensitive element 8.
• the whole device could also be arranged on a carrier 1.
• This carrier could also be designed in unnumerable ' varying ways.
• the elements arranged for showing pictures, the appa ⁇ ratus 12, the cable 13, the lense 14 and the mirror 15 could for instance be exchanged for a slide picture * projector located at a fixed distance from a person, and the first plane mirror 3 would not any longer have anything to do with this picture showing.
• this procedure could be less suitable, since it requires .a fixed position of the head of.the person.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Vascular Medicine (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Eye Examination Apparatus (AREA)
• Position Input By Displaying (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20364724

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (16)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1986
  • 1986-06-04 SE SE8602521A patent/SE453959B/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1987
  • 1987-06-03 AU AU75192/87A patent/AU595897B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1987-06-03 EP EP87904005A patent/EP0270636B1/en not_active Expired
  • 1987-06-03 WO PCT/SE1987/000268 patent/WO1987007497A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1987-06-03 US US07/153,841 patent/US4946271A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1987-06-03 JP JP62503598A patent/JPH082366B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1988
  • 1988-02-01 FI FI880445A patent/FI94213C/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1988-02-03 DK DK054888A patent/DK166561B1/da not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (5)

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