A new Apple patent recently granted and published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) discusses a promising technology that the company is developing to integrate into head-mounted displays (like virtual reality glasses) and other wearable devices in the future: Flexible speakers.
In the patent, Apple talks about a speaker housing with flexible walls, magnets, and a speaker cone that are designed to deform together under bending stress. However, the overall flexible design would still ensure that the speaker can continuously produce sound in both its undistorted and deformed states.
The speaker will have sensors to detect the curvature of the flexible wall and the amount of deformation that has occurred in the flexible wall, magnet and speaker cone. This information will be used to adjust the speaker operation so that the sound continues as desired.
According to the patent, the flexibility and deformability of the speaker can be improved by adding components (in conjunction with hinges) to the speaker wall. One or more speakers can be mounted inside the headrest of virtual reality headsets or integrated into the device's display, which is made of fiberglass, polymers, or liquid crystals. The patent further explains:
The speaker may include a flexible, deformable, bendable, or pliable enclosure in a manner consistent with the changing shape of the headrest of the virtual reality headset.
For example, in one configuration, the shape of the headrest may be suitable for a user with a smaller, shorter, or narrower head shape. In another configuration, the shape of the headrest may be suitable for a different user with a larger, wider, or longer head shape.
In addition to virtual reality headsets, this flexible speaker technology could be suitable for a variety of use cases and products that have “custom-designed folds” or “packaging space constraints or the goal of increasing user comfort in a wearable product.” In other words, this flexible speaker technology, if successfully applied, could be used inside clothes, backpacks, laptops, and smartwatches.
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