Fabric-Covered Electronic Device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023239602-A1
Application number	US-202318295620-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 4, 2023
Priority date	Apr 5, 2018
Publication date	Jul 27, 2023
Grant date	—

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 fabric layer that overlaps the surface region of the housing wall; a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound; a microphone coupled to the housing configured to receive a voice command; and light sources configured to display diffuse moving patterns of light through the fabric layer in response to the microphone receiving the voice command.

2 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the fabric layer comprises optical fibers and wherein light from the light sources is coupled into the optical fibers and guided within interiors of the optical fibers.

3 . The electronic device defined in claim 2 , wherein a given one of the optical fibers is a lossy optical fiber that emits guided light along its length.

4 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the housing wall has openings that allow the sound to pass.

5 . The electronic device defined in claim 4 , wherein the openings are diamond-shaped openings.

6 . The electronic device defined in claim 1 , wherein the fabric layer has openings that allow the sound to pass.

7 . The electronic device defined in claim 6 , wherein the openings are diamond-shaped openings.

8 . An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a housing wall; a fabric layer that overlaps the housing wall; a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound through the housing wall and the fabric layer; a microphone in the housing configured to receive a voice command; and light sources in the housing configured to display light patterns of multiple colors as a visual indication that a voice command has been received by the microphone, wherein the light sources are configured to display the light patterns from at least a portion of the fabric layer.

9 . The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the fabric layer comprises optical fibers and wherein light from the light sources is coupled into the optical fibers and guided within interiors of the optical fibers.

10 . The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein a given one of the optical fibers is a lossy optical fiber that emits guided light along its length.

11 . The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the housing wall has a surface region having compound curvature.

12 . The electronic device defined in claim 11 , wherein the portion of the fabric layer overlaps the surface region of the housing wall.

13 . The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the housing wall has openings that allow the sound to pass.

14 . The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the fabric layer has openings that allow the sound to pass.

15 . An electronic device, comprising:
a housing having a housing wall; a fabric layer that overlaps the housing wall, wherein the fabric layer comprises optical fibers; a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound through the housing wall and the fabric layer; a microphone in the housing configured to receive a voice command; and light sources configured to emit light into the optical fibers in response to a voice command, wherein the light is guided within the optical fibers by total internal reflection.

16 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the optical fibers are lossy optical fibers.

17 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein each optical fiber has a respective length and wherein each optical fiber scatters and emits guided light along the respective length of that optical fiber.

18 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the light sources emit light into ends of the optical fibers.

19 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the housing wall has openings that allow the sound to pass.

20 . The electronic device defined in claim 15 , wherein the fabric layer has openings that allow the sound to pass.

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

• H04R1/025 Primary

  Arrangements for fixing loudspeaker transducers, e.g. in a box, furniture · CPC title

• H05K1/03

  Use of materials for the substrate · CPC title

• H05K5/03

  Covers · CPC title

• H04R2201/025

  Transducer mountings or cabinet supports enabling variable orientation of transducer of cabinet · CPC title

• H04R1/023 Primary

  Screens for loudspeakers · CPC title