Apple wins a patent for possibly adding External Touch Display Controls on a future version of Vision Pro to launch apps & more

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to a Future version of Apple Vision Pro being provided with tiny external displays with icons that could be activated with fingers touching finger sensors under the icons instead of using buttons.

In Apple's patent background they note that electronic devices sometimes include optical components. For example, a wearable electronic device such as a head-mounted device may include a display for displaying an image. Input devices such as buttons may also be included.

Challenges can arise in providing output and gathering input in a wearable electronic device such as a head-mounted device. If care is not taken, input-output devices may be cumbersome to use and may not be able to provide desired output.

HMD's with Finger Sensors

Apple's granted patent covers a possible future version of Vision Pro headset. Head-mounted support structures may be used to support the display and lenses. One or more external displays on the head-mounted support structures may be publicly viewable while the head-mounted device is being worn.

The head-mounted support structures may have a front face. One or more finger sensors that are configured to detect touch input, force input, and/or other input from an external object such as a user's finger may be included in the head-mounted device.

A finger sensor may have an elongated shape that runs along a peripheral edge of an external display mounted on the front face. Finger sensors may also be located on other portions of a head-mounted support structure.

A finger sensor may have a touch sensor configured to gather touch input from a finger or other external object, a force sensor configured to gather force input from a finger or other external object, a proximity sensor configured to detect fingers that are not touching the finger sensor, and/or other sensing circuitry. A haptic output device in the electronic device may provide haptic feedback (e.g., when a user supplies input to a finger sensor).

A display may overlap the finger sensor. For example, an elongated finger sensor may be overlapped by a corresponding elongated display or other display structure. Icons and other reconfigurable visual elements may be displayed on the elongated display (e.g., to implement a reconfigurable function row for the wearable electronic device).

In some configurations, visual elements such as icons can be moved between a first display such as a rectangular main external display and a second display such as an elongated strip-shaped display that runs along a peripheral edge of the main display and that overlaps an elongated strip-shaped finger sensor.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with input-output components; FIG. 3 is a front view of an illustrative electronic device with an area for a front-facing display and an elongated sensor such as a peripheral finger sensor strip; FIG. 4 is atop view of an illustrative electronic device such as a with a finger sensor; FIGS. 5 and 6 are front views of illustrative electronic devices with displays. Enlarge our graphic below to read the extra notes associated with the patent figures.

Apple's patent FIG. 7 is a front view of an illustrative head-mounted device with a finger sensor for adjusting device settings such as lens position settings.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11740742.

Posted by Jack Purcher on August 29, 2023 at 09:45 AM in 2. Granted Patents, HMDs, Apple Vision Pro, Smartglasses + | Permalink | Comments (0)