Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published an extensive patent application from Apple that relates to future smart rings that could control your TV, home devices, computers (iPhone, iPad, Macs, Apple Watch) while also having health sensor built in (to some rings). Apple also describes a secondary "Power Ring" that could transfer power to the main ring to keep it functional. This is one of Apple's most extensive ring-related patent.

Smart Ring Device

Apple's patent covers electronic devices that are configured to be mounted on the body of a user may be used to gather user input and/or to provide a user with output. For example, electronic devices that are configured to be worn on one or more of a user's fingers, which are sometimes referred to as ring devices, finger devices, or finger-mounted devices, may be used to gather user input and/or to supply output. A ring device may, as an example, include an inertial measurement unit with an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer for gathering information on finger motions such as finger taps or free-space finger gestures, may include touch and/or force sensors for gathering touch input, force input, and/or biometric data from a user's finger, and may include other sensors for gathering information on the interactions between the ring device, the surrounding environment, the user's fingers, and other electronic devices in the surrounding environment. The ring device may include a haptic output device to provide the user's finger with haptic output and may include other output components.

One or more ring devices may gather user input from a user. The user may use ring devices in operating a virtual reality or mixed reality device (e.g., head-mounted equipment such as glasses, goggles, a helmet, or other device with a display). During operation, the ring devices may gather user input such as information on interactions between the ring device(s) and the surrounding environment (e.g., interactions between a user's fingers and the environment, including finger motions and other interactions associated with virtual content displayed for a user). The user input may be used in controlling visual output on the display. Corresponding haptic output may be provided to the user's fingers using the ring devices. Haptic output may be used, for example, to provide tactile feedback in response to touch input or other user input to the ring device, may be used to provide the fingers of a user with a desired texture sensation as a user is touching a real or virtual object, and/or may be used create detents and other haptic effects.

Ring devices can be worn on any or all of a user's fingers (e.g., the index finger, the index finger and thumb, three of a user's fingers on one of the user's hands, some or all fingers on both hands, etc.).

Users can use the ring devices to interact with any suitable electronic equipment. For example, a user may use one or more ring devices to interact with a virtual reality or mixed reality system (e.g., a head-mounted device with a display), to supply input to a desktop computer, tablet computer, cellular telephone, watch, ear buds, or other accessory, or to interact with other electronic equipment.

A ring device may be configured to interact with a system of one or more electronic devices. As an example, the system may have a first device that can gather user input and may have a second device that can be controlled by the first device. The first and second device may also be operated independently, if desired. In an illustrative configuration, the first device in this type of system may be a ring device (sometimes referred to as a controller, ring controller, finger-mounted device, finger device, etc.). The ring device may have a ring shape that allows the ring device to be worn on a body part of a user (e.g., around a user's finger, wrist, arm, leg, ankle, neck, head, and/or other body part). In an illustrative configuration, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, the ring device has a finger-ring housing that is configured to be worn on a user's finger.

The second device in this type of system may be a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone, tablet computer, laptop computer, head-mounted device, a desktop computer, a television, a speaker, household electronic equipment such as a lamp or other lighting device, a thermostat, a security system, and/or any other suitable electronic equipment. Because the second device may be operated by a user in conjunction with the first device, the second device may sometimes be referred to as a companion device or a host device.

Use of a ring device may facilitate the gathering of user input. During operation of a companion device, a user may wish to supply user input to the companion device in the form of hand gestures, touch input, force input, voice input, pointing input, gaze input, other user input involving the position of the user's body (e.g., the location, orientation, and movement of one or more fingers and/or other body parts), and/or other user input. The ring device may have sensors such as inertial measurement units and/or other sensors that allow such body-based input to be gathered. Because a ring device may be worn throughout the day, a ring device will generally be immediately available to the user, unlike devices that are stored in a user's pocket or more distant locations. This facilitates interactions between the ring device and objects in the user's environment. For example, a ring device can easily be brought into close proximity with near-field communications tags in the user's environment.

A ring device may be configured to control multiple electronic devices in the user's environment. The ring device and/or a host device such as a cellular telephone may store a map of locations of electronic devices in the user's home, office, etc. The map may indicate the absolute and/or relative locations of various pieces of electronic equipment throughout a given building and/or in one or more different rooms of the building. For example, a ring device and/or a host device may store a living room map with stored locations of a television, a living room speaker, a thermostat, and a living room lamp, a kitchen map with stored locations of various kitchen appliances, an office map with stored locations of a desktop computer, an office speaker, and an office lamp, a bedroom map with stored locations of a bedroom lamp, a laptop computer, and a bedroom speaker, etc. When it is desired to create and store a new map for a given room with electronic devices, the user may wear the ring device while providing input to the ring device and/or a host device (e.g., by pointing, gesturing, or gazing towards the different electronic devices, by providing voice input, touch input, force input, or other user input, etc.). Location information, position information, and/or orientation information may be gathered from the ring device and/or from one or more host devices to determine the absolute and/or relative locations of the electronic devices in the room based on the user input to the ring device and/or the host device.

An illustrative system that includes a ring device is shown in Apple's patent FIG. 1 below. As shown in FIG. 1, system 8 may include multiple electronic devices #10 such as ring device 10A and companion devices #10B (sometimes referred to as host devices). Devices 10A and 10B may communicate wirelessly, as shown by wireless signals #12

Electronic devices #10B may include computing devices such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer (e.g., a display on a stand with an integrated computer processor and other computer circuitry), a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a head-mounted device such as glasses, goggles, a helmet, or other equipment worn on a user's head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a remote control, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which equipment is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, a removable external case for electronic equipment, a strap, a wrist band or head band, a removable cover for a device, a case or bag that has straps or that has other structures to receive and carry electronic equipment and other items, a necklace or arm band, a wallet, sleeve, pocket, or other structure into which electronic equipment or other items may be inserted, part of a chair, sofa, or other seating (e.g., cushions or other seating structures), part of an item of clothing or other wearable item (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, headband, sock, glove, shirt, pants, etc.), or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices.

Apple's patent FIG. 2 below is a circuit diagram of illustrative circuitry for a ring device.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 above is a side view of an illustrative ring device; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an illustrative motion-controlled ring device; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an illustrative voice-controlled ring device; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an illustrative health-monitoring ring device.  

Apple's patent FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an illustrative environment in which a ring device may be used to control other electronic devices; FIG. 13 is a side view of an illustrative ring device being worn on a hand that is gripping a cellular telephone, tablet computer, or other electronic device. In response to detecting the user's grip on the device #10B, the ring #10A may automatically transfer data from ring device 10A to device 10B (e.g., biometric data gathered with ring device 10A may be used to authenticate device 10B and/or automatically unlock device 10B, health data gathered using health sensors in ring device 10A may be conveyed to device 10B, etc.). This feature also applies to patent FIG. 12 in respect to a keyboard.

As shown in Apple's patent FIG. 16 above, the user may wear ring device #10A while pointing at device #10B (e.g., television 100). The television  may be a device that the user wishes to store a location for in the map being generated. While pointing at device #10B, the user may provide other input such as voice input that indicates the name of device 10B and, if desired, the room in which device 10B is located (e.g., the user may say “living room TV”).

Further to FIG. 16, the television is assigned range A such that pointing or gazing towards the television within "Range A" indicating a selection of the television. "Range A" may be a range of plane angles (e.g., 30 degrees indicating that only pointing or gazing within 30 degrees of a line extending across the shortest distance between the user's eyes or finger and device #10B can be used to select device 10B) or a range of solid angles (e.g., 30 degrees squared indicating that only pointing or gazing within 30 degrees squared of a line extending across the shortest distance between the user's eyes or finger and device 10B can be used to select device 10B).

"Range A" may be set automatically by device #10A based on the type of device #10B and/or the proximity of the device 10B to other devices 10B.

In Apple's patent FIG. 19 above, a power source contained within a separate ring device such as power source ring device #170 may be used to convey power to ring device #10A. The user may place power source ring device #170 on the same finger that is wearing ring device #10A so that the two ring devices come into contact with one another.

Power can be conveyed wirelessly between device #170 and device #10A. As an example, contacts (e.g., metal pads) on devices #170 and #10A may be capacitively coupled (without forming ohmic contact) to allow power to be transferred and/or power can be conveyed using a wireless power transmitter with a coil in power source ring $170 to transmit wireless power signals to a wireless power receiver with a coil in device #10A. Inductive power transfer techniques may be used (e.g., wireless power can be transmitted using one or more wireless power transmitting coils in power source ring #170 and transmitted wireless power signals can be received in a power receiving circuit using a power receiving coil in device #10A).

To review the full details of this invention, check out patent application 20240281065. Apple appears to be very dedicated to this ring project with many patents behind it. Here are a few others on record:

• 01: Apple wins a patent covering a Smart Ring that uses NFC and is able to act as a Vision Pro Controller with In-Air Gestures
• 02: Apple wins a Patent for a Possible Future Health Device in the form of a Smart Ring
• 03: Apple Wins their Second Patent for an Apple Ring focused on using it for hand gestures to control a Secondary Device
• 04: Apple Wins Patent for a Ring Accessory to Control Content presented on Future Virtual Reality Glasses & Headset
• 05: Apple Invents a Smart Ring Device with Input Mechanisms in the form of a mini–Touch Pad and/or Scroll Ball