公开(公告)号：US10771884B2

公开(公告)日：2020-09-08

申请号：US16352588

申请日：2019-03-13

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Mehmet Mutlu ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Orit A. Shamir

IPC: H04R29/00 ,  H04R1/10 ,  G01J1/04 ,  H03K17/945

Abstract: An electronic device such as an earbud may have control circuitry mounted in a housing. The housing may have portions such as an ear portion with a speaker port through which a speaker plays audio and a stalk portion that extends from the ear portion. Proximity sensors may be formed in the electronic device. For example, one or more proximity sensors may be formed on the ear portion to detect when a user has inserted an earbud into the ear of the user and/or one or more proximity sensors may be formed on a stalk portion to detect when a user is holding an earbud by the stalk or when a user is providing finger touch input such as taps, swipes, and/or other gestures on the stalk portion. The proximity sensors may be optical proximity sensors such as coherent self-mixing proximity sensors.

公开(公告)号：US20200097125A1

公开(公告)日：2020-03-26

申请号：US16141912

申请日：2018-09-25

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Mehmet Mutlu ,  Tong Chen ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Omid Momtahan

IPC: G06F3/042 ,  G02B6/42

Abstract: Disclosed herein are structures, devices, and systems for detecting touch and force inputs at multiple sensing locations on a surface of an electronic device using waveguide-based interferometry. A laser light source, such as a VCSEL, inserts light into a waveguide positioned adjacent to the sensing locations, and an input at a sensing location alters the inserted light in the waveguide allowing for determination of the input's touch or force at the sensing location. Wavelength modulation of the inserted light allows isolation in frequency of the signals from each sensing location. Optical phase locking can be used to lock an absolute distance beat frequency corresponding to a stationary reference point in the waveguide.

公开(公告)号：US10523318B2

公开(公告)日：2019-12-31

申请号：US16399943

申请日：2019-04-30

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Tong Chen ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Wenrui Cai ,  Mehmet Mutlu ,  Omid Momtahan ,  Orit A. Shamir

IPC: H04B10/112 ,  G02B27/09 ,  H04L5/00 ,  H04L7/00

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed by which electronic devices that include line-of-sight optical communication systems may become optically aware of other electronic devices and perform optical communication handshakes with other devices. An electronic device may use a motion sensor to record its posing when it determines, during the performance of an optical communication handshake, that it is pointed at the electronic device with which it is performing the optical communication handshake (or that the other electronic device is within a field of view of the electronic device). A recorded device posing, in combination with optical communications and motion sensor data, may also be used to map another device's location and enable a user of an electronic device to pan away from and break optical communication with the other device, then easily return to a recorded posing that enables a continuation of optical communications with the other device.

公开(公告)号：US20190372668A1

公开(公告)日：2019-12-05

申请号：US16399943

申请日：2019-04-30

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Tong Chen ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Wenrui Cai ,  Mehmet Mutlu ,  Omid Momtahan ,  Orit A. Shamir

IPC: H04B10/112 ,  H04L7/00 ,  H04L5/00 ,  G02B27/09

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed by which electronic devices that include line-of-sight optical communication systems may become optically aware of other electronic devices and perform optical communication handshakes with other devices. An electronic device may use a motion sensor to record its posing when it determines, during the performance of an optical communication handshake, that it is pointed at the electronic device with which it is performing the optical communication handshake (or that the other electronic device is within a field of view of the electronic device). A recorded device posing, in combination with optical communications and motion sensor data, may also be used to map another device's location and enable a user of an electronic device to pan away from and break optical communication with the other device, then easily return to a recorded posing that enables a continuation of optical communications with the other device.

公开(公告)号：US20190331828A1

公开(公告)日：2019-10-31

申请号：US16351843

申请日：2019-03-13

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Mehmet Mutlu ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Tong Chen ,  Wenrui Cai

IPC: G01V8/10 ,  G06F3/041 ,  H04R29/00 ,  H04R1/02

Abstract: An electronic device may have optical sensors. Control circuitry may use sensor measurements in controlling adjustable components and taking other actions. The optical sensors may be self-mixing sensors such as incoherent self-mixing sensors. One or more sensors may be used in gathering sensor measurements. In configurations in which an electronic device contain multiple self-mixing sensors, multi-wavelength measurements can be gathered using incoherent light sources in the sensors that operate a set of different wavelengths. The light source of each incoherent self-mixing sensor may be a superluminescent light-emitting diode, a resonant cavity light-emitting diode, or other amplified or non-amplified spontaneous emission source. Optical systems such as lenses in a housing for an electronic device may be aligned with the self-mixing sensors. Self-mixing sensors may serve as proximity sensors, sensors for detecting touch input, sensors for measuring spectrums associated with targets of unknown materials, displacement sensors, or other sensors.

公开(公告)号：US20190317454A1

公开(公告)日：2019-10-17

申请号：US16379551

申请日：2019-04-09

Applicant: Apple Inc.

Inventor： Prashanth S. Holenarsipur ,  Mark T. Winkler ,  Mehmet Mutlu ,  David D. Dashevsky

IPC: G04G21/08 ,  G01D5/34

Abstract: An electronic watch includes a housing, a user-operable watch crown mounted to the housing, an electromagnetic radiation source emitting a beam of electromagnetic radiation toward a watch crown surface, and a sensor. The beam of electromagnetic radiation depends on a coherent mixing of electromagnetic radiation within a resonant cavity of the electromagnetic radiation source. The coherent mixing includes a mixing of a first amount of electromagnetic radiation generated by the electromagnetic radiation source and a second amount of electromagnetic radiation redirected into the resonant cavity by the watch crown surface. The sensor measures a first parameter of the beam of electromagnetic radiation and determines, using the measurement of the first parameter, a value of a second parameter characterizing movement of the watch crown. The second parameter may include a direction of rotation or speed of rotation of the watch crown, or other parameters.