Last week the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to electronic devices with projectors. It's system that in some ways resembled HP's now defunct Sprout computer. Apple's vision is much broader in nature in that the "projector device" could be added to a Mac, a desktop  lamp, a TV and more to project and capture 3D images and allow for 3D hand and finger gestures to control applications. This could be great for artists and gamers for starters.

More specifically, Apple's patented projector may be mounted in a housing such as a lamp housing, a furniture housing, a standalone projector housing, and/or any other suitable housing. The projector may be co-located with a position sensor that monitors positions of the surface, objects on the surface, a user or user's hands near the surface, and other objects.

The position sensor may be an array of optical emitters and detectors, one or more cameras (e.g., visible light cameras, stereoscopic imaging systems, infrared cameras, depth sensing cameras, etc.), one or more ultrasonic sensors, and/or one or more radio-frequency sensors such as ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensors.

A position sensor may also be used to gather user input such as gesture input (e.g., hand movements made near the surface, hand movements made with objects on the surface, hand movements made near the shadows, etc.). Control circuitry in the electronic device may adjust characteristics of the unilluminated regions based on voice input detected with the microphone, gesture input detected with the position sensor, and/or other sensor data.

The electronic device may include an ambient light sensor for measuring ambient light color and a user input device such as a microphone configured to gather user input.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a schematic diagram of an illustrative system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device with a projector; FIG. 9 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating an electronic device with a projector that projects ambient-light-matching illumination onto a surface.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with one or more optical position sensors; FIG. 4 is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with one or more position sensors based on image sensor components; FIG. 5 is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with one or more ultrasonic position sensors; FIG. 6 is a side view of an illustrative electronic device with one or more position sensors based on radio-frequency components in accordance with an embodiment.

Apple's patent FIG. 7 above is a top view of a surface on which ambient-light-matching illumination is projected to create unilluminated regions with text shapes; FIG. 8 is a top view of a surface on which ambient-light-matching illumination is projected to create unilluminated regions with moving object shapes.

Below is a 2014 CNET video of HP's Sprout to illustrate how their vision of a projector PC would be used. Sprout introduced a Pro model in 2017. The exact date it was discontinued in unknown. To be sure, it was a PC ahead of its time.

Apple updated their invention last week with 20 new patent claims to secure key components and aspects that could make this projection device. Apple added claims to protect the following:  

• An electronic device, comprising: a microphone configured to gather speech input; a position sensor configured to measure a position of a surface relative to the position sensor; a light sensor configured to measure color; and a projector configured to project illumination onto the surface, wherein a shape of the illumination is based on the speech input and a color of the illumination is based on the measured color.

• The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the position sensor is configured to measure hand gestures and wherein the control circuitry is configured to adjust the shape of the illumination based on the hand gestures.

• The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the position sensor comprises an array of infrared light emitters and an infrared camera.

• The electronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a voice-controlled internet-connected speaker.

• The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the position sensor comprises a stereoscopic imaging system.

• The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the position sensor is selected from the group consisting of: an ultrasonic sensor and an ultra-wideband radio-frequency sensor.

To review its full details including the other 14 new patent claims, review patent application 20230409107.