Vision-protective headgear with automatic darkening filter comprising an array of switchable shutters
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsBritton G. Billingsley, Kenneth Jarefors, Kristina M. Magnusson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Protective headgear including an automatic darkening filter with an array of switchable shutters, and including a shutter control system, at least one workview image acquisition device, and at least one eye position monitoring device, wherein the shutter control system is controllably connected to each switchable shutter of the array of switchable shutters so as to control the switching of each of the switchable shutters, and is receivably connected to the at least one workview image acquisition device and to the at least one eye position monitoring device.
Claims23
A vision-protective headgear comprising:
- a curved automatic darkening filter mounted in a forward-facing optically transmissive window of the vision-protective headgear, the curved automatic darkening filter comprising an array of switchable shutters that are each capable of being switched between at least a dark state and a light state;
- and,
- a shutter control system that is controllably connected to each switchable shutter of the array of switchable shutters so as to be able to control the switching of each of the switchable shutters, and that is receivably connected to at least one workview image acquisition device and to at least one eye position monitoring device;
- wherein the shutter control system is configured to receive workview light intensity mapping information from the at least one workview image acquisition device and eye position information from the at least one eye position monitoring device, and is configured to use the workview light intensity mapping information and the eye position information in combination to choose states to which the switchable shutters are switched.
A method of operating a vision-protective headgear comprising a curved automatic darkening filter comprising an array of switchable shutters that are each capable of being switched to at least a dark state and a light state and comprising a shutter control device, the method comprising:
- using workview light intensity mapping information and eye position information in combination to identify a first set of switchable shutters of the array of switchable shutters, which first set of switchable shutters is positioned on a direct optical path between a source of high intensity light in the workview and at least a pupil of an eyeball of a user of the headgear;
- using the workview light intensity mapping information and eye position information in combination to identify a second set of switchable shutters of the array of switchable shutters, which second set of switchable shutters is not positioned on a direct optical path between a source of high intensity light in the workview and at least a pupil of an eyeball of the user of the headgear;
- and,
- selectively switching the first set of switchable shutters from a light state to a dark state and maintaining them in the dark state, while maintaining at least some switchable shutters of the second set of switchable shutters in a light state and/or selectively switching at least some switchable shutters of the second set of switchable shutters to an intermediate state and maintaining them in the intermediate state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.