Apple patents headset design with cameras floating in the middle
This patent describes a head-mounted device, likely a VR or AR headset, where the main housing has a central section between the left and right eye displays. A bracket holds cameras in this central area, with its ends suspended in the air rather than touching the outer shell.
In the filing’s own words
A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted housing that is configured to be worn on a head of a user. While the head-mounted device is being worn, displays in the head-mounted device may provide images to eye boxes. The user may view images in the eye boxes. The head-mounted housing may have a forward-facing front portion, may have a rearward-facing rear portion that faces away from the front portion towards the eye boxes, and may have a middle portion between the front and rear portions. The middle portion may have openings that receive left and right optical modules containing left and right displays and corresponding left and right lenses. A camera bracket and optical module guide rails may be centrally attached to the middle housing portion between the left and right openings and may have ends that are suspended in air.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A head-mounted device, comprising: a head-mounted housing having a central interior portion, a left portion on a first side of the central interior portion, and a right portion on a second side of the central interior portion, opposite the first side, and having interior surfaces; left and right optical assemblies respectively in the left and right portions of the head-mounted housing; a bracket mounted to the central interior portion, wherein the bracket has opposing left and right ends that are suspended in air within an interior of the head-mounted housing across the left and right portions of the head-mounted housing and are separated from the interior surfaces by gaps; and left and right cameras mounted, respectively, to the left and right ends of the bracket.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Display systems with component mounting structures
- Patent number
- US12769088B2
- Application number
- 18435407
- Filed
- Feb 7, 2024
- Granted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Inventors
- 9
- Claims
- 19
Classified under
G02B 7/12 Physics & computingG06F 1/163 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AR, VR & displays
- Apple patents AR glasses that zoom in on what you look at Sep 8, 2026
- Apple patents finger ring that controls VR with taps and waves Sep 15, 2026
- Apple patents head-mounted device that types via eye swipes and hand pinches Oct 6, 2026
- Apple patents eye-tracking and hand gestures to select screen items Oct 20, 2026
- Apple patents AR glasses that adjust lenses to fit your eyes Sep 17, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.