Fabric-covered electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11653128-B2
Application number	US-202117475094-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2021
Priority date	Apr 5, 2018
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

An electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing characterized by a vertical longitudinal axis. A flexible substrate such as a flexible mesh substrate with component support regions coupled by flexible segments may be wrapped around the housing and the vertical axis. The housing may have surface regions with compound curvature. The flexible substrate may conform to the regions with compound curvature. A fabric spacer layer may be interposed between the flexible substrate and the housing. Electrical components such as input-output devices may be mounted to the component support regions. A display may be formed from an array of light-emitting devices that are mounted on respective component support regions. Light from the light-emitting devices may pass through the fabric spacer layer toward the housing and back out away from the housing. An outer fabric layer may cover the mesh.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a housing wall with a surface region having compound curvature;
a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound;
a flexible polymer mesh having openings that form component support regions coupled by flexible polymer segments, wherein the flexible polymer mesh conforms to the surface region having compound curvature;
electrical components mounted on the flexible polymer mesh;
a first fabric layer interposed between the flexible polymer mesh and the housing wall; and
a second fabric layer, wherein the flexible polymer mesh is interposed between the second fabric layer and the first fabric layer, wherein the electrical components are configured to emit light that passes through the first fabric layer before passing through the second fabric layer.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the speaker is configured to emit the sound through the housing wall and the flexible polymer mesh, and wherein the electronic device further comprises:
at least one reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer interposed between the first fabric layer and the housing wall, wherein the reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer is configured to reflect the emitted light that passes through the first fabric layer back through the first fabric layer toward the flexible polymer mesh.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the speaker is configured to emit the sound through the housing wall and the flexible polymer mesh.

4. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a housing wall with a surface region having compound curvature;
a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound;
a flexible polymer mesh having openings that form component support regions coupled by flexible polymer segments, wherein the flexible polymer mesh conforms to the surface region having compound curvature;
electrical components mounted on the flexible polymer mesh;
a first fabric layer interposed between the flexible polymer mesh and the housing wall; and
at least one reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer interposed between the first fabric layer and the housing wall, wherein the reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer is configured to reflect emitted light that passes through the first fabric layer back through the first fabric layer toward the flexible polymer mesh.

5. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a surface region having compound curvature, wherein the housing has first openings;
a flexible polymer mesh having second openings defined by component support regions and flexible polymer segments between the component support regions, wherein the flexible polymer mesh conforms to the surface region having compound curvature;
a fabric layer that overlaps an exterior surface of the housing, wherein the fabric layer has third openings;
a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound through the first openings in the housing, the second openings in the flexible polymer mesh, and the third openings in the fabric layer; and
light-emitting devices mounted on the flexible polymer mesh.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the flexible polymer mesh is interposed between the housing and the fabric layer.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 6 , wherein the electronic device further comprises:
an additional fabric layer interposed between the flexible polymer mesh and the housing.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 , wherein the light-emitting devices are configured to emit light that passes through the additional fabric layer before passing through the fabric layer.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the electronic device further comprises:
a reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer interposed between the flexible polymer mesh and the housing.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the reflective acoustically transparent component-hiding layer is configured to reflect emitted light from the light-emitting devices through the flexible polymer mesh and the fabric layer.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 5 , wherein the electronic device further comprises:
a reflective layer interposed between the flexible polymer mesh and the housing.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the reflective layer is configured to reflect emitted light from the light-emitting devices through the flexible polymer mesh and the fabric layer.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the reflective layer comprises a polymer layer and a reflective coating.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Sunshine Daniel D
• Crews Kathryn P
• Hunter Tirshathah A
• Bergeron Kathleen A
• Ha Mingjing
• Gandhi Shubham A
• Drzaic Paul S
• Hsu Yung-Yu
• Lum David W

Classifications

• H04R1/028 Primary

  associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles · CPC title

• H05K1/0283

  Stretchable printed circuits · CPC title

• H04R2499/15

  Transducers incorporated in visual displaying devices, e.g. televisions, computer displays, laptops · CPC title

• H05K1/189

  characterised by the use of flexible or folded printed circuits · CPC title

• G06F1/181

  Enclosures (for portable computers G06F1/1613) · CPC title