Electronic devices with rearward-facing sensors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12345882-B2
Application number	US-202318335671-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 15, 2023
Priority date	Jul 22, 2022
Publication date	Jul 1, 2025
Grant date	Jul 1, 2025

Abstract

A head-mounted device may have a housing with a frame that supports lenses. Each lens may have a positive bias lens element and a negative bias lens element. A waveguide may overlap the lens. During operation, images from the waveguide may be provided to an eye box through the negative bias lens element. An eye sensor such as a gaze tracking camera may operate through the negative bias lens element. The negative bias lens element may have a protruding portion through which the sensor operates, may have a surface facing the sensor that has a curved surface to provide a desired lens characteristic, may have a prism for helping to couple light from the eye box to the eye sensor, and/or may have other features to facilitate use of the eye sensor to monitor the eye of a user in the eye box.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted housing having a housing frame with a front and a rear;
a positive bias lens mounted to the front of the housing frame and a negative bias lens mounted to the rear of the housing frame;
a waveguide between the positive bias lens and the negative bias lens; and
an eye sensor configured to monitor an eye box through the negative bias lens, wherein the negative bias lens has a portion with an outwardly-facing surface facing away from the eye box and an inwardly-facing surface facing the eye box, wherein the eye sensor is mounted to the portion of the negative bias lens at the outwardly-facing surface, wherein the portion of the negative bias lens is attached to the rear of the housing frame at the inwardly-facing surface, and wherein the portion protrudes from an edge of the negative bias lens and into the housing frame.

2. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the eye sensor comprises a gaze tracking camera.

3. The head-mounted device defined in claim 2 wherein the negative bias lens has a surface area that faces the gaze tracking camera through which the gaze tracking camera operates.

4. The head-mounted device defined in claim 3 wherein the surface area of the negative bias lens that faces the gaze tracking camera is planar.

5. The head-mounted device defined in claim 3 wherein the surface area of the negative bias lens that faces the gaze tracking camera has a curved cross-sectional profile that provides the surface area with a lens characteristic.

6. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the eye sensor is configured to monitor the eye box through the portion of the negative bias lens.

7. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the negative bias lens has an integral prism through which the eye sensor operates.

8. The head-mounted device defined in claim 7 wherein the integral prism has a surface that reflects light for the eye sensor internally within the negative bias lens.

9. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 further comprising a prism between the eye sensor and the negative bias lens.

10. A head-mounted device, comprising:
a head-mounted support having a housing frame and having a ring-shaped trim member inserted into the housing frame;
a lens mounted to the ring-shaped trim member and through which external objects are viewable from an eye box, wherein the lens has a protrusion that protrudes laterally from a peripheral edge of the lens; and
a gaze tracking camera, wherein the protrusion has a surface facing the gaze tracking camera, wherein the surface is concave or convex, wherein the gaze tracking camera is configured to monitor the eye box through the surface of the protrusion of the lens, and wherein the surface of the protrusion overlaps the ring-shaped trim member.

11. The head-mounted device defined in claim 10 wherein the surface is an outwardly facing surface facing away from the eye box.

12. The head-mounted device defined in claim 10 wherein the surface is a mounting surface for the gaze tracking camera.

13. The head-mounted device defined in claim 10 wherein the surface forms an aspheric lens.

14. The head-mounted device defined in claim 10 further comprising a waveguide that is configured to provide an image to the eye box through the lens.

15. The head-mounted device defined in claim 10 further comprising a prism between the gaze tracking camera and the lens.

16. Glasses, comprising:
elongated side supports;
a lens frame coupled to the elongated side supports, wherein the lens frame comprises a ring-shaped portion;
a lens in the lens frame through which a real-world object is viewable from an eye box, wherein the lens has a first lens with a positive lens power and has a second lens that is mounted in the ring-shaped portion of the lens frame;
a waveguide that is configured to provide a display image to the eye box that is superimposed on the real-world object; and
a sensor facing the second lens, disposed between the first lens and the second lens, and configured to monitor the eye box through a portion of the second lens, wherein the sensor is mounted to a surface of the portion of the second lens and wherein the portion of the second lens protrudes from an edge of the second lens into the ring-shaped portion of the lens frame.

17. The glasses defined in claim 16 wherein the waveguide is between the first lens and the second lens and wherein the sensor comprises a gaze tracking sensor configured to operate through the portion of the second lens.

18. The glasses defined in claim 16 wherein the sensor receives light that passes through the second lens but not the first lens.

19. The glasses defined in claim 16 wherein the second lens has an outwardly facing surface facing the first lens and wherein the sensor faces the outwardly facing surface and operates in an inward direction.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Oudenhoven Michael J
• Lau Brian S
• Harder Cameron A
• Wang Depeng
• Bhakta Vikrant

Classifications

• G06F3/013

  Eye tracking input arrangements (G06F3/015 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title

• G02B17/086

  wherein the system is made of a single block of optical material, e.g. solid catadioptric systems · CPC title

• G02B27/0093 Primary

  with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking · CPC title

• G02B27/0172 Primary

  characterised by optical features · CPC title