PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12003916-B1
Application Number: US-202117211607-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B1

Title: Electronic devices with sound permeable fabric

Abstract:
A pair of headphones may include first and second ear cups that each contain one or more speakers. The speakers may emit audio through a sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric that is coupled to each ear cup. The warp knit spacer fabric may include inner and outer fabric layers joined by a spacer layer. The outer fabric layer may have first and second regions with different fabric densities. The first region with the greater fabric density may be used to form a label such as an R-shape or L-shape to indicate which ear cup should cover the user&#39;s right ear and which ear cup should cover the user&#39;s left ear. The denser first region may have diamond-shaped openings of a first size and the less dense second region may have diamond-shaped openings of a second size that is greater than the first size.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device that provides audio to a user, comprising:
 an ear cup containing a speaker; and 
 a warp knit fabric through which the speaker provides the audio to the user, wherein the fabric comprises first openings of a first size and second openings of a second size that is greater than the first size, wherein the first openings form a label for the ear cup, wherein the warp knit fabric comprises a warp knit spacer fabric having inner and outer layers joined by a spacer layer, and wherein the first openings and the second openings are located in the outer layer. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the first openings comprise first diamond-shaped openings and the second openings comprise second diamond-shape openings. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the warp knit fabric comprises strands that form loops, wherein each of the first diamond-shaped openings and the second diamond-shaped openings has four sides, wherein each of the four sides of the first diamond-shaped openings is made up of a first number of loops, and wherein each of the four sides of the second diamond-shaped openings is made up of a second number of loops that is greater than the first number. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 3  wherein the first number is one and the second number is three. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the label comprises a shape selected from the group consisting of: an L-shape and an R-shape. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the inner layer comprises third openings. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the third openings have a triangular shape. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the third openings have a third size that is greater than the first size and less than the second size. 
     
     
       9. A pair of headphones, comprising:
 first and second ear cups that respectively contain first and second speakers; and 
 a first spacer fabric through which the first speaker emits sound and a second spacer fabric through which the second speaker emits sound, wherein each of the first and second spacer fabrics comprises:
 an exterior warp knit layer having a first region with a first fabric density and a second region with a second fabric density that is less than the first fabric density, wherein the first region has a letter shape; 
 an interior warp knit layer; and 
 a spacer layer joining the exterior warp knit layer and the interior warp knit layer. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The pair of headphones defined in  claim 9  wherein the first region has first openings, the second region has second openings, and wherein the first openings are smaller than the second openings. 
     
     
       11. The pair of headphones defined in  claim 10  wherein the interior warp knit layer comprises third openings having a different shape than that of the first and second openings. 
     
     
       12. The pair of headphones defined in  claim 9  wherein the interior warp knit layer has a third region with a third fabric density and a fourth region with a fourth fabric density that is greater than the third fabric density. 
     
     
       13. The pair of headphones defined in  claim 12  wherein the first and second ear cups are formed from housing structures and wherein the fourth region of the interior warp knit layer forms a bonding region for bonding the interior warp knit layer to the housing structures. 
     
     
       14. An electronic device that provides audio to a user, comprising:
 a housing; 
 a speaker mounted in the housing; and 
 a sound-permeable warp knit fabric that overlaps the speaker, wherein the sound- permeable warp knit fabric comprises strands that occupy first and second regions of the sound- permeable warp knit fabric, wherein the strands are more densely packed in the first region than in the second region, wherein the border between the first and second regions has a shape that forms a label, wherein the sound-permeable warp knit fabric comprises a sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric having inner and outer fabric layers joined by a spacer layer, wherein the inner fabric layer is interposed between the speaker and the outer fabric layer, and wherein the first and second regions openings are located in the outer fabric layer. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the first region has first diamond-shaped openings and the second region has second diamond-shaped openings that are larger than the first diamond-shaped openings. 
     
     
       16. The electronic device defined in  claim 15  wherein the strands form loops and wherein each of the second diamond-shaped openings is bordered by a greater number of the loops than each of the first diamond-shaped openings. 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 15  wherein the inner fabric layer has openings that are larger than the first diamond-shaped openings and smaller than the second diamond-shaped openings.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/002,233, filed Mar. 30, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to fabric and, more particularly, to systems for forming warp knit fabric and devices that include warp knit fabric. 
     BACKGROUND 
     It may be desirable to form headphones, voice-controlled assistant devices, bags, covers for electronic devices such as cellular telephones and tablet computers, and other equipment from fabric. Fabric-based items such as these may have an attractive appearance and may benefit from desirable attributes associated with fabric such as sound permeability, light weight, and durability. 
     In some arrangements, knit fabric may have an appearance and other attributes that are preferred over woven fabric. It may be easier and faster to produce warp knit fabric than weft knit fabric, so applications involving knit fabric often rely on warp knit fabric. 
     It can be challenging, however, to produce warp knit fabric with desired characteristics. 
     SUMMARY 
     A pair of headphones may include first and second ear cups that each contain one or more speakers. The speakers may emit audio through a sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric that is coupled to each ear cup. The sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric may include left and right ear cup labels that are formed from dense fabric regions that are visibly distinguishable from surrounding less dense fabric regions while still maintaining the desired level of sound permeability in the warp knit spacer fabric. 
     The warp knit spacer fabric may include inner and outer fabric layers joined by a spacer layer. The outer fabric layer may have a first region with a first fabric density and a second region with a second fabric density that is less than the first fabric density. The first region with the greater fabric density may be used to form a label such as an R-shape or L-shape to indicate which ear cup should cover the user&#39;s right ear and which ear cup should cover the user&#39;s left ear. The denser first region may have diamond-shaped openings of a first size and the less dense second region may have diamond-shaped openings of a second size that is greater than the first size. 
     The inner and outer fabric layers of the warp knit spacer fabric may include strands that form interconnected loops. Each of the diamond-shaped openings may have four sides. In the denser fabric region that forms the label, each of the four sides of the smaller diamond-shaped openings may include fewer loops than each of the four sides of the larger diamond-shaped openings in the less dense region. For example, each of the four sides of the smaller openings may be formed from a single loop, whereas each of the four sides of the larger openings may be formed from three loops. 
     The inner fabric layer may be interposed between the speaker and the outer fabric layer and may include a uniform density throughout or may include a denser region at the edges to provide more surface area for bonding the inner fabric layer to surrounding housing structures. The remaining portions of the inner fabric layer may include triangular openings, diamond-shaped openings, or openings of other shapes. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of an illustrative fabric-based item such as a pair of headphones with one or more fabric portions in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative warp knitting system 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 cross-sectional side view of an illustrative fabric-based item having a sound-permeable spacer fabric with openings of different sizes to form one or more labels in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS.  6  and  7    are front views of illustrative sound-permeable fabric layers having regions with openings of different sizes to form one or more labels in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a front view of a portion of an illustrative sound-permeable fabric having diamond-shaped openings of a first size in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is a front view of a portion of an illustrative sound-permeable fabric having diamond-shaped openings of a second size in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a front view of an illustrative sound-permeable fabric layer having regions with openings of different sizes to form a backing region and an attachment region in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a front view of a portion of an illustrative sound-permeable fabric layer having triangular openings with a third size in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Items such as item  10  of  FIG.  1    may be based on fabric. Item  10  may be an electronic device or an accessory for an electronic device such as a pair of headphones, 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 pair of headphones. 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 include ear cups such as ear cups  24 . There may be two ear cups  24  in device  10  that are coupled by a support such as band  22 . Band  22  may be flexible and may have a curved shape to accommodate a user&#39;s head. There may be left and right ear cups  24  in device  10 , such as ear cup  24 - 1  for one of the user&#39;s ears and ear cup  24 - 2  for the other one of the user&#39;s ears. Each ear cup  24  may have an area such as sound-permeable region  26  through which sound may be emitted from a speaker (e.g., a speaker system with one or more drivers). 
     Housing  12  may have the shape of a pair of headphones of the type shown in  FIG.  1   , may have the shape of a voice-controlled speaker (e.g., a cylindrical shape, a pyramidal shape, a conical shape, a box shape such as a rectangular box shape, a spherical shape, etc.), or may have other suitable shape. Housing  12  may include support structures formed from metal, polymer, ceramic, glass, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Device  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 internal structures in an electronic device, or may form other fabric-based structures. Fabric  14  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., may be 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. For example, some or all of band  22 , ear cups  24 , and/or other portions of housing  12  may include and/or may be covered with fabric  14 . In some configurations, fabric  14  may serve as a sound-permeable speaker cover in regions  26  of ear cups  24 . 
     Fabric  14  may include interlaced strands of material such as strands  16 . Fabric  14  may, for example, be warp knit fabric that is formed by warp knitting strands  16 . 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, 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 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. 
     Items such as item  10  may, if desired, include control circuitry  18 . Control circuitry  18  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  18  may gather information from sensors and other circuitry in input-output devices  20  and may use input-output devices  20  to supply output. Input-output devices  20  may, for example, include audio devices such as microphones and speakers. Microphones can gather audio input (e.g., sound that passes through fabric  14 ). Speakers can produce audio output (e.g., sound that passes through fabric  14 ). Sensors in input-output devices  20  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 supplying visual output to a user. Buttons, joysticks, haptic output components, and/or other input-output components may be provided in input-output devices  20  to gather input from a user and to provide a user with output. Wireless circuitry in circuitry  18  (e.g., wireless local area network circuitry, cellular telephone circuitry, etc.) may be used to support wireless communications with external equipment. 
     Integrated circuits and other electrical components forming circuitry  18  and/or input-output devices  20  may be mounted in housing  12 . Fabric  14  may cover the exterior of housing  12  (e.g., to hide electrical components in housing  12  from view). Fabric  14  may also be used in forming structural portions of housing  12  and/or other portions of item  10 , may be used in forming straps, covers, wearable items, and/or other structures for items  10 . 
     The speakers in ear cups  24  may provide audio to the user&#39;s left and right ears. When worn in an unreversed configuration, the right ear cup of device  10  will supply audio to the right ear of the user and the left ear cup of device  10  will supply audio to the left ear of the user. In a reversed configuration, the right ear cup is adjacent to the user&#39;s left ear and the left ear cup is adjacent to the user&#39;s right ear. For correct audio playback, the assignment of the left and right channels of audio that are being played back to the user can be reversed (so that the left channel of audio is played through the right ear cup and vice versa) whenever device  10  is being worn in the reversed configuration. Unreversed right-left channel assignments may be used when device  10  is being worn in the unreversed configuration. 
     If desired, fabric  14  of item  10  may include one or more labels such as label  28  in regions  26  of ear cups  24 . For example, fabric  14  may have an “L” label in sound-permeable region  26  of ear cup  24 - 1  to indicate that ear cup  24 - 1  should cover a user&#39;s left ear. Fabric  14  may have an “R” label in sound-permeable region  26  of ear cup  24 - 2  to indicate that ear cup  24 - 2  should cover a user&#39;s right ear. If desired, other labels, letters, indicators, alphanumeric symbols, logos, patterns, shapes, and/or other designs may be incorporated into fabric  14  (e.g., in sound-permeable region  26  of fabric  14 ). Arrangements in which sound-permeable fabric labels are formed over input-output components may also be used (e.g., plus and minus signs may be used to label volume increase and volume decrease buttons or touch sensors, etc.). Arrangements in which labels  28  form left and right ear cup labels may sometimes be described herein as an illustrative example. 
     Labels  28  may be formed from portions of fabric  14 . To differentiate labels  28  from the surrounding portions of fabric  14 , labels  28  may be formed with strands  16  that are more densely packed together than the surrounding strands  16  of fabric  14 . These denser fabric regions may be visually distinguishable from the surrounding less dense fabric regions. The border between the denser fabric regions and less dense fabric regions may form the shape of a letter, such as an R-shape or an L-shape. The dense fabric regions may form only the outline of a letter (e.g., the less dense regions of the fabric may fill the area inside of the outline formed by the dense fabric regions), or the dense fabric regions may fill the entire area between the borders of the letter. This is merely illustrative, however. If desired, other combinations of dense and less dense fabric regions may be used to create the desired shape and design in fabric  14 . 
     The density of fabric  14  may be adjusted across different portions of fabric  14  by changing an amount of space between adjacent strands  16  in fabric  14 . In denser fabric regions, the gap between adjacent strands 16  may be smaller than the gap between adjacent strands  16  in less dense fabric regions. Care must be taken, however, to ensure that the denser regions of fabric  14  do not negatively impact the sound permeability of fabric  14 . To maintain the desired level of sound permeability in fabric  14 , the relative density of label-forming regions (e.g., regions of fabric  14  that form the border of label  28  and/or that fill label  28 ) and non-label-forming regions (e.g., regions of fabric  14  that surround label  28 ) may be balanced so that labels  28  are visually distinguishable without sacrificing audio quality. 
     In one illustrative arrangement, which may sometimes be described herein as an example, fabric  14  is formed from a warp knit spacer fabric having first and second warp knit layers joined by a soft, cushiony spacer layer. The first warp knit layer may form an exterior layer of fabric  14  that faces the user&#39;s ear, whereas the second warp knit layer may form an interior layer of fabric  14  that faces the speaker in earcup  24 . Label  28  may be formed in the exterior layer of fabric  14  that faces the user&#39;s ear. Both the interior and exterior layers of fabric  14  may have openings. The openings may have different sizes, shapes, and/or other characteristics. In one illustrative arrangement, the exterior fabric layer may include openings of a first size in the dense fabric regions that form labels  28  and may include openings of a second size that is larger than the first size in the less dense fabric regions that surround labels  28 . The interior layer of fabric may have openings of a third size that is larger than the first size but smaller than the second size, thereby boosting the visibility of label  28  and hiding internal components from view without compromising sound quality. If desired, edge regions of the interior fabric layer and/or the exterior fabric layer may have be formed with denser fabric portions to provide more surface area that facilitates mechanical coupling between fabric  14  and the surrounding portions of housing  12 . 
     A warp knitting machine or other equipment may be used in forming fabric  14  from strands  16 .  FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative warp knitting system. As shown in  FIG.  2   , yarn source  32  in warp knitting system  60  may be used in supplying strands  16  to guide and needle structures  34 . Structures  34  may include strand guide structures (e.g., a system of movable guide bars with eyelets that guide strands  16 ) and needle systems (e.g., needle guide systems that guide sets of individually adjustable needles so that the needles may interact with the strands dispensed by the guide bars). During operations, a controller may control electrically adjustable positioners in system  60  to manipulate the positions of guide bars and needles in system  60  and thereby knit strands  16  into fabric  14 . Take down  36  (e.g., a pair of mating rollers or other equipment forming a take down system) may be used to gather fabric  14  that is produced during knitting. 
     The positioners in system  60  for positioning needles and guide bars may be controlled dynamically by a controller. If desired, each needle in system  60  may have a respective individually adjustable positioner to provide system  60  with Jacquard capabilities, and/or sets of two or more needles may be adjusted together (e.g., to reduce the number of individually adjustable positioners that are used). The ability of each positioner to be independently controlled by a controller allows each needle to be moved independently, thereby allowing fabrics with a variety of different designs to be formed. 
     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 knitting, control circuitry in system  60  may direct electrically adjustable positioners in system  60  to knit fabric  14  with any suitable warp knit pattern. As an example, control circuitry in system  60  may use the electrically adjustable positioners to knit fabric  14  that includes diamond-shaped openings or openings of other suitable shapes, as illustrated by openings  38  in warp knit fabric  14  of  FIG.  4   . The size or area of openings  38  may be dynamically adjusted as desired to create denser fabric regions for forming labels  28  of  FIG.  1    and/or for forming less dense fabric regions in the areas of fabric  14  that do not form labels  28 . 
       FIG.  5    is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of item  10  showing how fabric  14  may be a warp knit spacer fabric that overlaps speaker  30  (e.g., a speaker in a respective ear cup  24  of  FIG.  1   ). As shown in  FIG.  5   , fabric  14  may include first and second fabric layers such as interior fabric layer  14 - 1  and exterior fabric layer  14 - 2 . Fabric layers  14 - 1  and  14 - 2  may be joined by spacer layer  14 - 3 . Strands  16  of spacer layer  14 - 3  may be formed from monofilaments (e.g., polymer monofilament fibers) and/or other strands of material. Each strand  16  of spacer layer  14 - 3  may be coupled alternately to one or more inner fabric layers such as inner fabric layer  14 - 1  and one or more outer fabric layers such as outer fabric layer  14 - 2 . 
     Inner fabric layer  14 - 1  may be formed using a first set of needles (sometimes referred to as a needle bed) in system  60  of  FIG.  2   , and outer fabric layer  14 - 2  may be formed using a second set of needles in system  60  of  FIG.  2   . By dynamically controlling the needles that knit fabric layer  14 - 1  and the needles that knit fabric layer  14 - 2 , openings  38  with different sizes and/or different shapes may be formed in different portions of fabric layer  14 - 1  and  14 - 2 . The different sizes of openings may be used to create a label in fabric  14  without compromising the sound permeability of fabric  14  in region  26 . 
     For example, to create a denser fabric region having the shape of label  28 , outer fabric layer  14 - 2  may include openings  38 - 1  having size D 1 . The less dense regions of outer fabric layer  14 - 2  may include openings  38 - 2  having size D 2 . The size D 2  of openings  38 - 2  may be greater than the size D 1  of openings  38 - 1 . Due to the smaller size of openings  38 - 1  in the region of label  28 , label  28  may be visually distinguished from the surrounding portions of fabric layer  14 - 2  with larger openings  38 - 2 . The larger size of openings  38 - 2  may help maintain the desired level of sound permeability of fabric  14  despite the presence of denser fabric in the region of label  28 . 
     Inner fabric layer  14 - 1  may have openings  38 - 3  with a third size D 3 . In one illustrative arrangement, size D 3  may be greater than size D 1  but less than size D 2 . The smaller size of openings  38 - 3  compared to openings  38 - 2  may allow inner fabric layer  14 - 1  to hide internal components from view (e.g., components inside of ear cup  24  such as speaker  30 ), while the larger size of openings  38 - 3  compared to openings  38 - 1  may help maintain the desired level of sound permeability of fabric  14 . This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, size D 3  of openings  38 - 3  may be equal to size D 1  or D 2 , may be greater than size D 1  or D 2 , or may be less than size D 1  or D 2 . 
     Openings  38 - 1 ,  38 - 2 , and  38 - 3  may be diamond-shaped openings (e.g., as shown in  FIG.  4   ), may be triangle-shaped openings, and/or may have any other suitable shape. If desired, openings  38 - 1 ,  38 - 2 , and  38 - 3  may have different shapes or may all have the same shape. For example, openings  38 - 1  and  38 - 2  are diamond-shaped openings and openings  38 - 3  are triangle-shaped openings. This is, however, merely illustrative. Other shapes or combinations of shapes may be used, if desired. In some arrangements, fabric layer  14 - 1  and/or fabric layer  14 - 2  may include openings of sizes that are different from D 1 , D 2 , and D 3 . For example, the presence of smaller openings  38 - 1  may cause some of openings  38 - 2  around the edges of label  28  to expand relative to the rest of openings  38 - 2 , creating openings that are bigger than size D 3  around the border of label  28 . This is, however, merely illustrative. If desired, openings  38 - 2  may all have the same size. 
       FIG.  6    is a front view of outer fabric layer  14 - 2  of fabric  14  showing an illustrative arrangement for label  28 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , outer fabric layer  14 - 2  may have fabric regions  42  and  44 . Fabric region  42  may be formed from strands  16  that are less densely packed together than strands  16  that make up region  44 . For example, dense fabric region  44  may have openings  38 - 1  of size D 1  of  FIG.  5   , whereas less dense region  42  may have openings  38 - 2  of size D 2  of  FIG.  5   . Due to the different sizes of openings in regions  42  and  44 , a visually distinguishable border between regions  42  and  44  may be present in fabric layer  14 - 2 . This border may have the shape of the desired label  28 . In the example of  FIG.  6   , label  28  has an L-shape to indicate that the ear cup  24 - 1  ( FIG.  1   ) is intended to cover the user&#39;s left ear. The other ear cup  24 - 2  in device  10  may have a similar fabric layer  14 - 2  with denser fabric region  44  instead forming an R-shaped label  28  to indicate that the ear cup  24 - 2  is intended to cover the user&#39;s right ear. Other labels or shapes may be formed using combinations of denser fabric regions  44  and less dense fabric regions  42 , if desired. 
     In the example of  FIG.  6   , the entire shape of label  28  is made up of denser fabric region  44 . In other words, the outline of label  28  is filled entirely by denser fabric region  44 . This is merely illustrative, however. If desired, label  28  may be formed from an outline of the desired shape that is not filled entirely with denser fabric. This type of arrangement is shown in  FIG.  7   . 
     As shown in  FIG.  7   , denser fabric region  44  may form an outline of the desired label  28 . For example, denser fabric region  44  may form an L-shaped outline or may form an outline of any other suitable shape. Inside of the outline formed by denser fabric region  44 , fabric layer  14 - 2  may have less dense fabric region  42 . Less dense fabric region  42  may also make up the area of fabric layer  14 - 2  outside of label  28 . 
       FIG.  8    is a front view of a portion of illustrative fabric having openings that may be used in the denser portions of fabric  14  such as label-forming regions  44  of  FIGS.  6  and  7   . As shown in  FIG.  8   , openings  38 - 1  may be diamond-shaped openings and may be formed from knit loops of fabric  14  such as loops  46 . To create openings  38 - 1  with smaller area A 1  (e.g., an area corresponding to size D 1  of  FIG.  5   ), each side of opening  38 - 1  may be made up of a fewer number of loops than larger openings such as openings  38 - 2 . In the example of  FIG.  8   , each side of diamond-shaped opening  38 - 1  is made up of one loop  46 . This type of fabric construction may sometimes be referred to as a one-by-one diamond pattern because each side of the diamond is made up of one loop  46 . The use of one loop  46  to form each side of opening  38 - 1  is merely illustrative, however. If desired, fabric  14  may have a two-by-two pattern in which each side of opening  38 - 1  is made up of two loops  46 , may have a three-by-three pattern in which each side of opening  38 - 1  is made up of three loops  46 , and/or may have any other suitable number of loops (e.g., a number less than the number of loops that make up the sides of openings  38 - 2 ). 
       FIG.  9    is a front view of a portion of illustrative fabric having openings that may be used in the less dense portions of fabric  14  such as regions  42  of  FIGS.  6  and  7   . As shown in  FIG.  8   , openings  38 - 2  may be diamond-shaped openings and may be formed from knit loops of fabric  14  such as loops  46 . To create openings  38 - 2  with larger area A 2  (e.g., an area larger than area A 1  and corresponding to size D 2  of  FIG.  5   ), each side of opening  38 - 2  may be made up of a greater number of loops than smaller openings such as openings  38 - 1 . In the example of  FIG.  9   , each side of diamond-shaped opening  38 - 2  is made up of three loops  46 . This type of fabric construction may sometimes be referred to as a three-by-three diamond pattern because each side of the diamond is made up of three loops  46 . The use of three loops  46  to form each side of opening  38 - 2  is merely illustrative, however. If desired, fabric  14  may have a two-by-two pattern in which each side of opening  38 - 2  is made up of two loops  46 , may have a four-by-four pattern in which each side of opening  38 - 2  is made up of four loops  46 , and/or may have any other suitable number of loops (e.g., a number greater than the number of loops that make up each side of openings  38 - 1 ). 
       FIG.  10    is a front view of inner fabric layer  14 - 1  of fabric  14 . As shown in  FIG.  10   , inner fabric layer  14 - 1  may have fabric regions  52  and  50 . Fabric region  52  may be formed from strands  16  that are less densely packed together than strands  16  that make up region  50 . The presence of denser fabric regions  50  may help create more surface area for bonding fabric layer  14 - 1  to surrounding housing structures (e.g., region  50  may be a bonding region where fabric  14 - 1  is adhesively bonded or otherwise attached to housing  12  of  FIG.  1   ). If desired, denser fabric region  50  may have a one-by-diamond pattern similar to openings  38 - 1  of  FIG.  8   . Less dense fabric region  52  may make up the remaining portion of fabric layer  14 - 2  and may have openings that are larger than the openings in region  50 . The size of the openings in region  52  may be greater than the size of openings  38 - 1  but less than the size of openings  38 - 2 , which in turn may help inner fabric layer  14 - 1  hide internal components (e.g., within ear cup  24 ) from view while still maintaining the desired level of sound permeability. This is merely illustrative, however. If desired, openings in region  52  may be bigger than openings  38 - 1  and  38 - 2  or may be smaller than openings  38 - 1  and  38 - 2 . 
       FIG.  11    is a front view of a portion of illustrative fabric having openings that may be used in the less dense portions of inner fabric layer  14 - 1  such as region  52  of  FIG.  10   . As shown in  FIG.  11   , openings  38 - 3  may be triangle-shaped openings and may be formed from knit loops of fabric  14  such as loops  46 . To create triangular openings  38 - 3  with area A 3  (e.g., an area corresponding to size D 3  of  FIG.  5   ), fabric  14  may have a ladder pattern in which loops  46  are arranged in vertical columns to create a ladder-like shape. Each pair of vertical columns is joined together by a series of diagonal bridges formed by additional loops  46 . In the example of  FIG.  11   , each diagonal bridge between an adjacent pair of vertical columns is made up of a single loop  46 . This type of fabric construction may sometimes be referred to as a one-by-one ladder pattern. The use of one loop  46  to form each diagonal bridge between adjacent columns of loops  46  is merely illustrative, however. If desired, fabric  14  may have a two-by-two ladder pattern in which each diagonal bridge between adjacent vertical columns is made up of two loops  46 , may have a three-by-three ladder pattern in which each diagonal bridge between adjacent vertical columns is made up of three loops  46 , and/or may have any other suitable pattern. Arrangements in which openings  38 - 3  have a diamond pattern (e.g., a one-by-one diamond pattern of the type shown in  FIG.  8   , a three-by-three diamond pattern of the type shown in  FIG.  9   , a two-by-two diamond pattern, and/or other suitable diamond pattern) may also be used, if desired. 
     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: 20210324
Publication Date: 20240604
Grant Date: 20240604
Priority Date: 20200330
Inventors: SHAFFER, BENJAMIN A.
HAMADA, Yohji
VUONO, VINCENZO
WHANG, Eugene A.
WILSON, CHRISTOPHER I.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1091", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D04B21/14", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1091", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D04B21/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2503/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1091", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D04B21/14", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "D10B2503/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 91325490