BEAM-TILTING LIGHT SOURCE ENCLOSURES

    公开(公告)号:US20240418904A1

    公开(公告)日:2024-12-19

    申请号:US18816209

    申请日:2024-08-27

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An optical module includes a beam-tilting light source enclosure. The enclosure is coupled to a substrate that includes a light emitter connected thereto. The enclosure has a geometry such that the enclosure has a first surface configured to couple substantially flat to the substrate and a second surface tilted with respect to the first surface and configured to couple substantially flat to a component of an electronic device through which the light is to project. The enclosure is optically transmissive and covers the light source when coupled to the substrate. In this way, the enclosure may be assembled and used in the electronic device by coupling the first surface to the substrate and coupling the second surface to the component.

    Electronic Device Display Having a Selective Light Redirecting Layer

    公开(公告)号:US20240045210A1

    公开(公告)日:2024-02-08

    申请号:US18258951

    申请日:2022-01-03

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    CPC classification number: G02B27/0172 G02B27/0068

    Abstract: A display may include a display panel that emits light. The light from the display panel may be focused by a lens assembly towards a viewer. A light redirecting layer may be included in the display between the display panel and the lens assembly to ensure that the lens assembly receives incident light at an optimal angle. The light redirecting layer may redirect light by different amounts at different portions of the light redirecting layer. The magnitude of the redirection angle may increase with increasing separation from the center of the light redirecting layer. The light redirecting layer may redirect light away from the center of the light redirecting layer. The light redirecting layer may be a geometric phase lens formed using a liquid crystal film. The display may also include a circular polarizer, an additional circular polarizer, and an additional quarter waveplate.

    Head-mounted electronic device with self-mixing sensors

    公开(公告)号:US11719937B2

    公开(公告)日:2023-08-08

    申请号:US17230341

    申请日:2021-04-14

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    CPC classification number: G02B27/0172 G01B9/02092 G03B17/12 G02B2027/0138

    Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted housing and optical components supported by the head-mounted housing. The optical components may include cameras, movable optical modules, and other components. Each optical module may include a display that displays an image and a lens that provides the image to a corresponding eye box. Optical self-mixing sensors may be included in the optical modules and other portions of the head-mounted device to measure changes in optical component position. In response to detecting a change in optical component position, actuators in the device may be adjusted to move the optical components or other action may be taken to compensate for the change.

    Self-mixing interferometry-based absolute distance measurement with distance reference

    公开(公告)号:US11692809B2

    公开(公告)日:2023-07-04

    申请号:US16945573

    申请日:2020-07-31

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    CPC classification number: G01B9/02092 G01P5/26 G01S17/58

    Abstract: A device includes a first component, a second component having a reconfigurable distance from the first component, an optical element, an SMI sensor, and a processor. The optical element has a fixed relationship with respect to the first component, and has a known optical thickness between a first surface and a second surface of the optical element. The SMI sensor has a fixed relationship with respect to the second component, and has an electromagnetic radiation emission axis that intersects the first and second surfaces of the optical element. The processor is configured to identify disturbances in an SMI signal generated by the SMI sensor, relate the disturbances to the known optical thickness of the optical element, and to determine a distance between the first and second components using the SMI signal and the relationship of the disturbances to the known optical thickness of the optical element.

    Finger Devices with Self-Mixing Interferometric Proximity Sensors

    公开(公告)号:US20230073039A1

    公开(公告)日:2023-03-09

    申请号:US17465594

    申请日:2021-09-02

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: A system may include one or more finger devices that gather input from a user's fingers. A finger device may include one or more self-mixing interferometric proximity sensors that measure a distance to the user's finger. The proximity sensor may measure changes in distance between the proximity sensor and a flexible membrane that rests against a side portion of the user's finger. The self-mixing interferometric proximity sensor may include a laser and a photodiode. In some arrangements, a single laser driver may drive the lasers of multiple self-mixing proximity sensors using time-multiplexing. The self-mixing proximity sensor may operate according to a duty cycle. Interpolation and stitching may be used to determine the total displacement of the user's finger including both the on periods and off periods of the self-mixing proximity sensor.

    Handling obstructions and transmission element contamination for self-mixing particulate matter sensors

    公开(公告)号:US11112235B2

    公开(公告)日:2021-09-07

    申请号:US16833271

    申请日:2020-03-27

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: A portable electronic device is operable in a particulate matter concentration mode where the portable electronic device uses a self-mixing interferometry sensor to emit a beam of coherent light from an optical resonant cavity, receive a reflection or backscatter of the beam into the optical resonant cavity, produce a self-mixing signal resulting from a reflection or backscatter of the beam of coherent light, and determine a particle velocity and/or particulate matter concentration using the self-mixing signal. The portable electronic device is also operable in an absolute distance mode where the portable electronic device determines whether or not an absolute distance determined using the self-mixing signal is outside or within a particulate sensing volume associated with the beam of coherent light. If not, the portable electronic device may determine a contamination and/or obstruction is present that may result in inaccurate particle velocity and/or particulate matter concentration determination.

    Input Devices that Use Self-Mixing Interferometry to Determine Movement Within an Enclosure

    公开(公告)号:US20210011559A1

    公开(公告)日:2021-01-14

    申请号:US16883390

    申请日:2020-05-26

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An input device includes an enclosure defining a three-dimensional input space and one or more self-mixing interferometry sensors coupled to the enclosure and configured to produce a self-mixing interferometry signal resulting from reflection of backscatter of emitted light by a body part in the three-dimensional input space. In various examples, movement of the body part may be determined using the self-mixing interferometry signal, which may in turn be used to determine an input. In some examples, a body part displacement or a body part speed and an absolute distance to the body part may be determined using the self-mixing interferometry signal and used to determine an input. In a number of examples, multiple self-mixing interferometry sensors may be used and the movement may be determined by analyzing differences between the respective produced self-mixing interferometry signals.

    Particulate matter sensors for portable electronic devices

    公开(公告)号:US10788308B2

    公开(公告)日:2020-09-29

    申请号:US16518888

    申请日:2019-07-22

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: Aspects of the subject technology relate to particulate matter sensors for electronic devices. A particulate matter sensor may include three lasers, three total-internal-reflection lenses, and three detectors for detecting changes in the operation of the three lasers due to the principles of self-mixing interferometry. The three total-internal-reflection lenses may use internally reflective surfaces to tilt the three beams into three corresponding directions that form an orthogonal basis in the three dimensional space, so that a gas flow speed can be determined while maintaining a small, modular form factor for implementation of the sensor in portable electronic devices.

    Beam-Tilting Light Source Enclosures
    10.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20200096669A1

    公开(公告)日:2020-03-26

    申请号:US16537086

    申请日:2019-08-09

    Applicant: Apple Inc.

    Abstract: An optical module includes a beam-tilting light source enclosure. The enclosure is coupled to a substrate that includes a light emitter connected thereto. The enclosure has a geometry such that the enclosure has a first surface configured to couple substantially flat to the substrate and a second surface tilted with respect to the first surface and configured to couple substantially flat to a component of an electronic device through which the light is to project. The enclosure is optically transmissive and covers the light source when coupled to the substrate. In this way, the enclosure may be assembled and used in the electronic device by coupling the first surface to the substrate and coupling the second surface to the component.

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