Patents by Inventor Denis G. Chen

Denis G. Chen 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: 10809805
    Abstract: Described herein is a method for determining a higher order resonance mode frequency of a haptic actuator for an electronic device. The higher order resonance mode frequency may correspond to a frequency in which a mass of the haptic actuator exhibits undesired movement. The movement may cause the mass to collide or otherwise impact an enclosure of the haptic actuator. Once the higher order resonance mode frequency is determined, a delay or a polarity inversion may be added to one or more of a series of input waveforms to suppress or brake the undesired movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Denis G. Chen
  • Patent number: 10746570
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a single-sided or double-sided moving magnet haptic engine comprises: a frame; one or more magnetic field sources mounted to the frame and operable to generate a magnetic field and a back electromotive force (EMF) voltage; a magnetic mass positioned within the frame and operable to move within the frame along a movement axis; a comparator mounted to the frame, the comparator operable to detect the magnetic field and to generate a signal indicating a crossing of one or more magnetic references by the magnetic field; and a processor coupled to the one or more sensors and operable to estimate a displacement of the magnetic mass on the movement axis based on the back EMF voltage and the signal. Other embodiments are directed to a single-sided or double-sided moving coil haptic engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Hari Vasudevan
  • Patent number: 10612910
    Abstract: Systems and techniques are described for measuring displacement of a moving mass by combining (i) information obtained from scanning, using a beam of light, an intensity pattern disposed on a surface of the mass, with (ii) information obtained when a coil interacts with a magnet attached to the moving mass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Jui Hua Liu, Xingxing Cai
  • Patent number: 10605695
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a primary radiation source, which emits first optical radiation along a first optical axis. A DOE includes at least an entrance surface, upon which the first optical radiation from the primary radiation source is incident, and an exit surface, through which one or more primary diffraction orders of the first optical radiation are emitted from the DOE. At least one secondary radiation source is configured to direct second optical radiation to impinge on the DOE along a second optical axis, which is non-parallel to the first optical axis, causing at least a part of the second optical radiation to be diffracted by the DOE such that one or more secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation are emitted through the entrance face of the DOE. At least one detector is configured to sense at least one of the secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Brian S. Medower, Chin Han Lin
  • Publication number: 20200081540
    Abstract: According to some embodiments, a haptic feedback module for generating a haptic feedback event is described. The haptic feedback module includes an enclosure having walls that define a cavity. The enclosure is capable of carrying operational components within the cavity that include a frame that includes tungsten, a magnetic coil element that is capable of generating a magnetic field, a magnetic element that is carried within an aperture of the frame, linear-actuation end stops that are welded to a first end of the frame and a second end of the frame that opposes the first end, and springs that couple together the walls of the enclosure to the linear-actuation end stops.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 17, 2019
    Publication date: March 12, 2020
    Inventors: Dominic P. CINCIONE, Matthew D. DOMBACH, Darya AMIN-SHAHIDI, Scott D. RIDEL, Vu A. HONG, Alex J. SPELTZ, Denis G. CHEN
  • Publication number: 20200018622
    Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) chip including an array of asymmetrically distributed magnetic field sensing elements. Additionally, an integrated circuit (IC) chip includes a substrate, a sensing coil supported by the substrate and enclosing a portion of substrate, and a Hall effect sensor supported by the portion of the substrate enclosed by the sensing coil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Publication date: January 16, 2020
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Arman Hajati, Manoj K. Bhattacharyya
  • Patent number: 10453315
    Abstract: A haptic engine in which a moving coil structure is powered by a suspended flexible printed circuit having multiple traces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Scott D. Ridel, Shingo Yoneoka
  • Patent number: 10436607
    Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) chip including an array of asymmetrically distributed magnetic field sensing elements. Additionally, an integrated circuit (IC) chip includes a substrate, a sensing coil supported by the substrate and enclosing a portion of substrate, and a Hall effect sensor supported by the portion of the substrate enclosed by the sensing coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Arman Hajati, Manoj K. Bhattacharyya
  • Publication number: 20190250713
    Abstract: Described herein is a method for determining a higher order resonance mode frequency of a haptic actuator for an electronic device. The higher order resonance mode frequency may correspond to a frequency in which a mass of the haptic actuator exhibits undesired movement. The movement may cause the mass to collide or otherwise impact an enclosure of the haptic actuator. Once the higher order resonance mode frequency is determined, a delay or a polarity inversion may be added to one or more of a series of input waveforms to suppress or brake the undesired movement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2019
    Publication date: August 15, 2019
    Inventor: Denis G. Chen
  • Patent number: 10362295
    Abstract: A method for projection includes projecting a pattern toward a target by directing optical radiation, which is collimated along an optical axis by projection optics, through a diffractive optical element (DOE). An optical signal that is indicative of a shift of the projected pattern is detected. An actuator is driven to translate the projection lens in a direction transverse to the optical axis responsively to the detected optical signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Meng Zhang
  • Publication number: 20190195620
    Abstract: Systems and techniques are described for measuring displacement of a moving mass by combining (i) information obtained from scanning, using a beam of light, an intensity pattern disposed on a surface of the mass, with (ii) information obtained when a coil interacts with a magnet attached to the moving mass.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Publication date: June 27, 2019
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Jui Hua Liu, Xingxing Cai
  • Patent number: 10268272
    Abstract: Described herein is a method for determining a higher order resonance mode frequency of a haptic actuator for an electronic device. The higher order resonance mode frequency may correspond to a frequency in which a mass of the haptic actuator exhibits undesired movement. The movement may cause the mass to collide or otherwise impact an enclosure of the haptic actuator. Once the higher order resonance mode frequency is determined, a delay or a polarity inversion may be added to one or more of a series of input waveforms to suppress or brake the undesired movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Denis G. Chen
  • Publication number: 20190086277
    Abstract: A haptic engine for measuring displacement of the haptic engine's mass uses a single sensing magnet that is carried by the mass along a driving direction. The haptic engine further uses two or more Hall-effect sensors, which are spaced apart (i) from each other along a direction parallel to the driving direction and (ii) from the single sensing magnet along a direction orthogonal to the driving direction, and are disposed adjacent to an ASIC that receives the sensors' output.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Alex M. Lee, Shingo Yoneoka
  • Patent number: 10215555
    Abstract: Systems and techniques are described for measuring displacement of a mass by using an array of beams for scanning a binary intensity pattern disposed on a surface of the mass. Further, systems and techniques are described for measuring displacement of a moving mass by combining (i) information obtained from scanning, using a beam of light, an intensity pattern disposed on a surface of the mass, with (ii) information obtained when a coil interacts with a magnet attached to the moving mass. Furthermore, systems and techniques are described for measuring displacement of a mass by illuminating an intensity pattern disposed on a surface of the mass with an array of beams and monitoring intensity of each of the beams that is redirected by the intensity pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 26, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Jui Hua Liu, Xingxing Cai
  • Publication number: 20180283984
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a primary radiation source, which emits first optical radiation along a first optical axis. A DOE includes at least an entrance surface, upon which the first optical radiation from the primary radiation source is incident, and an exit surface, through which one or more primary diffraction orders of the first optical radiation are emitted from the DOE. At least one secondary radiation source is configured to direct second optical radiation to impinge on the DOE along a second optical axis, which is non-parallel to the first optical axis, causing at least a part of the second optical radiation to be diffracted by the DOE such that one or more secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation are emitted through the entrance face of the DOE. At least one detector is configured to sense at least one of the secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Brian S. Medower, Chin Han Lin
  • Publication number: 20180266849
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a single-sided or double-sided moving magnet haptic engine comprises: a frame; one or more magnetic field sources mounted to the frame and operable to generate a magnetic field and a back electromotive force (EMF) voltage; a magnetic mass positioned within the frame and operable to move within the frame along a movement axis; a comparator mounted to the frame, the comparator operable to detect the magnetic field and to generate a signal indicating a crossing of one or more magnetic references by the magnetic field; and a processor coupled to the one or more sensors and operable to estimate a displacement of the magnetic mass on the movement axis based on the back EMF voltage and the signal. Other embodiments are directed to a single-sided or double-sided moving coil haptic engine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Publication date: September 20, 2018
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Hari Vasudevan
  • Patent number: 10049538
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a device housing and a haptic actuator carried by the device housing and that includes a haptic actuator housing and a field member movable within the haptic actuator housing. The electronic device may also include a motion sensor carried by the device housing to sense motion of the field member, an audio sensor carried by the device housing to sense audio noise from the haptic actuator, and a controller coupled to the haptic actuator, the motion sensor, and the audio sensor. The controller may be configured to drive the haptic actuator based upon sensed motion of the field member and audio noise from the haptic actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Shingo Yoneoka, Riccardo Tarelli, Hari Vasudevan, Domenico Geria, Mi Hye Shin
  • Patent number: 9970845
    Abstract: Optical apparatus includes a primary radiation source, which emits first optical radiation along a first optical axis. A DOE includes at least an entrance surface, upon which the first optical radiation from the primary radiation source is incident, and an exit surface, through which one or more primary diffraction orders of the first optical radiation are emitted from the DOE. At least one secondary radiation source is configured to direct second optical radiation to impinge on the DOE along a second optical axis, which is non-parallel to the first optical axis, causing at least a part of the second optical radiation to be diffracted by the DOE such that one or more secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation are emitted through the entrance face of the DOE. At least one detector is configured to sense at least one of the secondary diffraction orders of the second optical radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Brian S. Medower, Chin Han Lin
  • Patent number: 9930320
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer readable media to resolve three dimensional spatial information of cameras used to construct 3D images. Various embodiments perform communication synchronization between a first image capture system and one or more other image capture systems and generate a first flash pulse that projects a light pattern into an environment. An image is captured that includes the light pattern and a modulated optical signal encoded with an identifier of one of the first image capture system and related-camera information. A second flash from another image capture systems may flash at a second time based on the communication synchronization. During the second flash, the first image capture system captures a second image of the environment. Based on the first and second images, the first image capture system determines the orientation of the second image capture system relative to the first image capture system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Chin Han Lin
  • Publication number: 20180084241
    Abstract: A method for projection includes projecting a pattern toward a target by directing optical radiation, which is collimated along an optical axis by projection optics, through a diffractive optical element (DOE). An optical signal that is indicative of a shift of the projected pattern is detected. An actuator is driven to translate the projection lens in a direction transverse to the optical axis responsively to the detected optical signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 17, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Denis G. Chen, Meng Zhang