Apple is studying fabrics that can contain touch-sensitive materials and display controls so that the protective case around the HomePod mini can have additional functions in the future. Apple has now obtained a patent, and future speakers will use at least a part of the fabric that can detect touch. Therefore, perhaps the entire acoustic enclosure of the HomePod mini will be replaced, or just the critical area will be replaced.
Apple’s new patent title is Electronic Devices Wrapped in Fabric with Touch Sensors. The newly granted patent may even apply to other Apple devices. For example, the Smart Folio Keyboard is a kind of fabric. However, this patent focuses on audio equipment. Apple said in the patent that electronic devices such as audio equipment can include fabric. For example, a speaker enclosure can be covered with a layer of fabric. There may be openings in the fabric to allow sound to be emitted from the device.
However, enhancing the functionality of speakers can be challenging. For example, it can be difficult to integrate input and output devices into speakers with fabric layers. If not paying attention, the user may find it troublesome to provide input to and receive output from the speaker. It would be much better if you could tap on the side or slide your finger along the length of the speaker to change the volume.
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Apple believes that the touch sensor can be used to detect touch input on the fabric layer, and the touch sensor can include capacitive touch sensor electrodes, including drive lines and sensing lines. The driving line and the sensing line can be seen in some keyboard designs, one represents the horizontal path and the other represents the vertical path. When a key is pressed, or in this case, a piece of fabric is touched, it is registered at the intersection of the two lines, so the device can accurately determine what the user wants to press.
The Apple patent shows that in some arrangements, the touch sensor is formed by conductive strands in the fabric layer. In other arrangements, the touch sensor is formed by conductive traces on the substrate. The patent details the substrate and also provides many other arrangements to cover every imaginable use of touch-sensitive fabrics.
However, it also took some time to explain how users judge whether their presses or touches are recorded. Apple proposes to use a display screen woven on fabric to provide users with tactile feedback. Light-emitting elements and/or fabrics with different visual characteristics can be used to mark the location of touch-sensitive areas of the fabric.