PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11476883-B2
Application Number: US-201916708883-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices having optical and audio components

Abstract:
An electronic device housing may include a display cover layer that overlaps an array of pixels. The cover layer or other portion of the housing may have an opening that forms an optical and audio port. Optical and audio components may be coupled to the port. A port cover may cover some or all of the port. The port cover may include one or more layers of mesh or other materials that allow light and sound to pass while blocking environmental contaminants. The optical components may include an ambient light sensor or other devices that receive light and/or may include devices that emit light. The audio components may include a microphone and/or a speaker. The optical component may emit or receive light that passes through the audio component. A structure in the interior of the housing may form a passageway coupled to the port through which sound and light passes.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device having an interior and an exterior, comprising:
 an array of pixels configured to display an image; 
 a housing having a display cover layer portion that overlaps the array of pixels, wherein the housing separates the interior from the exterior, wherein the display cover layer portion has an opening forming an optical and audio port, wherein the display cover layer has first and second opposing sides, and wherein the first side faces the array of pixels; 
 a port cover in the opening, wherein the port cover covers the optical and audio port; 
 a structure in the interior that forms a passageway aligned with the opening, wherein the structure is coupled to the first side of the display cover layer; 
 an audio component coupled to the optical and audio port through the passageway and configured to emit sound through the passageway and the port cover; and 
 an optical component coupled to the optical and audio port, wherein light associated with the optical component passes through the passageway. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the audio component is a speaker having a transparent diaphragm through which the light passes to the ambient light sensor. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the port cover has a mesh with mesh openings, wherein the sound passes through the mesh openings, and wherein the light passes through the mesh openings. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the audio component comprises a speaker with a diaphragm and wherein the electronic device further comprises a light-emitting device that emits light towards the transparent diaphragm and a light-detecting device that detects light that has reflected from the transparent diaphragm. 
     
     
       5. An electronic device having an interior and an exterior, comprising:
 pixels configured to display an image; 
 a housing having a transparent portion that overlaps the array of pixels, wherein the housing encloses the interior and is surrounded by the exterior; 
 an optical and audio port formed in an opening in the transparent portion; 
 a port cover in the opening, wherein the port cover covers the optical and audio port; 
 a speaker configured to emit sound through the port cover; 
 a structure in the interior, wherein the structure is coupled to the transparent portion and forms a passageway aligned with the opening, and wherein the structure conveys sound between the speaker and the port cover through the passageway; and 
 an ambient light sensor configured to receive light through the port cover and the passageway. 
 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  wherein the speaker and the ambient light sensor are formed in the interior. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  further comprising a light-diffusing structure in the passageway. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein the light-diffusing structure comprises a textured reflective coating. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the speaker has a speaker box formed from the structure. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the structure forms a sidewall of the passageway and wherein the ambient light sensor is mounted on the sidewall. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  further comprising an optical structure supported by the structure that is configured to reflect light received through the port cover to the ambient light sensor. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 5  further comprising a light guide configured to receive light that has passed through the port cover and configured to provide the received light to the ambient light sensor. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  wherein the light guide has an audio passageway through which sound emitted by the speaker passes. 
     
     
       14. An electronic device having an interior and an exterior, comprising:
 a housing that separates the interior from the exterior; 
 a display having an array of pixels that form an active area, having an inactive area without pixels, and having a display cover layer that overlaps the active and inactive areas, wherein the display cover layer has a display cover layer opening in the inactive area; 
 an optical and audio port formed in an opening in the display cover layer; 
 a port cover in the opening, wherein the port cover covers the optical and audio port; 
 a structure in the interior that forms a passageway aligned with the opening, wherein the structure is coupled to the display cover layer; 
 a speaker configured to emit sound through the passageway in the interior to the port cover and through the display cover layer opening; and 
 an ambient light sensor configured to detect light that passes through the passageway and the display cover layer opening. 
 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein the ambient light sensor comprises a color ambient light sensor.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 62/805,707, filed Feb. 14, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with optical and audio components. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices may include optical components such as components that emit and/or detect light. Electronic devices may also include audio components such as speakers. 
     It can be challenging to incorporate components such as optical and audio components into electronic devices. For example, it may be difficult to incorporate these components into an electronic device without consuming more space than desired or without changing the appearance of the electronic device in an undesired fashion. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have a housing. A portion of the housing may form a display cover layer that overlaps an array of pixels displaying images for a user. The display cover layer or other portion of the housing may have an opening that forms an optical and audio port. Optical and audio components may be coupled to the port. During operation of the device, light (e.g., infrared light, visible light, and/or ultraviolet light) associated with operation of an optical component may pass through the port while sound associated with operation of the audio component may pass through the same port. This configuration may help minimize port size and thereby reduce the amount of inactive area in a display. 
     A port cover may cover some or all of the port. The port cover may include one or more layers of mesh or other materials that allow light and sound to pass while blocking environmental contaminants. Mesh may, for example, have openings that are small enough to prevent droplets of moisture and pieces of dirt from passing while being sufficiently large to be transparent to sound. The optical components may include an ambient light sensor or other devices that receive light and/or may include devices that emit light. The audio components may include a microphone and/or a speaker. In an illustrative configuration, the optical component may emit or receive light that passes through the audio component. A structure in the interior of the housing may form a passageway coupled to the port through which sound and light passes. An optical structure such as a mirror or diffuser may be supported by the structure. Light guide structures (e.g., optical fiber(s), coherent fiber bundles, or other waveguides) may also be formed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device with a notch shaped inactive area in its display in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 5 and 6  are front views of portions of illustrative electronic devices in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of an illustrative mesh layer that may be used in a port cover in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of an illustrative layer with openings for use in a port cover in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of a display layer such as a display cover layer having an opening for forming an optical and audio port in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative display cover layer with an opening that is covered with an acoustically and optically transparent port cover formed from multiple layers of acoustically and optically transparent port covering material in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a shared optical and audio port in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative diffuser structure formed from a textured material with a coating in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a shared optical and audio port in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device showing illustrative locations for mounting an optical component in the vicinity of an audio component such as a speaker in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having a reflective structure in a shared audio and optical port in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device with a shared audio and optical port and an optical element such as a mirror that couples light into a light guide in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of an illustrative structure that may be used in routing sound to an audio component and light to an optical component in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIGS. 18, 19, 20, and 21  are cross-sectional side views of portions of illustrative electronic devices with audio and optical components sharing ports in accordance with embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device may have electrical components including optical components and audio components. The components of the electronic device may be mounted within a housing. A port may be formed in the housing. For example, a portion of the housing may be formed from a transparent member that overlaps a display. This transparent member or other housing wall structures may have an opening that forms an optical and audio port. During operation of the electronic device, sound and light may pass through the port. The use of an opening to handle both audio and optical signals may help accommodate components within the electronic device. For example, the use of shared audio and optical ports may help reduce the amount of inactive display area that is present in an electronic device. 
     A perspective view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may include optical and audio components is shown in  FIG. 1 . Device  10  may be a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch device, a wristband device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a head-mounted device such as glasses, goggles, a helmet, 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 is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile, airplane, or other vehicle, a removable external case for electronic equipment, an accessory such as a remote control, computer mouse, track pad, wireless or wired keyboard, or other accessory, and/or equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices. In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 1 , device  10  is a portable electronic device such as a cellular telephone. This configuration may sometimes be described herein as an example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may be formed from materials such as polymer, glass, metal, crystalline materials such as sapphire, ceramic, fabric, foam, wood, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Device  10  may have any suitable shape. In the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  has front face F, opposing rear face R, and sidewall portions (sidewalls) W. Portions W may be formed as extensions of the housing structures on front face F, rear face R, and/or may be formed using one or more separate sidewall members (as examples). Input-output devices such as one or more buttons may be mounted on housing  12  (e.g., on sidewall portions W). A display such as display  14  may, if desired, be provided on front face F. Transparent portions of housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as a display cover layer, transparent display covering member, or display layer, may be used to form a protective transparent cover for an array of pixels forming display  14 . 
     Housing  12  may contain one or more ports such as port  16 . Port  16  may handle both optical signals (light) and audio signals (sound) and may therefore sometimes be referred to as an optical and audio port. Port  16  may be formed from an opening in the display cover layer for display  14  on front face F or may be formed in other portions of housing  12 . 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , device  10  may include control circuitry  30 , communications circuitry  32 , and input-output devices  34 . 
     Control circuitry  30  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  30  may be used to gather input from sensors and other input devices and may be used to control output devices. The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors and other wireless communications circuits, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     To support communications between device  10  and external electronic equipment, control circuitry  30  may communicate using communications circuitry  32 . Communications circuitry  32  may include antennas, radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, and other wireless communications circuitry and/or wired communications circuitry. Circuitry  32 , which may sometimes be referred to as control circuitry and/or control and communications circuitry, may, for example, support wireless communications using wireless local area network links, near-field communications links, cellular telephone links, millimeter wave links, and/or other wireless communications paths. 
     Input-output devices  34  may be used in gathering user input, in gathering information on the environment surrounding the user, and/or in providing a user with output. 
     Display  14  of input-output devices  34  has an array of pixels for displaying images to users. Display  14  may be a light-emitting diode display (e.g., an organic light-emitting diode display or a display with a pixel array having light-emitting diodes formed from crystalline semiconductor dies), a liquid crystal display, or other display. Display  14  may include a two-dimensional capacitive touch sensor or other touch sensor for gathering touch input. 
     Devices  34  may include sensors  36 . Sensors  36  may include force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones, capacitive touch sensors, capacitive proximity sensors, other touch sensors, ultrasonic sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), muscle activity sensors (EMG), heart rate sensors, electrocardiogram sensors, and other biometric sensors, radio-frequency sensors (e.g., radar and other ranging and positioning sensors), humidity sensors, moisture sensors, and/or other sensors. 
     Sensors  36  and other input-output devices  34  may include optical components such as light-emitting diodes (e.g., for camera flash or other blanket illumination, etc.), lasers such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers and other laser diodes, laser components that emit multiple parallel laser beams (e.g., for three-dimensional sensing), lamps, and light sensing components such as photodetectors and digital image sensors. For example, sensors  36  in devices  34  may include depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and/or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices that can optically sense three-dimensional shapes), optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that gather time-of-flight measurements and/or other measurements to determine distance between the sensor and an external object and/or that can determine relative velocity, monochromatic and/or color ambient light sensors that can measure ambient light levels, proximity sensors based on light (e.g., optical proximity sensors that include light sources such as infrared light-emitting diodes and/or lasers and corresponding light detectors such as infrared photodetectors that can detect when external objects are within a predetermined distance), optical sensors such as visual odometry sensors that gather position and/or orientation information using images gathered with digital image sensors in cameras, gaze tracking sensors, visible light and/or infrared cameras having digital image sensors configured to gather image data, optical sensors for measuring ultraviolet light, and/or other optical sensor components (e.g., light sensitive devices and, if desired, light sources), photodetectors coupled to light guides, associated light emitters, and/or other optical components (one or more light-emitting devices, one or more light-detecting devices, etc.). 
     Input-output devices  34  may also include audio components. The audio components may include one or more microphones to sense sound (e.g., an audio sensor in sensors  36  to sense audio signals) and may include sound-emitting components such as tone generators and one or more speakers. As shown in  FIG. 2 , for example, input-output devices  34  may include speaker  38 . Speakers may be used to support speaker-phone operations and/or may be used as ear speakers when device  10  is being held to a user&#39;s ear to make a telephone call, to listen to a voicemail message, or to listen to other audio output. For example, speaker  38  may be acoustically coupled to port  16  of  FIG. 1  to form an ear speaker for device  10 . 
     In addition to sensors  36 , display  14 , and speaker  38 , input-output devices  34  may include user input devices such as buttons and other devices  40 . Devices  40  may include, for example, optical components such as light-based output devices other than display  14  that are used to provide visual output to a user. The light-based output devices may include one or more light-emitting diodes, one or more lasers, lamps, electroluminescent devices, and/or other light emitting components. The light-based output devices may form status indicator lights. If desired, the light-based output devices may include illuminated icons (e.g., backlight symbols associated with power indicators, battery charge indicators, wireless signal strength indicators, notification icons, etc.). 
     Devices  40  may also include electromagnets, permanent magnets, structures formed from magnetic material (e.g., iron bars or other ferromagnetic members that are attracted to magnets such as electromagnets and/or permanent magnets), batteries, etc. Devices  40  may also include power transmitting and/or receiving circuits configured to transmit and/or receive wired and/or wireless power signals and output components such as haptic output devices and other output components (e.g., electromagnetic actuators or other actuators that can vibrate to provide a user with a haptic alert and/or haptic feedback associated with operation of a touch sensor or other input devices). 
     A cross-sectional side view of device  10  of  FIG. 1  is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , housing  12  may have one or more portions such as sidewall portions  12 W, front portion  12 F on front face F of device  10 , and rear portion  12 R on rear face R of device  10 . These portions may be formed from metal (e.g., aluminum, stainless steel, or other metals) or may be formed from polymer, glass, ceramic, and/or other materials. 
     Some or all of housing  12  may be transparent. For example, housing portion  12 F may be a transparent display cover layer that overlaps and protects display pixel array  14 PA of display  14 . Front housing portion  12 F may be formed from sapphire or other crystalline material, glass, polymer, transparent ceramic, and/or other transparent material to allow the image being displayed by the pixels of pixel array  14 PA to be viewed by a user from the exterior of device  10 . 
     Portions of display  14  that contain pixels in display pixel array  14 PA may sometimes be referred to as forming an active area (AA) of display  14  (e.g., the portion of display  14  that is configured to display an image for a user). Portions of display  14  that are free of pixels and that do not display images may sometimes be referred to as forming an inactive area (IA) of display  14 . To accommodate components such as optical and audio components, housing portion  12 F or other portions of housing  12  may have one or more openings for forming one or more ports. As shown in  FIG. 3 , for example, display  14  (e.g., housing portion  12 F, which serves as a display cover layer) may have an opening such as opening  42  forming optical and audio port  16 . 
     The walls of housing  12  may separate interior region  44  of device  10  from exterior region  50  surrounding device  10 . Interior region  44  may include components such as components  46 . Components  46  may include integrated circuits, discrete components, a battery, wireless circuit components such as a wireless power coil, and/or other components (see, e.g., control circuitry  30 , communications circuitry  32 , and input-output devices  34  of  FIG. 2 ). Components  46  may be interconnected using signal paths such as paths formed from traces on printed circuits (see, e.g., printed circuit  48 ). 
     If desired, opaque structures such as coatings of opaque ink, metal, or other opaque coating material may be provided on the surface of a housing structure that is otherwise transparent. For example, portions of a transparent member forming front housing portion  12 F (e.g., portions of a display cover layer associated with an inactive area of display  14  that does not display images) may have an interior surface that is covered with opaque masking material to help hide structures in interior region  44  from view from the exterior of device  10 . Optical windows may be formed in the opaque masking material of the inactive display area to allow light to pass out of and into device  10 . Optical components may be aligned with the optical windows and/or may operate through gaps between pixels in array  14 PA. Optical components may also operate through optical and audio port  16 . For example, a light-emitting component in interior  44  may emit light that passes through opening  42  of port  16  to exterior region  50  and/or a light-detecting component in interior  44  may receive light through opening  42  of port  16 . Use of the space available in port  16  for conveying light to and/or from optical component(s) in interior  44  in addition to handling audio signals may help minimize the size of the inactive area of display  14 . 
       FIGS. 4, 5, and 6  show portions of front face F of illustrative electronic devices  10 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , display  14  may be characterized by an active area AA that contains pixels  52  of pixel array  14 PA for displaying images to a user. Display  14  may also be characterize by a pixel-free inactive area IA that does not contain pixels and does not display images for the user. Port  16  may be formed within inactive area IA. If desired, optical windows  54  for optical components may also be formed in portions of inactive area IA. Windows  54  may be formed from openings in an opaque masking layer on the underside of the display cover layer for display  14 . If desired, some of the openings may be covered with ink, a physical vapor deposition coating, and/or other layers of material to adjust the optical properties of optical windows  54 . The optical components that are aligned with windows  54  may include camera flash components, image sensors, optical proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, infrared light-emitting components such as dot projectors for three-dimensional image sensors, infrared flood illuminators, and infrared cameras (e.g., for three-dimensional image sensors), and/or other light-emitting and/or light-detecting components. One or more of these components may also be configured to emit and/or receive light through port  16 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 4 , inactive area IA has the shape of a notch (e.g., a recess in active area AA that is formed along the center portion of the top peripheral edge of housing  12 ). Other shapes for inactive area IA may be used, if desired. For example, an island-shaped inactive area IA may be formed within the active area as shown in  FIG. 5  (e.g., the pixel array of the display may surround inactive area IA) and one or more optical component windows  54  may be formed in the inactive area. If desired, the size of inactive area IA may be reduced (e.g., to a small amount such as an amount that is invisible or nearly invisible to the naked eye of the user) and may not include any optical component windows (see, e.g.,  FIG. 6 ). The outline of port  16  and/or the inactive area in device  10  may be circular, oval, rectangular, or other shapes, may have straight edges, curved edges, and/or combinations of straight and curved edges, and/or may have other suitable footprints. Other arrangements may be used, if desired. For example, one or more optical and audio ports such as port  16  may be formed in portions of housing  12  that do not overlap display  14 , portions of housing sidewalls, portions of rear housing walls, and/or other portions of housing  12 . 
     In arrangements in which port  16  is located at the upper end of housing  12 , port  16  may serve as an audio port such as an ear speaker port in addition to handling light signals for one or more optical components. To prevent dust, moisture, and other environmental contaminants from entering into interior region  44  from exterior region  50 , port  16  may be provided with a port cover. The port cover may be transparent to sound and light while helping to block dust particles, moisture droplets, and other unwanted substances. The port cover may, for example, be formed from one or more layers of mesh and/or one or more perforated layers. 
     An illustrative mesh layer that may be used in a port cover is shown in  FIG. 7 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , a mesh layer such as mesh layer  56  may be formed from strands of material such as strands  58 . Strands  58  may be formed from metal, polymer, glass, ceramic, cotton or other natural materials, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. Stands  58  may be woven or otherwise intertwined to form a mesh (grid-shaped layer) with openings  60  that are sufficiently large to allow light and sound to pass while being sufficiently small to block dirt and moisture. In some configurations, the material of strands  58  may be transparent to light. 
     An illustrative perforated layer that may be used in a port cover is shown in  FIG. 8 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , perforated layer  64  may have a layer of material such as layer  62 . Layer  62  may be formed from metal, polymer, glass, ceramic, natural materials, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials. One or more openings such as an array of perforations  60  (e.g., openings with circular shapes, rectangular shapes, or other suitable outlines) may be formed within layer  62  to allow light and sound to pass through layer  64 . If desired, layer  62  may be formed from a transparent material to allow light to pass through layer  62  in addition to passing through openings  60 . 
     Structures such as the structures of  FIGS. 7 and 8  (e.g., solid structures, one or more layers of material that are stacked on top of each other, mesh layers such as mesh layer  56 , layers with openings such as perforated layer  64 , etc.) can be used to form a port cover for port  16 .  FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of port  16  showing how port cover  66  for port  16  may be formed within opening  42  in housing portion  12 F (e.g., a display cover layer). When port cover  66  is present, sound and light may pass through port  16 , but the passage of contaminants such as moisture and dust from exterior region  50  to interior  44  is blocked. 
     An illustrative port cover arrangement for port  16  is shown in  FIG. 10 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , port cover  66  may have multiple layers of material such as layers  66 - 1  and  66 - 2  and may, if desired, have optional stiffener structures. During operation of device  10 , light and sound may pass through port cover  66 . Layer  66 - 1  may be, for example, a metal mesh or perforated layer that is formed on the outer side of port  16 . Layer  66 - 2  may be, for example, a polymer fabric layer (polymer strand mesh) that is formed on the inner side of port  16 . In this type of configuration, outer layer  66 - 1  may have a desired cosmetic appearance (e.g., relatively large openings) and inner layer  66 - 2 , which may have smaller openings, may help block fine particles and moisture. Hydrophobic coatings may be formed on one or both of the layers to help repel moisture. Other stacks of two or more layers may also be used in forming a port covering, a port covering may be formed by a single layer of material with openings for sound and light, and/or some or all of port  16  may be uncovered by port cover  66 . The use of inner and outer port cover layers that overlap opening  42  of the display cover layer formed from front housing portion  12 F in port cover  66  of  FIG. 10  is illustrative. 
     Because port  16  may handle both audio and optical signals, an audio component such as speaker  38  and one or more optical components such as ambient light sensors or other components may share port  16 . An illustrative arrangement in which port  16  is used to handle sound and light is shown in  FIG. 11 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , port  16  may be aligned with multiple electrical components including one or more audio components such as speaker  38  (and/or a microphone) and one or more optical components such as optical component  82 . 
     Optical component  82  may be configured to emit light and/or receive light. In the example of  FIG. 11 , optical component  82  is an ambient light sensor and includes semiconductor die  84  (e.g., a silicon die) with one or more photodetectors  86  (e.g., photodiodes). The ambient light sensor may be a monochrome ambient light sensor that measures the intensity of ambient light  90  or may be a color ambient light sensor. In a color ambient light sensor configuration, each photodetector  86  may be overlapped by a color filter with a different respective pass band (color) so that the color ambient light sensor can make measurements of the intensity of light of different colors. This allows the color ambient light sensor to measure ambient light color and intensity. Ambient light color measurements may be represented using color coordinates, a color temperature, a correlated color temperature, a color light spectrum, or other suitable color measurement format. 
     Speaker  38  may have a diaphragm such as diaphragm  74  that is supported by flexible surround  76 . Actuator  78  may be an electromagnetic actuator such as a moving-magnetic actuator or a moving coil actuator or may be any other suitable type of actuator. During operation of speaker  38 , actuator  78  may be driven by analog audio signals (drive currents) from control circuitry  30  to produce movement (vibrations) of diaphragm in directions  80  and thereby produce sound  88 . 
     Structures such as structure  68  (e.g., structures formed from polymer, metal, glass, ceramics, other materials, and/or combinations of these materials) may form mounting structures (internal support structures such as mounting brackets or other members) and/or may form portions of the structures of audio and optical components (e.g., speaker housing portions, packages for optical components, and/or other enclosure and supporting structures etc.). For example, structure  68  may form a speaker box for speaker  38  (e.g., a speaker box that forms speaker back volume  70  for speaker  38 , etc.) These structures may be used to help direct sound to and/or from and audio components and/or to help direct light to and/or from optical components. 
     In the example of  FIG. 11 , structure  68  forms a support for optical component  82  (e.g., an ambient light sensor). Structure  68  may have a passageway such as passageway  72  through which the audio and optical components are coupled to port  16 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , passageway  72  is aligned with optical component  82 , so that light  90  that is received through port cover  66  of port  16  may pass through passageway  72  to optical component  82 . Passageway  72  communicates with speaker  38 , so that sound  88  that is produced by speaker  38  may exit device interior  44  to exterior region  50  through port cover  66  of port  16 . In the example of  FIG. 11 , speaker  38  is set off to one side of the entrance formed by passageway  72 . Other configurations may be used, if desired. 
     In some configurations, optical and/or audio structures may be incorporated into structure  68  to help modify the sound and light passing through structure  68 . As an example, light-diffusing structures such as diffuser structure  92  may be formed on the inner surfaces of passageway  72  to help diffuse incoming light  90  while directing light  90  to optical component  82 . Reflectors (e.g., mirrors), lenses, filters, and/or other optical elements may be included, if desired.  FIG. 12  shows how portions of structure  68  may be textured and covered with reflective coating  94  (e.g., a metal layer, a stack of dielectric layers forming a dielectric mirror coating, white polymer, and/or other reflective material). This type of structure and/or other light-diffusing structures may be used in forming light diffuser structure  92  of  FIG. 11 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 13 , optical component  82  has been mounted on a horizontal interior surface of structure  68  in passageway  72  in alignment with port  16 . In general, optical component  82  may mounted in an opening in structure  68 , on an interior surface of structure  68  (e.g. in passageway  72 ), and/or on the exterior of structure  68 . As shown by illustrative mounting locations  82 ′, optical component  82  may be mounted on one or more sidewall surfaces in passageway  72  of structure  68 . Arrangements in which one or more optical components such as optical component  82  are mounted on the exterior of structure  68  may also be used (see, e.g., illustrative mounting locations  82 ″). When optical component  82  is mounted in locations  82 ″, overlapping portions of structure  68  may be formed from transparent material (e.g., transparent polymer, etc.), so that light for component  82  may pass through that portion of structure  68 . 
     If desired, optical component  82  may transmit and/or receive light through a portion of speaker  38 . Consider, as an example, the arrangement of  FIG. 14 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , structure  68  may be configured to align speaker diaphragm  74  with passageway  72  and port cover  66 . Optical component  82  may be mounted under diaphragm  74 . Diaphragm  74  may be formed from a transparent material (e.g., clear polymer, etc.) so that light may pass through diaphragm  74 . Optical component  82  may be, for example, an ambient light sensor that receives ambient light  90  through diaphragm  74 . If desired, optical component  82  may be placed at other locations such as locations  82 A,  82 B, and  82 C. Locations  82 A and  82 B (as with the illustrative location of component  82  of  FIG. 14 ) are located inside speaker back volume  70  of speaker  38  (e.g., inside the speaker box formed from structure  68  and on the side of the speaker diaphragm that faces away from port  16 ). In location  82 B, optical component  82  may be overlapped by speaker surround  76 . Surround  76  may be formed from a transparent material such as transparent polymer to allow light  90  to pass through surround  76 . In location  82 A, portion  68 P of structure  68  overlaps optical component  82 . Portion  68 P may be formed from a transparent material such as transparent polymer to allow light  90  to pass through portion  68 P to the optical component. In location  82 C, optical component  82  is overlapped by transparent portions of structure  68  so that light may pass to/from component  82  through structure  68  and diaphragm  72 . If desired, a reflective structure such as reflective coating structure  96  (e.g., a layer of metal, a dielectric mirror, a reflective coating of white polymer, etc.) may be formed on the lower surface of diaphragm  74 . Light emitter  98  may emit light that is reflected by coating structure  96  and is detected by light detector  100 . Control circuitry  30  can monitor the output of light detector  100  to measure the movement of diaphragm  74  (e.g., to form a microphone that detects audio, to monitor for diaphragm movements that might influence ambient light measurements made with optical component  82  under diaphragm  74 , etc.). 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 15 , structure  68  has been configured to support optical structure  102 . Optical structure  102  of  FIG. 15  may be, for example, a reflective coating on structure  68  that forms a mirror (e.g., a planar mirror), a lens formed from a mirror, a diffuser, optical structures that incorporate multiple components such as these, and/or other optical element. Optical structure  102  may, as an example, collect and reflect incoming ambient light  90  toward optical component  82 . Optical component  82  may be mounted within structure  68 , on an exterior surface of structure  68 , in an opening formed in a sidewall of structure  68 , or at other suitable location in device  10 . Speaker  38  is acoustically coupled to port  16  via passageway  72  and can therefore emit sound through port  16  while light  90  is being received through port  16  by optical component  82  or while light emitted from optical component  82  is exiting device  10  through port  16 . 
     In the example of  FIG. 16 , portion  68 T of structure  68  is formed from transparent material that forms a light guide (e.g., an optical fiber, a bundle of optical fibers, a light-transparent waveguide formed from transparent material of a first index of refraction surrounded by transparent material of a second index of refraction that is lower than the first index of refraction, or other light guide structures). The light guide may have a straight elongated shape or an elongated shape with a curve as shown in  FIG. 16 . The light guide may have opposing first and second ends. The first end may be aligned with optical structure  102  and the second end may be aligned with optical component  82 . During operation, incoming light  90  is reflected from structure  102  and is thereby coupled into the interior of portion  68 T. Once within portion  68 T, light  90  may be guided to optical component  82  (e.g., an ambient light sensor) in accordance with the principle of total internal reflection. Portion  68 T may form part of a speaker box for speaker  38  and/or may otherwise be attached to other portions of structure  68 . Configurations in which light guide structures for component  82  are separate from the speaker box structures for speaker  38  may also be used. Optical component  82  of  FIG. 16  and the other FIGS. may be a light-receiving component such as an ambient light sensor, a light-emitting component, and/or a component that emits and receives light. 
     If desired, structure  68  may be configured to form one or more audio passageways within a light guide structure. As shown in  FIG. 17 , for example, structure  68  may be formed from a transparent material such as clear polymer or glass that guides light  90  to optical component  82 . Surface of structure  68 ′ may be aligned with port  16 . Structure  68  may have air-filled passageways  72  that receive sound  88  from speaker  38  and that route sound  88  out of device  10  through port  16 . Configurations in which optical component  82  emits light and/or the audio component in device  10  receives sound  88  through passageways  72  in a light-guide structure with air-filled passageways such as structure  68  of  FIG. 17  may also be used. 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 18 , port cover  66  has a ring shape surrounding transparent member  104  and is located below the outer surface of housing portion  12 F. Transparent member  104  may also be positioned within port  16  so that the outermost surface of transparent member  104  lies beneath the outermost surface of housing portion  12 F. With this arrangement, port cover  66  covers part of the exposed portion of port  16  and transparent member  104  covers part of the exposed portion of port  16 . Transparent member  104  may be formed from transparent polymer, glass, or other transparent material and may overlap optical component  82 . During operation, optical component  82  may receive or emit light through transparent member  104  rather than through port cover  66 . Port cover  66  may be used to allow sound to be emitted by or received by an audio component in interior  44 . For example, one or more speakers  38  may emit sound that passes through port cover  66 . The arrangement of  FIG. 18  may help enlarge the surface area of port cover  66  (e.g., to allow sound to pass) while minimizing the size of the opening in housing portion  12 F that is used to form port  16 . If desired, transparent member  104  may have a layer of ink or other material that adjusts the outward appearance of member  104 , may be configured to form a light guide, may form an optical filter, and/or may form other optical structures. 
       FIG. 19  shows how housing portion  12 F may have a ring-shaped opening. Ring-shaped opening  42  in housing portion  12 F forms a ring shape for port  16 . Ring-shaped port cover  66  may be formed in opening  42  covering ring-shaped port  16 . Optical component  82  may transmit and/or receive light through an overlapping region of housing portion  12 F. Speaker  38  may emit sound through port covering  66  and port  16 . 
     If desired, port cover  66  may be recessed within a cavity that is formed below the outermost portion of the opening in housing portion  12 F that forms port  16 . For example, port cover  66  may be recessed below the surface of housing portion  12 F and may be oriented at an angle relative to the surface of housing portion  12 F, as shown in  FIG. 20 . Speaker  38  may emit sound through port cover  66 . Optical component  82  may emit or receive light through transparent member  104 . In this type of arrangement, transparent member  104  and port cover  66  are recessed within port  16  rather than covering the outermost opening in housing portion  12 F that forms port  16 , thereby increasing the surface areas associated with port cover  66  and/or member  104  without overly enlarging the size of the opening in housing portion  12 F used to form port  16 . 
     Another illustrative configuration for port  16  is shown in  FIG. 21 . As shown in  FIG. 21 , port cover  66  may be recessed within port  16  on a side of a cavity within device  10 . Optical component  82  may be mounted at the bottom of passageway  72 . Portions of passageway  72  may, if desired, be formed from housing sidewall member  12 W. This type of arrangement may help minimize the size of port  16 , because the size of port covering  66  may, if desired, be larger than the size of opening  42  in housing  12 . 
     In addition to efficiently accommodating both audio and optical components, arrangements of the type shown in  FIGS. 18, 19, 20, and 21  may help accommodate optical components that emit and/or receive light without causing the emitted and/or received light to be affected by passing through a mesh, perforated layer, or other acoustically transparent port cover structures. For example, optical component  82  of  FIG. 18  may emit and/or receive light through transparent member  104  and this light need not pass through port cover  66 . This allows port cover  66  to be formed using a configuration that potentially has a low light transmission (e.g., a configuration in which port cover  66  is opaque). In the example of  FIG. 19 , light emitted by or received by optical component  82  may pass through an overlapping portion of housing portion  12 F without passing through port cover  66 . The configuration of  FIG. 20  allows light emitted by optical component  82  and/or light received by optical component  82  to pass through transparent member  104  without passing through port cover  66 . In the configuration of  FIG. 21 , light emitted by or received by optical component  82  may pass through passageway  72  and port  16  without passing through port cover  66 . 
     Arrangements such as these in which light for optical component  82  does not pass through port cover  66  may be helpful when it is desired to transmit and/or receive light without influence of the structures in port cover  66  such as when optical components include image sensors for capturing images, light-emitting components such as laser arrays for emitting arrays of dots (e.g., arrays of laser beams or other light beams associated with a dot projector in a structured-light three-dimensional image sensor), light-emitting and detecting devices for emitting and detecting light for a proximity sensor, and/or other optical components. Components such as these may also operate through port cover  66 , if desired (e.g., by aligning outgoing light beams with perforations in the port cover structures, etc.). 
     As described above, one aspect of the present technology is the gathering and use of information such as sensor information (e.g., optical sensor information). The present disclosure contemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may include 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, eyeglasses prescription, 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 calculated 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 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 such 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 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: 20191210
Publication Date: 20221018
Grant Date: 20221018
Priority Date: 20190214
Inventors: KUMAR, DANIEL P.
WITTENBERG, MICHAEL B.
NAYAK, Aditya B.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1656", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1686", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09F9/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/3888", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/026", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/035", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/023", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/345", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/60", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2307/025", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1688", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2307/204", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/3888", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R7/125", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/03", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2499/11", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B1/3888", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 72042652