Apple has been granted a patent (number US 11720145 B2) for a “head-mounted display and facial interface.” It involves the upcoming Vision Pro.
The US$3,499 (and up) “Spatial Computer” was unveiled at June’s Worldwide Developer Conference. It will be available in early 2024 though, apparently, in limited quantities at first.
About the patent
In the patent Apple notes that a head-mounted display such as the Vision Pro generally includes a display, a head support, and a facial interface. The display includes display screens for displaying graphics. The head support is coupled to the display and engages the head of the user to support the display thereon. The facial interface is coupled to the display and engages the face of the user to support the display thereon.
The facial interface may influence comfort of the user, especially when worn for long periods of time, and stability of the head-mounted display on the head of the user. Apple wants the Vision Pro to be extremely comfortable. Per the patent, the Spatial Computer’s facial interface can be configured in different manners to provide user comfort and/or stabilize the head-mounted display on the face of the user. The facial interfaces may additionally be configured block ambient light from eyes of the user.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A head-mounted display includes a display unit and a facial interface. The display unit includes a display for displaying graphical content to a user. The facial interface is coupled to the display unit and configured to engage a face of the user to support the display unit thereon. The facial interface includes an upper portion that engages a forehead of the user and side portions that engage temple regions of the user. The facial interface converts forward force applied to the upper portion by the forehead into inward force applied by side portions to the temple regions.”
