Patents Assigned to Apple
  • Patent number: 11822416
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a system may include one or more processors forming central processing units (CPUs) in the system, a display controller configured to display frames on a display device, a memory controller configured to control a memory, and a power management circuit. The power management circuit may be configured to establish one of a plurality of power states in the system. In a first power state, the display controller and the memory controller are powered on while the CPUs are powered off. The display controller may be configured to read a plurality of prerendered frames from the memory and display the plurality of prerendered frames at times specified for each of the plurality of prerendered frames.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ramana V. Rachakonda, Rohit K. Gupta, Brad W. Simeral, Peter F. Holland
  • Patent number: 11823645
    Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display. The display may be formed from liquid crystal display pixels, organic light-emitting diode pixels, or other pixels. The display may have an active area that is bordered along at least one edge by an inactive area. The active area contains pixels and displays images. The inactive area does not contain any pixels and does not display images. The inactive area may have a layer of black ink or other masking material to block internal components from view. The active area may have an opening that contains an isolated portion of the inactive area or may contain a recess into which a portion of the inactive area protrudes. An electrical component such as a speaker, camera, light-emitting diode, light sensor, or other electrical device may be mounted in the inactive area in the recess or opening of the active area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mikael M. Silvanto, Dinesh C. Mathew, Victor H. Yin
  • Patent number: 11822716
    Abstract: According to various implementations, a method is performed at an electronic device including one or more processors, a non-transitory memory, and a display. The method includes displaying, on the display, a virtual agent that is associated with a first viewing frustum. The first viewing frustum includes a user avatar associated with a user, and the user avatar includes a visual representation of one or more eyes. The method includes, while displaying the virtual agent associated with the first viewing frustum, obtaining eye tracking data that is indicative of eye behavior associated with an eye of the user, updating the visual representation of one or more eyes based on the eye behavior, and directing the virtual agent to perform an action based on the updating and scene information associated with the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Mu Qiao, Dan Feng, Bo Morgan, Mark E. Drummond
  • Patent number: 11823343
    Abstract: A method and device for modifying virtual content according to various simulation characteristics includes obtaining first virtual content; obtaining one or more simulation characteristics; and generating second virtual content by modifying the first virtual content according to the one or more simulation characteristics; and presenting the second virtual content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Dhruv Aditya Govil, Sabine Webel, Olivier Denis Roger Gutknecht, Shruti Singhal, Tobias Eble, Pal Kristian Engstad, Ivan Gavrenkov
  • Patent number: 11822081
    Abstract: An optical module for a head-mounted device is configured to present content to a user. The optical module includes an optical module housing assembly, a display assembly, and an eye camera. The optical module housing assembly has a first end and a second end. The lens is connected to the optical module housing assembly and positioned at the first end of the optical module housing assembly. The display assembly is connected to the optical module housing assembly and is positioned at the second end of the optical module housing assembly. The display assembly is configured to cause the content to be displayed to the user through the lens. The eye camera is connected to the optical module housing assembly and is positioned at the second end of the optical module housing assembly. The eye camera is configured to obtain images through the lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Ivan S. Maric, Jan K. Quijalvo, Anna V. Mirabella, Wey-Jiun Lin, Jeremy C. Franklin, Forrest C. Wang, Marinus Meursing, Blake N. Trekell, Aidan N. Zimmerman
  • Patent number: 11822367
    Abstract: A method performed by an audio system comprising a headset. The method sends a playback signal containing user-desired audio content to drive a speaker of the headset that is being worn by a user, receives a microphone signal from a microphone that is arranged to capture sounds within an ambient environment in which the user is located, performs a speech detection algorithm upon the microphone signal to detect speech contained therein, in response to a detection of speech, determines that the user intends to engage in a conversation with a person who is located within the ambient environment, and, in response to determining that the user intends to engage in the conversation, adjusts the playback signal based on the user-desired audio content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher T. Eubank, Devin W. Chalmers, Kirill Kalinichev, Rahul Nair, Thomas G. Salter
  • Patent number: 11823472
    Abstract: When three-dimensional audio is produced by using headphones, particular HRTF-filters are used to modify sound for the left and right channels of the headphone. As the morphology of every ear is different, it is beneficial to have HRTF-filters particularly designed for the user of headphones. Such filters may be produced by deriving ear geometry from a plurality of images taken with an ordinary camera, detecting necessary features from images and fitting said features to a model that has been produced from accurately scanned ears comprising representative values for different sizes and shapes. Taken images are sent to a server (52) that performs the necessary computations and submits the data further or produces the requested filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tomi Huttunen, Antti Vanne
  • Patent number: 11822371
    Abstract: A term base can be used to index a raw medical term (e.g., a text string from an electronic health record) to generate a computational expression of the raw medical term. The computational expression of the raw medical term can be used to generate a uniform medical term for the raw medical term. The computational expression can be compared with other computational expressions to organize the electronic health record, filter the electronic health record, and provide a uniform presentation of raw medical terms from different events in the electronic health record.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: David W. Padgett, John P. Clark, Brian A. Carlsen, Jeffrey D. LaMarche, Jason B. Morley, Christian Schroeder, Mark E. Pennell, Zhe Li, Jorge F. Pozas Trevino, Kevin M. Lynch
  • Patent number: 11824737
    Abstract: A device implementing a system for packet loss management may include a memory and at least one processor configured to identify a plurality of categories of packets provided for transmission to an electronic device. The at least one processor may be further configured to determine a respective packet loss value for a respective category of the plurality of categories of packets. The at least one processor may be further configured to identify a particular category of the plurality of categories of packets for which the determined respective packet loss value satisfies a packet loss condition. The at least one processor may be further configured to adjust subsequent transmission of packets in the particular category of packets based at least in part on the packet loss condition being satisfied by the determined respective packet loss value for the particular category of packets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel B. Pollack, Qian Sun, Karthick Santhanam, Christopher M. Garrido, Bradley F. Patterson, Kevin Arthur Robertson, Hsien-Po Shiang, Erik Vladimir Ortega Gonzalez
  • Patent number: 11824593
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a harmonic rejection mixer with a delay line, mixer array, and load. The delay line may generate LO phases. Each mixer in the array may have a first input that receives an LO phase and a second input coupled to an input switch and the first input of the next mixer circuit through an inter-mixer switch. The load may include a set of switches. In a transmit mode, the input switches and set of switches may be closed while the inter-mixer switches are open. In a self-calibration mode, the input switches and set of switches may be open while the inter-mixer switches are closed. A controller may sweep through phase codes for the programmable delay line while storing a digital output from the load. The controller may calibrate the phase code based on the digital output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Hongrui Wang, Abbas Komijani, Saihua Lin, Sohrab Emami-Neyestanak
  • Patent number: 11822858
    Abstract: Systems and methods for a media content system. A media content provider includes storage for storing and serving video content to subscribers. The media content provider records and or otherwise stores video content from around the world. The system includes display devices configured to identify and tailor content to multiple individual users. Each user may have individual settings which provide for a customized viewing environment and experience. The system is configured to identify users of the system in order to tailor the content as appropriate. In addition, identification of users allows for the identification of the subscription content that corresponds to the user. Based upon identification of a user and corresponding subscription, the user's subscription content may be streamed to any location. In this manner, the users subscribed content may follow the user from home to a friend's house, or elsewhere.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Gregory N. Christie, Alessandro Sabatelli, William M. Bachman, Imran Chaudhri, Jeffrey Robbin, Jim Young, Joe Howard, Marcel Van Os, Patrick L. Coffman, Stephen O. Lemay, Jeffrey Ma, Lynne Kress
  • Patent number: 11822191
    Abstract: An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a display that displays computer-generated content for a user. The head-mounted device may have an optical system that directs the computer-generated content towards eye boxes for viewing by a user. The optical system may include a spatially addressable adjustable optical component. The adjustable optical component may have first and second electrodes and an electrically adjustable material between the first and second electrodes. The electrically adjustable material may include a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide that includes a pattern of segmented trenches configured to provide the transparent conductive material with electrical anisotropy. Contacts may be coupled to the transparent conductive material. Control circuitry can adjust the electrically adjustable material to form a spatially addressable light modulator or adjustable lens.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Khadijeh Bayat, Avery P. Yuen, Chaohao Wang, Runyu Zhang, Xianwei Zhao, Xiaokai Li, Yang Li, Zhibing Ge, Alex H. Pai
  • Patent number: 11825281
    Abstract: Disclosed are systems and methods for performing adaptive equalization operations to reduce variations in the frequency response of audio signals at the eardrum of a wearer of an earphone. The assumption that the frequency response of the error microphone matches the frequency response at the eardrum may not be true due to signal leakage effects and the shape of the ear canal. Techniques are disclosed for the adaptive equalization operations to perform a calibration algorithm to compensate for the effects of the signal leakage and the shape of the ear canal. The earphone may estimate the transfer function from the speaker to the error microphone and may estimate the load impedance from the earphone based on a calibrated relationship between the transfer function and the load impedance. The adaptive equalization may use a calibration algorithm to adjust the frequency response at the error microphone to match that at the eardrum.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Victoria Chiu, Martin Kuster, Tom-Davy W. Saux
  • Patent number: 11822480
    Abstract: A cache may store critical cache lines and non-critical cache lines, and may attempt to retain critical cache lines in the cache by, for example, favoring the critical cache lines in replacement data updates, retaining the critical cache lines with a certain probability when victim cache blocks are being selected, etc. Criticality values may be retained at various levels of the cache hierarchy. Additionally, accelerated eviction may be employed if the threads previously accessing the critical cache blocks are viewed as dead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tyler J. Huberty, Vivek Venkatraman, Sandeep Gupta, Eric J. Furbish, Srinivasa Rangan Sridharan, Stephan G. Meier
  • Patent number: 11822664
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed relating to securing computing devices during boot. In various embodiments, a secure circuit of a computing device generates for a public key pair and signs, using a private key of the public key pair, configuration settings for an operating system of the computing device. A bootloader of the computing device receives a certificate for the public key pair from a certificate authority and initiates a boot sequence to load the operating system. The boot sequence includes the bootloader verifying the signed configuration settings using a public key included in the certificate and the public key pair. In some embodiments, the secure circuit cryptographically protects the private key based on a passcode of a user, the passcode being usable by the user to authenticate to the computing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Xeno S. Kovah, Nikolaj Schlej, Thomas P. Mensch, Wade Benson, Jerrold V. Hauck, Josh P. de Cesare, Austin G. Jennings, John J. Dong, Robert C. Graham, Jacques Fortier
  • Patent number: 11822083
    Abstract: An electronic device such as a head-mounted device may have a display that produces a display image. The head-mounted device may have an optical system that merges real-world images from real-world objects with display images. The optical system provides the real-world images and display images to an eye box for viewing by a user. The optical system may use time interleaving techniques and/or polarization effects to merge real-world and display images. Switchable devices such as polarization switches and tunable lenses may be controlled in synchronization with frames of display images. Geometrical phase lenses may be used that exhibit different lens powers to different polarizations of light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jin Yan, Xiaokai Li, Young Cheol Yang
  • Patent number: 11825380
    Abstract: Wireless communications may be established between mobile computing devices via wireless protocol communication modes, using the orientation of the mobile devices to determine the communication modes in which the mobile devices are operated. Requests may be received to initiate wireless communications using a wireless protocol that supports at least two communication modes. The orientation of the mobile devices may be determined, and the communication modes to be used by the mobile devices may be based on the orientations of the mobile device. Each mobile device may be configured to operate in the determined communication mode of the wireless protocol, for establishing communications via the wireless protocol with other mobile devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Robert S. Mozayeni
  • Patent number: D1005128
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Molly Anderson, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Liane Fang, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Peter Russell-Clarke, Charles A. Schwalbach, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Clement Tissandier, Eugene Antony Whang, Sheng Yang, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D1005297
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D1005331
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Zachary Z. Becker, David Andrew Brasgalla, Etienne Guerard