CN118050899A - Electronic device with light-blocking fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a head mounted device that may include a housing having a display that displays an image viewable from an eyebox. A light seal may be coupled to the housing and may block external light from reaching the eyebox. The light seal may comprise a seamless tube of knitted fabric forming the outermost layer of the light seal. The light blocking fabric may line the inner surface of the seamless tube of the knitted fabric. The light blocking fabric may include a dark weft-knitted layer facing the eyebox, a light weft-knitted layer facing the seamless tube of the knitted fabric and matching its color, and an intermediate layer joining the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer. The dark weft knit layer ensures adequate opacity from being visible through the seamless tube of the knit fabric.

Description

Electronic device with light-blocking fabric

The present application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/488,690, filed on Ser. No. 10/17 at 2023, and U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/426,262, filed on 17 at 2022, 11, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to fabrics, and more particularly, to fabrics for wearable electronic devices, such as head-mounted devices.

Background

An electronic device, such as a head-mounted device, is configured to be worn on a user's head. The head-mounted device may have left and right optical systems for presenting images to the left and right eyes of the user. The optical system may be mounted in a head-mounted housing. Conventional head-mounted devices may be uncomfortable and cumbersome to wear, or may not provide a satisfactory viewing experience.

Disclosure of Invention

A head-mounted device may include a main housing portion having a display displaying an image and an optical module through which the image can be viewed from an eyebox. A light seal (sometimes referred to as a face frame) may be coupled to the main housing portion and may surround the eyebox to prevent external light from reaching the viewing area of the head-mounted device.

The light seal may include inner and outer fabric layers, a facial portion that rests against the user's face, and a nose bridge portion that conforms to the user's nose. The outer fabric layer may be a seamless tube of knitted fabric forming the outermost layer of the light seal. The inner fabric layer may be a light blocking fabric lining the inner surface of the seamless tube of knitted fabric.

The light blocking fabric may include a dark weft-knitted layer facing the eyebox, a light weft-knitted layer facing the seamless tube of the knitted fabric, and an intermediate layer joining the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer. The light weft knit layer can match the color of the seamless tube of the knit fabric. The dark weft knit layer ensures adequate opacity from being visible through the seamless tube of the knit fabric.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a top view of an exemplary head mounted device according to one embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of an exemplary head mounted device according to one embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary head mounted device according to one embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary head-mounted device with a fabric covered face frame according to one embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary knitting system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a diagram of a portion of an exemplary weft knit fabric layer according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary light seal having: an outer fabric layer having a first color and an inner fabric layer formed from a first layer matching the first color and a second layer facing the eyebox and having a dark color.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exemplary inner fabric layer for a light seal having a dark inner layer and a light outer layer joined by an intermediate layer, according to one embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary light seal having a light colored outer fabric layer forming the outermost layer of the light seal and a dark colored inner fabric layer facing the eyebox, according to one embodiment.

Detailed Description

An electronic device, such as a head-mounted device, may have a front face facing away from a user's head and may have an opposite back face facing the user's head. The head-mounted device may include a main housing portion having a display displaying images and an optical module through which the images can be viewed from an eyebox. A face frame coupled to the main housing portion may form a light seal around the eyebox. The light seal may include inner and outer fabric layers, a facial portion that rests against the user's face, and a nose bridge portion that conforms to the user's nose. The outer fabric layer may be a seamless tube of knitted fabric forming the outermost layer of the light seal. The inner fabric layer may be a light blocking fabric lining the inner surface of the seamless tube of knitted fabric.

The light blocking fabric may include a dark weft-knitted layer facing the eyebox, a light weft-knitted layer facing the seamless tube of the knitted fabric, and an intermediate layer joining the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer. The light weft knit layer can match the color of the seamless tube of the knit fabric. The dark weft knit layer ensures adequate opacity from being visible through the seamless tube of the knit fabric.

A top view of an exemplary head-mounted device that may include a fabric light seal is shown in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 1, a head-mounted device such as electronic device 10 may have a head-mounted support structure such as a housing 12. The housing 12 may include a portion (e.g., a support structure 12T) for allowing the device 10 to be worn on the head of a user. The support structure 12T (sometimes referred to as a temple shell structure or temple shell portion) may be formed from fabric, polymer, metal, and/or other materials. The support structure 12T may form a strap or other head-mounted support structure that helps support the device 10 on the head of a user. When the device 10 is worn on the head of a user, some or all of the temple shell portions 12T may overlap with the temple of the user. The main support structure of the housing 12 (e.g., the main housing portion 12M) may support electronic components such as the display 14. The main housing portion 12M may include a housing structure formed of metal, polymer, glass, ceramic, and/or other materials. For example, the housing portion 12M may have housing walls on the front face F and housing walls on adjacent top, bottom, left and right sides, formed of a rigid polymer or other rigid support structure, and optionally covered with electronic components, fabric, leather or other soft material, or the like. The walls of the housing portion 12M may enclose the interior components 38 in the interior region 34 of the device 10 and may separate the interior region 34 from the environment surrounding the device 10 (the exterior region 36). Internal components 38 may include integrated circuits, actuators, batteries, sensors, and/or other circuitry and structures for device 10. The housing 12 may be configured to be worn on the head of a user and may form eyeglasses, hats, helmets, goggles, and/or other head-mounted devices. The configuration in which the housing 12 forms a goggle is sometimes described herein as an example.

The front face F of the housing 12 may face outwardly away from the user's head and face. The opposite rear face R of the housing 12 may face the user. A portion of the housing 12 (e.g., a portion of the main housing 12M) located on the rear face R may form a cover, such as a blind 12C. In the exemplary configuration, the blind 12C includes a fabric layer separating the interior region 34 from the exterior region to the rear of the device 10. Other structures may be used to form the shade 12C if desired. The presence of the blind 12C on the rear face R may help to conceal the inner housing structure, the inner member 38, and other structures in the interior region 34 from view by the user.

The device 10 may have a left optical module and a right optical module 40. Each optical module may include a respective display 14, a lens 30, and a support structure 32. The support structure 32, which may sometimes be referred to as a lens barrel or optical module support structure, may comprise a hollow cylindrical structure having an open end or other support structure for housing the display 14 and the lens 30. The support structure 32 may, for example, include a left lens barrel that supports the left display 14 and the left lens 30 and a right lens barrel that supports the right display 14 and the right lens 30. Display 14 may include an array of pixels or other display device to produce an image. The display 14 may include, for example, organic light emitting diode pixels formed on a substrate with thin film circuitry and/or formed on a semiconductor substrate, pixels formed from crystalline semiconductor die, liquid crystal display pixels, scanning display devices, and/or other display devices for producing images. The lens 30 may include one or more lens elements for providing image light from the display 14 to the respective eyebox 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 the user's eyes are located in the eyebox 13, the displays (display panels) 14 operate together to form a display of the device 10 (e.g., the user's eyes may view images provided by the respective left and right optical modules 40 in the eyebox 13 so that stereoscopic images are created for the user). When the user views the display, the left image from the left optical module merges with the right image from the right optical module.

Not all users have the same interpupillary distance P. To provide device 10 with the ability to adjust the interpupillary distance between modules 40, and thereby the spacing P between eyebox 13, along lateral dimension X to accommodate different user interpupillary distances, device 10 may be provided with one or more actuators 42. The actuators 42 may be manually controlled and/or computer controlled actuators (e.g., computer controlled motors) for moving the support structures 32 relative to one another.

As shown in fig. 2, the blind 12C may cover the back face F while leaving the lens 30 of the optical module 40 uncovered (e.g., the blind 12C may have an opening aligned with and receiving the module 40). As modules 40 move relative to one another along dimension X to accommodate different interpupillary distances of different users, modules 40 move relative to a fixed housing structure, such as the wall of main portion 12M, and move relative to one another. To prevent undesired wrinkling and buckling of the blind 12C as the optical module 40 moves relative to the rigid portion of the housing 12M and relative to each other, a fabric layer or other cover layer in the blind 12C may be configured to slide, stretch, open/close, and/or otherwise adjust to accommodate the optical module movement.

A schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic device, such as a head mounted device or other wearable device, is shown in fig. 3. The device 10 of fig. 3 may operate as a standalone device and/or the resources of the device 10 may be used to communicate with external electronic equipment. For example, communication circuitry in device 10 may be used to transmit user input information, sensor information, and/or other information to an external electronic device (e.g., wirelessly or via a wired connection). Each of these external devices may include components of the type shown in 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 devices such as non-volatile 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), and the like. Processing circuitry in the control circuit 20 may be used to collect inputs from sensors and other input devices and to control output devices. The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors and other wireless communication circuits, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, and the like. During operation, control circuitry 20 may provide visual and other outputs to a user using display 14 and other output devices.

To support communication between the device 10 and external equipment, the control circuit 20 may communicate using the communication circuit 22. The circuitry 22 may include an antenna, radio frequency transceiver circuitry, and other wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. Circuitry 22 (which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communication circuitry) may support bi-directional wireless communication 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 pointing device, a computer stylus or other input device, speakers or other output device, etc.) via a wireless link. For example, the circuitry 22 may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry such as wireless local area network transceiver circuitry configured to support communication via a wireless local area network link, near field communication transceiver circuitry configured to support communication via a near field communication link, cellular telephone transceiver circuitry configured to support communication via a cellular telephone link, or transceiver circuitry configured to support communication via any other suitable wired or wireless communication link. For example, it may be viaLink,/>The link, wireless link operating at frequencies between 10GHz and 400GHz, 60GHz link or other millimeter wave link, cellular telephone link, or other wireless communication link supports wireless communications. The device 10 (if desired) may include power circuitry for transmitting and/or receiving wired and/or wireless power, and may include a battery or other energy storage device. For example, the device 10 may include a coil and a rectifier to receive wireless power provided to circuitry in the device 10.

Device 10 may include an input-output device such as device 24. The input-output device 24 may be used to gather user input, to gather information about the user's surroundings, and/or to provide output to the user. Device 24 may include one or more displays, such as display 14. The display 14 may include one or more display devices such as an organic light emitting diode display panel (a panel with organic light emitting diode pixels formed on a polymer substrate or silicon substrate containing pixel control circuitry), a liquid crystal display panel, a microelectromechanical system display (e.g., a two-dimensional mirror array or scanning mirror display device), a display panel with an array of pixels formed of crystalline semiconductor light emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as micro-LEDs), and/or other display devices.

The sensors 16 in the input-output device 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 touch sensors forming buttons, touch pads, or other input devices), and other sensors. If desired, the 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 scan sensors, retinal scan sensors and other biometric sensors, temperature sensors, sensors for measuring three-dimensional contactless 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 include 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., structural light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereoscopic imaging devices that capture three-dimensional images), optical sensors such as light detection and ranging from hybrid and time-of-flight measurements and light sensors, humidity sensors, vision sensors, humidity sensors, muscle tracking sensors, moisture sensors, or other sensors, and/or moisture sensors. In some arrangements, the device 10 may use the sensor 16 and/or other input-output devices to gather user input. For example, buttons may be used to gather button press inputs, touch sensors overlapping the display may be used to gather user touch screen inputs, a touch pad may be used to gather touch inputs, a microphone may be used to gather audio inputs, an accelerometer may be used to monitor when a finger contacts the input surface and thus may be used to gather finger press inputs, and so on.

If desired, the electronic device 10 may include additional components (see, e.g., other devices 18 in the input-output device 24). Additional components may include a haptic output device, an actuator for moving the movable housing structure, an audio output device such as a speaker, a light emitting diode for a status indicator, a light source such as a light emitting diode illuminating portions of the housing and/or display structure, other optical output devices, and/or other circuitry for gathering input and/or providing output. The device 10 may also include a battery or other energy storage device, a connector port for supporting wired communications with auxiliary equipment, and for receiving wired power, as well as other circuitry.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of device 10, showing how a face frame may form a light seal around eyebox 13 (fig. 1) to help prevent external light from leaking into the viewing area of head mounted device 10. As shown in fig. 4, the device 10 may include a main housing portion 12M configured to be mounted on a user's head. To help block external light (e.g., ambient light in the user's environment that is not emitted by the display 14 of the device 10) from entering the viewing area where the eyebox 13 of the head-mounted device 10 is located, a light seal, such as light seal 52, may be formed between the main housing portion 12M and the user's face. For example, light seals 52 may extend between the main housing portion 12M and the temple housing portion 12T (fig. 1) to help prevent light from entering any gap between the device 10 and the user's face.

The light seal 52 (sometimes referred to as a face frame 52) may include one or more rigid structures such as rigid inner frame members or other rigid structures, and one or more flexible materials such as fabric, foam, polymer, or other suitable materials. For example, light seal 52 may include a ring-shaped or horseshoe-shaped frame surrounding eyebox 13 (fig. 1) and covered by one or more layers of fabric. As shown in fig. 4, the light seal 52 may include one or more different fabric layers, such as an outer fabric layer 72, an inner fabric layer 58, a nasal bridge fabric 60, and a facial fabric 56. The facial fabric 56 may rest against the face of the user when the device 10 is worn on the user's head. Facial fabric 56 may include one or more layers of foam covered in one or more layers of fabric (e.g., warp knit fabric, weft knit fabric, spacer fabric, woven fabric, and/or any other suitable fabric). The nasal bridge fabric 60 may be formed of stretchable textile to accommodate different nasal shapes.

The outer fabric layer 72 may be a seamless tube of fabric surrounding the optical axis a of the lens 30 of the optical module 40. The optical axis a of each lens 30 extends parallel to the Y direction of fig. 4. If desired, the outer fabric layer 72 may form the outermost surface of the device 10. Outer layer 72 may be formed from a fabric, such as a knitted fabric (e.g., a warp knit fabric, a weft knit fabric, etc.), a woven fabric, a spacer fabric (e.g., an inner knit layer and an outer knit layer separated by a gap and joined by a barrier layer such as monofilament strands), a woven fabric, and/or any other suitable fabric. In one exemplary arrangement, outer fabric layer 72 is a stretchable seamless tube of weft knit fabric having a bird's eye pattern or other suitable bi-color pattern (as examples). Arrangements in which the outer layer 72 is formed of a non-woven material such as a polymer, silicone, or elastomer may also be used.

Inner fabric layer 58 may be a light blocking fabric lining the inner surface of outer fabric layer 72. Inner fabric layer 58 may include one or more layers of knitted fabric, warp knitted fabric, weft knitted fabric, woven fabric, spacer fabric, woven fabric, and/or any other suitable type of fabric. It may be desirable to use a dark colored fabric for inner fabric layer 58 to help keep the viewing area around eyebox 13 sufficiently dark when the user views an image on display 14 of device 10. However, if care is not taken, the dark color of the inner fabric layer 58 may be visible through the outer fabric layer 72. For example, if the outer fabric layer 72 is light, such as white or gray, and the inner fabric layer 58 is dark, such as black, the black color of the inner fabric layer 58 may be visible through the openings or gaps between the strands in the outer fabric layer 72, which may be visually distracting. If the inner fabric layer 58 is instead made of a light colored fabric (e.g., white or gray), the inner fabric layer 58 may not be as visible through the outer fabric layer 72, but the opacity of the inner fabric layer 58 may decrease, which may result in an unsatisfactory viewing experience if careless.

To prevent the inner fabric layer 58 from being excessively visible through the outer fabric layer 72 without compromising opacity, the inner fabric layer 58 may include one or more dark colored inner fabric layers on the viewing side (e.g., facing the eyebox 13 and lens 30 of the optical module 40) and one or more light colored outer fabric layers on the non-viewing side (e.g., facing the outer fabric layer 72). The dark colored inner fabric layer of inner fabric layer 58 may be black, dark gray, or other suitable dark color, while the light colored outer fabric layer of inner fabric layer 58 may be white, gray, light gray, milky yellow, off-white, or other suitable light color. The dark inner and light outer layers of inner fabric layer 58 may be weft knit layers joined by an intermediate barrier layer, if desired. For example, a barrier layer formed of multifilament or monofilament strands may be used to join the dark inner layer and the light outer layer of inner fabric layer 58. The barrier layer may be a stretch textured yarn having a low denier value (e.g., 20D) or other suitable denier value to ensure that the barrier layer has sufficient density to block external light from entering the viewing area. If desired, the strands comprising inner textile layer 58 may be extruded solution dyed strands having high texture and high stretchability, thereby increasing the shrinkage and opacity of inner textile layer 58.

Knitting machines or other equipment may be used to form a fabric for apparatus 10, such as inner fabric layer 58. Fig. 5 is a schematic view of an exemplary knitting system. As shown in fig. 5, strand source 66 in knitting system 64 may be used to supply strands 68 to guide and needle structure 70. Structure 70 may include a strand guide structure (e.g., a system of movable guide rods having eyelets guiding strands 68) and a needle system (e.g., a needle guide system that guides a collection of individually adjustable needles so that the needles may interact with the strands dispensed by the guide rods). During operation, the controller may control electronically adjustable positioners in system 64 to manipulate the position of the guide rods and needles in system 64 and thereby knit strands 68 into fabric 58. A pulling device 74 (e.g., a mating pair of rolls or other equipment forming a pulling system) may be used to collect the fabric 58 produced during knitting.

Fig. 6 is a diagram of an exemplary weft knit fabric layer that may be included in inner fabric layer 58. Knitted fabric, such as fabric 58, may be comprised of courses 78 (e.g., rows of loops formed from strands 68) and wales 76 (e.g., columns of loops formed from strands 68). In weft knit fabrics of the type shown in fig. 6 (sometimes referred to as flat knit fabrics), strands 68 form loops that extend horizontally across the fabric. An exemplary one 68' of strands 68 has been highlighted to illustrate the horizontal path taken by each strand 68 in fabric 72. In contrast, warp knit fabrics include wales 76 formed by strands 68 that follow a zig-zag path down the fabric vertically.

A cross-sectional side view of an exemplary portion of the light seal 52 of the apparatus 10 is shown in fig. 7. As shown in fig. 7, light seal 52 may include an inner fabric layer 58 and an outer fabric layer 72. The outer fabric layer 72 may form the outermost surface of the light seal 52 and may be viewable by an external observer (e.g., observer 80) along direction 82. Inner fabric layer 58 may line the inner surface of outer fabric layer 72 and may face an eyebox, such as eyebox 13. When the device 10 is placed on the user's head, the user's eyes may be located in an eyebox, such as eyebox 13.

The inner fabric layer 58 may have an inner fabric layer and an outer fabric layer, such as a light colored outer fabric layer 58L and a dark colored inner fabric layer 58D joined by a barrier layer, such as barrier layer 58M. The light colored outer fabric layer 58L may be white, off-white, creamy yellow, gray, light gray, or other suitable light colors. The light colored outer fabric layer 58L may, for example, match the color of the outer fabric layer 72. The dark inner fabric layer 58D may be black, dark gray, dark blue, or other suitable dark color. Dark inner fabric layer 58D and light outer fabric layer 58L may be weft knit layers (e.g., of the type shown in fig. 6) and may be formed from strands 68 (e.g., stretch textured yarns) having a denier of 40D (or two strands of 20D) or other suitable denier.

Barrier layer 58M (sometimes referred to as intermediate layer 58M) may be formed from one or more multifilament strands 68 having a low denier value (e.g., 20D, 25D, or other suitable denier value). The barrier layer 58M may be formed of black strands, white strands, gray strands, or strands of any other suitable color. By selecting strands 68 having half the denier of strands 68 of light colored inner textile layer 58L and dark colored textile layer 58D for barrier layer 58M, textile 58 may appear truly white (or other suitable light color) when viewed in direction 82 and truly black (or other suitable dark color) when viewed from eyebox 13, regardless of the color of barrier layer 58M.

The strands in the light colored inner fabric layer 58L, the dark colored outer fabric layer 58D, and the barrier layer 58M may be formed of an elastic material such as nylon, polyester, spandex, or other suitable materials. Generally, nylon is bulkier than polyester because of the less interlacing points and strength between individual filaments. If polyester strands are used, the polyester may be modified to reduce entanglement between filaments such that the filaments in each polyester strand spread out more and thus block more light.

The inner fabric layer 58 may be formed using a circular knitting machine. The circular knitting machine may have a high gauge, such as 80 gauge or other suitable gauge, to ensure a higher number of strands per inch in the fabric. The higher the number of strands per inch in the fabric 58, the higher the opacity will be. For example, the fabric 58 may have more than 80 strands per inch, more than 90 strands per inch, more than 100 strands per inch, less than 100 strands per inch, or other suitable density of strands 68. Additionally, the fabric 58 may include stretchable strands (e.g., strands formed of spandex or other elastic material) to increase the shrinkage of the fabric 58 and further increase the opacity of the light seal 52. The fabric 58 may be heat set at low heat set (or not heat set at all) to help maintain opacity and stretchability.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of inner fabric layer 58. As shown in fig. 8, inner fabric layer 58 may include a dark colored inner fabric layer 58D facing eyebox 13 and a light colored outer fabric layer 58L facing an external observer (e.g., observer 80 viewing light seal 52 in direction 82). Barrier layer 58M may include one or more multifilament strands, such as multifilament strands 68M coupled between dark inner fabric layer 58D and light outer fabric layer 58L. The barrier layer 58M may be a low denier yarn (e.g., 20D, 25D or other suitable denier value) to increase fabric density and minimize the gap G between the dark inner fabric layer 58D and the light outer fabric layer 58L.

Strands 68D of dark colored inner textile layer 58D and strands 68L of light colored outer textile layer 58L may have a denier value that is twice the denier value of spacing strands 68M (e.g., strands 68M may have a denier value of 20D, while strands 68D and 68L may have a denier value of 40D, or may be doubled strands, each having a denier value of 20D), such that textile 58 appears truly white (or other light colored) when viewed by observer 80 in direction 82 and truly black (or other dark colored) when viewed from eyebox 13. In general, strands 68L, 68D, and 68M may be formed from any suitable material, such as nylon, polyester, spandex, or other elastic materials, etc., and strands 68D and 68L may be doubled strands, if desired, each comprising an elastic strand having a denier of 20D and a polyester strand having a denier of 20D.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the light seal 52 in an exemplary configuration, with the outer fabric layer 72 omitted. With this type of arrangement, the light-colored outer fabric layer 58L may form the outermost surface of the light seal 52 and may be directly viewed by an observer 80 in direction 82. The dark colored fabric 58D may not be viewable through the light colored outer fabric layer 58L due to the presence of the intermediate layer 58M. In other words, fabric layer 58 may appear truly white (or other light color) when viewed in direction 82 and truly black (or other dark color) when viewed from eyebox 13.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is to collect and use information, such as information from an input-output device. The present disclosure contemplates that in some cases, data may be collected that includes personal information that uniquely identifies or may be used to contact or locate a particular person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, TWITTER ID, home addresses, data or records related to the user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital signal measurements, medication information, exercise information), birth date, user name, password, biometric information, or any other identifying or personal information.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information in the disclosed technology may be used to benefit a user. For example, the personal information data may be used to deliver targeted content of greater interest to the user. Thus, the use of such personal information data enables a user to have programmatic control over the delivered content. In addition, the present disclosure contemplates other uses for personal information data that are beneficial to the user. For example, health and fitness data may be used to provide insight into the overall health of a user, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue health goals.

The present disclosure contemplates that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing, or otherwise using such personal information data will adhere to established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should exercise and adhere to privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining the privacy and security of personal information data. Such policies should be readily accessible to the user and should be updated as the collection and/or use of the data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legal and reasonable use by entities and not shared or sold outside of these legal uses. In addition, such collection/sharing should be performed after informed consent is received from the user. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to defend and secure access to such personal information data and to ensure that others who have access to personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. In addition, such entities may subject themselves to third party evaluations to prove compliance with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adjusted to collect and/or access specific types of personal information data and to suit applicable laws and standards including specific considerations of jurisdiction. For example, in the united states, the collection or access of certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state law, such as the health insurance and liability act (HIPAA), while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be processed accordingly. Thus, different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country.

In spite of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which a user selectively prevents use or access to personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware elements and/or software elements may be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology may be configured to allow a user to choose to participate in the collection of personal information data "opt-in" or "opt-out" during or at any time after the registration service. As another example, the user may choose not to provide a particular type of user data. For another example, the user may choose to limit the length of time that user-specific data is maintained. In addition to providing the "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure also contemplates providing notifications related to accessing or using personal information. For example, the user may be notified that his personal information data will be accessed when an application program ("application") is downloaded, and then be reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

Further, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use. Once the data is no longer needed, risk can be minimized by limiting the data collection and deleting the data. In addition, and when applicable, included in certain health-related applications, the data de-identification may be used to protect the privacy of the user. De-identification may be facilitated by removing a particular identifier (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or characteristics of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than an address level), controlling the manner in which data is stored (e.g., aggregating data among users), and/or other methods, where appropriate.

Thus, while the present disclosure broadly covers the use of information that may include personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments may be implemented without accessing personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology do not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data.

Physical environment: a physical environment refers to a physical world in which people can sense and/or interact without the assistance of an electronic system. Physical environments such as physical parks include physical objects such as physical trees, physical buildings, and physical people. People can directly sense and/or interact with a physical environment, such as by visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory, and olfactory.

Computer-generated reality: computer-generated reality (CGR) environments refer to fully or partially simulated environments in which people perceive and/or interact via electronic systems. In the CGR, a subset of the physical movements of the person, or a representation thereof, is tracked and in response one or more characteristics of one or more virtual objects simulated in the CGR environment are adjusted in a manner consistent with at least one physical law. For example, the CGR system may detect human head rotation and, in response, adjust the graphical content and sound field presented to the human in a manner similar to the manner in which such views and sounds change in the physical environment. In some cases (e.g., for reachability reasons), the adjustment of the characteristics of the virtual object in the CGR environment may be made in response to a representation of physical motion (e.g., a voice command). A person may utilize any of his sensations to sense and/or interact with CGR objects, including visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory. For example, a person may sense and/or interact with audio objects that create a 3D or spatial audio environment that provides a perception of point audio sources in 3D space. As another example, an audio object may enable audio transparency that selectively introduces environmental sounds from a physical environment with or without computer generated audio. In some CGR environments, a person may sense and/or interact with only audio objects. Examples of CGR include virtual reality and mixed reality.

Virtual reality: a Virtual Reality (VR) environment refers to a simulated environment designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory input for one or more senses. The VR environment includes a plurality of virtual objects that a person can sense and/or interact with. For example, computer-generated images 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 presence of the person within the computer-generated environment and/or through a simulation of a subset of the physical movements of the person within the computer-generated environment.

Mixed reality: in contrast to VR environments designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory input, a Mixed Reality (MR) environment refers to a simulated environment designed to introduce sensory input from a physical environment or a representation thereof in addition to including computer-generated sensory input (e.g., virtual objects). On a virtual continuum, a mixed reality environment is any condition between, but not including, a full physical environment as one end and a virtual reality environment as the other end. In some MR environments, the computer-generated sensory input may be responsive to changes in sensory input from the physical environment. In addition, some electronic systems for rendering MR environments may track the position and/or orientation relative to the physical environment to enable virtual objects to interact with real objects (i.e., physical objects or representations thereof from the physical environment). For example, the system may cause movement such that the virtual tree appears to be stationary relative to the physical ground. Examples of mixed reality include augmented reality and augmented virtualization. Augmented reality: an Augmented Reality (AR) environment refers to a simulated environment in which one or more virtual objects are superimposed on a physical environment or a representation of a physical environment. 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 the virtual object on a transparent or semi-transparent display such that a person perceives the virtual object superimposed over the physical environment with the system. Alternatively, the system may have an opaque display and one or more imaging sensors that capture images or videos of the physical environment, which are representations of the physical environment. The system combines the image or video with the virtual object and presents the composition on an opaque display. A person utilizes the system to indirectly view the physical environment via an image or video of the physical environment and perceive a virtual object superimposed over the physical environment. As used herein, video of a physical environment displayed on an opaque display is referred to as "pass-through video," meaning that the system captures images of the physical environment using one or more image sensors and uses those images when rendering an AR environment on the opaque display. Further alternatively, the system may have a projection system that projects the virtual object into the physical environment, for example as a hologram or on a physical surface, such that a person perceives the virtual object superimposed on top of the physical environment with the system. 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 a passthrough video, the system may transform one or more sensor images to apply a selected viewing angle (e.g., a viewpoint) that is different from the viewing angle captured by the imaging sensor. As another example, the representation of the physical environment may be transformed by graphically modifying (e.g., magnifying) portions thereof such that the modified portions may be representative but not real versions of the original captured image. For another example, the representation of the physical environment may be transformed by graphically eliminating or blurring portions thereof. Enhanced virtualization: enhanced virtual (AV) environment refers to a simulated environment in which a virtual environment or computer-generated environment incorporates one or more sensory inputs from a physical environment. The sensory input may be a representation of one or more characteristics of the physical environment. For example, an AV park may have virtual trees and virtual buildings, but the face of a person is realistically reproduced from an image taken of a physical person. As another example, the virtual object may take the shape or color of a physical object imaged by one or more imaging sensors. For another example, the virtual object may employ shadows that conform to the positioning 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, head-up displays (HUDs), vehicle windshields integrated with display capabilities, windows integrated with display capabilities, displays formed as lenses designed for placement on a human eye (e.g., similar to contact lenses), headphones/earphones, speaker arrays, input systems (e.g., wearable or handheld controllers with or without haptic feedback), smart phones, tablet computers, and desktop/laptop computers. The head-mounted system may have one or more speakers and an integrated opaque display. Alternatively, the head-mounted system may be configured to accept an external opaque display (e.g., a smart phone). The head-mounted system may incorporate one or more imaging sensors for capturing images or video of the physical environment, and/or one or more microphones for capturing audio of the physical environment. The head-mounted system may have a transparent or translucent display instead of an opaque display. The transparent or translucent display may have a medium through which light representing an image is directed to the eyes of a person. The display may utilize digital light projection, OLED, LED, μled, liquid crystal on silicon, laser scanning light source, or any combination of these techniques. The medium may be an optical waveguide, a holographic medium, an optical combiner, an optical reflector, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the transparent or translucent display may be configured to selectively become opaque. Projection-based systems may employ retinal projection techniques that project a graphical image onto a person's retina. The projection system may also be configured to project the virtual object into the physical environment, for example as a hologram or on a physical surface.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a head-mounted device comprising: a main housing unit having a display that presents an image and an optical module through which the image can be viewed from an eyebox; and a light seal coupled to the main housing unit and surrounding the eyebox, the light seal including an outer fabric layer forming an outermost surface of the light seal and a light blocking inner fabric layer lining an inner surface of the outer fabric layer, the light blocking inner fabric layer including a dark knit layer facing the eyebox, a light knit layer facing the outer fabric layer, and a barrier layer connecting the dark knit layer and the light knit layer.

According to another embodiment, the light colored woven layer matches the color of the outer fabric layer and the dark colored woven layer is not visible through the outer fabric layer.

According to another embodiment, the barrier layer matches the color of the light knit layer.

According to another embodiment, the barrier layer matches the color of the dark knit layer.

According to another embodiment, the light knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier and the barrier layer comprises second strands having a second denier that is half of the first denier.

According to another embodiment, the dark knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier value and the barrier layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half the first denier value.

According to another embodiment, the dark knit layer and the light knit layer each comprise a weft knit layer.

According to another embodiment, the light blocking inner fabric layer has a density of at least 80 strands per inch.

According to another embodiment, the light knit layer and the dark knit layer comprise a bifilar strand.

According to another embodiment, each bifilar strand comprises a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a head-mounted device comprising: a head-mounted support structure; a display supported by the head-mounted support structure, the display presenting an image viewable from the eyebox; and a light seal coupled to the head-mounted support structure and configured to block external light from reaching the eyebox, the light seal comprising a seamless tube having a knit fabric of a first color and a light blocking knit fabric having: a first layer having a first color, a second layer having a second color darker than the first color, and an intermediate layer joining the first layer and the second layer, the first layer being interposed between the second layer and the seamless tube of knitted fabric.

According to another embodiment, the seamless tube of knitted fabric, the first layer and the second layer comprise weft knitted fabric.

According to another embodiment, the first layer comprises a first strand and the second layer comprises a second strand, and the first strand and the second strand have equal denier values.

According to another embodiment, the intermediate layer comprises a third strand having a denier value that is half the denier value of the first strand and the second strand.

According to another embodiment, the first strand and the second strand comprise two-ply strands, each comprising a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

According to one embodiment, there is provided a head-mounted device comprising: a head-mounted housing, a display in the head-mounted housing that presents an image, a lens in the head-mounted housing through which the image can be viewed from an eyeward, and a light seal extending around and coupled to the eyeward, the light seal comprising a light weft-knitted layer, a dark weft-knitted layer, and an intermediate layer joining the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer, the light weft-knitted layer having opposite first and second sides, and the dark weft-knitted layer being on the first side facing the eyeward and not viewable from the second side.

According to another embodiment, the light weft knit layer and the dark weft knit layer comprise first strands having a first denier value and the intermediate layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half the first denier value.

According to another embodiment, the first strand comprises two-ply strands, each comprising a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

According to another embodiment, the light seal further comprises a seamless tube of weft-knitted fabric forming an outermost surface of the light seal, and the seamless tube of weft-knitted fabric matches the color of the light-colored weft-knitted layer.

According to another embodiment, the intermediate layer comprises multifilament strands interwoven with the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer.

The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications may be made to the embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented independently or may be implemented in any combination.

Claims (20)

1. A head-mounted device, comprising:

A main housing unit having a display that presents an image and an optical module through which the image can be viewed from an eyebox; and

A light seal coupled to the main housing unit and surrounding the eyebox, wherein the light seal comprises:

An outer fabric layer forming an outermost surface of the light seal; and

And a light blocking inner fabric layer lining an inner surface of the outer fabric layer, wherein the light blocking inner fabric layer comprises a dark colored knitted layer facing the eyebox, a light colored knitted layer facing the outer fabric layer, and a barrier layer connecting the dark colored knitted layer and the light colored knitted layer.

2. The headset of claim 1, wherein the light knit layer matches the color of the outer fabric layer, and wherein the dark knit layer is not visible through the outer fabric layer.

3. The head mounted device of claim 1, wherein the barrier layer matches a color of the light knit layer.

4. The headset of claim 1, wherein the barrier layer matches the color of the dark knit layer.

5. The head mounted device of claim 1, wherein the light knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier and the barrier layer comprises second strands having a second denier that is half of the first denier.

6. The head mounted device of claim 1, wherein the dark knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier and the barrier layer comprises second strands having a second denier that is half of the first denier.

7. The headset of claim 1, wherein the dark knit layer and the light knit layer each comprise a weft knit layer.

8. The headset of claim 1 wherein the light blocking inner fabric layer has a density of at least 80 strands per inch.

9. The headset of claim 1, wherein the light knit layer and the dark knit layer comprise bifilar strands.

10. The headset of claim 9, wherein each bifilar strand comprises a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

11. A head-mounted device, comprising:

A head-mounted support structure;

a display supported by the head-mounted support structure, wherein the display presents an image viewable from an eyebox; and

A light seal coupled to the head-mounted support structure and configured to block external light from reaching the eyebox, wherein the light seal comprises:

a seamless tube having a knitted fabric of a first color; and

A light blocking knit fabric, the light blocking knit fabric having: a first layer having the first color, a second layer having a second color darker than the first color, and an intermediate layer joining the first layer and the second layer, wherein the first layer is interposed between the second layer and the seamless tube of knitted fabric.

12. The headset of claim 11, wherein the seamless tube of knitted fabric, the first layer, and the second layer comprise weft-knitted fabric.

13. The headset of claim 11, wherein the first layer comprises a first strand and the second layer comprises a second strand, and wherein the first strand and the second strand have equal denier values.

14. The headset of claim 13, wherein the intermediate layer comprises a third strand having a denier value that is half the denier value of the first strand and the second strand.

15. The headset of claim 14, wherein the first and second strands comprise doubled strands, each doubled strand comprising a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

16. A head-mounted device, comprising:

A head-mounted housing;

A display in the head-mounted housing that presents an image;

A lens in the head-mounted housing through which the image can be viewed from an eyebox; and

A light seal extending around the eyebox and coupled to the head-mounted housing, wherein the light seal comprises:

A light colored weft knitted layer;

Dark weft knitting layers; and

An intermediate layer joining the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer, wherein the light weft-knitted layer has opposite first and second sides, and wherein the dark weft-knitted layer is located on the first side facing the eyebox and is not viewable from the second side.

17. The headset of claim 16, wherein the light weft knit layer and the dark weft knit layer comprise first strands having a first denier value, and wherein the intermediate layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half of the first denier value.

18. The headset of claim 17, wherein the first strand comprises two-ply strands, each two-ply strand comprising a polyester strand and an elastic strand.

19. The headset of claim 16 wherein the light seal further comprises a seamless tube of weft-knitted fabric forming an outermost surface of the light seal, and wherein the seamless tube of weft-knitted fabric matches the color of the light-colored weft-knitted layer.

20. The headset of claim 16 wherein the intermediate layer comprises multifilament strands interwoven with the light weft-knitted layer and the dark weft-knitted layer.