PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11119312-B2
Application Number: US-201916379000-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic device with optical sensor interference mitigation structures

Abstract:
An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a transparent member supported by head-mounted support structures. Optical sensors such as time-of-flight sensors and other optical sensors may have light-emitting components and light-detecting components. A stray light blocking structure may be formed in the transparent member. The stray light blocking structure may be configured to block stray light that is traveling laterally through an interior portion of the polymer layer. This prevents the stray light from being received by the light-detecting detecting device. The stray light blocking structure may formed by providing the polymer layer with light redirecting structures such as protrusions and/or recesses. Light-absorbing coatings and/or patterned surfaces such as textured surfaces may be incorporated into the stray light blocking structure.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device operable in an environment with an external object, comprising:
 a head-mountable support structure; 
 a member comprising a layer supported by the head-mountable support structure that is configured to separate an exterior region that contains the external object from an interior region; 
 a light-emitting component that is configured to emit light through the layer; 
 a light-detecting component that is configured to detect the emitted light after the emitted light has reflected from the external object; and 
 a stray light blocking structure formed as a protrusion on the layer that blocks stray light emitted by the light-emitting component that has been coupled into an interior portion of the layer and that is being guided within the interior portion of the layer towards the light-detecting component by total internal reflection, wherein the stray light blocking structure is interposed between the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the layer is a polymer layer having an exterior surface facing the exterior region and an opposing interior surface facing the interior region, wherein the protrusion is on the interior surface, wherein the emitted light is infrared light, wherein the light-detecting component is configured to detect the infrared light, wherein the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component are configured to form a time-of-flight sensor, and wherein the stray light blocking structure is between the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the protrusion is between the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the member comprises polymer. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the protrusion includes a textured area. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the stray light blocking structure comprises multiple adjacent parallel ridges between the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the stray light blocking structure comprises a polymer coating on the protrusion that is configured to absorb the stray light. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the stray light blocking structure comprises a polymer film on an interior surface of the layer that faces the interior. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8  wherein the polymer film is configured to absorb the stray light. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  wherein the polymer film is between the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light-emitting component is in the interior region, wherein the light-detecting component is in the interior region, and wherein the emitted light has a wavelength of 0.8 to 2.5 microns. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the layer is a transparent layer that is configured to allow visible light to pass from the exterior region to eye boxes in the interior region. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  further comprising a display configured to provide images to the eye boxes that are overlaid on real-world content associated with the visible light passing from the exterior region to the eye boxes. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising a display that is coupled to the head-mountable support structure and that is configured to provide images to eye boxes in the interior region. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the light-emitting component and the light-detecting component are configured to form an optical sensor that measures distance between the external object and the optical sensor. 
     
     
       16. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a head-mounted support structure; 
 a transparent layer supported by the head-mounted support structure; 
 an infrared light-emitting component configured to emit infrared light into the transparent layer at a first location; and 
 an infrared light-detecting component configured to receive infrared light through the transparent layer at a second location, wherein the transparent layer has a first width at the first and second locations, wherein the transparent layer has a protrusion that blocks stray light from the infrared light-emitting component that is traveling within the transparent layer by total internal reflection towards the light-detecting component, wherein the protrusion is interposed between the infrared light-emitting component and the infrared light-detecting component, and wherein the transparent layer has a second width that is greater than the first width at the protrusion. 
 
     
     
       17. The head-mounted display defined in  claim 16  further comprising a light-absorbing coating on the protrusion. 
     
     
       18. The head-mounted display defined in  claim 16  wherein the protrusion has a width along a surface of the transparent layer of less than 10 microns and wherein the infrared light-emitting component and the infrared light-detecting component form a time-of-flight sensor. 
     
     
       19. A head-mounted device, comprising:
 a head-mounted support structure; 
 a layer supported by the head-mounted support structure, wherein the layer has a planar outer surface and an opposing planar inner surface; 
 a first optical sensor on the layer having a first light-emitting device that emits light into the planar inner surface and a first light-detecting device; and 
 a second optical sensor on the layer having a second light-emitting device and a second light-detecting device; and 
 a stray light blocking structure on the planar inner surface that blocks stray light from the first light-emitting device that is traveling within the layer towards the second light-detecting device. 
 
     
     
       20. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 19  further comprising a display configured to present an image, wherein the stray light blocking structure comprises a protrusion on the layer. 
     
     
       21. The head-mounted device defined in  claim 20  wherein the protrusion comprises a ridge with a curved cross-sectional profile and wherein the ridge is between the first and second optical sensors.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/721,964, filed Aug. 23, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with optical sensors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices may include optical sensors. Optical sensors sometimes include light-emitting and light-detecting components. 
     Challenges can arise in incorporating optical sensors into electronic devices. If care is not taken, stray light from a light-emitting device can create noise for a light-detecting device. This can adversely affect optical sensor accuracy. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a transparent member supported by head-mounted support structures. The transparent member may cover the front of a head-mounted device and may overlap eye boxes where a user&#39;s eyes receive images from a display in the electronic device. Sensors may be used to make measurements of the environment surrounding a user of the head-mounted device. In some configurations, displayed images may be overlaid on top of real world images. Transparent members may also be incorporated into handheld devices and other equipment. 
     A transparent member for a head-mounted device or other equipment may be formed from a layer of polymer or other material. Optical sensors such as time-of-flight sensors and other optical sensors may have light-emitting components and light-detecting components. The optical sensors may be configured to operate through the transparent member. For example, a light-emitting component may emit light through transparent member and a light-detecting component may detect light that has passed through the transparent member. With an illustrative configuration, a first light-emitting device and first light-detecting device that form a first time-of-flight sensor may be located on a left side of a head-mounted device and a second light-emitting device and second light-detecting device that form a second time-of-flight sensor may be located on a right side of the transparent member. Other configurations for a head-mounted device that incorporates one or more light-emitting devices and one or more light-detecting devices may be used, if desired. 
     A stray light blocking structure may be formed from a protrusion and/or a recess in the transparent member. The stray light blocking structure may be configured to block stray light that is traveling laterally through an interior portion of the polymer layer. This prevents the stray light that has been emitted from a light-emitting device and coupled into the interior of the polymer layer from being received by a light-detecting detecting device. For example, an elongated strip-shaped stray light blocking structure that runs down the center of a polymer layer on the front of a head-mounted display may prevent stray light interference between the first and second time-of-flight sensors located respectively on opposing sides of the stray light blocking structure. 
     The stray light blocking structure may be formed by providing a polymer layer with light redirecting structures such as protrusions and/or recesses. Light-absorbing coatings and/or patterned surfaces such as textured surfaces may be incorporated into the stray light blocking structure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of a transparent layer in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9   10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13  are cross-sectional side views of illustrative structures for a transparent layer in an electronic device to help reduce sensor interference from stray light in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device may have a transparent member such as a transparent cover layer of glass or polymer in a pair of goggles, glasses, or other head-mounted device. The transparent member may be formed from a layer of polymer, a glass layer, and/or other layers of material and may have stray light blocking structures that help block stray light propagation within the transparent layer. This helps reduce stray light interference between optical components mounted at different locations behind the transparent layer. 
     An illustrative electronic device of the type that may include a transparent member with stray light blocking is shown in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , device  10  may include control circuitry  12 , communications circuitry  14 , and input-output devices  16 . Device  10  may be a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a head-mounted device such as glasses, goggles, a helmet, or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which equipment is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, a removable external case for electronic equipment, an accessory such as a remote control, computer mouse, track pad, wireless or wired keyboard, or other accessory, and/or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. 
     Control circuitry  12  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  12  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. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external electronic equipment, control circuitry  12  may communicate using communications circuitry  14 . Communications circuitry  14  may include antennas, radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, and other wireless communications circuitry and/or wired communications circuitry. Circuitry  14 , which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communications circuitry, may, for example, support wireless communications using wireless local area network links, near-field communications links, cellular telephone links, millimeter wave links, and/or other wireless communications paths. 
     Input-output devices  16  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  16  may include sensors  18 . Sensors  18  may include force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones, capacitive touch sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, other touch sensors, ultrasonic 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), muscle activity sensors (EMG), radio-frequency sensors (e.g., radar and other ranging and positioning sensors), humidity sensors, moisture sensors, and/or other sensors. 
     Input-output devices  16  may include optical components such as light-emitting diodes (e.g., for camera flash or other blanket illumination, etc.), lasers such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and other laser diodes, laser components that emit multiple parallel laser beams (e.g., for three-dimensional sensing), lamps, and light sensing components such as photodetectors and digital image sensors. For example, sensors  18  in devices  16  may include depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices that can optically sense three-dimensional shapes), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements and/or other measurements to determine distance between the sensor and an external object and/or that can determine relative velocity, monochromatic and/or color ambient light sensors that can measure ambient light levels, proximity sensors based on light (e.g., optical proximity sensors that include light sources such as infrared light-emitting diodes and/or lasers and corresponding light detectors such as infrared photodetectors that can detect when external objects are within a predetermined distance), optical sensors such as visual odometry sensors that gather position and/or orientation information using images gathered with digital image sensors in cameras, gaze tracking sensors, visible light and/or infrared cameras having digital image sensors configured to gather image data, optical sensors for measuring ultraviolet light, and/or other optical sensor components (e.g., light sensitive devices and, if desired, light source), and/or other optical components (one or more light-emitting devices, one or more light-detecting devices, etc.). 
     Input-output devices  16  may also include displays such as display  20 . Displays in device  10  may be organic light-emitting diode displays, displays based on arrays of light-emitting diodes formed from crystalline semiconductor dies, liquid crystal displays, electrophoretic displays, microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) displays such as displays with arrays of moving mirrors, liquid-crystal-on-silicon displays, and/or other displays. 
     If desired, input-output devices  16  may include other devices  22 . Devices  22  may include components such as status indicator lights (e.g., light-emitting devices such as light-emitting diodes in devices  10  that serve as power indicators), and other light-based output devices, speakers and other audio output devices, electromagnets, permanent magnets, structures formed from magnetic material (e.g., iron bars or other ferromagnetic members that are attracted to magnets such as electromagnets and/or permanent magnets), batteries, etc. Devices  22  may also include power transmitting and/or receiving circuits configured to transmit and/or receive wired and/or wireless power signals. Devices  22  may include buttons, rotating buttons, push buttons, joysticks, keys such as alphanumeric keys in a keyboard or keypad, microphones for gathering voice commands, touch sensor input devices, accelerometers for gathering user input gestures such as tap gestures, and/or other devices for gathering user input. Devices  22  may also include output components such as haptic output devices and other output components. 
     In an illustrative arrangement, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, device  10  may be a head-mounted device. Consider, as an example, the arrangement of  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may have housing structures such as housing  24 . Housing  24  may be formed from materials such as polymer, glass, metal, ceramic, fabric, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Housing  24  may be used to support structures such as transparent member  30  that separate interior region (interior)  26  from exterior region (exterior)  28 . In some configurations, housing  24  may have portions such as portion  24 ′ that help enclose some or all of interior  26  and separate interior  26  from exterior  28  (e.g., when housing  24  forms portions of the body of a vehicle or forms an enclosure for a cellular telephone or computer. In these arrangements, printed circuits, integrated circuits, mechanical structures, and other components (see, e.g., control circuitry  12 , communications circuitry  14  and/or input-output devices  16 ) may be located within the enclosure formed by housing  24 . Components such as these may also be coupled to housing  24  via a cable (as an example). In some arrangements, components for device  10  may be embedded within hollow portions of housing  24 . 
     If desired, housing  24  of  FIG. 2  may be configured to form head-mounted support structures that hold device  10  on a head of a user (with or without a rear strap or other rear portion  24 ′) and member  30  may form some or all of a front portion for device  10  that helps separate interior  26  from exterior  28 . In virtual reality arrangements, device  10  may include lenses or other optical system components and a display such as display  20  to provide virtual content to a user (e.g., still and/or moving images such as computer-generated content, etc.). In augmented reality arrangements, a forward facing camera (e.g., a camera supported by housing  24  and/or member  30 ) may gather images of the real world such as real-world object  50  for presentation to the user with display  20  and/or the user may view real-world objects such as object  50  through transparent member  30 . Waveguides with holographic couplers or other optical couplers may, as an example, overlap member  30  and/or may be incorporated into member  30  to merge computer-generated images from display  20  to eye boxes  36  with real-world image light (e.g., real-world image light from real-world objects such as external object  50 ). 
     To provide transparent member  30  with the ability to pass visible light (e.g., so that a user with eyes at eye boxes  36  can view real-world images through transparent member  30 ), member  30  can have bulk light transmission properties and, if desired, may have coatings (e.g., thin metal coatings and/or thin-film interference filter coatings formed from stacks of dielectric materials, and/or other coatings) that are configured to pass sufficient visible light for image viewing (e.g., at least 10% of ambient light may be transmitted, at least 50% of ambient light may be transmitted, etc.). In some configurations, member  30  (e.g., a substrate layer of transparent polymer or other material and/or one or more coatings of dielectric, metal, thin-film interference filter coatings, etc.) may be configured to block some or all infrared light (e.g., near infrared light) and/or to transmit some or all near infrared light or other infrared light (over the entire surface of member  30  and/or over a portion of member  30 ). In arrangements in which member  30  is transparent to infrared light, infrared optical components may operate through member  30 . 
     One or more components such as component  52  may be mounted adjacent to the inner surface of member  30 . Components  52  may be optical components (e.g., light-emitting devices and/or light-detecting devices). For example, components  52  may be time-of-flight light sensor components, image sensors, depth sensors, proximity sensors, and/or other optical sensors for determining the location (e.g., the distance) of objects such as external object  50  in the user&#39;s environment. Components  52  may also include other optical components that emit and/or detect light (e.g., a camera flash, an infrared light-emitting diode that emits blanket infrared light, image sensors, etc.). 
     During operation, one or more of components  52  may be used to emit light and/or one or more of components  52  may be used to detect light. For example, a first of components  52  at a first location on the interior surface of member  30  may emit light and a second of components  52  at a second location on the interior surface of member  30  may detect light. The second component may, as an example, detect some of the emitted light that has reflected (scattered) from external object  50  (e.g., during operation of a time-of-flight sensor formed from the first and second components and/or during other optical sensing operations). 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of member  30  in an illustrative configuration in which device  10  includes optical components such as component  52 . The optical components may be formed in interior  26  or other suitable portion of device  10  and may be overlapped by member  30  at one or more locations such as illustrative locations L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , and L 4 . There may be any suitable number of components  52  in device  10  (e.g., at least one, at least two, at least three, at least four, at least 10, fewer than 25, fewer than 8, etc.). In the example of  FIG. 3 , there are two light-emitting components and two light-detecting components. Each light-emitting component and light-detecting component pair may form a corresponding time-of-flight sensor (as an example). The emitted light from the light-emitting components may be infrared light (as an example). The light-emitting components may be located at locations L 1  and L 2  while the light detecting components are located at locations L 3  and L 4  or other layouts may be used. In arrangements in which light-emitting components are located at locations L 1  and L 2  and light detecting components are located at locations L 3  and L 4 , the light-emitting component at L 1  and the light-detecting component at L 3  may form a first time-of-flight sensor (as an example) and the light-emitting component at L 2  and the light-detecting component at L 4  may form a second time-of-flight sensor. 
     In arrangements such as these in which emitted light from a light-emitting component is being sensed by a light-detecting component, there is a potential for scattered light interference as the emitted light passes through member  30 . For example, emitted light from a light-emitting component at location L 1  may scatter from an optical defect in member  30  (e.g., a surface pit or bump or a light-scattering particle in the portion of member  30  that overlaps the light-emitting component) and this scattered light may propagate laterally within member  30  in accordance with the principle of total internal reflection (e.g., member  30  may serve as a waveguide). The scattered light from the light-emitting component at location L 1  may, as an example, be detected by a light-detecting component at a location such as location L 3  or L 4  (as an example). Because the scattered light did not reflect off of an external object such as object  50 , but rather was coupled to the light-detecting component internally within device  10 , the scattered light serves as a source of noise. 
     To reduce interference between light-emitting components and light-detecting components that are configured to operate through member  30 , member  30  may include one or more stray light blocking structures. As shown in  FIG. 3 , illustrative stray light blocking structures  54  may be placed at locations in member  30  that laterally surround some or all of a light-emitting component, that laterally surround some or all of a light-detecting component, and/or that otherwise intervene between a light-emitting component and a light-detecting component. When structures  54  are incorporated into member  30 , stray light from a light-emitting device is blocked (e.g., redirected and/or absorbed) before interfering with the measurements made by a light-detecting component, thereby enhancing sensor performance. 
     In the example of  FIG. 3 , stray light blocking structure  54 ′ has an elongated strip shape that runs vertically across the entire face of member  40  and is located in the center of member  30 . This helps prevent stray light emitted on one side of member  30  and device  10  (e.g., the left side of  FIG. 3 ) from interfering with light measurements made by a light-detecting component on another side of member  30  and device  10  (e.g., the right side of  FIG. 3 ). Arrangements of this type may be advantageous in devices in which a first time-of-flight sensor is formed from an emitter and detector pair on a first side of structure  54  and a second time-of-flight sensor is formed from an additional emitter and detector pair on a second side of structure  54 . By optically isolating the first and second time-of-flight sensors from each other, electrical interference mitigation techniques (e.g., synchronizing operation of the two time-of-flight sensors using a time-division multiplexing technique to help reduce interference between the two sensors) need not be used. Light blocking structures in member  30  also reduce stray light noise within a given time-of-flight sensor. 
       FIG. 3  also shows how stray light blocking structure  54 ′ and the other illustrative stray light blocking structures  54  of  FIG. 3  may be formed in portions of member  30  that leave central portions  56  free of the stray light blocking structures. This allows a user to view real world objects through regions  56  of member  30  without experiencing optical distortion or other potentially undesired optical effects. In general, stray light blocking structures can be located in any suitable areas of member  30 . The locations of the stray light blocking structures of  FIG. 3  are illustrative. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of member  30  in an illustrative configuration in which member  30  includes a stray light blocking structure. Member  30  may a transparent layer such as the transparent layer of polymer, glass, and/or other material on the front of a pair of glasses, goggles, or other head-mounted device or may be any other transparent layer for device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 4 , stray light blocking structure  54  is a protrusion formed on the inner surface of member  30 . Other stray light blocking structures may be used, if desired. 
     During operation of device  10  of  FIG. 4 , member  30  may allow light from light-emitting device  52 A to pass from interior  26  to exterior  28  (e.g., to illuminate object  50 ) and may allow light (e.g., emitted light that has been reflected from object  50 ) to pass from exterior  28  to interior  26  and light-detecting device  52 B. 
     Light-emitting device  52 A emits light  60 . Light  60  may be visible light, infrared light, or other light. For example, light  60  may be infrared light having a wavelength of 0.8 to 2.5 microns, from 1 micron to 2 microns, 1.5 microns, or other suitable wavelength. In the example of  FIG. 4 , there is a light-scattering structure (e.g. a surface pit or bump due to a scratch or other defect) such as light-scattering structure  61  that scatters some of emitted light  60  into the interior of member  30  as stray light  62 . The index of refraction of layer  30  is greater than that of the air surrounding member  30 . As a result, member  30  serves as a light guide layer (planar waveguide) that guides stray light  62  laterally (in the X-Y plane of  FIG. 4 ) in accordance with the principle of total internal reflection. 
     Due to the presence of stray light blocking structure  54 , a portion of stray light  62  is directed out of layer  30  at structure  54 . For example, structure  54  may have surfaces that are not co-planar with the inner surface of member  30  and that are oriented so that the surface normal of these surfaces are close to parallel with rays of light  62 . This locally defeats total internal reflection and allows light  62  to be coupled out of the interior of member  30  as indicated by ray  64 ′. This light is then scattered and absorbed within interior  26  and not detected as noise by light-detecting component  52 B. Some rays of light  62  are coupled out of structure  54  in this way after reflecting from the non-co-planar surface of structure  54  (see, e.g., ray  64 ″, which is reflected backward due to the curved surface associated with the rounded protrusion formed in structure  54  of  FIG. 4 , and associated ray  64 ′″ which exits member  30  because ray  64 ′″ is propagating nearly perpendicular to the surface normal of member  30  in structure  54 ). 
     The presence of stray light blocking structure  54  blocks a portion (e.g., at least 30%, at least 70%, at least 90%, or other suitable amount) of the stray light in member  30  that would otherwise propagate laterally within the interior of member  30  to light-detecting device  52 B and create noise. As a result, any stray light that reaches light detecting component  52 B (see, e.g., remaining stray light  66  in the example of  FIG. 4 ) is significantly reduced. The signal-to-noise ratio of light-detecting component  52 B (and therefore the signal-to-noise ratio of the time-of-flight sensor and/or other optical sensor formed from components  52 A and  52 B) may therefore be enhanced. 
     Stray light blocking structures such as illustrative structure  54  of  FIG. 4  may include protrusions (e.g., ridges and/or bumps), recesses (e.g., pits or grooves), coatings (e.g., light-absorbing coatings, gratings, coatings that promote out-coupling of light by defeating total internal reflection), textured structures, and/or other structures that reduce the amount of emitted stray light that reaches light-defecting components such as component  52 B of  FIG. 4 . These protrusions and other structures may be formed on the inner surface of member  30  and/or the outer surface of member  30 . Configurations in which structure  54  is formed on the inner surface of member  30  may help hide structure  54  from view by people (external viewers) in the vicinity of device  10  and may provide device  10  with a clean external appearance. 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of an illustrative stray light blocking structure formed from a protrusion in member  30  with a triangular cross-sectional profile. 
       FIG. 6  shows stray light blocking structure  54  may have a cross-sectional profile with four (or more) straight segments. 
     In the example of  FIG. 7 , stray light blocking structure  54  has a cross-sectional profile characterized by a central protrusion with smaller flanking protrusions. 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 8 , member  30  has been formed from a transparent layer having a cross-sectional profile with curved surfaces. Stray light blocking structure  54  has been formed on a concave surface (e.g., a concave inner surface) of member  30 . Illustrative stray light blocking structure  54  of  FIG. 8  has a protrusion (e.g., a ridge) with a curved profile, but, in general, any suitable stray light blocking structure (recesses, texture, coatings, etc.) may be used on a transparent member with a curved shape. 
       FIG. 9  shows how light blocking structure  54  may be formed from a series of protrusions such as ridges (and/or recesses or other structures configured to redirect light). The protrusions of  FIG. 9  may be, for example, a series of parallel adjacent ridges with semicircular cross-sectional shapes or other profiles. There may be, for example, at least 2, at least 10, at least 40, at least 160, at least 600, at least 1200, less than 10,000, or other suitable number of adjacent parallel ridges in structure  54 . Each ridge may have a width of at least 2 microns, at least 3 microns, at least 5 microns, at least 7 microns, less than 10 microns, less than 100 microns, or other suitable size. Configurations in which a single ridge has a width of at least 2 microns, at least 3 microns, at least 5 microns, at least 7 microns, less than 10 microns, less than 100 microns, or other suitable size may also be used. 
     In the example of  FIG. 10 , structure  54  is formed from a light-scattering texture on the surface of member  30 . The texture may be formed from ridges, grooves, pits, and/or bumps with widths of less than 2 microns, 0.1-10 microns, and/or a set of one or more of these widths. The root-mean-square (RMS) surface roughness of the textured surface in structure  54  may be at least 0.1 microns, at least 0.2 microns, at least 0.3 microns, at least 0.5 microns, at least 0.8 microns, at least 1 micron, at least 1.5 microns, at least 2 microns, less than 2 microns, less than 3 microns, less than 5 microns, less than 0.8 microns, less than 0.6 microns, or other suitable value. 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of member  30  in an illustrative configuration in which a larger protrusion has been provided with smaller surface features (e.g., texture or other protrusions). The larger protrusion of  FIG. 11  may, as an example, have a width of at least 5 microns, at least 20 microns, at least 100 microns, at least 500 microns, less than 1000 microns, or other suitable width and a height that is 0.1-1000 times its width, at least 0.1 times its width, at least 1 times its width, at least 10 times its width, less than 12 times its width, less than 3 times its width or other suitable height. Smaller protrusions (e.g., parallel adjacent ridges and/or grooves, pits, bumps, etc. as shown in  FIG. 9 ) and/or texture (see, e.g., the textured surface region of structure  54  of  FIG. 10 ), and/or other structures may be incorporated a stray light blocking structure formed from a larger protrusion such as stray light blocking structure  54  of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of stray light blocking structure  54  in an illustrative configuration that includes a coating layer. Coating layer  68  may be placed onto a planar surface of member  30  (e.g., a planar inner surface of member  30 ) so that coating layer  68  covers a portion of member  30  that does not include protrusions and/or recesses and/or coating layer  68  may be formed on top of one or more surface features (protrusions and/or recesses). For example, coating layer  68  may be placed on a protrusion such as a bump or ridge on the inner surface of member  30 . Coating layer  68  may be formed from polymer or other materials. 
     Light absorbing material (e.g., dye, pigment, or other material) may, if desired, be incorporated into the polymer of coating layer  68 . The light absorbing material may be configured to absorb light at the wavelength of light that is emitted by device  52 A ( FIG. 4 ) and/or other wavelengths. For example, device  52 A may emit near infrared light (e.g., light with a wavelength of 0.8-2.5 microns) or other infrared light and coating  68  may be configured to absorb near infrared light or other infrared light. Coating  68  may also absorb visible light. As shown in  FIG. 12 , coating  68  may be provided with surface structures such as texture and/or protrusions (e.g., protrusions and/or texture of the type described in connection with  FIGS. 9, 10 , and  11 ). Some or all of coating  68  may be patterned in this way and/or coating  68  may be free of surface texturing and/or other protrusions, recesses, etc. 
     The example of  FIG. 13  shows how stray light blocking structure  54  may be formed from a layer of material such as layer  72  that is attached to the surface of member  30  (e.g., a planar portion of member  30  and/or a portion with one or more protrusions and/or recesses). Layer  72  may be, for example, an index-matched polymer film. The film may be a sheet of polymer with adhesive for attaching to member  30  and/or layer  72  may be an adhesive layer. The index-matched polymer of layer  72  may have a refractive index that matches the refractive index of member  30  within 20%, within 5%, within 2%, or other suitable amount. Optional light-scattering structures  74  (e.g., texture and/or other pattered structures of the types described in connection with  FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 ) may cover some or all of layer  72  and/or may be omitted from layer  72 . Layer  72 , which may sometimes be referred to as a coating, may include light-absorbing material of the type described in connection with coating  68  of  FIG. 12 . 
     If desired, stray light blocking structure  54  and/or member  30  may incorporate multiple types of material (e.g., multiple types of polymer with and/or without light-absorbing dye, pigment, etc.). As an example, member  30  may be formed from a clear or lightly tinted rigid polymer such as polycarbonate and structure  54  may be formed from a light-absorbing polymer (e.g., polycarbonate or other polymer with light-absorbing material such as dye and/or pigment that is configured to block stray light). Structure  54  may be attached to member  30  using heat and/or pressure and/or using adhesive bonding or other bonding techniques. If desired, structure  54  and member  30  may be formed during polymer molding operations (e.g., member  30  may be formed from a first shot of plastic and structure  54  may be formed from a second shot of plastic during a polymer injection molding process or other polymer molding process). Arrangements in which recesses or other features are molded into member  30  to serve as structure  54  may also be used. If desired, laser processing, mechanical machining operations, chemical etching, lamination, coating, molding, and/or other processes may be used in forming stray light blocking structure  54 . 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of information such as sensor information. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include 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, eyeglasses prescription, username, password, biometric information, interpupillary distance, 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 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 such 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. 
     The foregoing is 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: 20190409
Publication Date: 20210914
Grant Date: 20210914
Priority Date: 20180823
Inventors: MIRABELLA, ANNA V.
WILSON, JAMES R.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G02B27/0172", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0093", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B5/003", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0093", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B2027/0187", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0018", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0172", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D21/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01S17/88", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0093", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0172", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/0176", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B27/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69584558