Apple Inc.

Other

Houtan R Farahani

Kevin M Robinson

Bartley K Andre

Mikael M Silvanto

Ari P Miller

Matthew William Blum

Peter N Russell-Clarke

Christopher J Stringer

Matthew Dean Rohrbach

Eric Andrew Knopf

Robert J Lockwood

Richard P Howarth

Daniele De Iuliis

Brett W Degner

Dinesh C Mathew

Keith J Hendren

Robert Y Cao

Stephen Vincent Jayanathan

Edward T Sweet

Jonathan P Ive

Duncan Robert Kerr

Eugene Antony Whang

Martha Evans Hankey

Rico L Zorkendorfer

Daniel J Coster

Jody R Akana

Jeremy D Bataillou

Julian Hoenig

Shota Aoyagi

Benjamin Andrew Shaffer

Anthony Michael Ashcroft

David Phillip Tarkington

Michael D McBroom

Bryan W Posner

Matthew Theobald

Zheng Gao

Adam T Garelli

Justin Derry Crosby

Gavin J Reid

Daniel K Boothe

Derryk C Davis

Christine A Laliberte

Ron Alan Hopkinson

Craig C Leong

William Francis Leggett

Edward J Cooper

Bruce E Berg

Kevin M Keeler

Bart K Andre

Ian A Guy

John Raff

Matthew Phillip Casebolt

Michael S Nashner

Michael E Leclerc

Simon R Lancaster-Larocque

Ricardo Alba Mariano

Richard D Kosoglow

Simon Regis Louis Lancaster-Larocque

William A Counts

James M Cuseo

Sabrina K Paseman

Chiew-Siang Goh

Danny L McBroom

Hilbert T Kwan

Simon J Trivett

Antonio Clarke

David H Narajowski

Charles A Schwalbach

Jerzy S Guterman

Wey-Jiun Lin

Jay S Nigen

Eric R Prather

Ryan J Mihelich

Brandon S Smith

Richard H Tan

Eric J Weirshauser

Karan Bir

Sung-Ho Tan

Daniel A Podhajny

Hoon Sik Kim

Daniel D Sunshine

Mahmoud R Amini

Bradley Joseph Hamel

Gregory Allen Springer

John C Difonzo

Min Chul Kim

Jonathan L Berk

George Tziviskos

George V Anastas

Derek Yap

Christoph Matthias Pistor

Shravan Bharadwaj

Joss Nathan Giddings

Rui Zhou

Joel D Barrera

Tatsuya Sano

George Marc Simmel

Terry C Lam

Todd F Gotham

Didio V Gomes

An electronic device includes an enclosure formed of a plurality of layers cooperating to define an interior volume. The enclosure includes a first layer formed of a first material and defining a user input surface of the enclosure and a first portion of a side surface of the enclosure. The enclosure also includes a second layer, formed of a second material different from the first material, positioned below the first layer and defining a second portion of the side surface of the enclosure. The enclosure also includes a third layer, formed of a third material different from the first and second materials, positioned below the second layer and defining a bottom surface of the enclosure and a third portion of the side surface of the enclosure.

Multi-part device enclosure

A foldable display device may have housing portions coupled by a hinge. The hinge may have a series of interconnected links. The links may be formed from interdigitated fingers in a friction clutch. The fingers or other portions of the links may be provided with crescent-shaped slots that receive pins. During folding of the device, the pins may slide along the crescent-shaped slots, thereby ensuring that adjacent links rotate relative to each other about a rotation axis that lies outside of the hinge and within a flexible display panel. Links may also be formed from link members with curved mating bearing surfaces that slide relative to each other as adjacent links are rotated relative to each other. A housing rotation synchronization mechanism may be formed using a set of gears that extends between the first and second housing portions.

Hinges for folding display devices

Electronic device

Electronic device with connector

Embodiments are directed to laser-based processes for forming features on the surface of a part. The feature may include a geometric element, a color element, and/or a surface finish element. In some cases, the laser-formed features are formed as a pattern of textured features that produce an aesthetic and/or tactile effect on the surface of the part. In some cases, the texture features may be sufficiently small that they may not be discerned by the unaided human eye. Also, in some cases, a multiple laser-based processes are combined to form a single feature or a finished part having a specific aesthetic and/or tactile effect.

Laser-formed features

Computer modules that can have a high-capacity, can simplify the design of a computer system housing the modules, can utilize system resources in a highly configurable manner, can provide a variety of functionality, and can be readily inserted into, and removed from, a computer system.

High-capacity computer modules

Cable assemblies for providing electrical communication between hinged sections of an electronic device are described. The cable assemblies can include a cover that covers one or more cables that run through a hinge region of the electronic device. The cable and cover can be drawn over a mandrel of the hinge region. The cover and the portions of the mandrel can be visible to a user at the hinge region of the electronic device. The cover can be sufficiently rigid to guide a path of the cable and protect the cable from bending beyond a prescribed angle during rotation of the electronic device at the hinge region. The cover can also be sufficiently rigid to prevent ceasing or folding of the cover and the cable during rotation of the electronic device at the hinge region.

Mandrel flex circuit routing

An electronic device has a housing that forms an exterior surface of the electronic device. An array of actuators is coupled to the housing and is operable to move the housing in order to produce sound waves and/or haptic output via the exterior surface. In this way, less space is consumed by acoustic and haptic devices as compared to similar conventional devices, thereby allowing for thinner electronic devices and/or room for other components within the housing. The actuators may be operable to move different regions of the housing to produce sound waves and/or haptic output within different frequency ranges.

Electronic device with actuators for producing haptic and audio output along a device housing

A housing for an electronic device can include a body having an exterior surface and a second surface disposed opposite the exterior surface at least partially defining an interior volume, the body defining a first repeating pattern of apertures extending from the exterior surface to the second surface. The housing can also include a component defining a second repeating pattern of apertures, the component positioned adjacent to the second surface. The first repeating pattern of apertures and the second repeating pattern of apertures can combine to define an open area of at least about 70%.

Computer tower architecture

Key assemblies having a foldable stabilizer are disclosed. The stabilizer can be positioned under a keycap to help guide the keycap and limit rotation or movement when the key is pressed. The stabilizer can have a pointed-star shape with multiple folding axes and can have multiple points of connection or linkage to the keycap or other surrounding components. The stabilizer can unfold or flatten as the keycap is pressed and can fold as the keycap is raised.

Folded key stabilizer

Keyboards are disclosed that are retractable. Movable magnetic or mechanical linkage elements are configured to reposition keycaps and stabilizers between different relative positions. Structures in a movable layer can act on the keycaps or stabilizers to move the keycaps and stabilizers into a retracted position for storage and for saving space in an electronic device. The stabilizers can be scissor mechanisms, butterfly mechanisms, and similar devices. The movable layer can be moved in response to rotation of a hinge or other mechanical element in the electronic device.

Retractable keyboards

Growing community of inventors

San Ramon, CA, United States of America

Houtan R Farahani