Apple gains patent for head-mounted display with vision correction

Vision correction system eliminates the need for users to wear prescription glasses to enjoy mixed reality content

Apple has been granted patent for head-mounted display device with vision correction system. Image Copyright: Apple
Apple has been granted patent for head-mounted display device with vision correction system. Image Copyright: Apple
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Apple has been granted a patent for a head-mounted display (HMD) device with a vision correction system that eliminates the need for users to wear prescription glasses to enjoy mixed reality (MR) content.

On Thursday, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published the details of two patent applications from Apple elaborating the details of the company's future eyewear in both HMD and glasses.

The first patent, entitled "Head-Mounted Display Device With Vision Correction", talks about a vision correction optical system that incorporates user's prescription glasses in the system. The system automatically adjusts the optics to address users' vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. As a result, the system can eliminate the need to wear glasses while using Apple's HMD.

"Huge Apple Patent. This shows Apple can make your vision better," Robert Scoble, Chief Strategy Officer at Infinite Retina said on Twitter.

Apple's head-mounted display will include an optical system and a display system within a housing.  The display system will feature displays to produce images, while positioners will be used to move the displays relative to the users' eye positions.

The patent application further reveals that "an adjustable optical system may include tunable lenses such as tunable cylindrical liquid crystal lenses" and that "the displays may be viewed through the lenses when the user's eyes are at the eye positions."

The head-mounted display may include a sensor to measure refractive errors in the user's eyes. The sensor will likely include waveguides and volume holograms, and a camera for collecting light reflecting from the retinas of the user's eyes.

"Viewing comfort may be enhanced by adjusting display positions relative to the eye positions and/or by adjusting lens settings based on the content being presented on the display and/or measured refractive errors."

The USPTO has also published the details of a second patent application entitled "Optical Systems with Multi-Layer Holographic Combiners" relating to Apple's future HMD and glass devices.

The details of two Apple patents follow technology analyst Jon Prosser's claims last month that Apple is working on a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that can support 5G networks.

Prosser said that he had seen two prototypes of Apple's AR glasses or 'Apple Glasses' at the company's premises, and that they were not sunglasses but normal prescription glasses displaying an interface on the inside of the lens.

According to Prosser, a person facing an Apple Glasses-wearing user will not see the AR display which will overlay digital images over the user's real-life surroundings.

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