Patents by Inventor Gregory Allen Springer

Gregory Allen Springer 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: 20100194653
    Abstract: An antenna may be formed from conductive regions that define a gap that is bridged by shunt inductors. The inductors may have equal inductances and may be located equidistant from each other to form a scatter-type antenna structure. The inductors may also have unequal inductances and may be located along the length of the gap with unequal inductor-to-inductor spacings, thereby creating a decreasing shunt inductance at increasing distances from a feed for the antenna. This type of antenna structure functions as a horn-type antenna. One or more scatter-type antenna structures may be cascaded to form a multiband antenna. Antenna gaps may be formed in conductive device housings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2010
    Publication date: August 5, 2010
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Patent number: 7705795
    Abstract: An antenna may be formed from conductive regions that define a gap that is bridged by shunt inductors. The inductors may have equal inductances and may be located equidistant from each other to form a scatter-type antenna structure. The inductors may also have unequal inductances and may be located along the length of the gap with unequal inductor-to-inductor spacings, thereby creating a decreasing shunt inductance at increasing distances from a feed for the antenna. This type of antenna structure functions as a horn-type antenna. One or more scatter-type antenna structures may be cascaded to form a multiband antenna. Antenna gaps may be formed in conductive device housings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Publication number: 20090262029
    Abstract: Antenna window structures and antennas are provided for electronic devices. The electronic devices may be laptop computers or other devices that have conductive housings. Antenna windows can be formed from dielectric members. The dielectric members can have elastomeric properties. An antenna may be mounted inside a conductive housing beneath a dielectric member. The antenna can be formed from a parallel plate waveguide structure. The parallel plate waveguide structure may have a ground plate and a radiator plate and may have dielectric material between the ground and radiator plates. The ground plate can have a primary ground plate portion and a ground strip. The ground strip may reflect radio-frequency signals so that they travel through the dielectric member. The antenna may handle radio-frequency antenna signals in one or more communications bands. The radio-frequency antenna signals pass through the dielectric member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2008
    Publication date: October 22, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Douglas Blake Kough, Enrique Ayala Vazquez, Eduardo Lopez Camacho, Gregory Allen Springer
  • Publication number: 20090174612
    Abstract: Antenna support structures and antennas are provided for wireless electronic devices such as portable electronic devices. Antenna resonating elements may be formed from conductive coatings on two-shot molded interconnect device dielectric antenna support structures. The conductive coatings may be formed from wet-plated copper or other conductive materials. The antenna support structure may have tabs that electrically connect antenna resonating elements to the case of a wireless electronic device that serves as an antenna ground plane. The antenna support structure may be curved about its longitudinal axis so that the antenna resonating elements on the support structure protrude upwards to enhance antenna performance. In a portable electronic device such as a portable computer, the antenna support structure may be mounted within a dielectric portion of the computer housing that is located between the display portion of the housing and the base of the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2008
    Publication date: July 9, 2009
    Inventors: Enrique Ayala, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Publication number: 20090153411
    Abstract: Dual slot antennas are provided for portable electronic devices such as handheld electronic devices. A dual slot antenna may have an open slot that has an open end that is not encircled by conductive material and may have a closed slot in which each end is surrounded by conductor. The closed and open slots may have portions that run parallel to each other. The antenna may be fed using feed terminals that bridge the closed and open slots in the vicinity of the portions of the slots that run parallel to each other. The slots may have portions that are angled with respect to each other. An end portion of one of the slots may be bent and widened for impedance matching and broadened bandwidth. Other portions of the slots may also be angled with respect to their main longitudinal axes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald, Hao Xu
  • Publication number: 20090153409
    Abstract: Microslot antennas may be provided for electronic devices such as portable electronic devices. The microslot antennas may have dielectric-filled microslots that are formed in a ground plane element. The ground plane element may be formed from part of a conductive device housing. The microslots may be narrow enough that they are not readily noticeable to the naked eye. The microslots may have lengths that allow the microslot antenna to provide antenna coverage in one or more communications bands. A first group of the microslots may be used to provide coverage in a first communications band and a second group of the microslots may be used to provide coverage in a second communications band.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Publication number: 20090153422
    Abstract: An antenna may be formed from conductive regions that define a gap that is bridged by shunt inductors. The inductors may have equal inductances and may be located equidistant from each other to form a scatter-type antenna structure. The inductors may also have unequal inductances and may be located along the length of the gap with unequal inductor-to-inductor spacings, thereby creating a decreasing shunt inductance at increasing distances from a feed for the antenna. This type of antenna structure functions as a horn-type antenna. One or more scatter-type antenna structures may be cascaded to form a multiband antenna. Antenna gaps may be formed in conductive device housings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Publication number: 20090153412
    Abstract: Antenna window structures and antennas for electronic devices such as portable electronic devices are provided. The electronic devices may be computers or other devices that have conductive housings. Antenna windows may be formed from one or more slots in the conductive housings. The slots may be filled with air or a solid dielectric such as epoxy. There may be a number of parallel slots in a given antenna window, each having a width that is sufficiently narrow to make the antenna window invisible or unnoticeable to the naked eye under normal observation. An antenna may be formed within an electronic device adjacent to an antenna window. The antenna may handle radio-frequency antenna signals in one or more communications bands. The radio-frequency antenna signals may pass through the slots in the antenna window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Publication number: 20090153410
    Abstract: Electronic devices and antennas for electronic devices are provided. The antennas may have ground plane elements with dielectric-filled openings. The dielectric-filled openings may be configured to form one or more rectangular slots. The antennas may be fed using transmission lines having first and second conductors. The first conductor of a given transmission line may be coupled to the ground plane element on one side of the slots. The second conductor of the transmission line may be coupled to a planar conductive element. The planar conductive element may couple to the ground plane element on the other side of the slots. The slots may be separated by a portion of the ground plane element. The planar conductive element may bridge at least one of the slots and may overlap the portion of the ground plane element that separates the slots without electrically contacting that portion of the ground plane element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 18, 2007
    Publication date: June 18, 2009
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew lan McDonald
  • Publication number: 20080165071
    Abstract: An electronic device comprising a first conductive unit and a second conductive unit disposed such that a gap exists between the first component and the second component. The electronic device further includes one or more components disposed along the gap and configured to counteract one or more capacitance effects in the gap, wherein at least one of the first conductive unit and the second conductive unit represents a part of an antenna. By counteracting the capacitance effects in the gap, certain radiation attributes of the antenna, such as radiation efficiency, can be improved. The one or more components are also employed to counteract one or more capacitance effects in a slot of a conductive unit in an electronic device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 1, 2007
    Publication date: July 10, 2008
    Inventors: Bing Chiang, Gregory Allen Springer, Douglas B. Kough, Enrique Ayala, Matthew Ian McDonald
  • Patent number: 6189842
    Abstract: Tilt and swivel adjustment of a flat panel display including detents for landscape and portrait positions and a kickout feature for preventing contact between the flat panel display and its base. A stand for the display includes a neck member coupled to the base member and a riser member which is slidable with respect to the neck member. The display is mounted to an upper portion of the riser member via a swivel apparatus which allows a user to pivot the display between landscape and portrait orientations. The swivel apparatus includes a cam and corresponding ramp. When the display is pivoted between the portrait and landscape orientations, the cam and ramp cause the display to be tilted with respect to the stand such that a lower portion of the display is tilted away from the base member, thereby preventing contact therebetween. The swivel apparatus includes a bearing member which is mounted between the display and a portion of the swivel apparatus which is pivotable with respect to the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2001
    Assignee: Palo Alto Design Group
    Inventors: Kathleen A. Bergeron Gull, Gregory Allen Springer, Malcolm Sloan Smith