Patents by Inventor Emery A. Sanford

Emery A. Sanford has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240069352
    Abstract: A system may include an electronic device such as a head-mounted device and a handheld controller for controlling the electronic device. The handheld controller may have a housing with an elongated shaft extending between first and second tip portions. The handheld controller may have power receiving circuitry configured to receive power from a power source. The power source may be incorporated into an electronic device such as a wireless charging dock or stick, a battery case, or a head-mounted device. The power source may supply power through terminals that form ohmic contacts with mating terminals in the finger device or may transmit power wirelessly using capacitive coupling or inductive charging arrangements. Magnets may be used to hold and align the elongated shaft of the handheld controller on the power source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Paul X. Wang, Ian P. Colahan, Christopher T. Eubank, Christopher K. Ewy, Patrick T. Ryan, Emery A. Sanford, Robert D. Silfvast
  • Publication number: 20240073580
    Abstract: An in-ear listening device having a device housing including a speaker housing and an elongated tube protruding away from the speaker housing, an audio port formed through the speaker housing, a speaker disposed in the speaker housing and aligned to emit sound through the audio port, a microphone port formed through the elongated tube, a microphone disposed in the elongated tube and operatively coupled to receive sound through the microphone port, a rechargeable battery and a wireless antenna disposed within the device housing, wireless circuitry coupled to the wireless antenna and configured to input and output radio frequency signals for wireless communications, a user-interface touch control disposed on the device housing and operable to control a function of the earbud, and battery charging circuitry coupled to the rechargeable battery and positioned within the device housing and operable to charge the rechargeable battery when coupled to receive power from an external power source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 6, 2023
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Patent number: 11877112
    Abstract: An in-ear listening device having a device housing including a speaker housing and an elongated tube protruding away from the speaker housing, an audio port formed through the speaker housing, a speaker disposed in the speaker housing and aligned to emit sound through the audio port, a microphone port formed through the elongated tube, a microphone disposed in the elongated tube and operatively coupled to receive sound through the microphone port, a rechargeable battery and a wireless antenna disposed within the device housing, wireless circuitry coupled to the wireless antenna and configured to input and output radio frequency signals for wireless communications, a user-interface touch control disposed on the device housing and operable to control a function of the earbud, and battery charging circuitry coupled to the rechargeable battery and positioned within the device housing and operable to charge the rechargeable battery when coupled to receive power from an external power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Patent number: 11787260
    Abstract: Some embodiments provide a vehicle climate control system for controlling climate conditions in various cabin regions of a vehicle cabin, where the climate control system is configured to control one or more vehicle components to change the set of climate conditions associated with one or more cabin regions to approximate a set of optimal comfort conditions. The climate control system controls various vehicle components to control climate conditions, including window assemblies, sunroof assemblies, etc. The climate control system determines optimal comfort conditions which optimize perceived temperature of various occupant body parts and maintain various climate characteristics within one or more sets of thresholds. Output configurations of various vehicle components can be determined based at least in part upon determined optimal comfort conditions of various cabin regions. Output configurations can be generated based at least in part upon various control mode priorities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Derek A. Faust, Emery A. Sanford, James Foster
  • Patent number: 11785729
    Abstract: A handheld computing device that includes an enclosure having structural walls formed from a glass material that can be radio-transparent. The enclosure can be formed from a hollow glass tube or two glass members bonded together. A laser frit bonding process may be used to hermetically seal the two glass members together to create a water resistant electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Prest, Emery A. Sanford
  • Publication number: 20230297134
    Abstract: An electronic device having a housing structure that is configured to receive at least one glass cover is disclosed. The glass cover serves to cover a display assembly provided within the electronic device. The glass cover can be secured to the housing structure so as to facilitate providing a narrow border between an active display area and an outer edge of the housing structure. The enclosure for the electronic device can be thin yet be sufficiently strong to be suitable for use in electronic devices, such as portable electronic devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Inventors: Christopher M. Werner, Emery A. Sanford, Stephen Brian Lynch, Teodor Dabov, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Publication number: 20230214466
    Abstract: This invention is directed to an electronic device with an embedded authentication system for restricting access to device resources. The authentication system may include one or more sensors operative to detect biometric information of a user. The sensors may be positioned in the device such that the sensors may detect appropriate biometric information as the user operates the device, without requiring the user to perform a step for providing the biometric information (e.g., embedding a fingerprint sensor in an input mechanism instead of providing a fingerprint sensor in a separate part of the device housing). In some embodiments, the authentication system may be operative to detect a visual or temporal pattern of inputs to authenticate a user. In response to authenticating, a user may access restricted files, applications (e.g., applications purchased by the user), or settings (e.g., application settings such as contacts or saved game profile).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2022
    Publication date: July 6, 2023
    Inventors: Anthony FADELL, Andrew HODGE, Stephan SCHELL, Ruben CABALLERO, Jesse Lee DOROGUSKER, Stephen ZADESKY, Emery SANFORD
  • Patent number: 11681326
    Abstract: An electronic device having a housing structure that is configured to receive at least one glass cover is disclosed. The glass cover serves to cover a display assembly provided within the electronic device. The glass cover can be secured to the housing structure so as to facilitate providing a narrow border between an active display area and an outer edge of the housing structure. The enclosure for the electronic device can be thin yet be sufficiently strong to be suitable for use in electronic devices, such as portable electronic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher M. Werner, Emery A. Sanford, Stephen Brian Lynch, Teodor Dabov, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Patent number: 11627412
    Abstract: Electronic devices such as compact portable media players are provided. A housing for an electronic device may be relatively compact. The housing may include a door assembly with an attached spring-loaded clip. The electronic device may include a hold switch. Depending on the state of the hold switch, the electronic device may be in an off mode, a continuous playback mode, or a shuffle playback mode. The electronic device may not have integrated media playback controls such as play, pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. As one example, the electronic device may connect to an accessory that has media playback controls. Buttons and other user interfaces may be included in the accessory and user input information may be conveyed between the accessory and the electronic device using a wired path including audio connectors. The electronic device may include a printed circuit board assembly that is nested together with a battery assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: John Benjamin Filson, Pinida Jan Moolsintong, Emery A. Sanford
  • Patent number: 11468155
    Abstract: This invention is directed to an electronic device with an embedded authentication system for restricting access to device resources. The authentication system may include one or more sensors operative to detect biometric information of a user. The sensors may be positioned in the device such that the sensors may detect appropriate biometric information as the user operates the device, without requiring the user to perform a step for providing the biometric information (e.g., embedding a fingerprint sensor in an input mechanism instead of providing a fingerprint sensor in a separate part of the device housing). In some embodiments, the authentication system may be operative to detect a visual or temporal pattern of inputs to authenticate a user. In response to authenticating, a user may access restricted files, applications (e.g., applications purchased by the user), or settings (e.g., application settings such as contacts or saved game profile).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony Fadell, Andrew Hodge, Stephan Schell, Ruben Caballero, Jesse Lee Dorogusker, Stephen Zadesky, Emery Sanford
  • Publication number: 20220279265
    Abstract: An in-ear listening device having a device housing including a speaker housing and an elongated tube protruding away from the speaker housing, an audio port formed through the speaker housing, a speaker disposed in the speaker housing and aligned to emit sound through the audio port, a microphone port formed through the elongated tube, a microphone disposed in the elongated tube and operatively coupled to receive sound through the microphone port, a rechargeable battery and a wireless antenna disposed within the device housing, wireless circuitry coupled to the wireless antenna and configured to input and output radio frequency signals for wireless communications, a user-interface touch control disposed on the device housing and operable to control a function of the earbud, and battery charging circuitry coupled to the rechargeable battery and positioned within the device housing and operable to charge the rechargeable battery when coupled to receive power from an external power source.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2022
    Publication date: September 1, 2022
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Patent number: 11336985
    Abstract: An in-ear listening device having a device housing including a speaker housing and an elongated tube protruding away from the speaker housing, an audio port formed through the speaker housing, a speaker disposed in the speaker housing and aligned to emit sound through the audio port, a microphone port formed through the elongated tube, a microphone disposed in the elongated tube and operatively coupled to receive sound through the microphone port, a rechargeable battery and a wireless antenna disposed within the device housing, wireless circuitry coupled to the wireless antenna and configured to input and output radio frequency signals for wireless communications, a user-interface touch control disposed on the device housing and operable to control a function of the earbud, and battery charging circuitry coupled to the rechargeable battery and positioned within the device housing and operable to charge the rechargeable battery when coupled to receive power from an external power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Publication number: 20220067133
    Abstract: This invention is directed to an electronic device with an embedded authentication system for restricting access to device resources. The authentication system may include one or more sensors operative to detect biometric information of a user. The sensors may be positioned in the device such that the sensors may detect appropriate biometric information as the user operates the device, without requiring the user to perform a step for providing the biometric information (e.g., embedding a fingerprint sensor in an input mechanism instead of providing a fingerprint sensor in a separate part of the device housing). In some embodiments, the authentication system may be operative to detect a visual or temporal pattern of inputs to authenticate a user. In response to authenticating, a user may access restricted files, applications (e.g., applications purchased by the user), or settings (e.g., application settings such as contacts or saved game profile).
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Publication date: March 3, 2022
    Inventors: Anthony M. FADELL, Andrew Bert HODGE, Stephan V. SCHELL, Ruben CABALLERO, Jesse Lee DOROGUSKER, Stephen Paul ZADESKY, Emery SANFORD
  • Publication number: 20220045398
    Abstract: Battery packs that can provide power to an electronic device, can be easy to use and simple to connect to the electronic device, have a small and efficient form factor, and can readily be powered for use.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: David G. Havskjold, Patrick T. Ryan, Daniel A. Pfaff, Emery A. Sanford, Miranda L. Daly, Demetrios B. Karanikos
  • Publication number: 20210232181
    Abstract: An electronic device having a housing structure that is configured to receive at least one glass cover is disclosed. The glass cover serves to cover a display assembly provided within the electronic device. The glass cover can be secured to the housing structure so as to facilitate providing a narrow border between an active display area and an outer edge of the housing structure. The enclosure for the electronic device can be thin yet be sufficiently strong to be suitable for use in electronic devices, such as portable electronic devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Inventors: Christopher M. Werner, Emery A. Sanford, Stephen Brian Lynch, Teodor Dabov, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Patent number: 10993011
    Abstract: An apparatus for charging a portable wireless listening device including a housing having a socket to receive the portable wireless listening device; a battery; wireless circuitry that enables the apparatus to communicate wirelessly with a host device; power transmitting circuitry configured to provide power to the portable wireless listening device when the device is received in the socket to charge a battery within the portable wireless listening device; and a processor configured to configured to establish a wireless communication protocol between the portable wireless listening device and the host device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Patent number: 10983557
    Abstract: An electronic device having a housing structure that is configured to receive at least one glass cover is disclosed. The glass cover serves to cover a display assembly provided within the electronic device. The glass cover can be secured to the housing structure so as to facilitate providing a narrow border between an active display area and an outer edge of the housing structure. The enclosure for the electronic device can be thin yet be sufficiently strong to be suitable for use in electronic devices, such as portable electronic devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Christopher M. Werner, Emery A. Sanford, Stephen Brian Lynch, Teodor Dabov, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Patent number: 10979796
    Abstract: An apparatus for charging a portable wireless listening device including a housing having a socket to receive the portable wireless listening device; a battery; wireless circuitry that enables the apparatus to communicate wirelessly with a host device; power transmitting circuitry configured to provide power to the portable wireless listening device when the device is received in the socket to charge a battery within the portable wireless listening device; and a processor configured to configured to establish a wireless communication protocol between the portable wireless listening device and the host device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: M. Evans Hankey, Emery A. Sanford, Christopher D. Prest, Way Chet Lim
  • Publication number: 20210094380
    Abstract: Some embodiments provide a vehicle climate control system for controlling climate conditions in various cabin regions of a vehicle cabin, where the climate control system is configured to control one or more vehicle components to change the set of climate conditions associated with one or more cabin regions to approximate a set of optimal comfort conditions. The climate control system controls various vehicle components to control climate conditions, including window assemblies, sunroof assemblies, etc. The climate control system determines optimal comfort conditions which optimize perceived temperature of various occupant body parts and maintain various climate characteristics within one or more sets of thresholds. Output configurations of various vehicle components can be determined based at least in part upon determined optimal comfort conditions of various cabin regions. Output configurations can be generated based at least in part upon various control mode priorities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2020
    Publication date: April 1, 2021
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Derek A. Faust, Emery A. Sanford, James Foster
  • Patent number: 10956550
    Abstract: This invention is directed to an electronic device with an embedded authentication system for restricting access to device resources. The authentication system may include one or more sensors operative to detect biometric information of a user. The sensors may be positioned in the device such that the sensors may detect appropriate biometric information as the user operates the device, without requiring the user to perform a step for providing the biometric information (e.g., embedding a fingerprint sensor in an input mechanism instead of providing a fingerprint sensor in a separate part of the device housing). In some embodiments, the authentication system may be operative to detect a visual or temporal pattern of inputs to authenticate a user. In response to authenticating, a user may access restricted files, applications (e.g., applications purchased by the user), or settings (e.g., application settings such as contacts or saved game profile).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony M. Fadell, Andrew Bert Hodge, Stephan V. Schell, Ruben Caballero, Jesse Lee Dorogusker, Stephen Paul Zadesky, Emery Sanford