Apple has filed for another patent (number 20210011298) for the rumored “Apple Glasses,” an augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality head-mounts display (HMD).
One of dozens of patent filings for an HMD, this one is dubbed “head-mounted electronic display device with lens position sensing.” The goal is to accommodate users with different interpupillary distances and make wearing the device comfortable. To do so, the left and right lens modules in Apple Glasses may be moved towards or away from each other.
Interpupillary distance (PD) is a measurement of the distance between the centres of your two eyes and is dependent on whether you are buying eyewear for distance or close up.
To avoid excessive pressure on a user’s nose, sensing circuitry such as proximity sensing circuitry may be used to detect relative positions between the left and right lens modules and facing surfaces of the user’s nose. Control circuitry may adjust the lens modules using the interpupillary distance information for the user and using information from the sensing circuitry to prevent excessive pressure from the lens modules on the user’s nose.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “A head-mounted device may have a display with first and second pixel arrays that display content for a user. A head-mounted support structure in the device supports the pixel arrays on the head of the user. A left positioner may be used to position a left lens module that includes a left lens and the first pixel array. A right positioner may be used to position a right lens module that includes a right lens and the second pixel array.
“Sensing circuitry such as proximity sensing circuitry may be used to detect relative positions between the left and right lens modules and facing surfaces of a user’s nose while the user is wearing the head-mounted support structure. Control circuitry may adjust the positions of the left and right lens modules using interpupillary distance information for the user and using information from the sensing circuitry.”
When it comes to Apple Glasses, such a device will arrive this year or 2022, depending on which rumor you believe. The Sellers Research Group (that’s me) thinks Apple will at least preview it before the end of the year.
It will be a head-mounted display. Or may have a design like “normal” glasses. Or it may be available in both. The Apple Glasses may or may not have to be tethered to an iPhone to work. Other rumors say that Apple Glasses could have a custom-build Apple chip and a dedicated operating system dubbed “rOS” for “reality operating system.”
