Patents by Inventor Katherine E. Tong

Katherine E. Tong 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: 11930283
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a flexible housing formed from flexible fabric, flexible polymer, or other flexible materials. Cameras may be mounted on the housing. The housing may be bent into different configurations such as a configuration in which the housing has a convex surface facing an exterior region and a configuration in which the housing has a concave surface facing the exterior region. The cameras may have respective camera image capture directions. By reorienting the cameras by bending the housing, the cameras can be used to capture panoramic images or three-dimensional images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Katherine E. Tong
  • Publication number: 20240061466
    Abstract: An electronic device display may have an inner layer with a pixel array for displaying images and an outer layer with an array of light modulator cells operable in transparent and light-blocking modes. Force sensor and touch sensor circuitry may be used to gather user input such as information on finger pressure or stylus input applied to a location on the display. A block of the cells may be placed into a transparent mode to form a transparent window based on information from the sensor circuitry. Images on the pixel array may be viewed through the window. In another mode of operation, images can be displayed by adjusting the cells of the light modulator layer and backlight illumination may be provided by the pixel array. A camera and a flash or other optical components may be overlapped by an adjustable shutter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Harry K. Ng, Alvin K. Ng, Katherine E. Tong, Tyler S. Bushnell, Amin M. Younes, Benjamin S. Bustle, Christopher D. Jones, James R. Wilson
  • Publication number: 20220006964
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a flexible housing formed from flexible fabric, flexible polymer, or other flexible materials. Cameras may be mounted on the housing. The housing may be bent into different configurations such as a configuration in which the housing has a convex surface facing an exterior region and a configuration in which the housing has a concave surface facing the exterior region. The cameras may have respective camera image capture directions. By reorienting the cameras by bending the housing, the cameras can be used to capture panoramic images or three-dimensional images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2021
    Publication date: January 6, 2022
    Inventor: Katherine E. Tong
  • Patent number: 11178342
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a flexible housing formed from flexible fabric, flexible polymer, or other flexible materials. Cameras may be mounted on the housing. The housing may be bent into different configurations such as a configuration in which the housing has a convex surface facing an exterior region and a configuration in which the housing has a concave surface facing the exterior region. The cameras may have respective camera image capture directions. By reorienting the cameras by bending the housing, the cameras can be used to capture panoramic images or three-dimensional images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Katherine E. Tong
  • Publication number: 20210021768
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a flexible housing formed from flexible fabric, flexible polymer, or other flexible materials. Cameras may be mounted on the housing. The housing may be bent into different configurations such as a configuration in which the housing has a convex surface facing an exterior region and a configuration in which the housing has a concave surface facing the exterior region. The cameras may have respective camera image capture directions. By reorienting the cameras by bending the housing, the cameras can be used to capture panoramic images or three-dimensional images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 18, 2019
    Publication date: January 21, 2021
    Inventor: Katherine E. Tong
  • Patent number: 10866615
    Abstract: An electronic device display may have an inner layer with a pixel array for displaying images and an outer layer with an array of light modulator cells operable in transparent and light-blocking modes. Force sensor and touch sensor circuitry may be used to gather user input such as information on finger pressure or stylus input applied to a location on the display. A block of the cells may be placed into a transparent mode to form a transparent window based on information from the sensor circuitry. Images on the pixel array may be viewed through the window. In another mode of operation, images can be displayed by adjusting the cells of the light modulator layer and backlight illumination may be provided by the pixel array. A camera and a flash or other optical components may be overlapped by an adjustable shutter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Harry K. Ng, Alvin K. Ng, Katherine E. Tong, Tyler S. Bushnell, Amin M. Younes, Benjamin S. Bustle, Christopher D. Jones, James R. Wilson
  • Publication number: 20200196945
    Abstract: A wearable consumer electronic product includes at least a housing arranged to carry operational components comprising a processor and a band having a pliable band body and a securing means arranged to secure the band body to the housing. In one embodiment, the pliable band body has a size and shape suitable for wrapping around an individual appendage and that includes an opening that leads to a cavity within the band body suitable for accumulating an amount of water and a band sensor embedded within the band body in communication with the cavity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2020
    Publication date: June 25, 2020
    Inventors: Steven P. CARDINALI, William C. LUKENS, Katherine E. TONG, Trevor J. NESS
  • Patent number: 10617358
    Abstract: A wearable consumer electronic product includes at least a housing arranged to carry operational components comprising a processor and a band having a pliable band body and a securing means arranged to secure the band body to the housing. In one embodiment, the pliable band body has a size and shape suitable for wrapping around an individual appendage and that includes an opening that leads to a cavity within the band body suitable for accumulating an amount of water and a band sensor embedded within the band body in communication with the cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Steven P. Cardinali, William C. Lukens, Katherine E. Tong, Trevor J. Ness
  • Patent number: 10613666
    Abstract: Content can be using an input device without a touch-sensitive surface. In some examples, touch-down and lift-off on a non-touch-sensitive surface can be monitored by a force sensor of the input device. The position and/or motion of the input device can be tracked according to various methods including one or more of a motion and orientation sensor, a camera, or an electromagnetic- or sound-based triangulation scheme. The force data and position/motion data can be processed to generate content, including textual character input and three-dimensional objects. In some examples, the content can be generated based on tracking position and/or motion of the input device without requiring contact with a surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Tyler S. Bushnell, Steven Cardinali, Katherine E. Tong
  • Patent number: 10401800
    Abstract: A wearable electronic device includes a housing and a band attached to the housing. The band has an indicator with a variably and/or progressively illuminable portion. The indicator of the band conveys to a user an analog representation of the completion progress of an activity or task tracked by wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device also includes a processing unit within the housing, and a sensor operatively coupled to the processing unit. In some cases, the sensor is a motion sensor such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope. In other examples, the sensor is a health sensor or a biometric sensor. Sensor data is used to update the indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Steven P. Cardinali, Katherine E. Tong, Trevor J. Ness, William C. Lukens
  • Publication number: 20190086875
    Abstract: A wearable electronic device includes a housing and a band attached to the housing. The band has an indicator with a variably and/or progressively illuminable portion. The indicator of the band conveys to a user an analog representation of the completion progress of an activity or task tracked by wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device also includes a processing unit within the housing, and a sensor operatively coupled to the processing unit. In some cases, the sensor is a motion sensor such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope. In other examples, the sensor is a health sensor or a biometric sensor. Sensor data is used to update the indicator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2018
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: Steven P. CARDINALI, Katherine E. TONG, Trevor J. NESS, William C. LUKENS
  • Patent number: 10108151
    Abstract: A wearable electronic device includes a housing and a band attached to the housing. The band has an indicator with a variably and/or progressively illuminable portion. The indicator of the band conveys to a user an analog representation of the completion progress of an activity or task tracked by wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device also includes a processing unit within the housing, and a sensor operatively coupled to the processing unit. In some cases, the sensor is a motion sensor such as an accelerometer or a gyroscope. In other examples, the sensor is a health sensor or a biometric sensor. Sensor data is used to update the indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Steven P. Cardinali, Katherine E. Tong, Trevor J. Ness, William C. Lukens
  • Publication number: 20180054077
    Abstract: An inductively charged portable electronic device has a charging receive coil that receives electromagnetic energy during a charge event. An electrically conductive shield is disposed within the portable electronic device and is disposed between the charging receive coil and an exterior housing of the portable electronic device to shield a touch sensitive user interface of the portable electronic device from noise generated during a charge event.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2016
    Publication date: February 22, 2018
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Makiko K. Brzezinski, Maegan K. Spencer, Christopher S. Graham, Katherine E. Tong
  • Publication number: 20180018057
    Abstract: Content can be using an input device without a touch-sensitive surface. In some examples, touch-down and lift-off on a non-touch-sensitive surface can be monitored by a force sensor of the input device. The position and/or motion of the input device can be tracked according to various methods including one or more of a motion and orientation sensor, a camera, or an electromagnetic- or sound-based triangulation scheme. The force data and position/motion data can be processed to generate content, including textual character input and three-dimensional objects. In some examples, the content can be generated based on tracking position and/or motion of the input device without requiring contact with a surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2017
    Publication date: January 18, 2018
    Inventors: Tyler S. BUSHNELL, Steven CARDINALI, Katherine E. TONG
  • Publication number: 20170359913
    Abstract: An electronic device having an enclosure and a cover is disclosed. The cover may be secured with the enclosure by a sealing element, or gasket. In response to using the sealing element to secure the cover with the enclosure, the sealing element may elastically deform. The elastic deformation may cause portions of the sealing element to extend into undercut regions of the cover and of the enclosure to form a first locking feature and a second locking feature, respectively. The first locking feature and the second locking feature may combine to provide a retaining force that retains the cover with the enclosure. Also, the first locking feature and the second locking feature may also provide a counterforce to a force applied to the electronic device (for example, dropping the electronic device) that prevents the cover from becoming unsecured from the enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Publication date: December 14, 2017
    Inventors: Maegan K. SPENCER, Katherine E. TONG, Erik G. DE JONG
  • Patent number: 9844157
    Abstract: An electronic device having an enclosure and a cover is disclosed. The cover may be secured with the enclosure by a sealing element, or gasket. In response to using the sealing element to secure the cover with the enclosure, the sealing element may elastically deform. The elastic deformation may cause portions of the sealing element to extend into undercut regions of the cover and of the enclosure to form a first locking feature and a second locking feature, respectively. The first locking feature and the second locking feature may combine to provide a retaining force that retains the cover with the enclosure. Also, the first locking feature and the second locking feature may also provide a counterforce to a force applied to the electronic device (for example, dropping the electronic device) that prevents the cover from becoming unsecured from the enclosure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Maegan K. Spencer, Katherine E. Tong, Erik G. De Jong
  • Patent number: 9774087
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a housing, electrical components, and other electronic device structures. A display may be mounted in the housing. The display may have a transparent display cover layer and a display layer such as an organic light-emitting diode display layer that is mounted to the underside of the transparent display cover layer. A flexible printed circuit with metal traces may be mounted under the organic light-emitting diode display layer. The metal traces may form coils for a near-field communications inductive loop antenna. A magnetic shielding layer may be interposed between the housing and the flexible printed circuit. The magnetic shielding layer may include a polymer magnetic shielding layer having magnetic material particles embedded in a polymer matrix. The magnetic shielding layer may also have a polymer-binder-free magnetic shielding layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Alvin T. Chang, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Peter Kardassakis, Katherine E. Tong
  • Patent number: D800725
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Erik Geddes Pieter De Jong, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Peter Jon Kardassakis, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Katherine E. Tong, Samuel Bruce Weiss, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D900813
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Erik Geddes Pieter De Jong, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Peter Jon Kardassakis, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Katherine E. Tong, Samuel Bruce Weiss, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D928163
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Erik Geddes Pieter De Jong, M. Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Peter Kardassakis, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Katherine E. Tong, Samuel Bruce Weiss, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zörkendörfer