System and Method for Determining the Orientation of an Eye

Abstract

In a device or a method for determining the direction of vision of an eye, a starting point or a final point of a light beam reflected by a part of the eye and detected by a detector system, or of a light beam projected by a projection system onto or into the eye two-dimensionally, describes a pattern of a scanning movement in the eye. The inventive method uses a displacement device that guides the center of the pattern of movement into the pupil or macula center of the eye, and a determination device that uses the pattern of movement of the scanning movement to determine the pupil center or macula center.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for determining the position and/or orientation of an eye, comprising:
 detecting light reflected by at least a part of the eye using a detector system of a device,   determining the position and/or orientation of the eye relative to an environment at least partially according to the detected light,   determining an object on which a user is focusing from the position and/or orientation of the eye relative to the environment, and   controlling the object corresponding to a predetermined control program.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein detecting light reflected by at least a part of the eye is based on active scanning and/or passive scanning. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the light can first be actively projected into the eye by means of a projection system, such as a laser, a radiator, and a beam. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining the position of the pupillary center of the eye from the detected light, and   determining the position and/or orientation of the eye relative to the device from the position of the pupillary center of the eye.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining the position and/or orientation of the device relative to the environment from an orientation determining device.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the orientation determining device may comprise a GPS receiver and a pertaining analysis device for determining the position of the device from received GPS signals, and wherein the orientation determining device is fixedly connected to the device. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the orientation determining device may also be fixedly connected with the environment and determine the orientation of the device, for example, by means of triangulation or the like. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 capturing a first camera image and at least a second camera image using a camera by photographing the environment at a time interval from one another,   wherein said camera is rigidly connected with the device, and   wherein the first camera image and the at least second camera image are compared with one another in a common coordinate system for determining the position and/or orientation of the device relative to the environment.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the orientation of the eye with respect to the environment can be calculated from the relative orientation of the eye with respect to the device and the relative position of the device with respect to the environment. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 detecting at least one environment reflex image by the detected light,   capturing at least one environment image using a camera by photographing the perceived environment, wherein said camera is rigidly connected with the device, and   identifying a significant structure in both the environmental reflex image and the environment image and determining the orientation of the eye relative to the environment from the spatial assignment of the positions of said significant structure in the environmental reflex image and the environment image.   
     
     
         12 . A device for determining the position and/or orientation of an eye, comprising:
 a detector system for detecting light reflected by at least a part of the eye, the position and/or orientation of the eye relative to the device being determined from the detected light,   an orientation determining device for determining the position and/or orientation of the device relative to an environment, and   a control device for receiving the signal as to where a user is looking, determining an object on which the user is focusing from the position and/or orientation of the eye, and controlling the object corresponding to a predetermined control program.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the orientation determining device comprises a GPS receiver and a pertaining analysis device for determining the position of the device from received GPS signals, and wherein the orientation determining device is fixedly connected to the device. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the orientation determining device is also fixedly connected with the environment and determines the position and/or orientation of the device, for example, by means of triangulation or the like. 
     
     
         15 . A device for determining the position and/or orientation of an eye, comprising:
 a detector system for detecting light reflected by at least a part of the eye, wherein the position and/or orientation of the eye relative to the device is determined from the detected light,   a camera for capturing a first camera image and at least a second camera image by photographing the environment at a time interval from one another, wherein said camera is rigidly connected with the device, wherein the first camera image and the at least second camera image are compared with one another in a common coordinate system for determining the position and/or orientation of the device relative to an environment, and   a control device for receiving the signal as to where a user is looking, determining an object on which a user is focusing from the position and/or orientation of the eye, and controlling the object corresponding to a predetermined control program.   
     
     
         16 . A device for determining the position and/or orientation of an eye, comprising:
 a detector system for detecting at least one environment reflex image by detecting light reflected by at least a part of the eye,   a camera for capturing at least one environment image by photographing the perceived environment, wherein said camera is rigidly connected with the device,   a determination device which identifies a significant structure in both the environmental reflex image and the environment image and determines the orientation of the eye relative to the environment from the spatial assignment of the positions of said significant structure in the environmental reflex image and the environment image, and   a control device for receiving the signal as to where a user is looking, determining an object on which a user is focusing from the position and/or orientation of the eye, and controlling the object corresponding to a predetermined control program.   
     
     
         17 . The device according to  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a projection system, such as a laser, radiator, and a beam, for actively projecting the light into the eye.   
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the user can indicate, for example by blinking, key pressure or the like, that the user is focusing on the object, or the object can also be determined after a certain time period in which no eye movements or only slight eye movements have occurred that the user is focusing on an object. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the object may really exist, or may be present only virtually. 
     
     
         20 . The device according to  claim 12 , wherein the device may be constructed in the form of spectacles, or may be arranged on or integrated in a frame wearable on the head, or may also be arranged on or integrated in a stationary apparatus, or may be arranged on or integrated in an object which is movable relative to the environment and relative to the user.