PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11137861-B2
Application Number: US-201916402115-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Fabric-covered electronic device with touch sensor

Abstract:
An electronic device such as a speaker device may have a curved housing characterized by a vertical longitudinal axis. A layer of fabric may cover the curved housing. A touch sensor may be used to detect touch input on the layer of fabric. The touch sensor may include capacitive touch sensor electrodes including drive lines and sense lines. In some arrangements, the touch sensor is formed from conductive strands in the layer of fabric. In other arrangements, the touch sensor is formed from conductive traces on a substrate. The substrate may be formed from portions of the curved housing or may be formed from a layer that is separate from the housing. Light-emitting components and/or fabric with different visual characteristics may be used to mark where the touch-sensitive regions of the fabric are located. The touch-sensitive regions may be shaped as media control symbols.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a cylindrical housing; 
 a speaker in the cylindrical housing configured to emit sound; 
 a fabric layer covering most of the cylindrical housing, wherein the fabric layer has openings through which the sound passes; 
 a touch sensor layer that detects touch input on the fabric layer, wherein the touch sensor layer comprises drive lines and the sense lines formed from conductive traces located on a substrate; and 
 control circuitry that selectively activates and deactivates portions of the touch sensor layer to adjust locations of touch-sensitive and non-touch-sensitive regions on the fabric layer. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising control circuitry that controls the speaker in response to the touch input on the fabric layer. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is formed from a portion of the housing. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises additional openings through which the sound passes. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , further comprising a light-emitting layer that overlaps the touch sensor layer and emits light through the fabric layer. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5 , wherein the touch sensor layer detects the touch input only on a portion of the fabric layer and wherein the light-emitting layer emits the light only through the portion of the fabric layer. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor layer detects the touch input only on a portion of the fabric layer, wherein the portion of the fabric layer has a different characteristic from a surrounding portion of the fabric layer, and wherein the different characteristic is a characteristic selected from the group consisting of: color, fabric construction, texture, and reflectivity. 
     
     
       8. An electronic device, comprising:
 a curved housing having a longitudinal axis; 
 an outer fabric layer and an inner spacer fabric layer that cover at least some of the curved housing and extend around the longitudinal axis, wherein the inner spacer fabric layer has diamond-shaped openings; 
 a speaker that emits sound through the diamond-shaped openings of the inner spacer fabric layer; 
 a touch sensor layer that detects touch input on a touch-sensitive region of the outer fabric layer, wherein the touch sensor layer is interposed between the outer fabric layer and the inner spacer fabric layer and wherein the touch-sensitive region has an adjustable shape; 
 a light source that illuminates the touch-sensitive region of the outer fabric layer and provides visual feedback in response to touch input on the outer fabric layer; and 
 control circuitry that controls the speaker based on the touch input. 
 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the outer fabric layer has a region that is not touch-sensitive. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the touch sensor layer comprises capacitive touch sensor electrodes formed on a substrate and wherein the substrate is interposed between the housing and the outer fabric layer. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the touch sensor layer comprises signal lines formed from conductive strands in the outer fabric layer. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the outer fabric layer has a region that is not touch-sensitive, wherein the outer fabric layer has a first color in the touch-sensitive region and a second color in the region that is not touch-sensitive, and wherein the first color is different from the second color. 
     
     
       13. An electronic device, comprising:
 a speaker; 
 a tube of spacer fabric that extends around the speaker, wherein the spacer fabric has openings through which sound from the speaker passes, wherein the spacer fabric has a touch-sensitive region that receives touch input and a non-touch-sensitive region that is visually distinct from the touch-sensitive region, and wherein the touch-sensitive region is shaped as a symbol representing a volume control function; and 
 control circuitry that controls the speaker based on the touch input, wherein the control circuitry is configured to change a shape of the touch-sensitive region. 
 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , further comprising a light-emitting device that illuminates the touch-sensitive region of the spacer fabric. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14 , wherein the light-emitting device illuminates the symbol. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , wherein the tube of spacer fabric has a longitudinal axis and wherein the touch-sensitive region wraps around the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 13 , wherein the touch-sensitive region of the spacer fabric comprises drive lines and sense lines formed from conductive strands in the spacer fabric.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/727,131, filed Sep. 5, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with fabric. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as audio devices may include fabric. As an example, the housing of a speaker may be covered with a layer of fabric. Openings may be provided in the fabric to allow sound to be emitted from within the device. 
     It may be challenging to enhance the functionality of a speaker. For example, it may be difficult to integrate input and output devices into a speaker with a fabric layer. If care is not taken, the user may find it cumbersome to provide input to and receive output from the speaker. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device such as a touch-controlled and/or voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing characterized by a vertical axis. The housing may have a cylindrical shape with upper and lower ends that have surface regions of compound curvature. The housing may be covered by a fabric layer such as a knit fabric layer with diamond-shaped openings. 
     A touch sensor may be used to detect touch input on the layer of fabric. The touch sensor may include capacitive touch sensor electrodes including drive lines and sense lines. In some arrangements, the touch sensor is formed from conductive strands in the layer of fabric. In other arrangements, the touch sensor is formed from conductive traces on a substrate. The substrate may be formed from portions of the curved housing or may be formed from a separate layer. Light-emitting components and/or fabric with different visual characteristics may be used to mark where the touch-sensitive regions of the fabric are located. The touch-sensitive regions may be shaped as media control symbols. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device having a housing covered with a fabric layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the device of  FIG. 1  covered with illustrative layers of material in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram of a portion of an illustrative layer of warp knit fabric in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  shows how a layer of fabric may have openings such as diamond-shaped openings in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative touch sensor that may be used in an electronic device of the type shown in  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative touch sensor having electrodes formed from conductive material on a substrate in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of an illustrative touch sensor having electrodes formed from conductive strands in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a touch sensor under a fabric layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a touch sensor integrated with a fabric layer in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15  are side views of an illustrative electronic device having a touch sensor in various locations in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a side view of an illustrative electronic device having touch-sensitive regions shaped like media control symbols in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a light-emitting component that illuminates a touch-sensitive region in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having touch-sensitive fabric regions that are visually distinct from fabric regions that are not touch-sensitive in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Items such as item  10  of  FIG. 1  may include fabric. For example, fabric may be used in forming one or more covering layers for item  10  of  FIG. 1 . Item  10  may be an electronic device or an accessory for an electronic device such as a voice-controlled electronic device (sometimes referred to as a digital assistant or voice-controlled speaker), 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 fabric-based item  10  is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, other electronic equipment, or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. If desired, item  10  may be a removable external case for electronic equipment, may be a strap, may be a wrist band or head band, may be a removable cover for a device, may be a case or bag that has straps or that has other structures to receive and carry electronic equipment and other items, may be a necklace or arm band, may be a wallet, sleeve, pocket, or other structure into which electronic equipment or other items may be inserted, may be part of a chair, sofa, or other seating (e.g., cushions or other seating structures), may be part of an item of clothing or other wearable item (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, headband, shirt, pants, shoes, etc.), or may be any other suitable fabric-based item. In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 1 , item  10  is a voice-controlled and/or touch-controlled electronic device such as a speaker with internet access. Other types of device may incorporate fabric, if desired. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , item  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 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, 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 item  10  for which the housing is being used. As an example, in scenarios in which item  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 item  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 item  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 item  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 item  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 item  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 item  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 item  10  is a jacket or other item of clothing (e.g., a hat, belt, wrist band, headband, shirt, pants, shoes, etc.), housing  12  may be formed from layers of fabric or other material configured to allow item  10  to be worn on a user&#39;s body; in configurations in which item  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 item  10  is a kiosk, housing  12  can form a pedestal or other shape suitable for a kiosk; in configurations in which item  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 item  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 item  10  is a strap, wrist band, necklace or headband, housing  12  may have a strip shape; in configurations in which item  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 item  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  has a cylindrical shape suitable for an item such as a voice-controlled and/or touch-controlled speaker with internet access. Housing  12  may have other shapes and may be incorporated into other items, if desired. The configuration of  FIG. 1  is presented as an example. 
     Item  10  may include fabric  14 . Fabric  14  may form all or part of a housing wall or other layer in an electronic device, may form the outermost layer of item  10 , may form one or more inner covering layers, may form internal structures in an electronic device, or may form other fabric-based structures. Item  10  may be soft (e.g., item  10  may have a fabric surface that yields to a light touch), may have a rigid feel (e.g., the surface of item  10  may be formed from a stiff fabric), may be coarse, may be smooth, may have ribs or other patterned textures, and/or may be formed as part of a device that has portions formed from non-fabric structures of plastic, metal, glass, crystalline materials, ceramics, or other materials. 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 or other non-fabric structure and the sidewall surfaces of housing  12  may be covered with fabric  14 . Portion  12 P may include touch sensors, light-emitting devices (e.g., light-emitting diodes that backlight button icons and/or that produce other visual output for a user), and/or other input-output components. If desired, fabric  14  may cover some or all of portion  12 P. Fabric  14  may serve as a cosmetic cover for item  10  that overlaps audio components (microphones and/or speakers) and is permeable to sound and and/or may be incorporated into other portions of item  10 . 
     Fabric  14  may include intertwined strands of material such as strands  16 . Fabric  14  may, for example, include warp knit fabric that is formed by warp knitting strands  16  and/or may include woven fabric, fabric with braided strands of material, etc. Strands  16  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). 
     Strands  16  may be formed from polymer, metal, glass, graphite, ceramic, magnetic materials, 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 fabric  14  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. 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, strands  16  may include optical fibers (e.g., lossy optical fibers with surface roughening or other features that allow the strands to guide light while emitting portion of the guided light outwardly). Optical waveguide strands (e.g., lossy optical fibers formed from glass, transparent polymer, etc.) can be provided with light from light sources such as light-emitting diodes to display information (e.g., desired patterns of light). In some cases, it may be desirable for lossy fiber to appear dark or colored in reflection when illuminated by external light, so that the lossy fiber may match the appearance of other fibers. In these cases, the lossy fiber can include regions that are colored on the outside of the fiber but only leak light slightly or not at all and other regions that emit light due to roughen of the fiber surface or localized adjustments to the cladding of the fiber in that region (e.g., localized cladding thinning). 
     Items such as item  10  may, if desired, 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  14  such as voice commands for controlling the operation of item  10 ). Speakers can produce audio output (e.g., sound that passes through fabric  14 ). 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. Light-emitting diodes, displays, and other visual output devices may be used in supply 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. 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 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. 
     Input-output devices  18  in item  10  may include one or more touch sensors such as touch sensor  50 . Touch sensor  50  may be formed from capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensor structures (e.g., piezoelectric touch sensor structures, resistive touch sensor structures, acoustic touch sensor structures, force-based touch sensor structures, light-based touch sensor structures, etc.). With one illustrative configuration, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, item  10  may incorporate a touch sensor that is formed from conductive strands of material in a layer of fabric (see, e.g., fabric  14  of  FIG. 1 ). The conductive strands in a fabric touch sensor may include horizontal strands of material that overlap with perpendicular vertical strands of material to form a grid of touch sensor electrodes that intersect at an array of intersection locations. A fabric touch sensor of this type may, as an example, overlap some or all of housing  12  and may thereby serve as an integral touch surface with which a user may supply touch input (multitouch gestures, single-finger pointer-control input for an on-screen cursor in arrangements where item  10  has a display, swipes, taps, and other touch commands). In general, item  10  may include any suitable input-output devices (e.g., buttons, capacitive touch sensors or other touch sensors, etc.). 
     If desired, light-emitting devices (e.g., lasers or light-emitting diodes) may be arranged in an array of pixels to form a display or other light-based output device. As an example, light-emitting devices may be formed under one or more covering layers (e.g., fabric) on item  10 . If desired, light-emitting devices may be used to indicate where touch sensors  50  are located on housing  12  and/or may be used to provide feedback to a user in response to touch input on touch sensors  50 . 
     Light-emitting devices and/or touch sensors  50  may be formed just in a ring-shaped upper region  12 W- 1  that runs around the upper edge of item  10 , may be formed only in upper portion  12 P, may be formed only on sidewall surface  12 W- 2 , and/or may be formed on one or more other portions of item  10  (e.g., on some or all of exterior sidewall surface  12 W- 2 ). In general, the surfaces of item  10  such as the surface of housing portion  12 P and the sidewalls of item  10  may be provided with any suitable input-output devices  18 . Sidewall locations in item  10  (e.g., the upper sidewall area associated with region  12 W- 1  and/or the sidewall areas associated with region  12 W- 2 ) may, as an example, be provided with light-emitting devices (e.g., to form a pixel array for displaying images that include text, still image content, moving image content, icons, etc.), may be provided with sensors (e.g., an array of force sensors, touch sensors, proximity sensors, gesture sensors, accelerometers for gathering touch/tap input, domes switches or other pressure-activated switches, etc.), and/or other input-output devices  18 . These sidewall locations in item  10  may wrap partly or entirely around the periphery of item  10  (e.g., light-emitting devices, sensors, and/or other components may be provided on sidewall areas that wrap around a longitudinal axis  22  of item  10  such as vertical axis  22  and extend along some or all of the circumference of item  10 ) and/or may extend vertically along item  10  (e.g., parallel to longitudinal axis  22  of item  10 ). Some or all of the surfaces of item  10  may be covered with one or more layers of material including fabric and/or other layer(s) such as polymer layers, metal layers, etc. If desired, light-emitting devices in item  10  may emit light in the infrared, which is invisible to the user, but can be detected by external sensors and devices to support light-based communication between item  10  and external devices. Item  10  may also include infrared light-detectors to support infrared light-based communications and sensing. 
     A cross-sectional side view of a portion of item  10  is shown in  FIG. 2 . In the example of  FIG. 2 , item  10  includes internal components such as one or more speakers  32  in interior  24  of item  10 . Wall structures  28  (e.g., sidewall structures) may separate interior  24  from exterior  26 . A user of item  10  (e.g., user  34 ) may view the exterior of item  10  in direction  36  and may listen to sound that has been emitted from speaker  32  and that has passed through wall structures  28 . 
     Wall structures  28  may include a housing formed from one or more rigid support structures (e.g., a metal housing wall, a plastic housing wall, a housing wall formed from other material and/or combinations of these materials). As shown in  FIG. 2 , for example, wall structures  28  may include housing  12  (e.g., a housing wall such as a housing sidewall and/or other housing wall structures). Housing  12  may have acoustic openings  30  to allow sound to pass through housing  12 . Openings  30  may be circular, square, diamond-shaped, or may have other suitable shapes. The lateral dimensions of openings  30  may be at least 0.1 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 5 mm, at least 15 mm, less than 30 mm, less than 60 mm, or other suitable size. 
     Covering layers  38  may overlap the exterior surface of housing  12 . Covering layers  38  may have openings  40 . The outermost of covering layers  38  may, as an example, serve as a cosmetic layer (e.g., a layer that provides item  10  with a desired color, texture, etc.). Inner covering layers (e.g., layers  38  that are interposed between the outermost layer and housing  12 ) may include adhesive layers for attaching layers together, cushioning layers (e.g., layers of foam and/or fabric to provide layers  38  with a cushiony feel), component layers (e.g., touch sensor  50 , substrates with electrodes, metal traces forming interconnects, integrated circuits, light-emitting components, and/or other circuitry), light-modifying layers (e.g., diffuser layers, reflective layers, layers for hiding internal components from view, etc.), component-hiding layers or other layers such as acoustically transparent layers that block light and/or that block moisture, dust, and other environmental contaminants, and/or other covering layer structures. Layers  38  may, if desired, include coating layers (e.g., one or more layers of liquid polymer containing light-scattering particles, dye, pigment, and/or other materials that can be applied in liquid form and cured to form solid coatings, coating layers of metal or other materials deposited using physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and/or electrochemical deposition, and/or other coatings. 
     One or more of layers  38  may include fabric  14 . Fabric  14  may, for example, overlap some or all of the exterior of housing  12  (e.g., fabric  14  may overlap at least region  12 W- 2  of  FIG. 1 ). Fabric  14  may also be used in forming straps, covers, wearable items, and/or other structures for item  10 . 
     A warp knitting machine or other equipment (e.g., weaving equipment, braiding equipment, weft knitting equipment, etc.) may be used in intertwining strands  16  to form fabric  14 . In general, fabric  14  may be any suitable type of fabric (e.g., woven fabric, knit fabric, braided fabric, etc.). A layer of illustrative warp knit fabric  14  is shown in  FIG. 3 . An illustrative strand  16 ′ among strands  16  has been highlighted to show the zig-zag path taken by each strand in fabric  14 . 
     During the process of forming fabric  14  (e.g., during knitting), a warp knitting machine or other fabric fabrication equipment that is forming fabric  14  may, if desired, direct positioners in the equipment to incorporate openings into fabric  14 . As an example, the equipment may be directed to form knit fabric or other fabric that includes diamond-shaped openings or openings of other suitable shapes, as illustrated by openings  42  in warp knit fabric  14  of  FIG. 4 . In configurations in which fabric  14  forms one of layers  38 , openings  42  may serve as openings  40  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Touch sensor  50  may be incorporated into item  10  to create touch sensitive regions on item  10  for receiving touch input from a user. Touch sensor  50  may be located on a portion of housing  12  that is covered by fabric  14  and/or may be located on a portion of housing  12  that is uncovered by fabric  14 . Touch sensor  50  may be formed from conductive strands in fabric  14  and/or may be formed from conductive traces on a substrate. For example, housing  12  and/or one or more of layers  38  of  FIG. 2  may serve as a substrate for touch sensor  50 . Touch sensor  50  may be integrated with fabric  14 , may be covered by fabric  14 , and/or may be located in portions of item  10  that do not overlap fabric  14 . Touch sensor  50  may, for example, form one of layers  38  of  FIG. 2 . 
     Touch sensor  50  may sense touch and/or force using capacitive touch electrodes, soft piezoelectric polymers, microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) force sensors, a strain gauge, resistive force sensors, optical sensors that measure skin color changes due to pressure variations, other optical sensors, and/or other force sensing components. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram showing an illustrative arrangement for touch sensor  50  of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , device  10  may include touch sensor control circuitry  66  (e.g., touch sensor control circuitry that forms part of control circuitry  20  of  FIG. 1 ). 
     Conductive lines  62  may serve as capacitive electrodes in capacitive touch sensor  50  (e.g., a touch sensor grid). Conductive lines  62  may be formed from patterned traces (e.g., traces of transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide, other thin-film materials, other conductive materials such as metal, etc.) on housing  12  and/or fabric  14 , may be formed from conductive strands of material in fabric  14 , may be formed from patterned traces on a layer that is separate from fabric  14  and housing  12  such as a layer of polymer or other material, and/or may be formed from other conductive structures that form capacitive touch sensor electrodes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , touch sensor  50  includes touch sensor circuitry  66  coupled to a set of horizontal lines  62  and a perpendicular set of vertical lines  62 . Touch sensor circuitry  66  may provide drive signals D to one of these sets of lines  62  (e.g., horizontal lines  62  in the example of  FIG. 5 ) and may gather corresponding sense signals S on the other of these sets of lines  62  (e.g., vertical lines  62  in the example of  FIG. 5 ). Capacitive coupling between the drive and sense lines varies in the presence of a user&#39;s finger over a drive-line-to-sense-line intersection. As a result, touch sensor circuitry  66  can process the drive and sense signals to determine which of the intersections of the horizontal and vertical lines  62  are being overlapped by a user&#39;s finger(s) or other external objects. When touch input is detected in this way, touch sensor circuitry  66  may provide a processor or other control circuitry in device  10  or other equipment with information on the touch input using a path such as path  64 . 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view showing an illustrative arrangement for touch sensor  50  in which signal lines  62  are formed from conductive lines on a substrate such as substrate  52 . Substrate  52  may be a portion of fabric  14 , may be a portion of housing  12 , or may be a substrate that is separate from fabric  14  and housing  12  (e.g., a substrate formed from polymer, glass, ceramic, fabric, and/or other suitable materials). Signals lines  62  may be formed from transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide or may be formed from other conductive materials such as metal. 
       FIG. 7  is a top view showing an illustrative arrangement for touch sensor  50  in which signal lines  62  are formed from conductive strands of material in fabric  14 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , fabric  14  may include warp strands  80  and weft strands  82 . Warp strands  80  run along a first dimension of fabric  14  (e.g., the vertical dimension in the orientation of  FIG. 7 ) and weft strands  82  run perpendicularly along a second dimension of fabric  14  (e.g., the horizontal dimension in the orientation of  FIG. 7 ). Some of warp strands  80  such as strands  801  may be insulating and some of strands  80  such as strands  80 C may be conductive and may therefore serve as the vertically extending electrodes  62  in touch sensor  50 . Some of weft strands  82  such as weft strands  821  may be insulating and some of strands  82  may be conductive such as strands  82 C and may therefore serve as horizontally extending electrodes  62  in touch sensor  50 . Fabric  14  of  FIG. 7  has a plain weave, but in general, fabric  14  may have any suitable construction (e.g., fabric  14  may have a basket weave, may be knitted, may be braided, or may have any other suitable fabric construction). 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  show illustrative configurations for touch sensor  50  in device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 8 , touch sensor  50  is interposed between housing  12  and fabric  14 . Touch sensor  50  of  FIG. 8  may be formed from conductive traces  62  on a substrate (e.g., substrate  52  of  FIG. 6 ). If desired, housing  12  may serve as a substrate for the traces  62  of touch sensor  50 , or traces  62  of touch sensor  50  may be formed on a substrate that is separate from housing  12 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 9 , touch sensor  50  is integrated into fabric  14 . For example, traces  62  of touch sensor  50  may be formed on a substrate (e.g., substrate  52  of  FIG. 6 ) that is embedded into fabric  14  or traces  62  of touch sensor  50  may be formed from conductive portions of fabric  14  (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 7 ). In arrangements where touch sensor  50  is integrated into fabric  14 , one or more additional layers of fabric  14  or other materials may be used to cover touch sensor  50 , if desired. 
     Touch sensor  50  may form one of layers  38  of  FIG. 2 . Similar to the other layers  38  of  FIG. 2 , touch sensor  50  may include one or more openings such as openings  40  to allow sound from speaker  32  to pass through wall structures  28  of device  10 . Openings  40  may pass through the substrate of touch sensor  50  (e.g., in arrangements where touch sensor  50  is formed from traces  62  on a substrate such as substrate  52  of  FIG. 6 ) and/or may pass through fabric  14  (e.g., in arrangements where touch sensor  50  is formed from conductive strands in fabric  14  of  FIG. 7 ). 
       FIGS. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15  show illustrative locations for touch sensor  50  on device  10 . In the example of  FIG. 10 , touch sensor  50  extends across the entire surface of housing  12 , including top portion  12 P, upper wall region  12 W- 1 , and lower wall region  12 W- 2 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 11 , touch sensor  50  extends only across top portion  12 P and upper wall region  12 W- 1 . Lower wall region  12 W- 2  may be free of touch sensors, if desired. 
     In the example of  FIG. 12 , touch sensor  50  is located on top portion  12 P and select portions of lower wall region  12 W- 2 . The portions of housing  12  that are covered with touch sensor  50  (sometimes referred to as touch-sensitive zones or touch-sensitive regions of item  10 ) may have any suitable shape. In the  FIG. 12  example, touch sensor  50  forms a vertical touch-sensitive zone that extends down the side of housing  12  (e.g., parallel to the longitudinal axis of item  10 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 13 , touch sensor  50  is located on top portion  12 P and select portions of lower wall region  12 W- 2 . Touch sensor  50  of  FIG. 13  may form a horizontal touch-sensitive zone that extends partially or completely around the circumference of housing  12  (e.g., surrounding the longitudinal axis of item  10 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 14 , touch sensor  50  is located on top portion  12 P and select portions of lower wall region  12 W- 2 . Touch sensor  50  of  FIG. 14  may form touch-sensitive zones having shapes that correspond to user input control functions such as audio playback control symbols (e.g., a play symbol, a pause symbol, next and previous track symbols, increase and decrease volume symbols, etc.) and/or other control symbols (e.g., a menu symbol, a power symbol, a sleep symbol, etc.). Control circuitry  20  may take appropriate action based on touch input to a given touch-sensitive region (e.g., may play audio with speaker  32  in response to touch input on the touch-sensitive region that is shaped like a play symbol). 
     In the example of  FIG. 15 , touch sensor  50  is located only on top portion  12 P of housing  12 . Upper wall region  12 W- 1  and lower wall region  12 W- 2  may be free of touch sensors, if desired. In other arrangements, touch sensor  50  may be located on other portions of housing  12  and top portion  12 P may be free of touch sensors. The examples of  FIGS. 10-15  are merely illustrative. 
       FIG. 16  shows how touch sensor  50  may be located in discrete touch-sensitive regions on housing  12  (e.g., similar to the example of  FIG. 14 ). Touch-sensitive regions on device  10  such as touch-sensitive regions  96  may have any suitable shape. In the example of  FIG. 16 , touch-sensitive regions  96  have the shape of a plus symbol (e.g., for increasing volume) and a minus symbol (e.g., for decreasing volume). Touch sensor  50  may include touch sensor electrodes  94  (e.g., capacitive touch sensor electrodes formed from signal lines  62  of  FIG. 5 ). The touch sensor electrodes  94  may be located in touch-sensitive zones  96  of item  10 . 
     The location of touch-sensitive regions  96  may be static or dynamic. In a static arrangement, the location of touch-sensitive regions  96  remains fixed. For example, capacitive touch sensor electrodes  94  may be located in regions that are always touch-sensitive. In a dynamic arrangement, the location of touch-sensitive regions  96  may change. For example, control circuitry  20  may selectively activate and deactivate portions of touch sensor  50  to create touch-sensitive regions  96  and non-touch-sensitive regions. When control circuitry  20  activates the touch sensors  50  in the non-touch-sensitive regions, those regions may become touch-sensitive regions  96 . When control circuitry  20  deactivates the touch sensors  50  in the touch-sensitive regions  96 , those regions may become non-touch-sensitive regions. Control circuitry  20  may, if desired, selectively activate and deactivate certain touch sensor electrodes  94  to achieve a touch-sensitive region  96  having a desired shape (e.g., a media control symbol or a symbol corresponding to any other suitable user input function). 
       FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of the sidewalls of item  10  showing layers  38  over housing  12  in touch-sensitive regions  96 . Layers  38  may include layer  54  (e.g., an acoustically transparent component-hiding layer interposed between layer  14 - 2  and housing  12 ), layer  14 - 2  (e.g., a fabric spacer layer or other layer), adhesive layers  38 A, layer  44  (e.g., a light-emitting layer having light-emitting elements  48 ) interposed between adhesive layers  38 A, touch sensor layer  50  (e.g., a touch sensor of the type shown in  FIGS. 5-16 ), and layer  14 - 1  (e.g., a cosmetic fabric layer). 
     Layer  14 - 1  may be an outer cosmetic fabric layer such as layer  14  of  FIG. 4 . Openings  42  may be configured to allow sound to pass through layer  14 - 1 . As shown in  FIG. 17 , other covering layers  38  may be interposed between outer layer  14 - 1  and housing  12 . 
     Layer  54  may be a component-hiding layer such as a perforated polymer layer or a fabric layer formed from polymer strands or other strands of material. Layer  54  may help hide internal components in item  10  such as speaker  32  ( FIG. 2 ) from view by user  34  viewing item  10  in direction  36 . The polymer of layer  54  may be provided with light-scattering particles and/or may be coated with a reflective coating (e.g., a polymer coating with light-scattering particles, a metal coating, etc.), so that layer  54  serves as a reflective, acoustically transparent, component-hiding layer that reflects light (e.g., a layer with a visible light reflectivity of at least 50%, at least 70%, at least 85%, less than 99.9%, etc.). 
     Fabric spacer layer  14 - 2  may be formed from a cushiony layer of fabric (e.g., an outer layer of fabric, an opposing inner layer of fabric, and a spacer layer formed from spacer strands that extend back and forth between the outer and inner fabric layers). Fabric spacer layer  14 - 2  may be sufficiently porous to allow sound to pass or may be provided with openings such as openings  42  of  FIG. 4  to allow sound to pass. 
     Layer  44  may be interposed between an outer adhesive layer  38 A and an inner adhesive layer  38 A. Adhesive layers  38 A may have openings that allow sound to pass. The outer layer of adhesive  38 A may be used to attach layer  14 - 1  to layer  44 . The inner adhesive layer  38 A may be used to attach layer  44  to spacer fabric layer  14 - 2 . 
     Layer  44  may be a flexible printed circuit and may include light-emitting components that emit light  90 . For example, layer  44  may have light-emitting devices (components  48 ) that are configured to emit light  90  inwardly toward housing  12  and/or outwardly towards user  34 . The density of light-emitting devices  48  in layer  44  may be sufficient to form a display that is configured to display images for user  34  such as images containing text, graphics, moving images. In some configurations, the density of light-emitting devices  48  on some or all of layer  44  may be low so that the light-emitting devices are used mainly for displaying diffused fixed or moving patterns of light that serve as a visual indicator or visual feedback (e.g., abstract light patterns of one or more colors). For example, control circuitry  20  may illuminate light-emitting devices  48  to indicate where touch-sensitive regions  96  are located on item  10 , to indicate which touch-sensitive regions  96  are active, and/or to provide visual feedback following touch input to touch sensor  50 . Light-emitting devices  48  may be located only in touch-sensitive regions  96 , may be located only in portions of item  10  that are not touch-sensitive, or may be located in touch-sensitive regions  96  and non-touch-sensitive regions of item  10 . 
     If desired, control circuitry  20  may use light-emitting devices  48  to indicate what control function is associated with touch-sensitive regions  96 . Light-emitting devices  48  may be used to display audio playback control symbols (e.g., a play symbol, a pause symbol, next and previous track symbols, increase and decrease volume symbols, etc.) and/or other control symbols (e.g., a menu symbol, a power symbol, a sleep symbol, etc.). For example, if a touch-sensitive region  96  is associated with an increase volume function, control circuitry  20  may use light-emitting devices  48  to display a plus symbol (e.g., by selectively turning on light-emitting devices  48  that overlap touch sensor electrodes  94  of  FIG. 16 ). 
     If desired, one or more of layers  38  may serve as a diffuser layer for diffusing light  90  from light-emitting devices  48 . For example, emitted light  90  may be diffused by the strands of material in fabric spacer layer  14 - 2  as light  90  passes inwardly toward housing  12  and again as light  90  passes outwardly from housing  12  to users  34  after reflecting from reflective structures such as layer  54 . Optional additional light diffusion layers may be included in layers  38 , if desired. For example, one or more light diffusing layers may be located between housing  12  and layer  54 , between layers  14 - 2  and  54 , between layers  14 - 2  and  44 , between layers  44  and  14 - 1  and/or in other locations in layers  38 . In one illustrative configuration, a diffuser formed from a frosted polymer film may be interposed between one or more, two or more, or three or more of any of the interfaces between layers  38  of  FIG. 17  to help diffuse light  90  as light  90  passes through the diffuser layer. In another illustrative configuration, layers  38  contain no frosted polymer films. 
     In the example of  FIG. 17 , touch sensor  50  is located between fabric layer  14 - 1  and light-emitting layer  44 . This is merely illustrative, however. Touch sensor  50  may be integrated into a fabric layer in layers  38  (e.g., may be formed from conductive strands in fabric layer  14 - 1 , fabric layer  14 - 2 , component-hiding layer  54 , and/or a separate fabric layer in layers  38 ), or touch sensor  50  may be formed from conductive traces on a substrate in layers  38  (e.g., traces on fabric layer  14 - 1 , light-emitting layer  44 , fabric layer  14 - 2 , component-hiding layer  54 , housing  12 , and/or a separate substrate in layers  38 ). 
     In general, light diffusing material, component-hiding material, dust-blocking material, additional flexible substrate(s) with electrical components, adhesive and/or coating structures (e.g., reflective coatings such as coatings of white ink, metal, etc.), may be located at one or more, two or more, or three or more of the interfaces between layers  38  of  FIG. 17  and may be coupled to the outwardly facing and/or inwardly facing surfaces at each of these interfaces. If desired, a flexible mesh substrate such as layer  44  may include antenna traces (e.g., metal traces for forming patch antennas, inverted-F antennas, loop antennas, coils for inductive power transfer, monopoles, dipoles, etc.), metal traces forming capacitive sensor electrodes and/or signal interconnect traces, and/or other metal traces. Flexible mesh substrate layers in layers  38  such as layer  44  may also include electrical components such as components for forming input-output devices  18  and/or control circuitry  20  of  FIG. 1 . If desired, multiple layers such as layer  44  may be located in the stack of layers  38  in  FIG. 17 . 
     The example of  FIG. 17  in which touch-sensitive regions  96  have dynamic (e.g., adjustable) visual output capabilities is merely illustrative. If desired, touch-sensitive regions  96  may be marked using static visual output. This type of arrangement is illustrated in  FIG. 18 . As shown in  FIG. 18 , touch-sensitive region  96  may be marked using a portion of outer fabric layer  14 , such as region  14 C. Region  14 C may be visually distinct from the surrounding portions of fabric  14 . For example, region  14 C of fabric layer  14  may have a different color threads, may have a different fabric construction, may have different texture, may have a different reflectivity, or may have other characteristics that are different from the surrounding portions of fabric  14  (e.g., different from the portions of fabric  14  that do not overlap touch-sensitive regions  96  of item  10 ). 
     If desired, one or more haptic output components may be located in touch-sensitive regions  96  of fabric  14 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 18 , haptic output component  92  may overlap touch sensor  50  in region  96 . Haptic output component  92  may be a vibrator, an actuator, or other suitable component configured to provide tactile feedback to a user. Haptic output component  92  may be used to provide haptic feedback to the user in response to touch input on fabric  14  in region  96 , and/or haptic output component  92  may be used to raise or lower localized portions of fabric  14  so that a user knows where touch-sensitive regions  96  are located on item  10 . Haptic output component  92  may be located only in touch-sensitive region  96  and/or may be located in other portions of item  10 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20190502
Publication Date: 20211005
Grant Date: 20211005
Priority Date: 20180905
Inventors: LI, ZHENGYU
KIBITI, ELVIS M.
GAO, MING
XU, QILIANG
ZHANG, CHEN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/165", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/165", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R9/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04144", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R9/06", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/025", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/165", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 69639035