Patents by Inventor Jeremy C. Franklin
Jeremy C. Franklin 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).
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Publication number: 20130328917Abstract: A tablet device includes a display configured to present visual content, a sensor array configured to detect a status of a foldable flap in relation to the display, and a processor configured to operate the tablet device in accordance with the determined status of the foldable flap in relation to the display. In one embodiment, the processor receives a setting value and uses the setting value to execute an application in accordance with the determined relationship of the flap and the display.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 11, 2012Publication date: December 12, 2013Applicant: Apple Inc.Inventors: Nicholas Zambetti, Matthew Irvine Brown, Jeffrey Traer Bernstein, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Duncan R. Kerr, Imran Chaudri, Paul Meade, Jeremy C. Franklin, Michael A. Cretella, JR., May-Li Khoe
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Patent number: 8587939Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing. The single piece housing can be machined from a single billet of material, such as a billet of aluminum. The single piece housing can include ledges with a surface receiving a trim bead and a cover. Corner brackets can be attached to the single piece housing to improve the damage resistance of the housing.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2011Date of Patent: November 19, 2013Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Stephen R. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis M. Kibiti, John Raff, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin Rappoport, Derek W. Wright, Erik A. Uttermann, Ming Yu, Carl Peterson
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Patent number: 8570736Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing with a cavity having a substantially flat bottom wall. A battery assembly and main logic board can be mounted directly to the substantially flat bottom wall with a plurality of additional components arranged around a peripheral edge of the battery assembly and main logic board.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2011Date of Patent: October 29, 2013Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Stephen Robert McClure, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis Mwenda Kibiti, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Erik Andrew Uttermann, Alex Chun Lap Yeung, John Raff, Carl Peterson, Brianna C. Wilson
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Publication number: 20130242600Abstract: An electronic device may have a liquid crystal display with backlight structures. The backlight structures may produce backlight that passes through the display layers in the display. The display layers may include a layer of liquid crystal material interposed between a color filter layer and a thin-film transistor layer. The backlight structures may include a light guide plate. A plurality of light-emitting diodes mounted on a flexible printed circuit may be coupled to an edge of the light guide plate. The flexible printed circuit may be curled into a spring element to bias the light-emitting diodes against the edge of the light guide plate. A plurality of gaps may be formed in the flexible printed circuit and may be used to separate and mechanically decouple adjacent light-emitting diodes. Individual light-emitting diodes may independently register to the light guide plate to maximize optical efficiency in the display.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 15, 2012Publication date: September 19, 2013Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Derek Wright, Wenyong Zhu
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Publication number: 20130235611Abstract: An electronic device may have a display with backlight structures. The backlight structures may produce backlight that passes through the display layers in the display. The backlight structures may include a light guide plate that distributes light across the display layers. A light source such as a light-emitting diode light source may be used to provide light to the light guide plate. The light source may overlap an edge portion of the light guide plate. A light guide structure having a bend may be coupled between the light source and the light guide plate. The light guide structure may be used to guide the light from the light source to the light guide plate via total internal reflection. A light guide structure may be provided with light leakage promotion structures to evenly distribute light from a centralized light source along the edge of a light guide plate.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 9, 2012Publication date: September 12, 2013Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Derek Wright, Jun Qi
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Publication number: 20130171490Abstract: Flexible battery packs for use in electronic devices are disclosed. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible battery pack may include a plurality of cells, such as galvanic or photovoltaic cells. The battery pack also may include a plurality of laminate layers coupled to the cells that include a top laminate layer and a bottom laminate layer. An adhesive may be used to couple the top and bottom laminate layers together such that each of the plurality of cells is isolated from each other. This arrangement may allow the battery to be shaped to fit a form factor of the electronic device. This arrangement also may allow one or more of the cells to be selectively removed from the plurality, which may be desirable from a manufacturing perspective.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 29, 2011Publication date: July 4, 2013Applicant: Apple Inc.Inventors: Fletcher Rothkopf, David A. Pakula, Daniel W. Jarvis, John Raff, Jeremy C. Franklin
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Publication number: 20130140965Abstract: Electronic devices may be provided having internal components mounted to a structural glass support member. The structural glass support member may have a planar front surface that forms a front surface of the device. The structural glass support member may have bent portions that form sidewall surfaces of the device. Portions of the structural glass support member may form a transparent display cover layer. A rigid or flexible display may be mounted to the structural glass support member. Additional internal device components may be mounted to the display. A thin enclosure for enclosing the internal components in the device may be mounted to the structural glass support member. The thin enclosure may be mounted to the structural glass support member using a peripheral member. The thin enclosure may be free from attachments to internal components or may be adhesively bonded to one or more internal components.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 2, 2011Publication date: June 6, 2013Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus, Kevin D. Gibbs
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Publication number: 20130135328Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for applying concealment of components of an electronic device. In one embodiment, an electronic device may include a component that is disposed behind a display (e.g., a transparent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display) that is configured to selectively become transparent at certain transparency regions. Additionally, the electronic device includes data processing circuitry configured to determine when an event requesting that the component be exposed occurs. The data processing circuitry may control portions of the display to become transparent, to expose the component upon the occurrence of the event requesting that the component be exposed.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 30, 2011Publication date: May 30, 2013Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Benjamin Mark Rappoport, Christopher J. Stringer, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Jeremy C. Franklin, John Patrick Ternus, Julian Christoph Hoenig, Richard Paul Howarth, Scott Andrew Myers, Stephen Brian Lynch
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Publication number: 20130094126Abstract: An electronic device may have a display. The display may have an active region in which display pixels are used to display images. The display may have one or more openings and may be mounted in a housing associated with the electronic device. An electronic component may be mounted in alignment with the openings in the display. The electronic component may include a camera, a light sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, status indicator lights, a light-based touch sensor array, a secondary display that has display pixels that may be viewed through the openings, antenna structures, a speaker, a microphone, or other acoustic, electromagnetic, or light-based component. One or more openings in the display may form a window through which a user of the device may view an external object. Display pixels in the window region may be used in forming a heads-up display.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 14, 2011Publication date: April 18, 2013Inventors: Benjamin M. Rappoport, Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Scott A. Myers, Richard P. Howarth, Julian Hoenig, Christopher Stringer, John P. Ternus, Stephen Brian Lynch
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Publication number: 20130088671Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display having a thin-film transistor layer. One or more holes in the thin-film transistor layer may be used to form pathways from display circuitry to other circuitry underneath the display. One or more conductive bridges may pass through holes in the thin-film transistor layer and may have one end that couples to the display circuitry and a second end that couples to a printed circuit underneath the display. These conductive bridges may be formed from wire bonding. Wire bond connections may be encapsulated with potting material to improve the reliability of the wire bond and increase the resiliency of the display. Display signal lines may be routed through holes in a thin-film transistor layer to run along a backside of the display thereby reducing the need for space in the border region for display circuitry.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 5, 2011Publication date: April 11, 2013Inventors: Paul S. Drzaic, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen Brian Lynch, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus
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Publication number: 20130083496Abstract: Flexible electronic devices may be provided. A flexible electronic device may include a flexible display, a flexible housing and one or more flexible internal components configured to allow the flexible electronic device to be deformed. Flexible displays may include flexible display layers, flexible touch-sensitive layers, and flexible display cover layers. The flexible housing may be a multi-stable flexible housing having one or more stable positions. The flexible housing may include a configurable support structure that, when engaged, provides a rigid support structure for the flexible housing. The flexible internal components may include flexible batteries, flexible printed circuits or other flexible components. A flexible battery may include flexible and rigid portions or may include a lubricious separator layer that provides flexibility for the flexible battery.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2011Publication date: April 4, 2013Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Stephen Brian Lynch, John P. Ternus, Justin Wodrich
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Publication number: 20130083491Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display cover layer mounted to the device using an adhesive bond with a display. The display may be a flexible display. The flexible display may include Organic Light Emitting Diode display technology. The display may be mounted to a rigid support structure. The rigid support structure may be mounted to a device housing member. Mounting the display cover layer to the display may eliminate the need to mount the display cover layer to the device housing and may allow active display pixels to be visible under the display cover layer closer to the device housing than in conventional devices. Providing the electronic device with active display pixels closer to the device housing may reduce the need for an inactive border around the display and may improve the aesthetic appeal of the electronic device.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2011Publication date: April 4, 2013Inventors: Benjamin M. Rappoport, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen Brian Lynch, Scott A. Myers, John Raff, Richard P. Howarth, Wei Chen, Christopher Stringer, Julian Hoenig
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Publication number: 20130081756Abstract: An electronic device may have a display with a bent portion such as one or more bent edge portions. The display may be formed from a flexible display layer such as an organic light-emitting-diode layer. The organic light-emitting-diode layer may include a substrate layer such as a sheet of polymer. The flexible display may be attached to a support structure such as a flexible support layer using adhesive. To facilitate bending, the display may be heated. Bending and heating equipment may simultaneously heat the display layer and the flexible support layer to form a bent edge portion for the display. The bending and heating equipment may include heated structures for pressing the display layer into a desired shape.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2011Publication date: April 4, 2013Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Scott A. Myers, Stephen Brian Lynch, John Raff
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Publication number: 20130082984Abstract: An electronic device may be provided with a display and a multi-layer printed circuit. Integrated circuits and other components may be mounted to the multi-layer printed circuit. The display and multi-layer printed circuit may share a common layer formed from a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may have portions that are integrated into the display and portions that are integrated into the multi-layer printed circuit board. The flexible substrate may contain patterned conductive traces that are used to route signals from components in the multi-layer printed circuit to display circuitry such as a display driver integrated circuit. An array of thin-film transistors may be used to control the emission of light from the display and may be formed on portions of the flexible substrate that are integrated into the display. The display may be a flexible display that includes an array of organic light-emitting diodes.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 4, 2011Publication date: April 4, 2013Inventors: Paul S. Drzaic, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen Brian Lynch, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Flectcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus
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Publication number: 20130077217Abstract: A cosmetic logo insert is adapted for fitting into an opening in the housing of an associated computing device, is formed from a single piece of metal, has a thickness less than about 0.8 mm, and provides by itself adequate shock impact and fire enclosure protection at the opening for internal device components. The insert can include a lower portion having a first circumferential shape in the form of a logo and an outer surface that is substantially flat and polished to a mirrored finish, and also an upper portion integrally formed with the lower portion and having a second circumferential shape that is larger than the first circumferential shape. A computing device can include an outer housing having a wall with a stepped and logo shaped opening, a processor located within the housing, and a cosmetic housing insert fitted into the wall opening.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 23, 2011Publication date: March 28, 2013Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Piotr S. TRZASKOS, Jeremy C. FRANKLIN
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Publication number: 20120243719Abstract: Electronic devices that contain flexible displays and one or more display-based speaker structures may be provided. The speaker structures may be positioned under the flexible display. Portions of the flexible display may be used as speaker membranes for the speaker structures. The speaker structures may be driven by transducers that convert electrical audio signal input into sound. Piezoelectric transducers or transducers formed from coils and magnets may be used to drive the speaker structures. Speaker membranes may be formed from active display areas of the flexible display. Some, all, or substantially all of the flexible display may be used as a speaker membrane for one or more display-based speaker structures. An optional cover layer may be provided with speaker openings so that sound may pass from the display-based speaker structures to the exterior of the device.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2012Publication date: September 27, 2012Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Scott A. Myers, Stephen Brian Lynch
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Publication number: 20120194998Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing. The single piece housing can be machined from a single billet of material, such as a billet of aluminum. The single piece housing can include ledges with a surface receiving a trim bead and a cover. Corner brackets can be attached to the single piece housing to improve the damage resistance of the housing.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2011Publication date: August 2, 2012Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Stephen R. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis M. Kibiti, John Raff, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin Rappoport, Derek W. Wright, Erik A. Uttermann, Ming Yu, Carl Peterson
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Publication number: 20120196510Abstract: A method and an apparatus for machining an exterior surface of a metal alloy casing of a portable electronic device to form a combination of a flat edge surface, a curved edge surface and a flat bottom surface is disclosed. The flat edge surface is abraded by contacting a first flat section of a rotating cutting tool along a first circuit of a pre-determined continuous spiral path. The curved edge surface is abraded by contacting a convex section of the rotating cutting tool along additional circuits of the first pre-determined continuous spiral path. The pitch of vertical movement of the cutting tool is adjusted for each circuit of the continuous spiral path based on a resulting curvature of the metal alloy casing. The bottom surface is abraded by contacting a flat section of the cutting tool along a second pre-determined alternating direction linear path.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2011Publication date: August 2, 2012Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Kevin Gibbs, Christopher J. Stringer, Daniel J. Coster, Donald Q. Ross, III, David Kim, Chuan You Su, Max A. Maloney, Erik D. Gillow
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Publication number: 20120194393Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include a single piece housing formed from a radio opaque material with a cover formed from a radio transparent material. To implement a wireless interface, an antenna stack-up can be provided that allows an antenna to be mounted to a bottom of the cover. Methods and apparatus are provided for improving wireless performance. For instance, in one embodiment, a metal housing can be thinned to improve antenna performance. As another example, a faraday cage can be formed around speaker drivers to improve antenna performance.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2011Publication date: August 2, 2012Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Erik A. Uttermann, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen R. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, Qingxiang Li, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo
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Publication number: 20120194997Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and so on. The portable computing device can include at least a single piece housing with a cavity having a substantially flat bottom wall. A battery assembly and main logic board can be mounted directly to the substantially flat bottom wall with a plurality of additional components arranged around a peripheral edge of the battery assembly and main logic board.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2011Publication date: August 2, 2012Applicant: APPLE INC.Inventors: Stephen Robert MCCLURE, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis Mwenda Kibiti, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Erik Andrew Uttermann, Alex Chun Lap Yeung, John Raff, Carl Peterson, Brianna C. Wilson