# US 2019/0377198 A1 · Folded optical designs for eye-mounted cameras

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- Number: US 2019/0377198 A1
- Document ID: US20190377198A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/001,778
- Filed: 2018-06-06
- Published: 2019-12-12
- Earliest claimed: 2018-06-06
- Assignees: Spy Eye, LLC
- Applicants: Spy Eye, LLC
- Inventors: Brian Elliot Lemoff; Michael West Wiemer
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190377198A1

## CPC

- G02C 11/10: {Electronic devices other than hearing aids}
- G02C 7/04: Contact lenses for the eyes (disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00)
- H04N 23/55: Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
- H04N 23/57: Mechanical or electrical details of cameras or camera modules specially adapted for being embedded in other devices
- G02C: SPECTACLES; SUNGLASSES OR GOGGLES INSOFAR AS THEY HAVE THE SAME FEATURES AS SPECTACLES; CONTACT LENSES (trial frames for testing the eyes A61B3/04; goggles or eyeshields not having the same features as spectacles A61F9/00)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

An eye-mounted device includes a contact lens and an embedded camera, which for convenience will be referred to as a femtocamera. The front aperture of the femtocamera faces away from the user's eye so that the image sensor in the femtocamera detects imagery of a user's external environment. The femtocamera optics has a folded optical path, which is advantageous for fitting the femtocamera into the limited space within the contact lens. In one design, the optics for the femtocamera is based on a two mirror design, with a concave mirror followed by a convex mirror. In an alternate design, the optics for the camera includes an imaging lens near the front aperture.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An eye-mounted device comprising:
a contact lens; and
a femtocamera mounted in the contact lens, the femtocamera comprising:
a front aperture facing away from a user's eye and towards an external environment;
an image sensor; and
optics that image the external environment onto the image sensor, where an optical path from the front aperture to the image sensor is a folded optical path.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, further comprising:
a femtoprojector mounted in the contact lens, the femtoprojector projecting images detected by the femtocamera to the user's retina.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where a physical length of the optical path is greater than a thickness of the contact lens.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where the image sensor is oriented parallel to a surface of the contact lens.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where the femtocamera is not larger than 2 mm×2 mm×2 mm.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where the femtoprojector optical system has an entrance aperture with a maximum lateral dimension of not more than 1 mm.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where the optics comprise, in order along the optical path from the front aperture to the image sensor:
a concave mirror; and
a convex mirror.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The eye-mounted device of claim 7, further comprising:
an obscuration that blocks extraneous rays from the external environment from reaching the image sensor.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The eye-mounted device of claim 8, where the obscuration is annular in shape and an inner edge of the annular obscuration is adjacent to an outer edge of the secondary mirror.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The eye-mounted device of claim 7, further comprising:
a sidewall baffle that is external to the primary mirror and blocks extraneous rays from the external environment from reaching the image sensor at oblique angles.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The eye-mounted device of claim 10, where the sidewall baffle extends beyond an entrance aperture of the optics.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The eye-mounted device of claim 7, further comprising:
a solid transparent substrate with the concave mirror on one side of the substrate and with the convex mirror on an opposite side of the substrate, where none of the optical path is in air.

### Claim 13 (depends on 7)

The eye-mounted device of claim 7, where the femtocamera has a full field of view of not more than twenty degrees.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The eye-mounted device of claim 1, where the optics comprise:
an imaging lens located approximately at the front aperture; and
two turning mirrors that turn the optical path so that the image sensor faces towards the user's eye.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The eye-mounted device of claim 14, further comprising:
a solid transparent substrate with the imaging lens on one side of the substrate and with the two turning mirrors on an opposite side of the substrate.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The eye-mounted device of claim 15, where the lens is a curved surface of the solid transparent substrate.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The eye-mounted device of claim 15, where surfaces of the solid transparent substrate are coated to reduce extraneous light from the external environment from entering the substrate.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The eye-mounted device of claim 14, where the lens is a biconvex lens.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The eye-mounted device of claim 14, further comprising:
a baffle that separates a portion of the optical path from the lens to a first of the turning mirrors and a portion of the optical path from the second of the turning mirrors to the image sensor.

### Claim 20 (depends on 14)

The eye-mounted device of claim 14, where the femtocamera has a full field of view of at least 20°.