Display eyewear with adjustable camera direction

Abstract

Some embodiments provide display eyewear with adjustable camera direction. In general, one aspect disclosed features an electronic device, comprising: a structure configured to be worn on the head of a user; a camera movably coupled to the structure and arranged to capture images in a field of view of the user; and a display panel fixedly coupled to the structure and arranged to display, to the user, the images captured by the camera.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a structure configured to be worn on the head of a user;   a camera movably coupled to the structure and arranged to capture images in a field of view of the user; and   a display panel fixedly coupled to the structure and arranged to display, to the user, the images captured by the camera, wherein the display panel is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a gimbal movably coupling the camera to the structure, wherein the gimbal allows the camera to tilt horizontally and vertically relative to a resting line of sight of the user.   
     
     
         3 . The electronic device of  claim 2 , wherein the gimbal is configured to move the camera such that an angular position of the camera has a magnitude of up to 90° in any semi-meridian relative to a normal from a front of the structure. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic device of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a motor configured to control the gimbal.   
     
     
         5 . The electronic device of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a controller configured to control the motor based on a control signal, wherein the control signal is provided by at least one of:
 a tilt sensor configured to sense a tilt of the structure, wherein the control signal is based on the tilt, and 
 a distance sensor configured to sense a distance to an object, wherein the control signal is based on the distance. 
   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   the controller is further configured to cause a line of sight of the camera to intersect a resting line of sight of the user at the object based on the distance to the object.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   the controller is further configured to cause an angle between a line of sight of the camera and a resting line of sight of the user to increase with increasing tilt of the electronic device.   
     
     
         8 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the display panel is occluded. 
     
     
         9 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the display panel is transparent. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the structure further comprises:
 a lens disposed in a line of sight of an eye of the user.   
     
     
         11 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises at least one of:
 a frame configured to be worn on the head of a user, the frame including a nose rest configured to rest on the nose of the user, and an ear rest configured to rest on an ear of the user; and   a frame front.   
     
     
         12 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises:
 a pair of eyeglasses.   
     
     
         13 . A computer-implemented method for an electronic device configured to be worn on the head of a user, the method comprising:
 capturing images in a field of view of the user using a camera movably coupled to the electronic device;   displaying the images to the user on a display panel fixedly coupled to the electronic device, wherein the display panel is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user;   controlling a direction of the camera based on at least one of:
 a tilt of the electronic device, and 
 a distance from the camera to an object in the field of view of the user. 
   
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   controlling the camera comprises: causing a line of sight of the camera to intersect a resting line of sight of the user at the object based on the distance to the object.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   controlling the camera comprises: causing an angle between a line of sight of the camera and a resting line of sight of the user to increase with increasing tilt of the electronic device.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by one or more hardware processors of an electronic device configured to be worn on the head of a user, the machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions to cause the one or more hardware processors to perform operations comprising:
 capturing images in a field of view of the user using a camera movably coupled to the electronic device;   displaying the images to the user on a display panel fixedly coupled to the electronic device, wherein the display panel is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user;   controlling a direction of the camera based on at least one of:
 a tilt of the electronic device, and 
 a distance from the camera to an object in the field of view of the user. 
   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   the operations further comprise: causing a line of sight of the camera to intersect a resting line of sight of the user at the object based on the distance to the object.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the camera is disposed above a resting line of sight of the user; and   the operations further comprise: causing an angle between a line of sight of the camera and a resting line of sight of the user to increase with increasing tilt of the electronic device.