Systems with displays and sensor-hiding structures

Abstract

To provide electronic devices such as head-mounted devices.SOLUTION: A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure. Rear-facing displays may present images to eye boxes at the rear of the head-mounted support structure. A forward-facing publicly viewable display 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 in which images are displayed and may have a ring-shaped inactive border area that surrounds the pixels. A cosmetic covering structure such as ring-shaped shroud member may overlap optical components in the inactive border area. The optical components may be received within through-hole openings in the cosmetic covering structure and / or may operate through transparent portions of the cosmetic covering structure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly 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 / 081,225, filed September 21, 2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. [Background technology]

[0003] An electronic device, such as a head-mounted device, may have input / output components, which may include components such as a display and a sensor. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure, a rear-facing display capable of presenting images to an eyebox at the rear of the head-mounted support structure, and a front, publicly-viewable display supported on a front side of the head-mounted support structure facing away from the rear-facing display.

[0005] The front display may have pixels forming an active area where an image is displayed, and may have a ring-shaped inactive area surrounding the pixels. A display cover layer may overlie the active and inactive areas.

[0006] Optical components can operate through the cover layer in the inactive area and 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 the tracking camera in dim ambient lighting conditions.

[0007] A cosmetic cover structure, such as a ring-shaped shroud, can overlie the optical components in the non-active area. The ring-shaped shroud can be attached adjacent to the display cover layer in the non-active area.

[0008] The optical components may be received within the through-hole openings of the shroud and / or may operate through a transparent portion of the shroud. The transparent portion may be formed from a polymeric material within the shroud, from a window member such as a glass member inserted into a window opening in the shroud, and / or from other transparent structures. A coating may be formed on the portion of the shroud that overlaps the optical components to help hide the overlapping components from view while allowing the components to fully operate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of an exemplary electronic device, such as a head-mounted device, according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system including an electronic device, according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary head-mounted device, according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of an exemplary shroud according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of an exemplary shroud having a curved outer periphery, according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a front view of a portion of an exemplary front display according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a top cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplary display according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a top cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplary head-mounted device including a display and a shroud, according to one embodiment. [Figure 9] 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an exemplary shroud with through-hole openings for accommodating optical components, according to one embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an exemplary shroud with a window member within a through-hole opening, according to one embodiment. [Figure 11] 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an exemplary head-mounted device including a shroud covering a display, according to one embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary head-mounted device optical component mounting configuration with an optical component window coating according to one embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 illustrates a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary head-mounted device optical component mounting configuration using shroud through-hole openings according to one embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary head-mounted device optical component mounting configuration, comprising a window formed from a transparent window material, such as a layer of glass or transparent polymer with a coating, according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The head-mounted device may include a head-mounted support structure that allows the device to be worn on a user's head. The head-mounted device may have a display supported by the head-mounted support structure for presenting visual content to the user. The display may include a rear-facing display that presents images to an eyebox behind the head-mounted support structure. The display may also include a front-facing display. The front-facing display may be mounted on the front of the head-mounted support structure and may be viewable by the user when the head-mounted device is not worn on the user's head. The front-facing display, sometimes referred to as a public-viewable display, may also be viewable by other people in the vicinity of the head-mounted device.

[0011] Optical components, such as image sensors and other light sensors, may be provided within the head-mounted device, and in an exemplary configuration, the optical components are mounted under a peripheral portion of a display cover layer that protects the front display.

[0012] Figure 1 is a side view of an exemplary head-mounted electronic device. As shown in Figure 1, head-mounted device 10 can include a head-mounted support structure 26. Support structure 26 can have walls or other structures that separate an interior region of device 10, such as interior region 42, from an exterior region surrounding device 10, such as exterior 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 printed circuits and / or other structures within device 10 (e.g., within interior region 42).

[0013] To present images to the user for viewing from an eyebox, such as eyebox 34, device 10 may include a rear display, such as display 14R, and a lens, such as lens 38. These components may be mounted in an optical module, such as optical module 36 (e.g., a lens barrel), to form separate left and right optical systems. For example, there may be a left rear display for presenting images through a left lens to the user's left eye in the left eyebox, and a right rear display for presenting images to the user's right eye in the right eyebox. The user's eyes are located in eyebox 34 on the rear R of device 10 when structure 26 is placed against the exterior surface of the user's face (face surface 30).

[0014] Support structure 26 can include a main support structure, such as main housing portion 26M (sometimes referred to as a main portion or a housing). Main housing portion 26M can extend from a front side F of device 10 to an opposite rear side R of device 10. At rear side R, main housing portion 26M can have a cushioning structure to enhance user comfort when portion 26M is placed against face 30. Optionally, support structure 26 can include an optional head strap, such as strap 26B, and / or other structure that allows device 10 to be worn on a user's head.

[0015] Device 10 may have a publicly viewable, forward-facing display, such as display 14F, mounted on a front side F of main housing portion 26M. Display 14F may be visible to the user when the user is not wearing device 10 and / or may be viewable by others in the vicinity of device 10. Display 14F is viewable on front side F of device 10 by an external observer, such as observer 50 looking at device 10 in direction 52, as one example.

[0016] A schematic diagram of an exemplary system that may include a head-mounted device is shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, system 8 may include one or more electronic devices 10. Devices 10 may include a head-mounted device (e.g., device 10 of Figure 1), accessories such as controllers and headphones, computing devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, and / or remote computing devices that provide content to the head-mounted device), and / or other devices that communicate with each other.

[0017] Each electronic device 10 may have control circuitry 12. The control circuitry 12 may include storage and processing circuitry that controls the operation of the device 10. The control circuitry 12 may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, non-volatile memory (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), and volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random access memory). The processing circuitry of the control circuitry 12 may 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 may be stored on the storage within the circuitry 12 and executed on the processing circuitry within the circuitry 12 to perform control operations of the device 10 (e.g., data collection operations, operations involving adjusting components of the device 10 using control signals, etc.). The control circuitry 12 may include wired communication circuitry and wireless communication circuitry. For example, the control circuitry 12 may include wireless transceiver circuitry, such as cellular telephone transceiver circuitry, wireless local area network transceiver circuitry (WiFi circuitry), millimeter wave transceiver circuitry, and / or other wireless communication circuitry.

[0018] In operation, communication circuitry of devices in system 8 (e.g., communication circuitry of control circuitry 12 of device 10) may be used to support communication between electronic devices. For example, one electronic device may transmit video data, audio data, control signals, and / or other data to another electronic device in system 8. Electronic devices in system 8 may communicate over one or more communication networks (e.g., the Internet, a local area network, etc.) using wired and / or wireless communication circuitry. The communication circuitry may be used to enable device 10 to receive data from and / or provide data to external devices (e.g., portable devices such as tethered computers, handheld devices, or laptop computers, online computing devices such as remote servers or other remote computing devices, or other electrical devices).

[0019] Each device 10 in system 8 can include an input / output device 22. The input / output device 22 can be used to allow a user to provide user input to the device 10. The input / output device 22 may also be used to gather information about the environment in which the device 10 is operating. Output components within the device 22 can allow the device 10 to provide output to the user and can be used to communicate with external electrical equipment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, input / output device 22 can include one or more displays, such as display 14. Display 14 can include a rear display, such as display 14R of FIG. 1. Device 10 can include left and right components, such as 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., thin-film organic light-emitting displays having polymer or semiconductor substrates such as silicon substrates, or display devices based on pixel arrays formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies), liquid crystal display panels, and / or other left and right display devices that provide images to the left and right eyeboxes for viewing by a user's left and right eyes, respectively. Display components such as these (e.g., thin-film organic light-emitting displays having flexible polymer substrates, or displays based on pixel arrays formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies on flexible substrates) can also be used in forming a front display (sometimes called a forward-facing display, front display, or public-viewable display) for device 10, such as front display 14F of FIG. 1.

[0021] In operation, display 14 (e.g., display 14R and / or 14F) may be used to display visual content (e.g., still and / or moving images, including photographs and pass-through video from a camera sensor, text, graphics, movies, games, and / or other visual content) for a user of device 10. The content presented on display 14 may include, for example, virtual objects and other content provided to display 14 by control circuitry 12. This virtual content may sometimes be referred to as computer-generated content. The computer-generated content may be displayed in the absence of real-world content or may be combined with real-world content. In some configurations, a real-world image may be captured by a camera (e.g., a forward-facing camera, sometimes referred to as a front camera), and the computer-generated content may be electronically overlaid on portions of the real-world image (e.g., when device 10 is a virtual reality goggle).

[0022] The input / output circuitry 22 may include a sensor 16, such as a three-dimensional sensor (e.g., a three-dimensional image sensor such as a structured light sensor that emits a light beam and uses a two-dimensional digital image sensor to collect image data for a three-dimensional image from dots or other light spots created when a target is illuminated by the light beam; 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), sometimes called a time-of-flight camera or a three-dimensional time-of-flight camera; ranging) sensors, three-dimensional radio frequency sensors, or other sensors that collect three-dimensional image data), cameras (e.g., two-dimensional infrared and / or visible digital image sensors), eye-tracking sensors (e.g., eye-tracking systems based on image sensors and, optionally, light sources that emit one or more light beams that are reflected from the user's eyes and then tracked using the image sensors), sensors such as touch sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, light-based (optical) proximity sensors, other proximity sensors, force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), switch-based contact sensors, gas sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, magnetic sensors, audio sensors (microphones), ambient light sensors, flicker sensors that collect temporal information about ambient lighting conditions such as the presence of time-varying ambient light intensity associated with artificial lighting, microphones for collecting voice commands and other audio inputs, sensors configured to collect information about movement, position, and / or orientation (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, and / or inertial measurement units that include all of these sensors or a subset of one or two of these sensors), and / or other sensors.

[0023] User input and other information may be collected using sensors and other input devices within input / output device 22. Optionally, input / output device 22 may include other devices 24, such as tactile output devices (e.g., vibrating components), light emitting diodes, lasers, and other light sources (e.g., light emitting devices that emit light to illuminate the environment surrounding device 10 when ambient light levels are low), speakers such as ear speakers for generating audio output, circuitry for receiving wireless power, circuitry for wirelessly transmitting power to other devices, batteries and other energy storage devices (e.g., capacitors), joysticks, buttons, and / or other components.

[0024] 1, electronic device 10 may have a head-mounted support structure (e.g., a head-mounted housing structure, such as a housing wall, a strap, etc.), such as head-mounted support structure 26. The head-mounted support structure may be configured to be worn on a user's head (e.g., against the user's face over the user's eyes) during operation of device 10 and may support display 14, sensors 16, other components 24, other input / output devices 22, and control circuitry 12 (see, e.g., component 40 and optical module 36 in FIG. 1).

[0025] 3 is a front view of device 10 in an exemplary configuration in which device 10 has a publicly viewable display, such as front display 14F. As shown in FIG. 3, support structure 26M of device 10 can have right and left portions, such as portions 26R and 26L, joined by an intervening nasal bridge portion, such as portion 26NB. Portion 26NB can have a curved outer surface, such as nasal bridge surface 90, configured to receive and rest against a user's nose to help support main housing portion 26M on the user's head.

[0026] Display 14F may have an active area, such as active area AA, configured to display an image and an inactive area IA that does not display an image. The outline of active area AA may be rectangular, rectangular with rounded corners, teardrop-shaped portions on the left and right sides of device 10, straight edges, curved edges, a periphery with both straight and curved portions, and / or other suitable outlines. As shown in FIG. 3 , active area AA may have a curved recess in nasal bridge portion 26NB of main housing portion 26. The presence of a nose-shaped recess in active area AA can help fit active area AA within the available space of housing portion 26M without unduly restricting the size of active area AA.

[0027] Active area AA includes an array of pixels. The pixels may be light-emitting diode pixels formed, for example, from thin-film organic light-emitting diodes or crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes called micro-light-emitting diodes) on a flexible display panel substrate. Configurations in which display 14F uses other display technologies may also be used, if desired. An illustrative configuration in which 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 other flexible polymer) is sometimes described herein as an example. The pixels of active area AA may be formed on a display device such as display panel 14P (e.g., a flexible organic light-emitting diode display panel) of FIG. 3. In some configurations, the outline of active area AA (and, optionally, panel 14P) may have a periphery including straight segments or a combination of straight and curved segments. Configurations in which the entire outline of active area AA (and optionally panel 14P) is characterized by a curved periphery may also be used.

[0028] Display 14F may have an inactive area, such as inactive area IA, that is devoid of pixels and does not display an image. Inactive area IA may form an inactive border area that extends along one or more portions of the periphery of active area AA. In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 3, inactive area IA has a ring shape that surrounds active area AA to form an inactive border. In this type of configuration, the width of inactive area IA may be relatively constant, and the inner and outer edges of area IA may be characterized by straight and / or curved segments or may be curved along their entire length. For example, the outer edge of area IA (e.g., the periphery of display 14F) may have a curved contour that extends parallel to the curved edge of active area AA.

[0029] In some configurations, device 10 can operate with other devices in system 8 (e.g., wireless controllers and other accessories). These accessories can have magnetic sensors that sense the direction and strength of magnetic fields. Device 10 can have one or more electromagnets configured to emit magnetic fields. The magnetic fields can be measured by wireless accessories near device 10, allowing the accessories to determine their orientation and position relative to device 10. This allows the accessories to wirelessly provide real-time information about their current location, orientation, and movement to device 10, thereby enabling the accessories to function as wireless controllers. Accessories can include wearable devices, handled devices, and other input devices.

[0030] In an exemplary configuration, device 10 may have a coil, such as exemplary coil 54, extending around the periphery of display 14F (e.g., under inactive area IA or other portions of display 14F). Coil 54 may have any suitable number of windings (e.g., between 1 and 10, at least 2, at least 5, at least 10, between 10 and 50, less than 100, less than 25, less than 6, etc.). These windings may be formed from metal traces on a substrate, from wire, and / or from other conductive lines. In operation, control circuitry 12 may provide an alternating current (AC) drive signal to coil 54. The drive signal may 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 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 the orientation, position, and / or movement of the wireless controller as it is moved relative to device 10 and provide input to device 10.

[0031] As an example, consider a handheld wireless controller used in controlling the operation of device 10. During operation, device 10 emits a magnetic field using coil 54. As the handheld wireless controller is moved, a magnetic sensor in the controller can monitor the controller's position and movement relative to device 10 by monitoring the strength, orientation, and changes in strength and / or orientation of the magnetic field emitted by coil 54 as the controller is moved through the air by the user. The electronic device can then wirelessly transmit information regarding the controller's position and orientation to device 10. In this manner, the handheld controller, wearable controller, or other external accessory can be manipulated by a user to provide air gestures, pointing inputs, steering inputs, and / or other user inputs to device 10.

[0032] Device 10 can have components such as optical components (e.g., optical sensors among sensors 16 in FIG. 2 ). These components can be mounted in any suitable location on head-mounted support structure 26 (e.g., on head strap 26B, on main housing portion 26M, etc.). Optical and other components can face rearward (e.g., when mounted on the rear of device 10), sideward (e.g., to the left or right), downward or upward, toward the front of device 10 (e.g., when mounted on the front of device 10), can be mounted to point in any combination of these directions (e.g., forward, right, and downward), and / or can be mounted in other suitable orientations. In an exemplary configuration, at least some of the components of device 10 are mounted to face outward toward the front (and optionally sideways and / or up and down). For example, forward-facing cameras for pass-through video may be mounted on the left and right sides of the front of device 10 in a configuration such that the cameras diverge slightly along the horizontal dimension and their fields of view overlap to some extent while capturing a wide-angle image of the environment in front of device 10. The captured image may optionally include portions of the user's surroundings below, above, and to the sides of the area directly in front of device 10.

[0033] To help hide components, such as optical components, from view outside device 10, it may be desirable to cover some or all of the components with a cosmetic cover structure. The cover structure may include a transparent portion (e.g., an optical component window) characterized by sufficient optical transparency to allow the overlying optical components to operate satisfactorily. For example, an ambient light sensor may be covered with a layer that appears opaque to an outside observer to help hide the ambient light sensor from view, but that allows sufficient ambient light to pass through to the ambient light sensor for the ambient light sensor to make satisfactory ambient light measurements. As another example, an optical component that emits infrared light may be overlaid with a visually opaque material that is transparent to infrared light.

[0034] In an exemplary configuration, optical components for device 10 may be mounted within inactive area IA of FIG. 3 , and a cosmetic cover structure may be formed in a ring shape to overlap the optical components within inactive area IA. The cosmetic cover structure may be formed from ink, polymer structures, metal-containing structures, glass, 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 inactive area IA. For example, if active area AA has left and right portions with a teardrop shape, the ring-shaped member may have curved edges that follow the curved perimeter of the teardrop-shaped portion of active area 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). Because the ring-shaped member can help hide the overlapping components from view, the ring-shaped member may also be referred to as a shroud or ring-shaped shroud member. The appearance of the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure may be characterized by a neutral color (white, black, or gray) or a non-neutral color (e.g., blue, red, green, gold, rose gold, etc.).

[0035] Display 14F can optionally include a protective display cover layer that may overlie active area AA and inactive area IA (e.g., the entire front surface of device 10, as viewed from direction 52 in FIG. 1, may be covered by the cover layer). The cover layer, sometimes referred to as a housing wall or transparent housing wall, can have a rectangular outline, a teardrop outline, an oval outline, or other shape with curved and / or straight edges.

[0036] The cover layer can be formed from a transparent material, such as glass, polymer, a transparent crystalline material such as sapphire, a transparent ceramic, other transparent materials, and / or a combination of these materials. As an example, a protective display cover layer for display 14F can be formed from safety glass (e.g., laminated glass including a transparent glass layer with a laminated polymer film). Optional coating layers can be applied to the surface of the display cover layer. If necessary, the display cover layer can be chemically strengthened (e.g., using an ion-exchange process to create an outer layer of material under compressive stress that is scratch-resistant). In some configurations, the display cover layer can be formed from a stack of two or more material layers (e.g., first and second structural glass layers, a rigid polymer layer bonded to a glass layer or another rigid polymer layer, etc.) to improve the performance of the cover layer.

[0037] In the active area AA, a display cover layer may overlie the pixels of the display panel 14P. The display cover layer in the active area AA is preferably transparent so that the image presented on the display panel 14P can be viewed. In the inactive area IA, the display cover layer may overlie 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) may be sufficiently opaque to help hide some or all of the optical components in the inactive area IA from view. Windows may be provided in the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure to help ensure satisfactory operation of the optical components overlying these structures. The windows may be formed from holes, from areas of the shroud or other cosmetic cover structure that are locally thinned to enhance light transmission, from window members with desired light transmission properties inserted into mating openings in the shroud, and / or from other shroud-window structures.

[0038] 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 of FIG. 2, a light emitting device, etc.) may be configured to detect light and, as needed, emit light (e.g., ultraviolet, visible, and / or infrared light).

[0039] 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 source (e.g., 60 Hz AC mains). The photodetector of component 60 can sense that the artificial light from the artificial light source is characterized by 60 Hz intensity fluctuations. Control circuit 12 can use this information to adjust a clock or other timing signal associated with the operation of an image sensor in device 10 to help avoid undesirable interference between the light source frequency and the frame rate or other frequencies associated with image capture operations. Control circuit 12 can also use measurements from component 60 to help identify the presence and type of artificial lighting present. In this way, control circuit 12 can detect the presence of light, such as fluorescent light or other light with known non-ideal color characteristics, and can make corrective color cast adjustments (e.g., white point adjustments) to color-sensitive components such as cameras and displays. Because optical component 60 can measure variations in light intensity, component 60 is sometimes called a flicker sensor or ambient light frequency sensor.

[0040] Optical component 62 may be an ambient light sensor. The ambient light sensor may include one or more photodetectors. In a single-photodetector configuration, the ambient light sensor may be a monochrome sensor that measures ambient light intensity. In a multi-photodetector configuration, each photodetector may be overlaid with an optical filter that passes a different wavelength band (e.g., different visible and / or infrared passbands). The optical filter passbands may overlap at their edges. This allows component 62 to function as a color ambient light sensor that measures both ambient light intensity and ambient light color (e.g., by measuring the color coordinates of the ambient light). During operation of device 10, control circuit 12 may take action based on the measured ambient light intensity and color. As an example, the white point of a display or image sensor may be adjusted, or other display or image sensor color adjustments may be made, based on the measured ambient light color. The intensity of the display may be adjusted based on the light intensity. For example, the brightness of display 14F may be increased in bright ambient lighting conditions to improve the visibility of images on the display, and the brightness of display 14F may be reduced in dim lighting conditions to conserve power. Image sensor operation and / or light source operation may also be adjusted based on ambient light readings.

[0041] Optical components within active area IA may also include components along the sides of device 10, such as components 80 and 64. Optical components 80 and 64 may be pose-tracking cameras used to help monitor the orientation and movement of device 10. Components 80 and 64 may be visible light cameras (and / or cameras sensitive to visible and infrared wavelengths) and, together with an inertial measurement unit, may form a visual inertial odometry (VIO) system.

[0042] Optical components 78 and 66 may be visible light cameras that capture real-time images of the environment surrounding 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 display 14R for the user to view when the user's eyes are positioned within eyebox 34 at the rear of device 10. In this manner, displaying a pass-through image (pass-through video) to the user can provide the user with real-time information about their surroundings. Optionally, virtual content (e.g., computer-generated imagery) can be overlaid on top of portions of the pass-through video. Device 10 can also operate in a non-pass-through video mode in which components 78 and 66 are turned off and the user is provided with only movie content, gaming content, and / or other virtual content that does not include real-time real-world imagery.

[0043] The input / output devices 22 of device 10 can collect user input for use in 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 a user's fingers or other external objects in contact with device 10. In some configurations, it may be desirable to monitor a user's hand gestures or other movements of the user's body parts. This can allow the user's hand positions or other body part positions to be replicated in a game or other virtual environment, allowing the user's hand movements to serve as hand gestures (or air gestures) that control the operation of device 10. User input, such as hand gesture input, can be captured using cameras operating in visible and infrared wavelengths, such as tracking cameras (e.g., optical components 76 and 68). Tracking cameras such as these can also track reference points and other recognizable features on controllers and other external accessories (additional devices 10 of system 8) during use of these controllers in controlling the operation of device 10. Optionally, the tracking camera can help determine the position and orientation of a handheld or wearable controller, which senses its location and orientation by measuring the magnetic field generated by coil 54. Thus, the use of a tracking camera can help track hand and controller movements used in moving a pointer and other virtual objects displayed to the user, and can otherwise assist in controlling the operation of device 10.

[0044] The tracking camera may operate satisfactorily in the presence of sufficient ambient light (e.g., bright visible ambient lighting conditions). In dimly lit environments, supplemental lighting may be provided by supplemental light sources, such as supplemental infrared light sources (e.g., optical components 82 and 84). The infrared light sources may each include one or more light emitting devices (light emitting diodes or lasers) and may each be configured to provide a fixed and / or steerable beam of infrared light that serves as supplemental lighting for the tracking camera. If desired, the infrared light sources may be turned off in bright ambient lighting conditions (e.g., using the ambient light sensing capabilities of optical component 62) and turned on in response to detection of dim ambient lighting.

[0045] The three-dimensional sensors in device 10 may be used to perform biometric identification operations (e.g., facial identification for authentication), to determine the three-dimensional shape of objects in the user's environment (e.g., to map the user's environment so that a matching virtual environment can be created for the user), and / or to collect three-dimensional content during 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 flood illuminator (e.g., a light-emitting diode or laser that emits a wide beam of infrared light). Using flood illumination and structured light illumination, optical components 74 and 70 can capture facial images, images of objects in the environment surrounding device 10, etc.

[0046] Optical component 72 may be an infrared three-dimensional time-of-flight camera that uses time-of-flight measurements on emitted light to collect three-dimensional images of objects in the environment surrounding device 10. Component 72 may have a longer range and a narrower field of view than the three-dimensional structured light cameras of optical components 74 and 70. The operating range of component 72 may be (by way of example) 30 cm to 7 m, 60 cm to 6 m, 70 cm to 5 m, or other suitable operating range.

[0047] FIG. 4 is a front view of an exemplary ring-shaped cosmetic cover structure for device 10. The exemplary ring-shaped shroud 100 of FIG. 4 may be attached under the inner surface of the display cover layer of display 14F in inactive area IA. This may help hide optical components and other internal portions of device 10 from view from outside device 10. Shroud 100 may be formed from one or more continuous ring-shaped members and / or from multiple shroud segments attached using adhesive, fasteners, or other attachment structures. If desired, shroud 100 may be formed from multiple members sandwiched together along some or all of their lengths. In exemplary configurations that may be described by way of example herein, the shroud 100 may be formed from inner components (e.g., an inner complete or partial ring) that may be referred to as an inner shroud member, shroud trim, or shroud trim member, and from one or more outer components (e.g., one or more pieces of material or covering members, a complete ring, one or more partial rings, etc.) that may be referred to as a shroud cover, canopy, or shroud canopy.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 4 , shroud 100 can have optical component windows for accommodating components 60, 62, 64, 84, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 82, and 80. The optical component windows may be formed from through-hole openings in shroud 100, from recessed or other partial openings that do not pass completely through shroud 100, from optical window members inserted into the shroud through-hole openings, and / or from other shroud optical component window structures. Display 14F can have corresponding optical component windows (through-hole openings, recessed areas, window members inserted into the through-hole openings, etc.) and / or a display cover layer formed from a bulk material having desired optical properties (e.g., a display cover layer formed from one or more layers of material, such as glass and / or polymer, that has sufficient transparency in the operating wavelength range of the overlying optical components to allow the optical components to operate satisfactorily through the cover layer without forming openings or other window structures in the cover layer).

[0049] Shroud 100 may have any suitable shape. For example, the outline of shroud 100 may be rectangular with rounded corners, as shown in FIG. 4, may have a teardrop shape on the left and right sides of device 10, may have an oval outline, and / or may have other outlines with curved and / or straight edge segments. FIG. 5 is a front view of a portion of shroud 100, illustrating how the inner and outer edges of shroud 100 may be curved (e.g., to follow a teardrop shape). Shroud 100 may have a curved periphery along most or all of its length, if desired.

[0050] The width of the shroud 100 may be constant along its length, or the shroud 100 may have portions that are wider than other portions. The thickness of the shroud 100 (e.g., the dimension of the shroud 100 into the page in the orientation of FIG. 4 ) may be less than the width of the shroud 100 (the lateral dimension of the shroud 100 into the page in the orientation of FIG. 4 ), or the thickness of the shroud may be greater than or equal to the width of the shroud. The shroud may have a two-dimensional shape (e.g., the shroud 100 may have a planar shape that lies in the XZ plane in the example of FIG. 4 ) or a three-dimensional shape (e.g., a shape having a curved cross-sectional profile and / or a shape characterized by inner and / or outer surfaces of compound curvature). In an exemplary configuration, most or all of the inner and outer surfaces of the shroud have compound curvature surfaces.

[0051] The optical components beneath the inactive area IA may include components on the left and right sides of device 10 that operate in conjunction with one another. For example, the scene cameras, tracking cameras, and / or structured light cameras within device 10 may be formed in pairs, each including a left camera and a corresponding right camera. The left and right scene cameras, by way of example, may operate together to capture overlapping images that provide device 10 with a wide field of view for collecting pass-through video. The left and right tracking cameras may operate together to track a user's hand or other external object. Left and right structured light cameras or other three-dimensional cameras may be used together to capture three-dimensional images of the user's environment. To improve the performance of the left and right optical components in these types of paired component configurations, it may be desirable to maintain precise alignment between the left and right optical components. To help maintain the optical components on the respective left and right sides of device 10 aligned with one another, device 10 may include one or more housing structures that help support the optical components.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6 , for example, device 10 may include internal support structures, such as brackets 102, to help support optical components 104 on the left and right sides of device 10. Components 104 may be, for example, optical components of the type shown under inactive area IA in FIG. 3 . Brackets 102 may be formed from a rigid metal and / or other hard material (e.g., a hard polymer, a carbon fiber composite, or other fiber composite material, etc.). A nasal bridge recess in bracket 102 (e.g., in the portion of bracket 102 near nasal bridge portion 26NB) can help bracket 102 conform to the shape of the user's face. Bracket 102 may have an elongated strip shape extending along a portion of the length of inactive area IA (e.g., to the bottom edge of device 10).

[0053] Bracket 102 may be coupled to device 10 using attachment structures (adhesive, fasteners, press-fit connections, and / or other attachment mechanisms) that allow bracket 102 to float relative to the rest of housing portion 26M during a drop event. The rigidity of bracket 102 and its ability to shift position somewhat relative to other housing structures without significantly distorting the shape of bracket 102 can help keep left and right side components of device 10 aligned with one another during periods of excessive stress, such as when device 10 is subjected to high stress during an unexpected drop event.

[0054] 6, bracket 102 is mounted below inactive area IA and has a nasal bridge recess with curved edges configured to accommodate a user's nose when device 10 is worn on the user's head. Device 102 may have other shapes, as desired. Components 104 may be attached to the respective left and right sides of bracket 102 and / or other support structures within device 10 (e.g., shroud 100) using adhesives, fasteners, press-fit connections, and / or other attachment structures.

[0055] FIG. 7 is a top cross-sectional view of a portion of device 10. As shown in FIG. 7, shroud 100 may overlap one or more optical components 104 in inactive area IA. Inactive area IA may form a ring-shaped boundary surrounding active area AA. Display 14F may have a display cover layer, such as display cover layer 92. Layer 92 may be formed from glass, polymer, ceramic, crystalline material such as sapphire, other materials, and / or combinations of these materials. Layer 92 may include a single material layer or multiple stacked material layers. In active area AA, pixels P in display panel 14P display an image that is viewable through display cover layer 92. Shroud 100 may not be present in active area AA (e.g., the shroud may have a ring shape surrounding an opening above panel 14P, as shown in FIG. 7), or shroud 100 may optionally have a portion that overlaps display panel 14P (sometimes referred to as a canopy or shroud structure). The canopy may be fully or partially transparent. In the inactive region IA, the shroud 100 overlaps with a component 104. The component 104 may be an optical component that emits and / or detects light passing through transparent portions of the layer 92 and the shroud 100 and / or optical component windows formed from recesses, through-hole openings, window members, and / or other window structures in the layer 92 and the shroud 100.

[0056] The display cover layer 92 can include planar and / or curved surfaces. In an exemplary configuration, most or all of the interior and exterior surfaces of the display cover layer 92 have curvature.

[0057] The curved surface of the display cover layer 92 may include a curved surface that can be flattened into a plane without distortion (sometimes referred to as a developable surface or a curved surface without compound curvature). Such surfaces may overlap the active area AA, for example. The curved surface of the display cover layer 92 may also include a curved surface characterized by a compound curvature (e.g., a surface that can only be flattened into a plane with distortion, sometimes referred to as a non-developable surface). Some or all of the inner and outer surfaces of the display cover layer 92 in the inactive area IA may be characterized by a compound curvature, for example. This allows the periphery of the display 14F to transition smoothly away from the active area, providing the device 10 with an attractive appearance and a compact shape. The compound curvature of the display cover layer 92 in the inactive area IA may also facilitate the placement of optical components in a desired orientation below the inactive area IA. The inner and outer surfaces of the display cover layer 92 in the active area AA may have a compound curvature, may be developable, or may include both developable and compound curvature regions.

[0058] Image data and other data collected by the optical components may be digitally distorted to compensate for optical distortions associated with the display cover layer 92. To help minimize optical distortions, one or more of the optical components may optionally be oriented in a direction parallel or near-parallel to the surface normal of the portion of the display cover layer surface overlying the optical component.

[0059] As an example, consider optical component 104 of Figure 7. As shown in Figure 7, some optical components, such as exemplary optical component 104B operating in direction 112, may face forward in portions of display cover layer 92 where the surface normal of layer 92 is oriented parallel to or near parallel to the Y axis (e.g., direction 112 may be parallel or near parallel to the Y axis in Figure 7). Other optical components, such as exemplary optical component 104A operating in direction 110, may be angled away from the forward direction by a non-zero angle (e.g., by at least 10°, at least 20°, less than 90°, less than 50°, or other suitable amount). Direction 110 may be parallel or nearly parallel to the surface normal of the overlapping surfaces of display cover layer 92 (e.g., aligned within 30°, within 20°, within 10°, or other suitable amount), and may be in the XY plane of FIG. 7 or angled out of the XY plane (e.g., by orienting component 104A such that direction 110 is angled upward in the +Z direction or downward in the -Z direction in addition to angling direction 110 away from the +Y direction, as shown in FIG. 7).

[0060] In this type of configuration, display cover layer 92 may have a compound curvature in inactive region IA, and shroud 100 may have a shape with a cross-sectional profile that mirrors the cross-sectional profile of display cover layer 92 in inactive region IA (e.g., the outer and / or inner surfaces of shroud 100 in inactive region IA may be compound curvature surfaces). When components such as components 104A and 104B are attached to shroud 100 and / or otherwise supported by a support structure of device 10 and operate through shroud 100 and display cover layer 92, the curved shapes of display cover layer 92 and shroud 100 may help enable these components to face a desired orientation (e.g., a forward direction for components such as component 104B, or an orientation angled away from the forward direction for components such as component 104A).

[0061] As one example, optical components attached to the left and right sides of nose bridge portion 26NB may be oriented slightly to the left and slightly to the right of the +Y forward direction, respectively (e.g., to ensure a proper angle of view for a pair of cameras). As another example, the curved shape of display cover layer 92 and shroud 100 along the bottom edge of device 10 may allow components in this portion to point slightly downward from the XY plane, which may help aim cameras such as tracking cameras toward the user's hands.

[0062] Display panel 14P may be a flexible display, such as a flexible organic light-emitting diode display having a flexible substrate, or a light-emitting diode display formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies mounted on a flexible substrate. This allows display panel 14P and the pixels of panel 14P that form active area AA to bend about bending axes extending parallel to vertical axis Z, thereby helping to wrap display 14F and housing portion 26M around the curved surface of a user's face. Optionally, display panel 14P may be a lenticular display configured to display three-dimensional images (e.g., an autostereoscopic display having a series of parallel lenticular lenses, each overlying a respective group of multiple pixel columns).

[0063] The outer and inner surfaces of the display cover layer 92 may have the same shape (e.g., the surfaces may be parallel to one another), or the outer and inner surfaces may have different shapes. In configurations in which the display panel 14P of the display 14F is flexible, it may be desirable to configure the inner surface of the display cover layer 92 in the active area AA to exhibit a curved surface shape that matches the curved outward-facing surface of the display panel 14P (e.g., the inner surface, and optionally the outer surface, of the display cover layer 92 in the active area AA may be a developable surface without a compound curvature so as to match the developable outward-facing surface of the display panel 14P).

[0064] The shroud 100 and the display cover layer 92 may be attached to the main housing portion 26M using adhesives, screws and other fasteners, press-fit connections, and / or other attachment mechanisms. An exemplary configuration in which the shroud 100 and the cover layer 92 are attached to the forward-facing edge of the housing wall within the main housing portion 26M using adhesives is shown in FIG. 8 . In the example of FIG. 8 , the shroud 100 has an inner shroud member, such as a shroud trim 100A, and a corresponding outer shroud member, such as a shroud canopy 100B. The shroud trim 100A and the shroud canopy 100B may be formed from metal, polymer, ceramic, glass, other materials, and / or combinations of these materials. In the illustrative example, the shroud trim 100A is formed from a black polymer or other dark material, and the shroud canopy 100B is formed from a clear polymer. The outer surface of the shroud canopy 100B may be smooth to provide the shroud 100 with a cosmetically appealing appearance.

[0065] A layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive (see, e.g., adhesive 114) may be used to attach canopy 100B to trim 100A. Adhesives may also be used to attach cover layer 92 and shroud 100 to housing portion 26M. As shown in FIG. 8 , for example, a first adhesive, such as adhesive 122, may be used to attach display cover layer 92 to shroud 100 (e.g., to a ledge of shroud trim 100A). A second adhesive, such as adhesive 124, may then be used to attach shroud 100 (e.g., shroud trim 100A) to an adjacent lip of a wall within main housing portion 26M.

[0066] In some configurations, the adhesives 122 and 124 may be formed from the same type of material. In an exemplary configuration, the adhesives 122 and 124 are different. The housing portion 26M may have a wall with a lip shape that generates a shear force in the adhesive 124 when the display 14F is attached to the housing portion 26M by pressing the display 14F against the housing portion 26M in the −Y direction. In this type of scenario, it may be desirable to form the adhesive 124 from an adhesive that can bond well in the presence of shear forces, such as a molten hot melt adhesive (thermoplastic adhesive) or other liquid adhesive, rather than a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The adhesive 124 may optionally be exposed to a curing action (ultraviolet light, moisture, etc.) before the display 14F is assembled within the housing 26M.

[0067] It may be desirable to repair device 10. For example, if a user subjects display 14F to excessive force during a drop event, it may be desirable to replace display 14F with a new display. This can be accomplished by heating adhesive 124 to loosen the adhesive bond formed by adhesive 124. To help prevent display cover layer 92 from separating from shroud 100 while heat softening adhesive 124, adhesive 122 may have a higher temperature softening point than adhesive 124 (e.g., adhesive 122 may be a two-part hot melt adhesive with a higher melting point than adhesive 124).

[0068] Optical components overlaid with the display cover layer 92 and shroud 100 in the inactive area IA may transmit and / or receive light through the shroud 100 and the display cover layer 92. The layer 92 may be formed from laminated glass or other transparent material that allows light for each overlaid optical component 104 to pass through the layer 92. If desired, portions of the layer 92 may be formed with partial recesses or through-hole openings. An optional optical component window member 116 may then be inserted within the layer 92 (e.g., within the window region 118). By way of example, the layer 92 may be formed from one or more layers of glass and / or polymer and may be characterized by a first level of light transmittance at the operating wavelength(s) of the components 104, while the window member 116 may be formed from a polymer, glass, and / or other material characterized by a second level of light transmittance at the operating wavelength(s) that is greater than the first level of light transmittance. In other exemplary configurations, no window member is inserted into layer 92 (e.g., if layer 92 alone is sufficiently transparent to allow light from component 104 to pass through, optional window member 116 in FIG. 8 can be omitted).

[0069] The shroud 100 may include an optical component window in region 118 to accommodate the overlying optical component 104. The component 104 may operate at ultraviolet, visible, and / or infrared wavelengths. In the example of FIG. 8 , the shroud trim 100A includes a through-hole opening, such as opening 120, to accommodate the component 104, while the shroud canopy 100B does not include an opening in region 118. This effectively forms a window recess in the shroud 100 aligned with the component 104. The trim 100A may be formed from a black polymer or other light-absorbing material; therefore, the formation of opening 120 in the trim 100A may help ensure that sufficient light can pass through region 118 to allow the component 104 to operate satisfactorily. The portion of the canopy 100B overlying opening 120 may be transparent (e.g., a transparent polymer).

[0070] To help hide component 104 from view, the interior surface of shroud canopy 100B in FIG. 8 is covered with a coating 126. Coating 126 may be used to provide region 118 with a desired appearance and optical properties that ensure satisfactory operation of component 104. Coating 126 may be a thin-film interference filter formed from a stack of thin-film dielectric layers of alternating refractive index values (with refractive indices and thicknesses selected to produce the desired transmission and reflection spectra of the filter), a layer of ink (e.g., a polymer layer containing dyes, pigments, and / or other colorants), and / or any other suitable coating having the desired optical properties.

[0071] As an example, consider a scenario in which component 104 transmits and / or receives infrared light. In this type of configuration, coating 126 may be opaque at visible wavelengths and transparent at infrared wavelengths. This helps to hide component 104 from view from outside device 10, while allowing infrared light associated with the operation of component 104 to pass through shroud 100 and layer 92.

[0072] As another example, consider a scenario in which component 104 is an ambient light sensor. In this configuration, coating 126 may exhibit a visible light transmittance of (by way of example) 1-8%. This may allow sufficient visible ambient light to reach the ambient light sensor and allow the ambient light sensor to indicate an ambient light reading. At the same time, the transmittance of coating 126 may be low enough that coating 126 helps reduce the visibility of component 104 from outside device 10.

[0073] As these examples illustrate, areas of display 14F that overlie optical components, such as component 104 in FIG. 8, may include optical component window structures in layer 92 and / or shroud 100 to help accommodate the optical components.

[0074] If desired, the shroud 100 may be provided with through-hole openings to accommodate overlying optical components. For example, the shroud 100 may include one or more sublayers (e.g., trim, canopy, and / or other layers), as shown in FIG. 9 . The through-hole openings 130 may extend from the inner surface of the shroud 100 to the outer surface of the shroud 100. The openings 130 may be aligned with the optical components 104. The components 104 may be mounted behind the openings 130 and / or may be partially or completely received within the openings 130, as shown in FIG. 9 . This allows light to be emitted and / or received by the components 104 without being blocked by the shroud 100.

[0075] In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 10 , shroud 100 also includes one or more sublayers (e.g., trim, canopy, and / or other layers). As shown in FIG. 10 , a through-hole opening may be formed in shroud 100 aligned with optical component 104 and filled with optical component window member 132 (e.g., a window structure formed from a glass or polymer member, or other materials and / or combinations of these materials). Optical component window member 132 has optical properties (e.g., light transmission, reflection, absorption, blur, etc.) that allow component 104 to sufficiently transmit and / or receive light through region 118. As an example, member 130 may be formed from glass that is transparent to infrared light and opaque or transparent to visible light.

[0076] 3 and 4, inactive area IA may include multiple optical components, such as component 104. Each optical component may have a different type of optical component window structure within shroud 100 and / or layer 92 to accommodate the component. For example, some regions of shroud 100 may have component-accepting openings such as those described in connection with FIG. 9, other regions of shroud 100 may have inserted optical window members, such as member 132 of FIG. 10, and / or other regions of shroud 100 may have partial shroud openings (e.g., blind-hole recesses), such as opening 120 of FIG. 8 (which may optionally be covered with a layer, such as coating 126, to modify the optical properties of shroud 100).

[0077] Figure 11 is a side cross-sectional view of a portion of a head-mounted device having a fully or partially transparent shroud covering the front of the device. As shown in Figure 11, head-mounted device 10 may include a display panel 14P for front display 14. Panel 14P may be a lenticular display (e.g., an autostereoscopic display having lenticular lenses 14P' configured to display three-dimensional images for a user).

[0078] In the configuration of Figure 11, display cover layer 92 has inner and outer surfaces with compound curvatures in inactive area IA (e.g., a ring-shaped area extending along the perimeter of layer 92). The inner and outer surfaces of display cover layer 92 in active area AA may also have compound curvatures, or one or both of these surfaces may be developable. In the example of Figure 11, the inner and outer surfaces of layer 92 have compound curvatures in both inactive area IA and active area AA (e.g., these surfaces may be free of any developable surfaces), which may help provide an attractive appearance to device 10.

[0079] The shroud of device 10 in FIG. 11 includes shroud trim 100A and shroud canopy 100B. Trim 100A may have a ring shape and may extend around the periphery of display 14. Canopy 100B may be formed from a material such as a polymer, may have an outline equal to or approximately equal to the outline of display cover layer 92, and may cover substantially the entire front surface of device 10. In this type of configuration, shroud canopy 100B overlies all of display panel 14P. The polymer comprising canopy 100B may have a bulk coloring (e.g., a colorant such as a dye and / or pigment that provides canopy 100B with desired light transmission properties). For example, canopy 100B may be tinted such that canopy 100B exhibits a visible light transmittance of 30-80%, at least 20%, at least 40%, less than 95%, less than 90%, less than 85%, less than 75%, 60%, or other suitable amount. By configuring canopy 10B to exhibit partial light transmittance (e.g., 30-80% or other suitable value), canopy 100B may help visually hide internal components such as lens 14P' and other structure of display 14P from view (e.g., when display 14P is not in use).

[0080] The inner surface of canopy 100B may be provided with an optical layer, such as optical layer (optical film) 146. Layer 146 may have a texture and / or light-scattering particles that create a haze. The haze may help hide the structure of display panel 14P from view outside device 10. Layer 146 may also have microlouvers or other features that help suppress off-axis light transmission (e.g., layer 146 may have a privacy structure that reduces light transmission for light rays not parallel to the Y-axis). Because layer 146 may include a haze and / or privacy structure, layer 146 may also be referred to as a privacy layer, a haze layer, and / or a privacy and haze layer.

[0081] In an exemplary configuration, layer 146 may include a flexible substrate layer covered with a hazy coating. The hazy coating may be a pad-printed polymer coating containing embedded light-scattering particles (e.g., inorganic light-scattering particles such as titanium oxide particles). The flexible substrate layer may be a privacy film, such as a microlouver film or other privacy layer, that prevents off-axis (away from the Y-axis) viewing of display panel 14P.

[0082] The blurring of layer 146 can be provided using any suitable blurring structure (e.g., a 3-10 micrometer thick coating of a blurred polymer on a flexible privacy film or other substrate, a laminated blurring film, or other layer exhibiting 3%-40% blurring or other suitable value, sometimes referred to as a blurring coating). The blurring can be provided by embedded light-scattering particles and / or a surface texture (e.g., a texture within layer 146 or, optionally, a texture on the surface of canopy 100B). The blurring provided by the blurring coating and / or other blurring structure of layer 146 is preferably provided sufficiently close to display 14P so that the resolution of display 14P is not significantly affected. At the same time, the presence of the blurring (e.g., the blurring coating of layer 146) can help hide lenses and other structures within layer 14P from view when not in use.

[0083] The device 10 may have an air gap between the display panel 14P and the canopy 100B (e.g., an air gap such as air gap 144 may exist between the inward-facing side of the canopy 100B and any coatings and / or films, such as the blur layer 146, on this side of the canopy 100B and the opposing top surface of the display panel 14P (as well as the lens 14P′ and pixels on the panel 14P). The presence of the air gap 144 may help ensure satisfactory operation of the lens 14P′. The bracket 156 may help support the display panel 14P.

[0084] To help hide internal components from view, an opaque masking layer, such as layer BM-1, may be formed on the inner surface of display cover layer 92 within inactive area IA. Adhesive 122 may attach layer 92 to the edges of canopy 100B. Additional opaque masking material (see, for example, canopy opaque masking layer BM-2) may be formed on the inner surface of canopy 100B within inactive area IA. Adhesive 114 may be used to attach shroud trim 100A to shroud canopy 100B. Adhesive 124 may be used to attach shroud trim 100A to housing portion 26M. Adhesive 160 may be used to attach bracket 156 (adhesively attached to the rear of panel 14P) to canopy 100B.

[0085] In the example of FIG. 11 , the outer surface 148 and inner surface 150 of the display cover layer 92 have compound curvatures in the inactive region IA and the active region AA. The outer surface 152 and the opposing inner surface 154 of the shroud canopy 100B may have matching compound curvatures in the inactive region IA. In the active region AA, the outer surface 152 and inner surface 154 of the shroud canopy 100B may be developable surfaces (e.g., surfaces without compound curvature that exhibit a curved cross-sectional profile bending about a single bending axis, such as axis 142). Axis 142, in this example, is an axis extending parallel to the Z axis. The display panel 14P may exhibit the same amount of bending about axis 142 and may also be characterized by a developable surface (e.g., a pixel array on the outer surface of panel 14P may have a developable surface).

[0086] The amount of bending of canopy 100B and the corresponding amount of bending of display panel 14P about axis 142 may be selected to help device 10 conform to the curvature of the user's face.

[0087] In the exemplary configuration of Figure 11, canopy 100B does not have an area of compound curvature overlying display panel 14P. Rather, the portion of canopy 100B overlying panel 14P has inner and outer developable surfaces. If desired, one or both of surfaces 152 and 154 may have a compound curvature. For example, outer surface 152 may have a compound curvature and may be configured to establish a uniform thickness of air gap 140 under some or all of inner surface 150 of layer 92. In the example of Figure 11, there is a non-uniform thickness of air gap 140 between layer 92 and canopy 100B.

[0088] Bracket 156 may be formed from a metal sheet or other support structure and may be characterized by inner and outer surfaces that are developable (e.g., surfaces that curve about axis 142 and do not include areas of compound curvature). By avoiding compound curvature in the structure that supports and directly overlies display panel 14P, display panel 14P can be formed from a curved flexible substrate, such as a polyimide substrate, that curves about axis 142 without the risk of producing wrinkles or other artifacts of the type that can be introduced if panel 14P has areas of compound curvature.

[0089] The shroud and other structures of device 10 of FIG. 11 (e.g., opaque masking layer coatings such as layers BM-1 and BM-2, which may be black ink layers) may be configured to form an optical window for optical component 104.

[0090] FIG. 12 shows how opaque masking layer BM-2 on canopy 100B can have a window opening filled with a coating layer, such as coating 170. Optical component 104 (e.g., a flicker sensor, an ambient light sensor, and / or other photodetector) can be aligned with the window opening. A transparent canopy portion may overlap the window opening, or a canopy opening may overlap the window opening. Layer BM-2 may be opaque, which helps prevent internal components within device 10 from being visible from outside device 10. The presence of the opening in layer BM-2 allows optical component 104 to operate satisfactorily (e.g., receive and measure ambient light). Coating 170 can be configured to allow component 104 to operate while helping to visually conceal component 104. As an example, coating 170 may be formed from a layer of ink having a visible light transmittance of 2-25%, at least 1%, at least 2%, at least 4%, less than 80%, less than 30%, or other suitable amount, while layer BM-2 may have a visible light transmittance of less than 2%, less than 1%, or less than 0.5% (for example).

[0091] FIG. 13 is a side cross-sectional view of another exemplary head-mounted device optical component mounting configuration. The configuration of FIG. 13 uses shroud through-hole openings in trim 100A and canopy 100B. These through-hole openings align with openings in display opaque masking layer BM-1 (and, optionally, with corresponding openings in canopy opaque masking layer BM-2). An optional coating layer, such as layer 164, may cover the optical window formed from these openings. Layer 164 and the other openings in FIG. 14 may align with optical component 104, which may be mounted behind the shroud and / or may have a portion that protrudes into the through-hole opening in the shroud. In a first exemplary configuration, component 104 in FIG. 13 is an infrared illuminator (e.g., an infrared-emitting diode). In this type of configuration, coating layer 164 may be formed from a layer of ink, a thin-film interference filter, or other filter layer that blocks visible light and transmits infrared light (e.g., a visible-light-blocking, infrared-light-transmitting filter layer). 13 is a camera (e.g., a visible pass-through camera, an infrared camera, and / or other camera operating in visible and / or infrared wavelengths). In this configuration, coating 164 may be omitted (to pass visible and / or infrared light), may be configured to form an anti-reflective coating, and / or may otherwise be configured to operate with the camera.

[0092] FIG. 14 is a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary head-mounted device optical component mounting configuration having an optical component window formed from a transparent window member. Transparent window member 166 (e.g., a layer of glass or polymer) may be attached to through-hole openings in trim 100A and canopy 100B and may be aligned with openings in opaque masking layer BM-1 on optical component 104 and layer 92 (and, if necessary, with openings in opaque masking layer BM-2 on canopy 100B). A filter coating 168 may be provided on window member 166. In the exemplary configuration, component 104 in FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional camera, such as a time-of-flight camera or structured light camera, capable of operating at infrared wavelengths. Filter 168 in this type of configuration may be transparent to infrared light, transparent to visible light, or opaque to visible light (e.g., filter 168 may be an infrared-transmitting, visible-light-blocking filter). The filter coating 168 may be formed from ink, a thin film interference filter, or other filter structure.

[0093] The presence of window member 166, which may be configured to exhibit a relatively small amount of optical distortion, may help improve the optical performance of component 104. If desired, the optical component conforming surface area for the optical component window of component 104 may be formed directly into canopy 100B (e.g., so that canopy 100B can overlap component 104 without forming a through-hole opening in canopy 100B).

[0094] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, the head-mounted device including: 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-facing display supported on a front side of the head-mounted support structure, the front-facing display having an active area in which a third image is displayed and a ring-shaped inactive area surrounding the active area that does not display an image, the front-facing display having a display cover layer overlying the active area and the inactive area; optical components within the inactive area; and a cover structure under the display cover layer overlying the inactive area.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the cover structure includes a shroud having a shroud trim and having a shroud canopy, the shroud canopy including a clear polymer and the shroud trim including a dark polymer, the shroud canopy attached to the shroud trim with an adhesive, and the head-mounted device includes a coating on an inner surface of the shroud canopy overlying the optical component.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the cover structure includes a ring-shaped polymer structure surrounding the active area.

[0097] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped polymer structure has a through-hole opening aligned with the optical component.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped polymer structure has an opening and the head-mounted device includes a glass member aligned with an optical component within the opening.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped polymer structure has a recess that is aligned with the optical component.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped polymer structure includes a first polymer member and a second polymer member attached with an adhesive, and the recess is formed by a through hole in the first polymer member.

[0101] According to another embodiment, the second polymer member includes a transparent polymer overlying the through hole in the first polymer member.

[0102] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a coating on the inner surface of the transparent polymer overlying the through-hole opening.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the first polymer member comprises a black polymer.

[0104] According to another embodiment, a head-mounted device includes a first adhesive layer configured to attach a display cover layer to a ring-shaped polymer structure, and a second adhesive having a lower melting point than the first adhesive layer and configured to attach the ring-shaped polymer structure to a head-mounted support structure.

[0105] According to another embodiment, the cover structure includes a polymer layer separated from a display cover layer by an air gap, the polymer layer having a surface with a compound curvature overlying the inactive area and a developable surface overlying the active area.

[0106] According to one embodiment, a head-mounted device is provided, the head-mounted device including: a head-mounted support structure; a rear-face display supported by the head-mounted support structure configured to provide visual content to an eyebox behind the head-mounted support structure; a public-viewable front-face display supported on the front side of the head-mounted support structure, the public-viewable front-face display having an active area including pixels configured to display an image and having a pixel-free ring-shaped inactive area surrounding the active area; a display cover layer for the front-face display overlying the active area and overlying the ring-shaped inactive area; a ring-shaped shroud member overlying the display cover layer in the inactive area and surrounding the active area; and optical components overlying the ring-shaped shroud member.

[0107] According to another embodiment, the optical components include a flicker sensor and an ambient light sensor.

[0108] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a shroud canopy coupled to a ring-shaped shroud member, the flicker sensor and the ambient light sensor being aligned with openings in the ring-shaped shroud member and covered by the shroud canopy.

[0109] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped shroud member and the shroud canopy have through-hole openings aligned with the optical components.

[0110] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes a camera.

[0111] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes an ambient light sensor, and the ring-shaped shroud member has a recess with a coating through which the ambient light sensor measures ambient light.

[0112] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes a bracket under a portion of the ring-shaped shroud member, the display cover layer having a nasal bridge recess, a first optical component of the optical components attached to the bracket on one side of the nasal bridge recess, and a second optical component of the optical components attached to the bracket on an opposite side of the nasal bridge recess.

[0113] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped shroud member includes a portion that is transparent at a wavelength, and the optical component includes an optical component that receives light of the wavelength that has passed through the portion of the ring-shaped shroud member.

[0114] According to another embodiment, the ring-shaped shroud member has a surface with a compound curvature.

[0115] 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, left and right displays configured to provide left and right rear images viewable from the left and right eyeboxes through the left and right lenses, respectively, a publicly viewable display on the head-mounted support structure facing away from the left and right displays, the publicly viewable display having pixels configured to display publicly viewable images and having an inactive ring-shaped boundary surrounding the pixels, a display cover layer covering the publicly viewable display, and a polymer layer overlying the pixels and between the pixels and the display cover layer.

[0116] According to another embodiment, the polymer layer is separated from the pixel by an air gap.

[0117] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer is separated from the polymer layer by an air gap.

[0118] According to another embodiment, the display cover layer has inner and outer surfaces of compound curvature that overlie the pixels.

[0119] According to another embodiment, the polymer layer has a developable surface overlying the pixel.

[0120] According to another embodiment, the head-mounted device includes optical components within an inactive ring-shaped boundary.

[0121] According to another embodiment, the optical component includes a camera, the display cover layer having a surface with a compound curvature within the inactive ring-shaped region, and the camera configured to capture images in different directions through respective portions of the surface of the compound curvature.

[0122] According to another embodiment, the polymer layer is configured to exhibit a visible light transmittance of 30-80%.

[0123] According to another embodiment, the polymer layer has a blurred coating overlying the pixels.

[0124] The above is merely exemplary 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 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-face display supported on a front side of the head-mounted support structure, the front-face display having an active area in which a third image is displayed and a ring-shaped inactive area surrounding the active area that does not display an image, the front-face display having a display cover layer overlying the active area and the inactive area; an optical component within the inactive area; a cover structure underlying the display cover layer and overlying the inactive area; A head-mounted device comprising:

2. 10. The head-mounted device of claim 1, wherein the cover structure comprises a shroud having a shroud trim and having a shroud canopy, the shroud canopy comprising a clear polymer and the shroud trim comprising a dark polymer, the shroud canopy attached to the shroud trim with an adhesive, and the head-mounted device further comprises a coating on an inner surface of the shroud canopy overlying the optical component.

3. The head-mounted device of claim 1 , wherein the cover structure comprises a ring-shaped polymer structure surrounding the active area.

4. The head-mounted device of claim 3 , wherein the ring-shaped polymer structure has a through-hole opening aligned with the optical component.

5. The head-mounted device of claim 3 , wherein the ring-shaped polymer structure has an opening, the head-mounted device further comprising a glass member within the opening aligned with the optical component.

6. The head-mounted device of claim 3 , wherein the ring-shaped polymer structure has a recess aligned with the optical component.

7. 7. The head-mounted device of claim 6, wherein the ring-shaped polymer structure comprises a first polymer member and a second polymer member attached with an adhesive, and the recess is formed by a through hole in the first polymer member.

8. The head-mounted device of claim 7 , wherein the second polymer member comprises a transparent polymer overlying the through hole in the first polymer member.

9. The head-mounted device of claim 8 , further comprising a coating on an inner surface of the transparent polymer overlying the through-hole opening.

10. The head-mounted device of claim 9 , wherein the first polymer member comprises a black polymer.

11. a first adhesive layer configured to attach the display cover layer to the ring-shaped polymer structure; a second adhesive having a lower melting point than the first adhesive layer, the second adhesive being configured to attach the ring-shaped polymer structure to the head mount support structure; and The head-mounted device of claim 3 further comprising:

12. 2. The head-mounted device of claim 1, wherein the cover structure comprises a polymer layer separated from the display cover layer by an air gap, the polymer layer having a surface with a compound curvature that overlaps the inactive area and a developable surface that overlaps the active area.

13. a head-mounted support structure; a rear display supported by the head-mounted support structure configured to provide visual content to an eyebox behind the head-mounted support structure; and a publicly viewable front-facing display supported on a front side of the head-mounted support structure, the publicly viewable front-facing display having an active area including pixels configured to display an image and a pixel-free ring-shaped inactive area surrounding the active area; a display cover layer for the front display, the display cover layer overlying the active area and overlying the ring-shaped inactive area; a ring-shaped shroud member overlying the display cover layer in the non-active area and surrounding the active area; an optical component overlaid with the ring-shaped shroud member; A head-mounted device comprising:

14. The head-mounted device of claim 13 , wherein the optical components comprise a flicker sensor and an ambient light sensor.

15. 15. The head-mounted device of claim 14, further comprising a shroud canopy coupled to the ring-shaped shroud member, the flicker sensor and ambient light sensor being aligned with openings in the ring-shaped shroud member and covered by the shroud canopy.

16. The head-mounted device of claim 13 , wherein the ring-shaped shroud member and the shroud canopy have through-hole openings aligned with the optical components.

17. The head-mounted device of claim 16 , wherein the optical component includes a camera.

18. 14. The head-mounted device of claim 13, wherein the optical component includes an ambient light sensor, and the ring-shaped shroud member has a recess with a coating through which the ambient light sensor measures ambient light.

19. 14. The head-mounted device of claim 13, further comprising a bracket under a portion of the ring-shaped shroud member, the display cover layer having a nasal bridge recess, a first optical component among the optical components attached to the bracket on one side of the nasal bridge recess, and a second optical component among the optical components attached to the bracket on an opposite side of the nasal bridge recess.

20. 14. The head-mounted device of claim 13, wherein the ring-shaped shroud member includes a portion that is transparent at a wavelength, and the optical component comprises an optical component that receives light of the wavelength that has passed through the portion of the ring-shaped shroud member.

21. The head-mounted device of claim 13 , wherein the ring-shaped shroud member has a surface with a compound curvature.

22. a head-mounted support structure; a left lens located on the left side of the head-mounted support structure; a right lens located on the right side of the head-mounted support structure; a left display and a right display configured to provide respective left and right rear images viewable from the left and right eyeboxes through the left and right lenses; a publicly viewable display on the head-mounted support structure facing away from the left and right displays, the publicly viewable display having pixels configured to display a publicly viewable image and having an inactive ring-shaped boundary surrounding the pixels; a display cover layer covering the publicly viewable display; a polymer layer overlying the pixel and between the pixel and the display cover layer; A head-mounted device comprising:

23. 23. The head-mounted device of claim 22, wherein the polymer layer is separated from the pixel by an air gap.

24. 24. The head-mounted device of claim 23, wherein the display cover layer is separated from the polymer layer by an air gap.

25. 25. The head-mounted device of claim 24, wherein the display cover layer has inner and outer surfaces of compound curvature that overlie the pixels.

26. 26. The head-mounted device of claim 25, wherein the polymer layer has a developable surface overlying the pixels.

27. 23. The head-mounted device of claim 22, further comprising an optical component within the inactive ring-shaped boundary.

28. 28. The head-mounted device of claim 27, wherein the optical component comprises a camera, the display cover layer having a surface with a compound curvature within the inactive ring-shaped region, and the camera configured to capture images in different directions through respective portions of the surface of the compound curvature.

29. 23. The head-mounted device of claim 22, wherein the polymer layer is configured to exhibit a visible light transmittance of 30-80%.

30. 23. The head-mounted device of claim 22, wherein the polymer layer has a blurred coating overlying the pixels.

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