Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to their Apple Vision Pro Spatial Computing Headset. More specifically, the newly granted patent covers systems, and methods for presenting a video stream on Apple Vision Pro in a manner to reduce its thermal footprint.

Apple notes that since a head-mountable device is in such close proximity to the user when the head-mountable device is being worn, the amount of heat that the head-mountable device generates may need to be controlled. The amount of heat that the head-mountable device generates typically correlates to the amount of power consumed by the head-mountable device. As such, the amount of power that the head-mountable device consumes may need to be controlled.

Apple's patent cover devices, systems, and methods for presenting a video stream on a head-mountable device (HMD).

In various implementations, a head-mountable device (HMD) includes a first display portion (e.g., a first display) and a second display portion (e.g., a second display). In some implementations, refresh rates for the first display portion and the second display portion are constrained. For example, in some implementations, the refresh rates are limited to a particular value in order to conserve power and/or reduce a thermal footprint of the HMD. In some implementations, utilizing relatively low refresh rates hampers performance of the HMD and/or degrades the user experience. For example, some applications (e.g., games, training simulations, etc.) appear sluggish and/or distorted at relatively low refresh rates.

In various implementations, a head-mountable device (HMD) includes a first display portion (e.g., a first display) and a second display portion (e.g., a second display). In some implementations, refresh rates for the first display portion and the second display portion are constrained. For example, in some implementations, the refresh rates are limited to a particular value in order to conserve power and/or reduce a thermal footprint of the HMD.

In various implementations, the HMD generates a first video stream for the first display portion, and a second video stream for the second display portion. In some implementations, the first and second video streams are generated at respective frame rates that indicate corresponding rates at which frames are presented by the first and second display portions. In various implementations, the HMD temporally shifts the first and second video streams so that refresh times of the first display portion are different from refresh times of the second display portion.

In some implementations, temporally shifting the video streams for the first display portion and the second display portion amounts to alternating the presentation of frames between the first display portion and the second display portion.

In some implementations, temporally shifting the video streams produces a psycho-optic effect resulting in a perceived frame rate that is greater than the frame rates at which the first and second video streams are generated. In some implementations, temporally shifting the video streams allows the HMD to maintain a particular frame rate for the first and second display portions while displaying frames for applications that are better suited for displays with higher frame rates. As such, in some implementations, temporally shifting the video streams allows the HMD to reduce power consumption and/or reduce the thermal footprint of the HMD.

Apple's patent FIGS. 3 and 4 below are block diagrams of an example of a head-mountable device (HMD).   

Apple's patent FIG. 5 below is a flowchart representation of a method #500 of presenting video streams at an HMD in accordance with some implementations. 

For engineers and developers wanting to explore the details of this technical patent, review Apple's granted patent 11706383.