Apple Inc.

Chad J Miller

Joshua A Hoover

Daniel A Podhajny

Yi Zou

Nicholas R Trincia

Seul Bi Kim

Yue Chen

William Leith

Kristen L Cretella

Donald L Olmstead

Jeremy C Franklin

Daniel D Sunshine

Lee M Panecki

Yohji Hamada

Andrew L Rosenberg

Sarah J Montplaisir

Peter F Coxeter

Timon A Wright

Jessica J Lu

Heidi Williamson

Lia Mieko Uesato

Kendall L Helbert

Bryan A Cloyd

Jenna L Withrow

Kristine S Tom

Michael B Velez

Candace A Marbury

Sofiane Berlat

Aedhan M Loomis

Patrick Perry

Benjamin C Creed

Nicholas R Trinica

A wearable device can provide an audio module that is operable to provide audio output from a distance away from the ears of the user. For example, the wearable device can be worn on clothing of the user and direct audio waves to the ears of the user. Such audio waves can be focused by a parametric array of speakers that limit audibility by others. Thus, the privacy of the audio directed to the user can be maintained without requiring the user to wear audio headsets on, over, or in the ears of the user. The wearable device can further include microphones and/or connections to other devices that facilitate calibration of the audio module of the wearable device. The wearable device can further include user sensors that are configured to detect, measure, and/or track one or more properties of the user.

Wearable device with directional audio

An electronic device such as a pair of headphones may be configured to be worn on a head of a user. The headphones may have a headband and earcups that are coupled to the headband. The headband may have a frame and a headband frame cover that is removably attached to the frame. The cover may have protrusions, may be inflated using a pump, may include a battery and other components, and may include sensors. An earcup movement synchronization mechanism may be used to synchronize movement of a left earcup with a right earcup. A torsion spring with a stop mechanisms or other bend limiter may be configured to prevent overbending of the headband.

Headband accessory

Wireless earbuds may be provided with adjustable-shape housings. The housings may have bendable portions. Bendable metal members, hinges, or other flexible structures may be used in forming bendable structures for the earbuds. Electrical components may be covered by a layer of molded foam. A cover such as a fabric cover may be used to cover the molded foam. Spacer fabric or other soft material may be interposed between the fabric cover and the foam. The housing may be bent or otherwise adjusted between two or more states such as a normal, non-sleep, walking state in which the housing is expanded for normal operation while a user is sitting or walking and a sleep state in which the housing is bent to enhance comfort while sleeping. The wireless earbuds may have illumination systems, sensors, and other components.

Earbuds

An electronic device may be formed from acoustically permeable textile layers and voice coil layers. The voice coil layers may output sound through the textile layers. The textile layers and voice coil layers may be foldable or bent in one or more directions to allow the electronic device to be placed in expanded, collapsed, or folded configurations to allow for improved portability. Additionally, the textile layers and voice coil layers may be folded or bent to place the electronic device in cylindrical, conical, and other configurations to allow for improved sound output from the voice coil layers. The electronic device may also include light-emitting components between the textile layers that emit light through one of the textile layers to form indicators or images for a user of the device. The electronic device may have a plurality of sensors to allow user interactions to control the output of the electronic device.

Electronic device with flexible housings

An accessory for wireless earbuds can include a first receiving portion defining a first cavity sized to receive and retain a first earbud and a second receiving portion defining a second cavity sized to receive and retain a second earbud. Each receiving portion can include a charging component to electrically couple with the respective earbud. The accessory can include a flexible portion connected to the first receiving portion and the second receiving portion, the flexible portion at least partially defining an internal volume, and a battery disposed in the internal volume and electrically coupled with the charging components.

Wireless headphone accessory

An item may be formed from structures that include holes. Stitching may be used to form a seam that joins the structures. The stitching may be formed from a chain stitch that passes through the holes. The holes may be formed from loops of knit fabric or other holes. Leather layers, polymer layers, fabric layers, and other structures with holes may be joined using the stitching. During fabrication, a layer of material with holes may be placed on an adjustable-shape fixture having a bed of needles. The shape of the bed of nails in the adjustable-shape fixture may then be changed. After the fixture has been used to transform the shape of one or more of the structures, the structures may be placed on needles in an assembly fixture and the stitching between the structures may be formed. The item may be an electronic device cover or other item.

Items formed using stitching equipment with adjustable-shape fixtures

An accessory case that can be used for protecting a separate portable electronic device may include a structural shell configured to contain the electronic device, a camera opening to align with a camera on the electronic device, and a button cover that can be used for actuating a button on the electronic device. The structural shell can include an outer layer, an internal layer, and a microfiber lining. The camera opening can include a chamfered or angled edge that reduces the effects of camera flash on the camera. The button cover can include an outer button cover component that is coupled to the outer layer. The outer button cover component, which may be anodized aluminum, can be a different material than the outer layer, which may include leather.

Features of a camera opening and buttons for an accessory case of an electronic device

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Chad J Miller