A newly granted Apple patent for a “device with a removable cushion’ hints at future Apple Vision Pros with, well, removable cushions.
About the patent
The goal is to make the spatial computer more comfortable to wear and more accommodating to different head sizes. In the patent Apple notes that the head-mounted support structure in a device such as the Vision Pro may include a rigid front portion, a flexible rear portion, and support posts that couple the rigid front portion to the flexible rear portion.
The flexible rear portion may at least partially surround a central opening through which the displays in the head-mounted device are viewable. The flexible rear portion may be configured to conform to a face of the user when the head-mounted device is worn by the user.
A removable cushion may be optionally attached to the flexible rear portion of the Vision Pro support structure. The removable cushion may be configured to conform to and directly contact the face of the user when the head-mounted device is worn by the user.
Apple says the removability of the cushion may allow for the cushion to be easily cleaned, easily replaced when worn, and customized to a user’s aesthetic and comfort preferences. The removable cushion may also have a thickness that optimizes eye relief in the system.
What’s more, the removable cushion may have recesses that mate with corresponding protrusions on the flexible rear structure. Magnets may also be included in the removable cushion that magnetically couple to corresponding magnets in the head-mounted support structure. The removable cushion may have a hinge structure to enable greater portability, adds Apple.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure that is configured to be worn on a head of a user. The head-mounted support structure may include a flexible rear portion that at least partially defines a central opening through which the displays in the head-mounted device are viewable.
“The flexible rear portion may conform to a face of the user when the head-mounted device is worn by the user. A removable cushion may be selectively attached to the flexible rear portion of the head-mounted support structure. The removable cushion may conform to and directly contact the face of the user when the head-mounted device is worn by the user. The removability of the cushion may allow for the cushion to be easily cleaned, easily replaced when worn, and customized to a user’s aesthetic and comfort preferences.”
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