Pivotal Systems Corporation

Apple Inc.

Adam Monkowski

Joseph R Monkowski

Jialing Chen

Tao Ding

Pavan Gupta

Joseph C Doll

Teera Songatikamas

Baboo V Gowreesunker

Julian K Shutzberg

A force transducer for an electronic device can be operated in a drive mode and a sense mode simultaneously. In particular, the force transducer can provide haptic output while simultaneously receiving force input from a user. The force transducer is primarily defined by a monolithic piezoelectric body, a ground electrode, a drive electrode, and a sense electrode. The ground electrode and the drive electrode each include multiple electrically-electrically conductive sheets that extend into the monolithic body; the electrically conductive sheets of the ground electrode and the drive electrode are interdigitally engaged. The sense electrode of the force transducer is typically disposed on an exterior surface of the monolithic body.

Force transducer for electronic devices

Pressure compensation can be used to improve performance of force-sensitive touch screens. Changes in pressure, particularly transient, internal pressure changes in an electronic device due to an object applying force to a touch screen of the electronic device, can degrade force sensing performance of the touch screen. For example, when a finger presses a force-sensitive touch screen of a sealed electronic device, the applied force can increase internal pressure of the sealed electronic device until internal pressure can equalize. The increased internal pressure can cause a normal force to oppose the deflection of the touch screen, resulting in inaccurate force measurements of applied user force. In some examples, an electronic device including a force-sensitive touch screen can include a pressure sensor configured to measure internal pressure of the electronic device. The measured pressure can be used to compensate the amount of force measured by the force sensor.

Pressure compensation for force-sensitive touch screen

A method and apparatus for self-calibrating control of gas flow. The gas flow rate is initially set by controlling, to a high degree of precision, the amount of opening of a flow restriction, where the design of the apparatus containing the flow restriction lends itself to achieving high precision. The gas flow rate is then measured by a pressure rate-of-drop upstream of the flow restriction, and the amount of flow restriction opening is adjusted, if need be, to obtain exactly the desired flow.

Method and apparatus for gas flow control

An electronic device may include a device housing and a display carried by the device housing. The electronic device may also include an actuator carried between the device housing and the display. The actuator may include an actuator body having an actuator bottom and a sidewall extending upwardly therefrom, a first guide member carried by the actuator bottom and spaced inwardly from adjacent portions of the sidewall to define a channel, and at least one coil carried by the sidewall. The actuator may also include a magnet being moveable within the channel and an actuator top coupled to the magnet and that includes a second guide member cooperating with the first guide member. The electronic device may also include a controller configured to drive the at least one coil to relatively move the actuator bottom and actuator top to thereby deform the display.

Electronic device including movable magnet based actuator for deforming a display and related methods

An apparatus to measure the transient response of a mass flow controller (MFC). The size of a variable orifice, upstream of the MFC, is controlled such that the pressure between the orifice and the MFC is held constant during the entire time that the MFC is going through its transient response. The known relationship between the size of the orifice and the flow through it allows a determination of the transient response of the MFC.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Adam Monkowski