US-12619080-B2 - Electronic devices with light-blocking fabrics

US12619080B2US 12619080 B2US12619080 B2US 12619080B2US-12619080-B2

Abstract

A head-mounted device may include a housing with a display that displays images that are viewable from an eye box. A light seal may be coupled the housing and may block outside light from reaching the eye box. The light seal may include a seamless tube of knit fabric that forms an outermost layer of the light seal. A light-blocking fabric may line the inner surface of the seamless tube of knit fabric. The light-blocking fabric may include a dark-colored weft knit layer facing the eye box, a light-colored weft knit layer facing and matching a color of the seamless tube of knit fabric, and a middle layer joining the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer. The dark-colored weft knit layer may ensure sufficient opacity without being visible through the seamless tube of knit fabric.

Inventors

Vedant A Dhandhania
Edward W Wong
Yi Zou

Assignees

APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231017

Claims (20)

1 . A head-mounted device, comprising: a main housing unit having a display that presents images and an optical module through which the images are viewable from an eye box; and a light seal coupled to the main housing unit and surrounding the eye box, wherein the light seal comprises: an outer fabric layer that forms an outermost surface of the light seal; and a light-blocking inner fabric layer that lines an inner surface of the outer fabric layer, wherein the light-blocking inner fabric layer comprises a dark-colored knit layer facing the eye box, a light-colored knit layer facing the outer fabric layer, and a spacer layer joining the dark-colored knit layer and the light-colored knit layer.
2 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the light-colored knit layer matches a color of the outer fabric layer and wherein the dark-colored knit layer is not visible through the outer fabric layer.
3 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the spacer layer matches a color of the light-colored knit layer.
4 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the spacer layer matches a color of the dark-colored knit layer.
5 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the light-colored knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier value and the spacer layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half the first denier value.
6 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the dark-colored knit layer comprises first strands having a first denier value and the spacer layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half the first denier value.
7 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the dark-colored knit layer and the light-colored knit layer each comprise a weft knit layer.
8 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the light-blocking inner fabric layer has a density of at least 80 strands per inch.
9 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 1 wherein the light-colored knit layer and the dark-colored knit layer comprise two-ply strands.
10 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 9 wherein each two-ply strand includes a polyester strand and an elastic strand.
11 . A head-mounted device, comprising: head-mounted support structure; a display supported by the head-mounted support structure, wherein the display presents images that are viewable from an eye box; and a light seal coupled to the head-mounted support structure and configured to block outside light from reaching the eye box, wherein the light seal comprises: a seamless tube of knit fabric having a first color; and a light-blocking knit fabric that lines an inner surface of the seamless tube of knit fabric, wherein the light-blocking knit fabric has a first fabric layer with the first color, a second fabric layer with a second color that is darker than the first color, and a middle layer that joins the first and second layers, wherein the first layer is interposed between the second layer and the seamless tube of knit fabric.
12 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 11 wherein the seamless tube of knit fabric, the first fabric layer, and the second fabric layer comprise weft knit fabric.
13 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 11 wherein the first fabric layer comprises first strands and the second fabric layer comprises second strands and wherein the first strands and the second strands have equal denier values.
14 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 13 wherein the middle layer comprises third strands having a denier value that is half the denier value of the first strands and the second strands.
15 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 14 wherein the first strands and the second strands comprise two-ply strands that each include a polyester strand and an elastic strand.
16 . A head-mounted device, comprising: a head-mounted housing; a display in the head-mounted housing that presents images; a lens in the head-mounted housing through which the images are viewable from an eye box; and a light seal that extends around the eye box and that is coupled to the head-mounted housing, wherein the light seal comprises: a light-colored weft knit layer; a dark-colored weft knit layer; and a middle layer joining the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer, wherein the light-colored weft knit layer has first and second opposing sides and wherein the dark-colored weft knit layer is located on the first side facing the eye box and is not viewable from the second side.
17 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 16 wherein the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer comprise first strands having a first denier value and wherein the middle layer comprises second strands having a second denier value that is half the first denier value.
18 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 17 wherein the first strands comprise two-ply strands that each include a polyester strand and an elastic strand.
19 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 16 wherein the light seal further comprises a seamless tube of weft knit fabric that forms an outermost surface of the light seal and wherein the seamless tube of weft knit fabric matches a color of the light-colored weft knit layer.
20 . The head-mounted device defined in claim 16 wherein the middle layer comprises a multifilament strand that is interlaced with the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer.

Description

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 63/426,262, filed Nov. 17, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD This relates generally to fabric and, more particularly, to fabric for wearable electronic devices such as head-mounted devices. BACKGROUND Electronic devices such as head-mounted devices are configured to be worn on a head of a user. A head-mounted device may have left and right optical systems for presenting images to a user's left and right eyes. The optical systems may be mounted in a head-mounted housing. Conventional head-mounted devices can be uncomfortable and cumbersome to wear or may not provide a satisfactory viewing experience. SUMMARY A head-mounted device may include a main housing portion with displays that display images and optical modules through which the images are viewable from eye boxes. A light seal (sometimes referred to as a face frame) may be coupled to the main housing portion and may surround the eye boxes to prevent outside light from reaching the viewing area of the head-mounted device. The light seal may include inner and outer fabric layers, a face portion that rests against the user's face, and a nose bridge portion that accommodates the user's nose. The outer fabric layer may be a seamless tube of knit fabric that forms an outermost layer of the light seal. The inner fabric layer may be a light-blocking fabric that lines the inner surface of the seamless tube of knit fabric. The light-blocking fabric may include a dark-colored weft knit layer facing the eye box, a light-colored weft knit layer facing the seamless tube of knit fabric, and a middle layer joining the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer. The light-colored weft knit layer may match a color of the seamless tube of knit fabric. The dark-colored weft knit layer may ensure sufficient opacity without being visible through the seamless tube of knit fabric. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top view of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a rear view of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative head-mounted device in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an illustrative head-mounted device having a fabric-covered face frame in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative knitting system in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram of a portion of an illustrative weft knit fabric layer in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative light seal having an outer fabric layer with a first color and an inner fabric layer formed from a first layer that matches the first color and a second layer that faces the eye box and has a dark color in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an illustrative inner fabric layer for a light seal having a dark-colored inner layer and a light-colored outer layer joined by a middle layer in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative light seal having a light-colored outer fabric layer that forms an outermost layer of the light seal and a dark-colored inner fabric layer that faces the eye box in accordance with an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a front face that faces away from a user's head and may have an opposing rear face that faces the user's head. The head-mounted device may include a main housing portion with displays that display images and optical modules through which the images are viewable from eye boxes. A face frame that is coupled to the main housing portion may form a light seal around the eye boxes. The light seal may include inner and outer fabric layers, a face portion that rests against the user's face, and a nose bridge portion that accommodates the user's nose. The outer fabric layer may be a seamless tube of knit fabric that forms an outermost layer of the light seal. The inner fabric layer may be a light-blocking fabric that lines the inner surface of the seamless tube of knit fabric. The light-blocking fabric may include a dark-colored weft knit layer facing the eye box, a light-colored weft knit layer facing the seamless tube of knit fabric, and a middle layer joining the light-colored weft knit layer and the dark-colored weft knit layer. The light-colored weft knit layer may match a color of the seamless tube of knit fabric. The dark-colored weft knit layer may ensure sufficient opacity without being visible through the seamless tube of knit fabric. A top view of an illustrative head-mounted device that may include a fabric light seal is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, head-mounted devices such as electronic device 10 may have head-mounted support structures such as housing 12. Housing 12 m