PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12124043-B2
Application Number: US-202318352967-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with drop protection

Abstract:
A head-mounted device may include optical assemblies for presenting images to a user. Actuators may be used to adjust the spacing between the optical assemblies to accommodate different interpupillary distances. Upon detection of a power-down event or drop event, the device may be placed into an impact-safe mode. During the safe mode, the optical assemblies may be moved to predetermined impact-safe positions, brakes such as optical guide rail brakes may be adjusted, cushioning springs may be deployed, clutches may be adjusted, and/or other safety mechanisms may be activated to help protect the optical assemblies or other sensitive components from damage.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a head-mounted housing; 
 an optical assembly in the head-mounted housing that is configured to provide an image to an eye box; 
 a rail coupled to the head-mounted housing along which the optical assembly slides; and 
 an actuator configured to position the optical assembly at an impact-safe position along the rail in response to detection of a condition. 
 
     
     
       2. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the rail has an inner end attached to a central portion of the head-mounted housing and has a corresponding floating outer end at a side portion of the head-mounted housing and wherein the impact-safe position is at the outer end. 
     
     
       3. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the rail has an inner end at a central portion of the head-mounted housing and has a corresponding outer end at a side portion of the head-mounted housing and wherein the impact-safe position is at the inner end. 
     
     
       4. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the rail has an inner end at a central portion of the head-mounted housing and has a corresponding outer end at a side portion of the head-mounted housing and wherein the impact-safe position is at an intermediate location between the outer end and the inner end. 
     
     
       5. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a power-down event, wherein the actuator is configured to move the optical assembly to the impact-safe position in response to the power-down event. 
     
     
       6. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a drop event, wherein the actuator is configured to move the optical assembly to the impact-safe position in response to the detected drop event. 
     
     
       7. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a deployable spring configured to cushion the optical assembly. 
     
     
       8. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 7  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a power-down event, wherein the deployable spring is configured to deploy in response to the power-down event. 
     
     
       9. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 7  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a drop event, wherein the deployable spring is configured to deploy in response to the detected drop event. 
     
     
       10. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  further comprising an adjustable brake configured to adjust resistance of the optical assembly to sliding along the rail. 
     
     
       11. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 10  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a power-down event, wherein the brake is configured to engage in response to the power-down event. 
     
     
       12. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 10  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a drop event, wherein the brake is configured to engage in response to the detected drop event. 
     
     
       13. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a nut coupled to the optical assembly; 
 a screw received by the nut; and 
 a clutch coupled between the actuator and the screw, wherein the actuator is configured to use the clutch to rotate the screw to slide the optical assembly along the rail. 
 
     
     
       14. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 13  wherein the clutch comprises a magnet. 
     
     
       15. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 13  wherein the clutch comprises a viscous fluid. 
     
     
       16. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 13  wherein the clutch comprises an electrically adjustable actuator. 
     
     
       17. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a head-mounted housing; 
 an optical assembly in the head-mounted housing that is configured to provide an image to an eye box; 
 a rail along which the optical assembly slides; 
 an electrically adjustable latch configured to be released in response to sensor detection of a drop event; and 
 a deployable spring configured to deploy when the latch is released to provide cushioning between the optical assembly and the head-mounted housing during the drop event. 
 
     
     
       18. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 17  further comprising a sensor configured to detect a power-down event, wherein the deployable spring is configured to deploy in response to the power-down event. 
     
     
       19. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 17  further comprising a sensor configured to detect the drop event. 
     
     
       20. A head-mounted device, comprising
 a head-mounted housing; 
 an optical assembly in the head-mounted housing that is configured to provide an image to an eye box; 
 a rail along which the optical assembly slides; and 
 an electrically adjustable brake configured to adjust resistance to sliding of the optical assembly along the rail, wherein the electrically adjustable brake is configured to hold the optical assembly at a given location on the rail in response to a drop event.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/406,943, filed Sep. 15, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices such as head-mounted devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices have components such as displays and other optical components. There is a risk of damage to these components due to drop events and other undesired high-stress events. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may include optical assemblies for presenting images to a user. Each optical assembly may include a display and lens mounted in a support. Actuators may be used to adjust the spacing between the optical assemblies to accommodate different interpupillary distances. 
     When appropriate conditions are detected such as upon power-down or upon detection of a drop event using a sensor such as an accelerometer, the device may be placed into a safe mode. During the safe mode, the optical assemblies may be moved to predetermined impact-safe positions, brakes such as optical assembly guide rail brakes may be adjusted, cushioning springs may be deployed, clutches may be adjusted, and/or other safety mechanisms may be activated to help protect the optical assemblies and other drop-sensitive components from damage. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  2  and  3    are rear views of portions of illustrative head-mounted devices in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIGS.  4  and  5    are cross-sectional side views of an illustrative brake in a head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a rear view of an illustrative deployable spring for a head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7    is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in using a head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may include drop protection capabilities. Device  10  of  FIG.  1    may be a head-mounted device (e.g., goggles, glasses, a helmet, and/or other head-mounted device), a cellular telephone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a wristwatch, a peripheral device (sometimes referred to as a peripheral) such as a pair of headphones, or other electronic equipment. In an illustrative configuration, device  10  is a head-mounted device such as a pair of goggles (sometimes referred to as virtual reality goggles, mixed reality goggles, augmented reality glasses, etc.). 
     As shown in the illustrative top view of device  10  of  FIG.  1   , device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12  (sometimes referred to as a head-mounted support structure or head-mounted support). Housing  12  may include a main portion such as portion  12 M (sometimes referred to as a main unit or head-mounted unit) and other head-mounted support structures such as head strap  12 T. When housing  12  is being worn on the head of a user, the front of housing  12  may face outwardly away from the user, the rear of housing  12  may face towards the user, and the user&#39;s eyes may be located in eye boxes  36 . 
     Device  10  may have electrical and optical components that are used in displaying images to eye boxes  36  when device  10  is being worn. These components may include left and right optical assemblies  20  (sometimes referred to as optical modules). Each optical assembly  20  may have an optical assembly support  38  (sometimes referred to as a lens barrel or optical module support) and guide rails  22  along which optical assemblies  20  may slide to adjust optical-assembly-to-optical-assembly separation to accommodate different user interpupillary distances. 
     Each assembly  20  may have a display  32  that has an array of pixels for displaying images and a lens  34 . Display  32  and lens  34  of each assembly  20  may be coupled to and supported by support  38 . During operation, images displayed by displays  32  may be presented to eye boxes  36  through lenses  34  for viewing by the user. 
     Housing  12  may have a flexible curtain (sometimes referred to as a flexible rear housing wall or fabric housing wall) such as curtain  12 R on the rear of device  10  facing eye boxes  36 . Curtain  12 R has openings that receive assemblies  20 . The edges of curtain  12 R that surround each support  38  may be coupled to that support  38 . The outer peripheral edge of curtain  12 R may be attached to rigid housing walls forming an outer shell portion of main housing  12 M. 
     The walls of housing  12  may separate interior region  28  within device  10  from exterior region  30  surrounding device  10 . 
     Inner ends  24  of guide rails  22  may be attached to central housing portion  12 C. Opposing outer ends  26  may, in an illustrative configuration, be unsupported (e.g., the outer end portions of rails  22  may not directly contact housing  12 , so that these ends float in interior region  28  with respect to housing  12 ). 
     Device  10  may include control circuitry and other components such as component  40 . The control circuitry may include storage, processing circuitry formed from one or more microprocessors and/or other circuits. To support communications between device  10  and external equipment, the control circuitry may include wireless communications circuitry. Components  40  may include sensors such as such as force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones, touch and/or proximity sensors such as capacitive sensors, optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit and detect light, ultrasonic sensors, and/or other touch sensors and/or proximity sensors, monochromatic and color ambient light sensors, image sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or sensors such as inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), radio-frequency sensors, depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, moisture sensors, visual inertial odometry sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, devices  10  may use sensors to gather user input (e.g., button press input, touch input, etc.). Sensors may also be used in gathering environmental motion (e.g., device motion measurements, temperature measurements, ambient light readings, etc.). 
     Sensors in components  40  such as position sensors may be mounted to housing  12  and/or other portions of device  10 . Position sensors may include accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors. These sensors may be used to measure location (e.g., location along X, Y, and Z axes), orientation (e.g., angular orientation around the X, Y, and Z axes), and/or motion (changes in location and/or orientation as a function of time). Sensors such as accelerometers and/or inertial measurement units (and/or other sensors such as visual inertial odometry sensors) that can measure location, orientation, and/or motion may sometimes be referred to herein as position sensors, motion sensors, and/or orientation sensors. 
     During operation, device  10  may use a position sensor to monitor the position (e.g., location, orientation, motion, etc.) of device  10  in real time. This information may be used in controlling electrically controlled actuators (motors, solenoids, piezoelectric actuators, and/or other actuators) to help protect device  10  in the event of a high-stress event such as an impact during a drop. For example, one or more actuators may be used to place device  10  into an impact-safe (drop-resistant) state when a fall is detected by a position senor. Device  10  may also be placed into a safe mode upon the occurrence of other conditions. As an example, device  10  may be placed into an impact-safe state each time device  10  is powered down (fully or at least partially by placing device  10  in a low-power sleep mode). 
       FIG.  2    is a rear view of an illustrative portion of device  10  (e.g., an inside left portion in this example). Device  10  may have left and right actuators (e.g., motors) such as actuator  48  that are used to rotate an elongated threaded shaft such as screw  44 . Nut  46  has threads that engage the threads on screw  44 . As motor  48  is turned, nut  46  is driven in the +X or −X direction (in accordance with whether screw  44  is being rotated clockwise or counterclockwise). In turn, this moves optical assembly  20  in the +X or −X direction along optical assembly guide rail  22 . Assembly  20  (e.g., support  38  of  FIG.  1   ) may have portions that receive rail  22  and that guide assembly  20  along rail  22 . By controlling the activity of motors  48 , the spacing between the left and right optical assemblies of device  10  can be adjusted to accommodate the interpupillary distance of different users. For example, if a user has closely spaced eyes, assemblies  20  may be moved inwardly (towards each other) and if a user has widely spaced eyes, assemblies  20  may be moved outwardly (away from each other). 
     In the event of a drop, stress is imposed on device  10  that can cause device components to move relative to housing  12  and relative to other components. To help prevent damage to components and device  10 , device  10  can be placed in a safe state prior to impact. As an example, assemblies  20  may be moved along guide rails  22  to positions (sometimes referred to as safe positions or impact-safe positions) that are less likely to result in undesired damage than other positions. Assemblies  20  may be moved (and/or other suitable actions may be taken to place device  10  into a safe operating mode) in response to detection of a drop event (e.g., to detection with a position sensor that device  10  is weightless and therefore in free fall), in response to detecting that device  10  is being powered down (e.g., so that device  10  is in its safe state while powered off), and/or in response to detecting other suitable safe-mode conditions. 
     Consider, as an example, an arrangement in which optical assemblies  20  are sensitive to damage (and may be costly and/or difficult to repair). In this type of scenario, it may be desirable to protect optical assemblies  20  from damage during drop events by moving optical assemblies  20  along rails  22  to impact-safe positions upon occurrence of a safe-mode condition. 
     In a first scenario (e.g., a scenario in which rails  22  have a relatively low stiffness) assemblies  20  may be moved (parked) at outer ends  26 , as indicated by illustrative outer position PX of  FIG.  2   . By moving assemblies  20  to their outermost (or nearly outermost) positions at ends  26 , rails  22  may be caused to bend (flex) more than other positions, due to the location of the mass of assemblies  20  at the outer tips of rails  22 ). Bumpers  50  that are mounted to housing  12  may be used to constrain the deflection of rails  22  to prevent undesired plastic deformation of rails  22  during drops or other events where housing  12  impacts an external object. Bumpers  50  may also constrain the movement of assemblies  20  to prevent collisions between assemblies  20  and other device components. Because rails  22  deform to their maximum permitted extent in this scenario, the flexing of rails  22  may help absorb impact energy and cushion the impact of assemblies  20  against bumpers  50 , thereby helping to prevent any damage to assemblies  20 . 
     In a second scenario, the interior of device  10  is small to help reduce the overall size of device  10 . In this scenario, there may not be excess room available to allow assemblies  20  to sway on the ends of rails  22  during an impact. Accordingly, a satisfactory safe location for assemblies  20  may be at innermost (or nearly innermost) position PM, in which assemblies  20  are at inner ends  24 . In this type of arrangement, rails  22  are preferably provided with sufficient sheer strength to sustain stress from assemblies  20  during a drop event. 
     In a third scenario, it is desired to protect assemblies  20  from damage when device  10  is dropped on its left or right side. In this type of drop event, assemblies  20  are exposed to force along the length of rails  22  (sometimes referred to as axial force). If, as an example, device  10  is dropped on its left side, the left assembly  20  will be forced towards the outer end  26  of the left guide rail  22  and the right assembly  20  will be force towards the inner end  24  of the right guide rail  22 . To help prevent undesired hard impacts at the outer or inner ends of the guide rails, assemblies  20  may be moved to a safe central location along the length of rails  22 , as illustrated by safe intermediate position PN in the example of  FIG.  2   . At these positions, optical assemblies  20  can slide along rails  22  somewhat to dissipate drop energy without reaching the ends of the rails. 
     As these examples demonstrate, there may be different types of satisfactory safe positions along guide rails  22  associated with different types of devices  10 . For some devices, outer positions PX may serve as safe positions, for some devices inner positions PM may serve as safe positions, and for some devices intermediate positions PN may serve as safe positions. Device  10  (e.g., actuators  48 ) may place assemblies  20  in their safe positions upon detection of a safe-mode event (e.g., upon detecting a device free-fall event, upon detecting a device powering down event, etc.). The safe positions are generally not matched to the interpupillary distance of the user of device  10 . 
     If desired, additional components may be adjusted to help protect sensitive device structures such as assemblies  20  from drop event damage. As examples, adjustable clutch mechanisms may be adjusted, adjustable brakes may be adjusted, and/or adjustable springs (cushions) may be adjusted to place device  10  in a safe mode upon detection of a safe mode condition. These adjustments may be made in addition to or instead of repositioning assemblies  20  along rails  22 . 
     Consider, as an example, the arrangement of device  10  of  FIG.  3   . In the example of  FIG.  3   , assembly  20  is mounted to a guide rail  22  (not shown) for movement along the X axis, as described in connection with  FIGS.  1  and  2   . Nut  46  may have threads that engage the threads on screw  44 . Motor  48  may rotate a shaft that is coupled to screw  44  using clutch  50 . By selection of the direction of rotation of screw  44 , the corresponding direction of movement of optical module  20  (which is coupled to nut  46 ) along the rail on which assembly  20  is traveling can be controlled. During a drop event such as a drop event imposing force in the +X or −X direction of  FIG.  3   , optical module  20  may be forced along the X axis. This imposes corresponding parallel motion to nut  46  along the length of screw  44 , which may cause screw  44  to rotate about its rotation axis. As screw  44  is forced to rotate, torque may be applied to the shaft of motor  48  through clutch  50 . When screw  44  is being rotated in this way, clutch  50  and/or motor  48  may exhibit friction that helps retard rotation of screw  44 . This may help dampen sliding movement of nut  46  and assembly  20  along the X axis. If more than a threshold amount of torque is applied to clutch  50  due to the forced rotation of screw  44  during a drop event, there will be relative motion (slippage) within clutch  50 . When clutch slippage occurs during drop events, motor  48  is relieved from being back driven (which may help prevent excessive gear loading). Clutch slippage also helps relieve screw  44  from being back driven so that forces at nut  46  are reduced. 
     Clutch  50  may have a first portion (e.g., a first plate) such as screw portion  52  attached to screw  44  and a second portion (e.g., a second plate) such as motor portion  56  that is attached to the shaft of motor  48 . Clutch mechanism  54  may be a passive or active clutch mechanism that transfers torque between portion  52  and portion  56  of clutch. When motor  48  is active, clutch mechanism  54  causes screw portion  52  to rotate with motor portion  56 , so that screw  44  may be rotated to adjust the position of assembly  20 . When motor  48  is inactive (e.g., during a drop event), mechanism  54  may exhibit slippage that helps minimize torque applied to motor  48  and nut  46  (e.g., thread loads may be reduced). 
     In a first illustrative clutch arrangement, clutch  50  is a dry clutch and mechanism  54  is characterized by direct contact and friction between textured and/or untextured mating surfaces of portions  52  and  56 . In this arrangement, portions  52  and  56  may be coupled without slipping by friction until more than a threshold amount of torque is applied to screw  44  due to axial motion of nut  46 , at which point portion  52  may rotate faster than portion  56  while friction loosely couples portions  52  and  56 . Clutch  50  may therefore help assembly  20  slide along its guide rail while supplying a dampening force to help prevent impact damage. 
     In a second illustrative clutch arrangement, clutch  50  is a hybrid clutch that is viscously coupled when clutch slippage occurs. In this type of arrangement, the hybrid clutch sticks (and portions  52  and  56  rotate in unison) below a threshold amount of torque. When more torque is applied, clutch  50  begins to slip. During slippage, oil or other viscous fluid in mechanism  54  viscously couples portions  52  and  56 , allowing portions  52  and  56  to slip relative to each other while providing viscous damping. As with the dry clutch arrangement for clutch  50 , the hybrid clutch mechanism may therefore rotate together until more than a threshold amount of torque is applied to screw  44 . 
     In a third illustrative arrangement, portions  52  and  56  have first and second respective sets of magnets that are attracted to each other and thereby tend to hold the plates of portions  52  and  56  together. At lower amounts of applied torque to screw  44 , the magnets may hold portions  52  and  56  together with sufficient authority to prevent portions  52  and  56  from slipping, whereas at higher torques, the magnets may break free of each other, allowing portions  52  and  56  to rotate relative to each other. When portions  52  and  56  rotate relative to each other, a damping effect may be created as the magnetic flux from the rotating magnets induces eddy currents in conductive material in portions  52  and  56  and/or a damping effect may be created due to friction between the rotating plates of portions  42  and  56 . 
     In a fourth illustrative arrangement, mechanism  56  includes an electrically adjustable component such as a piezoelectric actuator or other actuator that can be controlled to adjust coupling torque between portions  52  and  56 . If desired, this mechanism may be used in addition to other clutch structures (e.g., friction coupling structures, viscous fluid coupling structures, magnetic coupling structures, etc.). In one mode of operation, mechanism  56  may be used to enhance coupling between portions  52  and  56  (e.g., by pulling portions  52  and  56  together to help hold portions  52  and  56  together and/or by allowing a spring to pull portions  52  and  56  together). In this mode of operation, torque from screw  44  may be received by the shaft of motor  48  and dissipated by rotation of this shaft within motor  48  (as an example). In another mode of operation, mechanism  56  may be used to reduce coupling between portions  52  and  56  (e.g., by pushing portions  52  and  56  away from each other or otherwise decoupling portions  52  and  56 ). In this mode, rotation of screw  44  may be less damped, allowing assembly  20  to slide with less resistance. The electrically adjusted clutch mechanism may be used to increase or decrease the resistance to sliding of assembly  20  in a way that helps reduce damage during a drop. For example, to preserve the threads of nut  46  during a drop, clutch  50  may be disengaged (coupling may be reduced) so that portion  52  can rotate with reduced resistance. As another example, clutch  50  may be engaged (coupling may be increased) to help slow the motion of assembly  20  along the guide rails. 
       FIGS.  4  and  5    show how an adjustable guide rail brake mechanism may be used in device  10 . The brake mechanism (which may sometimes be referred to as an optical assembly brake or component brake) may be used by each assembly  20  to help hold that assembly in place at a desired location along its guide rail when device  10  is placed into its safe mode of operation or at least to increase resistance to sliding along the guide rail. 
       FIG.  4    is a cross-sectional end view of an illustrative brake taken along the length of a guide rail. As shown in  FIG.  4   , brake  60  may have first and second bistable brake pads  62  and an electrically adjustable actuator such as actuator  64 . In the configuration of  FIG.  4   , actuator  64  has been adjusted to exhibit a first width W 1 . In this state, brake pads  62  are bowed outwardly, which creates clearance between pads  62  and guide rail  22 . Brake  60  may be attached to assembly  20 , so the clearance between pads  62  and guide rail  22  that is shown in  FIG.  4    allows assembly  20  to slide freely along the length of guide rail  22  without being held in place by brake  60 . When it is desired to use brake  60  to help hold assembly  20  in place at a particular position along the length of guide rail  22  or at least to increase sliding resistance, actuator  64  may be expanded to a second width W 2  that is greater than width W 1 , as shown in  FIG.  5   . This presses the lower portions of pads  62  apart from each other. As the bistable state of pads  62  is overcome, pads  62  will snap into the configuration of  FIG.  5    in which pads  62  bow inwardly towards rail  22  and thereby apply pressure to rail  22 . This creates friction between brake pads  62  and rail  22  that maintains brake  60  in place on rail  22  (and which therefore also helps assembly  20  in place on rail  22 ). The state of brake  60  may be adjusted when it is desired to switch device  10  between its normal operating mode and its safe mode. As one example, brake  60  may be placed in the unlocked state of  FIG.  4    during normal operation so that the position of assembly  20  along rail  22  may be adjusted and may be placed in the deployed (locked) state of  FIG.  5    during safe mode operations so that a desired safe position of assembly  20  along rail  22  may be maintained during a drop or so that friction is created that helps slow motion of assembly  20  along rail  22  during a drop. 
     If desired, device  10  may be provided with an adjustable spring (cushion). As shown in  FIG.  6   , for example, optical assembly  20  may have a deployable spring such as spring  72 . During normal operation, spring  72  may be compressed (e.g., by moving assembly  20  outwardly towards the wall of housing  12  so that spring  72  is pressed against the surface of assembly  20 ). Once spring  72  is compressed in this way, electrically adjustable latch  70  (e.g., a piezoelectric latch or electromagnetic latch) may be used to capture and temporarily contain spring  72  (as shown in the illustrative compressed-spring arrangement of  FIG.  6   ). In response to detection of a safe mode condition (e.g., detection of a power-down event or detection of a free-fall condition during a drop), latch  70  may be released. Upon release of spring  72  from latch  70 , spring  72  will expand outwardly to deployed position  72 ′, where spring  72  may act as a cushion to prevent harsh impacts between assembly  20  and housing  12 . Springs such as spring  72  of  FIG.  6    may be placed on one or more sides of assembly  20 , may be mounted on other components in device  10 , and/or may be mounted on portions of housing  12  to prevent internal structural collisions during drop events. 
       FIG.  7    is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in using one or more of the foregoing approaches to protect sensitive portions of device  10  such as optical assemblies  20  from damage during a drop event. 
     During the operations of block  80 , device  10  may monitor for the occurrence of a safe mode condition (e.g., a condition warranting placement of optical assemblies  20  into a predetermined safe position and/or use of one or more safety mechanisms). Device  10  may, as an example, use a sensor (e.g., a touch sensor, button, or other user input sensor) to monitor for a user command that instructs device  10  to power down. Device  10  may also use a position sensor to monitor for a free-fall condition (e.g., a weightless condition that indicates that device  10  is falling and about to strike the ground). In response to detection of the power-down command (e.g., when a user presses a power button), in response to otherwise detecting that device  10  is about to power down, and/or in response to detecting that device  10  has been dropped, appropriate action may be taken at block  82 . 
     During the operations of block  82 , as an example, motors  48  may move optical assemblies  20  to predetermined safe positions along rails  22 , as described in connection with illustrative positions PX, PN, and PM of  FIG.  2   . In arrangements in which clutch mechanism  54  is electrically adjustable, clutch  50  may be adjusted appropriately. Brake  60  may also be adjusted and/or impact-cushioning spring  72  may be deployed. When the drop event occurs, one or more of these damage mitigation approaches may be used and may work together to help prevent damage to optical assemblies  20  and/or other sensitive component(s) that are being protected. 
     To help protect the privacy of users, any personal user information that is gathered by sensors may be handled using best practices. These best practices including meeting or exceeding any privacy regulations that are applicable. Opt-in and opt-out options and/or other options may be provided that allow users to control usage of their personal data. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20230714
Publication Date: 20241022
Grant Date: 20241022
Priority Date: 20220915
Inventors: SEADAT BEHESHTI, Matin
ZIMMERMAN, AIDAN N
CAMP, JOHN S
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G02B2027/0154", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0163", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0154", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0163", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0163", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0154", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 90244979