Apple Inc.

John B Morrell

Duncan Robert Kerr

Camille Moussette

Colin M Ely

Lawrence Yuan Yang

Eric Lance Wilson

Jeffrey Traer Bernstein

Adam S Meyer

Brian T Gleeson

Martha Evans Hankey

Patrick L Coffman

Raymond S Sepulveda

Chun Kin Minor Wong

Andre Souza Dos Santos

Dylan Ross Edwards

Jonah Alexander Harley

Gregg S Suzuki

Peter C Tsoi

Douglas A Scott

Fletcher R Rothkopf

Christopher G Wilson

Anna-Katrina Shedletsky

Patrick Kessler

Christopher Matthew Werner

Samuel Bruce Weiss

Seung Wook Kim

Hugo D Verweij

James H Foster

Mikael M Silvanto

Brett W Degner

Jonathan R Dascola

Ron Alan Hopkinson

Storrs Townsend Hoen

Anthony Joseph Guetta

William Francis Leggett

Steven J Taylor

Peter M Arnold

Christopher I Wilson

Paul Xiaopeng Wang

Kainoa Kwon-Perez

Matthew J Sundstrom

Hung A Pham

Chang Zhang

Joseph M Williams

William D Lindmeier

Benjamin G Jackson

Thayne M Miller

Michele Stoppa

Stuart John Wood

Kristi E Bauerly

Bart K Andre

Tianjia Sun

Senem E Emgin

Geng Luo

Waleed Abdulla

Eric Shyr

Dominic P McCarthy

Sree Harsha Kalli

Megan M Sapp

Henning Tjaden

Evangelos Christodoulou

Jonathan P Ive

Richard P Howarth

Imran A Chaudhri

Alan C Dye

Kenneth L Kocienda

Marcos Alonso Ruiz

John Patrick Ternus

Sebastian J Bauer

Jean-Pierre M Mouilleseaux

Madeleine S Cordier

Jules K Fennis

David H Bloom

John Schooley Camp

Joshua B Kopin

Miao He

Daniel J Riccio

Harry W Smith, Iv

Hamza Kashif

Lance Wilson

Anna-Katrina Sheldletsky

A system may include electronic devices that communicate wirelessly. When positioned so that a pair of devices overlap or are adjacent to one another, the devices may operate in a linked mode. During linked operations, devices may communicate wirelessly while input gathering and content displaying operations are shared among the devices. One or both of a pair of devices may have sensors. A capacitive sensor or other sensor may be used to measure the relative position between two devices when the two devices overlap each other. Content displaying operations and other linked mode operations may be performed based on the measured relative position between the two devices and other information.

Position sensors for system with overlapped displays

An electronic device may be provided with control circuitry for locating lost items. The control circuitry may determine where an item is located and may use the display or other output device to guide a user to the item. The display may display a visual guide such as an arrow, a sphere, a circle, a compass, or other visual aid that points the user in the direction of the item. The control circuitry may change the size or other characteristic of the visual aid on the display as the distance between the electronic device and the object changes. The control circuitry may change the location of the visual aid on the display as the orientation of the electronic device relative to the object changes. The display may overlay the visual aid onto live images of the user's surroundings as they are captured by a camera.

Tracking systems for electronic devices

A computing system comprises one or more processors, memory, a first housing that includes a primary display, and a second housing at least partially containing a physical keyboard and a touch-sensitive secondary display that is distinct from the primary display. The computing system displays a first user interface on the primary display, the first user interface includes one or more user interface elements. The computing system identifies, from the one or more user interface elements, an active user interface element that is in focus on the primary display. The computer system, in accordance with a determination that the active user interface element that is in focus on the primary display is associated with the application executed by the computing system, displays, on the touch-sensitive secondary display, a second user interface that includes a first set of one or more affordances corresponding to the application.

Systems, devices, and methods for dynamically providing user interface controls at a touch-sensitive secondary device

An example method is performed at a device with a display and a biometric sensor. While the device is in a locked state, the method includes displaying a log-in user interface that is associated with logging in to a first and second user account. While displaying the log-in user interface, the method includes, receiving biometric information, and in response to receiving the biometric information: when the biometric information is consistent with biometric information for the first user account and the first user account does not have an active session, displaying a prompt to input a log-in credential for the first user account; and when the biometric information is consistent with biometric information for the second user account and the second user account does not have an active session on the device, displaying a prompt to input a log-in credential for the second user account.

Systems and methods for prompting a log-in to an electronic device based on biometric information received from a user

An input device can include a housing defining an internal volume and a lower portion, the lower portion defining an aperture, an input sensor disposed in the internal volume, and a haptic assembly disposed in the internal volume. The haptic assembly can include an actuator and a foot coupled to the actuator and aligned with the aperture. The actuator can be configured to selectively extend the foot through the aperture to vary a sliding resistance of the input device on a support surface.

Variable friction and multi-texture mouse

A physical keyboard can be used to collect user input in a typing mode or in a tracking mode. To use a tracking mode, first movement data is detected for a hand of a user in relation to a physical keyboard at a first location. A determination is made that the first movement data is associated with a tracking movement. In response to determining that the movement type is associated with the tracking movement, a tracking mode is initiated. User input is provided based on the movement data and in accordance with the tracking mode. Contact data and non-contact data is used to determine a user intent, and a user instruction is processed based on the user intent.

System for improving user input recognition on touch surfaces

A computer input system includes a mouse including a housing having an interior surface defining an internal volume and a sensor assembly disposed in the internal volume. A processor is electrically coupled to the sensor assembly and a memory component having electronic instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to determine an orientation of the mouse relative to a hand based on a touch input from the hand detected by the sensor assembly. The mouse can also have a circular array of touch sensors or lights that detect hand position and provide orientation information to the user.

Input device with adaptive grip orientation

An electronic watch may include a tactile switch and/or one or more sensors for detecting rotational and translational inputs. The watch may include a display configured to produce graphical outputs that may change in response to rotational inputs, translational inputs, and/or touch inputs received at the display. The watch include a crown positioned along an exterior of the watch enclosure and a shaft coupled to the crown and extending into the enclosure. The tactile switch and/or the one or more sensors may be used to detect rotational and/or translational inputs provided at the crown.

Tactile switch for an electronic device

An electronic device may use information about the location of nearby devices to make sharing with those devices more intuitive for a user. When two devices are pointed towards one another, each device may automatically present the option to share information with the other device. When a user wishes to share information with one or more devices in a group of users, an array of icons representing the nearby users may be positioned on the display according to the locations of the nearby users so that the sharing user can easily select which user he or she wishes to share with. A sharing user may broadcast a signal and nearby users may elect to receive the signal by pointing their devices towards the sharing user. A user of two devices may share information between the two devices and may use one device to manipulate the information on the other device.

Electronic devices with intuitive sharing capabilities

An electronic device may be provided with control circuitry, wireless transceiver circuitry, and a display. The electronic device may be used to provide information to a user in response to being pointed at a particular object. The control circuitry may determine when the electronic device is pointed at a particular object using wireless control circuitry and/or motion sensor circuitry. In response to determining that the electronic device is pointed at a particular object, the control circuitry may take suitable action. This may include, for example, displaying information about an object when the electronic device is pointed at the object, displaying control icons for electronic equipment when the electronic device is pointed at the electronic equipment, and/or displaying a virtual object when the electronic device is pointed at real world object.

Location systems for electronic device interactions with environment

One embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a wearable electronic device. The wearable electronic device includes an enclosure having a sidewall with a button aperture defined therethrough, a display connected to the enclosure, and a processing element in communication with the display. The device also includes a sensing element in communication with the processing element and an input button at least partially received within the button aperture and in communication with the sensing element, the input button configured to receive two types of user inputs. During operation, the sensing element tracks movement of the input button to determine the two types of user inputs.

Rotary input mechanism for an electronic device

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

John B Morrell