Patents by Inventor Michael A. Hobson

Michael A. Hobson 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: 9860660
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a housing. The housing may enclose an interior cavity. A speaker may be mounted in an opening in the housing. The interior cavity may serve as a sealed back volume for the speaker during normal operation of the speaker. During normal operation, control circuitry in the interior cavity plays audio content through the speaker. When it is desired to cool the control circuitry and the speaker, the control circuitry supplies a subaudible signal to the speaker. Airflow regulators having one-way valves and valves that are controlled by the control circuitry are mounted in the housing. Movement of a diaphragm in the speaker when the subaudible speaker is applied causes the diaphragm to pump air through the airflow regulators, creating a cooling airflow through the interior cavity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan P. Bosscher, Brad G. Boozer, Craig M. Stanley, Jeffrey C. Olson, John J. Baker, Phillip Michael Hobson, Stephen Brian Lynch
  • Patent number: 9838059
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. Transceiver circuitry, such as radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and receive RF signals, may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. The electronic device may have an integrated touch screen display in which a user can control the device by interacting directly with the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele de Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico L. Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: 9806751
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. Transceiver circuitry, such as radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and receive RF signals, may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. The electronic device may have an integrated touch screen display in which a user can control the device by interacting directly with the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele de Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico L. Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: 9769929
    Abstract: An array of electrical components may be mounted in openings in an electronic device housing. The housing may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. A support structure such as a hollow cylindrical tube may be mounted within the interior of the housing. The electrical components may have terminals that mate with corresponding contacts on a flexible printed circuit. Interconnect paths on the flexible printed circuit may be used to route signals for the electrical components. The flexible printed circuit may be wrapped into the shape of a cylindrical tube and may be mounted on an interior surface of the cylindrical housing or on the exterior surface of the support structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Craig M. Stanley, Phillip Michael Hobson, Nathan P. Bosscher, John J. Baker, Brad G. Boozer
  • Patent number: 9730340
    Abstract: An array of electrical components may be mounted in openings in an electronic device housing. Gaskets may be used to seal the electrical components to a housing wall. The housing wall may be planar or may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. The electrical components may be mounted to the housing wall by rotating the electrical components so that portions of the components bear against an inner surface of the housing wall. Component mounting structures that receive the electrical components may be used in mounting the electrical components. Component cover structures with openings may overlap the components. Engagement features may help prevent relative rotational motion between the electrical components and the housing wall of the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Nathan P. Bosscher, John J. Baker, Craig M. Stanley, Brad G. Boozer
  • Patent number: 9712905
    Abstract: Headsets with non-occluding earbuds are disclosed. The earbud includes a non-occluding housing having a directional sound port offset with respect to a center axis of the earbud. The housing can have an asymmetric shape amenable to in-the-ear retention. Additionally, the housing can have a seamless or nearly seamless construction even though two or more parts are joined together to form the housing. Front and back volumes can exist for a driver of the earbud, and embodiments of this invention use mid-mold and rear-mold structures to achieve desired performance from the earbud. For example, the mid-mold structure can be used to tune the front volume while the rear-mold structure can be used to tune the back volume. Apertures may also be included in the housing to further improve the performance of the earbud.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Rico Zorkendorfer, Julian Hoenig, Jonathan Aase, Kurt Stiehl, Phillip Michael Hobson, Eric Wang, Ian Davison
  • Publication number: 20170168637
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. Circuitry configured to transmit and receive signals may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. The electronic device may have an integrated touch screen display in which a user can control the device by interacting directly with the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: June 15, 2017
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele de Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico L. Zörkendörfer
  • Publication number: 20170170857
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. Transceiver circuitry, such as radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry configured to transmit and receive RF signals, may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. The electronic device may have an integrated touch screen display in which a user can control the device by interacting directly with the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Publication date: June 15, 2017
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele de Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico L. Zörkendörfer
  • Publication number: 20170147041
    Abstract: Electronic devices are provided with a protective housing having one or more housing components. A housing component can be formed from a single sheet of material to appear as if the housing component had been formed from a hollowed out solid block of material. The sheet of material may be deep drawn, forged, and machined to form the housing component. One or more holes may be formed through a portion of the housing component to provide an I/O interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2017
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Inventors: Todd F. Gotham, Andrew David Lauder, Tang Yew Tan, Erik L. Wang, Phillip Michael Hobson, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Christopher Stringer, Richard Howarth, John Ternus, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: 9651999
    Abstract: An array of electrical components may be mounted in openings in an electronic device housing. Gaskets may be used to seal the electrical components to a housing wall. The housing wall may be planar or may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. A support structure such as a hollow tube may be mounted within the interior of a cavity region defined by the housing wall. The electrical components may be radially deployed into the openings. Mating ramped structures may be translated with respect to each other to push elongated strips of components outward or each electrical component may be pushed outward using a threaded nut that engages threads on the electrical component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Nathan P. Bosscher, John J. Baker, Craig M. Stanley, Brad G. Boozer
  • Patent number: 9629272
    Abstract: An array of electrical components may be mounted in openings in an electronic device housing. Gaskets may be used to seal the electrical components to a housing wall. The housing wall may be planar or may have a cylindrical shape or other curved shape. The electrical components may be mounted to the housing wall using screws and nuts. Each nut may have a central member with opposing stops at the ends of the central member. An opening in each central member may receive a screw to allow the nut to rotate between an installation position and a locked position. The openings in the housing wall may have scalloped extensions that allow the nuts to clear the housing wall while the components are being inserted into the housing. Following installation, the nuts may be rotated into the locked positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Nathan P. Bosscher, John J. Baker, Craig M. Stanley, Brad G. Boozer
  • Patent number: 9552022
    Abstract: Electronic devices are provided with a protective housing having one or more housing components. A housing component can be formed from a single sheet of material to appear as if the housing component had been formed from a hollowed out solid block of material. The sheet of material may be deep drawn, forged, and machined to form the housing component. One or more holes may be formed through a portion of the housing component to provide an I/O interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Todd F. Gotham, Andrew David Lauder, Tang Yew Tan, Erik L. Wang, Phillip Michael Hobson, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Christopher Stringer, Richard Howarth, John Ternus, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: 9496668
    Abstract: An electronic device may have a rigid support structure to which electrical components are mounted. The rigid support structure may be an electronic device housing structure such as a housing wall having openings that receive the electrical components. The electrical components may have electrical component connectors. A printed circuit board may be used to convey signals for the electrical components. Connectors may be mounted to the printed circuit board. Lateral shift accommodation structures may be formed between the electrical component connectors and the electrical components or in the vicinity of the connectors on the printed circuit to allow the connectors on the printed circuit to mate with the electrical component connectors of the rigidly mounted electrical components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: John J. Baker, Brad G. Boozer, Craig M. Stanley, Erik L. Wang, Nathan P. Bosscher, Phillip Michael Hobson, Stephen P. Zadesky
  • Publication number: 20160233913
    Abstract: Portable electronic devices are provided. Each device may be formed from two parts. A first part may be provided with components such as a display, a touch screen, a cover glass, and a frame. A second part may be provided with a plastic housing, circuit boards containing electrical components, and a bezel. Engagement members may be connected to the first and second parts. The engagement members may be formed from metal clips with holes and springs with flexible spring prongs that mate with the holes in the clips. The metal clips may be welded to frame struts on the frame and the springs may be welded to the bezel. During assembly, the first part may be rotated into place within the second part. Retention clips attached to the frame may be used to secure the two parts together. Assembly instructions and associated connector numbers may be provided within the devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2016
    Publication date: August 11, 2016
    Inventors: Erik L. Wang, Phillip Michael Hobson, Kenneth A. Jenks, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Anthony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: 9099264
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing input component assemblies with anti-rotational buttons in electronic devices are provided. The input component assembly includes a switch, a button positioned over the switch, where the button is operative to close at least one circuit of the switch when the button is depressed towards the switch, and at least one pin positioned underneath the button, where the at least one pin is operative to engage with a surface to assist in preventing rotation of the button, when the button is depressed towards the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2015
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Colin M. Ely, Phillip Michael Hobson
  • Patent number: 9084357
    Abstract: Systems and methods for routing cables in an electronic device are provided. In some embodiments, the electronic device may include a touch sensor having a number of traces, a display component, and a mechanical button, each of which may be coupled to a circuit board via a single flexible circuit cable. This may save valuable space within the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Christopher M. Werner, Colin M. Ely, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Ming Leong, Phillip Michael Hobson
  • Patent number: 8989824
    Abstract: Electronic devices are provided with housings that can have smoother profiles and with switch assembly input components with knobs that can move along tracks in directions at least partially offset from the directions of anticipated resistive forces. The housings can include switch assembly input components with knobs that may move along linear tracks and switch assembly input components with knobs that may move along curved tracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Erik L. Wang, Tang Yew Tan, Adam Duckworth Mittleman, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Philip Michael Hobson, Andrew Lewis Johnston
  • Publication number: 20140307377
    Abstract: Electronic devices are provided with a protective housing having one or more housing components. A housing component can be formed from a single sheet of material to appear as if the housing component had been formed from a hollowed out solid block of material. The sheet of material may be deep drawn, forged, and machined to form the housing component. One or more holes may be formed through a portion of the housing component to provide an I/O interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Inventors: Todd F. GOTHAM, Andrew David LAUDER, Tang Yew TAN, Erik L. WANG, Phillip Michael HOBSON, Richard Hung Minh DINH, Christopher STRINGER, Richard HOWARTH, John TERNUS, Rico ZORKENDORFER
  • Publication number: 20140243052
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. The conductive elements may form an antenna ground plane. One or more antennas for the handheld electronic device may be formed from the ground plane and one or more associated antenna resonating elements. Transceiver circuitry may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. Ferrules may be crimped to the coaxial cables. A bracket with extending members may be crimped over the ferrules to ground the coaxial cables to the housing and other conductive elements in the ground plane. The ground plane may contain an antenna slot. A dock connector and flex circuit may overlap the slot in a way that does not affect the resonant frequency of the slot. Electrical components may be isolated from the antenna using isolation elements such as inductors and resistors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard H. Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De luliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. lve, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Publication number: 20140233169
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device may be provided that contains a conductive housing and other conductive elements. The conductive elements may form an antenna ground plane. One or more antennas for the handheld electronic device may be formed from the ground plane and one or more associated antenna resonating elements. Transceiver circuitry may be connected to the resonating elements by transmission lines such as coaxial cables. Ferrules may be crimped to the coaxial cables. A bracket with extending members may be crimped over the ferrules to ground the coaxial cables to the housing and other conductive elements in the ground plane. The ground plane may contain an antenna slot. A dock connector and flex circuit may overlap the slot in a way that does not affect the resonant frequency of the slot. Electrical components may be isolated from the antenna using isolation elements such as inductors and resistors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip Michael Hobson, Erik L. Wang, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub, Richard H. Dinh, Tang Yew Tan, Adam D. Mittleman, Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steven P. Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Douglas B. Satzger, Calvin Q. Seid, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer