US-12625394-B2 - Swappable battery for wearable devices

Abstract

A swappable battery and a swappable battery system for a near-eye device are described. In one aspect, the swappable battery may be detachably integrated into an outer surface of a near-eye device such that the swappable battery may be easily removable and replaceable by the user. In another aspect, the lid of the swappable battery may form an outer surface of the near-eye device when the swappable battery is attached. In some examples, the swappable battery may be detachably attached within a temple arm of a pair of smartglasses such that the outer surface of the swappable battery and the outer surface of the temple arm are substantially contiguous and flush.

Inventors

• Tianren Xu
• Karthik Kadirvel
• Bradley Spare
• Ankur Gupta
• Gregory Alan Roberts
• JASON HOWARD

Assignees

• META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240312

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A near-eye device, comprising: a frame; a temple connected to one end of the frame, the temple comprising a surface wall and a temple hole formed in the surface wall; a swappable battery to detachably attach to the surface wall of the temple, the swappable battery housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, wherein the swappable battery comprises: a battery housing fully assembled by a battery lid and a battery enclosure; a battery cell core disposed in the battery enclosure; and the battery lid: (i) to cover a top portion of the battery enclosure; (ii) have a larger size than the top portion of the battery enclosure; and (iii) extends beyond the top portion of the battery enclosure such that, when the swappable battery is housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, the battery lid covers a logic board within the temple, the logic board configured to control electronic components of the near-eye device; the battery lid forms a portion of the surface wall.
2. 2 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the surface wall is on an inner surface or an outer surface of the temple.
3. 3 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the battery enclosure and the battery lid are comprised of metal and form a metal housing.
4. 4 . The near-eye device of claim 3 , wherein the metal housing is to act as a heat sink, dissipating heat from an interior of the temple.
5. 5 . The near-eye device of claim 3 , wherein an outer surface of the battery lid of the metal housing is contiguous with the surface wall of the temple.
6. 6 . The near-eye device of claim 3 , wherein the battery enclosure forms an electrical connection to a terminal of the battery cell core.
7. 7 . The near-eye device of claim 3 , wherein the battery enclosure is insulated from an electrical connection to the battery cell core.
8. 8 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the battery lid is detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple.
9. 9 . The near-eye device of claim 8 , wherein the battery lid is detachably attached to the surface wall by a gasket.
10. 10 . The near-eye device of claim 8 , wherein the battery lid is detachably attached to the surface wall by a mechanical connection.
11. 11 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the swappable battery further comprises a battery management unit (BMU), and the battery lid extends over and covers the BMU.
12. 12 . The near-eye device of claim 11 , wherein the swappable battery further comprises a battery electrical connection to form an electrical connection with the near-eye device.
13. 13 . The near-eye device of claim 12 , wherein: the battery electrical connection is to form an electrical connection between the logic board and the BMU.
14. 14 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the near-eye device comprises a near-eye display device.
15. 15 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein the temple further comprises a battery management unit and the battery lid also covers the battery management unit.
16. 16 . The near-eye device of claim 1 , wherein, when the battery housing is fully assembled by the battery lid and the battery enclosure, the battery cell core is sealed within the battery enclosure.
17. 17 . A swappable battery for a near-eye device comprising: a battery housing fully assembled by a battery lid and a battery enclosure; a battery cell core disposed in the battery enclosure; and the battery lid: (i) to cover a top portion of the battery enclosure; and (ii) have a larger size than the top portion of the battery enclosure; the battery lid forms a portion of a surface wall of a temple of the near-eye device, wherein: the swappable battery is detachably attachable to the surface wall of the temple of the near-eye device by integrating into the surface wall such that the battery lid forms the portion of the surface wall, the temple includes a temple hole formed in the surface wall and the swappable battery is housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, and the battery lid extends beyond the top portion of the battery enclosure such that, when the swappable battery is housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, the battery lid covers a logic board within the temple, the logic board configured to control electronic components of the near-eye device.
18. 18 . The swappable battery of claim 17 , further comprising: a battery management unit (BMU) connected to the battery enclosure, wherein the battery lid extends over and covers the BMU.
19. 19 . A swappable battery system for a near-eye device comprising: a frame; a temple connected to one end of the frame, the temple comprising a surface wall and a temple hole formed in the surface wall; and a swappable battery to detachably attach to the surface wall of the temple, the swappable battery housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, wherein the swappable battery comprises: battery housing fully assembled by a battery lid and a battery enclosure; a battery cell core disposed in the battery enclosure; and the battery lid: (i) to cover a top portion of the battery enclosure; (ii) have a larger size than extend beyond the top portion of the battery enclosure; and (iii) extends beyond the top portion of the battery enclosure such that, when the swappable battery is housed within the temple hole when detachably attached to the surface wall of the temple, the battery lid covers a logic board within the temple, the logic board configured to control electronic components of the near-eye device; the battery lid forms a portion of the surface wall, wherein: the swappable battery is detachably attachable to the surface wall of the temple of the near-eye device by integrating into the surface wall such that the battery lid forms the portion of the surface wall.
20. 20 . The swappable battery system of claim 19 , wherein the near-eye device comprises: a display to present at least one of virtual reality (VR) content, augmented reality (AR) content, or mixed reality (MR) content.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. No. 63/456,908, entitled A DETACHABLE BATTERY FOR WEARABLE DEVICES and filed on Apr. 4, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This patent application relates generally to batteries used in wearable devices, and more specifically, to swappable batteries which may be integrated into near-eye display devices, and methods for manufacturing such swappable batteries. BACKGROUND With recent advances in technology, the prevalence and proliferation of content creation and delivery has increased greatly in recent years. In particular, interactive content such as virtual reality (VR) content, augmented reality (AR) content, mixed reality (MR) content, and content within and associated with a real and/or virtual environment (e.g., a “metaverse”) has become appealing to consumers. To facilitate delivery of this and other related content, service providers have endeavored to provide various forms of wearable display systems. One such example may be a head-mounted display (HMD) device, such as a wearable eyewear, a wearable headset, or eyeglasses. Wearable devices, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and/or mixed reality (MR) glasses, smartglasses, etc., may be fitted with one or more batteries to power mechanical, optical, and/or electrical components (e.g., sensors, cameras, illuminators, projectors, etc.) which perform the various functions of the wearable device. Such batteries may present many issues and concerns for user-friendly utilization of wearable devices. Such concerns include, for example, the relative ease and facility of battery charging and/or replacement, the constraints imposed by the relative size of the one or more batteries in relation to the entire wearable device, the efficiency of battery energy usage and retention, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figures, in which like numerals indicate like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following that alternative examples of the structures and methods illustrated in the figures can be employed without departing from the principles described herein. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a near-eye display device in the form of a pair of glasses, where a swappable battery is disposed in a temple of the near-eye device, according to an example. FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a temple with a swappable battery in a near-eye device in the form of a pair of glasses, according to an example. FIG. 2B illustrates an exploded perspective view of the swappable battery and other components in the temple of a near-eye device in the form of a pair of glasses in FIG. 2A, according to an example. FIG. 2C illustrates a view of a cross-section of the temple fully assembled with the swappable battery of a near-eye device in the form of a pair of glasses in FIGS. 2A and 2B, according to an example. FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded perspective view of a swappable battery and its components, which may be detachably integrated into a temple of a near-eye device in the form of a pair of glasses, according to an example. FIG. 3B illustrates a perspective view of the swappable battery and components of FIG. 3A, once fully assembled, according to an example. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate perspective views of a swappable battery with a blade type of battery electrical connection, which may be detachably integrated into a temple of a near-eye device in the form of a pair of glasses, according to an example. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for manufacturing a swappable battery for a near-eye device, according to an example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present application is described by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. It will be readily apparent, however, that the present application may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In other instances, some methods and structures readily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present application. As used herein, the terms “a” and “an” are intended to denote at least one of a particular element, the term “includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” means including but not limited to, and the term “based on” means based at least in part on. As used herein, a “near-eye device” may refer to any device (e.g., an optical device) that may be in close proximity to a user's eye. In some examples, a near-eye device may include a wearable headset or wearable eyewear, such as “smartglasses” which may provide audio and other content to the user,