Patents by Inventor Brian S. Lau
Brian S. Lau has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11966048Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure. Gaze tracking systems may be supported by the support structure so that the gaze of a user may be monitored. Lenses may be supported by the support structure. Display systems may provide computer-generated images to the user while the user is viewing real-world objects through the lenses. The gaze tracking systems may include image-sensor-based systems such as glint-based systems. A glint-based gaze tracking system may include light-emitting devices that emit light beams that create eye glints on the surface of a user's eyes and may include an image sensor that measures the eye glints to gather information on the user's gaze. A low-power gaze tracking system may be included in the head-mounted device. The low-power gaze tracking system may use light detectors to measure the magnitudes of respective light reflections of the light beams.Type: GrantFiled: June 9, 2021Date of Patent: April 23, 2024Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Oudenhoven, Brian S. Lau, David A. Kalinowski
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Patent number: 11960093Abstract: A head-mounted device may have displays that provide images. Waveguides may be used in conveying the images to eye boxes. The waveguides may overlap lenses in a glasses frame or other head-mounted support structure. The waveguides and lenses may be transparent. This allows real-world objects to be viewed from the eye boxes. Infrared-light reflectors may overlap the lenses. Gaze tracking system light sources may supply infrared light that reflects from the infrared-light reflectors to the eye boxes to illuminate a user's eyes. Gaze tracking system cameras capture gaze tracking images of the eyes from the eye boxes to track the user's gaze. Fiducials associated with the infrared-light reflectors may be monitored using the gaze tracking system cameras. This allows components such as the gaze tracking system cameras to be calibrated.Type: GrantFiled: November 17, 2022Date of Patent: April 16, 2024Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Brian S. Lau, David A. Kalinowski, Michael J. Oudenhoven
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Patent number: 11950022Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure with a left side portion, a right side portion, and a transparent front portion forming a lens. The lens may extend across the front of a user's face between the left and right side portions. The lens may have a mirror coating or other optical coating that helps obscure objects on the inner side of the lens when viewed from an exterior region surrounding the head-mounted device. Left and right forward-facing cameras with overlapping fields of view may be used to capture visible-light images through the lens. The cameras may also be used for gaze tracking. Left and right light sources may provide eye illumination that reflects from the lens into left and right eye boxes. Images from the eye boxes may reflect from the lens towards the left and right forward-facing cameras.Type: GrantFiled: February 26, 2021Date of Patent: April 2, 2024Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: David A. Kalinowski, Brian S. Lau
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Publication number: 20240085703Abstract: A head-mounted device may include a housing having openings that receive lenses. Displays may output images. Waveguides that overlap the lenses may receive the images from the displays and may direct the images to eye boxes that are aligned with the lenses. Infrared light sources such as infrared light-emitting diodes or lasers may be used to supply infrared light to the waveguides. Each waveguide may have multiple localized output couplers that overlap the lenses. The localized output couplers of each lens each direct a beam of the infrared light out of the waveguide towards an eye surface in the eye box associated with that lens to produce an eye glint. A gaze tracker infrared camera may captured images of the eye glints to determine a user's point of gaze.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2023Publication date: March 14, 2024Inventors: Chih Jen Chen, Brian S Lau, Cameron A Harder, David A Kalinowski
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Publication number: 20240036360Abstract: A head-mounted device includes a frame and a sensor coupled to the frame. The sensor includes a first conductive plate coupled to the frame and a first contact pad coupled to the frame and electrically coupled to the first conductive plate. The first contact pad includes an electrically conductive material embedded in a non-electrically conductive material, and the first contact pad is resiliently flexible and is configured for facial engagement. The sensor is configured to generate a signal that indicates a change in a capacitance of the sensor, and a controller is configured to change a power state of the head-mounted device based on the signal.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 7, 2023Publication date: February 1, 2024Inventors: Michael J. Oudenhoven, Brian S. Lau, Jonathan M. Anderson
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Publication number: 20240027753Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a housing with a frame that supports lenses. Each lens may have a positive bias lens element and a negative bias lens element. A waveguide may overlap the lens. During operation, images from the waveguide may be provided to an eye box through the negative bias lens element. An eye sensor such as a gaze tracking camera may operate through the negative bias lens element. The negative bias lens element may have a protruding portion through which the sensor operates, may have a surface facing the sensor that has a curved surface to provide a desired lens characteristic, may have a prism for helping to couple light from the eye box to the eye sensor, and/or may have other features to facilitate use of the eye sensor to monitor the eye of a user in the eye box.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 15, 2023Publication date: January 25, 2024Inventors: Michael J. Oudenhoven, Brian S. Lau, Cameron A. Harder, Depeng Wang, Vikrant Bhakta
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Publication number: 20240027772Abstract: Electronic devices such as head-mounted electronic devices may include displays for presenting images to users. To accommodate variations in the interpupillary distances associated with different users, a head-mounted device may have actuators that move left-eye and right-eye optical modules with respect to each other. To hide internal structures from view, the rear of a head-mounted device may be provided with a cover. Capacitance sensor circuitry and/or switch-based sensor circuitry may use electrodes to measure nose contact arising from movement of the optical modules towards each other against the sides of a user's nose. The actuators may be halted or may otherwise be moved in response to sensor measurements, thereby avoiding undesired nose pressure as the optical modules are moved towards each other to accommodate a user's interpupillary distance.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 14, 2023Publication date: January 25, 2024Inventors: Michael J. Oudenhoven, Brian S. Lau, Jonathan M. Anderson
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Publication number: 20230377536Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a left display and a right display that provide respective left and right images. Left and right optical combiner systems may be configured to pass real-world light to left and right eye boxes while directing the left and right images respectively to the left and right eye boxes. Misalignment of the left and right images with respect to the left and right eye boxes may be detected using gaze tracking systems, using cameras such as front-facing cameras in conjunction with a database of known real-world object properties, using visual inertial odometry systems formed from cameras and inertial measurement units, or using one or more sensors in a portable head-mounted device case or other item with a receptacle configured to receive a head-mounted device. Compensating adjustments may be made to the images based on the measured misalignment.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 25, 2023Publication date: November 23, 2023Inventors: David A. Kalinowski, Brian S. Lau, Cameron A. Harder, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
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Publication number: 20230350633Abstract: A system can include head-mounted devices that collaborate to process views from cameras of the respective head-mounted devices and identify objects from different perspectives and/or objects that are within the view of only one of the head-mounted devices. Sharing sensory input between multiple head-mounted devices can complement and enhance individual units by interpreting and reconstructing objects, surfaces, and/or an external environment with perceptive data from multiple angles and positions, which also reduces occlusions and inaccuracies. As more detailed information is available at a specific moment in time, the speed and accuracy of object recognition, hand and body tracking, surface mapping, and/or digital reconstruction can be improved. Such collaboration can provide more effective and efficient mapping of space, surfaces, objects, gestures and users.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 26, 2023Publication date: November 2, 2023Inventors: Marinus Meursing, David A. Schmuck, Brian S. Lau, Jeremy C. Franklin
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Publication number: 20230308873Abstract: A system for user authentication can include a wearable device configured to detect an orientation of user's gaze. The wearable device can determine whether the orientation of the user's gaze satisfies a condition based at least in part on the location of a companion device, and transfer information to the companion device in response to determining whether the orientation of the user's gaze satisfies the condition.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 24, 2023Publication date: September 28, 2023Inventors: Michael J. Oudenhoven, Brian S. Lau, David A. Kalinowski
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Patent number: 11763779Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a left display and a right display that provide respective left and right images. Left and right optical combiner systems may be configured to pass real-world light to left and right eye boxes while directing the left and right images respectively to the left and right eye boxes. Misalignment of the left and right images with respect to the left and right eye boxes may be detected using gaze tracking systems, using cameras such as front-facing cameras in conjunction with a database of known real-world object properties, using visual inertial odometry systems formed from cameras and inertial measurement units, or using one or more sensors in a portable head-mounted device case or other item with a receptacle configured to receive a head-mounted device. Compensating adjustments may be made to the images based on the measured misalignment.Type: GrantFiled: March 3, 2021Date of Patent: September 19, 2023Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: David A. Kalinowski, Brian S. Lau, Cameron A. Harder, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
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Patent number: 11714285Abstract: Head-mountable devices can provide comfortable securement to a head of a user while also providing operative connections for communication across a hinge of the head-mountable device. The securement can be based on an arrangement of spring elements that have biased configurations and allow gentle retraction against a head of the user. Head-mountable devices of the present disclosure can provide adjustable securement against a head of a user by allowing custom fitting, for example with a tensioner.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2020Date of Patent: August 1, 2023Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: David A. Kalinowski, Cameron A. Harder, Brian S. Lau, Eric N. Vergo
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Patent number: 11520152Abstract: A head-mounted device may have displays that provide images. Waveguides may be used in conveying the images to eye boxes. The waveguides may overlap lenses in a glasses frame or other head-mounted support structure. The waveguides and lenses may be transparent. This allows real-world objects to be viewed from the eye boxes. Infrared-light reflectors may overlap the lenses. Gaze tracking system light sources may supply infrared light that reflects from the infrared-light reflectors to the eye boxes to illuminate a user's eyes. Gaze tracking system cameras capture gaze tracking images of the eyes from the eye boxes to track the user's gaze. Fiducials associated with the infrared-light reflectors may be monitored using the gaze tracking system cameras. This allows components such as the gaze tracking system cameras to be calibrated.Type: GrantFiled: July 1, 2021Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Brian S. Lau, David A. Kalinowski, Michael J. Oudenhoven
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Publication number: 20210405378Abstract: An electronic device may include an optical combiner with a waveguide. The waveguide may have an output coupler that directs high resolution light towards an eye box within a field of view. Peripheral light sources may provide low resolution peripheral light to the eye box about a periphery of the field of view. The peripheral light sources may be mounted to a frame for the waveguide, to an additional substrate mounted to the frame and overlapping the waveguide, in a low resolution projector that projects the peripheral light towards reflective structures in the additional substrate, or in a display module that produces the high resolution light. The optical combiner may overlay real world light with the high resolution light and the low resolution peripheral light.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 14, 2021Publication date: December 30, 2021Inventors: Hyungryul Choi, Bradley C. Steele, Brian S. Lau, Cameron A. Harder, David A. Kalinowski, Eric J. Hansotte, Guolin Peng, Scott M. DeLapp, Vikrant Bhakta, Jonathan C. Moisant-Thompson
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Patent number: 11189059Abstract: A head-mounted device can be operated with another device and/or object for which information is gathered to facilitate visual display of a representation thereof. An object can be provided with indicators that allow a head-mounted device to determine both an identity and a characteristic (e.g., position, orientation, distance, etc.) of the object. Additionally or alternatively, the head-mounted device can determine both an identity and a characteristic (e.g., position, orientation, distance, etc.) of an electronic device attached to an object for producing a virtual representation of the object. Additionally or alternatively, the head-mounted device can receive data from an electronic device attached to an object for producing a virtual representation of the object. The virtual representation of the object can resemble the physical object, even where the object itself is not independently analyzed.Type: GrantFiled: July 2, 2020Date of Patent: November 30, 2021Assignee: APPLE INC.Inventors: David A. Schmuck, Marinus Meursing, Brian S. Lau, Jeremy C. Franklin
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Publication number: 20210019919Abstract: A head-mounted device can be operated with another device and/or object for which information is gathered to facilitate visual display of a representation thereof. An object can be provided with indicators that allow a head-mounted device to determine both an identity and a characteristic (e.g., position, orientation, distance, etc.) of the object. Additionally or alternatively, the head-mounted device can determine both an identity and a characteristic (e.g., position, orientation, distance, etc.) of an electronic device attached to an object for producing a virtual representation of the object. Additionally or alternatively, the head-mounted device can receive data from an electronic device attached to an object for producing a virtual representation of the object. The virtual representation of the object can resemble the physical object, even where the object itself is not independently analyzed.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 2, 2020Publication date: January 21, 2021Inventors: David A. SCHMUCK, Marinus MEURSING, Brian S. LAU, Jeremy C. FRANKLIN
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Publication number: 20160308294Abstract: Board-to-board connectors are disclosed. The board to board connectors include a plurality of external connection structures, and a plurality of receptacle contacts. Each receptacle contact may be coupled to a corresponding external connection structure. Each receptacle contact may include an opening for receiving a plug contact for a corresponding plug side board-to-board connector, and an engaging feature where at least a portion of the engaging feature extends into a portion of the opening. The opening may have a receptacle alignment feature designed to correspond with a plug alignment feature on the plug side board-to-board connector.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2016Publication date: October 20, 2016Applicant: Apple Inc.Inventors: Trent K. Do, Brian S. Lau, Robert Scritzky, Aaron N. Miletich, George Tziviskos, Makiko Kawamura Brzezinski