Eye detecting device and methods of detecting pupil

Abstract

An eye detecting device includes an optical assembly, an image sensor and an arithmetic unit. The optical assembly provides a plurality of incident lights. The incident lights enter into eyes to form a plurality of glints. At least part of glints is near a pupil of the eye. The image sensor is used to capture an eye image. The eye image includes images of the glints. The arithmetic unit analyzes the gray scale value of eye image and obtains the distributions of the glints through the gray scale value. The arithmetic unit determines the position of the pupil of eye according to the distributions of the glints.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An eye detecting device comprising:
 an optical assembly providing at least one incident light entering an eye to generate at least one glint near a pupil of the eye;   an image sensor capturing an eye image including a glint image and a pupil image;   an arithmetic unit analyzing a gray scale value of the eye image and obtaining at least one position of the glint according to the gray scale value, wherein the arithmetic unit determines the position of the pupil of eye according to the position of the glint.   
     
     
         2 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 1 , wherein the incident light is infrared light. 
     
     
         3 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 1 , wherein a gray scale value of the pupil image is smaller than a threshold gray scale value, and a gray scale value of the glints of the eye image is larger than the threshold gray scale value. 
     
     
         4 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 1 , wherein the optical assembly provides a plurality of incident lights. 
     
     
         5 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 4 , wherein the optical assembly comprises at least one light source and at least one dispersing component, the light source provides a light, and the incident light is formed from the light through the dispersing component. 
     
     
         6 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 4 , wherein the optical assembly comprises a plurality of light sources providing the incident lights. 
     
     
         7 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 4  further comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit controls the timing that the incident lights are emitted into the eye, and the image sensor captures the eye image at different timing, and the arithmetic unit analyzes the gray scale value of the eye image at different timing. 
     
     
         8 . The eye detecting device according to  claim 7 , wherein the arithmetic unit commands the control unit, so that the control unit controls the timing that the incident lights are emitted into the eye. 
     
     
         9 . A method of detecting pupil comprising:
 providing at least one incident light entering an eye to form at least one first glint, and the first glint is located near a pupil of the eye;   capturing an first eye image including a glint image and a pupil image;   analyzing a gray scale value of the first eye image to obtain the distributions of the first glint; and   determining a position of the pupil of the eye according to the distributions of the first glint.   
     
     
         10 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 9 , wherein the incident lights is provided by an optical assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 9 , wherein the first eye image is captured by an image sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 9 , wherein the gray scale value of the eye image is analyzed by the arithmetic unit. 
     
     
         13 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 9 , wherein the optical assembly provides a plurality of incident lights to form a plurality of first glints on the eye. 
     
     
         14 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 13 , wherein the step of determining the position of the pupil of eye according to the distributions of the first glint comprising:
 selecting a threshold gray scale value;   analyzing a gray scale value distribution in a survey area defined by the first glints;   selecting an area in the survey area to be a specific area, wherein the gray scale value of the specific area is less than the threshold gray scale value; and   determining whether the shape of the specific area matches with the shape of the pupil of eye.   
     
     
         15 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 14 , wherein the survey area is surrounded by a plurality of first glints. 
     
     
         16 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 14 , wherein the gray scale value of the first glints in the first image is large than the threshold gray scale value. 
     
     
         17 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 13 , wherein the first eye image is captured at a first timing, and the method of detecting pupil further comprising:
 providing the incident lights entering the eye to form a plurality of second glints on the eye at a second timing, and at least part of second glints are located near the pupil of the eye;   capturing an second eye image at the second timing, wherein the second eye image including a glint image and a pupil image;   analyzing a gray scale value of the second eye image to obtain the distributions of the second glints, wherein the distributions of the first glints are different from the distributions of the second glints of the second glints; and   producing a difference image between the first image and the second image by image subtraction.   
     
     
         18 . The method of detecting pupil according to  claim 17 , wherein the incident lights entering the eye at the first timing and the second timing individually through a control unit. 
     
     
         19 . A method of identifying iris comprising:
 when an eye is located at a reference position, providing a plurality of incident lights entering the eye to form a plurality of a first reference point, a second reference point and a third reference point located near a pupil of the eye as a mark for locating the eye at the reference position, wherein the positions of the first reference point, the second reference point and the third reference point are corresponding to the emission position of the incident lights;   when the eye moves from the reference position to a measuring position, the incident lights form a first measuring glint, a second measuring glint, and a third measuring glint near a pupil of the eye;   capturing a eye image of the eye including a first measuring glint image, a second measuring image, a third measuring glint image, and an iris image;   analyzing a gray scale value of the eye image to obtain the positions of the first measuring glint, the second measuring, and the third measuring glint; and   Calculating a displacement amount of the first measuring glint, the second measuring glint, and the third measuring glint relative to the first reference point, the second reference point and the third reference point respectively, so as to obtain a deformation amount caused by the iris image of the eye at the measuring position relative to the iris image of the eye at the reference position.   
     
     
         20 . The method of identifying iris according to  claim 19 , wherein the incident light is provided by at least one light source and at least one dispersing component, the light source provides a light, and the incident light is formed from the light through the dispersing component.