公开(公告)号：US10579101B2

公开(公告)日：2020-03-03

申请号：US16138945

申请日：2018-09-21

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Amy Qian ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Jeremy C. Franklin ,  Michael K. Pilliod

IPC: B32B3/00 ,  G06F1/16 ,  B32B17/06 ,  B32B7/12 ,  B32B37/12 ,  C03C21/00 ,  H05K5/03 ,  G02F1/1333 ,  H04M1/02

Abstract: A transparent article, such as a transparent cover, for use as a cover glass for an electronic device, as well as methods for producing transparent articles, are disclosed. The transparent article can form a part of a housing of the portable electronic device and can provide an outer surface for a portion of the housing. The transparent article can be provided over a display of portable electronic device to provide a protective outer cover over the display. In one embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a laminate structure. In another embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a ribbed structure. In still another embodiment, a sapphire coating can be deposited on the transparent article to improve it strength. Advantageously, the transparent article is able to be not only thin and lightweight but also provide sufficient stiffness for use as a cover glass.

公开(公告)号：US10566151B1

公开(公告)日：2020-02-18

申请号：US15416177

申请日：2017-01-26

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Paul Xiaopeng Wang ,  Siddhartha Hegde ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Zheng Gao

IPC: H01H13/14 ,  H01H13/52 ,  G06F3/02

Abstract: An item such as a fabric-based item may have one or more input devices. The input devices may have terminals that are electrically coupled to control circuitry. The control circuitry may make resistance measurements, capacitance measurements, and other measurements on the input devices to determine whether the input devices have been pressed by a user's finger or have otherwise received input. The input devices may be used to form an array of switches for a keyboard, may form buttons on an electronic device housing or case, may be part of an item of clothing, or may be incorporated into other items such as fabric-based items. The input devices may have collapsible fabric structures such as collapsible fabric domes. The terminals of the input devices may be formed from conductive strands of material in the fabric domes or may be supported by other structures that buckle under applied pressure.

公开(公告)号：US10550497B1

公开(公告)日：2020-02-04

申请号：US15467991

申请日：2017-03-23

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Andrew L. Rosenberg ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Didio V. Gomes ,  Maurice P. May

IPC: D03J5/02 ,  D03D1/00 ,  D03D49/44 ,  D03D51/34 ,  D03J5/00 ,  D03D49/50

Abstract: Weaving equipment may include warp strand positioning equipment that positions warp strands and weft strand positioning equipment that inserts weft strands among the warp strands to form fabric. The fabric may include insulating strands and conductive strands. The conductive strands may be coupled to electrical devices using solder joints or other conductive connections. During weaving, an electrically controlled shuttle may dispense weft strands between warp strands. The electrically controlled shuttle may include control circuitry and communications circuitry. The communications circuitry may be used to support communications between the control circuitry and equipment external to the shuttle. Movable arms, cutters, heaters, soldering devices, strand dispensers, intertwining devices, and other electrically controlled devices may be incorporated into the shuttle and controlled by control signals from the control circuitry.

公开(公告)号：US20190313172A1

公开(公告)日：2019-10-10

申请号：US16140409

申请日：2018-09-24

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Kathryn P. Crews ,  Tirshathah A. Hunter ,  Kathleen A. Bergeron ,  Mingjing Ha ,  Shubham A. Gandhi ,  Paul S. Drzaic ,  Yung-Yu Hsu ,  David W. Lum

IPC: H04R1/02 ,  G06F1/16 ,  G06F1/18 ,  H04R5/02 ,  G10L15/20

Abstract: An electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing characterized by a vertical longitudinal axis. A flexible substrate such as a flexible mesh substrate with component support regions coupled by flexible segments may be wrapped around the housing and the vertical axis. The housing may have surface regions with compound curvature. The flexible substrate may conform to the regions with compound curvature. A fabric spacer layer may be interposed between the flexible substrate and the housing. Electrical components such as input-output devices may be mounted to the component support regions. A display may be formed from an array of light-emitting devices that are mounted on respective component support regions. Light from the light-emitting devices may pass through the fabric spacer layer toward the housing and back out away from the housing. An outer fabric layer may cover the mesh.

公开(公告)号：US20190298265A1

公开(公告)日：2019-10-03

申请号：US16140419

申请日：2018-09-24

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Steven J. Keating ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Benjamin J. Grena ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Jerzy S. Guterman ,  Jessica J. Lu ,  David M. Kindlon

IPC: A61B5/00 ,  A61B5/01 ,  A61B5/0205 ,  A61B5/021 ,  A61B5/024 ,  A61B5/0408 ,  A61B5/08 ,  D03D1/00 ,  D03D7/00 ,  D03D15/08 ,  H04B1/3827 ,  H04W4/80

Abstract: A fabric-based item may be provide with a stretchable band. The stretchable band may be formed from a ring-shaped strip of stretchable fabric having an opening configured to fit around a body part of a user. Circuitry may be coupled to strands of material in the stretchable band. The circuitry may include sensor circuitry for making measurements on the body part such as electrocardiogram measurements, blood pressure measurements, and respiration rate measurements. Wireless communications circuitry in the fabric-based item may be used to communicate wirelessly with external electronic equipment. A wireless power transmitting device may transmit wireless power. A coil formed from conductive strands in the fabric-based item may be used by wireless power receiving circuitry in the fabric-based item to receive the wireless power. The coil may have one or more turns that run around the ring-shaped strip of stretchable fabric.

公开(公告)号：US20190112734A1

公开(公告)日：2019-04-18

申请号：US16207407

申请日：2018-12-03

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Kathryn P. Crews

IPC: D03D1/00 ,  G06F3/0488 ,  G06F3/044 ,  A41D31/02 ,  G06F3/041 ,  A41D1/00

CPC classification number: D03D1/0088 ,  A41D1/005 ,  A41D31/02 ,  D02G3/441 ,  D03D1/0082 ,  D10B2401/16 ,  D10B2401/18 ,  G06F3/0414 ,  G06F3/042 ,  G06F3/044 ,  G06F3/04883 ,  G06F2203/04102

Abstract: A fabric-based item may include a housing that is covered in fabric. Areas of the fabric may overlap input circuitry such as button switches, touch sensors, force sensors, proximity sensors, and other sensing circuitry and may overlap other components such as light-emitting components and haptic output devices. The fabric-based item may include control circuitry that gathers user input from the input circuitry and wireless communications circuitry that the control circuitry uses to transmit remote control commands and other wireless signals in response information from the input circuitry. The fabric-based item may have a weight that is located in the housing to orient the housing in a desired direction when the housing rests on a surface. A movable weight may tilt the housing in response to proximity sensor signals or other input. Portions of the fabric may overlap light-emitting components and optical fiber configured to emit light.

公开(公告)号：US20190013274A1

公开(公告)日：2019-01-10

申请号：US15752476

申请日：2015-08-20

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Paul S. Drzaic ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  David M. Kindlon ,  Hoon Sik Kim ,  Kathryn P. Crews ,  Yung-Yu Hsu

IPC: H01L23/538 ,  H01L23/00 ,  H01L33/62 ,  B81B7/00 ,  A41D27/20 ,  D03D1/00

Abstract: A fabric-based item may include fabric such as woven fabric having insulating and conductive yarns or other strands of material. The conductive yarns may form signal paths. Electrical components can be embedded within pockets in the fabric. Each electrical component may have an electrical device such as a semiconductor die that is mounted on an interposer substrate. The electrical device may be a light-emitting diode, a sensor, an actuator, or other electrical device. The electrical device may have contacts that are soldered to contacts on the interposer. The interposer may have additional contacts that are soldered to the signal paths. The fabric may have portions that form transparent windows overlapping the electrical components or that have other desired attributes.

公开(公告)号：US20180363172A1

公开(公告)日：2018-12-20

申请号：US15941325

申请日：2018-03-30

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Steven J. Keating ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Kathryn P. Crews

IPC: D03D15/00 ,  D03D1/00 ,  D04B1/16 ,  D04B1/22 ,  H05K5/02

CPC classification number: D03D15/0055 ,  A45C3/001 ,  A45C2011/002 ,  D01D5/20 ,  D01D10/02 ,  D01F1/09 ,  D01F1/10 ,  D03D1/0088 ,  D03D15/00 ,  D03D15/0033 ,  D03D15/0094 ,  D03D2700/0133 ,  D04B1/16 ,  D04B1/22 ,  D04B35/12 ,  D06M11/83 ,  D06M23/16 ,  D10B2101/20 ,  D10B2401/16 ,  D10B2401/20 ,  D10B2403/02431 ,  D10B2505/10 ,  G06F3/02 ,  G06F2200/1633 ,  G06F2203/0384 ,  H03K17/941 ,  H03K17/962 ,  H03K17/9625 ,  H03K17/9645 ,  H03K17/975 ,  H03K2217/94108 ,  H05K5/0217 ,  H05K5/0243 ,  H05K5/0247

Abstract: A fabric-based item may include fabric formed from intertwined strands of material. The strands of material may include extruded strands. Strand extrusion equipment may have electrically adjustable sources such as one or more sources of different polymers, dyes, particles, wire, and other elements to be incorporated into an extruded strand. The properties of the strands such as strand stiffness, strand diameter, conductivity, magnetic permeability, opacity, color, thermal conductivity, sand strength, may be varied along their lengths. Fabric formed from the strands may have different areas with different properties. Markers may be formed from particles at particular locations along the lengths of the strands, may be optical marker structures formed from circumferential rings of ink or other visible material on the strands, or may be other markers that can be sensed using electrical sensing, magnetic sensing, optical sensing, or other types of sensing when forming fabric from the strands.

公开(公告)号：US20180228024A1

公开(公告)日：2018-08-09

申请号：US15942159

申请日：2018-03-30

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Kathryn P. Crews ,  Kirk M. Mayer ,  John Arthur Maasberg

IPC: H05K1/03 ,  C23C18/16 ,  H01B13/00

CPC classification number: H05K1/038 ,  C23C18/16 ,  C23C18/1633 ,  C25D7/0607 ,  H01B13/0026 ,  H01B13/0036 ,  H05K3/103 ,  H05K2201/0281

Abstract: Strands of material may be intertwined using weaving techniques, knitting techniques, non-woven or entanglement techniques, or braiding techniques. Fabric that is formed from the strands of material may be used in forming a fabric-based item. The fabric based item may include electrical components. The strands may include conductive strands that form signal paths. The signal paths can carry electrical signals associated with operation of the electrical components. Each strand may have an elongated core and a coating. Strands may also include intermediate layers between the cores and coatings. The cores, intermediate layers, and coatings may be formed from polymer without conductive filler, polymer with conductive filler, and/or metal. A polymer core may be provided with recesses to help retain subsequently deposited layers such as a metal coating layer. The recesses may be grooves that extend along the longitudinal axis of the core.

公开(公告)号：US20180195218A1

公开(公告)日：2018-07-12

申请号：US15913653

申请日：2018-03-06

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Yohji Hamada ,  Daniel A. Podhajny ,  Daniel D. Sunshine ,  Kathryn P. Crews ,  Joseph B. Walker

IPC: D04B21/14 ,  D04B21/06 ,  D04B37/06 ,  D04B27/10

Abstract: An item may include fabric or other materials formed from intertwined strands of material. The strands of material may include non-conductive strands and conductive strands. The strands may be intertwined by a warp knitting machine to produce a warp knit fabric. The warp knit fabric may include intertwined warp strands and weft insertion strands that are inserted amongst the warp strands. The weft insertion strands may extend across less than all of the warp strands. The weft insertion strands may include parallel segments that each extend across a different portion of the warp strands. The segments of weft insertion strands may have different widths relative to one another and relative to the width of the fabric. The weft insertion strands may be inserted into the warp knitting machine across the warp strands using a weft insertion device that is positioned by a computer-controlled positioner.