The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published an Apple patent application for integrating displays into woven fabrics, reported 9to5Mac.

The patent describes several potential applications for the displays woven into fabric, and the patent describes a variety of uses. Some describe using the Apple Watch bands, with several of the illustrations also pointing towards this direction.

The woven fabric includes light transmissive fibers woven into the fabric to create a visual display. The fabric can be used as a tether to connect a portable electronic device to a user. Light transmissive fibers in the display can transmit light to convey information to users.

Another option mentioned in the patent was using LEDs to emit light or other light source. The LED can be controlled to emit different wavelength at varying time intervals, and causing the light to exit the light-transmitting fiber at different regions or areas, depending on the diffraction patterns of such regions or areas.  

Rapidly changing the wavelength of the light traveling through the fiber, multiple regions of the fiber might appear to emit light at the same time so the shifts between different light-emitting regions might be too fast to be noticed by the naked human eye, including dimming and brightening.

Hence, multiple regions can be simultaneously used as part of a single display without requiring all light-emitting regions of the fiber to simultaneously used. By using a group of light-emitting fibers, the technology enables greater control over the display. Further details of Apple’s patent application can be read here.

Overall, the patent application describes using the fibers to display information: lighting up an entire length of optical fiber, lighting only part of its length and lighting the entire band, but using fabric to cover certain illuminated areas.

The patent references other devices too, including both smartphones and laptops, suggesting that a woven display could be used for message alerts when a MacBook is sleeping. Another example given is in a band tethering a product to a user’s wrist.

The 9to5Mac Report noted though, many Apple patents are not applied in actual products, which was highlighted today. Patently Apple noted 384 other patent applications were published today alone.