PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11460622-B1
Application Number: US-202117351099-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Voice-controlled speaker device with visual feedback

Abstract:
An electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing. A speaker and other input-output components and control circuitry may be mounted within the housing. Light-emitting components may emit light that passes through a curved upper top cap portion or other housing structure. The light-emitting components may be interconnected using a flex circuit on a curved substrate or may be mounted on a planar circuit board. A subset of the light-emitting components may be rotated to improve color balance. Optical structures such as light guides, lens, microlenses, and/or a diffuser layer may be disposed over the light-emitting components to promote light mixing, to reduce hotspots, and to improve contrast on the top cap. The diffuser layer may be suspended using a support structure having baffle members to constraint the angular spread of the emitted light. Illuminated or persistently visible glyphs may be displayed in or near the top cap portion.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a speaker in the housing configured to emit sound; 
 light-emitting components configured to emit light through a curved portion of the housing; and 
 a light guide and lens structure over the light-emitting components, wherein the light guide and lens structure is configured to project the light emitted from the light-emitting components onto the curved portion, and wherein the light guide and lens structure is separated from and the curved portion by an air gap. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the housing is spherical. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the curved portion comprises a dome-like portion of the housing. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the curved portion comprises a hemispherical portion of the housing. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting components comprise light-emitting components selected from the group consisting of light-emitting diodes and lasers. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 5 , wherein the light-emitting components are mounted on a planar printed circuit substrate. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 6 , wherein a first subset of the light-emitting components have a given orientation on the planar substrate and wherein a second subset of the light-emitting components are rotated by an angle with respect to the given orientation. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 7 , wherein the angle of rotation is equal to 90° or 180°. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises:
 a plurality of light guides each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components; and 
 a plurality of lenses each of which is aligned with a respective one of the plurality of light guides. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device of  claim 9 , wherein the light guide and lens structure further comprises a prism-type edge portion configured to direct light emitted from some of the light-emitting components to a lateral edge of the curved portion via total internal reflection. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises a molded transparent polymer structure. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises:
 a plurality of light guides each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components; and 
 a microlens array over the plurality of light guides, wherein the curved portion is as wide as the microlens array. 
 
     
     
       13. The electronic device of  claim 12 , wherein each light guide in the plurality of light guides has a bottom portion with a circular, octagonal, square, oval, or polygonal cross-section, and a curved flared upper portion. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device of  claim 13 , wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises a molded transparent polymer structure. 
     
     
       15. A voice-controlled speaker device comprising:
 a housing; 
 light-emitting components mounted on a planar surface and configured to emit light through a curved translucent portion of the housing, the curved translucent portion having a width; and 
 a light guide and lens structure having a width less than the width of the curved translucent portion and configured to use the emitted light from the light-emitting components to project a swirling light pattern on the curved translucent portion of the housing. 
 
     
     
       16. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 15  wherein the light-emitting components comprise at most thirty light-emitting components within the housing. 
     
     
       17. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 15  wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises a lower light guide portion and an upper lens portion. 
     
     
       18. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 17  wherein the upper lens portion comprises a plurality of lenses each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components and wherein the lower light guide portion comprises a plurality of light guides each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components and has slanted walls. 
     
     
       19. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 15  wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises an edge flange portion having beveled surfaces configured to direct light to a lateral edge of the curved translucent portion via total internal reflection. 
     
     
       20. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 15  wherein a first group of the light emitting components have a first orientation and wherein a second group of the light emitting components have a second orientation different than the first orientation. 
     
     
       21. A voice-controlled speaker device comprising:
 a housing; 
 light-emitting components mounted on a planar surface and configured to emit light through a curved translucent portion of the housing, the curved translucent portion having a width; and 
 a light guide and lens structure having a width equal to the width of the curved translucent portion and configured to use the emitted light from the light-emitting components to project a swirling light pattern on the curved translucent portion of the housing. 
 
     
     
       22. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 21  wherein the light guide and lens structure comprises a lower light guide portion and an upper microlens portion. 
     
     
       23. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 22  wherein the lower light guide portion comprises a plurality of light guides each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components and has flared sidewalls. 
     
     
       24. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 23  wherein each of the light guides comprises:
 a first end facing the light-emitting components and having a first width; and 
 a second end facing the upper microlens portion and having a second width wider than the first width. 
 
     
     
       25. The voice-controlled speaker device of  claim 23  wherein the upper microlens portion comprises a plurality of microlenses and wherein each light guide in the plurality of light guides overlaps with more than one of the microlenses.

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/063,138 filed Aug. 7, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with light-emitting devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as voice-controlled assistant devices may include light-emitting components. During operation, the light-emitting component may emit patterns of light that serve as visual feedback. The feedback helps confirm to a user that an electronic device is operating as desired. 
     It can be challenging to incorporate light-emitting components into an electronic device. If care is not taken, the patterns of light that are emitted will not appear as intended, the appearance of the device may not be as desired, or the device may be overly bulky. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing. A speaker, other input-output components, and control circuitry may be mounted within the housing. During operation, the control circuitry can direct a set of light-emitting components to emit light that passes through the housing. The emitted light may, as an example, serve as visual feedback to confirm that a voice command or other input has been received from a user. 
     The housing may have an upper housing wall that overlaps the light-emitting components. The upper housing wall, which may sometimes be referred to as a top cap (or top cap portion), may be formed from a curved transparent, translucent, or semi-translucent material. In one suitable arrangement, an array of light-emitting components may be formed on a planar printed circuit and a support structure may surround the array and may include one or more ring-shaped rib members configured as baffles to control the angular spread of light emitted from the light-emitting components. The support structure may be formed from opaque polymer material and may be configured to receive a diffuser layer that rests above the rib members. The device may also include a touch sensor and a clear touch window between the touch sensor and the top cap portion. The touch sensor and the diffuser layer may be separated by an air gap. The top cap and the clear touch window may have lateral edge portions optionally covered by a black coating layer to reduce light leakage that might result in undesired visible artifacts at the edge of the top cap portion. 
     In another suitable arrangement, an array of light-emitting components may be formed on a planar printed circuit and a light guide and lens structure may be formed over the light-emitting components to direct light towards the top cap portion. The light guide and lens structure may be a solid member molded from transparent polymer material. The light guide and lens structure may include multiple light guides each of which is aligned with a respective one of the light-emitting components. Each light guide may be overlapped by one convex lens or multiple microlenses. The light guide and lens structure may optionally include a prism-type edge portion configured to direct light, via total internal reflection, towards a lateral edge of the top cap portion. 
     A glyph illumination assembly may be provided within the housing of the electronic device. The glyph illumination assembly may be configured to display a glyph in a glyph display region on the house. The glyph display region may receive a physical touch or other tactile input from a user to control one or more components with the electronic device. In one embodiment, the glyph illumination assembly may include a light-emitting diode, a reticle member, and a lens member configured to project the glyph using the reticle member. In another embodiment, the glyph illumination assembly may include a light-emitting diode, a light guide member, and a lens member for illuminating a photoluminescent glyph layer on the top cap. In yet another embodiment, the glyph illumination assembly may include a light-emitting diode, a light guide member, and a lens member for projecting light towards an opaque glyph masking layer. If desired, a glyph may also be formed as a persistent ink layer on the housing that is visible without requiring any illumination or without requiring any dedicated glyph illumination assembly. 
     In another suitable arrangement, the light-emitting components may be attached to a flex circuit that is mounted on a curved surface of a support structure. The support structure may be a dome-like or hemispherical molded or machined shell layer. One or more driver circuits may be used to drive the light-emitting components on the flex circuit. The flex circuit may be wounded around the support structure in a spiral-like manner to connect to each of the light-emitting components. Alternatively, the flex circuit may have a center portion and multiple arm (branch) portions extending radially from the center portion to connect to each of the light-emitting components. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of an illustrative voice-controlled electronic device having a light-emitting device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 2A-2C  are top (plan) views of the electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2D-2F  are side views of a top portion the electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2G-2I  are side views of a bottom portion the electronic device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing how light-emitting components may be mounted on a curved surface in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4A  is a top (plan) view of an illustrative array of light-emitting components arranged along a spiral flex circuit in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4B  is a top (plan) view of an illustrative array of light-emitting components arranged along a flex circuit with radially-extending branches in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing illustrative light guide and lens structures formed over a planar array of light-emitting components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a top (plan) view of the illustrative light guide and lens structures of  FIG. 5  having an internal reflector prism-type ring portion in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a top (plan) view of the planar array of light-emitting components of  FIG. 5  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing illustrative light guide and color-mixing microlens structures formed over a planar array of light-emitting components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is top view of the electronic device of  FIG. 1  showing illustrative indicator glyphs in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing an illustrative glyph reticle projection assembly for outputting the indicator glyphs of  FIG. 9  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 10B and 10C  are top (plan) views of illustrative reticle components that may be used in the glyph reticle projection assembly of  FIG. 10A  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing an illustrative glyph lighting assembly for illuminating a photoluminescent glyph in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing an illustrative glyph lighting assembly for illuminating a glyph opening in an opaque masking layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 12B and 12C  are top (plan) views of illustrative opaque masking layers that may be used in the device of  FIG. 12A  for outputting the indicator glyphs of  FIG. 9  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing an illustrative support structure configured to suspend a diffuser layer over a planar array of light-emitting components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a top (plan) view of the planar array of light-emitting components of  FIG. 13  showing how at least some light-emitting components in the array can be rotated for improved color balance in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15A  is a top (plan) view showing one suitable arrangement of the support structure of  FIG. 13  having baffle members separating an opening in the support structure into three concentric zones in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15B  is a top (plan) view showing another suitable arrangement of the support structure of  FIG. 13  having baffle members separating an opening in the support structure into two concentric zones in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing a dark support member at the edge of a clear window in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16B  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing a top cap with a white edge and a clear window with a deeper edge in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16C  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing a clear window with a dark edge coating in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16D  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  showing a top cap and clear window both having a dark edge coating in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17A  is top view of a top cap showing illustrative indicator glyphs in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17B  is a cross-sectional side view of the top cap of  FIG. 17A  showing how a glyph ink layer may be interposed between the top cap and a white painted layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17C  is a cross-sectional side view of the top cap of  FIG. 17A  showing how a glyph ink layer may be formed directly on the top cap in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may have light-emitting devices. A light-emitting device may be used to provide a user with visual feedback during operation of an electronic device. For example, in a voice-controlled device, visual feedback such as moving patterns of lights of different colors may be used to visually confirm to the user that the voice-controlled device is responding to a voice command. Visual output may also include status indicator information and other output. 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of an illustrative electronic device  10  that includes a light-emitting device to provide visual output/feedback. When oriented upright, device  10  may have center that is aligned to rotational axis  22  that is parallel to the Z direction. In the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  is a voice-controlled device such as a voice-controlled countertop speaker. If desired, device  10  may be an electronic device or an accessory for 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 equipment for 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. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , device  10  may include a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may have a cylindrical shape with rounded upper and lower ends of the type shown in  FIG. 1  or other suitable shape (e.g., a pyramidal shape, a conical shape, a frustoconical shape, a box shape such as a rectangular box shape, a spherical shape, etc.). Housing  12  may include support structures formed from metal, polymer, ceramic, glass, wood, quartz, fiberglass, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. The shape of housing  12  may be selected to form an enclosure suited to the type of device  10  for which the housing is being used. As an example, in scenarios in which device  10  is a voice-controlled electronic device, housing  12  may be cylindrical, pyramidal, box-shaped, conical, spherical, or other shapes suitable for enclosing one or more speakers; in configurations in which device  10  is a laptop computer, housing  12  may have upper and lower thin box-shaped portions that are joined with a hinge and that can respectively house a display and a keyboard; in configurations in which device  10  is a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, housing  12  may have a slender box shape with optionally curved rear housing walls that can hold a display and be mounted on a stand; in configurations in which device  10  is a tablet computer, cellular telephone, media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, housing  12  may have a rectangular outline and a thin depth; in configurations in which device  10  is a smaller device such as a wristwatch device or a pendant device, housing  12  may have a thin profile and an outline that is rectangular, square, hexagonal, triangular, oval, or circular; in configurations in which device  10  is a headphone or earpiece device, housing  12  may have a shape configured to fit on or in a user&#39;s ear; in configurations in which device  10  is a pair of eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, housing  12  may have a head-mountable shape; in configurations in which device  10  is a jacket or other item of clothing (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, arm band, headband, ring, necklace, shirt, pants, shoes, glove, etc.), housing  12  may be formed from layers of fabric or other material configured to allow device  10  to be worn on a user&#39;s body; in configurations in which device  10  is a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, or a navigation device, housing  12  may have a rectangular outline, an outline with curved sides and/or straight sides, a box shape, a cylindrical shape, and/or other suitable shapes; in configurations in which device  10  is a kiosk, housing  12  can form a pedestal or other shape suitable for a kiosk; in configurations in which device  10  forms part of an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, housing  12  may form a dashboard, console, door, window, seat, body panel, or other portion of the vehicle; in configurations in which device  10  is a removable external case for electronic equipment, housing  12  may have the shape of a sleeve or other structure with a recess for receiving the electronic equipment; in configurations in which device  10  is a strap, wrist band, necklace or headband, housing  12  may have a strip shape, in configurations in which device  10  forms a case, bag, or wallet, housing  12  may have surfaces that form the walls of the case and/or sides of the bag or wallet and/or that forms straps and/or other structures for the case or bag; and in configurations in which device  10  is part of furniture, housing  12  may be configured to form a part of a chair, sofa, or other seating (e.g., cushions or other seating structures). 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 1 , housing  12  may have any shape suitable for an electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker with internet access.  FIGS. 2A-2C  are exemplary top views of electronic device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 2A , device  10  may have a circular footprint  200  when viewed in the Z direction at the X-Y plane.  FIG. 2B  shows how device  10  may have a rectangular footprint  202  when viewed in the Z direction, with optional rounded corners or sharp corners.  FIG. 2C  shows how device  10  may have an oval or elliptical shape  204  when viewed in the Z direction. In general, device  10  may be symmetrical or asymmetrical when viewed from the top and may have any suitable shape or footprint.  FIGS. 2D-2F  are exemplary side views of a top portion of electronic device  10  when viewed in the Y direction at the X-Z plane. In the example of  FIG. 2D , device  10  may have a flat top and a straight vertical edge with an optional rounded corner connecting the flat top portion to the straight vertical edge.  FIG. 2E  shows another example in which device  10  has a slightly curved top and a curved vertical edge extending downwards from the curved top.  FIG. 2F  shows how device  10  may have a continuous curvature extending from rotational axis  22  to the side edge of the device (e.g., to form a spherical or dome-like top housing portion).  FIGS. 2G-2I  are exemplary side views of a lower portion of electronic device  10  when viewed in the Y direction. In the example of  FIG. 2G , device  10  may have a flat bottom and a straight vertical edge with a sharp corner connecting the flat base portion to the straight vertical edge.  FIG. 2H  shows another example in which device  10  has a flat base portion and a straight vertical edge with a rounded corner connecting the flat bottom portion to the straight vertical edge.  FIG. 2I  shows how device  10  may have a flat base portion and a continuous curvature extending from the flat base portion to the side edge of the device (e.g., to form an overall spherical, bulb-shaped, or tulip-shaped housing portion). Housing  12  may have other shapes and may be incorporated into other devices, if desired. 
     If desired, device  10  may include fabric. The fabric may form all or part of a housing wall or other layer in an electronic device, may form the outermost layer of device  10 , may form one or more inner covering layers, may form internal structures in an electronic device, or may form other fabric-based structures. Device  10  may be soft (e.g., device  10  may have a fabric surface that yields to a light touch), may have a rigid feel (e.g., the surface of device  10  may be formed from a stiff fabric), may have a surface that is textured, that is smooth, that has ribs or other patterned textures, and/or may include portions formed from non-fabric structures of plastic, metal, glass, crystalline materials, ceramics, or other materials. The fabric may include intertwined strands of material. The fabric may, for example, include warp knit fabric that is formed by warp knitting of the strands and/or may include woven fabric, fabric with braided strands of material, etc. The strands may be single-filament strands (sometimes referred to as fibers or monofilaments) or may be strands of material formed by intertwining multiple monofilaments of material together (sometimes referred to as yarns). The strands may be formed from polymer, metal, glass, graphite, ceramic, natural materials such as cotton or bamboo, or other organic and/or inorganic materials and combinations of these materials. Conductive coatings such as metal coatings may be formed on non-conductive material. For example, plastic strands in the fabric may be coated with metal to make them conductive. Reflective coatings such as metal coatings may be applied to make strands reflective. Strands formed from white polymer (e.g., light-scattering particles in polymer) and/or that are coated with white polymer may help reflect light in some configurations. Darkly colored strands may also be used. If desired, strands may be formed from bare metal wires or metal wire intertwined with insulating monofilaments (as examples). Bare metal strands and strands of polymer covered with conductive coatings may be provided with insulating polymer jackets. In some configuration, the strands may include optical fibers. 
     In an illustrative configuration, some or all of the upper surface of housing  12  such as portion  12 P may be formed from rigid polymer, rigid glass, or other non-fabric structure and the sidewall surfaces of housing  12  may be covered with the fabric material (e.g., to create a cover layer for the sidewalls that is transparent to sound). Portion  12 P may sometimes be referred to as an upper housing wall or top cap. For example, portion  12 P may be formed from a disk-shaped polymer or glass member with a slightly curved cross-sectional profile and a circular outline (e.g., portion  12 P may form a protruding dome shape or other suitable housing shapes). Portion  12 P may be formed from transparent materials. The transparent materials may be translucent (hazy) or may exhibit low haze. The use of translucent material and/or other transparent material for portion  12 P allows underlying light-emitting components in the interior of device  10  to emit light that passes through portion  12 P. For example, portion  12 P may be formed from clear material, material with a neutral tint (e.g., dark polymer or semi-opaque glass that allows light to pass), or material with a non-neutral color (e.g., blue, red, etc.). As shown in  FIG. 1 , a semi-opaque white layer such as layer  12 W may be painted or otherwise formed at the bottom surface of top cap portion  12 P. In the example where portion  12 P is formed from clear material, layer  12 W may be formed directly on the bottom surface of top cap  12 P. In the example where portion  12 P is formed from a darker tint material, a color adjustment layer  12 C may optionally be interposed between top cap portion  12 P and layer  12 W to fine tune the tint of portion  12 P as viewed by the user. 
     Portion  12 P may optionally overlap a touch sensor formed within the device housing. For example, a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor may be formed from an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes that are overlapped by portion  12 P. Capacitive touch sensor circuitry may be coupled to the touch sensor electrodes and may gather user touch input through portion  12 P. The capacitive touch sensors may be formed directly under the inner surface of portion  12 P (e.g., directly on top cap  12  or on white layer  12 W), which therefore serves as a substrate for the touch sensors, or may be formed on separate supporting structures (e.g., a separate polymer film or other separate substrate). Capacitive touch sensor electrodes may be formed from conductive material such as metal, transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, or other conductive materials. If desired, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and/or three-dimensional sensors such as proximity sensors, optical touch sensors, force sensors, image sensors, time-of-flight sensors, vibration sensors such as accelerometers, and/or other sensors may be formed under portion  12 P or other portions of housing  12  (e.g., instead of a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor or in addition to a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor). If desired, sensors may operate through fabric sidewalls or other housing structures. 
     Device  10  may include control circuitry  20 . Control circuitry  20  may include microprocessors, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated-circuits, digital signal processors, baseband processors, and/or other controllers and may include storage such as random-access memory, read-only memory, solid state drives, and/or other storage and processing circuitry. 
     Control circuitry  20  may gather information from sensors and other circuitry in input-output devices  18  and may use input-output devices  18  to supply output. Input-output devices  18  may, for example, include audio devices such as microphones and speakers. Microphones can gather audio input (e.g., sound that passes through fabric such as voice commands for controlling the operation of device  10 ). Speakers can produce audio output (e.g., sound that passes through fabric). Sensors in input-output devices  18  may include touch sensors, force sensors, capacitive sensors, optical sensors, proximity sensors, strain gauges, temperature sensors, moisture sensors, gas sensors pressure sensors, magnetic sensors, position and orientation sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, and/or compasses), and/or other sensors. Sensors such as these may, if desired, be overlapped by housing portion  12 P (e.g., a polymer layer or glass layer). 
     Light-emitting diodes, displays, and other visual output devices may be used in supplying visual output to a user. As an example, visual output devices may be used to form illuminated buttons, displays that display images, visual feedback areas that display still and/or moving patterns of light to indicate to a user that a command has been received and/or is being processed by control circuitry  20 , etc. Commands may be received using a touch sensor (if present), voice commands may be received by control circuitry  20  using a microphone in input-output devices  18 , and other input may be received using input-output devices  18 . If desired, buttons, joysticks, haptic output components, and/or other input-output components may be provided in input-output devices  18  to gather input from a user and to provide a user with output. Wireless communications circuitry in circuitry  20  (e.g., wireless local area network circuitry, cellular telephone circuitry, etc.) may be used to support wireless communications with external equipment (e.g., to form a communications link with internet-based equipment or other electronic equipment). 
     Light-emitting components (e.g., lasers or light-emitting diodes) may be arranged in a pattern under portion  12 P of housing  12  or other suitable portion of housing  12 . In general, any suitable light-based output may be supplied by light-based output devices in device  10 . For example, displays with arrays of pixels may display images, text output devices such as segmented light-emitting diode displays may display text, and status indicator lights may provide light output indicative of device operating status (e.g., a power on/off status, battery level status, volume level status, mute/non-muted status, etc.). In an illustrative arrangement, which may sometimes be described as an example, a light-emitting device in device  10  is formed from a set of light-emitting components that are located under housing portion  12 P. The light-emitting device may be used to provide status information, decorative patterns, visual feedback (e.g., confirmation of receipt by control circuitry  20  of device  10  of voice commands), and/or other visual information that is visible through portion  12 P. 
     In accordance with one suitable arrangement, device  10  may have a light-emitting device  30  that includes a plurality of light-emitting components  34  mounted on a curved support structure such as structure  32 . Support structure  32  may have a hemispherical or dome-like shape. Support structure  32  may be formed from polymer, metal, or other suitable material suitable to provide mechanical support for the light-emitting components  34 . Support structure  32  may, for example, be a hollow shell that can accommodate other electrical components enclosed by the dome-like shell. Although the surface of structure  32  is shown as having a smooth curvature, support structure  32  may be multifaceted and may include locally depressed regions for receiving each respective light-emitting component  34 . Center light-emitting component  34 C that is aligned with rotational axis  22  may be mounted at the apex of the hemispherical support structure  32 . The distance between each pair of adjacent light-emitting components  34  should be the same. Each light-emitting component  34  should also be separated from housing portion  12 P by a fixed distance L. Arranged in this way, housing portion  12 P may be uniformly illuminated by the array of components  34 . 
     Air gap  24  may separate light-emitting components  34  from housing portion  12 P. Although not shown in  FIG. 2 , layers such as layers  12 W and  12 C of  FIG. 1  may be formed at the inner surface of top cap  12 P. The presence of air gap  24  may help promote light mixing. If desired, one or more light-diffusing structures formed from solid transparent structures with curved surfaces (e.g., lens structure), textured films, light-scattering structures embedded in clear polymer or other material, and/or other light scattering and diffusing structures that help homogenize emitted light and reduce hotspots may be interposed between light-emitting components  24  and top cap portion  12 P. 
       FIG. 4A  is a top view of light-emitting device  30  illustrating a pattern of light-emitting components  34  interconnected via a single flex circuit such as flex circuit  36 . Flex circuit  36  may contain signal lines that convey signals from control circuitry  20  ( FIG. 1 ) to components  34  so that components  34  may emit desired amounts of light. The color of emitted light may be controlled by adjusting the emitted color from each of components  34 . With an illustrative configuration, each component  34  contains components such as red light-emitting component  34 R (e.g. a red light-emitting diode or red laser), green light-emitting component  34 G (e.g., a green light-emitting diode or green laser), and blue light-emitting component  34 B (e.g., a blue light-emitting diode or blue laser). With this type of configuration, the color of light that is emitted can be adjusted by adjusting the relative light intensity from each of the colored subcomponents of each component  34 . The pattern of light that is emitted (e.g., the location in the X-Y plane of the emitted light) can be controlled by controlling components  34  (e.g., to turn on a first component  34  on the left side of device  10  while turning off a component  34  on the right side of device  10 , to display blue light from one component and red from another, to display a pattern with a gradient of light intensity, etc.). If desired, flashing light effects, chasing light effects, lighting effects involving emission of light patterns that swirl or otherwise move about the X-Y plane of  FIG. 4A  may be produced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4A , flex circuit  36  may be a single long strip of flex circuit connecting the center light-emitting component  34 C to each successive ring of light-emitting components in a spiral-like routing pattern (e.g., flex circuit  36  first couples the center component  34 C to the inner-most ring of light-emitting components, and then couples the inner-most ring of light-emitting components to the next outer ring of light-emitting components, and so on until the last trailing light-emitting component  34 T is reached). In other words, flex circuit  36  connects to each of the light-emitting components  34  in a serial-like manner. Each light-emitting component  34  may be attached to flex circuit  36  via an adhesive layer (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive layer), solder bonding, dedicated connectors, or other suitable mounting mechanism. The use of flex circuit  36  is merely illustrative. In general, other types of flexible or rigid circuit boards or substrate may be used to interconnect each of the light-emitting components  34  within light-emitting device  30 . 
     The array of light-emitting components  34  may be driven by one or more driver circuits. In one arrangement, an LED driver circuit located by the center light-emitting component  34 C may be used to drive all of the light-emitting components in a serial manner. In another arrangement, an LED driver circuit located by the tail light-emitting component  34 T may be used to drive all of the light-emitting components in a serial manner. In yet another arrangement, a dedicated LED driver may be formed next to each light-emitting component to individually drive each component  34  separately in parallel. In yet other suitable arrangements, the array of light-emitting components  34  may be organized into different groups, each of which can be separately driven by its own dedicated driver circuit. 
       FIG. 4B  is a top view of another suitable configuration of light-emitting device  30  illustrating a pattern of light-emitting components  34  interconnected via a single flex circuit such as flex circuit  38 . As shown in  FIG. 4B , flex circuit  38  may have a center portion on which component  34 C is mounted and may have multiple branches (arms) extending radially from the center portion to connect to the remaining surrounding light-emitting components  34 . For example, the top arm extending north may connect to six corresponding light-emitting components  34 ; the next arm extending northeast may connect to six corresponding light-emitting components  34 ; the next arm extending southeast may also connect to another six corresponding light-emitting components  34 ; and so on. The example of  FIG. 4B  in which all of the light-emitting components are connected using six branches is merely illustrative. In general, any pattern of light-emitting components formed on support structure  32  may be interconnected using flex circuit  38  with seven radially extending branches, more than seven radially extending branches, less than six radially extending branches, 2-10 radially extending branches, etc. Each light-emitting component  34  may be attached to flex circuit  38  via an adhesive layer (e.g., a pressure sensitive adhesive layer), solder bonding, dedicated connectors, or other suitable mounting mechanism. The use of flex circuit  38  is merely illustrative. In general, other types of flexible or rigid circuit boards or substrate may be used to interconnect each of the light-emitting components  34  within light-emitting device  30 . 
     The array of light-emitting components  34  may be driven by one or more driver circuits. In one arrangement, an LED driver circuit located by the center light-emitting component  34 C may be used to drive all of the light-emitting components across the multiple branches. In another arrangement, each branch may be provided with its own dedicated LED driver, which might be located at the tip or at the terminal portion of each arm. In yet another arrangement, a dedicated LED driver may be formed next to each light-emitting component to individually drive each component  34  separately in parallel. In yet other suitable arrangements, the array of light-emitting components  34  may be organized into different groups, each of which can be separately driven by its own dedicated driver circuit. 
     The examples of  FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B  in which the light-emitting components are mounted on a curved surface are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present embodiments.  FIG. 5  illustrates another suitable arrangement in which the light-emitting components are mounted on a planar printed circuit  35  (e.g., a printed circuit board or PCB). Printed circuit  35  may be coplanar with the X-Y plane. Printed circuit  35  may contain signal lines that convey signals from control circuitry  20  to components  34  so that components  34  may emit desired amounts of light. The color of emitted light may be controlled by adjusting the emitted color from each of components  34 . With an illustrative configuration, each component  34  contains components such as red light-emitting component  34 R (e.g. a red light-emitting diode or red laser), green light-emitting component  34 G (e.g., a green light-emitting diode or green laser), and blue light-emitting component  34 B (e.g., a blue light-emitting diode or blue laser). With this type of configuration, the color of light that is emitted can be adjusted by adjusting the relative light intensity from each of the colored subcomponents of each component  34 . The pattern of light that is emitted (e.g., the location in the X-Y plane of the emitted light) can be controlled by controlling components  34  (e.g., to turn on a first component  34  on the left side of device  10  while turning off a component  34  on the right side of device  10 , to display blue light from one component and red from another, to display a pattern with a gradient of light intensity, etc.). If desired, flashing light effects, chasing light effects, lighting effects involving emission of light patterns that swirl or otherwise move about the X-Y plane of  FIG. 5  may be produced. 
     Although the light-emitting components  34  are all mounted on a planar surface, light-emitting components  34  may still output light that is spread uniformly across the curved top cap portion  12 P. Top housing portion  12 P may have a hemispherical shape, a dome-like shape, or other curved profile. To help achieve improved contrast in emission light patterns as well as uniformity across the entire surface of the dome-like portion  12 P, light guide and lens structure  50  may be formed over the light-emitting components. Light guide and lens structure  50  may include bottom light guide portions  52  configured to homogenize light emitted from the underlying light-emitting components  34  while directing light upwards toward portion  12 P and may also include top lens portions  54  (e.g., convex lens structures) configured to further help collimate light in the Z direction as shown by arrow  56 . Each light guide portion  52  and lens portion  54  may be formed over a respective light-emitting component  34 . 
     Structure  50  may further include an edge flange portion  58  configured as an internal reflector prism-type structure. The edge flange portion  58  may be positioned over an outermost group of light-emitting components  34 E formed along the edge of printed circuit  35 . The edge portion  58  may have multiple beveled surfaces (e.g., at least one beveled edge, at least two beveled edges, at least three beveled edges, more than three beveled edges, etc.). As shown by arrow  59 , flange portion  58  may have a prism-like structure configured to direct light, via the principal of total internal reflection (TIR), towards the lateral edge of the top cap display housing portion (e.g., towards the equator region of the hemispherical top cap dome). Arrow  59  output from portion  58  may be substantially parallel to the X-Y plane (or may be projected at a slight elevation with a relatively small angle of less than 5° from the X-Y plane, less than 10° from the X-Y plane, less than 15° from the X-Y plane, or less than 20° from the X-Y plane, etc.). The edge flange portion  58  of structure  50  may therefore sometimes be referred to as a total internal reflection (TIR) top cap edge illumination feature. Structure  50  may be formed from a solid molded (and/or machined) layer of clear material (e.g., polymer) and/or may include separate components (e.g., individual lenses and light guide members supported in a desired pattern using a frame). Configurations in which structure  50  is a unitary member with molded lens structures, molded light guide structures, and molded TIR edge structures may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     Air gap  24  may separate structure  50  from housing portion  12 P. Although not shown in  FIG. 5 , layers such as layers  12 W and/or  12 C of  FIG. 1  may be formed at the inner surface of portion  12 P. The presence of air gap  24  may help promote light mixing. If desired, one or more light-diffusing structures formed from solid transparent structures with curved surfaces (e.g., lens structure), textured films, light-scattering structures embedded in clear polymer or other material, and/or other light scattering and diffusing structures that help homogenize emitted light and reduce hotspots may be interposed between structure  50  and top cap portion  12 P. 
       FIG. 6  is a top (plan) view of light guide and lens structure  50  when viewed in the Z direction. The example of  FIG. 6  in which structure  50  has an overall circular outline is merely illustrative. If desired, structure may have an oval/elliptical footprint, a rectangular footprint, a triangular footprint, a diamond-shaped footprint, a pentagonal footprint, a hexagonal footprint, or other desired symmetrical or asymmetrical outlines. Structure  50  of  FIG. 6  includes 19 lenses  54 , but this is merely illustrative. If desired, structure  50  may be provided with 10-20 lenses, less than 10 lenses, 20-30 lenses, more than 30 lenses, or any suitable number of lenses depending on the number of light-emitting components within device  10 . Flange portion  58  may be configured as a ring-shaped border region that surrounds the plurality of lenses  54 . 
       FIG. 7  is a top (plan) view of the array of light-emitting components  34  mounted on printed circuit board  35 . Similar to  FIG. 6 , printed circuit board  35  may have an overall circular outline but may alternatively have an oval/elliptical footprint, a rectangular footprint, a triangular footprint, a diamond-shaped footprint, a pentagonal footprint, a hexagonal footprint, or other desired symmetrical or asymmetrical outlines. Any suitable pattern of light-emitting components  34  may be distributed across the surface of PCB  35 . The distance between each adjacent pair of light-emitting components  34  may be equal or different. To match the lens configuration of  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 7  may similarly include 19 light-emitting components in the inner portion, but this is merely illustrative. If desired, the inner portion of printed circuit  35  may be provided with 10-20 light-emitting components (or lasers), less than 10 light-emitting components (or lasers), 20-30 light-emitting components (or lasers), more than 30 light-emitting components (or lasers), or any suitable number of light-emitting components (or lasers). A ring of light-emitting components  34 E may be formed at the edge of printed circuit  35  surrounding the inner portion and may be used to emit light towards the ring-shaped TIR flange portion  58  for illuminating the lateral peripheral edge of housing portion  12 P. 
     In some arrangements, all of the light-emitting components  34  on the printed circuit  35  may be oriented in the same way. As described above, each light-emitting component  34  may include a red (R) subcomponent, a green (G) subcomponent, and a blue (B) subcomponent. If care is not taken, the light-emitting components may generate a visual output that is not color balanced. For instance, if all the light-emitting components  34  are oriented in the same way as the center light-emitting component  34 C (where the red subcomponent is always facing west), then the visual output may have a more reddish bias towards the west. 
     To improve color balance, at least some of the light-emitting components  34  in the array may be rotated by an angle α with respect to the Y axis. In one suitable arrangement, every other light-emitting component may be rotated by an angle α that is equal to 90°, 180°, 270°, 45°, 60°, 120°, 225°, 315°, or other suitable angle. For instance in the arrangement of  FIG. 7 , the center diode  34 C may have a given nominal orientation while every other diode in the inner ring surrounding the center diode  34 C may be rotated by an angle α=180° relative to the given nominal orientation and while every other diode in the next intermediate ring surrounding the inner ring may also be rotated by an α=180° relative to the given nominal orientation. Similarly, every other diode  34 E along the edge region may also optionally be rotated by an α=180° relative to the given nominal orientation. In another suitable arrangement, one out of three neighboring light-emitting components may be rotated by an angle α that is equal to 90°, 180°, 270°, 45°, 60°, 120°, 225°, 315°, or other suitable angle. In yet another suitable arrangement, a first group of light emitting components may be rotated by a first angle, a second group of light emitting components may be rotated by a second angle that is different than the first angle, etc. By rotating at least some subset of the light-emitting components while keeping others oriented in the same way as the center diode  34 C, improved color balance may be achieved. 
     The example of  FIGS. 5-7  in which the top cap portion  12 P extends from above the array of light-emitting components all the way down to the same elevation as the light-emitting components is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the present embodiments.  FIG. 8  illustrates another suitable arrangement in which the transparent (or semi-transparent or translucent) top cap portion  12 P extends only wide enough to cover the array of light-emitting components while the opaque or fabric housing portion  12  covers the remainder of the upper curved surface. Top cap portion  12 P might only be as wide as structure  60  (e.g., portion  64  might be as wide as or slightly wider than the footprint of top cap  12 P or may be slightly narrower than the footprint of top cap  12 P). Configured in this way, there is no need to illuminate the lateral edge (i.e., the equator region) of the domed upper surface since the displaying top cap portion  12 P does not extend that far. 
     An array of light-emitting components  34  may be mounted on a planar printed circuit  35 , which is coplanar with the X-Y plane. Printed circuit  35  may contain signal lines that convey signals from control circuitry  20  to components  34  so that components  34  may emit desired amounts of light. The color of emitted light may be controlled by adjusting the emitted color from each of components  34 . Although the light-emitting components  34  are all mounted on a planar surface, light-emitting components  34  may still output light that is spread uniformly across the curved top cap portion  12 P. Top housing portion  12 P may have a dome-like shape, may represent an upper portion of a hemispherical profile, or may have other arched, bulged, or curved profile. 
     To help achieve improved contrast in emission light patterns as well as uniformity across the entire surface of the dome-like portion  12 P, a light guide and lens structure  60  may be formed over the light-emitting components. Light guide and lens structure  60  may include bottom light guide portions  62  configured to provide color mixing for light emitted from the underlying components  34  while directing light upwards toward portion  12 P and may also include top microlens portion  64  configured to homogenize light projected upward towards portion  12 P. Structure  60  may therefore sometimes be also referred to as a light guide and microlens structure. Each light guide portion  62  may be formed over a respective light-emitting component  34 . Each light guide portion  62  may be implemented as a flared tube member (e.g., a tube with a straight cylindrical bottom terminal portion with a circular, octagonal, a square, or other polygonal or oval cross-section, and a wider flared curved upper terminal portion  62 F). The length L of each light guiding tube and the angle of the flared portion  62 F may be optimized to promote the desired amount of light mixing, collimation, and stray light control to direct light upwards toward the overarching top cap housing portion  12 P. 
     Microlens portion  64  may have an upper surface provided with a fine array of microlenses  64 T to provide additional fine-grain light mixing. Although curved microlens structures are shown in the example of  FIG. 8 , the upper member  64  may be provided with other textured structures such as pyramidal structures, spherical structures, conical structures, frustoconical structures, ridges, bumps and/or other protrusions, grooves, pits, recesses, and/or other depressions, etc. Upper member  64  may include one or more textured films, light-scattering structures or particles embedded in clear polymer or other material, and/or other light scattering and diffusion structures that help homogenize light and reduce hotspots. The light-scattering structures may include voids (e.g., vacuum-filled cavities, gas-filled cavities such as air bubbles, cavities filled with nitrogen or other inert gases, etc.) and/or may include light-scattering particles having refractive index values that differ from the rest of member  64 . The light-scattering particles may include, for example, titanium dioxide particles or other particles of inorganic dielectric. Structure  60  may be formed from a solid molded (and/or machined) layer of clear material (e.g., polymer) and/or may include separate components (e.g., a microlens array member separately attached to light guide members supported in a desired pattern using a frame). Configurations in which structure  60  is a unitary member with molded light guide structures and with an integrated microlens array may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     Air gap  24  may separate structure  60  from housing portion  12 P. The presence of air gap  24  may help promote light mixing. If desired, one or more light-diffusing structures formed from solid transparent structures with curved surfaces (e.g., lens structure), textured films, light-scattering structures embedded in clear polymer or other material, and/or other light scattering and diffusing structures that help homogenize emitted light and reduce hotspots may be interposed between structure  60  and top cap portion  12 P. 
     As described above, the light-emitting device within electronic device  10  may be used to provide status information, decorative patterns, visual feedback (e.g., confirmation of receipt by control circuitry  20  of device  10  of voice commands), and/or other visual information that is visible through portion  12 P. Thus, in addition to the lighting effects involving emission of light patterns that swirl produced during confirmation of receipt by control circuitry  20  of voice commands, device  10  may also output status indicators (e.g., to indicate the current volume level of device  10  or other operating state information). 
       FIG. 9  shows a top view of device  10  when viewed in the Z direction. Control circuitry  20  can create alphanumeric letters or other symbols/icons (sometimes referred to as glyphs) that is visible on the top surface of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , glyphs such as “+” and “−” volume indicator glyphs  70  may be selectively output to the user. In one suitable arrangement, glyphs  70  might be formed in the same region as the swirling pattern that is output to the user during confirmation of receipt of a voice command (e.g., glyphs  70  may be displayed in the top cap region  12 P). In another suitable arrangement, glyphs  70  might be generated in a region that is separate from the top cap region where the swirling pattern is displayed (e.g., glyphs  70  might be displayed in a region that is outside the border of the top cap portion  12 P). When the user presses or provides other physical control input on the region where the +glyph is located, the +glyph may light up while control circuitry  20  directs the speaker(s) within device  10  to increase its volume. When the user presses on the region where the −glyph is located, the −glyph may be illuminated while control circuitry  20  directs the speaker(s) within device  10  to decrease its volume. If desired, the glyphs  70  might be visible to the user without requiring the user to physically touch device  10  (e.g., glyphs  70  might be constantly illuminated or may be a persistent visible inked icon that does not require any illumination). This example in which glyphs  70  are used for speaker volume control is merely illustrative. In general, other types of glyphs for directing control circuitry  20  to skip to the next song, to fast forward, rewind, record, or otherwise control device  10  via physical touch may be implemented. 
     The glyphs may be illuminated in various ways.  FIG. 10A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing an illustrative glyph reticle projection assembly  72  configured to output the indicator glyphs of  FIG. 9 . As shown in  FIG. 10A , glyph reticle projection assembly  72  may include a light-emitting component  74 , a glyph reticle member  76  formed over the light-emitting component  74 , and a reticle projection lens  78  formed over reticle member  76 . The light-emitting component  74  within reticle projection assembly  72  is also mounted on printed circuit  35  and may be the same type of light-emitting component as components  34  that are used to illuminate the rest of top cap  12 P or may be a different type of light-emitting component, such as a white LED. If desired, the reticle light-emitting component  74  may be larger or smaller than light-emitting component  34 . Although not shown in  FIG. 10A , an array of light-emitting components  34  are mounted on printed circuit  35  as shown in at least  FIGS. 5 and 8 . 
     Reticle member  76  may be a stencil layer that is molded or machined from a layer of opaque polymer, metal, or other suitable non-transparent material. If desired, member  76  might also be formed from transparent material with a layer of black/opaque masking material patterned with the desired opening.  FIGS. 10B and 10C  are top (plan) views of illustrative reticle members that may be used in the glyph reticle projection assembly of  FIG. 10A . In the example of  FIG. 10B , reticle  76 - 1  may have a circular footprint and may have an opening  77 - 1  through which light emitted from the underlying light-emitting component  74  may travel. The size and shape of opening  77 - 1  may determine the resulting glyph  70  that is ultimately projected on the top surface of device  10 . Reticle  76 - 1  of  FIG. 10B  may be used to create the +volume indictor shown in  FIG. 9 . In the example of  FIG. 10C , reticle  76 - 2  may have a circular footprint and may have an opening  77 - 2  through which light emitted from the underlying light-emitting component  74  may travel. The size and shape of opening  77 - 2  may determine the resulting glyph  70  that is ultimately projected on the top surface of device  10 . Reticle  76 - 2  of  FIG. 10B  may therefore be used to create the −volume indictor shown in  FIG. 9 . The actual circular footprint of reticle  76  is not crucial so long as the reticle/stencil opening has the desired size and shape. Reticle projection lens  78  may have be configured to project light traveling through reticle  76  towards the glyph display region  70 P. Reticle projection lens  78  may be a solid lens member that is molded from clear polymer or other transparent material. Reticle projection assembly  72  may cast the desired glyph directly onto layer  12 W. Layer  12 W, which may be painted white, may serve as a suitable surface at which glyph  70  is projected with sufficient contrast. 
     The use of reticle projection assembly  72  to generate glyphs is merely illustrative. In another suitable arrangement, device  10  may be provided with a non-reticle based light projection assembly for projecting light onto a glyph-shaped material that lights up with sufficient contrast when shined with the projected light.  FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing an illustrative glyph lighting assembly  80  for illuminating a photoluminescent glyph  88 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , glyph lighting assembly  80  may include a light-emitting component  82 , a light guide member  84  formed over the light-emitting component  82 , and a light projection lens  86  formed over light guide member  84 . The light-emitting component  82  within assembly  80  is also mounted on printed circuit  35  and may be the same type of light-emitting component as components  34  that are used to illuminate the rest of top cap  12 P or may be a different type of light-emitting component, such as an ultraviolet (UV) LED. If desired, the reticle light-emitting component  82  may be larger or smaller than light-emitting component  34 . 
     Light guide member  84  may be configured to direct light upwards using the principle of total interval reflection (TIR) and may therefore sometimes be referred to as a TIR light guide. Light projection lens  86  may have be configured to project light output from light guide  84  towards the glyph display region  70 P. Projection lens  86  may be a solid lens member that is molded from clear polymer or other transparent material. Glyph material  88  may be formed at the inner surface of top housing portion  12 P and may be a patterned photoluminescent layer with the desired size and shape (e.g., glyph material  88  may have a +, −, or other suitable iconic shape when viewed from above as shown in  FIG. 9 ). As an example, light projection assembly  80  may be configured to project ultraviolet (UV) light towards photoluminescent glyph material  88 , which then causes material  88  to emit visible light to the user. If desired, glyph  88  may also be formed from phosphorescent, fluorescent, cathodoluminescent, or other types of photoluminescent material. 
     The use of a photoluminescent glyph layer shown in  FIG. 11  is merely illustrative. In yet another suitable arrangement, the glyph may be displayed using an opaque masking layer  90  (e.g., a black mask layer) formed at the inner surface of the top cap portion  12 P.  FIG. 12A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing glyph lighting assembly  80  being used to illuminate a glyph opening in an opaque masking layer  90 .  FIGS. 12B and 12C  are top (plan) views of illustrative black masking layers that may be formed on the inside surface of the top cap portion (e.g., the opaque mask layer may be formed directly on the painted white layer  12 W). In the example of  FIG. 12B , black mask  90 - 1  may have an opening  92 - 1  through which light projected from assembly  80  may travel. Black mask  90 - 1  of  FIG. 12B  may therefore be used to create the +volume indictor shown in  FIG. 9 . In the example of  FIG. 12C , black mask  90 - 2  may have an opening  92 - 2  through which light projected from assembly  80  may pass. Black masking layer  90 - 2  of  FIG. 12C  may therefore be used to create the −volume indictor shown in  FIG. 9 . Layer  90  may therefore sometimes be referred to as a black masking glyph layer. The actual footprint or outline of the black masking glyph layer is not crucial so long as the mask opening has the desired size and shape. 
     The examples of  FIGS. 3-12  in which the top cap portion  12 P has a hemispherical or dome shape is merely illustrative. In yet other suitable embodiments, the top cap portion  12 P may have a curved profile but may resemble a flatter disk shape as shown in  FIG. 13 . White layer  12 W may be formed at the inner surface of portion  12 P. Although not explicitly shown, a color adjustment layer  12 C may optionally be interposed between top cap cover layer  12 P and white layer  12 W to adjust the tint of portion  12 P. A touch sensor may be formed under top cap portion  12 P. For example, a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor such as touch sensor  104  may be formed from an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes that are overlapped by portion  12 P. Capacitive touch sensor circuitry may be coupled to the touch sensor electrodes and may gather user touch input through portion  12 P. The capacitive touch sensor electrodes may be formed on a touch sensor substrate or other supporting structure. Capacitive touch sensor electrodes may be formed from conductive material such as metal, transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, or other conductive materials such as Ag nanowires. A touch window layer such as touch window layer  106  may be interposed between the top cap portion  12 P and touch sensor  104 . Touch window  106  may be formed from clear polymer or other transparent material. The touch window may therefore sometimes be referred to as a clear polymer layer. 
     An array of light-emitting components  34  may be formed on printed circuit  35  underneath portion  12 P. A support structure such as diffuser support structure  100  may be formed around and over the array of light-emitting components  34 . Support structure  100  may have a base portion that completely surrounds the array of light-emitting components  34 . Support structure  100  may be a solid molded (and/or machined) member formed from polymer, metal, or other suitable material. Structure  100  may generally be formed from opaque material with low light transmissivity. Touch sensor  104  may be bolstered on structure  100  by an additional support member  102 . Support member  102  may be a ring-shaped foam member (when viewed in direction Z) or may be formed from other soft, absorptive, or rigid support material. 
     Support structure  100  may also be configured to suspend a light diffuser layer  108  over the array of light-emitting components. Support structure  100  may have a ledge portion  101  for receiving disk-shaped diffuser layer  108  (as an example). In one suitable arrangement, diffuser layer  108  may have a flat bottom surface and a curved top surface. In another suitable arrangement, diffuser layer  108  may have curved bottom and top surfaces. In yet another suitable arrangement, diffuser layer  108  may have flat bottom and top surfaces. Diffuser layer  108  may be configured to diffuse, scatter, mix, and/or otherwise homogenize the light that is emitted from the array of light-emitting components  34 . Layer  108  may be a polymer layer or other substrate that is optionally coated with textured coating layer(s) (e.g., with textured structures such as pyramidal structures, spherical structures, conical structures, frustoconical structures, ridges, and/or other protrusions, and/or grooves, pits, or other depressions to help scatter light). Layer  108  may optionally contain light-scattering structures embedded in glass, polymer, or other transparent material. The light-scattering structures may include voids (e.g., vacuum-filled cavities, gas-filled cavities such as air bubbles, cavities filled with nitrogen or other inert gases, etc.) and/or may include light scattering particles with different refractive index values as the transparent material. The light-scattering particles may include, for example, titanium dioxide particles or other particles of inorganic dielectric. 
     Air gaps  24  may separate touch sensor  104  and diffuser layer  108  and may also separate diffuser layer  108  and printed circuit  35 . The presence of air gaps  24  may help promote light mixing. For example, a vertical gap distance d 1  between the touch layer and the diffuser layer and/or the thickness of the diffuser layer may be tuned to optimize for light and color uniformity across the surface of portion  12 P. If desired, a vertical gap distance d 2  between PCB  35  and the diffuser layer may also be tuned to optimize for light and color uniformity across the surface of portion  12 P. If desired, one or more additional light diffusing or scattering layers may be disposed in the air gap between layers  104  and  108  and/or in the air gap between layers  108  and  34  to further homogenize emitted light, reduce undesired optical artifacts, and reduce hotspots on top caption portion  12 P. 
     Diffuser support structure  100  may further include ring (or rib) portions  100 R that are suspended over the region between adjacent light-emitting components  34 . The ring portions  100 R may be configured as light baffle members to help constrain the angular spread of light emitted from components  34 . The height h of the ribs  100 R over PCB  35  may also be tuned to optimize for light and color uniformity across the surface of portion  12 P. The outer boundary of support structure  100  that surrounds components  34  (e.g., the lateral distance between the outermost component  34  and the base of the support structure, the overall height of the support structure, the angle at which support structure flares outwards, etc.) may control the luminance roll-off profile on the surface of portion  12 P. 
       FIG. 14  is a top (plan) view of the array of light-emitting components  34  mounted on printed circuit  35 . Printed circuit board  35  may have an overall circular outline but may alternatively have an oval/elliptical footprint, a rectangular footprint, a triangular footprint, a diamond-shaped footprint, a pentagonal footprint, a hexagonal footprint, or other desired symmetrical or asymmetrical outlines. Any suitable pattern of light-emitting components  34  may be distributed across the surface of PCB  35 . The distance between each adjacent pair of light-emitting components  34  may be equal or different.  FIG. 14  shows 19 total light-emitting components as part of the visual feedback light-emitting device but this is merely illustrative. If desired, printed circuit  35  may be provided with 10-20 light-emitting components (diodes or lasers), less than 10 light-emitting components (diodes or lasers), 20-30 light-emitting components (diodes or lasers), more than 30 light-emitting components (diodes or lasers), or any suitable number of light-emitting components (diodes or lasers). 
     In some configurations, all of the light-emitting components  34  on the printed circuit  35  may be oriented in the same way. As described above, each light-emitting component  34  may include a red (R) subcomponent, a green (G) subcomponent, and a blue (B) subcomponent. If care is not taken, the light-emitting components may generate a visual output that is not color balance. For instance if all the light-emitting components  34  are oriented in the same way as the center light-emitting component  34 C (where the red subcomponent is always facing west), then then the visual output may have a more reddish bias towards the west. 
     To improve color balance, at least some of the light-emitting components  34  in the array may be rotated by an angle α with respect to the Y axis. In one suitable arrangement, every other light-emitting component may be rotated by an angle α that is equal to 90°, 180°, 270°, 45°, 60°, 120°, 225°, 315°, or other suitable angle. For instance in the arrangement of  FIG. 14 , the center diode  34 C may have a given nominal orientation while every other diode in the inner ring surrounding the center diode  34 C may be rotated by an angle α=180° relative to the given nominal orientation and while every other diode in the outer ring surrounding the inner ring may also be rotated by an α=180° relative to the given nominal orientation (see rotated components  34 R that are shaded in  FIG. 14 ). By rotating at least some subset of the light-emitting components while keeping others oriented in the same way as the center diode  34 C, improved color balance may be achieved. In yet another suitable arrangement, different groups of light-emitting components may be rotated by different respective amounts. For example, components  34  located along the 1 o&#39;clock position might be rotated by an angle α=30°, whereas components  34  located along the 5 o&#39;clock position might be rotated by an angle α=150°. 
       FIG. 15A  is a top (plan) view showing one suitable arrangement of diffuser support structure  100  having two ring-shaped rib portions  100 R (sometimes also referred to as baffle members). The innermost baffle member  100 R- 1  may surround a central region  110 - 1  through which a first group of light-emitting components may emit light in the Z direction. The next outer baffle member  100 R- 2  that surrounds the innermost baffle member may form an intermediate region  110 - 2  through which a second group of light-emitting components may emit light. The outermost boundary or border of structure  100  that surrounds baffle member  100 R- 2  may form an outer region  110 - 3  through which a third group of light-emitting components may emit light. Radially extending arm portions  109  may connect the boundary member to each successive baffle ring member to provide mechanical support for the baffles. In the example of  FIG. 15A , three arm portions  109  are shown, which is merely illustrative. If desired, support structure  100  might include only one arm portion, only two arm portions, or more than three arm portions. 
     In another suitable arrangement, diffuser support structure  100  may have six radially-extending arm portions (see, e.g.,  FIG. 15B ).  FIG. 15B  is a top (plan) view showing diffuser support structure  100  having only one ring-shaped rib (baffle member) portion  100 R supported by six arm members  109 . The inner ring  100 R may surround a central region  112 - 1  through which a first group of light-emitting components may emit light in the Z direction. The outermost boundary or border of structure  100  that surrounds ring  100 R may form an outer region  112 - 2  through which a second group of light-emitting components may emit light. If desired, structure  100  may in general may any desired number of ring-shaped rib portions (e.g., structure  100  might include only one rib member as shown in  FIG. 15B , two rib members as shown in  FIG. 15A , three or more rib members, 3-10 rib members, etc.) each of which is support by any suitable number of arms. 
     Structures formed near the edge of top cap portion  12 P connecting portion  12 P to housing  12  may affect how the peripheral edge of portion  12 P appears to the user. If care is not taken, the user may detect unpleasing edge artifacts.  FIG. 16A  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing a dark support member  120  at the edge of the clear touch window  106 . Use of dark support member  120  at the edge of touch window  106  may produce an undesirable visible dark band along the border of the top cap portion to the user.  FIG. 16B  shows another suitable arrangement in which the peripheral edge of top cap portion  12 P is painted white (see white coating layer  122 ). Painting the lateral edge of top cap  12 P white or otherwise coating the top cap edge with a lighter or reflective material in this way can help reduce the dark edge banding effect. In the embodiment of  FIG. 16B , the thickness of the support member  120 ′ is also reduced, which increases the depth of the clear touch window  106 ′. Increasing the depth of the touch window  106 ′ in this way allows support member  120 ′ to be less visible from user oblique viewing angle with ray path  124 , helping to mitigate the appearance of dark edge banding phenomenon. If care is not taken, providing the top cap portion with a white edge and increasing the depth of the clear touch window at its edge may produce an undesirable visible bright edge along the border of the top cap portion to the user. 
       FIG. 16C  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing how the clear touch window may be provided with a dark edge coating. As shown in  FIG. 16C , a black ink layer  130  may coat the lateral edge of touch window  106 ′. Similar to  FIG. 16B , the thickness of support member  120 ′ may be reduced to accommodate a bigger and deeper touch window. Increasing the depth of the touch window  106 ′ in this way allows support member  120 ′ to be less visible from user oblique viewing angle with ray path  124 , helping to mitigate the appearance of dark edge banding phenomenon. Because of refraction, black ink layer  130  does not contribute to dark edge banding as ray path  124  does not intersect black ink layer  130 . Unlike  FIG. 16B , the use of black ink coating  130  or other suitable dark film layer formed on the vertical peripheral edge of the touch window may help block any undesired light leakage to prevent bright edge effects. 
       FIG. 16D  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of device  10  showing how the both clear touch window and the top cap portion may be provided with a dark edge coating. As shown in  FIG. 16D , a black ink layer  130 ′ may coat the lateral edge of touch window  106 ′ and top cap portion  12 P. Similar to  FIG. 16B  and  FIG. 16C , the thickness of support member  120 ′ may be reduced to accommodate a bigger and deeper touch window, which helps mitigate the dark edge banding phenomenon. Like  FIG. 16C , the use of black ink coating  130 ′ or other suitable dark film/coating layer formed on the vertical peripheral edge of the touch window and/or the top cap portion may help absorb any undesired like leakage to eliminate undesired bright edge effects. 
       FIG. 17A  shows a top view of top cap portion  12 P when viewed in the Z direction. As shown in  FIG. 17A , alphanumeric letters or other symbols/icons (sometimes referred to as glyphs) such as “+” and “−” volume indicator glyphs  140  may be visible on the top cap portion  12 P. In one suitable arrangement, glyphs  140  might be formed in the same region as the swirling pattern that is output to the user during confirmation of receipt of a voice command (e.g., glyphs  140  may be displayed in the top cap region  12 P as shown in  FIG. 17A ). In other suitable arrangements, glyphs  140  might be visible in a region that is separate from the top cap region (e.g., glyphs  140  might be displayed in a region that is outside the border of the top cap portion  12 P). When the user presses on the region where the +glyph is located, control circuitry  20  may direct the speaker(s) within device  10  to increase its volume. When the user presses on the region where the −glyph is located, control circuitry  20  may direct the speaker(s) within device  10  to decrease its volume. 
     Glyphs  140  might be visible to the user without requiring the user to physically touch device  10  (e.g., glyphs  140  might be constantly illuminated or may be a persistent visible inked icon that does not require any light to be projected from below the top cap). Alternatively, glyphs  140  may be occasionally illuminated using a reticle projection assembly of the type described in connection with  FIG. 10A , using a light projection assembly to illuminate a photoluminescent glyph layer as described in connection with  FIG. 11 , using a light projection assembly to illuminate an opening in a black mask layer as described in connection with  FIG. 12A , or via other glyph illumination mechanisms in response to a user&#39;s physical touch. This example in which glyphs  140  are used for speaker volume control is merely illustrative. In general, other types of glyphs for directing control circuitry  20  to skip to the next song, to fast forward, rewind, record, or otherwise control device  10  via physical feedback may be implemented. 
     Configurations in which glyphs  140  are formed as a persistent visible icon on the top cap portion are sometimes described herein as an examples.  FIG. 17B  is a cross-sectional side view of portion  12 P showing how a glyph ink layer  1401  may be interposed between top cap  12 P and white painted layer  12 W. Ink layer  1401  may be a patterned black ink layer or may be formed using any dark or opaque material that can be patterned into the desired glyph shape and/or provide sufficient contrast against the white layer  12 W when viewed through top cap  12 P.  FIG. 17C  illustrates another suitable arrangement in which glyph ink layer  140 P is formed directly on the top surface of top cap portion  12 P. Ink layer  140 P may be a patterned black ink layer or may formed using any dark or opaque material that can be patterned into the desired glyph shape and/or provide sufficient contrast against the top cap  12 P in plain view. These examples in which glyphs  140  are formed using dark or opaque material against a lighter backdrop so black glyphs are visible on a white or light gray top cap is merely illustrative. If desired, glyphs  140  might be formed using white ink or other lighter material against a comparatively darker backdrop so that one or more white glyphs are visible on a black or dark gray tinted top cap. 
     Device  10  may be operated in a system that uses personally identifiable information. The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, data may be gathered that includes personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to contact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data can include demographic data, location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter ID&#39;s, home addresses, data or records relating to a user&#39;s health or level of fitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, username, password, biometric information, or any other identifying or personal information. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to deliver targeted content that is of greater interest to the user. Accordingly, use of such personal information data enables users to have control of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personal information data that benefit the user are also contemplated by the present disclosure. For instance, health and fitness data may be used to provide insights into a user&#39;s general wellness, or may be used as positive feedback to individuals using technology to pursue wellness goals. 
     The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and should be updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities should consider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adapted for the particular types of personal information data being collected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards, including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the United States, collection of or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), whereas health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained for different personal data types in each country. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation in the collection of personal information data during registration for services or anytime thereafter. In another example, users can select not to provide certain types of user data. In yet another example, users can select to limit the length of time user-specific data is maintained. In addition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the access or use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notified upon downloading an application (“app”) that their personal information data will be accessed and then reminded again just before personal information data is accessed by the app. 
     Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and handled in a way to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can be minimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect a user&#39;s privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, when appropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth, etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and/or other methods. 
     Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use of information that may include personal information data to implement one or more various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the various embodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing personal information data. That is, the various embodiments of the present technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. 
     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: 20210617
Publication Date: 20221004
Grant Date: 20221004
Priority Date: 20200807
Inventors: LIU, RONG
BAEK, ANDREW
JUHNKE, Ethan W.
WHANG, Eugene A.
ROPER, GEMMA A.
TRAINER, GLENN K.
PANG, Jia Chen
QI, JUN
POON, KA HO P.
SULKIS, Michael C.
MARI, PEDRO
MOHIUDDIN, Syed F.
YIN, VICTOR H.
SUN, YU P.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04R1/028", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21Y2115/30", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V9/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V7/0091", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/007", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21Y2115/10", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V33/0056", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V7/0091", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/008", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V33/0056", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/007", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B6/0023", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/006", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/043", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/048", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V19/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V33/0056", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/048", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/006", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/007", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V19/001", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B6/0023", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/043", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V5/008", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "F21V7/0091", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B6/009", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B6/0068", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G02B6/0095", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 83451120