Peripheral Vision Head-Mounted Display for Imparting Information to a User Without Distraction and Associated Methods

Abstract

A head-mounted peripheral vision display and associated methods display information to a user without distraction. A plurality of light display elements are positioned within an area of peripheral vision of at least one eye of the user such that the information is imparted to the user without a need for repositioning or refocusing of the eye. The information may be determined from data received from one or more sensors and an illumination pattern is determined based upon the performance information. The light display elements are controlled to display the illumination pattern to the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A diffraction-free, head-mounted display, comprising:
 a housing with an attachment mechanism configured to attach to spectacles to be worn by a user;   a boom coupled with the housing;   a plurality of light display elements positioned at a distal end of the boom to direct non-reflected illumination into a peripheral vision area of at least one eye of the user; and   a microcontroller contained within the housing and coupled with the plurality of light display elements for determining an illumination pattern based upon the information and for controlling the plurality of light display elements to display the illumination pattern.   
     
     
         2 . The display of  claim 1 , the plurality of light display elements being configured as a single linear array. 
     
     
         3 . The display of  claim 2 , each of the plurality of light display elements being configured to emit light at a fixed wavelength based on position of the light display element within the linear array. 
     
     
         4 . The display of  claim 1 , the plurality of light display elements being configured as two linear arrays, a first of the linear arrays being positioned directly above a second of the linear arrays. 
     
     
         5 . The display of  claim 1 , each of the plurality of light display elements being a bicolor light emitting diode, the microcontroller controlling one or more of modulation, intensity, color, flashing rate, flashing duty cycle, and fading of each light display element. 
     
     
         6 . The display of  claim 1 , the boom comprising a flexible substrate having position memory to allow the user to position the at least one light display element relative to the eye. 
     
     
         7 . The display of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface communicatively coupled with the microcontroller and having one or more of an accelerometer for detecting movement of the head-mounted display, a proximity sensor for detecting proximity of a hand of the user to the head-mounted display, and a capacitive sensor for detecting a touch of a finger of the user to the head-mounted display. 
     
     
         8 . The display of  claim 1 , further comprising a receiver configured to receive the information from an external device selected from the group including: bike computer, exercise equipment computer, and motor vehicle computer. 
     
     
         9 . The display of  claim 8 , wherein the receiver comprises a GNSS receiver, and wherein the information comprises one or both of speed and distance. 
     
     
         10 . The display of  claim 1 , further comprising a microphone for detecting sound, wherein the microcontroller determines the illumination pattern based upon the sound. 
     
     
         11 . The display of  claim 1 , further comprising an infrared temperature sensor communicatively coupled with the microcontroller that determines the illumination pattern based upon a temperature sensed by the infrared temperature sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The display of  claim 1 , the position of each light display element corresponding to a zone of performance of the user, the information defining a current level of the user's performance and the microcontroller determining the illumination pattern to indicate the current level of the user's performance. 
     
     
         13 . A method for displaying information to a user without distraction, comprising:
 receiving the information within a microcontroller attached to eyewear of the user;   determining, within the microcontroller, an illumination pattern for a plurality of light display elements based upon the information; and   controlling the plurality of light display elements to display the illumination pattern;   wherein the plurality of light display elements is positioned by a flexible boom to direct non-reflected illumination into a peripheral vision area of at least one eye of the user.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , the step of receiving comprising:
 receiving, within the microcontroller, data from one or more sensors; and   processing the data to generate the information.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising sensing an ambient light level and adjusting an intensity of illuminated light display elements based upon the ambient light level. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 detecting motion of the headset using a motion sensor;   interpreting the motion as user input; and   selecting one of a plurality of display modes based upon the user input.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the information is received from a signaling device, further comprising sending the user input to the signaling device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the motion sensor comprises one or more of an accelerometer and a gyroscope. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 sensing sound from at least one microphone coupled with the peripheral vision display system; and   generating the illumination pattern based upon the sound.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , the at least one microphone comprising at least two directional microphones, wherein the microcontroller determines directionality of the sound and generates the illumination pattern to indicate the directionality.