Patents Assigned to Apple
  • Patent number: 11178613
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure describe devices, methods, computer-readable media and systems configurations for management and/or support of multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) service in a wireless communications network. An evolved Node B (eNB) may transmit MBMS assistance information to a user equipment (UE). The MBMS assistance information may identify a carrier by which one or more upcoming MBMS services are to be provided and an indicator of a carrier selection mode to be used by the UE. The UE may transmit an MBMS interest indication message including information related to one or more targeted MBMS services which the UE wants to receive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Kamran Etemad, Yujian Zhang
  • Patent number: 11178202
    Abstract: In one embodiment, systems, methods and non-transitory machine readable media detect differences between the rate of production, by a server, of media segments identified in an HTTP compliant playlist and the rate of consumption, by a client device, of the media segments in streaming media content. These differences, once detected, can be used to adjust a playback rate at the client to reduce the difference between the server rate and the client rate. This detection can be used in low latency streaming media contexts in which the client device is playing back content that is live, such as a live sports event happening during the playback by the client device. The adjustment of the client's playback rate can avoid running out of buffered media segments (when the client's rate is much faster than the server's rate) and can avoid increasing latency at the client device and overloading a buffer with too many media segments (when the client's rate is much slower than the server's rate).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Prashant Nandakumar, Zhenheng Li, Roger N. Pantos, Gregory R. Chapman
  • Patent number: 11178673
    Abstract: The invention relates to methods for improving a scheduling request transmission between a UE and a base station. The transmission of the scheduling request is postponed, by implementing a threshold that the data in the transmission buffer has to reach, before a transmission of the scheduling request is triggered. In one variant, the data in the transmission buffer needs to reach a specific amount, to trigger a scheduling request. The invention refers to further improvements: the PDDCH monitoring time window is delayed after sending a scheduling request; the dedicated scheduling request resources of the PUCCH are prioritized differently such that low-priority scheduling requests are transmitted less often.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Joachim Loehr, Takahisa Aoyama, Prateek Basu-Mallick, Takashi Tamura, Martin Feuersaenger
  • Patent number: 11178271
    Abstract: In some implementations, a computing device can be configured to automatically turn off notifications when generating a notification would cause a disturbance or be unwanted by a user. The device can be configured with quiet hours during which notifications that would otherwise be generated by the computing device can be suppressed. In some implementations, quiet hours can be configured as a time period with a start time and an end time. In some implementations, quiet hours can be derived from application data. For example, calendar data, alarm clock data, map data, etc. can be used to determine when quiet hours should be enforced. In some implementations, the device can be configured with exceptions to quiet hour notification suppression. In some implementations, the user can identify contacts to which the quiet hours notification suppression should not be applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Imran A. Chaudhri, Gregory Novick, Scott Forstall, Morgan Grainger, George R. Dicker, Tyler Hawkins
  • Patent number: 11176045
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a processor includes a plurality of prefetch circuits configured to prefetch data into a data cache. A primary prefetch circuit may be configured to generate first prefetch requests in response to a demand access, and may be configured to invoke a second prefetch circuit in response to the demand access. The second prefetch circuit may implement a different prefetch mechanism than the first prefetch circuit. If the second prefetch circuit reaches a threshold confidence level in prefetching for the demand access, the second prefetch circuit may communicate an indication to the primary prefetch circuit. The primary prefetch circuit may reduce a number of prefetch requests generated for the demand access responsive to the communication from the second prefetch circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Stephan G. Meier, Tyler J. Huberty, Nikhil Gupta
  • Patent number: 11176280
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed in which a secure circuit controls a gating circuit to enable or disable other circuity of a device (e.g., one or more input sensors). For example, the gating circuit may be a power gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable power to an input sensor in certain situations. As another example, the gating circuit may be a clock gating circuit and the secure circuit may be configured to disable the clock to an input sensor. As yet another example, the gating circuit may be configured to gate a control bus and the secure circuit may be configured to disable control signals to an input sensor. In some embodiments, hardware resources included in or controlled by the secure circuit are not accessible by other elements of the device, other than by sending requests to a predetermined set of memory locations (e.g., a secure mailbox).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Pierre-Olivier J. Martel, Jeffrey R. Wilcox, Ian P. Shaeffer, Andrew D. Myrick, Robert W. Hill, Tristan F. Schaap
  • Patent number: 11177904
    Abstract: Described is an apparatus of an Evolved Node-B (eNB) operable to communicate with a User Equipment (UE) on a wireless network. The apparatus may comprise a first circuitry and a second circuitry. The first circuitry may be operable to determine a presence of a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PT-RS) and a density of the PT-RS. The second circuitry may be operable to process the PT-RS. The second circuitry may also be operable to process a transmission in a Multi-User Superposition Transmission (MUST) operation in accordance with the PT-RS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yushu Zhang, Gang Xiong, Alexei Davydov, Guotong Wang
  • Patent number: 11175917
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a processor comprises a reservation station that issues a first load operation for execution, a store queue, and a replayed load buffer coupled in parallel with the reservation station. During execution of the first load operation, the store queue detects that the first load operation hits on a first store operation in the store queue that lacks store data and causes a replay of the first load operation. The replayed load buffer captures an identifier of the first load operation and the first store operation based on the replay of the first load operation, wherein the replayed load buffer monitors the reservation station for issuance of a first store data operation corresponding to the first store operation and issues the first load operation for reexecution based on the issuance of the first store data operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Mridul Agarwal, Kulin N. Kothari, Nikhil Gupta
  • Patent number: 11175700
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a display for displaying images. The display may be coupled to a housing on a front face of the device. The housing may have a transparent portion on an opposing rear face of the device. The electronic device may have structures with an adjustable appearance. The adjustable-appearance structures may include a mask with openings or other mask elements and a corresponding overlapped patterned layer containing an array of visual elements. The visual elements may have different appearances, so that movement of the mask relative to the patterned layer changes the appearance of the adjustable-appearance structures. The state of the adjustable-appearance structure may be changed during use of the device by a user or may be adjusted then fixed during manufacturing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph C. Poole, Christopher D. Jones, Christopher D. Prest, James R. Wilson, Marta M. Giachino, Matthew S. Rogers
  • Patent number: 11178260
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for dynamic packet pool configuration in networking stack architectures. Unlike prior art monolithic memory allocations, embodiments of the present disclosure enable packet pools associated with non-kernel space applications to dynamically allocate additional memory allocations to a given non-kernel space application, or conversely, de-allocate memory allocations to a given non-kernel space application. Variants also disclose the splitting up of a memory allocation into device accessible portions and kernel accessible portions. Other variants disclose sizing certain segment allocations so as to be a multiple of a physical address page size. Such a variant enables a single input/output (I/O) bus address lookup for the given segment so as to minimize look up costs associated with an I/O lookup for the given segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Cahya Adiansyah Masputra, Sandeep Nair, Zeh-Chen Liu, Wei Shen, Olivier Mardinian
  • Patent number: 11176925
    Abstract: A method for routing audio content through an electronic device that is to be worn by a user. The method obtains a communication and determines whether the communication is private. In response to determining that the communication is private, the method drives a bone conduction transducer of the electronic device with an audio signal associated with the communication. In response to determining that the communication is not private, however, the method drives a speaker of the electronic device with the audio signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Robert D. Silfvast, Neal D. Evans, Nikolas T. Vitt, Jonathan D. Sheaffer
  • Patent number: 11178575
    Abstract: When performing a contention protocol, such as Listen-Before-Talk (LBT), an Long Term Evolution (LTE)-Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) node dynamically adapts the ED threshold used by the LTE-LAA node depending on whether other transmission nodes are detected at the frequency components that are to be used by the LTE-LAA node. In one implementation, the ED threshold value may initially be set to a conservative value, and when other transmissions nodes are not detected, the ED threshold value may be set to a more aggressive value. In another implementation, the ED threshold value may initially be set to a more aggressive value, and only when another transmission node is detected, the ED threshold value may be set to a more conservative value. In yet another possible implementation, the ED threshold value and the transmit power may be proportionally modified, for a particular UE, based on a parameter associated with the UE.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Abhijeet Bhorkar, Laurent Cariou, Hwan Joon Kwon
  • Patent number: 11177093
    Abstract: This disclosure relates to touch-sensitive mechanical keyboards and methods for detecting touch events and key depression events on the touch-sensitive mechanical keyboard. The keypad can include a plurality of domes, a plurality of key make electrodes, first touch electrodes, and second touch electrodes. The first touch electrodes may be located underneath the plurality of key make electrodes, and the second touch electrodes may not. Both touch electrodes can detect touch events based on self-capacitance sensing. A key depression event can cause the key make electrode to make electrical contact with a corresponding first touch electrode, creating a short circuit that may cause the measured signal to saturate. The keyboard can include a plurality of sensing circuits coupled to the key make electrodes, the first touch electrodes, and the second touch electrodes. The plurality of sensing circuits can be used to detect both touch events and key depression events.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Karan Jain, William P. Yarak, III, Chia Chi Wu, Nicole Wells
  • Patent number: 11175503
    Abstract: A head-mounted display may include a display system and a lens system in a housing. The head-mounted display may include control circuitry that operates the head-mounted display in an active use mode and a protected mode. In the protected mode, the display system may be protected from collisions with the lens system. Placing the head-mounted display in the protected mode may include using an actuator to increase the distance between the display system and the lens system, may include injecting fluid between the display system and the lens system, and/or may include deploying a protective layer between the display system and the lens system. The control circuitry may determine whether to operate the head-mounted display in protected mode or active use mode based on sensor data, on/off status information, location information, and/or other information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen E. Dey, Phil M. Hobson, Wey-Jiun Lin, Ivan S. Maric, Andreas G. Weber
  • Patent number: 11178259
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for efficient data transfer within a user space network stack. Unlike prior art monolithic networking stacks, the exemplary networking stack architecture described hereinafter includes various components that span multiple domains (both in-kernel, and non-kernel). For example, unlike traditional “socket” based communication, disclosed embodiments can transfer data directly between the kernel and user space domains. Direct transfer reduces the per-byte and per-packet costs relative to socket based communication. A user space networking stack is disclosed that enables extensible, cross-platform-capable, user space control of the networking protocol stack functionality. The user space networking stack facilitates tighter integration between the protocol layers (including TLS) and the application or daemon. Exemplary systems can support multiple networking protocol stack instances (including an in-kernel traditional network stack).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Cahya Adiansyah Masputra, Sandeep Nair, Karan Sanghi, Mingzhe Zhang, Jason McElrath
  • Patent number: 11178356
    Abstract: In some implementations, a user device can be configured to create media messages with automatic titling. For example, a user can create a media messaging project that includes multiple video clips. The video clips can be generated based on video data and/or audio data captured by the user device and/or based on pre-recorded video data and/or audio data obtained from various storage locations. When the user device captures the audio data for a clip, the user device can obtain a speech-to-text transcription of the audio data in near real time and present the transcription data (e.g., text) overlaid on the video data while the video data is being captured or presented by the user device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: David Black, Andrew L. Harding, Joseph-Alexander P. Weil, James Brasure, Joash S. Berkeley, Katherine K. Ernst, Richard Salvador, Stephen Sheeler, William D. Cummings, Xiaohuan Corina Wang, Robert L. Clark, Kevin M. O'Neil
  • Patent number: 11177329
    Abstract: Display structures for controlling viewing angle color shift are described. In various embodiments, polarization sensitive diffusers, independent controlled cathode thicknesses, filtermasks, touch detection layers, and color filters are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Aleksandr N. Polyakov, Meng-Huan Ho, Yi Huang, Yi Qiao, David S. Hum, Jean-Pierre S. Guillou, Yanming Li, Jun Qi, KiBeom Kim, Kwang Ohk Cheon, Cheng Chen, Rui Liu, ByoungSuk Kim, Ying-Chih Wang, Hung Sheng Lin, Donghee Nam, Tyler R. Kakuda, Takahide Ishii, Yurii Morozov
  • Patent number: 11176068
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for a synchronized multi-directional transfer on an inter-processor communication (IPC) link. In one embodiment, the synchronized multi-directional transfer utilizes one or more buffers which are configured to accumulate data during a first state. The one or more buffers are further configured to transfer the accumulated data during a second state. Data is accumulated during a low power state where one or more processors are inactive, and the data transfer occurs during an operational state where the processors are active. Additionally, in some variants, the data transfer may be performed for currently available transfer resources, and halted until additional transfer resources are made available. In still other variants, one or more of the independently operable processors may execute traffic monitoring processes so as to optimize data throughput of the IPC link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Karan Sanghi, Vladislav Petkov, Radha Kumar Pulyala, Saurabh Garg, Haining Zhang
  • Patent number: 11177693
    Abstract: An electronic device such as a loop-shaped wearable electronic device may have a fabric cord with first and second opposing ends and a housing unit coupled between the first and second ends. The housing unit may contain circuitry such as a visual output region, sensors, communications circuitry, and wireless power receiving circuitry. The wearable electronic device may include haptic output devices for providing haptic output for a user or for changing the shape of the fabric cord. The fabric cord may include a conductive strand that forms a coil for receiving wireless power signals from a wireless power transmitter. The wearable electronic device may be stored in a charging case that includes wireless power transmitting circuitry for powering the wearable electronic device. Control circuitry in the charging case may change an opacity of the charging case based on a charging status of the wearable electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Paul G. Puskarich
  • Patent number: D936082
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Imran Chaudhri