Patents by Inventor Charles A. Bates, III

Charles A. Bates, III 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).

  • Publication number: 20230119798
    Abstract: An accessory device with a cover and keyboard section is described. The keyboard section includes a keyboard and a touchpad, while the cover section includes multiple segments. The cover section orients the electronic device such that a user can access the electronic device, the keyboard, and the touchpad. The cover section is rotationally coupled to the keyboard section by one or more hinge assemblies (including clutches and springs), allowing the cover section and the electronic device to rotate relative to the keyboard section. The cover section includes a first and second segment rotationally coupled together. To further adjust the electronic device, the first segment remains coupled to the electronic device, allowing the first segment and the electronic device to rotate relative to the second segment. The cover section can then suspend the electronic device over the keyboard section, and the electronic device does not contact the keyboard section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2022
    Publication date: April 20, 2023
    Inventors: Kristine S. ATOM, Charles A. BATES, III, Taylor Harrison GILBERT, Eric SHYR
  • Patent number: 11561586
    Abstract: An accessory device with a cover and keyboard section is described. The keyboard section includes a keyboard and a touchpad, while the cover section includes multiple segments. The cover section orients the electronic device such that a user can access the electronic device, the keyboard, and the touchpad. The cover section is rotationally coupled to the keyboard section by one or more hinge assemblies (including clutches and springs), allowing the cover section and the electronic device to rotate relative to the keyboard section. The cover section includes a first and second segment rotationally coupled together. To further adjust the electronic device, the first segment remains coupled to the electronic device, allowing the first segment and the electronic device to rotate relative to the second segment. The cover section can then suspend the electronic device over the keyboard section, and the electronic device does not contact the keyboard section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Kristine S. Atom, Charles A. Bates, III, Taylor Harrison Gilbert, Eric Shyr
  • Publication number: 20210278881
    Abstract: An accessory device with a cover and keyboard section is described. The keyboard section includes a keyboard and a touchpad, while the cover section includes multiple segments. The cover section orients the electronic device such that a user can access the electronic device, the keyboard, and the touchpad. The cover section is rotationally coupled to the keyboard section by one or more hinge assemblies (including clutches and springs), allowing the cover section and the electronic device to rotate relative to the keyboard section. The cover section includes a first and second segment rotationally coupled together. To further adjust the electronic device, the first segment remains coupled to the electronic device, allowing the first segment and the electronic device to rotate relative to the second segment. The cover section can then suspend the electronic device over the keyboard section, and the electronic device does not contact the keyboard section.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Publication date: September 9, 2021
    Inventors: Kristine S. ATOM, Charles A. BATES, III, Taylor Harrison GILBERT, Eric SHYR
  • Patent number: 10739825
    Abstract: An accessory device for an electronic device is described. The accessory device may include a cover section and a keyboard section. The cover section may include a receiving surface that engages the electronic device. The cover section may include electrical contacts designed to electrically couple with contacts on the electronic device. The cover section may include several magnets designed to magnetically couple with magnets within the electronic device. The keyboard section may include a keyboard and one or more channels designed to receive and position the electronic device in a usable configuration with the keyboard. Several magnets may surround each channel, and may magnetically couple with magnets within (and along an edge of) the electronic device. The magnetic circuits formed between the channel magnets and the device magnets may counter, or offset, forces that otherwise remove the electronic device from the channel in an undesired manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Taylor Harrison Gilbert, Kristine S. Tom, Elvis M. Kibiti, Jaime G. Chavez Ruiz Garza, Thomas R. Matzinger, Zhengyu Li, Charles A. Bates, III, Shih-Hsiang Hsiao, Johan E. Lyon
  • Publication number: 20200089285
    Abstract: An accessory device for an electronic device is described. The accessory device may include a cover section and a keyboard section. The cover section may include a receiving surface that engages the electronic device. The cover section may include electrical contacts designed to electrically couple with contacts on the electronic device. The cover section may include several magnets designed to magnetically couple with magnets within the electronic device. The keyboard section may include a keyboard and one or more channels designed to receive and position the electronic device in a usable configuration with the keyboard. Several magnets may surround each channel, and may magnetically couple with magnets within (and along an edge of) the electronic device. The magnetic circuits formed between the channel magnets and the device magnets may counter, or offset, forces that otherwise remove the electronic device from the channel in an undesired manner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: Taylor Harrison GILBERT, Kristine S. TOM, Elvis M. KIBITI, Jaime G. CHAVEZ RUIZ GARZA, Thomas R. MATZINGER, Zhengyu LI, Charles A. BATES, III, Shih-Hsiang HSIAO, Johan E. LYON
  • Patent number: 4337458
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for encoding binary data in a data stream so as to increase the number of data bits represented by one transition, such as a transition recorded on a magnetic medium, and thereby increase the storage density. The data stream is converted into words each having m bits. Two of the data words are stored so as to be simultaneously accessible to a converting system that converts the data words into code words wherein each code word has n bits. In the invention, m/n=2/3. In order to increase the space between adjacent transitions, the conversion is carried out according to a scheme wherein all code words have at least one binary ONE and lack successive binary ONEs except certain cases in which a code word is converted to all ZEROs to avoid ONEs in the nth bit of a given code word and the first bit of the code word following the given code word. Also described is a decoding method and apparatus for recovering the encoded data and decoding it to the original binary data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 1980
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1982
    Assignee: Sperry Corporation
    Inventors: Martin Cohn, George V. Jacoby, Charles A. Bates, III