Patents by Inventor Arthur Y. Zhang

Arthur Y. Zhang 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).

  • Patent number: 11858413
    Abstract: A system may have system controls that are used in controlling the system. The system may have sensors that gather information on speed, orientation, and position. The sensors may also gather information on relative speed, information on risks of a collision, and other status information and operating environment information. Control circuitry may use light-based devices to display, information on speed, relative speed, status information, custom light information or other user-selected information, or other information on status and the operating environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Albert J. Golko, Bivin J. Varghese, Christopher P. Child, Collin J. Palmer, Daniel E. Potter, Thaddeus Stefanov-Wagner
  • Patent number: 11833978
    Abstract: A sensing system that includes an optical,sensor and a sensing window. The optical sensor is configured to sense with electromagnetic radiation an environment. The sensing window is coupled to a structure, such that the electromagnetic radiation passes therethrough from the environment to the optical sensor to be sensed thereby. The sensing window includes an inner side that faces toward the optical sensor and an outer side that faces away from the optical sensor. The outer side includes a superhydrophobic surface that is in fluidic communication with the environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: James R. Wilson, Arthur Y. Zhang
  • Patent number: 11833959
    Abstract: A lighting module comprising lighting elements and a controller configured to receive a control signal that identifies a user as present. In response to the control signal associated with user presence, the lighting module is configured to send a command to one or more of the lighting elements to illuminate a first zone where the user is present. The lighting module is configured to receive a control signal that identifies that illumination of a second zone was previously requested by the user at a current location, and in response to the control signal associated with the current location, send a command to one or more of the lighting elements to illuminate the second zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Matthew E. Last, Budhadipta Dan, Christy F. Cull, Ryan J. Garrone
  • Patent number: 11820285
    Abstract: Lighting may be provided using light sources such as lighting systems with arrays of light-emitting diodes. A lighting system may be integrated into interior portions of a system. The interior portions may be illuminated using lighting systems to provide ambient light, to provide custom surface textures and other decorative patterns, to provide icons, text, and other information, and to provide other illuminated regions. Illuminated regions may overlap sensors such as capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors. The light-emitting diodes in a lighting system may supply light that passes through openings in a cover layer. The layer may be formed from fabric, leather, or other materials. Lens structures may guide light through the openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Matthew E. Last
  • Publication number: 20230359273
    Abstract: Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that initiate an action based on a detected gaze direction oriented towards a target area (e.g., a hot corner/zone). For example, an example process may include producing a reflection by directing light towards an eye using an illuminator, receiving sensor data from a sensor, wherein a direction of sensing by the sensor (e.g., the optical axis of the camera) and a direction from the eye to a target area are approximately aligned, determining a reflective property (e.g., a spectral property) of the reflection based on the sensor data, detecting that a gaze direction of the eye is approximately oriented towards the target area (e.g., a hot zone/spot) based on the reflective property, and initiating an action based on detecting that the gaze direction is approximately oriented towards the target area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2023
    Publication date: November 9, 2023
    Inventors: Arthur Y. Zhang, Tong Chen, Siddharth S. Hazra, Nicholas C. Soldner
  • Publication number: 20230351672
    Abstract: A mixed reality system that includes a device and a base station that communicate via a wireless connection The device may include sensors that collect information about the user’s environment and about the user. The information collected by the sensors may be transmitted to the base station via the wireless connection. The base station renders frames or slices based at least in part on the sensor information received from the device, encodes the frames or slices, and transmits the compressed frames or slices to the device for decoding and display. The base station may provide more computing power than conventional stand-alone systems, and the wireless connection does not tether the device to the base station as in conventional tethered systems. The system may implement methods and apparatus to maintain a target frame rate through the wireless link and to minimize latency in frame rendering, transmittal, and display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Publication date: November 2, 2023
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur Y. Zhang, Ray L. Chang, Timothy R. Oriol, Ling Su, Gurjeet S. Saund, Guy Cote, Jim C. Chou, Hao Pan, Tobias Eble, Avi Bar-Zeev, Sheng Zhang, Justin A. Hensley, Geoffrey Stahl
  • Publication number: 20230333377
    Abstract: A display system includes a head-mounted display unit and a wake control system. The head-mounted display unit provides content to a user and is operable in a low-power state and a high-power state that consumes more power to provide the content to the user than the low-power state. The wake control system determines when to operate in the high-power state. The wake control system may assess a first wake criterion with low power, assess a second wake criterion with higher power than the first wake criterion upon satisfaction of the first wake criterion, and cause the head-mounted display unit to operate in the high-power state upon satisfaction of the second wake criterion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2023
    Publication date: October 19, 2023
    Inventors: Fletcher R. Rothkopf, David A. Kalinowski, Jae Hwang Lee, Avi Bar-Zeev, Grant H. Mulliken, Paul Meade, Nathanael D. Parkhill, Ray L. Chang, Arthur Y. Zhang
  • Publication number: 20230314828
    Abstract: Fiducial patterns that produce 2D Barker code-like diffraction patterns at a camera sensor are etched or otherwise provided on a cover glass in front of a camera. 2D Barker code kernels, when cross-correlated with the diffraction patterns captured in images by the camera, provide sharp cross-correlation peaks. Misalignment of the cover glass with respect to the camera can be derived by detecting shifts in the location of the detected peaks with respect to calibrated locations. Devices that include multiple cameras behind a cover glass with one or more fiducials on the cover glass in front of each camera are also described. The diffraction patterns caused by the fiducials at the various cameras may be analyzed to detect movement or distortion of the cover glass in multiple degrees of freedom.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2023
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tushar Gupta, Aleksandr M. Movshovich, Arthur Y. Zhang, Ray L. Chang, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Publication number: 20230296383
    Abstract: Methods and systems for relative inertial measurement may include a user device comprising an inertial measurement device and/or a camera. A second inertial measurement device may be configured to move with a reference frame. One or more processors may receive inertial measurements from the first and second inertial measurement devices and determine movement of the user device relative to the reference frame by comparing the received inertial measurements. Additionally reference objects in a view of a camera may be used to calibrate the determined motion of the user device within the reference frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 22, 2023
    Publication date: September 21, 2023
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur Y. Zhang, Sonca Teng
  • Publication number: 20230281846
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for specular surface mapping in which a camera detects reflections of a light source from a specular surface. The detected light sources may be projected onto a celestial sphere as virtual point sources. True positive observations should be tightly clustered on the celestial sphere; thus, false positives may be identified and removed. Specular surface information may then be determined from clusters of the virtual point sources on the celestial sphere. The clusters of virtual point sources on the celestial sphere may be identified and used to identify a surface as a specular surface. The clusters may also be used to extract other information regarding the specular surface, including but not limited to distance to and extent of the specular surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2022
    Publication date: September 7, 2023
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Luke A. Pillans, Aleksandr M. Movshovich, Nicholas C. Soldner, Daniel Kurz, Arthur Y. Zhang
  • Patent number: 11740350
    Abstract: Object detection may include transmitting, by a first device, a first pulse into an environment using a wide field configuration of an ultrasonic sensor array, detecting a presence of an object in the environment based on a detected echo based on the first pulse. In response to detecting the presence of the object, a targeted configuration of the ultrasonic sensor array is determined, and a second pulse is transmitted into the environment based on the second pulse, wherein a characteristic of the object is determined based on a detected echo from the second pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas C. Soldner, Arthur Y. Zhang, Tushar Gupta
  • Patent number: 11726324
    Abstract: A display system includes a head-mounted display unit and a wake control system. The head-mounted display unit provides content to a user and is operable in a low-power state and a high-power state that consumes more power to provide the content to the user than the low-power state. The wake control system determines when to operate in the high-power state. The wake control system may assess a first wake criterion with low power, assess a second wake criterion with higher power than the first wake criterion upon satisfaction of the first wake criterion, and cause the head-mounted display unit to operate in the high-power state upon satisfaction of the second wake criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Fletcher R. Rothkopf, David A. Kalinowski, Jae Hwang Lee, Avi Bar-Zeev, Grant H. Mulliken, Paul Meade, Nathanael D. Parkhill, Ray L. Chang, Arthur Y. Zhang
  • Patent number: 11727619
    Abstract: A mixed reality system that includes a device and a base station that communicate via a wireless connection The device may include sensors that collect information about the user's environment and about the user. The information collected by the sensors may be transmitted to the base station via the wireless connection. The base station renders frames or slices based at least in part on the sensor information received from the device, encodes the frames or slices, and transmits the compressed frames or slices to the device for decoding and display. The base station may provide more computing power than conventional stand-alone systems, and the wireless connection does not tether the device to the base station as in conventional tethered systems. The system may implement methods and apparatus to maintain a target frame rate through the wireless link and to minimize latency in frame rendering, transmittal, and display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur Y Zhang, Ray L. Chang, Timothy R. Oriol, Ling Su, Gurjeet S. Saund, Guy Cote, Jim C. Chou, Hao Pan, Tobias Eble, Avi Bar-Zeev, Sheng Zhang, Justin A. Hensley, Geoffrey Stahl
  • Patent number: 11709372
    Abstract: Fiducial patterns that produce 2D Barker code-like diffraction patterns at a camera sensor are etched or otherwise provided on a cover glass in front of a camera. 2D Barker code kernels, when cross-correlated with the diffraction patterns captured in images by the camera, provide sharp cross-correlation peaks. Misalignment of the cover glass with respect to the camera can be derived by detecting shifts in the location of the detected peaks with respect to calibrated locations. Devices that include multiple cameras behind a cover glass with one or more fiducials on the cover glass in front of each camera are also described. The diffraction patterns caused by the fiducials at the various cameras may be analyzed to detect movement or distortion of the cover glass in multiple degrees of freedom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tushar Gupta, Aleksandr M. Movshovich, Arthur Y. Zhang, Ray L. Chang, Fletcher R. Rothkopf
  • Patent number: 11698258
    Abstract: Methods and systems for relative inertial measurement may include a user device comprising an inertial measurement device and/or a camera. A second inertial measurement device may be configured to move with a reference frame. One or more processors may receive inertial measurements from the first and second inertial measurement devices and determine movement of the user device relative to the reference frame by comparing the received inertial measurements. Additionally reference objects in a view of a camera may be used to calibrate the determined motion of the user device within the reference frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Arthur Y. Zhang, Sonca Teng
  • Publication number: 20230079840
    Abstract: Lighting may be provided using light sources such as lighting systems with arrays of light-emitting diodes. A lighting system may be integrated into a seat, a door panel, a dashboard, or other interior portions of a system such as a vehicle. The interior portions of the vehicle may be illuminated using lighting systems to provide ambient light, to provide custom surface textures and other decorative patterns, to provide icons, text, and other information, and to provide custom gauges and other illuminated regions. Illuminated regions may overlap sensors such as capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors. The light-emitting diodes in a lighting system may supply light that passes through openings in a cover layer. The layer may be formed from fabric, leather, or other materials. Lens structures may guide light through the openings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2022
    Publication date: March 16, 2023
    Inventors: Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Matthew E. Last
  • Patent number: 11535081
    Abstract: A fluid delivery module includes a housing defining a fluid flow path between an inlet and an outlet. The housing includes a top surface portion and a bottom surface portion that are movable to vary a flow direction of a fluid flow along the fluid flow path. The fluid delivery module includes an outlet treatment movable to vary a flow rate of the fluid flow exiting the outlet and a control unit configured to send commands to move at least one of the top surface portion, the bottom surface portion, or the outlet treatment according to a fluid delivery profile that dictates a flow pattern of the fluid flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: John M. Kearney, Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Samuel B. Schaevitz
  • Publication number: 20220390598
    Abstract: Object detection may include transmitting, by a first device, a first pulse into an environment using a wide field configuration of an ultrasonic sensor array, detecting a presence of an object in the environment based on a detected echo based on the first pulse. In response to detecting the presence of the object, a targeted configuration of the ultrasonic sensor array is determined, and a second pulse is transmitted into the environment based on the second pulse, wherein a characteristic of the object is determined based on a detected echo from the second pulse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Nicholas C. Soldner, Arthur Y. Zhang, Tushar Gupta
  • Patent number: 11505119
    Abstract: Lighting may be provided using light sources such as lighting systems with arrays of light-emitting diodes. A lighting system may be integrated into a seat, a door panel, a dashboard, or other interior portions of a system such as a vehicle. The interior portions of the vehicle may be illuminated using lighting systems to provide ambient light, to provide custom surface textures and other decorative patterns, to provide icons, text, and other information, and to provide custom gauges and other illuminated regions. Illuminated regions may overlap sensors such as capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors. The light-emitting diodes in a lighting system may supply light that passes through openings in a cover layer. The layer may be formed from fabric, leather, or other materials. Lens structures may guide light through the openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Clarisse Mazuir, Arthur Y. Zhang, Matthew E. Last
  • Patent number: 11346940
    Abstract: Object detection may include transmitting, by a first device, a first pulse into an environment using a wide field configuration of an ultrasonic sensor array, detecting a presence of an object in the environment based on a detected echo based on the first pulse. In response to detecting the presence of the object, a targeted configuration of the ultrasonic sensor array is determined, and a second pulse is transmitted into the environment based on the second pulse, wherein a characteristic of the object is determined based on a detected echo from the second pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas C. Soldner, Arthur Y. Zhang, Tushar Gupta