Apple may have canceled its plans for an Apple Car, but the tech giant is still being granted patents that are at least someone related to automotive technology. The latest is dubbed “Systems With Hidden Openings.”
About the patent
The patent involves a system such as a vehicle, building, or electronic device system may have a layer of material with invisible openings. The layer of material may form a covering for part of a vehicle seat such as a seat cushion, backrest, or headrest or may form other suitable covering structures.
The invisible openings may be laser-drilled openings. The layer of material may include an outer layer of fabric overlapping an inner layer such as an inner foam layer. The laser-drilled openings may have an outer openings in the fabric layer and inner openings in the foam layer.
Each of the inner openings may be overlapped by multiple outer openings. The exposed surface of the fabric layer may have strands of material of different appearances and/or may otherwise be configured to help visually hide the laser-drilled openings. Laser-drilled openings may also have small sizes to help make the laser-drilled openings invisible.
Laser-drilled openings may overlap components such as audio components, heating and cooling components and/or light-emitting components. During operation of the system, sound, air, and/or light may pass through the openings.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A system such as a vehicle, building, vessel, aircraft, or electronic device system may have a layer of material with invisible laser-drilled openings. The layer of material may include an outer layer of fabric overlapping an inner layer such as an inner foam layer. Laser-drilled openings may include outer openings in the fabric layer and inner openings in the foam layer.
“Each of the inner openings may be overlapped by multiple outer openings. The exposed surface of the fabric layer may have strands of material of different appearances and/or may otherwise be configured to help visually hide the laser-drilled openings. Laser-drilled openings may also have small sizes to help make the laser-drilled openings invisible. Laser-drilled openings may overlap components such as audio components, heating and cooling components, and/or light-emitting components.”
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