Systems with displays and sensors

Abstract

To provide electronic devices such as head-mounted devices.SOLUTION: A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure (26). Rear-facing displays (14R, 14L) may present images to eye boxes (34) at the rear of the head-mounted support structure. A forward-facing publicly viewable display (14F) may be supported on a front side of the head-mounted support structure facing away from the rear-facing displays. The forward-facing display may have pixels that form an active area (AA) in which images are displayed and may have a ring-shaped inactive border area (IA) that surrounds the pixels. The active area may have a curved peripheral edge with a nose bridge recess. The inactive border area may have a periphery that runs in parallel to the peripheral edge of the active area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application generally relates to electronic devices, and more specifically, to electronic devices such as head-mounted devices.

[0002] (Cross-reference to Related Applications) This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 081,222, filed on September 21, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Background Art

[0003] An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have input / output components. The input / output components can include components such as a display and a sensor.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure. A rear display can present an image to an eyebox at the rear of the head-mounted support structure while the head-mounted support structure is being worn by a user. The head-mounted support structure can have a curved rear surface that wraps around the user's head.

[0005] A front publicly visible display can be supported on the front side of the head-mounted support structure facing away from the rear display. The front display can have a curved shape that wraps around the front of the head-mounted support structure and around the user's head.

[0006] The front display can have pixels that form an active area on which an image is displayed, and can have a ring-shaped inactive border area surrounding the pixels. The active area can have a curved periphery having a nasal bridge recess. The outline of the active area on each side of the display may have a teardrop shape or other curved shape. The outer perimeter of the inactive border area can extend parallel to the periphery of the active area.

[0007] The front display can have a display cover layer having a deployable surface that overlaps the active area. Pixels within the active area can be supported on a flexible display substrate that is bent about a bending axis that extends vertically through the center of the support structure. The bent flexible display can be placed against or adjacent to the inner surface of the display cover layer, or against or adjacent to the inner surface of the shroud canopy layer, and can have a deployable surface. Optionally, the bent flexible display may be attached to the deployable inner surface of the display cover layer, and the display cover layer may have a corresponding outer surface that overlaps a display characterized by a compound curvature.

[0008] The edge of the display cover layer may be swept rearward from the active area and may be characterized by a curved cross-sectional profile. In an exemplary configuration, the surface of the cover layer in the ring-shaped non-active area has a compound curvature. The surface of the display cover layer within the active area may be a deployable surface or may have a compound curvature.

[0009] The optical component can operate through the cover layer within the non-active area. The optical component can include a flicker sensor, an ambient light sensor, a camera, a three-dimensional image sensor such as a structured light three-dimensional sensor and a time-of-flight three-dimensional image sensor, and an infrared illumination system configured to provide infrared illumination for a tracking camera in dim ambient lighting conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] The head-mounted device can include a head-mounted support structure that enables the device to be worn on the user's head. The head-mounted device can have a display supported by the head-mounted support structure for presenting visual content to the user. The display can include a rear display that presents an image in an eye box at the rear of the head-mounted support structure. The display can also include a front display. The front display can be mounted on the front of the head-mounted support structure and can be visible to the user when the head-mounted device is not worn on the user's head. The front display, sometimes referred to as a publicly visible display, can also be visible to other people in the vicinity of the head-mounted device.

[0012] Optical components such as image sensors and other light sensors can be provided within the head-mounted device. In an exemplary configuration, the optical components are attached under a peripheral portion of a display cover layer that protects the front display.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary head-mounted electronic device. As shown in FIG. 1, the head-mounted device 10 can include a head-mounted support structure 26. The support structure 26 can have a wall or other structure that separates an internal region of the device 10, such as the internal region 42, from an external region that surrounds the device 10, such as the external region 44. Electrical components 40 (e.g., integrated circuits, sensors, control circuits, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and other light-emitting devices, other control circuits, and input / output devices, etc.) can be mounted on a printed circuit and / or other structures within the device 10 (e.g., within the internal region 42).

[0014] To present an image for viewing by a user from an eyepiece such as eyepiece 34, device 10 can include a rear display such as rear display 14R and a lens such as lens 38. These components can be mounted within an optical module such as optical module 36 (e.g., a lens barrel) to form individual left and right optical systems. For example, there can be a left rear display for presenting an image through a left lens to the user's left eye within the left eyepiece, and a right rear display for presenting an image to the user's right eye within the right eyepiece. The user's eyes are located within eyepiece 34 on the rear side R of device 10 when structure 26 is placed against the outer surface of the user's face (facial surface 30).

[0015] Support structure 26 can include a main support structure such as main housing portion 26M (which may also be referred to as the main part). Main housing portion 26M can extend from the front side F of device 10 to the opposite rear side R of device 10. At the rear side R, main housing portion 26M can have a cushion structure to enhance the user's comfort when the portion 26M is placed against facial surface 30. Optionally, support structure 26 can include an optional head strap such as strap 26B and / or other structures that enable device 10 to be worn on the user's head.

[0016] Device 10 can have a publicly visible forward display such as display 14F mounted on the front side F of main housing portion 26M. Display 14F can be visible to the user when the user is not wearing device 10 and / or can be visible to others in the vicinity of device 10. Display 14F can, for example, be viewed at the front side F of device 10 by an external observer such as observer 50 looking at device 10 in direction 52.

[0017] A schematic diagram of an exemplary system that can include a head-mounted device is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, system 8 can include one or more electronic devices 10. Device 10 can include a head-mounted device (e.g., device 10 of FIG. 1), accessories such as a controller and headphones, a computing device (e.g., a cellular phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, and / or a remote computing device that supplies content to the head-mounted device), and / or other devices that communicate with each other.

[0018] Each electronic device 10 can have a control circuit 12. Control circuit 12 can include storage and processing circuitry for controlling the operation of device 10. Control circuit 12 can include storage such as, for example, a hard disk drive storage, a non-volatile memory (e.g., an electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), a volatile memory (e.g., a static or dynamic random access memory). The processing circuitry of control circuit 12 can be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, graphics processing units, application specific integrated circuits, and other integrated circuits. Software code can be stored on the storage within circuit 12 and executed on the processing circuitry within circuit 12 to perform control operations of device 10 (e.g., operations including data collection operations, operations for adjusting components of device 10 using control signals, etc.). Control circuit 12 can include a wired communication circuit and a wireless communication circuit. For example, control circuit 12 can include a wireless transceiver circuit such as a cellular phone transceiver circuit, a wireless local area network transceiver circuit (WiFi (registered trademark) circuit), a millimeter wave transceiver circuit, and / or other wireless communication circuits.

[0019] During operation, the communication circuit of the device within system 8 (for example, the communication circuit of the control circuit 12 of device 10) can be used to support communication between electronic devices. For example, one electronic device can transmit video data, audio data, control signals, and / or other data to another electronic device within system 8. The electronic devices within system 8 can communicate via one or more communication networks (such as the Internet, local area network, etc.) using wired and / or wireless communication circuits. Using the communication circuit, it is possible for device 10 to receive data from an external device (such as a portable device like a tethered computer, handheld device, or laptop computer, an online computing device like a remote server or other remote computing device, or other electrical devices), and / or to provide data to an external device.

[0020] Each device 10 of system 8 can include an input / output device 22. Using the input / output device 22, it is possible to enable a user to provide user input to device 10. The input / output device 22 may also be used to collect information regarding the environment in which device 10 is operating. The output components within device 22 can enable device 10 to provide output to the user and can be used for communication with external electrical devices.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the input / output device 22 can include one or more displays such as the display 14. The display 14 can include a rear display such as the display 14R of FIG. 1. The device 10 can include left and right components such as, for example, left and right scanning mirror display devices or other image projectors, liquid crystal on silicon display devices, digital mirror devices, or other reflective display devices, left and right display panels based on light emitting diode pixel arrays (e.g., an organic light emitting display having a polymer or semiconductor substrate, or a display device based on a pixel array formed from crystalline semiconductor light emitting diode dies), liquid crystal display panels, and / or other left and right display devices that provide images to left and right eye boxes for viewing by the user's left and right eyes, respectively. Such display components (e.g., an organic light emitting display having a flexible polymer substrate, or a display based on a pixel array formed from crystalline semiconductor light emitting diode dies on a flexible substrate) can also be used in forming a front display (sometimes referred to as a forward display, front display, or publicly visible display) for the device 10 such as the front display 14F of FIG. 1.

[0022] During operation, the display 14 (e.g., display 14R and / or 14F) can be used to display visual content (e.g., still images and / or videos, including photos and pass-through videos from a camera sensor, text, graphics, movies, games, and / or other visual content) for a user of the device 10. The content presented on the display 14 can include, for example, virtual objects and other content provided to the display 14 by the control circuit 12. This virtual content may also be referred to as computer-generated content. The computer-generated content can be displayed in the absence of real-world content or can be combined with real-world content. In some configurations, a real-world image may be captured by a camera (e.g., a front-facing camera, sometimes also referred to as a front camera), and the computer-generated content can be electronically overlaid on a portion of the real-world image (e.g., when the device 10 is a virtual reality headset).

[0023] The input / output circuit 22 may include the sensor 16. Examples of the sensor 16 include, for example, a three-dimensional sensor (e.g., a structured light sensor such as a three-dimensional image sensor that emits a light beam and collects image data for a three-dimensional image from dots or other light spots generated when a target is irradiated by the light beam using a two-dimensional digital image sensor, a binocular three-dimensional image sensor that collects a three-dimensional image using two or more cameras in a binocular imaging configuration, a three-dimensional lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor, also sometimes called a time-of-flight camera or a three-dimensional time-of-flight camera, a three-dimensional high-frequency sensor, or other sensors that collect three-dimensional image data), a camera (e.g., a two-dimensional infrared and / or visible digital image sensor), a gaze-tracking sensor (e.g., a gaze-tracking system based on an image sensor and, optionally, a light source that emits one or more light beams that are tracked using the image sensor after being reflected from the user's eyes), a touch sensor, a capacitive proximity sensor, a light-based (optical) proximity sensor, other proximity sensors, a force sensor (e.g., a strain gauge, a capacitive force sensor, a resistive force sensor, etc.), a switch-based contact sensor, etc., a gas sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a magnetic sensor, an audio sensor (microphone), an ambient light sensor, a flicker sensor that collects temporal information regarding ambient lighting conditions such as the presence of a time-varying ambient light intensity related to artificial lighting, a microphone for collecting voice commands and other voice inputs, a sensor configured to collect information regarding movement, position, and / or orientation (e.g., an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, and / or an inertial measurement unit including all of these sensors or one or two of these sensors as a subset), and / or other sensors.

[0024] User input and other information may be collected using sensors and other input devices within the input / output device 22. Optionally, the input / output device 22 can include a haptic output device (e.g., a vibration component), a light-emitting diode, a laser, and other light sources (e.g., a light-emitting device that emits light to illuminate the environment surrounding the device 10 when the ambient light level is low), a speaker such as an ear speaker for generating audio output, a circuit for receiving wireless power, a circuit for wirelessly transmitting power to other devices, a battery and other energy storage devices (e.g., a capacitor), a joystick, buttons, and / or other devices 24 such as other components.

[0025] As described in connection with FIG. 1, the electronic device 10 can have a head-mounted support structure such as the head-mounted support structure 26 (e.g., a head-mounted housing structure such as a housing wall, a strap, etc.). The head-mounted support structure may be configured to be worn on the user's head (e.g., with respect to the user's face covering the user's eyes) during operation of the device 10 and can support the display 14, the sensor 16, other components 24, other input / output devices 22, and the control circuit 12 (see, for example, components 40 and the optical module 36 in FIG. 1).

[0026] FIG. 3 is a front view of the device 10 in an exemplary configuration having a publicly visible display such as the front display 14F. As shown in FIG. 3, the support structure 26M of the device 10 can have a right portion and a left portion such as portions 26R and 26L that are coupled by a nasal bridge portion such as portion 26NB intervening therebetween. The portion 26NB can have a curved outer surface such as a nasal bridge surface 90 configured to receive and rest on the user's nose to help support the main housing portion 26M on the user's head.

[0027] The display 14F may have an active area such as an active area AA configured to display an image, and an inactive area IA that does not display an image. The outline of the active area AA may be a rectangle, a rectangle with rounded corners, may have teardrop-shaped portions on the left and right sides of the device 10, may have a shape with straight edges, a shape with curved edges, a peripheral shape having both straight and curved portions, and / or other suitable outlines. As shown in FIG. 3, the active area AA may have a concave portion curved in the bridge portion 26NB of the main housing portion 26. The presence of a nose-shaped concave portion in the active area AA can help fit the active area AA within the available space of the housing portion 26M without unduly limiting the size of the active area AA.

[0028] The active area AA includes an array of pixels. The pixels may be, for example, light-emitting diode pixels formed from thin-film organic light-emitting diodes or crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as micro light-emitting diodes) on a flexible display panel substrate. Configurations in which the display 14F uses other display technologies may also be used as needed. An illustrative configuration in which the display 14 is formed from a light-emitting diode display such as an organic light-emitting diode display formed on a flexible substrate (e.g., a substrate formed from a bendable layer of polyimide or a sheet of another flexible polymer) may be described herein as an example. The pixels of the active area AA may be formed on a display device such as the display panel 14P of FIG. 3 (e.g., a flexible organic light-emitting diode display panel). In some configurations, the outline of the panel 14P can have a peripheral edge that includes straight segments, or a combination of straight and curved segments. Configurations characterized by an overall curved peripheral edge of the panel 14P can also be used.

[0029] The display 14F may have non-active regions such as a non-active region IA that has no pixels and does not display an image. The non-active region IA may form a non-active boundary region that extends along one or more portions of the periphery of the active region AA. In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 3, the non-active region IA has a ring shape surrounding the active region AA. In this type of configuration, the width of the non-active region IA may be relatively constant, and the inner and outer edges of the region IA may be characterized by straight lines and / or curve segments, or may be curved along their entire length. For example, the outer edge of the region IA (e.g., the outer perimeter of the display 14F) can have a curved contour that extends parallel to the curved edge of the active region AA.

[0030] In some configurations, the device 10 can operate with other devices (e.g., a wireless controller and other accessories) within the system 8. These accessories can have magnetic sensors that sense the direction and intensity of a magnetic field. The device 10 can have one or more electromagnets configured to radiate a magnetic field. The magnetic field can be measured by a wireless accessory near the device 10, and as a result, the accessory can determine its orientation and position relative to the device 10. Thereby, the accessory can wirelessly provide real-time information regarding its current position, orientation, and movement to the device 10, so the accessory can function as a wireless controller. The accessory can include wearable devices, devices to be handled, and other input devices.

[0031] In an exemplary configuration, device 10 can have a coil, such as exemplary coil 54, that extends around display 14F (e.g., in an inactive region IA or under other portions of display 14F). Coil 54 can have any suitable number of windings (e.g., 1 - 10, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, 10 - 50, less than 100, less than 25, less than 6, etc.). These windings can be formed from metal traces on a substrate, from wires, and / or from other conductive lines. During operation, control circuit 12 can supply an alternating current (AC) drive signal to coil 54. The drive signal can have a frequency of (by way of example) at least 1 kHz, at least 10 kHz, at least 100 kHz, at least 1 MHz, less than 10 MHz, less than 3 MHz, less than 300 kHz, or less than 30 kHz. When an AC current flows through coil 54, a corresponding magnetic field is generated in the vicinity of device 10. An electronic device, such as a wireless controller having a magnetic sensor in the vicinity of device 10, can use the magnetic field as a reference to determine its orientation, position, and / or movement while being moved relative to device 10 and provide an input to device 10.

[0032] As an example, consider a handheld wireless controller used to control the operation of device 10. During operation, device 10 uses coil 54 to radiate a magnetic field. As the handheld wireless controller is moved, the magnetic sensor of the controller can monitor the position of the controller and its movement relative to device 10 by monitoring the strength, orientation, and changes in strength and / or orientation of the magnetic field radiated by coil 54 as the controller is moved through the air by the user. The electronic device can then wirelessly transmit information regarding the position and orientation of the controller to device 10. In this way, a handheld controller, a wearable controller, or other external accessory can be operated by the user to provide air gestures, pointing inputs, steering inputs, and / or other user inputs to device 10.

[0033] Device 10 can have components such as optical components (e.g., the optical sensors among the sensors 16 in FIG. 2). These components can be attached at any suitable location on the head-mounted support structure 26 (e.g., on the head strap 26B, on the main housing portion 26M, etc.). The optical components and other components may face rearward (e.g., when attached to the rear surface of the device 10), may face sideward (e.g., to the left or right), may face downward or upward, may face forward of the device 10 (e.g., when attached to the front surface of the device 10), may be attached to point to any combination of these directions (e.g., forward, to the right, and downward), and / or may be attached in other suitable orientations. In an exemplary configuration, at least some of the components of the device 10 are attached to face outward forward (and optionally sideward and / or vertically). For example, forward-facing cameras for pass-through video can be attached to the left and right sides of the front of the device 10 in a configuration where the cameras branch slightly along the horizontal dimension and the fields of view of these cameras overlap to some extent while capturing a wide-angle image of the environment in front of the device 10. The captured images can include portions around the user that are below, above, and to the sides of the area directly in front of the device 10, as needed.

[0034] To help hide components such as optical components so that they are not visible from outside the device 10, it may be desirable to cover some or all of the components with a cosmetic cover structure. The cover structure can include a transparent portion (e.g., an optical component window) characterized by sufficient light transmissibility to allow the overlapping optical components to operate satisfactorily. For example, an ambient light sensor can be covered with a layer that appears opaque to an external observer to help hide the ambient light sensor from view, but allows sufficient ambient light to pass through to the ambient light sensor for satisfactory ambient light measurement. As another example, an optical component that emits infrared light can be overlaid with a visually opaque material that is transparent to infrared light.

[0035] In an exemplary configuration, the optical components for device 10 may be mounted within the inactive region IA of FIG. 3, and the cosmetic cover structure may be formed in a ring shape overlapping the optical components within the inactive region IA. The cosmetic cover structure may be formed from ink, a polymer structure, a structure containing metal, other materials, and / or combinations of these materials. In an exemplary configuration, the cosmetic cover structure may be formed from a ring-shaped member having a footprint that matches the footprint of the inactive region IA. For example, if the active region AA has left and right portions having a teardrop shape, the ring-shaped member can have a curved edge that follows the curved perimeter of the teardrop-shaped portion of the active region AA. The ring-shaped member may be formed from one or more polymer structures (e.g., the ring-shaped member may be formed from a polymer ring). Since the ring-shaped member can help hide overlapping components from view, the ring-shaped member may also be referred to as a shroud or a ring-shaped shroud member. The appearance of the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure may be characterized by achromatic colors (white, black, or gray) or non-achromatic colors (e.g., blue, red, green, gold, rose gold, etc.).

[0036] Display 14F can optionally have a protective display cover layer. The cover layer may overlap the active region AA and the inactive region IA (e.g., the entire front surface of device 10 as viewed from direction 52 of FIG. 1 can be covered by the cover layer). The cover layer, which may also be referred to as a housing wall or a transparent housing wall, can have a rectangular contour, a contour having a teardrop portion, an oval contour, or other shapes having curved and / or straight edges.

[0037] The cover layer can be formed from a transparent material such as glass, polymer, transparent crystalline materials such as sapphire, transparent ceramics, other transparent materials, and / or combinations of these materials. As an example, the protective display cover layer for the display 14F can be formed from safety glass (e.g., laminated glass including a transparent glass layer having a laminated polymer film). An optional coating layer can be applied to the surface of the display cover layer. Optionally, the display cover layer can be chemically strengthened (e.g., using an ion exchange process to create an outer layer of the material under compressive stress that is resistant to scratches). In some configurations, the display cover layer can be formed from a stack of two or more material layers (e.g., a first and second structural glass layer, a glass layer or a rigid polymer layer bonded to another rigid polymer layer, etc.) to improve the performance of the cover layer.

[0038] In the active area AA, the display cover layer may overlap the pixels of the display panel 14P. The display cover layer within the active area AA is preferably transparent so as to be able to view the image presented on the display panel 14P. In the inactive area IA, the display cover layer may overlap a ring-shaped shroud or other cosmetic cover structure. The shroud and / or other cover structure (e.g., an opaque ink coating on the inner surface of the display cover layer and / or structure) can be sufficiently opaque to help hide some or all of the optical components within the inactive area IA from view. The window can be provided in the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure to help ensure that the optical components over which these structures are overlaid operate satisfactorily. The window may be formed from a hole, may be formed from a region of the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure that is locally thinned to enhance light transmission, may be formed from a window member having desired light transmission characteristics inserted into a fitting opening of the shroud, and / or may be formed from other shroud window structures.

[0039] In the example of FIG. 3, device 10 includes optical components such as (by way of example) optical components 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, and 80. Each of these optical components (e.g., an optical sensor selected from among sensors 16, light emitting devices, etc. of FIG. 2) can be configured to detect light and, if necessary, emit light (e.g., ultraviolet light, visible light, and / or infrared light).

[0040] In an exemplary configuration, optical component 60 can sense ambient light (e.g., visible ambient light). In particular, optical component 60 can have a photodetector that senses changes in ambient light intensity as a function of time. As an example, when a user is operating in an environment with an artificial light source, the light source can emit light at a frequency associated with its wall power (e.g., 60 Hz AC mains power). The photodetector of component 60 can sense that the artificial light from the artificial light source is characterized by intensity fluctuations at 60 Hz. Control circuit 12 can use this information to adjust a clock or other timing signal associated with the operation of an image sensor within device 10 and help avoid unwanted interference between the light source frequency and the frame rate or other frequency associated with the image capture operation. Control circuit 12 can also use measurements from component 60 to help identify the presence of artificial illumination and the type of artificial illumination present. In this way, control circuit 12 can detect the presence of light such as fluorescent lights or other light with known non-ideal color characteristics and perform color cast adjustment (e.g., white point adjustment) for color-sensitive components such as cameras and displays. Since optical component 60 can measure fluctuations in light intensity, component 60 may also be referred to as a flicker sensor or an ambient light frequency sensor.

[0041] The optical component 62 may be an ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor can include one or more photodetectors. In a single photodetector configuration, the ambient light sensor may be a monochrome sensor that measures the ambient light intensity. In a multi - photodetector configuration, an optical filter that passes through different wavelength bands (e.g., different visible and / or infrared pass bands) can be stacked on each photodetector. The optical filter pass bands may overlap at their edges. Thereby, the component 62 can function as a color ambient light sensor that measures both the ambient light intensity and the ambient light color (e.g., by measuring the color coordinates of the ambient light). During the operation of the device 10, the control circuit 12 can perform operations based on the measured ambient light intensity and color. As an example, based on the measured color of the ambient light, the white point of a display or an image sensor may be adjusted, or color adjustment of other displays or image sensors may be performed. The intensity of the display may be adjusted based on the light intensity. For example, the luminance of the display 14F may be increased in bright ambient lighting conditions to enhance the visibility of the image on the display, and the luminance of the display 14F may be reduced in dim lighting conditions to save power. Image sensor operation and / or light source operation can also be adjusted based on the ambient light readings.

[0042] The optical components within the active region IA can also include components along the sides of the device 10 such as components 80 and 64. The optical components 80 and 64 can be pose - tracking cameras used to assist in monitoring the orientation and movement of the device 10. The components 80 and 64 can be visible - light cameras (and / or cameras that sense visible and infrared wavelengths) and, together with an inertial measurement unit, can form a visual - inertial odometry (VIO) system.

[0043] The optical components 78 and 66 can be visible light cameras that capture real-time images of the environment surrounding the device 10. These cameras, sometimes referred to as scene cameras or pass-through video cameras, can capture video that is displayed in real time on the display 14R for the user to view when the user's eyes are positioned within the eye box 34 at the rear of the device 10. In this way, by displaying a pass-through image (pass-through video) to the user, real-time information about the user's surroundings can be provided to the user. Optionally, virtual content (e.g., computer-generated imagery) can be overlaid on top of a portion of the pass-through video. The device 10 can also operate in a non-pass-through video mode in which the components 78 and 66 are turned off and only other virtual content that does not include movie content, game content, and / or real-time real-world images is provided to the user.

[0044] The input / output device 22 of device 10 can collect user input used when controlling the operation of device 10. As an example, a microphone within device 10 can collect voice commands. Buttons, touch sensors, force sensors, and other input devices can collect user input from the user's finger or other external object in contact with device 10. In some configurations, it may be desirable to monitor the gestures of the user's hand or the movement of other user body parts. Thereby, the position of the user's hand or the position of other body parts can be replicated in a game or other virtual environment, and the movement of the user's hand can be made to function as a hand gesture (air gesture) for controlling the operation of device 10. User input such as hand gesture input can be captured using cameras operating at visible and infrared wavelengths, such as a tracking camera (e.g., optical components 76 and 68). Such tracking cameras can also track reference points and other recognizable features on the controller and other external accessories (additional devices 10 of system 8) during the use of these controllers when controlling the operation of device 10. If necessary, the tracking camera can help determine the position and orientation of a handheld controller or wearable controller that senses its location and orientation by measuring the magnetic field generated by coil 54. Thus, the use of a tracking camera can help track the hand movements and controller movements used when moving the pointer and other virtual objects displayed to the user, or otherwise assist in controlling the operation of device 10.

[0045] The tracking camera can operate satisfactorily in the presence of sufficient ambient light (e.g., bright visible ambient illumination conditions). In dim environments, auxiliary illumination can be provided by an auxiliary light source such as an auxiliary infrared light source (e.g., optical components 82 and 84). Each infrared light source may include one or more light-emitting devices (light-emitting diodes or lasers), and may be configured to provide a fixed and / or steerable beam of infrared light that functions as auxiliary illumination for the tracking camera. Optionally, the infrared light sources may be turned off in bright ambient illumination conditions (e.g., using the ambient light sensing capabilities of optical component 62) and turned on in response to the detection of dim ambient illumination.

[0046] The three-dimensional sensor within device 10 may be used to perform biometric identification operations (e.g., face identification for authentication), to determine the three-dimensional shape of objects within the user's environment (e.g., to map the user's environment so that a corresponding virtual environment can be created for the user), and / or to collect three-dimensional content during the operation of device 10. As an example, optical components 74 and 70 may be three-dimensional structured light image sensors. Each three-dimensional structured light image sensor may have one or more light sources that provide structured light (e.g., a dot projector that projects an array of infrared dots onto the environment, a structured light source that generates a grid of lines, or other structured light components that emit structured light). Each of the three-dimensional structured light image sensors may also include a projection illuminator (e.g., a light-emitting diode or laser that emits a broad beam of infrared light). Using the projection illumination and the structured light illumination, optical components 74 and 70 can capture images such as face images, images of objects within the environment surrounding device 10, etc.

[0047] The optical component 72 can be an infrared three-dimensional time-of-flight camera that uses time-of-flight measurements for the emitted light to collect a three-dimensional image of an object in the environment surrounding the device 10. The component 72 can have a longer range and a narrower field of view than the three-dimensional structured light cameras of the optical components 74 and 70. The operating range of the component 72 can be, for example, 30 cm to 7 m, 60 cm to 6 m, 70 cm to 5 m, or other suitable operating ranges.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a top view of the device 10 in an exemplary configuration where the display 14F and the main housing portion 26M are configured to curve along the curved surface of the user's face (curved face 30). In particular, the rear surface 96 of the housing portion 26M on the rear side R of the device 10 can have a curved shape bent about an axis 98 (e.g., an axis parallel to the vertical Z-axis in the example of FIG. 4). By smoothly wrapping the housing portion 26M around the curved surface of the user's head, the comfort when wearing the device 10 can be enhanced.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, the display 14F and other structures on the front surface of the device 10 can have a protective cover layer such as a display cover layer 92 (e.g., the front portion of the housing portion 26M, which may also be referred to as a front housing wall, a transparent dielectric housing wall, or a dielectric housing member). In some embodiments, the display cover layer 92 can include regions characterized by a curved surface (which may also be called a developable surface or a curved surface without compound curvature) that can be flattened into a plane without distortion. The display cover layer 92 can also include regions characterized by compound curvature (e.g., a surface that can only be flattened onto a plane with distortion, which may also be called a non-developable surface).

[0050] In the active area AA of the display 14F, the cover layer 92 overlaps the array of pixels P in the display panel 14P. In the inactive area IA, the cover layer 92 does not overlap any pixels, but may overlap optical components such as the optical components shown in FIG. 3. To help reduce the size and weight of the device 10, the display 14F can have a curved shape that wraps around the front of the user's head, parallel to the face 30 and parallel to the curved rear surface 96 of the housing portion 26M. For example, the display panel 14P can have a flexible substrate that allows the panel 14P to bend around a bending axis 94 (e.g., a bending axis parallel to the Z axis in the example of FIG. 4). In the active area AA of the display 14F, the display cover layer 92 can have an inner surface with a curved cross-sectional profile that conforms to the bent display panel 14P and a corresponding curved outer surface. In the inactive area IA, the display cover layer 92 can also be curved (e.g., having a smaller bending radius and a greater curvature than in the state in the active area AA). Optionally, a polymer layer (sometimes referred to as a shroud canopy or polymer member) may be interposed between the display cover layer 92 and the display panel 14P. The polymer layer may be separated from the pixels of the panel 14P by an air gap and may be separated from the inner surface of the display cover layer 92 by an air gap (as an example).

[0051] FIG. 5A is a side cross-sectional view of the display 14F as viewed from the -X direction. As shown in FIG. 5A, the cross-sectional profile of the display panel 14P (in a plane parallel to the YZ plane) may be straight rather than curved in an exemplary configuration. This can help prevent wrinkles or other distortions in the flexible substrate material of the display panel 14P when the display panel 14P is bent about the bending axis 94 and wrapped around the curved surface of the user's face. The display panel 14P may, in this example, have a developable surface (e.g., a surface having a curved cross-sectional profile but no compound curvature). The panel 14P of FIG. 5A may be attached (e.g., with an adhesive) to the inner surface of the layer 92. In this scenario, the inner surface of the layer 92 may be a developable surface that mates with the outward-facing developable surface of the panel 14P. The corresponding outer surface of the layer 92 within the active region AA may be a developable surface or a surface with compound curvature. In the non-active region IA, the layer 92 may have an inner and / or outer surface with compound curvature and / or the inner and / or outer surface may be a developable surface. Optionally, the entire outer surface of the layer 92 may have compound curvature (in both the active region AA and the non-active region IA), the inner surface of the layer 92 in the active region AA may be a developable surface to which the panel 14P is laminated with an adhesive, the inner surface of the layer 92 in the non-active region IA may have compound curvature and / or may be a developable surface.

[0052] Another exemplary configuration of display 14F is shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in the side cross-sectional view of FIG. 5B, the display cover layer 92 can have a curved cross-sectional profile across the entirety of layer 92, if desired. In this type of configuration, the surface of the non-active region IA of the display cover layer 92 may have a compound curvature, and the active region AA of the display cover layer 92 may have a compound curvature (e.g., layer 92 may not include any region having a developable surface). A polymer layer, such as polymer layer 130, sometimes referred to as a shroud or shroud canopy, may be interposed between the inner surface of the display cover layer 92 and the opposing outer surface of the display panel 14P. The outer surface of the display panel 14P may be a developable surface (e.g., the display panel 14P may be bent about axis 94). In the active region AA where the polymer layer 130 overlaps the pixels of panel 14P, the polymer layer 130 may also be bent about axis 94 (e.g., the inner and outer surfaces of the polymer layer 130 in the active region AA may be developable surfaces). In the non-active region IA, the inner and outer surfaces of the polymer layer 130 can have a compound curvature. An air gap can separate the panel 14P from the inner surface of layer 130 and can separate the outer surface of layer 130 from the inner surface of layer 92.

[0053] Optionally, other configurations of layer 130 may be used. For example, the side of layer 130 facing display panel 14P may have a developable surface in active region AA, while the side of layer 130 facing layer 92 may have a compound curvature in active region AA (e.g., layer 130 can have a non-uniform thickness). Layer 92 can also have different configurations. For example, the outer surface of layer 92 may have a compound curvature, while the inner surface of layer 92 in active region AA and / or region IA may be a developable surface. Other configurations where layer 92 and / or layer 130 have variable thickness may also be used. In the non-active region IA, a plurality of polymer structures may be joined. For example, in region IA, a ring-shaped polymer member, sometimes called a shroud trim, may be joined to layer 130, which can form a shroud canopy member extending across the entire front surface of device 10. The shroud trim and shroud canopy may, optionally, be individually or collectively referred to as forming a shroud, a shroud member, etc. Layer 130 may include coloring (e.g., dyes, pigments, and / or other colorants). For example, layer 130 may be colored to exhibit a visible light transmittance of 30-80% to help conceal the internal structures of device 10, such as display panel 14P, from view when not in use.

[0054] FIG. 6 is a front view of a portion of display 14F and display cover layer 92. The inner and outer surfaces of display cover layer 92 that directly overlap active region AA and display panel 14P may be developable surfaces and / or may include regions of compound curvature. In an exemplary configuration, the inner surface of cover layer 92 in region AA can bend about bend axis 94 without exhibiting curvature about any axis orthogonal to axis 94, as described in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5A. The outer surface of layer 92 in region AA may be a developable surface or a surface of compound curvature. Using a developable surface on the side facing the inside of display cover layer 92 (and, optionally, on the side facing the inside of optional layer 130 of FIG. 5B) can help ensure that display panel 14P does not wrinkle or otherwise become damaged while bending panel 14P to form a curved display shape that conforms to the shape of the user's head.

[0055] Display panel 14P can have an outward-facing surface that is a developable surface within active region AA. This display panel surface may be adhered to the corresponding inner developable surface of layer 130 or the corresponding inner developable surface of layer 92, or may be spaced apart from the inner surfaces of layer 130 and / or layer 92 by an air gap (by way of example).

[0056] Part or all of the inner and outer surfaces of display cover layer 92 in non-active region IA may optionally be characterized by compound curvature. This allows the periphery of display 14F to transition smoothly away from the active region, providing an attractive appearance and a compact shape for device 10. The compound curvature of display cover layer 92 in non-active region IA may also facilitate positioning optical components in a desired orientation under non-active region IA. Optionally, all regions of layer 92 can have compound curvature (e.g., the inner and outer surfaces of layer 92 can have compound curvature in both region IA and region AA).

[0057] In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 6 where the display cover layer 92 has a curved peripheral portion and the inner and outer surfaces of the display cover layer 92 have a compound curvature in the non-active region IA, the cross-sectional profile of the display cover layer 92 along each of the exemplary lines 100 of FIG. 6 is curved (e.g., the entire peripheral ring-shaped non-active region of the display 14F in the example of FIG. 6 is covered by a portion of the display cover layer 92 having inner and outer surfaces with a compound curvature). This type of shape of the display cover layer 92 can be generated by glass forming, polymer molding, machining, and / or other display cover layer fabrication techniques. Other configurations (e.g., a configuration where the display cover layer 92 has at least some developable surfaces (inner and / or outer surfaces) within the non-active region IA) can also be used. The configuration of FIG. 6 is exemplary.

[0058] FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are front views of an exemplary upper left portion of the display cover layer 92. The device 10 can have a symmetric right cover layer portion. The example of FIG. 7 shows how the peripheral portion of the display cover layer 92 can have a straight edge (e.g., a generally rectangular shape with a straight edge) and rounded corners. In the example of FIG. 8, the display cover layer 92 has a teardrop shape at the upper left and right sides. FIG. 9 shows how the upper corner portion of the display cover layer 92 can have a sweep curve (e.g., to help soften the appearance of the device 10 when viewed from the front).

[0059] Figures 10, 11, and 12 are front views of an exemplary lower left portion of the display cover layer 92. As shown in Figure 10, the lower half of the cover layer 92 can be characterized by a rectangular shape with rounded corners. The cover layer 92 of Figure 10 can have an upper portion having a shape of the type shown in Figure 7 (as an example). In the bridge portion of the device 10, the cover layer 92 can have a recessed and curved bridge edge shape (e.g., refer to the curved edge surface 90). In the exemplary configuration of Figure 11, the display cover layer 92 has a lower left side and a lower right side having a teardrop shape (e.g., a shape that can be used with a display cover layer having upper left and upper right teardrop shapes as shown in Figure 8). Figure 12 shows how the lower portion of the display cover layer 92 can have a more gently curved contour.

[0060] Generally, the upper and lower portions of the cover layer 92 can have any suitable contour when viewed from the front of the device 10. The shape used for the cover layer 92 can be determined by factors such as aesthetics, size, the ability to facilitate proper placement of optical components within the inactive region IA, the ability to provide a desired active region coverage ratio (overlap on the active region AA), etc. Any of the exemplary shapes of the upper portion of the device 10 shown in Figures 7, 8, and / or 9 can be used in combination with any of the exemplary shapes of the lower portion of the device 10 shown in Figures 10, 11, and 12. The overall shape of the cover layer 92 may be symmetric with respect to the bridge of the nose (e.g., the left and right halves of the layer 92 can exhibit mirror symmetry). The shapes of Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are exemplary. Other shapes can be used as needed.

[0061] FIG. 13 is an exploded top cross-sectional view of a portion of device 10 showing how display cover layer 92 can have portions that overlap display panel 14P and portions that overlap a cosmetic cover structure such as shroud 102 (e.g., a ring-shaped shroud portion, sometimes referred to as a shroud trim or shroud trim member, which can optionally be attached to a shroud canopy covering display 14F such as optional polymer layer 130 in region IA). The cosmetic cover structure within non-active region IA can be formed from an opaque masking layer (e.g., a black ink layer) on the inner surface of display cover layer 92 and / or on the shroud, and / or from another coating, and / or from a separate structure formed from metal, polymer, glass, or other material, and / or from other structures that can help hide overlapping components 104. Components 104 can include sensor 16 of FIG. 2 and other input / output devices 22. For example, components 104 can be optical components such as components 60, 62, 64, 84, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, and 80 of FIG. 3. In non-active region IA, cover layer 92 can have a curved inner and outer surface (e.g., a surface with a compound curvature). Shroud 102 (and optionally layer 130 within region IA) can optionally have corresponding inner and outer surfaces (e.g., a surface with a compound curvature). Components 104 can operate through optical component windows in corresponding regions within shroud 102 (and optionally within layer 130 within region IA) and within layer 92. These windows can be formed by recesses and / or through-hole openings within shroud 102 (and optionally layer 130) and / or layer 92, by window members installed within openings within shroud 102 (and optionally layer 130) and / or layer 92, by portions of shroud 102 (and optionally layer 130) and / or layer 92 that exhibit sufficient light transmissivity for satisfactory operation of the overlapping components, and / or by other structures within shroud 102 (and optionally layer 130) and / or window 92.

[0062] Optionally, component 104 can include components such as a camera (e.g., a visible and / or infrared image sensor, a time-of-flight sensor, a structured light 3D sensor, etc.) that senses optical distortion caused by the curved inner and / or outer surface curvature of cover layer 92. For example, the camera or other optical component 104 can operate through a portion of cover layer 92 within non-active region IA characterized by an outer surface having a compound curvature and an inner surface having a compound curvature or a deployable inner surface. In this type of situation, the control circuitry of device 10 can be configured to digitally compensate for optical distortion introduced as light (e.g., light of a real-world image) passes through layer 92 and reaches the camera or other optical sensor. As an example, the amount of image distortion (e.g., stretching, shifting, keystoning, barrel distortion, pincushion distortion, and / or other optical distortion) caused by layer 92 can be measured and characterized for each optical component operating through layer 92 (e.g., through a portion of layer 92 within non-active region IA having a compound curvature inner and / or outer surface). During operation of device 10, the image data captured by the camera and / or other sensor data collected by the optical component overlaid with layer 92 can be compensated accordingly (e.g., an equal and opposite amount of digital image warping can be applied to the captured image data, thereby removing the known distortion effect of layer 92). In this way, high-quality (distortion-free) images and / or other sensor data can be collected by a camera and / or other optical component operating through the curved portion of layer 92. This allows layer 92 to have an attractive shape (e.g., a shape having one or more surfaces characterized by compound curvature).

[0063] When assembled to the device 10, the display cover layer 92 and the shroud 102 (and optionally the layer 130) can be attached to the exposed edge portion of a polymer housing structure, a metal housing wall, or other housing structure within the main housing portion 26M. As an example, the main housing portion 26M can have a polymer sidewall member that extends around the display cover layer 92 and supports the peripheral edge of the display cover layer 92. The shroud 102 can have an annular shape that extends along the edge of the display cover layer 92 within the non-active region IA. In an exemplary configuration, an adhesive is used to attach the display cover layer 92 to the shroud 102 (and / or the layer 130), and an adhesive is used to attach the shroud 102 (and / or the layer 130) to the exposed leading edge of the sidewall of the main housing portion 26M. The component 104 can be attached to the shroud 102 (and / or the layer 130) and / or supported on an internal housing structure (such as a bracket, a frame member, etc.) that is aligned with the corresponding portions of the optical window in the shroud 102 (and / or the layer 130) and the layer 92.

[0064] FIG. 14 is a partial side cross-sectional view of the display 14F. In the example of FIG. 14, the display panel 14P is a three-dimensional display panel having an array of pixels P over which the lenticular lens 106 is superimposed (e.g., the display panel 14P is an autostereoscopic display that generates a naked-eye three-dimensional image for an observer such as the observer 50 of FIG. 1). The lens 106 can be formed, for example, from semi-cylindrical lens elements (e.g., lens elements that extend parallel to the Z dimension in the example of FIG. 14) that are stretched along a column of pixels. Optionally, the lens 106 can be omitted (e.g., the display panel 14P can have an array of pixels P over which the lens 106 is not superimposed to form a two-dimensional display).

[0065] An air gap, such as gap 114, can separate the display panel 14P of display 14F from the display cover layer 92. An optional layer 130 can be formed within gap 114 of FIG. 14, such that layer 130 has an outer surface separated from layer 92 by a first air gap and an opposing inner surface separated from the pixels P of lens 106 and display panel 14P by a second air gap. In configurations where lens 106 is present, the air gap 114 (and the resulting absence of direct contact between the inner surface of layer 130 and lens 106) may enable lens 106 to operate satisfactorily. The display cover layer 92 and optional layer 130 can be formed from transparent materials such as glass, polymers, transparent ceramics, crystalline materials such as sapphire, one or more sub-layers of these materials, and / or other materials laminated together (e.g., using an adhesive, etc.). A configuration where layer 92 is a glass layer and layer 130 is a polymer layer may be described as an example herein.

[0066] The coating can be provided over one or more of the layers within the display cover layer 92. As shown in the exemplary configuration of FIG. 14, the display cover layer 92 can include, for example, a layer 108 formed from one or more sub-layers (e.g., a layer of glass and / or polymer(s)), a polymer layer that helps provide a safety glass function to the layer 92 (see, e.g., an exemplary polymer film 112 attached to the inner surface of the glass layer 108 to form a laminated glass layer), and a coating 110 on the front (outer-facing) surface of the layer 92 (e.g., the outer surface of the glass layer 108). The coating 110 can be, for example, an anti-reflective coating formed from one or more inorganic dielectric layers and / or other layers having a thickness and refractive index value selected to minimize visible light reflection from the outermost surface of the layer 92 and help maintain a desired appearance of the layer 92 (e.g., an achromatic color tone). Optionally, the display panel 14P can be a touch-sensitive display (e.g., a display overlaid with a capacitive touch sensor circuit or incorporating a capacitive touch sensor circuit). In a configuration where the display 14F is touch-sensitive, the outermost surface of the layer 92 can be coated with an oleophobic coating layer (e.g., a fluoropolymer layer).

[0067] To help strengthen layer 92, layer 108 can be formed from chemically strengthened glass (e.g., a glass layer that has been treated in an ion exchange bath to place the outer surface of the glass layer under compression relative to the interior of the glass layer). This can help layer 108 withstand scratches and cracks. Layer 108 can be formed from a single glass layer, a single polymer layer, a stack of two laminated glass layers (e.g., a first and second glass layer laminated with a layer of polymer), a stack of two polymer layers, a stack of three or more polymer and / or glass layers, etc. Optionally, layer 108 can be formed from a hybrid stack of layers including one or more glass layers attached to one or more polymer layers. As an example, layer 92 can include a rigid structural polymer layer covered with a thin glass layer (e.g., a glass layer attached to the structural polymer layer using heat and / or pressure, or a glass layer attached to the structural polymer layer using a layer of polymer adhesive). The thin glass layer in this type of configuration can help protect the structural polymer layer from scratches.

[0068] One or more of the structures of layer 92 (e.g., coating 110, the layer(s) forming layer 108, layer 112, optional layer 130, etc.) may optionally include dyes, pigments, or other colorants that create a desired achromatic color (e.g., gray or black) or non-achromatic color (e.g., red). Thin metal coatings, polarizers, and / or other structures can also be incorporated into layer 92 to help give layer 92 desired optical properties and / or provide a desired appearance to layer 92.

[0069] Optionally, a coating may be provided on the portion of layer 92 that overlaps the optical component 104 and / or other portions of layer 92 to help prevent scratches that may adversely affect the optical quality of component 104. As shown in FIG. 15, for example, the display cover layer 92 can have a transparent layer such as transparent layer 116 (e.g., one or more layers of a polymer, glass, and / or other transparent layers such as layer 108 of FIG. 14). The transparent layer 116 can be covered with one or more coating layers such as coating layer 118. The layer 118 may be a thin film layer formed from an inorganic material (e.g., oxide, nitride, diamond-like carbon, etc.) that helps resist scratches. This type of approach can be used, for example, to ensure that the portion of the display cover layer 92 that overlaps the optical component 104 does not become cloudy even if scratched when layer 116 is formed from a material such as a polymer that may tend to scratch when exposed to excessive friction from a sharp external object. The layer 118 is sometimes referred to as a hard coat and may have a higher hardness (e.g., a higher Mohs hardness) than layer 116. The layer 118 may be a thin film coating having a thickness of less than 3 micrometers, less than 2 micrometers, less than 1 micrometer, less than 0.5 micrometers, or other suitable thickness.

[0070] Another way to help prevent unwanted scratches on the surface of the display cover layer 92 where layer 92 overlaps the optical component 104 is shown in the side cross-sectional view of the display cover layer 92 of FIG. 16. As shown in this example, on the outer surface of the display cover layer 92, recesses such as recess 120 (e.g., shallow circular depressions, or depressions having a rectangular or other footprint) may be provided. Thereby, the recessed display cover layer surface 124 of the recess 120 is disposed under the surrounding outer surface 122 of the layer 92. When the device 10 is placed on a tabletop or other surface, the non-recessed portion of the surface (outer surface 122) of the layer 92 contacts the tabletop surface, thereby helping to prevent the tabletop surface from contacting the recessed portion of the surface (surface 124) of the layer 92. As a result, the concave surface 124 that overlaps the component 104 remains scratch-free. Thus, even when the layer 92 is subjected to excessive wear, clouding generally does not occur in the region of the layer 92 that overlaps the component 104.

[0071] Layer 92 can be formed from a material having optical properties that match the overlying optical component 104. For example, if the optical component over which a portion of layer 92 is overlaid in the non-active region IA is configured to operate at visible and infrared wavelengths, that portion of layer 92 can have sufficient visible and infrared light transmissivity to allow the overlaid component to operate satisfactorily at visible and infrared wavelengths. In configurations where the material from the bulk of layer 92 does not have the desired optical properties for the optical component, an optical component window member (e.g., a disk of window material such as infrared-transmitting glass and, optionally, a disk of visible-light-transmitting glass, or other inserted window member) can be attached within an opening in layer 92 that overlays the optical component.

[0072] As an example, consider a configuration where layer 92 is transparent to visible light but has a low transmittance at infrared wavelengths. Optical components in this type of configuration can operate at infrared wavelengths. To ensure that the optical component can transmit and / or receive infrared light through layer 92, infrared transmissive optical component window members such as layer 92, through-hole openings, and infrared transmissive disks can be provided. The infrared transmissive window member can be formed from a material different from the material forming layer 92 and can be mounted within the through-hole opening of layer 92. This type of configuration is shown in the side cross-sectional view of FIG. 17, where in the display cover layer 92, an optical component window member 92W is provided within the through-hole opening in layer 92. Member 92W can be a glass optical component window member that is transparent to infrared light (and optionally transparent to visible light), although the surrounding portion of layer 92 can be formed from a different material (e.g., polymer, different glass material, etc.). By providing an infrared transmissive window in layer 92, an infrared optical component (e.g., optical component 102 in FIG. 17) can transmit and / or receive infrared light through the display cover layer 92 (e.g., through the window of the display cover layer), even if layer 92 is formed from a material that is not infrared transmissive. Using this approach, an optical component window having any suitable optical properties different from the rest of layer 92 can be provided (e.g., a desired amount of opacity, light transmittance, reflectivity, absorptivity, and / or haze level, desired polarization properties, etc.).

[0073] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, the head-mounted device including a head-mounted support structure, a rear display supported by the head-mounted support structure and configured to provide visual content to an eyebox behind the head-mounted support structure, a publicly visible front display panel having pixels configured to display an image, and a display cover layer overlapping the publicly visible front display panel and having a compound curvature surface overlapping the pixels.

[0074] According to another embodiment, the publicly visible front display panel includes a flexible display panel on which pixels are arranged, the flexible display panel is bent about a bending axis, and the head-mounted support structure has a curved rear surface configured to conform to the curved face.

[0075] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer includes a glass layer.

[0076] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a polymer layer between the glass layer and the flexible display panel, a first air gap separates the polymer layer from the glass layer, and a second air gap separates the flexible display panel from the polymer layer.

[0077] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer includes an anti-reflection coating on the glass layer.

[0078] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes an optical component on which a part of the display cover layer having a compound curvature surface is overlaid.

[0079] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes a camera, and the head-mounted device includes a ring-shaped polymer member that overlaps the camera and forms a decorative cover structure surrounding the pixels.

[0080] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer includes a polymer layer having a recess that overlaps a given one of the optical components.

[0081] According to another embodiment, the optical components include a flicker sensor and an ambient light sensor.

[0082] According to another embodiment, the optical components include a pose camera configured to measure the movement of the device and a scene camera configured to capture real-time pass-through video displayed on the rear display.

[0083] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes a pair of structured light cameras and a time-of-flight camera.

[0084] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer includes a polymer layer having a through-hole opening including an infrared transmission window member overlapping one of the optical components.

[0085] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a scratch-resistant hard coat on the display cover layer.

[0086] According to another embodiment, the front display panel includes a lenticular lens.

[0087] According to another embodiment, the front display panel has a nasal bridge recess.

[0088] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, the head-mounted device including a head-mounted support structure, a left lens on the left side of the head-mounted support structure, a right lens on the right side of the head-mounted support structure, a left display and a right display configured to provide respective left rear images and right rear images visible from left and right eye boxes through the left and right lenses, a publicly visible display panel facing away from the left and right displays and having pixels configured to display a publicly visible image, and a display cover layer, wherein a first portion of the display cover layer overlaps the pixels, a second portion of the display cover layer does not overlap the pixels and surrounds the first portion of the display cover layer in a ring shape, and the second portion of the display cover layer has a surface with a compound curvature.

[0089] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes an ambient light sensor over which a second portion of the display cover layer is superimposed, a light source over which the second portion of the display cover layer is superimposed and configured to provide infrared illumination in response to ambient light measurement by the ambient light sensor, and a pair of cameras over which the second portion of the display cover layer is superimposed and configured to capture an infrared image while the infrared illumination is provided.

[0090] According to another embodiment, the publicly visible display panel is bent about a bending axis.

[0091] According to another embodiment, the second portion of the display cover layer has a curved peripheral edge.

[0092] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer includes laminated glass.

[0093] According to another embodiment, the pixels form an active display area in which a publicly visible image is displayed, the active display area has a curved peripheral edge, and the active area has a nasal bridge recess.

[0094] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes an anti-reflection coating on the laminated glass and an optical component that emits infrared light through the display cover layer.

[0095] According to other embodiments, the optical component includes a structured light 3D camera.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the first portion of the display cover layer has a surface with a compound curvature.

[0097] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, which includes a head-mounted support structure, a first display and a first lens supported by the head-mounted support structure and configured to provide a first image to a first eye box, a second display and a second lens supported by the head-mounted support structure and configured to provide a second image to a second eye box, a front display facing away from the first display and the second display, and a display cover layer overlapping the front display and having a portion with a composite curvature surface.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the front display includes a flexible display panel that is bent about a bending axis and has a developable surface.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer has a portion that overlaps the flexible display panel and has a developable surface.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer is covered with a surface of composite curvature.

[0101] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device having a front portion and a rear portion is provided, which includes a head-mounted housing having a front housing layer at the front portion, a first display and a first lens supported by the head-mounted housing and configured to provide a first image to a first eye box at the rear portion, a second display and a second lens supported by the head-mounted housing and configured to provide a second image to a second eye box at the rear portion, and an optical component with a portion of the front housing layer having a composite curvature surface overlapped thereon.

[0102] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a bent display panel configured to generate an image viewable through a portion of the front housing layer.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the front housing layer includes a display cover layer, and the composite curvature surface includes the outer surface of the display cover layer that covers all of the display cover layer.

[0104] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes a camera configured to operate through the display cover layer.

[0105] According to one embodiment, there is provided a head-mounted device having a front portion and a rear portion, the head-mounted device including a head-mounted housing, a first display and a first lens within the head-mounted housing configured to provide a first image to a first eye box at the rear portion, a second display and a second lens within the head-mounted housing configured to provide a second image to a second eye box at the rear portion, a display panel having a curved cross-sectional profile and a developable surface, and a front display cover layer overlapping the curved display panel, the display cover layer having an inner surface and an outer surface facing each other, the outer surface having a composite curvature, the inner surface being a developable surface, and the display panel being attached to the inner surface of the display cover layer.

[0106] The above are merely examples, and various modifications may be made to the described embodiments. The above embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Claims

1. a head-mounted support structure; a left lens on the left side of the head mounted support structure; a right lens on the right side of the head-mounted support structure; a left display and a right display configured to provide left and right rear images viewable from the left and right eyeboxes through the left and right lenses; a publicly viewable display panel facing away from the left and right displays, the publicly viewable display panel having pixels configured to display a publicly viewable image; A head-mounted device comprising: a display cover layer, wherein a first portion of the display cover layer overlaps the pixel, a second portion of the display cover layer surrounds the first portion of the display cover layer in a ring shape without overlapping the pixel, and the second portion of the display cover layer has a compound curvature surface.

2. 10. The head-mounted device of claim 1, further comprising: an ambient light sensor overlaid on the second portion of the display cover layer; a light source overlying the second portion of the display cover layer and configured to provide infrared illumination in response to ambient light measurements by the ambient light sensor; a pair of cameras overlaid on the second portion of the display cover layer and configured to capture infrared images while the infrared illumination is provided.

3. 2. The head-mounted device of claim 1, A head-mounted device, wherein the publicly-viewable display panel is bent about a bending axis.

4. 2. The head-mounted device of claim 1, A head-mounted device, wherein the second portion of the display cover layer has a curved periphery.

5. 2. The head-mounted device of claim 1, A head-mounted device, wherein the display cover layer comprises laminated glass.

6. 6. The head-mounted device according to claim 5, The pixels form an active display area on which the publicly viewable image is displayed, the active display area having a curved periphery, and the active display area having a nasal bridge recess.

7. 7. The head-mounted device of claim 6, further comprising: A head-mounted device comprising an anti-reflective coating on the laminated glass and an optical component that emits infrared light through the display cover layer.

8. 8. The head-mounted device of claim 7, The head-mounted device, wherein the optical component comprises a structured light 3D camera.

9. 9. The head-mounted device of claim 8, A head-mounted device, wherein the first portion of the display cover layer has a surface of compound curvature.

10. a head-mounted support structure; a first display and a first lens supported by the head-mounted support structure and configured to provide a first image to a first eyebox; a second display and a second lens supported by the head-mounted support structure and configured to provide a second image to a second eyebox; a front display facing away from the first and second displays; a display cover layer overlying the front display and having a portion with a compound curvature surface.

11. 11. The head-mounted device of claim 10, The head-mounted device includes a front display that is bent about a bending axis and includes a flexible display panel having a deployable surface.

12. 12. The head-mounted device of claim 11, The head-mounted device, wherein the display cover layer has a portion that overlies the flexible display panel and has an expandable surface.

13. 12. The head-mounted device of claim 11, A head-mounted device, wherein the display cover layer is covered with a surface of compound curvature.

14. A head-mounted device having a front and a rear, a head mount housing having a front housing layer at the front; a first display and a first lens supported by the head-mounted housing and configured to provide a first image to the rear first eyebox; a second display and a second lens supported by the head-mounted housing and configured to provide a second image to the rear second eyebox; an optical component overlaid on a portion of the front housing layer having a compound curvature surface.

15. 15. The head-mounted device of claim 14, further comprising: A head-mounted device comprising a curved display panel configured to generate an image viewable through a portion of the front housing layer.

16. 15. The head-mounted device of claim 14, the front housing layer comprises a display cover layer; A head-mounted device, wherein the compound curvature surface comprises an outer surface of the display cover layer that covers the entire display cover layer.

17. 17. The head-mounted device of claim 16, The head-mounted device, wherein the optical component comprises a camera configured to operate through the display cover layer.

18. A head-mounted device having a front and a rear, a head-mounted housing; a first display and a first lens in the head-mounted housing, the first display and the first lens configured to provide a first image to the rear first eyebox; a second display and a second lens within the head-mounted housing, the second display and the second lens configured to provide a second image to the rear second eyebox; a display panel having a curved cross-sectional profile and a deployable surface; the front display cover layer overlying the display panel; A head-mounted device, wherein the display cover layer has opposing inner and outer surfaces, the outer surface has a compound curvature, the inner surface is a deployable surface, and the display panel is attached to the inner surface of the display cover layer.

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