# US 12,003,916 B1 · Electronic devices with sound permeable fabric > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,003,916 B1 - Document ID: US12003916B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 17/211,607 - Filed: 2021-03-24 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2020-03-30 - Assignees: Apple Inc. - Applicants: Apple Inc. - Inventors: Benjamin A. Shaffer; Yohji Hamada; Vincenzo Vuono; Eugene A. Whang; Christopher I. Wilson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12003916B1 ## CPC - H04R 1/1091: {Details not provided for in groups H04R1/1008 - H04R1/1083} - D04B 21/14: Fabrics characterised by the incorporation by knitting, in one or more thread, fleece, or fabric layers, of reinforcing, binding, or decorative threads; Fabrics incorporating small auxiliary elements, e.g. for decorative purposes (pile fabrics D04B21/02; non-woven fabrics in general D04H) - H04R 1/023: {Screens for loudspeakers} - D10B 2503/00: Domestic or personal - H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K) - D04B: KNITTING - D10B: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBLASSES OF SECTION D, RELATING TO TEXTILES ## Abstract A pair of headphones may include first and second ear cups that each contain one or more speakers. The speakers may emit audio through a sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric that is coupled to each ear cup. The warp knit spacer fabric may include inner and outer fabric layers joined by a spacer layer. The outer fabric layer may have first and second regions with different fabric densities. The first region with the greater fabric density may be used to form a label such as an R-shape or L-shape to indicate which ear cup should cover the user's right ear and which ear cup should cover the user's left ear. The denser first region may have diamond-shaped openings of a first size and the less dense second region may have diamond-shaped openings of a second size that is greater than the first size. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic device that provides audio to a user, comprising: an ear cup containing a speaker; and a warp knit fabric through which the speaker provides the audio to the user, wherein the fabric comprises first openings of a first size and second openings of a second size that is greater than the first size, wherein the first openings form a label for the ear cup, wherein the warp knit fabric comprises a warp knit spacer fabric having inner and outer layers joined by a spacer layer, and wherein the first openings and the second openings are located in the outer layer. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the first openings comprise first diamond-shaped openings and the second openings comprise second diamond-shape openings. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The electronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the warp knit fabric comprises strands that form loops, wherein each of the first diamond-shaped openings and the second diamond-shaped openings has four sides, wherein each of the four sides of the first diamond-shaped openings is made up of a first number of loops, and wherein each of the four sides of the second diamond-shaped openings is made up of a second number of loops that is greater than the first number. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The electronic device defined in claim 3 wherein the first number is one and the second number is three. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the label comprises a shape selected from the group consisting of: an L-shape and an R-shape. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the inner layer comprises third openings. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the third openings have a triangular shape. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The electronic device defined in claim 6 wherein the third openings have a third size that is greater than the first size and less than the second size. ### Claim 9 A pair of headphones, comprising: first and second ear cups that respectively contain first and second speakers; and a first spacer fabric through which the first speaker emits sound and a second spacer fabric through which the second speaker emits sound, wherein each of the first and second spacer fabrics comprises: an exterior warp knit layer having a first region with a first fabric density and a second region with a second fabric density that is less than the first fabric density, wherein the first region has a letter shape; an interior warp knit layer; and a spacer layer joining the exterior warp knit layer and the interior warp knit layer. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The pair of headphones defined in claim 9 wherein the first region has first openings, the second region has second openings, and wherein the first openings are smaller than the second openings. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The pair of headphones defined in claim 10 wherein the interior warp knit layer comprises third openings having a different shape than that of the first and second openings. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The pair of headphones defined in claim 9 wherein the interior warp knit layer has a third region with a third fabric density and a fourth region with a fourth fabric density that is greater than the third fabric density. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The pair of headphones defined in claim 12 wherein the first and second ear cups are formed from housing structures and wherein the fourth region of the interior warp knit layer forms a bonding region for bonding the interior warp knit layer to the housing structures. ### Claim 14 An electronic device that provides audio to a user, comprising: a housing; a speaker mounted in the housing; and a sound-permeable warp knit fabric that overlaps the speaker, wherein the sound- permeable warp knit fabric comprises strands that occupy first and second regions of the sound- permeable warp knit fabric, wherein the strands are more densely packed in the first region than in the second region, wherein the border between the first and second regions has a shape that forms a label, wherein the sound-permeable warp knit fabric comprises a sound-permeable warp knit spacer fabric having inner and outer fabric layers joined by a spacer layer, wherein the inner fabric layer is interposed between the speaker and the outer fabric layer, and wherein the first and second regions openings are located in the outer fabric layer. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the first region has first diamond-shaped openings and the second region has second diamond-shaped openings that are larger than the first diamond-shaped openings. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the strands form loops and wherein each of the second diamond-shaped openings is bordered by a greater number of the loops than each of the first diamond-shaped openings. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the inner fabric layer has openings that are larger than the first diamond-shaped openings and smaller than the second diamond-shaped openings.