Apple patents side-facing light design for head-mounted displays
Apple describes a design for a head-mounted device, such as a headset, that uses a flat circuit board running along the edge of the screen. This board holds a light-emitting diode (LED) that shines light outward, away from the display, rather than toward the user's eyes.
In the filing’s own words
A head-mountable electronic device includes an optical module frame, a display coupled to the optical module frame and extending in a display plane, and an eye-tracking assembly. The eye-tracking assembly includes a flat electrical cable, for example a flexible printed circuit (FPC), coupled to the optical module frame and disposed about a perimeter of the display, and a light emitting diode (LED) electrically coupled to the flat electrical cable and configured to direct light away from the display. The flat electrical cable defines a major plane oriented generally orthogonal to the display.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A head-mountable electronic device, comprising: an optical module frame; a display coupled to the optical module frame and extending in a display plane; a circuit board disposed about a perimeter of the display, a major plane of the circuit board being orthogonal to the display plane; and a side-firing light emitting diode (LED) mounted to the circuit board along the major plane on a surface facing away from the display.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- EYE-TRACKING ASSEMBLY
- Publication number
- US20260288239A1
- Application number
- 19678909
- Filed
- May 15, 2026
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06F 3/013 Physics & computingG02B 27/0093 Physics & computingG02B 27/0101 Physics & computingG02B 27/017 Physics & computingH05B 45/00 Electricity & electronicsH05B 47/195 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in AR, VR & displays
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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.