Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to future wearable force sensing devices that could take on the form of finger-mounts, VR gloves, bands and footwear.

In computer-generated-reality systems, input accessories such as force-feedback gloves can be used to control virtual objects. Conventional devices such as these may not be convenient for a user, may be cumbersome or uncomfortable, or may not satisfactorily gather input or provide output.

Apple's invention and granted patent covers a next-gen wearable electronic device that gathers force input. The device may transmit force measurement information and other input to external equipment such as a head-mounted device to control the external equipment.

For example, the device may have wireless communications circuitry that wirelessly transmits force measurement information to an external electronic device to control the external device.

The wearable electronic device may have a force sensor that gathers force measurements from a body part of a user as the wearable electronic device is being worn against the body part of the user. The force sensor may have a force sensor housing structure that is coupled to a wearable electronic device housing structure. The wearable electronic device housing structure may be configured to be worn on a finger, hand, arm, foot, leg, head, wrist, or other body part of a user.

The force sensor may be used to make measurements of forces applied to the force sensor by the user as the body part of the user or other external object presses against the force sensor.

The force sensor housing structure in the force sensor may be configured to form a fluid-filled channel and one or more collapsible force sensor elements such as collapsible fluid-filled domes or other protruding portions of the force sensor housing structure.

The housing structure may be supported by the wearable electronic device housing structure so that the domes face the body part of the user and are compressed by force from the body part (e.g., force that arises as the body part presses against the force sensor as the body part moves through the air and/or as the body part contacts an external object).

A pressure sensor may monitor changes in pressure in a fluid that fills the channel and the fluid-filled domes. The monitored changes in pressure represent force measurements for force applied by the user's body part or other external objects on the collapsible force sensor elements.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative system with electronic devices; FIGS. 2-5 illustrate that the force sensing devices could be designed for fingers/gloves, a band or footwear.

Apple's patent FIG. 12 below is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative force sensor oriented so that collapsible domes face a finger and palm of a user.

Apple's patent FIG. 11 above is a cross-sectional end view of an illustrative wearable device on a finger of a user showing how a force sensor housing structure may be coupled to and supported by a wearable electronic device housing structure.

Apple's patent FIG. 14 below is a side view of an illustrative wearable electronic device with a force sensor and a fabric housing.

Apple's patent FIG. 10 above is a top view of an illustrative network of collapsible fluid-filled force sensor protrusions.

Beyond the new devices being used in conjunction with Mixed Reality applications, Apple notes that the new device(s) may be used to gather physiological measurements. For example, the housing of the device may have a ring shape (e.g., housing 42 may form a circular band, wristwatch strap, or other housing structure with an opening that receives a user's arm, wrist, leg, ankle, finger, or other body part in which blood flows). In arrangements in which housing is configured to be worn on a user's arm, wrist, leg, ankle, finger, or other body part in which blood flows, the force sensor may measure force variations on domes by monitoring for corresponding fluid pressure fluctuations at pressure sensor to measure blood pressure, heart rate, or other physiological attributes of the user.

For more details, review Apple's granted patent 11,262,797.

Apple's engineers have been working on a number of accessories that could work with Apple's future headset. Other inventions/patents on this could be found here: 01, 02, 03, 04 & 05 – plus 06 for VR gloves aimed at being used with an iMac.