Patents Assigned to Apple
  • Patent number: 8035481
    Abstract: A computing device is disclosed. The computing device includes a data capture device such as a camera. In one aspect, the data capture device may integrated with the housing of the computing device and further detachable therefrom. In another aspect, the data capture device may swivel and/or translate relative to the housing of the computing device. In another aspect, the computing device may include a positioning device for controlling the movement of the data capture device relative to the housing. In yet another aspect, the computing device may include a latch that is automatically positioned in a home position when a housing component of the computing device is positioned in first position, and is automatically positioned in a lock position when the housing component of the computing device is positioned in a closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Christoph H. Krah
  • Patent number: 8033695
    Abstract: A computing device is disclosed. The computing device includes a housing having an illuminable portion. The computing device also includes a light device disposed inside the housing. The light device is configured to illuminate the illuminable portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Duncan R. Kerr, Steve P. Hotelling
  • Patent number: 8037132
    Abstract: The present invention provides several methods and apparatuses for transmitting multimedia data using streaming media protocols such as real-time transfer protocols (RTP) and real-time streaming protocols (RTSP) in a computer network environment. A request for RTP data is sent from the caching proxy server to the server. The request may be for one specific type of data or multiple unrelated types of data. The server responds to the request indicating its support for the requested data. The caching proxy server determines whether to proceed or terminate the data transmission process based on the response provided by the server. If it is determined to proceed with the data transmission process, the caching proxy informs the server to send the requested data. The server sends the requested data in a body of a RTP packet. The RTP packet uses a RTP Meta-Info payload format, which includes a body and a field header.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis Serenyi, Chris LeCroy
  • Patent number: 8036378
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are systems, methods and computer readable media for performing authentication. The proposed scheme utilizes new algorithms that introduce randomness using a physical value for authentication. An exemplary method includes sharing an initial state value S(0) with a sender and a receiver, generating a sender S(t, v) based on a parameter t and an identifier v and based at least in part on the value S(0). The method includes generating a receiver S(t, v) from S(0) based on the parameter t and the identifier v wherein the parameter t is related to a physical value in authenticating the identifier v based on a comparison of the sender S(t, v) and the receiver S(t, v). The process of generating the sender S(t, v) and the receiver S(t, v) includes a random variable generated by a process such as by a random number generator, the Brownian Motion or Wiener Process. Other embodiments do not use the physical value for authentication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mathieu Ciet, Augustin Farrugia, Jean-Francois Riendeau, Nicholas T. Sullivan
  • Patent number: 8035622
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating an image of touch on or about a touch-sensitive surface comprising a touch panel is disclosed. The touch panel can include a plurality of touch sensors configured for detecting one or more touch events occurring at distinct locations at about the same time. Each touch event can comprise a touching of an object against the touch-sensitive surface. A plurality of receive channels can be coupled to the touch panel for generating values representative of detected touch events. The receive channels can include a charge redistribution successive approximation register digital-to-analog converter (SAR ADC) configured to convert an analog waveform into a digital representation via a binary search and outputting the digital representation to an output register. The SAR ADC architecture can be such that it the dynamic input range can be scaled and offset adjusted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Steve Porter Hotelling, Christoph Horst Krah
  • Patent number: 8036689
    Abstract: For processing digital communication traffic in a network comprising a central communication processing structure and a number of separate devices of users designed for communication with the central communication processing structure, each time, a communication coming from one of the separate devices is received which communication is addressed to another of the separate devices. It is then checked whether the received communication meets at least one condition applicable to the communication or the sender. In reaction to meeting the condition, a message is added to the communication and the communication including the added message is sent to the addressed device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicolaas Theunis Rudie van As, Rentje Theodoor Koning, Bart-Jan Buijze
  • Patent number: 8036267
    Abstract: A rate control system is disclosed for video coding applications. The rate controller assigns a quantization parameter for video data in a picture in response to complexity indicators indicative of spatial complexity, motion complexity and/or bits per pel of the picture. A virtual buffer based quantizer parameter is proposed based on a virtual buffer fullness analysis and a target rate estimate, which is derived from the complexity indicators. A second quantizer parameter is proposed from a linear regression analysis of quantizer parameters used to code previously coded pictures of similar type (e.g., I pictures, P pictures or B pictures). A coding policy decision unit defines a final quantizer parameter from a comparison of the two proposed quantizer parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple, Inc.
    Inventor: Atul Puri
  • Patent number: 8037401
    Abstract: Some embodiments of the invention provide a computer system that includes a media server, a media client, and a media-server interface. The media server application produces media data, where the media data has a plurality of segments. For example, in some embodiments, the media data is a movie with video and audio components. In this example, the segments of the movie can be specified in two groups, where one group includes the frames of video in the movie and the other group includes the seconds of audio in the movie. The media client application is typically an application that needs to process the media data of the media server application without the need to have any familiarity with the implementation of the media server application. The media-server interface directs the server application to successively generate individual segments of the media data and to store each generated segment in a location that is accessible by the media client.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Daniel I. Lipton
  • Patent number: 8036851
    Abstract: An activity monitor, comprises housing for attachment to a person; at least one accelerometer disposed within the housing; and a processor disposed within the housing, for processing signals from the accelerometer to assess activity of the person. A method assesses activity of a person, including: sensing acceleration at a first location on the person; processing the acceleration, over time, to assess activity of the person; and wirelessly communicating information indicative of the activity to a second location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Curtis A. Vock, Peter Flentov, Dennis M. Darcy
  • Patent number: 8036061
    Abstract: An integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes a plurality of memory requesters and a memory supercell. The memory supercell includes a plurality of memory banks each of which forms a respective range of separately addressable storage locations, wherein the memory supercell is organized into a plurality of bank groups. Each of the plurality of bank groups includes a subset of the plurality of memory banks and a corresponding dedicated access port. The integrated circuit further includes a switch coupled between the plurality of memory requesters and the memory supercell. The switch is configured, responsive to a memory request by a given one of the plurality of memory requesters, to connect a data path between the given memory requester and the dedicated access port of a particular one of the bank groups addressed by the memory request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Shinye Shiu, Brian P. Lilly
  • Patent number: 8036894
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer program products are provided for synthesizing speech. One method includes matching a first level of units of a received input string to audio segments from a plurality of audio segments including using properties of or between first level units to locate matching audio segments from a plurality of selections, parsing unmatched first level units into second level units, matching the second level units to audio segments using properties of or between the units to locate matching audio segments from a plurality of selections and synthesizing the input string, including combining the audio segments associated with the first and second units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Matthias Neeracher, Devang K. Naik, Kevin B. Aitken, Jerome R. Bellegarda, Kim E.A. Silverman
  • Patent number: 8035666
    Abstract: Embodiments of a system that includes one or more integrated circuits are described. During operation, the system receives a video image, that when displayed, includes a picture portion, a non-picture portion, and a subtitle which is superimposed on at least a subset of the non-picture portion, where the non-picture portion has an initial brightness value. Then, the system scales the brightness of pixels corresponding to a remainder of the non-picture portion of the video image to have a new brightness value that is greater than the initial brightness value to reduce user-perceived changes in the video image associated with backlighting of a display that displays the video image, where the remainder of the non-picture portion excludes the subset of the non-picture portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ulrich T. Barnhoefer, Wei H. Yao, Wei Chen, Barry J. Corlett, Jean-Didier Allegrucci
  • Patent number: 8037021
    Abstract: The calendaring techniques and interfaces described herein provide access to calendar data stored in a server hosted calendar store to applications. The calendar data includes calendar events and tasks. In one aspect, an application program interface (API) retrieves an occurrence from a series of reoccurring calendar data upon request from an application. In another aspect, the API sends calendar data provided by the application to a server program that manages a calendar store for storage and queries the server program to retrieve calendar data requested by the application from the calendar store. In yet another aspect, the API sends notifications that the calendar store has changed to interested applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Joseph Adler, Matthew Dimaggio, Matthew Elliott Shepherd, Lala Dutta, Bruce Arthur
  • Publication number: 20110242747
    Abstract: An integrated switch assembly is described, the integrated switch assembly including at least an actuator and a flexible membrane mechanically coupled to the actuator, the flexible membrane formed of a resilient, electrically conductive material. In the described embodiment, the flexible membrane is held at a first electrical potential. The integrated switch assembly also includes at least an electrical contact at a second electrical potential connected to an electrical circuit. The integrated switch assembly is engaged when the actuator applies a mechanical force to the flexible membrane causing the flexible membrane to deflect to a point of contact with the electrical contact causing the electrical potential of the electrical contact to change from the second potential to the first potential. The electrical circuit detects the change in potential of the electrical contact as a signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Phillip M. Hobson, Stephen Brian Lynch
  • Publication number: 20110246996
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for dynamically re-ordering operation requests that have previously been submitted to a queue management unit. After the queue management unit has placed multiple requests in a queue to be executed in an order that is based on priorities that were assigned to the operations, the entity that requested the operations (the “requester”) sends one or more priority-change messages. The one or more priority-change messages include requests to perform operations that have already been queued. For at least one of the operations, the priority assigned to the operation in the subsequent request is different from the priority that was assigned to the same operation when that operation was initially queued for execution. Based on the change in priority, the operation whose priority has change is placed at a different location in the queue, relative to the other operations in the queue that were requested by the same requester.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventor: Brian R. Tunning
  • Publication number: 20110242776
    Abstract: Sensors modules adapted to be mounted to a motherboard under challenging conditions by using automated manufacturing processes are disclosed. A sensor module can include a sensor mounted to a sensor PCB, a connector coupled to the sensor and having a plurality of guide pins extending therefrom in a vulnerable manner, with the guide pins being adapted to be inserted into guide pin holes on an associated motherboard, and a disposable carrier adapted to hold the connector and protect the guide pins thereof prior to mounting. The disposable carrier is removed from the sensor module before the sensor module is mounted directly to a motherboard by press-fitting the guide pins into guide pin holes on the motherboard and soldering connections thereto in an automated surface mounting operation. Disposable carrier protected sensor modules can be stored and processed in a tray or tape-and-reel automated manufacturing system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Derek J. DiCarlo, Vu T. Vo, Gregory A. Fosnes
  • Publication number: 20110245944
    Abstract: Sharing of a music experience amongst a group of people each using a personal communication device is described. In some cases, the group can congregate at the same geographic location or at least some of the group can be located at widely dispersed locations and yet still be able to share a music experience. Information can be passed between the personal communication devices using point to point wireless communication, a distributed network of computers such as the Internet, a wireless cellular communication network, and so on. The information can include an indication of a shared music characteristic. The personal communication devices can use the shared music characteristic to identify and start to privately play those music items stored in the personal communication device having a characteristic that matches or most closely matches the shared music characteristic at about the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 31, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventor: Sylvain Rene Yves Louboutin
  • Publication number: 20110246290
    Abstract: The present technology provides a purchasing interface within an application that allows users to purchase a product from another source without leaving the application. The application offers a product for purchase, and a user, desiring to purchase the product can provide an input effective to cause a purchasing interface to be displayed. While the purchasing interface, or information presented therein, comes from the product source, which is different than the application source, it is presented in such a fashion that gives the impression to the user that they are purchasing the product directly from the application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: James Alexander Howard, William Bedford Turner, Christopher Blumenberg, Richard Williamson
  • Publication number: 20110246806
    Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for efficiently managing power distribution among the various functional blocks used within portable electronic devices. The method includes allowing each functional block to be independently controlled, containing its own low-level software and power controls for setting the local power state of the functional block. For each power control domain in the implementation, hardware uses these local power states and determines and sets the actual operating state of the power control domain accordingly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2011
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: David G. Conroy, Timothy J. Millet, Joseph P. Bratt
  • Publication number: 20110246296
    Abstract: The present technology presents targeted content, such as a targeted application, within a primary application, in such a fashion that the targeted application is a separate process from the primary application. The targeted application is targeted to a specific user by compiling targeting data, generally describing aspects related to the user and information about the primary application for use by an application server, which processes the targeting data to determine suitable content. The present technology further achieves a balance between the need to protect a user's information and sharing some of this information with trusted sources for selecting targeted content to be displayed within a primary application by providing an operating system process to accept requests and compile targeting data for determined targeted content from the primary application without sharing the targeting data with the primary application.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2010
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: James Alexander Howard, William Bedford Turner, Christopher Blumenberg, Richard Williamson