Patents by Inventor Tseng-Mau Yang

Tseng-Mau Yang 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: 20180292864
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form an active display structure with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structure may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Optical structures such as upper structures formed from a sheet of glass and lower optical structures that lie beneath the sheet of glass may be configured to bend light from the display pixels along the periphery of the active display structure. The upper optical structures may have an area that is larger than the area of the active display structure, so that the presence of the optical structures may serve to enlarge the apparent size of the display. The lower and upper optical structures may have curved surfaces for bending the light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2018
    Publication date: October 11, 2018
    Inventors: Christopher D. Prest, Tseng-Mau Yang, Dale N. Memering
  • Patent number: 10067535
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form an active display structure with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structure may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Optical structures such as upper structures formed from a sheet of glass and lower optical structures that lie beneath the sheet of glass may be configured to bend light from the display pixels along the periphery of the active display structure. The upper optical structures may have an area that is larger than the area of the active display structure, so that the presence of the optical structures may serve to enlarge the apparent size of the display. The lower and upper optical structures may have curved surfaces for bending the light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher D. Prest, Tseng-Mau Yang, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20180070465
    Abstract: An electronic device having multiple housing components interlocked together by a molded material is disclosed. In order to provide interlocking surfaces for the molded material, the housing components can include various geometries designed to receive and retain the molded material such that the housing components are secured with one another. For example, a first housing part can undergo several material removal operations to form multiple ribs, each with through holes. When the molded material extends along the ribs and into the through holes, the molded material cures and interlocks with the first housing part. A second housing part can include several stepped indentions that receive the molded material. Also, a third housing part can include a dovetail indention to receive the molded material such that the first and second housing parts interlock with the third housing part. The indentions can provide retention in three dimensions to protect against decoupling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2017
    Publication date: March 8, 2018
    Inventors: Tyler B. CATER, Benjamin J. POPE, Scott A. MYERS, Benjamin Shane BUSTLE, Tseng-Mau YANG, Adam J. BRINKMAN
  • Publication number: 20160351855
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form an active display structure with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structure may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Optical structures such as a sheet of glass or another optical member may have portions that are configured to bend light from the display pixels along the periphery of the active display structure. The optical member may have an area that is larger than the area of the active display structure, so that the presence of the optical member may serve to enlarge the apparent size of the display. Solidified liquid polymer may be used to support the optical structures and may be interposed between the optical structures and the active display structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2016
    Publication date: December 1, 2016
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20160341892
    Abstract: A display may have an array of display pixels that generate an image. A coherent fiber bundle may be mounted on the display pixels. The coherent fiber bundle may have a first surface that is adjacent to the display pixels and a second surface that is visible to a viewer. The coherent fiber bundle may contain fibers that carry light from the first surface to the second surface. The second surface may be planar or may have a central planar region and curved edge regions that run along opposing sides of the central planar region. The fibers may have cross-sectional surface areas with a first aspect ratio on the first surface and a second aspect ratio that is greater than the first aspect ratio on the second surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 2016
    Publication date: November 24, 2016
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Patent number: 9445528
    Abstract: This application relates to efficiently distributing heat within a portable computing device. More specifically an apparatus for conducting heat between internal components of the portable computing device is disclosed. The apparatus, referred to as a thermal gap pad, is configured to bridge a variably sized gap between internal components. This is accomplished by wrapping a resilient core in a layer of highly thermally conductive material. The resilient core allows a shape of the thermal gap pad to vary in accordance with a size of the gap. A resilience of the thermal gap pad can be adjusted to account for an amount of variance in the gap. In some embodiments, an electrically conductive layer can be added to facilitate the passage of electrical current through the thermal gap pad.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Sawyer I. Cohen, David A. Pakula, Tseng-Mau Yang, Tyler B. Cater, Ashutosh Y. Shukla
  • Patent number: 9435939
    Abstract: A display may have an array of display pixels that generate an image. A coherent fiber bundle may be mounted on the display pixels. The coherent fiber bundle may have a first surface that is adjacent to the display pixels and a second surface that is visible to a viewer. The coherent fiber bundle may contain fibers that carry light from the first surface to the second surface. The second surface may be planar or may have a central planar region and curved edge regions that run along opposing sides of the central planar region. The fibers may have cross-sectional surface areas with a first aspect ratio on the first surface and a second aspect ratio that is greater than the first aspect ratio on the second surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Patent number: 9404842
    Abstract: Damage to conductive material that serves as bridging connections between conductive structures within an electronic device may result in deficiencies in radio-frequency (RF) and other wireless communications. A test system for testing device structures under test is provided. Device structures under test may include substrates and a conductive material between the substrates. The test system may include a test fixture for increasing tensile or compressive stress on the device structures under test to evaluate the resilience of the conductive material. The test system may also include a test unit for transmitting RF test signals and receiving test data from the device structures under test. The received test data may include scattered parameter measurements from the device structures under test that may be used to determine if the device structures under test meet desired RF performance criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua G. Nickel, Chun-Lung Chen, Tseng-Mau Yang, Nicholas G. Merz, Robert W. Schlub, Boon W. Shiu, Erica J. Tong
  • Patent number: 9335510
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide light to a user. The array of display pixels may form active display structures with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structures may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Reflector structures may be used to reflect light that is emitted from peripheral portions of the active display structures to a portion of the display overlapping the inactive border region, thereby providing the display with an effective active area that is larger than the area of the active display structures. The reflector structures may include rotatable reflectors. Control circuitry may use a rotatable positioner to rotate rotatable reflector structures in synchronization with controlling which pixel data is displayed by the display pixels in the peripheral portions of the active display structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Dale N. Memering, Christopher D. Prest
  • Publication number: 20160004284
    Abstract: This application relates to efficiently distributing heat within a portable computing device. More specifically an apparatus for conducting heat between internal components of the portable computing device is disclosed. The apparatus, referred to as a thermal gap pad, is configured to bridge a variably sized gap between internal components. This is accomplished by wrapping a resilient core in a layer of highly thermally conductive material. The resilient core allows a shape of the thermal gap pad to vary in accordance with a size of the gap. A resilience of the thermal gap pad can be adjusted to account for an amount of variance in the gap. In some embodiments, an electrically conductive layer can be added to facilitate the passage of electrical current through the thermal gap pad.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Publication date: January 7, 2016
    Inventors: Sawyer I. Cohen, David A. Pakula, Tseng-Mau Yang, Tyler B. Cater, Ashutosh Y. Shukla
  • Patent number: 9140927
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form active display structures with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structures may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Liquid crystal light distribution structures may be used to distribute light that is emitted from peripheral portions of the active display structures to a portion of the display overlapping the inactive border region, thereby increasing the apparent area of the display. The light distribution structures may include a liquid crystal cell, a reflecting polarizer, and a reflector that reflects light from the peripheral portions of the active display structures vertically upwards after the light has passed through the liquid crystal cell and has reflected off of the reflecting polarizer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Dale N. Memering, Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest
  • Patent number: 8976324
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a display such as a liquid crystal display. The display may have multiple display layers for generating display light such as a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. The display may include first and second layers of optical fibers formed over the display layers. The first and second layers of optical fibers may guide display light generated in the display layers to an outer surface of the display. The first layer of optical fibers may include optical fibers having a first numerical aperture. The second layer of optical fibers may include optical fibers having a second numerical aperture. The first numerical aperture may be smaller than the second numerical aperture. The second layer of optical fibers may include vertical and angled optical fibers. The angled optical fibers may help reduce the size of an inactive region around the center of the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20150050893
    Abstract: Damage to conductive material that serves as bridging connections between conductive structures within an electronic device may result in deficiencies in radio-frequency (RF) and other wireless communications. A test system for testing device structures under test is provided. Device structures under test may include substrates and a conductive material between the substrates. The test system may include a test fixture for increasing tensile or compressive stress on the device structures under test to evaluate the resilience of the conductive material. The test system may also include a test unit for transmitting RF test signals and receiving test data from the device structures under test. The received test data may include scattered parameter measurements from the device structures under test that may be used to determine if the device structures under test meet desired RF performance criteria.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2013
    Publication date: February 19, 2015
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua G. Nickel, Chun-Lung Chen, Tseng-Mau Yang, Nicholas G. Merz, Robert W. Schlub, Boon W. Shiu, Erica J. Tong
  • Publication number: 20140092346
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form an active display structure with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structure may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Optical structures such as a sheet of glass or another optical member may have portions that are configured to bend light from the display pixels along the periphery of the active display structure. The optical member may have an area that is larger than the area of the active display structure, so that the presence of the optical member may serve to enlarge the apparent size of the display. Solidified liquid polymer may be used to support the optical structures and may be interposed between the optical structures and the active display structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20140092283
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide light to a user. The array of display pixels may form active display structures with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structures may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Reflector structures may be used to reflect light that is emitted from peripheral portions of the active display structures to a portion of the display overlapping the inactive border region, thereby providing the display with an effective active area that is larger than the area of the active display structures. The reflector structures may include rotatable reflectors. Control circuitry may use a rotatable positioner to rotate rotatable reflector structures in synchronization with controlling which pixel data is displayed by the display pixels in the peripheral portions of the active display structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Dale N. Memering, Christopher D. Prest
  • Publication number: 20140092341
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form active display structures with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structures may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Liquid crystal light distribution structures may be used to distribute light that is emitted from peripheral portions of the active display structures to a portion of the display overlapping the inactive border region, thereby increasing the apparent area of the display. The light distribution structures may include a liquid crystal cell, a reflecting polarizer, and a reflector that reflects light from the peripheral portions of the active display structures vertically upwards after the light has passed through the liquid crystal cell and has reflected off of the reflecting polarizer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Dale N. Memering, Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest
  • Publication number: 20140092028
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display mounted in a housing. The display may have an array of display pixels that provide image light to a user. The array of display pixels may form an active display structure with a rectangular shape. The rectangular active display structure may be surrounded by an inactive border region. Optical structures such as upper structures formed from a sheet of glass and lower optical structures that lie beneath the sheet of glass may be configured to bend light from the display pixels along the periphery of the active display structure. The upper optical structures may have an area that is larger than the area of the active display structure, so that the presence of the optical structures may serve to enlarge the apparent size of the display. The lower and upper optical structures may have curved surfaces for bending the light.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Publication date: April 3, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher D. Prest, Tseng-Mau Yang, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20140037257
    Abstract: A display may have an array of display pixels that generate an image. A coherent fiber bundle may be mounted on the display pixels. The coherent fiber bundle may have a first surface that is adjacent to the display pixels and a second surface that is visible to a viewer. The coherent fiber bundle may contain fibers that carry light from the first surface to the second surface. The second surface may be planar or may have a central planar region and curved edge regions that run along opposing sides of the central planar region. The fibers may have cross-sectional surface areas with a first aspect ratio on the first surface and a second aspect ratio that is greater than the first aspect ratio on the second surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2012
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering
  • Publication number: 20140016071
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a display such as a liquid crystal display. The display may have multiple display layers for generating display light such as a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. The display may include first and second layers of optical fibers formed over the display layers. The first and second layers of optical fibers may guide display light generated in the display layers to an outer surface of the display. The first layer of optical fibers may include optical fibers having a first numerical aperture. The second layer of optical fibers may include optical fibers having a second numerical aperture. The first numerical aperture may be smaller than the second numerical aperture. The second layer of optical fibers may include vertical and angled optical fibers. The angled optical fibers may help reduce the size of an inactive region around the center of the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2013
    Publication date: January 16, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tseng-Mau Yang, Christopher D. Prest, Dale N. Memering