PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11860444-B2
Application Number: US-202117185743-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with covering structures

Abstract:
Electronic devices such as head-mounted electronic devices may include displays for presenting images to users. To accommodate variations in the interpupillary distances associated with different users, a head-mounted device may have left-eye and right-eye optical modules that move with respect to each other. To hide internal structures from view, the rear of a head-mounted device may be provided with a cover. The cover may have a stretchable layer that is coupled to a frame. Openings in the stretchable layer may be aligned with the optical modules.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a housing separating an interior region from an exterior region that surrounds the housing; 
 first and second optical modules in the housing that are configured to provide images respectively to first and second eye boxes; and 
 a cover configured to block the interior region from view, wherein the cover comprises fabric, a frame, and first and second cover openings that are respectively aligned with the first and second optical modules, wherein the fabric has a peripheral edge that is coupled to the frame while allowing the fabric to slide relative to the frame in response to movement of the first optical module relative to the second optical module. 
 
     
     
       2. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the frame has first and second frame openings that respectively overlap the first and second optical modules, wherein the cover comprises an elastic band running around the peripheral edge of the fabric, and wherein the elastic band holds the fabric to the frame while allowing the fabric to slide relative to the frame. 
     
     
       3. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 2  further comprising a fan in the housing, wherein the fan is configured to draw air into the interior region through the fabric. 
     
     
       4. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 2  wherein the frame has a peripheral ring-shaped portion bridged by a bridging central portion and wherein the cover is attached to a structure in the housing at the bridging central portion while allowing other portions of the cover to float with respect to the housing. 
     
     
       5. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the fabric comprises stretchable fabric. 
     
     
       6. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 5  wherein the fabric comprises first strands of a first elastic modulus and second strands of a second elastic modulus that is greater than the first elastic modulus. 
     
     
       7. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the cover is removably attached to the housing. 
     
     
       8. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the fabric comprises a stretchable air permeable opaque layer. 
     
     
       9. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein each of the first and second optical modules has a respective display and lens secured in a lens barrel, the head-mounted device further comprising actuators configured to laterally move the lens barrels relative to the housing while the cover stretches to accommodate the lateral movement of the lens barrels and maintain alignment of the first and second cover openings with the first and second optical modules, respectively. 
     
     
       10. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 9  wherein the fabric is configured to stretch by at least 50% without failure. 
     
     
       11. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 1  wherein the fabric comprises a stretchable layer wherein the first and second cover openings are formed in the stretchable layer. 
     
     
       12. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 left and right optical modules supported by the housing, wherein the left optical module has a left display and left lens configured to provide a left image to a left eye box, wherein the right optical module has a right display and a right lens configured to provide a right image to a right eye box, and wherein the left and right optical modules are configured to move relative to each other; and 
 a cover that has a frame, fabric, a left opening that is aligned with the left optical module, and a right opening that is aligned with the right optical module, wherein the cover is configured to block an interior region of the housing from view, and wherein the fabric has a peripheral edge that is coupled to the frame while allowing the fabric to slide relative to the frame in response to movement of the right and left optical modules with respect to each other to accommodate different interpupillary distances. 
 
     
     
       13. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 12  wherein the left and right openings are formed in the fabric. 
     
     
       14. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 13  wherein the frame has a ring-shaped peripheral portion bridged by a central bridging portion and has first and second frame openings that overlap the left and right openings of the fabric. 
     
     
       15. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 14  wherein the fabric is attached to the frame with adhesive in the central bridging portion and is configured to slide relative to other portions of the frame. 
     
     
       16. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 15  wherein an area of the ring-shaped peripheral portion is separated from the housing by an air gap to prevent the fabric from becoming caught between the frame and the housing as the fabric slides. 
     
     
       17. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 12  wherein the fabric is configured to remain taut as the right and left optical modules are moved with respect to each other. 
     
     
       18. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a strap coupled to the housing; 
 left and right optical modules supported by the housing, wherein the left optical module has a left display and left lens configured to provide a left image to a left eye box, wherein the right optical module has a right display and a right lens configured to provide a right image to a right eye box, and wherein the left and right optical modules are configured to move relative to each other; and 
 a cover that has a fabric layer coupled to a frame, wherein the fabric layer extends across a rear face of the housing and blocks an interior region of the housing from view, wherein the fabric layer has a left opening that is aligned with the left optical module and a right opening that is aligned with the right optical module, and wherein the fabric layer has a peripheral edge that is coupled to the frame while allowing the fabric to slide relative to the frame in response to movement of the right and left optical modules with respect to each other to accommodate different interpupillary distances.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/010,545, filed Apr. 15, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to wearable electronic devices such as head-mounted devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as head-mounted devices are configured to be worn on a head of a user. A head-mounted device may have left and right optical systems for presenting images to a user&#39;s left and right eyes. Not all users have the same physical distance separating their eyes. To accommodate differences in interpupillary distance between different users, a head-mounted device may have a mechanism for adjusting the positions of the left and right optical systems. 
     SUMMARY 
     Electronic devices such as head-mounted electronic devices may include displays for presenting images to users. To accommodate variations in the interpupillary distances associated with different users, a head-mounted device may have left-eye and right-eye optical modules that move with respect to each other. Each optical module may include a display device for producing an image and an associated optical component such as a lens for providing the image to an associated eye box in which an eye of the user is located for viewing the image. The optical modules, which may sometimes be referred to as optical systems, display systems, lens systems, lens and display assemblies, etc., may each have a support structure such as a lens barrel that supports a respective display and lens. 
     Actuators may be used to position the lens barrels within the housing of a head-mounted device. To hide the actuators and other electrical components such as integrated circuits, batteries, sensors, etc. and to hide potentially unsightly internal housing structures from view, the rear of a head-mounted device that faces the user may be provided with a cosmetic covering. Openings in the cosmetic covering may receive the lens barrels of the optical modules. The cosmetic covering may be configured to accommodate movement in the positions of the optical modules for different interpupillary distances. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a top view of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a rear view of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is a top view of an illustrative head-mounted device in which left-eye and right-eye optical modules have been placed close to each other to accommodate a user with a small interpupillary distance in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    is a top view of the illustrative head-mounted device of  FIG.  4    in which the optical modules have been moved away from each other to accommodate a user with a large interpupillary distance in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative head-mounted device with a fan for promoting air flow to cool internal electrical components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7    is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative curtain having a frame and a cover layer that may be supported on the frame in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a top view of an illustrative optical module and cover layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a view of an illustrative cover layer with a peripheral elastic band in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a view of an illustrative cover layer with woven elastic strands forming a peripheral elastic band in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a diagram showing how a cover layer may be formed from a material that stretches in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    is a view of an illustrative frame for a curtain in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  13    is a cross-sectional side view showing how a cover layer with a peripheral elastic band may move relative to a rigid frame in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  14    is a cross-sectional top view of an illustrative head-mounted device with a floating curtain in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  15    is a rear view of an illustrative curtain showing locations for attaching the curtain to a head-mounted device housing member in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  16    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative head-mounted device showing how a curtain may be attached to a head-mounted device housing member in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  17    is a top view of an illustrative apparatus with a movable member surrounded by a curtain in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a front face that faces away from a user&#39;s head and may have an opposing rear face that faces the user&#39;s head. Optical modules on the rear face may be used to provide images to a user&#39;s eyes. The positions of the optical modules may be adjusted to accommodate different user interpupillary distances. Internal device structures may be hidden from view by the user by covering the rear face of the device with a curtain. The curtain, which may sometimes be referred to as a cover, covering structure, rear housing cover, rear housing wall, rear housing structure, cosmetic covering, etc., may help block potentially unsightly internal structures from view, while accommodating movement of the optical modules. 
     A top view of an illustrative head-mounted device with a curtain is shown in  FIG.  1   . As shown in  FIG.  1   , head-mounted devices such as electronic device  10  may have head-mounted support structures such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may include portions (e.g., support structures  12 T) to allow device  10  to be worn on a user&#39;s head. Support structures  12 T may be formed from fabric, polymer, metal, and/or other material. Support structures  12 T may form a strap or other head-mounted support structures that help support device  10  on a user&#39;s head. A main support structure (e.g., main housing portion  12 M) of housing  12  may support electronic components such as displays  14 . Main housing portion  12 M may include housing structures formed from metal, polymer, glass, ceramic, and/or other material. For example, housing portion  12 M may have housing walls on front face F and housing walls on adjacent top, bottom, left, and right side faces that are formed from rigid polymer or other rigid support structures and these rigid walls may optionally be covered with electrical components, fabric, leather, or other soft materials, etc. The walls of housing portion  12 M may enclose internal components  38  in interior region  34  of device  10  and may separate interior region  34  from the environment surrounding device  10  (exterior region  36 ). Internal components  38  may include integrated circuits, actuators, batteries, sensors, and/or other circuits and structures for device  10 . Housing  12  may be configured to be worn on a head of a user and may form glasses, a hat, a helmet, goggles, and/or other head-mounted device. Configurations in which housing  12  forms goggles may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     Front face F of housing  12  may face outwardly away from a user&#39;s head and face. Opposing rear face R of housing  12  may face the user. Portions of housing  12  (e.g., portions of main housing  12 M) on rear face R may form a cover such as curtain  12 C. In an illustrative configuration, curtain  12 C includes a fabric layer that separates interior region  34  from the exterior region to the rear of device  10 . Other structures may be used in forming curtain  12 C, if desired. The presence of curtain  12 C on rear face R may help hide internal housing structures, internal components  38 , and other structures in interior region  34  from view by a user. 
     Device  10  may have left and right optical modules  40 . Each optical module may include a respective display  14 , lens  30 , and support structure  32 . Support structures  32 , which may sometimes be referred to as lens barrels or optical module support structures, may include hollow cylindrical structures with open ends or other supporting structures to house displays  14  and lenses  30 . Support structures  32  may, for example, include a left lens barrel that supports a left display  14  and left lens  30  and a right lens barrel that supports a right display  14  and right lens  30 . Displays  14  may include arrays of pixels or other display devices to produce images. Displays  14  may, for example, include organic light-emitting diode pixels formed on substrates with thin-film circuitry and/or formed on semiconductor substrates, pixels formed from crystalline semiconductor dies, liquid crystal display pixels, scanning display devices, and/or other display devices for producing images. Lenses  30  may include one or more lens elements for providing image light from displays  14  to respective eyes boxes  13 . Lenses may be implemented using refractive glass lens elements, using mirror lens structures (catadioptric lenses), using holographic lenses, and/or other lens systems. When a user&#39;s eyes are located in eye boxes  13 , displays (display panels)  14  operate together to form a display for device  10  (e.g., the images provided by respective left and right optical modules  40  may be viewed by the user&#39;s eyes in eye boxes  13  so that a stereoscopic image is created for the user). The left image from the left optical module fuses with the right image from a right optical module while the display is viewed by the user. 
     Not all users have the same interpupillary distance IPD. To provide device  10  with the ability to adjust the interpupillary spacing between modules  40  along lateral dimension X and thereby adjust the spacing IPD between eye boxes  13  to accommodate different user interpupillary distances, device  10  may be provided with actuators  42 . Actuators  42  can be manually controlled and/or computer-controlled actuators (e.g., computer-controlled motors) for moving support structures  32  relative to each other. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , curtain  12 C may cover rear face F while leaving lenses  30  of optical modules  40  uncovered (e.g., curtain  12 C may have openings that are aligned with and receive modules  40 ). As modules  40  are moved relative to each other along dimension X to accommodate different interpupillary distances for different users, modules  40  move relative to fixed housing structures such as the walls of main portion  12 M and move relative to each other. To prevent undesired wrinkling and buckling of curtain  12 C as optical modules  40  are moved relative to rigid portions of housing  12 M and relative to each other, a fabric layer or other cover layer in curtain  12 C may be configured to slide, stretch, open/close, and/or otherwise adjust to accommodate optical module movement. 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device such as a head-mounted device or other wearable device is shown in  FIG.  3   . Device  10  of  FIG.  3    may be operated as a stand-alone device and/or the resources of device  10  may be used to communicate with external electronic equipment. As an example, communications circuitry in device  10  may be used to transmit user input information, sensor information, and/or other information to external electronic devices (e.g., wirelessly or via wired connections). Each of these external devices may include components of the type shown by device  10  of  FIG.  3   . 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , a head-mounted device such as device  10  may include control circuitry  20 . Control circuitry  20  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  20  may be used to gather input from sensors and other input devices and may be used to control output devices. The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors and other wireless communications circuits, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. During operation, control circuitry  20  may use display(s)  14  and other output devices in providing a user with visual output and other output. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external equipment, control circuitry  20  may communicate using communications circuitry  22 . Circuitry  22  may include antennas, radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, and other wireless communications circuitry and/or wired communications circuitry. Circuitry  22 , which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communications circuitry, may support bidirectional wireless communications between device  10  and external equipment (e.g., a companion device such as a computer, cellular telephone, or other electronic device, an accessory such as a point device, computer stylus, or other input device, speakers or other output devices, etc.) over a wireless link. For example, circuitry  22  may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry such as wireless local area network transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a wireless local area network link, near-field communications transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a near-field communications link, cellular telephone transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over a cellular telephone link, or transceiver circuitry configured to support communications over any other suitable wired or wireless communications link. Wireless communications may, for example, be supported over a Bluetooth® link, a WiFi® link, a wireless link operating at a frequency between 10 GHz and 400 GHz, a 60 GHz link, or other millimeter wave link, a cellular telephone link, or other wireless communications link. Device  10  may, if desired, include power circuits for transmitting and/or receiving wired and/or wireless power and may include batteries or other energy storage devices. For example, device  10  may include a coil and rectifier to receive wireless power that is provided to circuitry in device  10 . 
     Device  10  may include input-output devices such as devices  24 . Input-output devices  24  may be used in gathering user input, in gathering information on the environment surrounding the user, and/or in providing a user with output. Devices  24  may include one or more displays such as display(s)  14 . Display(s)  14  may include one or more display devices such as organic light-emitting diode display panels (panels with organic light-emitting diode pixels formed on polymer substrates or silicon substrates that contain pixel control circuitry), liquid crystal display panels, microelectromechanical systems displays (e.g., two-dimensional mirror arrays or scanning mirror display devices), display panels having pixel arrays formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as microLEDs), and/or other display devices. 
     Sensors  16  in input-output devices  24  may include 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 such as a touch sensor that forms a button, trackpad, or other input device), and other sensors. If desired, sensors  16  may include optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit and detect light, ultrasonic sensors, optical touch sensors, optical proximity sensors, and/or other touch sensors and/or proximity sensors, monochromatic and color ambient light sensors, image sensors, fingerprint sensors, iris scanning sensors, retinal scanning sensors, and other biometric sensors, temperature sensors, sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures (“air gestures”), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), health sensors such as blood oxygen sensors, heart rate sensors, blood flow sensors, and/or other health sensors, radio-frequency sensors, depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices that capture three-dimensional images), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, electromyography sensors to sense muscle activation, facial sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, device  10  may use sensors  16  and/or other input-output devices to gather user input. For example, buttons may be used to gather button press input, touch sensors overlapping displays can be used for gathering user touch screen input, touch pads may be used in gathering touch input, microphones may be used for gathering audio input, accelerometers may be used in monitoring when a finger contacts an input surface and may therefore be used to gather finger press input, etc. 
     If desired, electronic device  10  may include additional components (see, e.g., other devices  18  in input-output devices  24 ). The additional components may include haptic output devices, actuators for moving movable housing structures, audio output devices such as speakers, light-emitting diodes for status indicators, light sources such as light-emitting diodes that illuminate portions of a housing and/or display structure, other optical output devices, and/or other circuitry for gathering input and/or providing output. Device  10  may also include a battery or other energy storage device, connector ports for supporting wired communication with ancillary equipment and for receiving wired power, and other circuitry. 
       FIGS.  4  and  5    are top views of device  10  showing how the optical modules of device  10  move with respect to each other along lateral dimension X to accommodate different interpupillary distances IPD (the distance between a user&#39;s left and right eyes). In the example of  FIG.  4   , left optical module  40 L and right optical module  40 R have been moved towards each other to accommodate a small interpupillary distance. In the example of  FIG.  5   , left optical module  40 L and right optical module  40 R have been moved away from each other to accommodate a large interpupillary distance. 
     Curtain  12 C has edge portions such as left portion  12 C-L between left housing wall  12 M-L and left optical module  40 L and right portion  12 C-R between right housing wall  12 M-R and right optical module  40 R. Middle potion  12 C-M of curtain  12 C extends between left optical module  40 L and right optical module  40 R. In the configuration of  FIG.  4   , optical modules  40 L and  40 R are relatively close to each other, so middle portion  12 C-M is relatively small and portions  12 C-L and  12 C-R are relatively large. In the configuration of  FIG.  5   , optical modules  40 L and  40 R are relatively far from each other, so left portion  12 C-L and right portion  12 C-R are shorter along lateral dimension X and middle portion  12 C-M has been enlarged relative to the configuration of  FIG.  4   . 
     To help accommodate differences in size for curtain  12 C (e.g., length changes for portions of curtain  12 M along lateral dimension X), curtain  12 C may include a cover layer formed from a stretchable material such as fabric. The cover layer may be supported by a rigid frame. The fabric may be provided with a peripheral elastic band that helps allow the fabric to slide relative to the frame while being retained securely on the frame, thereby further helping curtain  12 M to be dynamically adjusted without exhibiting undesired buckling and wrinkling. 
       FIG.  6    is a side view of device  10  showing how device  10  may, if desired, include cooling features to help cool display  14  and other internal components  38 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , for example, device  10  may have a fan such as fan  50 . Fan  50  may be mounted in housing  12  (e.g., a fan housing in housing  12 , etc.) in a configuration that allows fan  50  to expel air from housing  12 . To allow cool air to move past the face of the user while cooling electrical components in interior region  34  such as internal components  38  and display  14 , curtain  12 C may be permeable to air. Curtain  12 C may, as an example, have one or more air-flow-promotion openings. In an illustrative configuration, curtain  12 C is formed from knit or woven fabric that has a sufficiently loose knit or weave to allow air to flow through the interstitial gaps between adjacent strands of material in the fabric (e.g., between warp and weft strands). Openings may also be formed by laser cutting and/or other opening formation techniques. In configurations in which curtain  12 C is permeable to air, air may flow into device  10  through curtain  12 C, may flow past display  14  and other internal components  38 , and may exit interior region  34  through fan  50 . Air may flow in this way to cool device  10  while device  10  is being worn on a head of a user. If desired, housing  12  may have additional openings (e.g., slot shaped openings on an upper wall, side wall, and/or lower wall) that provide additional pathways for air flow. 
     To allow a cover layer in curtain  12 C to slide back and forth during adjustments to the positions of modules  40 , curtain  12 C may be provided with a rigid frame that supports the cover layer without excessively restricting lateral motion of the cover layer.  FIG.  7    is an exploded perspective view of a left-hand portion of an illustrative curtain. As shown in  FIG.  7   , curtain  12 C may include frame  12 CF and cover layer  12 CC. Cover layer  12 CC may have left and right openings such as lens barrel opening  52  to receive respective left and right optical modules  40 . Frame  12 CF may have corresponding left and right openings such as illustrative opening  54 . Opening  54  may be larger than opening  52  to accommodate lateral movement of module  40 . When mounted in device  10 , cover layer  12 CC may be attached to frame  12 CF so that cover layer  12 CC can stretch and/or slide relative to frame  12 CF. 
     If desired, cover layer  12 CC may include multiple layers of material. As shown in the top view of  FIG.  8   , for example, cover layer  12 CC may, include outer layer  56  and inner layer  58 . Outer layer  56  may be, for example, a fabric layer. Inner layer  58  may be, for example, a layer of fabric formed form polymer strands that have been thermally formed into an accordion shape. In this type of arrangement, outer layer  56  may be a fabric with a desired visual appearance, whereas inner layer  58  may be a fabric or other layer that provides cover layer  12 CC with a desired opacity to help block internal device components from view. Layer  12 CC may be attached to module  40  using attachment structures  60 . Structures  60  may include retention rings, screws and other fasteners, clips, and other structures that mechanically attach layer  12 CC to support structures  32  of module  40  and/or may include adhesive for attaching layer  12 CC to module  40 . 
     If desired, layer  12 CC may be provided with a peripheral elastic band. This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG.  9   . As shown in  FIG.  9   , cover layer  12 CC may have fabric  62  and peripheral elastic band  64 . Fabric  62  may be warp knit fabric, weft knit fabric, or other knit fabric (e.g., to promote stretchiness), may be woven fabric, braided fabric, non-woven fabric, etc. If desired, a layer of stretchy plastic may be attached to fabric  62  and/or an elastomeric polymer layer may be used in place of some or all of fabric  62  in forming layer  12 CC. Fabric  62  may be formed from interlaced (intertwined) strands of material such as polymer strands, strands of cotton or other natural material, synthetic material, and/or other materials. The strands in fabric  62  may include monofilament strands and/or multi-filament strands. In an illustrative configuration, some of the strands of fabric  62  may be selected to provide fabric  62  with strength, whereas other strands in fabric  62  may be formed from elastomeric material that enhances the ability of fabric  62  to stretch (and that has a lower elastic modulus than the strands that provide fabric  62  with strength). Examples of stretchable strand materials include elastomeric materials such as silicone and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Examples of strength-enhancing strand materials include polyester, nylon, etc. Elastic band  64  may be formed from a strand of elastomeric material such as a strand of silicone or thermoplastic polyurethane or other stretchable material. Other materials may be used in forming the strands in fabric  62 , if desired. 
     Elastic band  64  may be attached to along the outer edge of fabric  62  by sewing, by knitting band  64  into a knit fabric, using adhesive, using crimped connections or other fasteners, and/or by otherwise attaching band  64  to the periphery of fabric  62 . If desired, band  64  may be formed from warp strands and weft strands in a woven fabric (see, e.g., band  64  of fabric  62  of  FIG.  10   ). 
     The fabric or other material forming cover layer  12 CC may be stretchable. As shown in  FIG.  11   , for example, layer  12 CC may be configured to be stretched without damage from a first shape characterized by length L1 along dimension X to a second larger shape characterized by length L2 along dimension X. The amount of stretching (L2/L1) that layer  12 CC may accommodate may be, for example, at least 50%, at least 75%, at least 100%, or at least 150%. 
     When attaching cover layer  12 CC to frame  12 CF, band  64  may fit over the outside of frame  12 CF. Band  64  may then tug inwardly on the portions of cover layer  12 CC that overlap the edges of the frame. This, in turn, will help to tension the main portion of layer  12 CC outwardly (e.g., in lateral dimensions X and Y), thereby ensuring that cover layer  12 CC will remain taut. At the same time, there may be at least some allowed lateral slippage of layer  12 CC back and forth as needed to accommodate changes in the positions of modules  40 . 
     An illustrative shape for frame  12 CF of curtain  12 C is shown in  FIG.  12   . As shown in  FIG.  12   , frame  12 CF may have left and right openings  54  to overlap the desired range of positions achievable by modules  40 . Frame  12 CF may have an outer ring-shaped portion  66  bridged in the portion of frame  12 CF that overlaps the user&#39;s nose by bridging middle portion  68 . Openings  54  may be rectangular, oval, teardrop shaped, circular, and/or may have other suitable shapes. 
       FIG.  13    shows how elastic band  64  may help provide fabric  62  of cover  12 CC with the ability to slide laterally relative to frame to accommodate movement in optical modules  40  while helping to keep fabric  62  taut. Elastic band  64  is normally in a stretched state. As a result, band  64  attempts to contract and, in doing so, tends to pull fabric  62  around frame  12 CF in direction  74 . On the inner side of frame  12 CF, the tightening force from band  64  is therefore normally pulling fabric  62  in direction  76 , whereas on the opposing outer (rear-facing) side of frame  12 CF, the tightening force of band  64  tends to pull fabric  62  towards the periphery of frame  12 CF in direction  78 . The presence of band  64  therefore helps tighten fabric  62  and prevent wrinkles in cover layer  12 CC. 
     When it is desired to move optical module  40 , fabric  62  can slide back and forth over frame  12 CF as needed. Consider, as an example, a scenario in which module  40  is moved in direction  70 . This pulls fabric  62  on the outer side of frame  12 CF (e.g., frame portion  66 ) in direction  80 . On the inner side of frame  12 CF, the edge of fabric  62  is pulled in direction  72 , causing band  64  to stretch and expand slightly (e.g., so that band  64  moves to position  64 ′). Due to the pull on fabric  62  in direction  80 , fabric  62  slides around frame  12 CF and across the outer surface of frame  12 CF in direction  82 , thereby helping to accommodate movement of module  40  without wrinkling cover layer  12 CC. 
     To facilitate sliding movement of cover  12 CC around the edges of frame  12 CF in this way, at least the left and right edges of cover  12 CC (and adjacent portions along the upper and lower edges of cover  12 CC) may not be fixedly attached to frame  12 CF or housing  12 . An illustrative configuration for mounting curtain  12 C within housing portion  12 M of housing  12  of device  10  is shown in  FIG.  14   . In the example of  FIG.  14   , housing portion  12 M has a central support such as housing structure  84 . Curtain  12 C may be fixedly attached to structure  84  using attachment mechanism  86 . Mechanism  86  may include, for example, glue and/or mechanical structures that grip fabric  62  and/or other portions of curtain  12 C to hold curtain  12 C firmly in place within device  10 . Mechanism  86  may, if desired, include engagement structures (e.g., snap features) that allow curtain  12 C to be removed and replaced with another curtain. When mounted in device  10 , however, mechanism  86  will hold curtain  12 C securely. 
     As shown in  FIG.  14   , device  10  may, if desired, have a ring-shaped opaque light seal such as light seal  90 . Light seal  90  may be configured to be removable (e.g. so that light seal  90  may be replaced when worn). Foam or other soft materials may be used in forming light seal  90 . 
     The attachment structures used in mechanism  86  of  FIG.  14    may or may not permit fabric  62  to slide freely with respect to frame  12 CF. To permit fabric  62  to slide freely with respect to frame  12 CF of curtain  12 C elsewhere in curtain  12 C (e.g., at the left and right edges of curtain  12 C and at other portions of curtain  12 C away from attachment mechanism  86 ), curtain  12 C may float with respect to housing  12 M (except at attachment mechanism  86 ). As an example, the opposing ends of curtain  12 C at the left and right edges of curtain  12 C may be separated from nearby portions of housing portion  12 M by air gaps  88 . This prevents the fabric of layer  12 CC from becoming caught between frame  12 CF and housing  12 .  FIG.  15    shows how attachment structures  86  may, if desired, be used to couple a bridging central portion of frame  12 CF such as portion  68  to housing structure  84  in the center of frame  12 CF (e.g., along the upper and lower edges of curtain  12 C). 
       FIG.  16    is a cross-sectional view of curtain  12 C showing how attachment mechanism  86  for attaching curtain  12  to housing structure  84  may include trim member  94 . Adhesive  92  may be used to attach fabric  62  and frame  12 CF to trim member  94  (e.g., in the vicinity of attachment mechanism  86  in the areas of curtain  12 C that overlap bridging portion  86  of frame  12 CF). Trim member  94  and housing structure  84  may have mating engagement structures. For example, trim member  94  may have a snap such as snap  96  that mates with a corresponding hook such as hook  98  on housing structure  84 . When it is desired to snap curtain  12 C in place, curtain  12 C may be pressed into housing  12 M in the −Z direction. If desired, curtain  12 C may be removed by disengaging (e.g., unsnapping) the engagement structures (e.g., when it is desired to remove or replace curtain  12 C). 
     If desired, curtain  12 C may be used in equipment other than devices  10 . Consider, as an example, the arrangement of  FIG.  17   . As shown in  FIG.  17   , apparatus  100  may have a movable member such as movable member  102 . Apparatus  100  may be, for example, a joystick or automobile stick shift and movable member  102  may be a movable shaft. Movable member  102  may move in one or more directions  104 . Curtain  12 C may have a cover layer  12 CC formed from fabric  62  or other covering material and may have peripheral elastic band  64 . Cover layer  12 CC may be mounted over a frame such as frame  12 CF. This allows cover layer  12 CC to slip and/or stretch during movement of member  102  to help avoid wrinkling in curtain  12 C. 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of information such as information from input-output devices. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, data may be gathered that includes personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter ID&#39;s, home addresses, data or records relating to a user&#39;s health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, username, password, biometric information, or any other identifying or personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to deliver targeted content that is of greater interest to the user. Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables users to calculated control of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user&#39;s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the United States, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation in the collection of personal information data during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In another example, users can select not to provide certain types of user data. In yet another example, users can select to limit the length of time user-specific data is maintained. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an application (“app”) that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of information that may include personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. 
     Physical environment: A physical environment refers to a physical world that people can sense and/or interact with without aid of electronic systems. Physical environments, such as a physical park, include physical articles, such as physical trees, physical buildings, and physical people. People can directly sense and/or interact with the physical environment, such as through sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. 
     Computer-generated reality: in contrast, a computer-generated reality (CGR) environment refers to a wholly or partially simulated environment that people sense and/or interact with via an electronic system. In CGR, a subset of a person&#39;s physical motions, or representations thereof, are tracked, and, in response, one or more characteristics of one or more virtual objects simulated in the CGR environment are adjusted in a manner that comports with at least one law of physics. For example, a CGR system may detect a person&#39;s head turning and, in response, adjust graphical content and an acoustic field presented to the person in a manner similar to how such views and sounds would change in a physical environment. In some situations (e.g., for accessibility reasons), adjustments to characteristic(s) of virtual object(s) in a CGR environment may be made in response to representations of physical motions (e.g., vocal commands). A person may sense and/or interact with a CGR object using any one of their senses, including sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. For example, a person may sense and/or interact with audio objects that create 3D or spatial audio environment that provides the perception of point audio sources in 3D space. In another example, audio objects may enable audio transparency, which selectively incorporates ambient sounds from the physical environment with or without computer-generated audio. In some CGR environments, a person may sense and/or interact only with audio objects. Examples of CGR include virtual reality and mixed reality. 
     Virtual reality: A virtual reality (VR) environment refers to a simulated environment that is designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory inputs for one or more senses. A VR environment comprises a plurality of virtual objects with which a person may sense and/or interact. For example, computer-generated imagery of trees, buildings, and avatars representing people are examples of virtual objects. A person may sense and/or interact with virtual objects in the VR environment through a simulation of the person&#39;s presence within the computer-generated environment, and/or through a simulation of a subset of the person&#39;s physical movements within the computer-generated environment. 
     Mixed reality: In contrast to a VR environment, which is designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory inputs, a mixed reality (MR) environment refers to a simulated environment that is designed to incorporate sensory inputs from the physical environment, or a representation thereof, in addition to including computer-generated sensory inputs (e.g., virtual objects). On a virtuality continuum, a mixed reality environment is anywhere between, but not including, a wholly physical environment at one end and virtual reality environment at the other end. In some MR environments, computer-generated sensory inputs may respond to changes in sensory inputs from the physical environment. Also, some electronic systems for presenting an MR environment may track location and/or orientation with respect to the physical environment to enable virtual objects to interact with real objects (that is, physical articles from the physical environment or representations thereof). For example, a system may account for movements so that a virtual tree appears stationery with respect to the physical ground. Examples of mixed realities include augmented reality and augmented virtuality. Augmented reality: an augmented reality (AR) environment refers to a simulated environment in which one or more virtual objects are superimposed over a physical environment, or a representation thereof. For example, an electronic system for presenting an AR environment may have a transparent or translucent display through which a person may directly view the physical environment. The system may be configured to present virtual objects on the transparent or translucent display, so that a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objects superimposed over the physical environment. Alternatively, a system may have an opaque display and one or more imaging sensors that capture images or video of the physical environment, which are representations of the physical environment. The system composites the images or video with virtual objects, and presents the composition on the opaque display. A person, using the system, indirectly views the physical environment by way of the images or video of the physical environment, and perceives the virtual objects superimposed over the physical environment. As used herein, a video of the physical environment shown on an opaque display is called “pass-through video,” meaning a system uses one or more image sensor(s) to capture images of the physical environment, and uses those images in presenting the AR environment on the opaque display. Further alternatively, a system may have a projection system that projects virtual objects into the physical environment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface, so that a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objects superimposed over the physical environment. An augmented reality environment also refers to a simulated environment in which a representation of a physical environment is transformed by computer-generated sensory information. For example, in providing pass-through video, a system may transform one or more sensor images to impose a select perspective (e.g., viewpoint) different than the perspective captured by the imaging sensors. As another example, a representation of a physical environment may be transformed by graphically modifying (e.g., enlarging) portions thereof, such that the modified portion may be representative but not photorealistic versions of the originally captured images. As a further example, a representation of a physical environment may be transformed by graphically eliminating or obfuscating portions thereof. Augmented virtuality: an augmented virtuality (AV) environment refers to a simulated environment in which a virtual or computer generated environment incorporates one or more sensory inputs from the physical environment. The sensory inputs may be representations of one or more characteristics of the physical environment. For example, an AV park may have virtual trees and virtual buildings, but people with faces photorealistically reproduced from images taken of physical people. As another example, a virtual object may adopt a shape or color of a physical article imaged by one or more imaging sensors. As a further example, a virtual object may adopt shadows consistent with the position of the sun in the physical environment. 
     Hardware: there are many different types of electronic systems that enable a person to sense and/or interact with various CGR environments. Examples include head mounted systems, projection-based systems, heads-up displays (HUDs), vehicle windshields having integrated display capability, windows having integrated display capability, displays formed as lenses designed to be placed on a person&#39;s eyes (e.g., similar to contact lenses), headphones/earphones, speaker arrays, input systems (e.g., wearable or handheld controllers with or without haptic feedback), smartphones, tablets, and desktop/laptop computers. A head mounted system may have one or more speaker(s) and an integrated opaque display. Alternatively, a head mounted system may be configured to accept an external opaque display (e.g., a smartphone). The head mounted system may incorporate one or more imaging sensors to capture images or video of the physical environment, and/or one or more microphones to capture audio of the physical environment. Rather than an opaque display, a head mounted system may have a transparent or translucent display. The transparent or translucent display may have a medium through which light representative of images is directed to a person&#39;s eyes. The display may utilize digital light projection, OLEDs, LEDs, μLEDs, liquid crystal on silicon, laser scanning light sources, or any combination of these technologies. The medium may be an optical waveguide, a hologram medium, an optical combiner, an optical reflector, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the transparent or translucent display may be configured to become opaque selectively. Projection-based systems may employ retinal projection technology that projects graphical images onto a person&#39;s retina. Projection systems also may be configured to project virtual objects into the physical environment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface. 
     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: 20210225
Publication Date: 20240102
Grant Date: 20240102
Priority Date: 20200415
Inventors: TAO, YIWEI
DHANDHANIA, VEDANT A.
WRIGHT, TIMON A.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G02B7/12", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B25/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0172", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/017", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/12", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0154", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B7/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B25/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/013", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0132", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 78080813