Patents by Inventor Kurt Stiehl

Kurt Stiehl 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).

  • Patent number: 9967644
    Abstract: A case for an earbud includes a receiving cavity sized and shaped to accept the earbud within the receiving cavity. The case includes one or more housing magnetic components configured to magnetically attract and secure the earbud within the receiving cavity. The one or more housing magnetic components can be configured to form a Halbach array to increase the magnetic force of the one or more housing magnetic components. The earbud includes a speaker magnet and a separate magnetic element that are arranged to be attracted to the one or more housing magnetic components such that the earbud is attracted into the receiving cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Lee M. Panecki, Shannon X. Yang, Daniel Max Strongwater, Marcus Albonico, Benjamin A. Cousins, Eric S. Jol, Daniel C. Wagman
  • Patent number: 9961433
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system. The first charging system is configured to charge the portable listening device and the second charging system is configured to wirelessly charge a portable electronic device positioned outside of the case adjacent to an exterior charging surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Patent number: 9883277
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system. The first charging system is configured to charge the portable listening device and the second charging system is configured to wirelessly charge a portable electronic device positioned outside of the case adjacent to an exterior charging surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Patent number: 9883272
    Abstract: A case for an earbud includes a receiving cavity sized and shaped to accept the earbud within the receiving cavity. The case includes one or more housing magnetic components configured to magnetically attract and secure the earbud within the receiving cavity. The one or more housing magnetic components can be configured to form a Halbach array to increase the magnetic force of the one or more housing magnetic components. The earbud includes a speaker magnet and a separate magnetic element that are arranged to be attracted to the one or more housing magnetic components such that the earbud is attracted into the receiving cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Lee M. Panecki, Shannon X. Yang, Daniel Max Strongwater, Marcus Albonico, Benjamin A. Cousins, Eric S. Jol, Daniel C. Wagman
  • Patent number: 9883281
    Abstract: An earbud includes a housing that includes a driver assembly positioned within the housing forming a front volume in front of the driver and a back volume behind the driver. An acoustic insert is positioned behind the driver assembly and attached to an interior surface of the housing such that it forms a bass channel that is routed from the back volume to a vent in the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Kurt Stiehl, Benjamin A. Cousins, Jonathan S. Aase, Yacine Azmi, Paul Choiniere, Scott W. Slabaugh
  • Publication number: 20170347182
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Publication date: November 30, 2017
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Patent number: 9826301
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system. The first charging system is configured to charge the portable listening device and the second charging system is configured to wirelessly charge a portable electronic device positioned outside of the case adjacent to an exterior charging surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Patent number: 9794673
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system. The first charging system is configured to charge the portable listening device and the second charging system is configured to wirelessly charge a portable electronic device positioned outside of the case adjacent to an exterior charging surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Patent number: 9779895
    Abstract: A small form-factor input device operative to be coupled to an electronic device using a cable may include a circuit board; a first electrical switch disposed on a first side of the circuit board; a second electrical switch disposed on a second side of the circuit board; a frame defining a periphery, wherein the circuit board is maintained within the periphery of the frame; first and second shells that house the circuit board, the first shell placed over the first side of the circuit board, and the second shell placed over the second side of the circuit board; and at least one clip coupled to each one of the first shell and the second shell, wherein the at least one clip is operative to engage the frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Kurt Stiehl, Michelle Yu, Wilhelmus M. C. Crooijmans, Cameron Frazier
  • Publication number: 20170245038
    Abstract: A case for an earbud includes a receiving cavity sized and shaped to accept the earbud within the receiving cavity. The case includes one or more housing magnetic components configured to magnetically attract and secure the earbud within the receiving cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Lee M. Panecki, Shannon X. Yang, Daniel Max Strongwater, Marcus Albonico, Benjamin A. Cousins, Eric S. Jol, Daniel C. Wagman
  • Publication number: 20170238087
    Abstract: An earbud includes a housing that includes a driver assembly positioned within the housing forming a front volume in front of the driver and a back volume behind the driver. An acoustic insert is positioned behind the driver assembly and attached to an interior surface of the housing such that it forms a bass channel that is routed from the back volume to a vent in the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 5, 2017
    Publication date: August 17, 2017
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Kurt Stiehl, Benjamin A. Cousins, Jonathan S. Aase, Yacine Azmi, Paul Choiniere, Scott W. Slabaugh
  • Publication number: 20170213665
    Abstract: An electronic device may have buttons, a display, and a vibrator unit. Buttons may be included in electronic devices such as glass buttons, metal buttons, buttons that are assembled on printed circuit boards, and buttons that are partly formed from antenna structures. Button coatings may be used to improve the sliding performance of metal-on-metal buttons. A layer of polymer may be interposed between a button plate and a housing structure. A glass button member may have an underside on which a layer of patterned ink is formed. Elastomeric members may be used to reduce button rattle. Portions of a button may be provided with conductive features that form portions of an antenna.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2017
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Inventors: Trent Weber, Michael B. Wittenberg, Michelle Yu, Scott A. Myers, Kurt Stiehl
  • Patent number: 9712905
    Abstract: Headsets with non-occluding earbuds are disclosed. The earbud includes a non-occluding housing having a directional sound port offset with respect to a center axis of the earbud. The housing can have an asymmetric shape amenable to in-the-ear retention. Additionally, the housing can have a seamless or nearly seamless construction even though two or more parts are joined together to form the housing. Front and back volumes can exist for a driver of the earbud, and embodiments of this invention use mid-mold and rear-mold structures to achieve desired performance from the earbud. For example, the mid-mold structure can be used to tune the front volume while the rear-mold structure can be used to tune the back volume. Apertures may also be included in the housing to further improve the performance of the earbud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Rico Zorkendorfer, Julian Hoenig, Jonathan Aase, Kurt Stiehl, Phillip Michael Hobson, Eric Wang, Ian Davison
  • Publication number: 20170094391
    Abstract: A case for an earbud includes a receiving cavity sized and shaped to accept the earbud within the receiving cavity. The case includes one or more housing magnetic components configured to magnetically attract and secure the earbud within the receiving cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Publication date: March 30, 2017
    Inventors: Lee M. Panecki, Shannon X. Yang, Arun D. Chawan, Kurt Stiehl, Daniel C. Wagman, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Benjamin A. Cousins, Daniel Max Strongwater, Eric S. Jol, Marcus Albonico
  • Publication number: 20170093454
    Abstract: A case for a portable listening device includes a rechargeable battery and a first and a second charging system. The first charging system is configured to charge the portable listening device and the second charging system is configured to wirelessly charge a portable electronic device positioned outside of the case adjacent to an exterior charging surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Publication date: March 30, 2017
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Lee M. Panecki, Rico L. Zörkendörfer, Kurt Stiehl, Christopher S. Graham, Christopher J. Walton
  • Publication number: 20170094390
    Abstract: An earbud includes a housing that includes a driver assembly positioned within the housing forming a front volume in front of the driver and a back volume behind the driver. An acoustic insert is positioned behind the driver assembly and attached to an interior surface of the housing such that it forms a bass channel that is routed from the back volume to a vent in the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Publication date: March 30, 2017
    Inventors: Arun D. Chawan, Kurt Stiehl, Benjamin A. Cousins, Jonathan S. Aase, Yacine Azmi, Paul Choiniere, Scott W. Slabaugh
  • Patent number: 9369794
    Abstract: To avoid undesirable electrostatic discharge events while maintaining low leakage currents, earbuds may be provided with controlled electrostatic discharge paths. The discharge paths may include discrete components such as resistors or more distributed resistive components such as resistive elastomers. A resistive elastomer may be incorporated into an interior portion of an earbud between an earbud housing structure and a ground path. A resistive elastomer may also be used in forming an ear bud tip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2016
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Stanley Rabu, Ida Lo, Victor Tiscareno, Craig Lim, Ramachandran Chundru, Robert Steinfeld, Kurt Stiehl
  • Publication number: 20160155584
    Abstract: A small form-factor input device operative to be coupled to an electronic device using a cable may include a circuit board; a first electrical switch disposed on a first side of the circuit board; a second electrical switch disposed on a second side of the circuit board; a frame defining a periphery, wherein the circuit board is maintained within the periphery of the frame; first and second shells that house the circuit board, the first shell placed over the first side of the circuit board, and the second shell placed over the second side of the circuit board; and at least one clip coupled to each one of the first shell and the second shell, wherein the at least one clip is operative to engage the frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2016
    Publication date: June 2, 2016
    Inventors: Kurt Stiehl, Michelle Yu, Wilhelmus M.C. Crooijmans, Cameron Frazier
  • Patent number: 9263203
    Abstract: A small form-factor input device operative to be coupled to an electronic device using a cable may include a circuit board; a first electrical switch disposed on a first side of the circuit board; a second electrical switch disposed on a second side of the circuit board; a frame defining a periphery, wherein the circuit board is maintained within the periphery of the frame; first and second shells that house the circuit board, the first shell placed over the first side of the circuit board, and the second shell placed over the second side of the circuit board; and at least one clip coupled to each one of the first shell and the second shell, wherein the at least one clip is operative to engage the frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Kurt Stiehl, Michelle Yu, Wilhelmus M. C. Crooijmans, Cameron Frazier
  • Patent number: 9258663
    Abstract: Systems and methods for assembling non-occluding earbuds are disclosed. The earbud includes a non-occluding housing having a directional sound port offset with respect to a center axis of the earbud. The housing can have an asymmetric shape amenable to in-the-ear retention. Additionally, the housing can have a seamless or nearly seamless construction even though two or more parts are joined together to form the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Jonathan Aase, Ian Davison, Kurt Stiehl, Brian Wark