Abstract: Structures that implement three-dimensional (3D) conductive material (e.g., copper) in printed circuit boards (PCBs) are disclosed. 3D (three-dimensional) conductive material may include trenches and/or buried vias that are filled with conductive material in the PCBs. Trenches may be formed in build-up layers of a PCB by overlapping multiple laser drilled vias. The trenches may be filled with conductive material using electroplating process(es). Buried vias may be formed through the core layers of the PCB by mechanical drilling. The buried via may be filled with solid conductive material using a combination of electroless plating and electrolytic plating of conductive material. Various PCB structures are disclosed that implement combinations of these trenches and/or these buried vias filled with conductive material.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 11, 2020
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Anne M. Mason, Chad O. Simpson, William Hannon, Mark J. Beesley
Abstract: The exemplary embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE) performing radio link monitoring of a sidelink. The UE may transmit a signal over the sidelink and receive an indication of a type of hybrid automatic repeating request (HARQ) feedback in response to the signal. The UE may then generate a radio link metric associated with the sidelink based on the type of HARQ feedback. The UE may determine that the radio link metric satisfies a predetermined threshold and initiate a keep alive procedure for the sidelink based on the radio link metric satisfying the predetermined threshold.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 31, 2020
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Zhibin Wu, Fangli Xu, Chunxuan Ye, Dawei Zhang, Haijing Hu, Haitong Sun, Hong He, Jie Cui, Yuqin Chen
Abstract: An energy storage system can include a battery, a power converter comprising a first plurality of switching devices coupled to the battery and a second plurality of switching devices coupled between the first plurality of switching devices and an AC power system, and control circuitry that determines whether the AC power system is a single/split phase system or a three phase system and operates the first and second pluralities of switching devices accordingly. The control circuitry can include a microcontroller and a plurality of voltage sensors each configured to monitor a magnitude and a phase of a voltage to allow the control circuitry to determine whether the AC power system is a single/split phase system or a three phase system and whether the AC power system is connected with a line to line or line to neutral fault condition.
Abstract: Aspects of the subject technology relate to a device comprising a moving-coil speaker including a diaphragm to play low-frequency signals from an audio-signal source, and a piezoelectric transducer coupled to the diaphragm to play high-frequency signals from the audio-signal source. A coupler couples the diaphragm to a housing of the device.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 14, 2023
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Aneesh R. Kudekar, Onur I. Ilkorur, Pablo Seoane Vieites, Stuart M. Nevill
Abstract: Processing sound in an enhanced reality environment can include generating, based on an image of a physical environment, an acoustic model of the physical environment. Audio signals captured by a microphone array, can capture a sound in the physical environment. Based on these audio signals, one or more measured acoustic parameters of the physical environment can be generated. A target audio signal can be processed using the model of the physical environment and the measured acoustic parameters, resulting in a plurality of output audio channels having a virtual sound source with a virtual location. The output audio channels can be used to drive a plurality of speakers. Other aspects are also described and claimed.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 28, 2021
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Christopher T. Eubank, Joshua D. Atkins, Soenke Pelzer, Dirk Schroeder
Abstract: A context-aware voice guidance method is provided that interacts with other voice services of a user device. The voice guidance does not provide audible guidance while the user is making a verbal request to any of the voice-activated services. Instead, the voice guidance transcribes its output on the screen while the verbal requests from the user are received. In some embodiments, the voice guidance only provides a short warning sound to get the user's attention while the user is speaking on a phone call or another voice-activated service is providing audible response to the user's inquires. The voice guidance in some embodiments distinguishes between music that can be ducked and spoken words, for example from an audiobook, that the user wants to pause instead of being skipped. The voice guidance ducks music but pauses spoken words of an audio book in order to provide voice guidance to the user.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 28, 2021
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Jonathan A. Bennett, Stephen O. Lemay, Marcel Van Os, Scott Forstall, Bradford A. Moore, Emanuele Vulcano, Seejo K. Pylappan
Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for searcher resource coordination between NR mobility based measurement and LTE (E-UTRA) PRS based measurement without measurement gap in EN-DC mode or NE-DC mode. Other embodiments are also provided for searcher resource coordination between NR PRS measurement and LTE (E-UTRA) PRS measurement without measurement gap in EN-DC mode or NE-DC mode. Further embodiments provide for searcher resource coordination between NR or LTE (E-UTRA) PRS measurement and NR mobility measurement without measurement gap in EN-DC mode or NE-DC mode.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 15, 2020
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
APPLE INC.
Inventors:
Jie Cui, Hong He, Dawei Zhang, Chunhai Yao, Chunxuan Ye, Haitong Sun, Weidong Yang, Wei Zeng, Yuchul Kim, Yushu Zhang, Zhibin Wu, Yang Tang
Abstract: A portable electronic device can include a housing at least partially defining an internal volume. The device can include a venting module including a membrane, a porous member, and a support structure. The membrane and porous member can define a fluid path extending a width of the porous member and placing the internal volume in fluid communication with an ambient environment adjacent the housing. The support structure can be coupled to the porous member.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 20, 2021
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
APPLE INC.
Inventors:
Jiahui Liang, Kahn C. Wu, Stephen L. Frey
Abstract: Technology for a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) operable to communicate over an anchor channel for Unlicensed Internet of Things (U-IoT) is disclosed. The gNB can encode control information for transmission on two discovery reference signal (DRS) subframes to a user equipment (UE). The control information can be transmitted on an anchor channel having a set frequency for U-IoT in an adaptive frequency hopping system. The control information can include: a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) transmission, and a system information block for MulteFire bandwidth reduced (SIB-MF-BR).
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 29, 2021
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
APPLE INC.
Inventors:
Qiaoyang Ye, Huaning Niu, Wenting Chang, Salvatore Talarico
Abstract: An apparatus of user equipment (UE) includes processing circuitry coupled to a memory, where to configure the UE for uplink (UL) beam selection in a New Radio (NR) network, the processing circuitry is to decode a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from a base station. The MAC CE identifies a sounding reference signal (SRS) resource set and a plurality of spatial relationship reference signals. An SRS is selected from the SRS resource set. A beam direction associated with a spatial relationship reference signal of the plurality of spatial relationship reference signals is derived. The spatial relationship reference signal corresponds to the selected SRS. The SRS is encoded for beamforming to transmit the selected SRS in the derived beam direction.
Abstract: Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that provide authority transfer of a virtual object in a shared CGR environment. In some implementations, at a first electronic device associated with a first owner having authority to transmit state updates of a virtual object, a state update is transmitted to one or more peers participating in the shared CGR environment associated with the current state of the virtual object by the first electronic device. In some implementations, a handoff message is transmitted to indicate that ownership of the virtual object is being handed off. Then, an acquisition message transmitted by a second electronic device associated with a second owner indicates ownership acquisition of the virtual object by the second owner. The first electronic device accepts state updates of the virtual object transmitted from the second owner based on receiving the acquisition message.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 21, 2020
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Igor L. Gorelik, Courtland M. Idstrom, Pablo P. Cheng, Yasser Rihan
Abstract: A user equipment (UE) is configured to communicate with a further UE via a sidelink (SL). The UE encodes traffic for transmission to the further UE, wherein the traffic comprises a payload and a medium access control (MAC) subheader, wherein the MAC subheader indicates whether the payload corresponds to non-routed traffic between the UE and the further UE or routed traffic between either one of the UE or the further UE and a base station, wherein an other one of the UE or the further UE functions as a relay for the routed traffic and transmits the traffic.
Abstract: User equipment includes one or more antennas, a receiver coupled to the one or more antennas, and processing circuitry coupled to the receiver and configured to cause the user equipment to receive downlink signals at each communication cycle using a predetermined beam in a beam time slot. Based on processed downlink signals and other relevant information the user equipment may determine a desired beam for the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is the same as the predetermined beam, the user equipment may continue using the predetermined beam at the next communication cycle. If the desired beam is different from the predetermined beam, the user equipment may switch to the desired beam at the next communication cycle. In this way, the user equipment may continue tracking a desired beam to maintain reliable data communications with a communication node.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 18, 2022
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
Apple Inc.
Inventors:
Sudhir K Baghel, Sudeep Bhattarai, Amol P Bhatkar, Seshu Tummala, Venkateswara Rao Manepalli, Mehran T Baghaei, Lohit Sarna, Nishant Pattanaik, Jay P Shah
Abstract: A mobile communication device that is configured to cancel interference within received millimeter wave band signals. The device includes a receiver circuit that is configured to receive a millimeter wave band signal, adjust gain provided to the millimeter wave band signal at a first amplifier, cancel interference in millimeter wave band signal after gain is adjusted by the first amplifier, and adjust gain provided to the millimeter wave band signal at a second amplifier after interference is cancelled.
Abstract: A ball screw spline actuator includes a shaft, a ball nut, and a ball spline. The shaft includes a helical groove and a spline groove intersecting the helical groove forming intersections having a least one ridge including a first surface finish formed by a first manufacturing operation. The ridge is subsequently reformed through a second manufacturing operation to include a second surface finish to reduce stress concentrations in the ridge from cyclical loading from at least one of the ball nut or the ball spline. In one example, the second manufacturing operation reforms the ridge to include a surface finished edge.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 2, 2022
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
APPLE INC.
Inventors:
Sina Mobasher Moghaddam, Troy A. Carter, Jonathan L. Hall
Abstract: A device includes a display and a housing. The housing surrounds the display and has four corners defining portions of an exterior surface of the device. The housing includes a first housing segment defining at least part of a first corner of the four corners and configured to operate as an antenna; a second housing segment defining at least part of a second corner of the four corners; and a third housing segment defining at least part of a third corner of the four corners. The third corner forms part of the housing diagonally opposite the second corner. The housing further includes a non-conductive housing component that structurally couples the first housing segment to another portion of the housing.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 21, 2021
Date of Patent:
April 9, 2024
Assignee:
APPLE INC.
Inventors:
Kevin M. Froese, Paul U. Leutheuser, Martin J. Auclair, Christopher J. Durning, Jun Ham, Lucy E. Browning, Sawyer I. Cohen, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Donald J. Parr