Apple has been granted a patent for “Fabric-Based Earbuds,” though the patent also mentions fabric-based iPhones and iPads.
About the patent
In the patent filing, Apple says it would nice to be able to make voice-controlled assistant devices, earbuds, headphones, bags, covers for electronic devices such as cellular telephones and tablet computers, and other equipment from fabric. The tech giant says fabric-based items such as these may have an attractive appearance and may benefit from desirable attributes associated with fabric such as sound permeability, light weight, and durability.
However, challenges may arise when using woven fabric to form three-dimensional structures. Most weaving machines are only capable of producing two-dimensional fabrics. Three-dimensional structures can be formed by stitching multiple pieces of two-dimensional fabric together, but this may lead to unsightly seams and other undesirable characteristics.
Apple’s patent is for a system to overcome such issues.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “three-dimensional weaving system may be used to form customized earbuds for a user. An electronic device with a three-dimensional sensor may be used to capture three-dimensional images of one or both of the user’s ears. The three-dimensional ear images may be provided to computing equipment that analyzes the images to determine the dimensions of the ear such as tragus and antitragus dimensions and concha dimensions.
“Three-dimensional weaving equipment may be used to weave customized earbuds for the user based on the ear images. The customized earbuds may include a tragus and antitragus portion that matches the dimensions of the tragus and antitragus in the ear images, as these areas of the ear are more sensitive. The concha portion of the customized earbuds may be woven with slightly larger dimensions than the user’s actual concha, as the concha area can withstand some compression without discomfort.”
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