Electronic device with sensors and display devices

• US 10,474,417 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2017
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Paul X., Gu, Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhou, Hong
• Application Number:
  US15/729,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20190026056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1633 Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/08 Speech classification or search
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/088 Word spotting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42206 characterized by hardware details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/023 Screens for loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones

Abstract

An electronic device may have a housing. The housing may be characterized by a vertical axis and may have housing structures such as cylindrical housing structures with a cylindrical surface. A speaker may be mounted in the housing to provide sound through openings in the housing structures. A visual output device may be mounted in the housing to provide light through openings in the housing structures. The visual output device may include an electrophoretic display, a light-emitting diode display, or other display with an array of pixels that display images or may include other components for emitting light. During operation, voice commands may be received by a microphone in the device and action taken based on the commands and other information. The action taken may include playing sound with the speaker and providing visual output with the visual output device.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having a sidewall, wherein the sidewall has upper and lower regions and a middle region between the upper and lower regions;

a microphone in the housing;

a visual output device on the middle region of the sidewall, wherein the visual output device comprises light-emitting devices;

a speaker in the housing;

control circuitry in the housing that is configured to;

gather voice commands with the microphone;

produce sound with the speaker in response to the voice commands; and

display moving visual information using the visual output device; and

fabric that overlaps the sidewall, wherein the fabric has first openings through which the sound passes and second openings that receive the light-emitting devices and through which light from the light-emitting devices passes to display the moving visual information on the middle region of the sidewall of the housing.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the visual output device wraps at least partially around the housing, wherein the light-emitting devices are light-emitting diodes arranged in an array, and wherein the moving visual information includes text.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the text comprises a song title.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the housing has a periphery, wherein the visual output device extends around the periphery of the housing, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to scroll the moving visual information on the visual output device around the periphery of the housing.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the array of light-emitting diodes includes at least 100 light-emitting diodes.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the housing is cylindrical and wherein the sidewall forms a cylindrical surface for the housing.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry is configured to display text transcriptions of the voice commands on the visual output device.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the visual output device comprises a light guide layer and a light-emitting diode that supplies light to the light guide layer, wherein the light guide layer comprises light scattering structures that scatter the light out of the light guide layer, and wherein the housing includes structures with openings through which the light passes after the light has scattered out of the light guide layer.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the control circuitry is configured to display online information on the visual output device and wherein the online information comprises online information selected from the group consisting of:

weather information, sports scores, and news.

10. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having cylindrical housing structures that include a sidewall having upper and lower regions and a middle region between the upper and lower regions;

a speaker mounted in the cylindrical housing structures;

fabric covering the sidewall of the cylindrical housing structures, wherein the fabric has openings at the middle region of the sidewall;

a capacitive proximity sensor that detects three-dimensional hand gestures;

light-emitting diodes that extend into the openings in the fabric and are configured to display alphanumeric characters through the openings in the fabric;

additional light-emitting diodes that are configured to provide visual feedback that the three-dimensional hand gestures have been detected by the capacitive proximity sensor;

a microphone; and

control circuitry configured to play media with the speaker based on voice commands received with the microphone.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 further comprising:

wireless communications circuitry configured to support communications between the control circuitry and a television over a wireless link in a wireless local area network, wherein the control circuitry is configured to serve as a remote control for the television by communicating channel change adjustments to the television over the wireless link based on voice commands received with the microphone.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein the control circuitry is configured to:

communicate with home automation equipment including heating controllers and lighting controllers using the wireless communications circuitry.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 12 wherein the control circuitry is configured to use the light-emitting diodes to display alphanumeric characters that change depending on time of day.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 further comprising a light-emitting device that is configured to emit a pattern of light to acknowledge that a voice wake command has been received by the microphone.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 10 further comprising:

wireless communications circuitry configured to support communications between the control circuitry and a television over a wireless link in a wireless local area network, wherein the control circuitry is configured to serve as a remote control for the television by communicating channel change adjustments to the television over the wireless link based on voice commands received with the microphone.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 10 further comprising:

wireless communications circuitry configured to support communications between the control circuitry and a heating controller over a wireless link in a wireless local area network.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 10 further comprising:

wireless communications circuitry configured to support communications between the control circuitry and a home automation lighting controller over a wireless link in a wireless local area network.

18. An electronic device, comprising:

a housing having opposing upper and lower surfaces joined by a curved sidewall, wherein the curved sidewall has a perimeter;

a speaker mounted in the housing;

fabric that covers the housing and that is configured to pass sound from the speaker;

a microphone;

wireless communications circuitry configured to support communications with a television over a wireless link in a wireless local area network;

control circuitry configured to;

play media with the speaker based on voice commands received with the microphone; and

serve as a remote control for the television by communicating channel change adjustments to the television over the wireless link based on voice commands received with the microphone; and

a light-emitting device that illuminates a volume level indicator that wraps around the perimeter of the curved sidewall of the housing, wherein the light-emitting device adjusts a height of the volume level indicator above the lower surface proportionally based on a playback volume of the media, and wherein the light-emitting device changes a location of the volume level indicator on the curved sidewall relative to the upper and lower surfaces.

19. The electronic device defined in claim 18 further comprising:

light-emitting diodes that are configured to display alphanumeric characters through the fabric that change depending on time of day.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 18 wherein the housing has a cylindrical shape and exhibits rotational symmetry around a longitudinal axis, the electronic device further comprising a display that wraps around the longitudinal axis.