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US 9,429,833 B1Granted
Projection and camera system with repositionable support structure
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJuli Anna Maria Satoh, Robert Allan Yuan, Navid Poulad, Kebin Sylvia Wu, Jijie Xu, Colter Earl Cederlof
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device includes a projection and camera system to create an augmented reality environment in which images are projected onto a scene and user movement within the scene is captured. In one implementation, the projection and camera system are mounted in a movable housing or head that is supported by a repositionable support structure. The housing can be moved to a desired position and then locked into a stationary and stable position for creation of the augmented realty environment.
Claims20
A device comprising:
- a housing including a plurality of components comprising:
- an infrared (IR) emitter to emit non-visible light into at least a portion of an environment;
- a lens having an associated optical path;
- a projector to project images onto a surface of the environment, the projector configured to project the images along at least a portion of the optical path associated with the lens;
- and
- a depth sensor to receive at least a portion of the non-visible light from the IR emitter reflected by one or more objects in the environment, the depth sensor configured to generate data associated with distances to the one or more objects in the environment;
- a support structure to support the housing, the support structure having at least one arm connected to at least one joint, wherein the arm may be moved about the joint to reposition the housing;
- a releasable brake provided in at least one of the arm or the joint to alternately lock the support structure in a stationary position or unlock the support structure to permit repositioning of the housing;
- and
- locking controller configured to receive a user input to unlock the support structure and in response, to cause the releasable brake to unlock the support structure.
7 more elements
A system comprising:
- a projector to project an image into an environment;
- a support structure to support the projector and to facilitate repositioning of the projector, the support structure being configured to:
- (i) rest in a locked state where the support structure maintains the projector in a stationary position at a first location, and (ii) transition to an unlocked state, the support structure being movable to reposition the projector to a second location when the support structure is in the unlocked state;
- a releasable brake operably coupled to the support structure, the releasable brake configured to alternately lock the support structure in the locked state or unlock the support structure to transition to the unlocked state;
- and
- a locking controller operably coupled to the releasable brake, the locking controller configured to receive input, and in response to receiving the input, cause the releasable brake to unlock the support structure.
3 more elements
A support structure comprising:
- a first joint and a second joint, the first joint being connected to a base;
- an arm coupled to the first joint and to the second joint to support the second joint relative to the base, the arm being movable relative to the base via the first joint;
- a releasable brake mounted in at least one of the first joint, the second joint, and the arm, the releasable brake being biased to hold the support structure in a locked state in which the arm, the first joint, and the second joint are maintained in a fixed position;
- and
- a locking controller operably connected to the releasable brake, the locking controller configured to detect a user input to release the support structure from the locked state, wherein upon detection of the user input, the locking controller causes the releasable brake to release the support structure to transition from the locked state to an unlocked state.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- detecting user input to reposition a projection and image capture system, the projection and image capture system being supported by a support structure having one or more brakes to prevent movement of the support structure when in a locked state;
- in response to detecting the user input, automatically unlocking at least one of the one or more brakes of the support structure to permit movement of the support structure and repositioning of the projection and image capture system;
- detecting subsequent user input associated with completion of repositioning the projection and image capture system;
- and
- in response to detecting the subsequent user input, automatically locking the at least one of the one or more brakes of the support structure to prevent movement of the support structure and hold the projection and image capture system in a stationary position.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.