Patents by Inventor Kelvin Fong

Kelvin Fong 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: 11928271
    Abstract: A method is provided. The method comprises: obtaining, by a processing system and using a set of rotation electrodes that interact with the knob interface, first resulting signals and second resulting signals; determining, by the processing system, an initial state of the knob interface using the first resulting signals and the second resulting signals; obtaining, by the processing system and using the set of rotation electrodes, third resulting signals indicating a first rotational state of the knob interface, based at least in part on the knob interface being rotated from the initial state to the first rotational state; determining, by the processing system, the rotational direction of the knob interface using the first resulting signals, the second resulting signals, and the third resulting signals; and adjusting, by the processing system, a setting using the determined rotational direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventors: Kelvin Fong, Tomohiro Hirakawa, Yan-Ju Du
  • Publication number: 20240069655
    Abstract: A method is provided. The method comprises: obtaining, by a processing system and using a set of rotation electrodes that interact with the knob interface, first resulting signals and second resulting signals; determining, by the processing system, an initial state of the knob interface using the first resulting signals and the second resulting signals; obtaining, by the processing system and using the set of rotation electrodes, third resulting signals indicating a first rotational state of the knob interface, based at least in part on the knob interface being rotated from the initial state to the first rotational state; determining, by the processing system, the rotational direction of the knob interface using the first resulting signals, the second resulting signals, and the third resulting signals; and adjusting, by the processing system, a setting using the determined rotational direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2022
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Kelvin Fong, Tomohiro Hirakawa, Yan-Ju Du
  • Patent number: 11709571
    Abstract: A method of detecting shift of a rotatable interface is disclosed. The rotatable interface has a fixed base with a conductive region on a bottom surface, the fixed base attached to a display screen of an input device. The method includes providing, during a first time period, a reference signal to first and second sets of electrodes of the input device that are each capacitively coupled to the conductive region. The method further includes, during a second time period, providing the reference signal to the first set of electrodes, providing a sensing signal to the second set of electrodes, and receiving, during the second time period, a resulting signal on the second set of electrodes. The method still further includes determining a translation of the rotatable interface relative to the display screen based, at least in part, on the resulting signal values received during the second time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventor: Kelvin Fong
  • Publication number: 20220244810
    Abstract: A method of detecting shift of a rotatable interface is disclosed. The rotatable interface has a fixed base with a conductive region on a bottom surface, the fixed base attached to a display screen of an input device. The method includes providing, during a first time period, a reference signal to first and second sets of electrodes of the input device that are each capacitively coupled to the conductive region. The method further includes, during a second time period, providing the reference signal to the first set of electrodes, providing a sensing signal to the second set of electrodes, and receiving, during the second time period, a resulting signal on the second set of electrodes. The method still further includes determining a translation of the rotatable interface relative to the display screen based, at least in part, on the resulting signal values received during the second time period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 25, 2022
    Publication date: August 4, 2022
    Inventor: Kelvin Fong
  • Publication number: 20220214764
    Abstract: A method of detecting shift of a rotatable interface is disclosed. The rotatable interface has a fixed base with a conductive region on a bottom surface, the fixed base attached to a display screen of an input device. The method includes providing, during a first time period, a reference signal to first and second sets of electrodes of the input device that are each capacitively coupled to the conductive region. The method further includes, during a second time period, providing the reference signal to the first set of electrodes, providing a sensing signal to the second set of electrodes, and receiving, during the second time period, a resulting signal on the second set of electrodes. The method still further includes determining a translation of the rotatable interface relative to the display screen based, at least in part, on the resulting signal values received during the second time period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2021
    Publication date: July 7, 2022
    Inventor: Kelvin FONG
  • Patent number: 11360614
    Abstract: A method of detecting shift of a rotatable interface is disclosed. The rotatable interface has a fixed base with a conductive region on a bottom surface, the fixed base attached to a display screen of an input device. The method includes providing, during a first time period, a reference signal to first and second sets of electrodes of the input device that are each capacitively coupled to the conductive region. The method further includes, during a second time period, providing the reference signal to the first set of electrodes, providing a sensing signal to the second set of electrodes, and receiving, during the second time period, a resulting signal on the second set of electrodes. The method still further includes determining a translation of the rotatable interface relative to the display screen based, at least in part, on the resulting signal values received during the second time period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventor: Kelvin Fong
  • Patent number: 11256376
    Abstract: A sensing system is provided. A processing system drives a first subset of sensor electrodes with a sensing signal and receives corresponding resulting signals. The processing system also drives a second subset of the sensor electrodes with a reference signal and a third subset of the sensor electrodes with a guard signal. A rotatable electronic device includes a first coupling electrode and a second coupling electrode. The second coupling electrode couples with and receives the reference signal from the second subset of the sensor electrodes. The rotatable electronic device also includes a conductive region that rotates relative to the first coupling electrode and the second coupling electrode. The resulting signals are affected based on the position of the conductive region relative to the first coupling electrode when the first coupling electrode is coupled with the first subset of the sensor electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventors: Kelvin Fong, Chun-Hsi Chen, Robert J. Bolender
  • Publication number: 20210232260
    Abstract: A rotatable device has a stationary base including bottom and top surfaces. The bottom surface has a first set of coupling electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from first electrodes of an attached input device, and second and third sets of coupling electrodes each configured to receive resulting signals from a second set of input device electrodes. The top surface of the stationary base has first, second and third top regions respectively connected to the first, second and third sets of coupling electrodes. The rotatable device further includes a rotary wheel, configured to rotate relative to the stationary base, with a bottom portion provided with alternating conductive and non-conductive regions and configured to align with the top portion of the stationary base. The resulting signals of the input device are modified by the relative positions of the stationary base and the rotary wheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Inventors: Kelvin FONG, Chun-Hsi CHEN, Robert J. BOLENDER
  • Patent number: 10921913
    Abstract: A rotatable device has a stationary base including bottom and top surfaces. The bottom surface has a first set of coupling electrodes configured to receive a reference signal from first electrodes of an attached input device, and second and third sets of coupling electrodes each configured to receive resulting signals from a second set of input device electrodes. The top surface of the stationary base has first, second and third top regions respectively connected to the first, second and third sets of coupling electrodes. The rotatable device further includes a rotary wheel, configured to rotate relative to the stationary base, with a bottom portion provided with alternating conductive and non-conductive regions and configured to align with the top portion of the stationary base. The resulting signals of the input device are modified by the relative positions of the stationary base and the rotary wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventors: Kelvin Fong, Robert J. Bolender
  • Patent number: 10592802
    Abstract: An electronic synapse is disclosed, comprising a heavy metal layer having a high spin orbit coupling, a domain wall magnet layer having a bottom surface adjacent to a top surface of the heavy metal layer, the domain wall magnet layer having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the domain wall magnet layer having a domain wall, the domain wall running parallel to a longitudinal axis of the domain wall magnet layer, a pinned layer having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and an oxide tunnel barrier connected between the domain wall magnet layer and the pinned layer, wherein the pinned layer, the oxide tunnel barrier, and the free layer form a magnetic tunnel junction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: Purdue Research Foundation
    Inventors: Abhronil Sengupta, Zubair Al Azim, Xuanyao Kelvin Fong, Kaushik Roy
  • Patent number: 9959444
    Abstract: An input device for fingerprint sensing and proximity sensing includes a cover layer, where a top surface of the cover layer is configured to provide an input surface for a finger, a substrate having a cavity disposed below the cover layer, and a fingerprint sensor disposed below the cover layer and in the cavity of the substrate. A first adhesive layer is disposed between a top surface of the fingerprint sensor and a bottom surface of the cover layer in a fingerprint sensing area. A second adhesive layer is disposed between a top surface of the substrate and the bottom surface of the cover layer in a proximity sensing area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
    Inventors: Hong G. Young, Raymond Chin, Eric Jones, Kelvin Fong
  • Publication number: 20170249550
    Abstract: An electronic synapse is disclosed, comprising a heavy metal layer having a high spin orbit coupling, a domain wall magnet layer having a bottom surface adjacent to a top surface of the heavy metal layer, the domain wall magnet layer having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, the domain wall magnet layer having a domain wall, the domain wall running parallel to a longitudinal axis of the domain wall magnet layer, a pinned layer having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and an oxide tunnel barrier connected between the domain wall magnet layer and the pinned layer, wherein the pinned layer, the oxide tunnel barrier, and the free layer form a magnetic tunnel junction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2017
    Publication date: August 31, 2017
    Applicant: Purdue Research Foundation
    Inventors: Abhronil Sengupta, Zubair Al Azim, Xuanyao Kelvin Fong, Kaushik Roy
  • Publication number: 20170061193
    Abstract: An input device for fingerprint sensing and proximity sensing includes a cover layer, where a top surface of the cover layer is configured to provide an input surface for a finger, a substrate having a cavity disposed below the cover layer, and a fingerprint sensor disposed below the cover layer and in the cavity of the substrate. A first adhesive layer is disposed between a top surface of the fingerprint sensor and a bottom surface of the cover layer in a fingerprint sensing area. A second adhesive layer is disposed between a top surface of the substrate and the bottom surface of the cover layer in a proximity sensing area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2016
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Inventors: Hong G. Young, Raymond Chin, Eric Jones, Kelvin Fong
  • Publication number: 20070248847
    Abstract: Improved water distribution can be obtained within the cells of a fuel cell series stack by maintaining a suitable temperature difference between the cathode and anode sides of each cell in the stack during shutdown.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2004
    Publication date: October 25, 2007
    Inventors: Herwig Haas, Cara Startek, Michael Sexsmith, Andrew DeSouza, Kelvin Fong