IP Library Granted Patent US 12,265,682
Granted Patent B2
US 12,265,682 · App. 18/336,522 · Granted Apr 1, 2025

Electronic devices with finger sensors

Inventors: Forrest C. Wang (Petaluma, CA); Ritu Shah (Sunnyvale, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
G06F3/044G06F3/011G06F2203/04105
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,265,682
App. No.
18/336,522
Granted
Apr 1, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electronic device such as a head mounted device may have an inner display that displays an image for a user through lenses. Head-mounted support structures may be used to support the display and lenses. One or more external displays may be publicly viewable while the head-mounted device is being worn. The head-mounted support structures may have a front face on which an external display is mounted. One or more finger sensors that are configured to detect touch input, force input, and/or other input from an external object such as a user's finger may be included in the head-mounted device. A finger sensor may have an elongated shape that runs along a peripheral edge of an external display on the front face. Finger sensors may also be located on other portions of the support structures.

Claims (40)

1. A head-mounted device, comprising:

left and right displays configured to display respective left and right images;

left and right lenses through which the respective left and right images are viewable from eye boxes, wherein the left and right lenses are separated by a distance;

a head-mounted support structure configured to support the left and right displays and the left and right lenses; and

a finger sensor on the head-mounted support structure configured to receive finger input, wherein the distance between the left and right lenses is adjusted in response to the finger input.

2. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 further comprising an outer display that overlaps the left and right displays.

3. The head-mounted device defined in claim 2 wherein the finger sensor comprises an elongated strip-shaped sensor that extends along an upper edge of the outer display.

4. The head-mounted device defined in claim 3 further comprising an additional display that is separate from the outer display and that overlaps the elongated strip-shaped sensor.

5. The head-mounted device defined in claim 2 wherein the outer display is touch-insensitive.

6. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 further comprising an actuator configured to adjust the distance between the left and right lenses in response to the finger input.

7. The head-mounted device defined in claim 6 wherein the finger input comprises sliding input in which a finger slides across the finger sensor in a direction and wherein the actuator is configured to move a given one of the left and right lenses along the direction with which the finger slides across the finger sensor.

8. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the finger sensor comprises a force sensor.

9. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the finger sensor comprises a capacitive touch sensor.

10. The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 further comprising a haptic output device configured to provide haptic output in response to the finger input.

11. A head-mounted device, comprising:

a display;

a lens through which the display is visible from an eye box;

a head-mounted support structure configured to support the display and the lens;

a touch sensor on the head-mounted support structure configured to receive touch input, wherein an operational setting of the display is adjusted in response to the touch input; and

an outer display that overlaps the display, wherein the touch sensor is located along an edge of the outer display.

12. The head-mounted device defined in claim 11 wherein the operational setting comprises screen brightness.

13. The head-mounted device defined in claim 11 wherein the outer display is touch-insensitive.

14. A head-mounted device, comprising:

a display;

a lens through which the display is visible from an eye box;

a head-mounted support structure configured to support the display and the lens;

a touch sensor on the head-mounted support structure configured to receive touch input, wherein an operational setting of the display is adjusted in response to the touch input;

an additional display that overlaps the touch sensor; and

a haptic output device configured to provide haptic output in response to the touch input.

15. A head-mounted device, comprising:

a display;

a lens through which the display is visible from an eye box;

a head-mounted support structure configured to support the display and the lens;

a touch sensor on the head-mounted support structure configured to receive touch input, wherein an operational setting of an external electronic device is adjusted in response to the touch input; and

an outer display that is separate from the display, wherein the touch sensor is located along an edge of the outer display.

16. The head-mounted device defined in claim 15 wherein the external electronic device comprises a speaker that provides audio output and wherein a volume of the audio output is adjusted in response to the touch input.

17. The head-mounted device defined in claim 15 further comprising:

an additional display that overlaps the touch sensor; and

a haptic output device configured to provide haptic output in response to the touch input.

18. The head-mounted device defined in claim 15 wherein the display faces a first direction, the outer display faces a second direction, and the touch sensor faces a third direction, and wherein the first, second, and third directions are different.

Continuity (3)
Continuation 16919007 · Jul 1, 2020
Provisional Application 62904562 · Sep 23, 2019
Related Publication 20230325039A1 · Oct 12, 2023
References Cited (64)
US 8665177B2 · Herrmann et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8941560B2 · Wong et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9046999B1 · Teller et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9223451B1 · Raffle et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9285592B2 · Olsson et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9482869B2 · Hoellwarth · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 10067535B2 · Prest et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10134189B2 · Yamamoto · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 10289205B1 · Sumter et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10379605B2 · Kurihara · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10928656B1 · Smyth · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 11609427B2 · El-Ghoroury · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11666825B2 · Delamont · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 12120477B2 · Osterhout · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20110169928A1 · Gassel et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 20110194029A1 · Herrmann · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20110225536A1 · Shams · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120302289A1 · Kang · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20130050258A1 · Liu · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20130050432A1 · Perez · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20130069985A1 · Wong et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130187943A1 · Bohn · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20130335321A1 · Sugita et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20140153102A1 · Chang · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20150002465A1 · Tsukahara et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150067580A1 · Um et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20150138070A1 · Iwatsu · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150138645A1 · Yoo · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150253573A1 · Sako · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20160041396A1 · Kawamura et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160216792A1 · Ogawa et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20160224176A1 · Kim · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20170011706A1 · Namkung · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170060252A1 · Komaki · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170068500A1 · Rochford et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170153672A1 · Shin · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170206688A1 · Chun et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20170230640A1 · Rochford et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180004478A1 · Chen · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180046147A1 · Aghara et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180088682A1 · Tsang · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180096533A1 · Osman · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180157044A1 · Choi · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180184974A1 · Cimenser et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180368559A1 · Wang · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180373371A1 · Kim · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20190101977A1 · Armstrong-Muntner et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190129181A1 · Polcak · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190273815A1 · Hoellwarth · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20200209706A1 · Huh · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200310121A1 · Choi et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210042979A1 · Ballagas · 2021 [cited by examiner]
CN 104160697A · 2014 [cited by applicant]
CN 104603675A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
CN 105829948A · 2016 [cited by applicant]
CN 107402667A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
CN 108604014A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
CN 109116561A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
CN 109690455A · 2019 [cited by applicant]
WO 2018213010A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
WO 2019050781A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
Gugenheimer et al., FaceDisplay: Towards Asymmetric Multi-User Interaction for Nomadic Virtual Reality, CHI '18, Apr. 21-26, 2018, Montreal, QC, Canada. [cited by applicant]
Mai et al., TransparentHMD: Revealing the HMD User's Face to Bystanders, MUM 2017, Nov. 26-29, 2017, Stuttgart, Germany. [cited by applicant]
Pohl et al., See what I see: concepts to improve the social acceptance of HMDs, 2016 IEEE Virtual Reality (VR), Mar. 19-23, 2016, 2 pages, Greenville, SC, USA. [cited by applicant]