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Apple Granted 46 Patents Today covering Structured Fabrics as used in the HomePod and an iPhone Dock Controlled by Gestures

1 Cover. STIFFENED FABRIC PATENT FIGS. 4 & 5

 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 46 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a patent for structured fabrics that are used in a Beats speaker and likely the new HomePod. The second patent covers an iPhone dock that could be controlled with unique gestures like knocking on a table. We wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

 

Granted Patent: Structured Fabrics for Electronic Devices

 

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to electronic devices having structured fabric. Structured fabric may be used as a protective case or cosmetic cover for an electronic device. It may also be used to form an Apple Watch band.

 

More specifically, Apple lists a series of possible products that may use structured fabric in the future that may be used in forming part of an electronic device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a speaker, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user'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 equipment is mounted in a kiosk, in an automobile or other vehicle, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment.

 

The speaker that Apple lists above is seen below in patent FIGS. 2 and 3 with a stiffened fabric sleeve as part of a Beats Pill + Portable Speaker.

 

2 STIFFENED FABRIX

It could also be that this technique has been used in Apple's HomePod that provides a mesh-like appearance, as FIG. 5 illustrates a diamond shaped appearance which is exactly what the HomePod uses.

 

3. STIFFENED FABRIC PATENT FIGS. 4 & 5

Apple's patent FIG. 5 noted above illustrates a fabric that may include one or more openings such as openings #18A. Openings may provide the fabric with a desired aesthetic; may provide fabric with breathability; and/or may provide the fabric with pathways through which signals such as optical signals, audio signals, or other signals may pass (e.g., from the interior of housing #50 to the exterior of the housing and/or from the exterior of the housing to the interior of the housing). For example, components such as light-emitting components, speakers, or other components may transmit signals through openings in the fabric.

 

Apple's granted patent 9,894,789 was originally filed in Q4 2014 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

 

Granted Patent: Impact and Contactless Gesture Inputs for Electronic Devices

 

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to methods and a docking system useful for interacting with an electronic device where the user does not have to be within the field of view of the device and/or the device does not have to be powered on for the user to interact with it.

 

4 apple granted patent for dock with gestures

In Apple's patent FIG. 1 above we're able to see a front perspective view of an electronic device mated to a docking station. In one embodiment a user may prefer to interact with electronic device 100 with an impact event rather than an alternative manner such as depressing home button 130 or touching display screen 115. Electronic device 100 may be configured to distinguish between different impact inputs such as knocking on the table once for one command, twice for another command and three times for yet another command. These embodiments and others will be described in greater detail below.

 

Patently Apple covered this granted patent as a patent application report back in Oct 2015. Check out our report for more information and graphics.

 

Apple's granted patent was originally filed in 2014 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

 

The Remaining Patents granted to Apple Today

 

5 Apple's Remaining Granted Patents for Feb 13  2018

 

14 Patent Notice Bar

Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details. About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.

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