PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10600928-B1
Application Number: US-201715677947-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Systems with photovoltaic cells

Abstract:
An item may include circuitry, a battery that powers the circuitry, and one or more photovoltaic cells that are used to recharge the battery. The photovoltaic cell may be a thin-film photovoltaic cell with a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be formed from fabric, leather, polymer, or other soft materials. In arrangements where the substrate is formed from fabric with conductive strands, the photovoltaic cell may include a first electrical terminal coupled to a first conductive strand and a second electrical terminal coupled to a second conductive strand. The first and second conductive strands may be coupled to control circuitry. The control circuitry may route the electricity from the photovoltaic cell to a battery or other circuitry. Items such as cases, covers, bands, headphones, interiors, and other items may have flexible or soft surfaces that can form substrates for photovoltaic films.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An item, comprising:
 fabric having intertwined strands, wherein the strands include at least first and second conductive strands; 
 circuitry coupled to the first and second conductive strands; and 
 a photovoltaic cell on the fabric, wherein the photovoltaic cell has a first terminal coupled to the first conductive strand and a second terminal coupled to the second conductive strand, wherein the photovoltaic cell converts incoming light into electricity, and wherein the first conductive strand conveys the electricity from the photovoltaic cell to the circuitry. 
 
     
     
       2. The item defined in  claim 1  wherein the photovoltaic cell comprises a thin-film photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
       3. The item defined in  claim 2  wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell comprises at least one semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of: copper indium diselenide, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium diselenide, and cadmium sulfide. 
     
     
       4. The item defined in  claim 2  wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell wraps around the first conductive strand. 
     
     
       5. The item defined in  claim 1  wherein the strands include insulating strands that are intertwined with the first and second conductive strands. 
     
     
       6. The item defined in  claim 1  further comprising a battery, wherein the circuitry recharges the battery using the electricity from the photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
       7. The item defined in  claim 6  further comprising an input-output device coupled to the fabric, wherein the battery supplies power to the input-output device. 
     
     
       8. An item, comprising:
 communications circuitry that communicates wirelessly with an electronic device; 
 a battery that provides power to the communications circuitry; 
 a flexible material that forms a curved outer surface of the item; and 
 a thin-film photovoltaic cell on the flexible material, wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell conforms to the curved outer surface and wherein the flexible material has a conductive path that conveys electricity between the thin-film photovoltaic cell and the battery to charge the battery. 
 
     
     
       9. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the flexible material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: fabric, leather, and polymer. 
     
     
       10. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the flexible material comprises fabric. 
     
     
       11. The item defined in  claim 10  wherein the fabric comprises a conductive strand that forms the conductive path. 
     
     
       12. The item defined in  claim 11  wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell has a positive electrical terminal connected to the conductive strand. 
     
     
       13. The item defined in  claim 12  wherein the fabric comprises an additional conductive strand and wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell has a negative electrical terminal connected to the additional conductive strand. 
     
     
       14. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the flexible material forms part of a case that is configured to receive the electronic device. 
     
     
       15. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the flexible material forms part of a pair of headphones. 
     
     
       16. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the flexible material forms part of a cover for the electronic device. 
     
     
       17. The item defined in  claim 8  wherein the thin-film photovoltaic cell comprises a polycrystalline thin-film and has a thickness between 1 and 10 microns.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/397,098, filed Sep. 20, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with photovoltaic cells. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It may be desirable to transfer power between a source of power and circuitry that requires power. In some systems, a user must manually plug a power cable into equipment that requires power. In other systems, a user must align equipment to be powered with a wireless charging source. These types of systems can be cumbersome for users. For example, a user may not always have a power cable on hand or may not always be near a wireless charging source. 
     Photovoltaic cells are sometimes used to provide power for electronic equipment. However, it can be challenging to incorporate photovoltaic cells into different types of electronic equipment. For example, photovoltaic cells can be insufficiently flexible or overly bulky. 
     SUMMARY 
     An item may include circuitry, a battery that powers the circuitry, and a photovoltaic cell that is used to recharge the battery. The photovoltaic cell may be a thin-film photovoltaic cell with a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be formed from fabric, leather, polymer, or other soft materials. 
     A fabric-based item may have fabric with conductive strands and insulating strands. The conductive strands may form conductive signal paths and may be coupled to control circuitry. A photovoltaic cell may include a first electrical terminal coupled to a first conductive strand and a second electrical terminal coupled to a second conductive strand. The first and second conductive strands may be coupled to control circuitry. The control circuitry may route the electricity from the photovoltaic cell to a battery or other circuitry. 
     Items such as cases, covers, bands, headphones, interiors, and other items may have flexible or soft surfaces that can form substrates for photovoltaic films. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of an illustrative system in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device that may operate in the system of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative photovoltaic cell in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing how conductive yarn in a fabric may be coupled to control circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of illustrative fabric having a photovoltaic cell on a strand in the fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative strand that is coated with a photovoltaic film in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative fabric that is sandwiched between photovoltaic films in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative a photovoltaic cell attached to a layer of fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of a portion of an illustrative vehicle having one or more surfaces with photovoltaic coatings in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an electronic device and accessory having one or more photovoltaic cells in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a front view of an illustrative electronic device having one or more photovoltaic cells in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Items such as electronic devices, accessories, clothing, vehicles, and other items may include photovoltaic cells and other circuitry. A photovoltaic cell may be used as a light sensor, may be used to charge a battery, or may be used to power other circuitry in the item. 
     Photovoltaic cells may be incorporated into flexible items such as fabric-based items and other flexible items. Photovoltaic cells may be thin-film photovoltaic cells formed from thin-film layers that have been deposited on flexible substrates. The flexible substrate may be formed from a strand in a layer of fabric, a woven fabric, a leather or other soft material, a flexible polymer, or other flexible substrate. 
     A diagram of an illustrative operating environment in which electronic equipment with photovoltaic cells may operate is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic devices  10  may operate in outdoor environments such as outdoor environment  12  and indoor environments such as indoor environment  14 . Indoor environment  14  may be the inside of a room, a building, a vehicle, or other enclosure  24 . 
     Outdoor environment  12  may be include one or more outdoor light sources such as light source  22 . Light source  22  may be the sun, a street light, or other outdoor source of illumination  18 . Objects in outdoor environment  12  such as object  10  may be illuminated by light  18  from outdoor light source  22 . Indoor environment  14  may include one or more indoor light sources such as interior light source  16 . Light source  16  may be formed from one or more light-emitting diodes (e.g., red, green, and/or blue light-emitting diodes, white light-emitting diodes, etc.) or other source of illumination. Light source  16 , which may sometimes be referred to as an interior light source or interior light, may be located in interior  14  and may illuminate interior objects in interior  14  such as object  10 . Object  10  may also receive light  18  from outdoor light source  22  through a window such as window  20 . 
     Objects  10  may be configured to generate electricity using light  18 . For example, objects  10  may include one or more photovoltaic cells that convert light  18  into electricity. The electricity may be used to recharge a battery or to provide power to circuitry in object  10  or to circuitry in another object. 
     A schematic diagram of illustrative components that may be provided in objects  10  of the type shown in  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 2 . Electronic device  10  of  FIG. 2  may be an electronic device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic device  10  is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, other electronic equipment, or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. If desired, electronic device  10  may be a removable external case for electronic equipment or other device accessory, may be a strap, may be a wrist band or head band, may be a removable cover for a device, may be a case, backpack, or bag that has straps or that has other structures to receive and carry electronic equipment and other items, may be a necklace or arm band, may be a wallet, sleeve, pocket, or other structure into which electronic equipment or other items may be inserted, may be a tent, a sleeping bag, or other camping equipment, may be part of a chair, sofa, or other seating (e.g., cushions or other seating structures), may be part of an item of clothing or other wearable item (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, headband, shirt, pants, shoes, etc.), may be a keyboard, or may be any other suitable device that includes circuitry. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may have control circuitry  26 . Control circuitry  26  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  26  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry in device  10  such as input-output devices  28  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. Input-output devices  28  may include buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch sensors that are configured to serve as touch pads and other touch sensitive input devices, key pads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, sensors, light-emitting diodes and other light-emitting components, displays, data ports, etc. 
     Communications circuitry  30  may be used to transmit information from device  10  to other electronic equipment  88  and/or may be used to receive information from equipment  88  or other external equipment. For example, sensor data, other data, control information, and other information may be supplied from device  10  to corresponding control circuitry  90  in equipment  88  over wireless communications link  92  and/or sensor data, control information, and other information may be supplied from control circuitry  90  in equipment  88  to control circuitry  26  in device  10  over wireless communications link  92 . Communications circuitry  30  may include antennas and wireless local area network transceiver circuitry (e.g., WiFi® circuitry), Bluetooth® transceiver circuitry, cellular telephone transceiver circuitry, other radio-frequency transceiver circuitry (e.g., circuitry operating in bands from 700 MHz to 2700 MHz, below 700 MHz, above 2700 MHz, or other suitable wireless communications frequencies). If desired, circuitry  30  may include light sources and light detectors for handling wireless communications using light. Communications circuitry  30  may also include wired communications circuitry to support communications between device  10  and external equipment over a wired path (e.g., a cable, a signal bus integrated into a shuttle track, etc.). 
     Power source  32  may be used to supply control circuitry  28  and other components in device  10  with power. Power source  32  may include power storage devices such as batteries, capacitors, etc., may include wireless power receiver circuitry for wirelessly receiving power from other equipment (i.e., device  10  may include a coil and a wireless power receiver to receive transmitted wireless power), may include contacts for receiving power from a bus, or may receive other power source circuitry. Arrangements in which power source  32  is a battery are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     Electronic device  10  may include one or more photovoltaic cells  34 . Photovoltaic cells may be configured to convert light (e.g., light  18  of  FIG. 1 ) into electricity. The electricity may be used to charge battery  32  or may be used to power other circuitry in device  10  such as control circuitry  28  and input-output device  30 . Photovoltaic cells  34  may be formed from polycrystalline thin-films and may be relatively thin (e.g., between 1 and 10 microns or other suitable thickness) or photovoltaic cells  34  may be formed from crystalline silicon and may be relatively thick (e.g., between 100 and 300 microns or other suitable thickness). 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative photovoltaic cell. As shown in  FIG. 3 , photovoltaic cell  34  may include a light-sensitive layer such as light-sensitive layer  102 . Light-sensitive layer  102  may be formed from semiconducting materials that form a P-N junction. For example, light-sensitive layer  102  may include semiconductor layers  40  and  42 . Lower semiconductor layer  40  may be a P-type semiconductor layer and upper semiconductor layer  42  may be an N-type semiconductor layer, or lower semiconductor layer  40  may be an N-type semiconductor layer and upper semiconductor layer  42  may be a P-type semiconductor layer. Arrangements where upper layer  42  is N-type and lower layer  40  is P-type may be described herein as an example. 
     Layers  40  and  42  may include semiconductor materials such as amorphous silicon, single-crystalline silicon, thin-film silicon (e.g., nanocrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon), cadmium telluride, copper indium diselenide, cadmium sulfide, copper indium gallium diselenide, gallium indium phosphide, gallium arsenide, dye-sensitized solar cell materials, other organic materials, or other suitable materials. As examples, P-type layer  40  may be formed from P-type silicon (e.g., silicon doped with boron) and N-type layer  42  may be formed from N-type silicon (e.g., silicon doped with phosphorous), P-type layer  40  may be formed from copper indium diselenide and N-type layer  42  may be formed from cadmium sulfide, P-type layer  40  may be formed from cadmium telluride and N-type layer  42  may be formed from cadmium sulfide, or layers  40  and  42  may have other suitable combinations of semiconducting materials that form a P-N junction. The P-N junction formed by layers  40  and  42  creates an electric field in direction  104  in layer  102 . 
     Light-sensitive layer  102  may be a single junction photovoltaic cell with one band gap, or light-sensitive layer  102  may be a multijunction photovoltaic cell with multiple bandgaps to capture photons of different energies. 
     Light-sensitive layer  102  may be sandwiched between conductive layers such as conductive layer  46  (e.g., a negative terminal) and conductive layer  38  (e.g., a positive terminal). Conductive layer  46  and/or conductive layer  38  may be formed from transparent conductive materials such as an indium tin oxide coating, or may be formed from metal such as gold, tungsten, silver, aluminum, or other suitable metal. If desired, backside contact  38  may be formed from a heavily doped region that forms an Ohmic contact. Contacts  46  and  38  may be electrically coupled via signal path  96  and load  94 . Load  94  may be any suitable electrical load in device  10  that uses power (e.g., control circuitry  26 , input-output devices  28 , communications circuitry  30 , battery  32 , other circuitry, etc.). 
     Photovoltaic cell  34  may include a substrate such as substrate  36 . Substrate  36  may be formed from silicon, glass, metal foil, polymer (e.g., polyimide), fabric, paper, rubber, or other suitable material. Substrate  36  may be rigid or flexible. Substrate  36  may include conductive signal paths such as traces  62  that electrically couple contact  38  to contact  100 . Photovoltaic cell  34  may be electrically connected to other circuitry in device  10  such as load  94  using contact  100  on substrate  36 . Solder connections, welds, connections formed using connectors, anisotropic conductive film, and other electrical interconnect techniques may be used to couple photovoltaic cell  34  to load  94  (e.g., via contact  100 ). If desired, load  94  may be mounted directly to substrate  36  and may receive power from cell  34  over traces in substrate  36  such as trace  62 . 
     When light  18  strikes photovoltaic cell  34 , electrons may be ejected from the atoms in light-sensitive layer  102 . The electric field in light-sensitive layer  102  steers the electrons towards N-type layer  42 , causing electric current to flow through path  96  and provide power to load  94 . 
     In addition to or instead of being used as a source of electricity for electronic components in device  10 , photovoltaic cell  34  may be used as a light sensor. In particular, a voltage may be generated on photovoltaic cell  34  in response to incoming light  18 . Control circuitry  26  may sample this voltage to determine an intensity of incoming light  18 . Light intensity measurements gathered using photovoltaic cell  34  may be used to adjust a brightness level of a display in device  10  or to perform other functions. 
     An optional antireflective film such as antireflective film  44  may be formed over light-sensitive layer  102 . If desired, photovoltaic cell  34  may include additional layers of material such as a glass layer, an encapsulation layer, a metal foil layer, a zinc oxide layer, a carbon paste layer, a tin oxide layer or other oxide layer, a cadmium stannate layer, a cadmium sulfide layer, or other layers of material. If desired, one or more of the semiconductor layers in light-sensitive layer  102  may be alloyed with zinc, mercury, or other elements. The example of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. 
     Photovoltaic cell  34  may be formed using ingot-growth techniques, may be formed using thin-film deposition techniques (e.g., physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, a combination of two or more of these techniques, etc.), or may be formed using other suitable techniques. 
     Thin-film photovoltaic cells may be incorporated into soft and flexible materials. For example, items such as device  10  of  FIG. 2  may have one or more portions formed from soft materials such as leather, fabric, flexible polymers, or other flexible materials. The flexible material may form an outer housing or enclosure or may form part of a garment, a car interior, or other surface. It may be desirable to incorporate photovoltaic films in flexible materials. With thin-film deposition techniques, photovoltaic cells may be deposited on flexible substrates. In this way, a flexible material in an electronic device may form substrate  36  of photovoltaic cell  34  to provide a flexible photovoltaic cell on the desired surface of the electronic device or other item. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , for example, item  10  may include fabric  48  and control circuitry  26 . Fabric  48  may be woven fabric, knit fabric, braided material, felt, or other suitable fabric formed from intertwined strands of material such as strands  56 . In the illustrative arrangement of  FIG. 4 , fabric  26  is woven fabric that is formed from warp strands  52  and weft strands  54 . Fabric  48  may include insulating strands such as strands  521  and  541  and may include conductive strands such as strands  52 C and  54 C. 
     The strands of material in fabric  48  such as strands  56  may each include one or more monofilaments (sometimes referred to as fibers or monofilament fibers). The monofilaments may have one or more layers (e.g., a core layer alone, a core layer with an outer coating, a core layer with an inner coating layer that is covered with an outer coating layer, a core layer coated with three or more additional layers, etc.). Strands of material that are formed from intertwined monofilaments may sometimes be referred to as yarns, threads, multifilament strands or fibers, etc. In general, any suitable types of strands or combination of different types of strands may be used in forming fabric  48  (e.g., monofilaments, yarns formed from multiple monofilaments, etc.). Strands with multiple monofilaments may have 2-200 monofilaments, 2-50 monofilaments, 2-4 monofilaments, 2 monofilaments, 4 monofilaments, fewer than 10 monofilaments, 2-10 monofilaments, fewer than 6 monofilaments, more than 2 monofilaments, or other suitable number of monofilaments. 
     Insulating strands may be formed from one or more dielectric materials such as polymers, cotton and other natural materials, etc. Conductive strands may be formed from metal or other conductive material and optional dielectric. For example, conductive strands may be formed from solid monofilament wire (e.g., copper wire), wire that is coated with one or more dielectric and/or metal layers (e.g., copper wire that is coated with polymer), a monofilament of polymer coated with metal or other conductive material, a monofilament of polymer coated with metal that is covered with an outer polymer coating, etc. The diameter of the monofilaments may be 5-200 microns, more than 10 microns, 20-30 microns, 30-50 microns, more than 15 microns, less than 200 microns, less than 100 microns, or other suitable diameter. The thickness of each of the coatings in a monofilament may be less than 40% of the diameter of the monofilament, less than 10% of the diameter, less than 4% of the diameter, more than 0.5% of the diameter, 1-5% of the diameter, or other suitable thickness. If desired, conductive monofilaments may be intertwined to form conductive yarn. Conductive yarn may include only conductive monofilaments or may include a combination of conductive monofilaments and insulating monofilaments. 
     Conductive strands of material in fabric  48  may be used in conveying signals between control circuitry  26  and electrical components such as photovoltaic cell  34 , which has a first terminal coupled to conductive strand  52 C and a second terminal coupled to conductive strand  54 C. 
     If desired, other electronic components such as electronic component  130  may be coupled to conductive strands in fabric  48 . Other components that may be coupled to fabric  48  include input-output components such as buttons, touch sensors, light-based sensors such as light-based proximity sensors, force sensors, environmental sensors such as temperature sensors and humidity sensors, other sensors, status indicator lights and other light-based components such as light-emitting diodes for forming displays and other light-emitting structures, vibrators or other haptic output devices, etc. Electronic component  130  may, for example, form part of communications circuitry  30 , input-output devices  28 , or other circuitry in device  10 . 
     Electrical components such as photovoltaic cell  34  and electronic component  130  may be attached to fabric  48  using welds, solder joints, adhesive bonds (e.g., conductive adhesive bonds such as anisotropic conductive adhesive bonds or other conductive adhesive bonds), crimped connections, or other electrical and/or mechanical bonds. 
     Control circuitry  26  may gather electrical signals or other signals from cell  34  and/or other electronic components using conductive strands in fabric  48  or may apply control signals to cell  34  and/or other electronic components using conductive strands in fabric  48  (e.g., to route power signals from photovoltaic cell  34  to other circuitry in device  10  such as input-output devices  28 , communications circuitry  30 , battery  32 , or other circuitry, to light up light-emitting diodes in fabric  48  to display images or other light output on fabric  48 , to generate haptic output, etc.). 
     A cross-sectional side view of illustrative fabric that includes a photovoltaic cell of the type shown in  FIG. 3  is shown in  FIG. 5 . In the example of  FIG. 5 , photovoltaic film  34  is formed on an individual strand in fabric  48  such as conductive warp strand  52 C. If desired, photovoltaic film  34  may be formed on a conductive weft strand or other conductive strand in fabric  48 . The example of  FIG. 5  is merely illustrative. 
     If desired, strand  52 C of  FIG. 5  may be used as substrate  36  of  FIG. 3  (e.g., positive electrode  38  of  FIG. 3  may be formed directly on conductive strand  52 C). With this type of arrangement, conductive strands in fabric  48  such as strand  52 C may form signal paths  62  of  FIG. 3  and may be used to convey electricity from positive terminal  38  to load  94  (e.g., input-output devices  28 , communications circuitry  30 , battery  32 , or other circuitry). A second conductive strand in fabric  48  (e.g., conductive weft strand  54 C of  FIG. 4 ) may be electrically coupled to negative terminal  46  in photovoltaic cell  34 , or a separate conductive path may be coupled to negative terminal  46 . 
     In other arrangements, photovoltaic cell  34  may include a separate substrate that attaches to strand  52 C. With this type of arrangement, photovoltaic cell  34  may be electrically coupled to conductive stand  52 C via traces  62  in substrate  36  that is separate from strand  52 C. 
     The layers of photovoltaic film  34  may be deposited directly on strand  52 C or the layers of photovoltaic cell  34  may be deposited on a carrier substrate and then transferred from the carrier substrate to strand  52 C. Photovoltaic cell  34  may be formed on strand  52 C before or after strand  52 C is intertwined with other strands  56  (e.g., before or after weaving, knitting, braiding, etc.). 
     Electrical signals from photovoltaic cell  34  may be carried from cell  34  to load  94  over conductive strand  52 C. This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, photovoltaic cell  34  may be mounted on strands in fabric  48  without having the electrical signals carried by strands in the fabric (e.g., a separate substrate on strands  56  may convey signals between photovoltaic cell  34  and load  94 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 5 , photovoltaic cell  34  only wraps partially around strand  52 C. If desired, photovoltaic cell  34  may wrap entirely around a strand in fabric  48 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     Photovoltaic cells of  FIGS. 5 and 6  may extend continuously along the length of strand  56 , may be multiple discrete cells distributed along the length of strands  56 , may be distributed among both warp strands  52  and weft strands  54 , may cover every strand  56  in fabric  48  or only 10%, 20%, 50%, 80%, or other suitable percentage of strands  56  in fabric  48 , or may have other suitable configurations. 
     If desired, photovoltaic cells  34  may be applied to an upper surface and/or a lower surface of a fabric layer, as shown in  FIG. 7 . In the example of  FIG. 7 , fabric  48  is sandwiched between two photovoltaic layers  34 . Photovoltaic layers  34  may each include one or more photovoltaic cells. 
     If desired, fabric  48  may be used as substrate  36  of  FIG. 3  (e.g., rear contact  38  of  FIG. 3  may be formed directly on fabric  48 ). For example, fabric  48  may include conductive strands that form signal paths  62 . Signal paths  62  may be used to convey electricity from lower contact  38  of cell  34  to load  94 . In other arrangements, photovoltaic cell  34  may include a separate substrate that attaches to fabric  48 . 
     If desired, photovoltaic cell  34  may be mechanically coupled to fabric  48  using an adhesive such as adhesive layer  58  of  FIG. 8 . The connection between photovoltaic cell  34  and fabric  48  may be purely mechanical (e.g., fabric  48  may not be electrically coupled to photovoltaic cell  34 ), or if desired, photovoltaic cell  34  may be both mechanically and electrically coupled to conductive strands in fabric  48 . For example, a conductive material may electrically connect contact  38  of cell  34  or contact  100  of substrate  36  to fabric  48 . If desired, adhesive  58  may be anisotropic conductive adhesive that electrically couples contact  38  or contact  100  of cell  34  to fabric  48 . 
     An illustrative example of a system that may be provided with photovoltaic cells is shown in  FIG. 9 . In the example of  FIG. 9 , system  10  may be a vehicle, a kiosk, a room in an office or other building, or other environment having circuitry that requires power. Illustrative configurations in which system  10  is a vehicle may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , system  10  may include windows such as front window  64 , side windows  72 , and one or more top windows  70  (e.g., a skylight) that are mounted in body  108 . Body  108  may have doors  74 . The surfaces of doors  74  may sometimes be referred to as door panels and face the interior of body  108 . Dashboard  66  may be located in front of seats  68 . 
     System  10  may contain a battery (see, e.g., battery  32  of  FIG. 2 ). System  10  may also contain circuitry (see, e.g., control circuitry  26  of  FIG. 2 ) for controlling the operation of system  10 . For example, in scenarios in which system  10  is an electric vehicle, control circuitry  26  may be used in controlling functions such as steering, braking, acceleration and controlling other vehicle functions. Circuitry  26  may also include power circuitry for use in recharging battery  32 . The power circuitry may be used in delivering power from a source such as photovoltaic cells  34  to battery  34  or may, if desired, be used in delivering power from photovoltaic cells  34  directly to other circuitry in system  10 . 
     Photovoltaic cells may be incorporated into any suitable surface in vehicle  10 . As examples, photovoltaic films  34  may be provided on windows of system  10  (e.g., front window  64 , skylight window  70 , side windows  72 , rear windows in system  10 , or other suitable windows), the interior surface of doors  74  (e.g., on door panels), on dashboard  66  (e.g., locations associated with input-output components and/or other portions of dashboard  66 ), on horizontal areas (seating surfaces) of seats  68 , on the front of rear of seatbacks in seats  68 , on the front or rear of headrests on seats  66 , on a headliner (e.g., on the interior of a vehicle roof), on interior surfaces of A pillars, B pillars, C pillars, or other structural components), on seatbelts, on a steering wheel, on an arm rest or console between seats  66 , on an arm rest on doors  74 , on mirrors, on rear seat footwells or other portions of the floor of system  10 , or any other interior surfaces of system  10 . 
     If desired, photovoltaic cells  34  may be incorporated into soft surfaces such as fabric, leather, or other flexible materials in system  10 . For example, fabrics of the type shown in  FIGS. 4-8  may be used as substrates for photovoltaic films  34  in system  10  (e.g., substrate  36  of  FIG. 3 ). This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, other materials (e.g., polymer, glass, or other materials) may be used as substrates for photovoltaic cells  34 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an example in which photovoltaic cells are provided on an accessory for an electronic device. 
     Electronic device  78  may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 10 , device  78  is a portable device such as a cellular telephone, media player, tablet computer, or other portable computing device. Other configurations may be used for device  78  if desired. The example of  FIG. 10  is merely illustrative. 
     Accessory may protect device  78 , carry device  78  and/or provide input to or receive output from device  78 . As other examples, accessory  10  may be a display cover and device  78  may be an electronic device with a display, accessory  10  may be a band and device  78  may be a wrist-watch device, accessory  10  may be a keyboard and device  78  may be an electronic device that receives keyboard input, accessory  10  may be a stylus and device  78  may be an electronic device that receives stylus input, or accessory  10  and device  78  may have other suitable configurations. Configurations in which accessory  10  is a case and electronic device  78  is a portable device such as a cellular telephone, media player, tablet computer, or other portable computing device are sometimes described herein as an example. 
     As shown in the exploded perspective view of  FIG. 10 , device  78  may have a housing with a rectangular outline. Case  10  may have a body portion such as body  76  that has a mating rectangular recess  112  that is configured to receive device  78 . If desired, straps or other structures may be used to secure device  78  within case  10 . 
     Body  76  may be formed from plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, sapphire and other crystalline materials, organic materials such as wood or leather, fabric, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. In some arrangements, case  76  may have a battery (see, e.g., battery  32  of  FIG. 2 ) that provides power to device  78 . Plug  82  in case  10  may mate with connector port  80  of device  78  and may be used to deliver power to device  78 . Case  10  may not include a battery in configurations in which it is desired to save weight and cost. 
     Photovoltaic cell  34  may be formed on a rear surface of case  10  (e.g., opposite cavity  112 ), may be formed on the sides or other surface of case  10 , or may be formed within case  10  and may receive light through a window (e.g., a transparent surface or light guide) on case  10 . If desired, accessory  10  may have fabric portions, leather portions, plastic portions, and/or other flexible materials that form substrate  36  in cell  34 . 
     Accessory  10  may contain circuitry (see, e.g., control circuitry  26  of  FIG. 2 ) for controlling the operation of accessory. Circuitry  26  may include power circuitry for recharging battery  32  in case  10  and/or for recharging a battery in device  78 . The power circuitry may be used in delivering power from photovoltaic cells  34  to battery  32  in accessory  10  and/or to a battery in device  78 . If desired, circuitry  26  may be used in delivering power from photovoltaic cells  34  directly to other circuitry in accessory  10  and/or device  78 . 
     If desired, photovoltaic cells  34  may be incorporated into fabric surfaces in accessory  10 . For example, fabrics of the type shown in  FIGS. 4-8  may be used as substrates for photovoltaic films  34  in accessory  10 . This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, other materials (e.g., leather, polymer, glass, or other materials) may be used as substrates (e.g., substrate  36  of  FIG. 3 ) for photovoltaic cells  34 . 
     Another illustrative example of a system that may be provided with photovoltaic cells is shown in  FIG. 11 . In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 11 , device  10  is a portable electronic device such as a pair of headphones (e.g., a pair of earbuds, over-the-ear headphones, on-the-ear headphones, or other earphones). Other configurations may be used for device  10  if desired. The example of  FIG. 11  is merely illustrative. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , device  10  may have ear cups such as ear cups  86 . There may be two ear cups  86  in device  10  that are coupled by a support such as band  84 . Band  84  may be flexible and may have a curved shape to accommodate a user&#39;s head. There may be left and right ear cups  86  in device  10 , one for one of the user&#39;s ears and the other for the other one of the user&#39;s ears. Photovoltaic coatings  34  may be incorporated into band  84  and/or cups  86  of device  10 . If desired, device  10  may have fabric portions, leather portions, plastic portions, and/or other flexible materials that form substrate  36  in cell  34 . 
     Electronic device  10  may contain circuitry (see, e.g., control circuitry  26  of  FIG. 2 ) for controlling the operation of electronic device  10 . For example, in scenarios in which electronic  10  is a pair of headphones, control circuitry  26  may include audio components such a microphones and speakers (e.g., left and right speakers), wireless communications circuitry (e.g., for receiving audio control signals from or sending control signals to another electronic device that is wirelessly paired with electronic device  10 ), noise cancellation circuitry, and other circuitry. In arrangements where headphones  10  are configured to operate wirelessly, headphones  10  may contain a battery (see, e.g., battery  32  of  FIG. 2 ). Circuitry  26  may include power circuitry for recharging battery  32 . The power circuitry may be used in delivering power from a source such as photovoltaic cells  34  to battery  32  or may, if desired, be used in delivering power from photovoltaic cells  34  directly to other circuitry in system  10 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20170815
Publication Date: 20200324
Grant Date: 20200324
Priority Date: 20160920
Inventors: WALKER, JOSEPH B.
BERGERON, KATHLEEN A.
SUNSHINE, Daniel D.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/163", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/263", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B60R16/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1633", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J7/35", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0076", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B60R16/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/0296", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/03926", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0088", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D03D1/0076", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1633", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/02021", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J7/35", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/0445", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/0322", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L31/053", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/126", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/123", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/955", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/90", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F19/30", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/1698", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10F77/1698", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2200/1633", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H02J7/35", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "B60R16/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02E10/50", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69902668