| US20080192114A1 | 2008-08-14 |
| CLAIMS (16) What is claimed as new and desired to be~secured: 1. A dive mask with two tiny cameras on the outer frame, and one extra camera on the inside frame; 2 - A dual double face LCD displays integrated on the mask lenses, with a flip-up mechanism up to 180 degrees, to be removable, connected to the cameras in claim 1 ; The displays are right and left, to counter the issue of different eye's vision for a single person; _3 - A plurality of components integrated in said frame, said plurality of components including two rechargeable batteries, a memory card, a microprocessor, and a Universal Serial Bus,; 4 - A controller connected to an input/outptit device coupled to set for selecting one of seven predetermined programming options, which are: a. Power on/off; b. measure eye vision; c. zoom in; d. zoom out; e. safety shield; f. restore last recorded eyesight and; g. record dive; 5. The said output associated therewith is passed to the said inner display and wherein said output is displayed visually on said display; 6. The dive mask display system as in claim 2, includes timing means actuated by said input device, the said timing is meant to show the remaining time in the battery charge, generating a signal indicative of an amount of time remaining for the battery to lose power, wherein said signal is displayed visually on said display; 7. A dive mask display system as in claim 2 is fixed on the mask's lenses with a flip-up top, like a top window, to be partially removable when the mask loses power at the depth where the diver won't be able to ascend so fast. To avoid emergency ascending, the diver may flip the top, and restore the normal eye sight till ascending; 8 - The camera in the inner frame will show the divers eyes and the inside of his goggles/mask to the other companioning divers, in order for them to detect High-Pressure Ophthalmology or divers' panic or for the diving master to advice the recreation diver to clear the mask, or realize symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, or other problems, if any; 9. A memory card is integrated in the mask and associated with the programming option "record dive" in claim 4; 10. A Universal Serial Bus as in claim 4, to charge the battery and download the recorded dive from the mask; 1 1. The controller buttons of claim 4 will require a second press whenever used, as each button will display to the diver a message that requires a second press from the same button, for instance, if the diver accidently pressed "zoom out", the word "zoom out" will appear on the inner LCDs without zooming out, to zoom out, it will require another press on the same button otherwise will disappear after few seconds. Such function is preprogrammed on the processor of claim 1. 12. The system shall include a protective shield to be used in cases of welding or strong sunlight, pressing the "Shield" button, shall turn the inner view to a "sunglass view". This shield is virtually created^ by a preprogrammed filter associated with the view of the outer cameras, and corrected by the processor of claim 4. 13. The shield intensity can be controlled by pressing the same button thrice, and reversed the same way. 14. The dive mask mask display system as in claims 1 ,2,3,4,5,6; may be programmed to recognize marine life and display certain information about it on the top of the inner right LCD corner, to alert the recreational diver about potential danger or be used for educational purposes. 15. The dive mask display system as in claims 2, 1 1 , uses a numeric format to recognize colors and objects. 16. The dive mask will recognize the divers' eyesight before the dive, as the program on the processor uses algorithms to alter an image based on a person's glasses prescription together with a light filter set in the inner LCD display, by putting the normal eyeglasses worn by the person in front of the outer cameras of claim 1 and pressing "measure eye vision" as said in claim 4. The last recorded vision shall be available even if the mask is turned off, until replaced by another recording which may be of a normal vision. The two front cameras may be set on a gliding frame integrated in the mask, to adjust it to the prescribed eyeglasses used by the diver while measuring the eyesight. |
Visually impaired divers
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates generally to dive masks or goggles, and more particularly to a new art of a dive mask/goggle that integrates a triple camera system, a dual LCD display and its control system for correcting the diver's vision and supplying certain information to the displays.
The exemplary embodiments described herein generally relate to cameras, processors, memory, USB battery, waterproof housing and displays.
BACKGROUND ART
Referring to the prior art, there has been no art with the same electronic capabilities. The prior art mainly focused on adding lenses to the mask, as PCT/IB2009/051985 and USPTO US5204700 A. It is not adjustable if the eyesight deteriorates with age or other reasons.
The previous art helps people with certain vision problems to certain limits. It does not help with vision problems as astigmatism, or the like, it does not help the legally blind who can't see without a prescribed eyeglasses, it does not offer the zooming tech or the protective-shading, and in some cases narrows the vision diameter and does not allow the companion diver to see your eyes inside the mask as in
PCT/IB2009/051985. It also neither offers any edttcationai experience nor alerts against certain hazards, example is prior art ~ US3040616 A.
Another prior art to this invention is US patent US5420649A. A diving mask that has a body for sealably engaging a wearer's face. The mask has one or more transparent viewing plates supported by the body, each having inner and outer surfaces. One or more prisms or simply curved lenses are affixed to the viewing plates to improve the diver's field of vision.
This art also does not solve the problem of poor eyesight, as it varies from one person to another, even from one eye to another. It does not help with vision problems as astigmatism, or the like, it does not help the legally blind who can't see without a prescribed eyeglasses, it does not offer the zooming tech or the protective shading, and it does not identify_any marine life.
DISCLOSU RE OF TH E INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dive mask that corrects the divers 'vision and may display certain information.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dive mask and certain information monitoring system that provides the diver with an unobstructed field of view while simultaneously making the- potential dangerous creatures Or surroundings information viewable within the dive mask .
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a diver's companion with a view of the diver's eyes in spite of the mask lenses being covered with the dual double LCDs.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dive mask with a protective shield against the sori Or strong glares that might be caused while welding underwater.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 , a plan view of one embodiment of the dive mask of the present invention is shown and referenced generally by the name "mask". The structural features of dive mask are shown in phantom line fashion so that the components can be clearly illustrated. Specifically, the relevant structural features of the dive mask shown in phantom line fashion are the mask's front cameras 1 , and the inner camera 2 (which is shown clearly in FIG.6); through which a diver eyes are reflected to the outer LCD(s) 4, for the other divers to recognize High-Pressure
Ophthalmology or panic reactions. This inner camera 2, will still show the diver's eyes on the outer LCD even if the diver is using the protective light shield on the Inner LCD(s) 5.
3. is a microprocessor, that is well-known in the art, or other programmable logic device, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or microcontroller. The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein, sending images from the three cameras to the three LCDs may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in the flash memory, Secure Digital (SD), or any other form of storage medium known in the art.
4, 5, are actually Three double faced LCD screens, two represents the inner LCD, with a right part and left part, equal in size and suitable for the mask of the diver, the software shall shade these inner LCDs only in case of using the protective light-shield feature. The outer LCD 6, is one LCD covering the mask from the front, to reflect to the other divers accompanying the diver using this Invention, his eyes all the time. The LCDs are waterproof of course, by being shielded with a waterproof cover, or using the method described in patent CN201608812U; for waterproof LCDs, or any other method known in the art.
7,8, is a reasonable space between the inner LCDs and the outer LCD on both sides, to allow water to flow and stabilize pressure. 9, a USB, short for Universal Serial Bus, used to charge the battery embedded in the mask 15, 3.7v with a max of 4.2v. The battery housed in the mask can be removed and changed, like most cell phones known in the art, and not built in. Power is transferred to the necessary components via conductor(s) as shown in FIG. 4. Circuit of the USB is shown in FIG. 4, this is not something to be protected by this patent as this circuit with many different forms; if well-known in the art. THIS USB shall be shielded by a rubber protective part. It shall also be used to download the data from the memory embedded on the top of the mask 16 via a normal USB cable.
10, 1 1 , 12 are the right control panel that controls zoom in/out, and protective light shield Gn the other side of the mask stays a similar panel with three buttons as well; which are "measure eye vision", "record dive", and "restore last recorded eyesight measurement". 13, on the top, is the power button that operates the mask.
14 is the flip-up mechanism embedded to control the LCDs, it is well-known in the art as shown in FIG. 5. The LCDs are not transparent, thus; the diver will need to remove them up and restore his normal vision, if the mask malfunctioned for any reason or Jost power. FIG.2 shows The LCDs 4, when they are flipped to the top.
The device must read the eyesight of the diver before the dive, by pressing the button "measure eyesight" while placing the prescribed medical glasses in front of the front cameras.
FIG. 3 is an exemplary circuit where the processor is integrated together with the cameras, LCDs and battery. This video switcher described here can display the output of two, three, or four cameras on a single monitor or more. This circuit of the switcher is not an invention according to this patent; it is already well-known in the art.
The advantages of the present invention are numerous. The dive mask provides a diver with a directly- viewable display of potential dangers information without obstructing any portion of the diver's field of view defined by the dive mask. The protective shield is necessary in doing certain tasks or for people sensitive to light. Since all components are embedded in the frame of the dive mask, the components are well protected. A single user control simplifies operation of the system.
Although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced in many other ways other than as specifically described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dive mask that integrates a dive information monitoring system in accordance with the present invention with the mask's screen and frame shown in phantom fashion to reveal the system components; and;
FIG. 2 is a simulated final view of the mask with the integrated parts therein. Water is allowed between the mask glass frame and the LCDs to compensate pressure.
FIG. 3 is the diagram of the circuit where the processor is integrated together with the cameras and battery. This video switcher described here can display the output of two, three, or four cameras on a single monitor or more. This circuit of the switcher is not an invention according to this patent; it is already well-known in the art.
FIG. 4 shows the USB charger circuit, which is also well known inihe art.
FIG.5 is the flip up mechanism, that allows the diver to remove the LCDs if he loses power or in case of any performance issues and restore the human sight. This mechanism is well known in the art in laptop screens, cars flip- down video devices, and the like.
FIG. 6 shows the position of the inner camera
FIG. 7 shows how the art of this patent will look like in an exemplary final view. TH E BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The housing of the embodiments is not desired to add an extra weight or size to the mask (any diving mask may be used), its best mode as housing is the same of diving computers as light aluminum covered with slim rubber or silicon (with a special removable cover on the USB), or the Standard Housing of Go- Pro cameras, that is capable of withstanding depths of up to 131 feet (40 meters).
A microprocessor is the best recommendation, and a flash memory. Any embodied flash memory is the best, not an SD memory, so as to prevent opening and inserting the memory card to the mask, irrorder to eliminate the possibilities of water leaking inside to the embodiments. Positions of the outer cameras should be on the top, so as to make it possible to place the prescribed glasses of the diver in front of each camera to see through and detect the eyesight measurement.
The best mode for processor tech is a Cortex-A9 processor chip with an FPU accelerator, or a 2.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8974 snapdragon 800, Quad-core 2.2 G Hz Krait 400 processor and operating an android system.
The best LCDs are some form of AMOLED technology, usually manufactured by Samsung. The big The best LCDs are some form of AMOLED technology. The big advantage here is that the light from an OLED screen comes from the pixels themselves. Since the display needs no backlight, it can be incredibly thin. For example, the 5-inch Super AMOLED screen in the Samsung <¾laxy S4 is just shy of 2mm thick. LG calls its new technology Advanced One-Glass-Solution (OGS). It involves inserting dual flexible printed circuits between the two LCD layers. The LCDs may be made of Shatter proof glass, Triluminos display, X-Reality Engine, 1080 x 1920 pixels
The best mode for cameras is RC-12 Mini waterproof Camera tech.
The Best mode for USB, is microUSB v2.0 (MHL TV-out), USB Host; magnetic connector, protected by a Waterproofing flap similar to that of waterproof cell phones. The best mode for battery is an 1160mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery
This best mode above does not intend to restrict skilled artisans from any better solutions. The inventor confirms that based upon the written description disclosed; the best mode is flexible for this patent so that a person skilled in the art could practice.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICBILITY
This invention intends to serve the diving industry. This comprises a vast number of applications.
Recreational divers who experience weakened eyesight due to aging or any other reason, without limitation: tourists with impaired eyesight who would like to do scuba diving or snorkeling. Underwater welders, workers, and technicians, rescuers, frogmen, underwater environmentalists, scientists, hockey players and dTving masters.
It is applicable for standard diving mask, an older diving mask with one big window, Disassembled single- window, low-volume dive mask, A two-window, soft-silicone dive mask with or without out purge valve, A HydroOptix Double-Dome mask, or A twin-lens, low-volume diving mask, Aqua Lung (Technisub) Sphera, with wide peripheral view of the type favoured by many Underwater Hockey players, a
HydroOptix Double-Dome mask, or full mask.
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