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).

  • Patent number: 10739908
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Stephen Brian Lynch, John P. Ternus, Justin R. Wodrich
  • Patent number: 10712774
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus, Kevin D. Gibbs
  • Publication number: 20200201102
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2020
    Publication date: June 25, 2020
    Inventors: Paul S. Drzaic, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen Brian Lynch, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus
  • Patent number: 10691165
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus, Kevin D. Gibbs
  • Patent number: 10678904
    Abstract: Methods, systems and devices for generating an authentication key are provided. Two or more communications devices can generate an authentication key by monitoring a physical stimulus that is experienced by both devices (e.g., a common physical stimulus). Each device can then use an identical, predetermined algorithm to generate a common authentication key based on the stimulus. The devices can use the common authentication key to establish a secure network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: David C. Andrus, Philip F. Kearney, Christopher B. Zimmermann, Jeremy C. Franklin, Nathaniel S. Sharpe
  • Patent number: 10658744
    Abstract: A portable computing device is disclosed. The portable computing device can take many forms such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and no 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: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Erik A. Uttermann, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen C. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, Qingxiang Li, Rodney A. Gomez Angulo
  • Publication number: 20200152714
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2020
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: 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
  • Publication number: 20200117235
    Abstract: 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: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Inventors: Stephen R. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin D. Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis M. Kibiti, John Raff, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin Rappoport, Derek W. Wright, Erik A. Uttermann, Ming Yu, Carl R. Peterson
  • Patent number: 10620490
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Paul S. Drzaic, Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen Brian Lynch, Scott A. Myers, Benjamin M. Rappoport, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, John P. Ternus
  • Publication number: 20200096775
    Abstract: A display system includes a display, a removable lens assembly, and a lens detection sensor. The removable lens is removably coupleable to the display. The lens detection sensor detects the removable lens assembly coupled to the display. The display system may further include a head-mounted display unit that includes the display and the lens detection sensor. The display system may lens information from the removable lens with the lens detection sensor, and may provide an indicator of the removable lens according to the lens information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2019
    Publication date: March 26, 2020
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Wey-Jiun Lin, Brandon R. Neale, Heidi Williamson, Andreas G. Weber, Forrest C. Wang, Phil M. Hobson
  • Publication number: 20200089008
    Abstract: A head-mounted display system is disclosed that includes a housing; a visual system associated with the housing to facilitate image and/or video display; a wearable support connectable to the housing; and an audio component pivotably connected to the support such that the audio component is movable between a first position in which the audio component is in general alignment with the support, and a second position in which the audio component is out of general alignment with the support. Movement from the first position to the second position transitions the audio component from a first mode (i.e., an extra-aural mode) in which sound is projected through a first port in communication with a driver to a user to a second mode (i.e., an intra-aural mode) in which sound is projected through a second port in communication with the driver to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: Robert D. Silfvast, James W. VanDyke, Jeremy C. Franklin, Neal D. Evans, Christopher T. Eubank
  • Publication number: 20200089007
    Abstract: In one aspect of the present disclosure, a display system (e.g., a wearable HMD) is described that includes an internal housing; a lens that is positioned within the internal housing; a display module including a display panel that is positioned within the internal housing to allow for relative movement between the lens and the display module to adjust focus of the display panel; and a seal that extends between the internal housing and the display module to define an enclosed interior space accommodating the lens and relative movement between the lens and the display module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Inventors: Ivan S. Maric, Onur I. Ilkorur, Jia Tao, Kuldeep P. Lonkar, Stephen E. Dey, Phil M. Hobson, Jeremy C. Franklin
  • Patent number: 10579101
    Abstract: A transparent article, such as a transparent cover, for use as a cover glass for an electronic device, as well as methods for producing transparent articles, are disclosed. The transparent article can form a part of a housing of the portable electronic device and can provide an outer surface for a portion of the housing. The transparent article can be provided over a display of portable electronic device to provide a protective outer cover over the display. In one embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a laminate structure. In another embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a ribbed structure. In still another embodiment, a sapphire coating can be deposited on the transparent article to improve it strength. Advantageously, the transparent article is able to be not only thin and lightweight but also provide sufficient stiffness for use as a cover glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Amy Qian, Daniel D. Sunshine, Jeremy C. Franklin, Michael K. Pilliod
  • Publication number: 20200064635
    Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a display with first and second pixel arrays that display content for a user. A head-mounted support structure in the device supports the pixel arrays on the head of the user. A left positioner may be used to position a left lens module that includes a left lens and the first pixel array. A right positioner may be used to position a right lens module that includes a right lens and the second pixel array. Sensing circuitry such as proximity sensing circuitry may be used to detect relative positions between the left and right lens modules and facing surfaces of a user's nose while the user is wearing the head-mounted support structure. Control circuitry may adjust the positions of the left and right lens modules using interpupillary distance information for the user and using information from the sensing circuitry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Jia Tao, Phil M. Hobson, Stephen E. Dey
  • Publication number: 20200033560
    Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a display that displays content for a user. Head-mounted support structures in the device support the device on the head of the user. A non-removable lens system may be supported by the head-mounted support structures. The head-mounted support structures may be configured to receive a removable supplemental lens system. The removable supplemental lens system may be used to customize the head-mounted display to accommodate the user's vision. Information such as information on the optical characteristics of the removable supplemental lens system and the user's eyeglass prescription may be stored in the removable supplemental lens system using bar codes, text, programmable memory, or other data storage. When the removable supplemental lens system is installed in the head-mounted device, control circuitry in the head-mounted device may retrieve the stored information. A gaze tracker system or other sensors may be used in retrieving the stored information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2019
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventors: Andreas G. Weber, Jeremy C. Franklin, Jason C. Sauers, Victoria C. Chan, Wey-Jiun Lin
  • Patent number: 10546901
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin M. Rappoport, Jeremy C. Franklin, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Scott A. Myers, Richard P. Howarth, Julian Hoenig, Christopher J. Stringer, John P. Ternus, Stephen Brian Lynch
  • Publication number: 20200026079
    Abstract: A head-mounted device may have a display for displaying image content. Head-mounted support structures in the device may be used to support the display. The head-mounted device or external equipment may include a three-dimensional image sensor. The three-dimensional image sensor may capture a three-dimensional image of a user's face. Control circuitry may analyze the three-dimensional image to identify which of multiple versions of a customizing face-fit module should be used in the electronic device to fit the device to the user's face. An appropriate face-fit module may be identified based on facial features such as facial size and the shapes of a user's forehead, nose, and cheeks. After identifying which version of the face-fit module is to be used by the user, that version of the face-fit module may be coupled to a non-custom portion of a main unit for the head-mounted device using magnets or other coupling structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2019
    Publication date: January 23, 2020
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Trevor J. Ness
  • Publication number: 20190369353
    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: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2019
    Publication date: December 5, 2019
    Inventors: Jeremy C. Franklin, Stephen E. Dey, Phil M. Hobson, Wey-Jiun Lin, Ivan S. Maric, Andreas G. Weber
  • Patent number: 10496135
    Abstract: A transparent article, such as a transparent cover, for use as a cover glass for an electronic device, as well as methods for producing transparent articles, are disclosed. The transparent article can form a part of a housing of the portable electronic device and can provide an outer surface for a portion of the housing. The transparent article can be provided over a display of portable electronic device to provide a protective outer cover over the display. In one embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a laminate structure. In another embodiment, the transparent article can be formed with a ribbed structure. In still another embodiment, a sapphire coating can be deposited on the transparent article to improve it strength. Advantageously, the transparent article is able to be not only thin and lightweight but also provide sufficient stiffness for use as a cover glass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Amy Qian, Daniel D. Sunshine, Jeremy C. Franklin, Michael K. Pilliod
  • Patent number: 10474193
    Abstract: 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: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Stephen R. McClure, Sean S. Corbin, John P. Ternus, Kevin D. Gibbs, Jeremy C. Franklin, Elvis M. Kibiti, John Raff, Jules B. Henry, Benjamin Rappoport, Derek W. Wright, Erik A. Uttermann, Ming Yu, Carl R. Peterson