Another week, another round of new HMD patents from the U.S. Patent Office that present inventions related to Vision Pro or are being designed for a future version. In total, our report covers five new HMD patents covering debris mitigation, sweat mitigation structures, a magnifying tool and more.

Fan with Debris Mitigation

The image above illustrates Vision Pro's whisper quiet Dual-Fan system captured in the February 2024 iFixit Teardown. Each eye is covered with its own fan to keep the user cool while watching content.  

Apple notes that Vision Pro could provide a user experience that is immersive or otherwise natural so the user could easily focus on enjoying the experience without being distracted by the mechanisms of the head-mountable device. Components of Apple Pro could generate heat during operation. Excessive heat for long durations of time could damage the components of the head-mountable device and cause discomfort to the user. Heat could be mitigated in a number of ways, including with active mechanisms (e.g., fans, blowers, air movers, and the like) that are integrated into the head-mountable device. In order to dissipate heat effectively within a small form factor, active cooling is sometimes used. Active cooling refers to a thermal architecture wherein heat is dissipated via forced convection.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Apple's patent FIG. 1 above illustrates a side view of a head-mountable device. Patently Apple highlighted where the fan is located in the patent figure.

Beyond being a mere fan, Apple delves into debris mitigation. Apple specifically states that in particular, when the fan is not in operation, particles could collect and become lodged between the parts of the fan. In such a condition, the fan may encounter difficultly resuming operation due to the introduction of particles between moving parts of the fan. In particular, particles lodged between the stationary parts (i.e., fan housing) and moving parts (i.e., rotor, impeller, etc.) could cause the fan to stall.

Systems described in Apple's patent could provide fans that mitigate the intrusion of particles and other debris. Fans could include a protrusion that creates a tortuous pathway to direct incoming particles away from sensitive regions. Fans could include openings to allow particles to exit the fan. Fans could include a variable spacing between the stationary parts (i.e., fan housing) and moving parts (i.e., rotor, impeller, etc.) to avoid collection of particles. Fans could include an adhesive pad that collects and retains particles at a location that does not interfere with operation of the impeller.

If you're interested in diving into the details, review patent 20240068484 that was filed in July 2023 and published today.

 Electronic Devices With Sweat Mitigation Structures

Even if the fans are keeping Apple Vision Pro users cool, Apple has also invented sweat mitigation structures. Apple notes that a head-mounted device may include a main housing portion and displays in the main housing portion that provide images to eye boxes. A light seal may be coupled to the main housing portion and may at least partially surround the eye boxes. The head-mounted device may include sweat mitigation structures such as moisture-guiding channels in the light seal to guide sweat and other moisture away from the eye boxes.

The moisture-guiding channels may be formed from grooves or moisture-wicking fabric. Control circuitry may adjust a fan based on humidity, temperature, or fog detected by a sensor. The light seal may include a directional pattern of grooves through which moisture is guided away from the eye boxes. A moisture barrier layer may be interposed between an inner foam layer and an outer light-blocking fabric to prevent sweat from penetrating into the foam.

Whether these features have been integrated into the current version of Vision Pro or a future version is unknown at this time. For full detail, review patent application 20240069596.

Other HMD Patents Published this Week

• 01: Head-Mounted Electronic Device With Magnification Tool
• 02: Electronic Device With Protected Light Sources
• 03: Head-mounted Display With Adjustment Mechanism