Patents by Inventor Phillip M. Hobson

Phillip M. 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: 10333199
    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: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip M. Hobson, Stephen P. Zadesky, Erik L. Wang, Tang Yew Tan, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Adam D. Mittleman, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub
  • Patent number: 10264857
    Abstract: An attachment system of a wearable electronic device includes a removable module. The removable module includes a locking mechanism comprising a first portion having a substantially planar top surface and second portion that comprises a substantially non-planar bottom surface. The first portion and the second portion are coupled together. The locking mechanism also includes a first spring mechanism coupled between the first portion and the second portion. The first spring mechanism causes the first portion to be biased away from the second portion. The locking mechanism also includes a second spring mechanism. The second spring mechanism causes the substantially planar top surface of the first portion to be biased substantially flush with respect to the removable module and also causes the substantially non-planar bottom surface of the second portion to be biased proud with respect to the removable module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Ryan C. Perkins, Phillip M. Hobson, Michael J. Webb
  • Patent number: 10085523
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a removable module and a housing for an attachment system of a consumer product. The removable module includes a locking mechanism comprising a first portion having a substantially planar top surface and second portion that comprises a substantially non-planar bottom surface. The first portion and the second portion are coupled together. The locking mechanism also includes a first spring mechanism coupled between the first portion and the second portion. The first spring mechanism causes the first portion to be biased away from the second portion. The locking mechanism also includes a second spring mechanism. The second spring mechanism causes the substantially planar top surface of the first portion to be biased substantially flush with respect to the removable module and also causes the substantially non-planar bottom surface of the second portion to be biased proud with respect to the removable module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Ryan C. Perkins, Phillip M. Hobson, Michael J. Webb
  • Patent number: 9955599
    Abstract: A cold worked stainless steel bezel for a portable electronic device. The bezel is secured flush to a housing to form part of the case of the portable electronic device. A brace that includes a slot for receiving a wall extending from the bezel is fixed to the housing. When the bezel engages the housing, the wall of the bezel is inserted in the slot of the brace and releasably held by a spring that engages both the brace and the wall. The bezel can be released by disengaging the spring. The bezel is hard and resistant to impacts. Cold worked steel also facilitates manufacturing within design constraints and tolerances, and requires very little machining after manufacturing to comply with those constraints. the portable electronic device may include a personal media device, a mobile telephone, or any other suitable device or combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Stephen P. Zadesky, Phillip M. Hobson, Tang Yew Tan
  • Publication number: 20180092229
    Abstract: A cold worked stainless steel bezel for a portable electronic device is provided. The bezel is secured flush to a housing to form part of the case of the portable electronic device. A brace that includes a slot for receiving a wall extending from the bezel is fixed to the housing. When the bezel engages the housing, the wall of the bezel is inserted in the slot of the brace and releasably held by a spring that engages both the brace and the wall. The bezel can be released by disengaging the spring, (e.g., using a special tool or a magnetic field). Because the bezel is manufactured from cold worked stainless steel, it is hard and resistant to impacts. Cold worked steel also facilitates manufacturing within design constraints and tolerances, and requires very little machining after manufacturing to comply with those constraints. The portable electronic device may include a personal media device, a mobile telephone, or any other suitable device or combination thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 17, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Stephen P. Zadesky, Phillip M. Hobson, Tang Yew Tan
  • Publication number: 20180040943
    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: October 16, 2017
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Inventors: Phillip M. Hobson, Stephen P. Zadesky, Erik L. Wang, Tang Yew Tan, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Adam D. Mittleman, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub
  • Patent number: 9877549
    Abstract: An attachment system of a wearable electronic device includes a removable module. The removable module includes a locking mechanism comprising a first portion having a substantially planar top surface and second portion that comprises a substantially non-planar bottom surface. The first portion and the second portion are coupled together. The locking mechanism also includes a first spring mechanism coupled between the first portion and the second portion. The first spring mechanism causes the first portion to be biased away from the second portion. The locking mechanism also includes a second spring mechanism. The second spring mechanism causes the substantially planar top surface of the first portion to be biased substantially flush with respect to the removable module and also causes the substantially non-planar bottom surface of the second portion to be biased proud with respect to the removable module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Ryan C. Perkins, Phillip M. Hobson, Michael J. Webb
  • Patent number: 9826650
    Abstract: A cold worked stainless steel bezel for a portable electronic device. The bezel is secured flush to a housing to form part of the case of the portable electronic device. A brace that includes a slot for receiving a wall extending from the bezel is fixed to the housing. When the bezel engages the housing, the wall of the bezel is inserted in the slot of the brace and releasably held by a spring that engages both the brace and the wall. The bezel can be released by disengaging the spring. The bezel is hard and resistant to impacts. Cold worked steel also facilitates manufacturing within design constraints and tolerances, and requires very little machining after manufacturing to comply with those constraints. the portable electronic device may include a personal media device, a mobile telephone, or any other suitable device or combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Stephen P. Zadesky, Phillip M. Hobson, Tang Yew Tan
  • Publication number: 20170311456
    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. Hard stop structures may be used to vertically align the first and second parts. A frame in the device may have an integral gasket.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Inventors: Erik L. Wang, Phillip M. Hobson, Kenneth A. Jenks, Adam D. Mittleman
  • Patent number: 9793598
    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: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Phillip M. Hobson, Stephen P. Zadesky, Erik L. Wang, Tang Yew Tan, Richard Hung Minh Dinh, Adam D. Mittleman, Kenneth A. Jenks, Robert J. Hill, Robert W. Schlub
  • Patent number: 9730338
    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. Hard stop structures may be used to vertically align the first and second parts. A frame in the device may have an integral gasket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Erik L. Wang, Phillip M. Hobson, Kenneth A. Jenks, Adam D. Mittleman
  • Patent number: 9666967
    Abstract: A mesh network of printed circuit boards (PCBs) including a first PCB coupled to a second rigid PCB by way of an interlocking connection is provided. The interlocking connection has a degree of freedom that allows the first and second PCBs to form a twist angle between each other; the interlocking connector configured to provide electrical coupling between active components disposed in each of the first and second PCBs. A method of forming a substrate fabric including a mesh network as above is also provided. Further provided is a method of activating the mesh network of printed circuit boards as above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Nathan P. Bosscher, Craig M. Stanley, Trent K. Do, John J. Baker, Phillip M. Hobson, Brad G. Boozer
  • Patent number: 9602914
    Abstract: An integrated audible sound output system incorporated in a personal media device is described. The integrated audible sound output system includes a first audio output port, the first audio output port acoustically coupled with the audible sound generator unit by way of a first air path and a second audio output port. In the described embodiments, the second audio output port is acoustically coupled with the audible sound generator unit by way of a second air path. The first and the second air paths cooperate to pass the audible sound generated by the audible sound generator unit to the external environment by way of the first audio port and the second audio port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Adam D. Mittleman, Fletcher R. Rothkopf, Phillip M. Hobson, Eric S. Jol, Stephen Brian Lynch, Douglas J. Weber
  • Patent number: D768634
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Makiko Kawamura Brzezinski, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Eric Steven Jol, Duncan Robert Kerr, David Nazzaro, Trevor Jordan Ness, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Stephen Paul Zadesky, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D778912
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Colin Ely, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Michael Benjamin Wittenberg, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D790517
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Makiko Kawamura Brzezinski, Tyler Scott Bushnell, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Colin Ely, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Eric Steven Jol, Benjamin Jordan Kallman, Duncan Robert Kerr, David Nazzaro, Trevor Jordan Ness, Marc A. Newson, David Pelletier, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Jason Christopher Sauers, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Samuel Bruce Weiss, Christopher M. Werner, Eugene Antony Whang, Michael Benjamin Wittenberg, Stephen Paul Zadesky, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D791771
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Makiko Kawamura Brzezinski, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Eric Steven Jol, Duncan Robert Kerr, David Nazzaro, Trevor Jordan Ness, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Stephen Paul Zadesky, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D813239
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Colin Ely, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Michael Benjamin Wittenberg, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D849749
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Colin Ely, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Michael Benjamin Wittenberg, Rico Zörkendörfer
  • Patent number: D853390
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Shota Aoyagi, Anthony Michael Ashcroft, Jeremy Bataillou, Brad G. Boozer, Makiko Kawamura Brzezinski, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, M. Evans Hankey, Phillip M. Hobson, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Eric Steven Jol, Duncan Robert Kerr, David Nazzaro, Trevor Jordan Ness, Marc A. Newson, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Fletcher Rothkopf, Peter Russell-Clarke, Benjamin Andrew Shaffer, Mikael Silvanto, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Stephen Paul Zadesky, Rico Zörkendörfer