Light transmitting wearable device with transparent and translucent components

Number: 10931002
Published: 2021-02-23
Filed: 2019-09-23
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Nocon; Nathan D.
CPC: G06F3/014; G06F3/0304; G06F1/163; H01Q1/273; G04B45/00; G04G17/045; G04G9/0064
Verdict: Low Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Light-transmitting wearable device hardware.

Abstract

A wearable electronic device is described. The wearable electronic device uses a light within a housing of the electronic device to illuminate an optically connected band, such as a watch band which provides interactive displays and features to a user. The positioning of the light source within the housing allows for the interactive display in the connected band without increasing the size and/or complexity of the electronic device itself.

Background

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention (1) This present disclosure relates to the visual display of various interactive optical outputs on wearable devices, such as smartwatches, where the wearable devices/smartwatches are limited in size. Description of the Related Art (2) Wearable devices such as smartwatches have greatly increased in use among the general population. With this increased use, various capabilities and features have been added to wearable devices in order to provide increased function and utility to these devices. For example, various displays and lighting have been used to create visually pleasing and interactive experiences for users of wearable devices. However, increasing the features and or functions of a wearable device often comes with an increase in computational resources, increase of electrical and mechanical components, and or an increase in cost, which in some cases can also increase the overall size of these wearable devices such that the devices become too large for some users to wear comfortably. Or in which adding components can be cost prohibitive or limiting to other desirable features of a wearable device, e.g. waterproofing. SUMMARY (3) One embodiment includes a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device includes: a base assembly including: a processing unit; one or more transparent antennas; a band interface; and a light source optically coupled to the band interface, where a light emitted by the light source passes through at

Claims

1. A wearable electronic device comprising: a base assembly comprising: a processing unit; one or more transparent antennas communicatively coupled to the processing unit; a band interface comprising a portal for light to pass through a housing of the base assembly; and a light source attached to the base assembly and optically coupled to the portal of the band interface, wherein a light emitted by the light source passes through at least a subset of the one or more transparent antennas and the portal, and wherein the processing unit drives the light source to emit light in response to signals from the one or more transparent antennas; and a translucent band attached to the band interface, wherein the translucent band is illuminated by the light emitted from the light source via the portal. || 10. An apparatus comprising: a base assembly comprising: a processing unit; one or more transparent antennas communicatively coupled to the processing unit; a passive display interface comprising a portal for light to pass through a housing of the base assembly; and a light source attached to the base assembly and optically coupled to the portal of the passive display interface, wherein a light emitted by the light source passes through at least a subset of the one or more transparent antennas to the portal, and wherein the processing unit drives the light source to emit light in response to signals from the one or more transparent antennas; and a translucent passive display attached to the passive display interface, wherein the translucent passive display is illuminated by the light emitted from the light source via the portal. || 14. A system comprising: one or more transparent antennas; a band interface comprising a portal for light to pass through a housing of a base assembly; a light source optically coupled to the portal of the band interface, wherein the one or more transparent antennas are disposed between the light source and the band interface such that light emitted by the light source passes through at least a subset of the one or more transparent antennas to the portal; a translucent band attached to the band interface; a computer processor communicatively coupled to the one or more transparent antennas; and a memory containing a program which when executed by the computer processor performs an operation comprising: receiving an input signal from the one or more transparent antennas; determining an illumination plan for the translucent band based upon the input signal; and driving the light source to generate a light according to the determined illumination plan, wherein the light illuminates the translucent band according to the illumination plan via the portal.