WithGoogle 和 Magic Leappartnering to collaborate on future AR/XR experiences in eyewear it's always great to discover new patents from Apple on future smartglasses. Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a patent application from Apple that relates to eyewear frames and hinges.
In Apple's patent background they note that hinges of eyewear are common points of failure and nuisance for manufacturers and wearers. There is a constant need for improvements to eyewear comfort, aesthetics, quality, manufacturing efficiency, and durability, especially with respect to the hinges incorporated in eyewear bearing electronic components.
Dual Axis-Hinge Mechanism
Apple's invention relates to eyewear worn on a user's head that has a frame configured to be positioned in front of the eye(s) and an arm connected to the frame by a hinge that allows the arm to fold into a storage position relative to the frame. The hinge is configured to automatically move to two different stable positions relative to the frame, such as, for example, the folded position with the arm at an about 90-degree angle relative to a projection portion of the frame to which the hinge is connected, and a nominal, open, or unfolded position wherein the arm extends at an about 180-degree angle relative to the frame projection. In this way, the hinge can be referred to as being bi-stable, wherein it is stable when folded and unfolded, and the hinge is biased to automatically move and transition the angular orientations of the frame and arm (e.g., snap) to those positions due to a moment applied by a biasing member when the angle between the frames in the hinge is not at the about 90-degree angle or the about 180-degree angle relative to the projection portion of the frame.
When the eyewear is in the nominal open configuration, a rear facing surface of the frames and a front facing surface of the arm can face each other and can be parallel to each other while contacting each other. In this manner, the hinge for the arm can have minimal space between the frame and the arm, thereby reducing the probability that hair or other debris gets trapped or snagged in the hinge while the frames are open and in the nominal position (e.g., while being worn or while resting on a desktop). Additionally, the outer surfaces surrounding the hinge on the frame and arm can have similar dimensions, curvature, and other surface characteristics to help the hinge more seamlessly visually blend into the eyewear.
Within the housing of the frame, the hinge can have a cam portion and a cam supporting surface, wherein the cam portion is biased into contact with the cam supporting surface by a biasing member (e.g., a torsion spring). The perimeter of the cam can have some outer surfaces that are flat or flattened relative to other outer transition surfaces of the cam that can contact the cam supporting surface. One flat or flattened surface can engage the cam supporting surface when the arm is in the folded configuration, and another flat or flattened surface can engage the cam supporting surface when the arm is in the open, nominal configuration.
Curved or transition surfaces between the flat or flattened surfaces can help the cam slidably rotate against the cam supporting surface to snap, jump, slide, or otherwise transition to the folded or nominal configurations where the flat or flattened surfaces stably engage the cam supporting surface. In this way, the cam and the cam supporting surface of the hinge can provide the bi-stable movement of the eyewear arm. The surfaces of the cam can be designed to respond to a torque applied by the biasing member, wherein with the arm at a transition position between the folded position and the nominal position, application of a moment to the arm toward one of these positions will cause the arm to automatically move (e.g., snap, glide, or otherwise rotate or translate) to that position without need for the initial moment or torque to be constantly applied by a user.
Once the arm reaches one of the stable positions, it will come to rest in that position and will resist rotation out of that position unless a sufficient moment or torque is applied that overcomes the biasing moment from the biasing member.
The size, shape, and positioning of the arm relative to the frame can be designed to accommodate and comfortably stay positioned on a wide range of users' heads. Additionally, to accommodate an additional range of larger head sizes, the arms of the eyewear can be configured to hyperextend relative to the frame (e.g., an additional few or several degrees) while still providing a comfortable and secure clamping force to the sides on the user's head.
A single hinge for the eyewear can be referred to as having dual axes of rotation. The arm can rotate relative to the frame about a first axis of rotation extending through the cam while transitioning between the folded configuration and the nominal configuration. The arm can also rotate relative to the frame about a second axis of rotation extending through a shaft or other pivot axis that is offset from the first axis of rotation, extending through a biasing member of the hinge, and/or positioned laterally external to the perimeter of the cam while transitioning between the nominal configuration and the hyperextended position. Implementing two axes of rotation in this manner can enable the front and rear facing surfaces to sit flush, in contact, and parallel to each other in the nominal configuration, while still allowing hyperextension or folding of the arm when needed.
Eyewear of the present disclosure can include various types of eyeglasses (e.g., glasses with prescription lenses, sunglasses, bifocals, reading glasses, fashion frames, lensless frames, etc.), spectacles, goggles, headsets (e.g., virtual reality, alternate reality, or otherwise modified reality headsets), eye patches, masks (e.g., eye masks, sleep masks, costumes, etc.), and other devices worn on the head.
“Electronic eyewear” includes head-mounted devices (e.g., virtual reality, alternate reality, or otherwise modified reality headsets or glasses/spectacles incorporating aspects thereof) that include electronic components such as circuits, electrically-connected sensors, processors, electronic memory devices, electrical energy sources (e.g., batteries), and electronic input and output devices (e.g., displays, switches, buttons, etc.).
Apple's patentFIG. 3below shows an internal rear perspective view of a hinge of the eyewear in a nominal position;FIG. 4shows an external rear perspective view of the hinge of the eyewear in a folded position;图 7shows a perspective view of portions of the hinge in a nominal position;FIG. 8shows a perspective view of portions of the hinge in a nominal position with the arm and frame shown in broken lines.
Apple's patent FIG. 16 above illustrates a perspective top view of a cam portion of the hinge of the eyewear; FIG. 17 illustrates a simplified top view of a cable routed through the hinge of the eyewear.
Translated from: patentlyapple
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