Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to refining their Head Mounted Display system patent that describes a system of motorized adjustable support components for head-mounted display. The system is designed to provide users with a quick way to find the ultimate fit for their headset that's comfortable for them. Apple's update emphasizes the use of 'hand presence sensors.'  

Head-mounted displays are used by persons having varied head shapes and sizes. Adjustment structures in head-mounted displays may be time consuming to adjust, and finding a comfortable fit may require trial and error by the user.

Apple's invention covers a head-mounted display system that includes a housing and an eye chamber to be positioned adjacent to eyes of the user. A support assembly for the head-mounted display includes a headband and an adjustment mechanism that is operable to change fit of the headband relative to the head of the user in response to a control signal. The adjustment mechanism includes a feedback component, and the control signal is generated based on output from the feedback component.

Apple's patent FIG. 5A below illustrates a side view showing a head-mounted display including a support mechanism; FIG. 5B is a top view of the head-mounted display with an adjustable support mechanism; FIG. 4 is a detailed illustration of the adjustment mechanism.

Apple's patent FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an alternative adjustable headset mechanism that goes over the user's head with motorized sliding joints to make adjustments effortless; FIG. 12 is an overview block diagram that shows an example of a hardware configuration for electronic components of a head-mounted display.

Apple has updated their patent to include 20 new patent claims that will better protect their invention against competitors and patent trolls. Below are nine of the new patent claims that cover a "hand presence sensor," "a motion tracking system" and more.   

Added Patent Claim #1: "A head-mounted display to be worn by a user, comprising: a housing; a headband configured to secure the housing to a head of the user; a hand presence sensor configured to detect a hand of the user; and an adjustment mechanism operable to change a tightness of the headband relative to the housing in response to an output signal from the hand presence sensor, the output signal representing whether the hand of the user is detected by the hand presence sensor."

Added Patent Claim #2: "The head-mounted display of claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to tighten the headband when the output signal indicates that the hand of the user is detected by the hand presence sensor."

Added Patent Claim #3: "The head-mounted display of claim 2, wherein the hand presence sensor is a first hand presence sensor configured to detect a first hand of the user, and wherein the head-mounted display includes a second hand presence sensor configured to detect a second hand of the user."

Added Patent Claim #4: "The head-mounted display of claim 3, wherein the first hand presence sensor is disposed on a first side of the housing and the second hand presence sensor is disposed on a second side of the housing.

Added Patent Claim #5: "The head-mounted display of claim 3, wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to loosen the headband when respective output signals from the first and second hand presence sensors indicate that the first and second hands of the user are detected."

Added Patent Claim #6: "The head-mounted display of claim 5, wherein the adjustment mechanism is configured to tighten the headband when respective output signals from the first and second hand presence sensors indicate that one of the first and second hands of the user has ceased being detected."

Added Patent Claim #7: "The head-mounted display of claim 1, further comprising: an eye chamber disposed in the housing; and a proximity sensor disposed in the eye chamber, wherein the adjustment mechanism is operable to change a tightness of the headband relative to the housing in response to an output signal from the proximity sensor representing whether a face of the user is present adjacent to the eye chamber."

Added Patent Claim #16: "The head-mounted display of claim 15, wherein the headband includes at least one of a strap that is extendable and retractable by operation of the motor or a first part and a second part that are interconnected by a gear rack to loosen or tighten the first part and the second part relative to each other by operation of the motor."

Added Patent Claim #17: "A head-mounted display, comprising: a housing including an eye chamber to be positioned adjacent to eyes of a user; a headband configured to secure the housing to a head of the user; a motion tracking system that is operable to measure relative motion between the housing and the eyes of the user; and an adjustment mechanism operable to increase a tightness of the headband relative to the housing in response to an output signal from the motion tracking system, the output signal representing relative motion between the housing and the eyes of the user above a threshold value."

To review the patent in general and the remaining 11 new patent claims specifically, check out Apple's continuation patent number 20210271093.

Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.