Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to an all-new AirPods Family device concept. The device includes a fabric that covers the user's eye area to promote relaxation and sleep while they listen to their favorite music. In addition, the associated AirPods integrated into the fabric of the device is packed with biometric health sensors including sensor monitoring eye and brain activity. The new device is like a next-gen smart eye mask. 

Apple's invention covers an all-new AirPods family device that is primarily formed with a soft fabric that sits over the user's eye and nose area.

The ends may have ear openings with triangular edge portions that receive the user's ears. Tragus openings may be formed in the fabric to accommodate the tragus portions of the user's ears. A soft central portion of the fabric between the ends may overlap the user's eyes. Light sources may be placed within the central portion to provide illumination for the user's eyes.

The wearable electronic device may have control circuitry that receives power from a power source. Sensors may be used to gather sensor information such as biometric sensor information. The sensors, control circuitry, and power source may be mounted in a stiff edge portion of the fabric. The stiff edge portion of the fabric may have an elongated strip shape and may extend along an upper edge of the central portion of the fabric. Stiffener structures that are between inner and outer layers of the fabric may be used to support the speakers.

Apple's patent FIG. 5 below illustrates a top view of user #71 and device #10 showing how device may be worn by user. As shown in FIG. 5, the device may stretch across the face of user's head #70, covering the user's eyes #72.

The device may also cover some or all of the user's nose #74. By blocking the eyes, the device may allow a user to sleep or rest even when ambient lighting conditions are bright.

In Apple's patent FIG. 1 above they illustrate the face of the device that's made with fabric. The device #10 may include conductive strands or metal traces on a substrate such as a printed circuit or fabric layer that form signal paths for carrying electrical signals (e.g., wires in fabric 30 and/or attached to a surface of fabric #30).

Electrical components may be included in the device such as speakers or bone conduction transducers that may be formed in end portions to provide audio to a user. Electrical components may also be located in the central portion of the fabric between end portions #32. 

Biometric Sensors +

According to Apple, sensors integrated into the device may include force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones (e.g., microphones to monitor snorting, microphones for active noise cancellation, etc.), touch and/or proximity sensors such as capacitive sensors (e.g., capacitive touch sensors for gathering user touch input to adjust the operation of the device, capacitive touch sensors for determining when the device is being worn against the skin of a user or is not being worn, etc.), optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit and detect light, and/or other touch sensors and/or proximity sensors, monochromatic and color ambient light sensors, image 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), biometric sensors such as muscle activity sensors (EMG) for measuring eye muscle contractions and other muscle contractions, eye motion sensors, blood pressure sensors, heart rate sensors, electrocardiography (ECG) sensors for measuring heart activity, photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for sensing the rate of blood flow using light, and electroencephalograph (EEG) sensors for measuring electrical activity in the user's brain, pressure sensors (e.g., force sensors that can detect pressure on the side of a user's head when the user is resting against a pillow), humidity sensors, temperature sensors, moisture sensors, and/or other sensors. In some arrangements, device 10 may use sensors such as sensors 18 and/or other input-output devices such as input-output devices 16 to gather user input (e.g., buttons may be used to gather button press input, touch sensors overlapping displays can be used for gathering user touch screen input, touch pads may be used in gathering touch input, microphones may be used for gathering audio input, accelerometers may be used in monitoring when a finger contacts an input surface and may therefore be used to gather finger press input, etc.).

To review the full details of this invention, check out granted patent 12177639.