Patents by Inventor Michael B. Howes

Michael B. Howes 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: 11937037
    Abstract: A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Zachary C. Rich, Kurt R. Stiehl, Arun D. Chawan, Michael B. Howes, Jonathan S. Aase, Esge B. Andersen, Yacine Azmi, Jahan C. Minoo, David J. Shaw, Aarti Kumar, Augustin Prats, Robert D. Watson, Baptiste P. Paquier, Axel D. Berny, Benjamin W. Cook, Jerzy S. Guterman, Benjamin Adair Cousins
  • Patent number: 11750966
    Abstract: An earphone comprising: an earphone housing having a cap portion and a body portion that interlock with one another to enclose a driver, the driver having a front face that outputs sound waves and a back face opposite the front face, the cap portion defines a first chamber coupled to the front face of the driver and the body portion defines a second chamber coupled to the back face of the driver, a first opening formed through the cap portion; a first port and a second port formed through the body portion and open to a surrounding environment; and a mesh coupled to the first opening, the first port or the second port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael B. Howes, Yacine Azmi, Scott P. Porter, Jonathan S. Aase, Andrew P. Bright, Christopher R. Wilk
  • Patent number: 11575985
    Abstract: Intra-concha earphones are disclosed. In an embodiment, an intra-concha earphone includes a housing having a rear space divided into a back volume, a bass duct, and a vent chamber between a driver and a rear wall. The vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with the back volume through both an acoustic port and the bass duct. Furthermore, the vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with a surrounding environment through a vent port, which may be a sole acoustic opening in the rear wall. Thus, sound emitted by the driver may propagate through the acoustic port and the bass duct to meet in the vent chamber before being discharged through the vent port to the surrounding environment. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Yacine Azmi, Esge B. Andersen, Jonathan S. Aase, Michael B. Howes
  • Patent number: 11499255
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein may take the form of a textile product having one or more regions of reduced density. These reduced density volumes may form one or more features in the product. For example, the reduced density volumes may have better acoustic transmission properties, optical transmission properties, flexibility, and the like. Sound transmission may be enhanced not only in terms of clarity, but also overall range. That is, certain audio frequencies that the textile may normally block when in an unaltered state may pass through a textile having reduced density or reduced density regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: John J. Baker, Michael B. Howes, Michael S. Nashner, Yoji Hamada
  • Publication number: 20220295169
    Abstract: A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Zachary C. Rich, Kurt R. Stiehl, Arun D. Chawan, Michael B. Howes, Jonathan S. Aase, Esge B. Andersen, Yacine Azmi, Jahan C. Minoo, David J. Shaw, Aarti Kumar, Augustin Prats, Robert D. Watson, Baptiste P. Paquier, Axel D. Berny, Benjamin W. Cook, Jerzy S. Guterman, Benjamin Adair Cousins
  • Patent number: 11432096
    Abstract: An audio system that adjusts one or more beam patterns emitted by one or more loudspeaker arrays based on the preferences of users/listeners is described. The audio system includes an audio receiver that contains a listener location estimator, a listener identifier, and a voice command processor. Inputs from the listener location estimator, the listener identifier, and the voice command processor are fed into an array processor. The array processor drives the one or more loudspeaker arrays to emit beam patterns into the listening area based on inputs from each of these devices. By examining the location, preferred usage settings, and voice commands from listeners, the generated beam patterns are customized to the explicit and implicit preferences of the listeners with minimal direct input. Other embodiments are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: John J. Baker, Martin E. Johnson, Afrooz Family, Michael B. Howes, Craig M. Stanley, Brad G. Boozer
  • Publication number: 20220240004
    Abstract: An earphone comprising: an earphone housing having a cap portion and a body portion that interlock with one another to enclose a driver, the driver having a front face that outputs sound waves and a back face opposite the front face, the cap portion defines a first chamber coupled to the front face of the driver and the body portion defines a second chamber coupled to the back face of the driver, a first opening formed through the cap portion; a first port and a second port formed through the body portion and open to a surrounding environment; and a mesh coupled to the first opening, the first port or the second port.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2022
    Publication date: July 28, 2022
    Inventors: Michael B. Howes, Yacine Azmi, Scott P. Porter, Jonathan S. Aase, Andrew P. Bright, Christopher R. Wilk
  • Patent number: 11363363
    Abstract: A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Zachary C. Rich, Kurt R. Stiehl, Arun D. Chawan, Michael B. Howes, Jonathan S. Aase, Esge B. Andersen, Yacine Azmi, Jahan C. Minoo, David J. Shaw, Aarti Kumar, Augustin Prats, Robert D. Watson, Baptiste P. Paquier, Axel D. Berny, Benjamin W. Cook, Jerzy S. Guterman, Benjamin Adair Cousins
  • Patent number: 11317196
    Abstract: An earphone comprising an earphone housing having a wall comprising (1) a front side that joins (2) an end portion in which a primary sound output opening is formed, which joins (3) a face portion in which a secondary output opening is formed, which joins (4) a back side which joins the front side and encloses a driver, wherein the primary output opening is dimensioned to output sound generated by a diaphragm of the driver contained within the earphone housing into the ear and the secondary output opening is dimensioned to vent the ear to a surrounding environment, and wherein the primary output opening and the secondary output opening face different directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Michael B. Howes, Yacine Azmi, Scott P. Porter, Jonathan S. Aase, Andrew P. Bright, Christopher R. Wilk
  • Patent number: 11265653
    Abstract: An audio system is described that includes one or more speaker arrays that emit sound corresponding to one or more pieces of sound program content into associated zones within a listening area. Using parameters of the audio system (e.g., locations of the speaker arrays and the audio sources), the zones, the users, the pieces of sound program content, and the listening area, one or more beam pattern attributes may be generated. The beam pattern attributes define a set of beams that are used to generate audio beams for channels of sound program content to be played in each zone. The beam pattern attributes may be updated as changes are detected within the listening environment. By adapting to these changing conditions, the audio system is capable of reproducing sound that accurately represents each piece of sound program content in various zones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Afrooz Family, Anthony P. Bidmead, Erik L. Wang, Gary P. Geaves, Martin E. Johnson, Matthew I. Brown, Michael B. Howes, Sylvain J. Choisel, Tomlinson M. Holman
  • Patent number: 11190870
    Abstract: A multi-way speaker array is disclosed that includes rings of transducers of different types. The rings of transducers may encircle the cabinet of the speaker array such that the speaker array is rotationally symmetric. The distance between rings of transducers may be based on a logarithmic scale. By separating rings of transducers using logarithmic spacing, denser transducer spacing at short wavelengths is achieved while limiting the number of transducers needed for longer wavelengths by spacing them in larger and larger logarithmic increments. Transducers with overlapping frequency ranges may be used in the speaker array to avoid initial dips or shortfalls in directivity for corresponding beam patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Martin E. Johnson, Gordon R. Dix, Michael B. Howes, Gary P. Geaves, Tom-Davy William Jendrik Saux
  • Publication number: 20200404410
    Abstract: Intra-concha earphones are disclosed. In an embodiment, an intra-concha earphone includes a housing having a rear space divided into a back volume, a bass duct, and a vent chamber between a driver and a rear wall. The vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with the back volume through both an acoustic port and the bass duct. Furthermore, the vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with a surrounding environment through a vent port, which may be a sole acoustic opening in the rear wall. Thus, sound emitted by the driver may propagate through the acoustic port and the bass duct to meet in the vent chamber before being discharged through the vent port to the surrounding environment. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2020
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Yacine Azmi, Esge B. Andersen, Jonathan S. Aase, Michael B. Howes
  • Patent number: 10805713
    Abstract: Intra-concha earphones are disclosed. In an embodiment, an intra-concha earphone includes a housing having a rear space divided into a back volume, a bass duct, and a vent chamber between a driver and a rear wall. The vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with the back volume through both an acoustic port and the bass duct. Furthermore, the vent chamber may be acoustically coupled with a surrounding environment through a vent port, which may be a sole acoustic opening in the rear wall. Thus, sound emitted by the driver may propagate through the acoustic port and the bass duct to meet in the vent chamber before being discharged through the vent port to the surrounding environment. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Yacine Azmi, Esge B. Andersen, Jonathan S. Aase, Michael B. Howes
  • Publication number: 20200322718
    Abstract: A multi-way speaker array is disclosed that includes rings of transducers of different types. The rings of transducers may encircle the cabinet of the speaker array such that the speaker array is rotationally symmetric. The distance between rings of transducers may be based on a logarithmic scale. By separating rings of transducers using logarithmic spacing, denser transducer spacing at short wavelengths is achieved while limiting the number of transducers needed for longer wavelengths by spacing them in larger and larger logarithmic increments. Transducers with overlapping frequency ranges may be used in the speaker array to avoid initial dips or shortfalls in directivity for corresponding beam patterns.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Publication date: October 8, 2020
    Inventors: Martin E. Johnson, Gordon R. Dix, Michael B. Howes, Gary P. Geaves, Tom-Davy William Jendrik Saux
  • Patent number: 10798482
    Abstract: A multi-way speaker array is disclosed that includes rings of transducers of different types. The rings of transducers may encircle the cabinet of the speaker array such that the speaker array is rotationally symmetric. The distance between rings of transducers may be based on a logarithmic scale. By separating rings of transducers using logarithmic spacing, denser transducer spacing at short wavelengths is achieved while limiting the number of transducers needed for longer wavelengths by spacing them in larger and larger logarithmic increments. Transducers with overlapping frequency ranges may be used in the speaker array to avoid initial dips or shortfalls in directivity for corresponding beam patterns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Martin E. Johnson, Gordon R. Dix, Michael B. Howes, Gary P. Geaves, Tom-Davy William Jendrik Saux
  • Publication number: 20200267470
    Abstract: An earphone comprising an earphone housing having a wall comprising (1) a front side that joins (2) an end portion in which a primary sound output opening is formed, which joins (3) a face portion in which a secondary output opening is formed, which joins (4) a back side which joins the front side and encloses a driver, wherein the primary output opening is dimensioned to output sound generated by a diaphragm of the driver contained within the earphone housing into the ear and the secondary output opening is dimensioned to vent the ear to a surrounding environment, and wherein the primary output opening and the secondary output opening face different directions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2020
    Publication date: August 20, 2020
    Inventors: Michael B. Howes, Yacine Azmi, Scott P. Porter, Jonathan S. Aase, Andrew P. Bright, Christopher R. Wilk
  • Publication number: 20200260173
    Abstract: A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: Zachary C. Rich, Kurt R. Stiehl, Arun D. Chawan, Michael B. Howes, Jonathan S. Aase, Esge B. Andersen, Yacine Azmi, Jahan C. Minoo, David J. Shaw, Aarti Kumar, Augustin Prats, Robert D. Watson, Baptiste P. Paquier, Axel D. Berny, Benjamin W. Cook, Jerzy S. Guterman, Benjamin Adair Cousins
  • Publication number: 20200255996
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein may take the form of a textile product having one or more regions of reduced density. These reduced density volumes may form one or more features in the product. For example, the reduced density volumes may have better acoustic transmission properties, optical transmission properties, flexibility, and the like. Sound transmission may be enhanced not only in terms of clarity, but also overall range. That is, certain audio frequencies that the textile may normally block when in an unaltered state may pass through a textile having reduced density or reduced density regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 24, 2020
    Publication date: August 13, 2020
    Inventors: John J. Baker, Michael B. Howes, Michael S. Nashner, Yoji Hamada
  • Publication number: 20200213735
    Abstract: An audio system is described that includes one or more speaker arrays that emit sound corresponding to one or more pieces of sound program content into associated zones within a listening area. Using parameters of the audio system (e.g., locations of the speaker arrays and the audio sources), the zones, the users, the pieces of sound program content, and the listening area, one or more beam pattern attributes may be generated. The beam pattern attributes define a set of beams that are used to generate audio beams for channels of sound program content to be played in each zone. The beam pattern attributes may be updated as changes are detected within the listening environment. By adapting to these changing conditions, the audio system is capable of reproducing sound that accurately represents each piece of sound program content in various zones.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2020
    Publication date: July 2, 2020
    Inventors: Afrooz Family, Anthony P. Bidmead, Erik L. Wang, Gary P. Geaves, Martin E. Johnson, Matthew I. Brown, Michael B. Howes, Sylvain J. Choisel, Tomlinson M. Holman
  • Patent number: 10694282
    Abstract: An earphone comprising an earphone housing having a wall comprising (1) a front side that joins (2) an end portion in which a primary sound output opening is formed, which joins (3) a face portion in which a secondary output opening is formed, which joins (4) a back side which joins the front side and encloses a driver, wherein the primary output opening is dimensioned to output sound generated by a diaphragm of the driver contained within the earphone housing into the ear and the secondary output opening is dimensioned to vent the ear to a surrounding environment, and wherein the primary output opening and the secondary output opening face different directions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael B. Howes, Yacine Azmi, Scott P. Porter, Jonathan S. Aase, Andrew P. Bright, Christopher R. Wilk