Apple Inc.

Peter F Coxeter

Yohji Hamada

Benjamin M Rappoport

John J Baker

David M Kindlon

Joseph Benjamin Walker

Daniel A Podhajny

Daniel D Sunshine

Kathryn P Crews

Andrew L Rosenberg

Linda D Benavente-Notaro

Donald L Olmstead

Yiwei Tao

Shantanu R Ranade

Christopher I Edwards

Matthew Phillip Casebolt

Naoto Matsuyuki

Edward Siahaan

Kevin Scott Fetterman

Jonathan L Berk

Jack J Wanderman

Alissa Anderson

Margaret Madigan Burke

Benjamin J Grena

Yoji Hamada

Steven J Keating

Siddhartha Hegde

Sarah J Montplaisir

Benjamin A Stevenson

Maurice Philip May

Javier Mendez

Didio V Gomes

Rimple Bhatia

Chad J Miller

Daniel David Hershey

Timon A Wright

Jessica J Lu

Zebinah P Masse

Ying-Liang Su

Julio C Quintero

Robert Michael Merritt

Harry W Smith, Iv

Whitney D Mattson

Lia Mieko Uesato

Amit S Barve

Brett Evans Krasniewicz

Patrick Perry

Aedhan M Loomis

Sofiane Berlat

Adam L Nekimken

Jonathan T Mechak

Mark Toki Niiro

Felix Chung Fan Lam

A watch band for a smart watch can secure the smart watch to the user's wrist. The watch band can include a continuous loop of woven material to conform around the user's wrist. The watch band can further include an encasement formed from a rigid material to receive the smart watch. The encasement can protect the smart watch during activities. The watch band can include a retention portion formed from a transparent material to receive the smart watch. The watch band can also include light emitted diodes to increase visibility.

Watch band for a smart watch

Systems of the present disclosure can provide a watch band that provide a marker pattern to a computer-generated reality device. The watch band can include structures or features that provide an identifiable marker pattern to the computer-generated reality device. The structures or features that provide the marker pattern can be invisible or imperceptible to the user. Structures or features of the watch band can include infrared reflective thread, visually obscured markers, or lenticular lens assemblies.

Watch band with markers

Electronic equipment may include structured fabric. Structured fabric may be used as a protective case or cosmetic cover for an electronic device, may be used to form a band that holds an electronic device against a user's body, or may be used to cover one or more openings in an electronic device. Structured fabrics may be soft and pliable while maintaining the ability to hold a given shape without added support. Structured fabric may be formed by laminating fabric such as warp-knit fabric with a stiffener such as polymer film. Structured fabrics may include openings through which signals such as optical or audio signals pass. To maintain the geometry and shape of the openings in the structured fabric without covering the openings, the stiffener and adhesive that are attached to the fabric may be cut to form a pattern of openings that align with the openings in the fabric.

Structured fabrics for electronic devices

A fabric-based item may include fabric formed from intertwined strands of material. The fabric may include first and second fabric layers that at least partially surround a pocket. Initially, the pocket may be completely enclosed by the first and second layers of fabric. A shim may be placed in the pocket before the pocket is closed. An opening may be formed in the first layer of fabric to expose a conductive strand in the pocket. The shim may prevent the cutting tool from cutting all the way through to the second layer of fabric. After cutting the hole in the first layer of fabric, the shim may be removed and an electrical component may be soldered to the conductive strand in the pocket. A polymer material may be injected into the pocket to encapsulate the electrical component. The polymer material may interlock with the surrounding pocket walls.

Fabric items with electrical components

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

A woven material () including bonding fibers () and a method of reinforcing woven material using bonding fibers is disclosed. The woven material () includes a plurality of warp threads (), and at least one weft thread () coupled to the warp threads (). The woven material () also includes a plurality of bonding fibers (). The bonding fibers () are positioned in parallel with the warp threads (), and/or in parallel with the weft thread(s) (). Additionally, the bonding fibers () are formed from a material having a melting temperature that is lower than a melting temperature of the material(s) used to form the warp threads () and the weft thread(s) () of the woven material.

Woven material including bonding fibers

Electronic equipment may include seamless spacer fabric. Seamless spacer fabric may be used as a protective case or cosmetic cover for an electronic device such as a speaker. A seamless spacer fabric may include a seamless fabric outer layer, a spacer fabric inner layer, and an adhesive layer that bonds the seamless outer layer to the spacer fabric inner layer. The spacer fabric layer may have a seam region where one portion of the spacer fabric layer is joined with another portion of the fabric layer. The seamless fabric outer layer may cover the seam region to hide it from view. One or more additional seam hiding layers or strips may be formed on opposing sides of the spacer fabric layer to cover the seam. The seamless spacer fabric may have an array of openings that extends uniformly around the perimeter of the seamless spacer fabric.

Seamless spacer fabrics for electronic devices

Packaging is disclosed. The packaging may include a charging element to charge an electronic device contained within the packaging. The charging may be performed by inductive charging. The packaging may include a magnet to position and retain an item within the packaging. The packaging may include protective surfaces formed of microfiber to help protect an item contained therein. The microfiber may be debossed around its periphery to minimize interruption between the microfiber and an underlying surface to which it is applied.

Packaging for an electronic device

The described embodiments relate to a method for embedding one or more electrical components in a flexible substrate. The method includes receiving a substrate of a flexible material, wherein the substrate includes a cosmetic surface and an opposing surface. The method further includes applying a carrier form to the substrate to create a carrier assembly, wherein the carrier form includes one or more positive images representative a design to be transferred to the opposing surface of the substrate. The method further includes removing or cutting a portion of material from the opposing surface of the substrate to form a new opposing surface. Subsequently, the carrier form is removed from the substrate to reveal one or more embedding cavities extending into the substrate at the new opposing surface. In some embodiments, the embedding cavities can thereafter receive one or more electrical components.

Reducing cosmetic surface interference from embedded components

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Peter F Coxeter