Apple Inc.

Other

Kathleen A Bergeron

Michelle Rae Goldberg

Zheng Gao

Paul Xiaopeng Wang

Alex Joseph Lehmann

Jeffrey J Terlizzi

Daniel D Sunshine

William Francis Leggett

Kevin Scott Fetterman

Kevin C Armendariz

William P Yarak, Iii

Jay Kriz Blahnik

Laura M DeForest

Zachary Joseph Zeliff

Timothy S Hibbard

Chung-Tse Huang

Paul Stephen Drzaic

Edward Siahaan

Ethan Larry Huwe

Kathryn P Crews

Qiliang Xu

Yung-Yu Hsu

Daniel Ray Bloom

Dustin A Hatfield

David W Lum

Jason Joseph LeBlanc

Michael B Minerbi

Robert D Zupke

Ali N Ergun

Mingjing Ha

Tirshathah A Hunter

Shubham A Gandhi

Todd P Marco

Prathamesh R Bhagwat

Daniel A Podhajny

Matthew Phillip Casebolt

Edward H Frank

Christiaan A Ligtenberg

Manisha P Pandya

Joseph Benjamin Walker

Bharat K Patel

Jessica J Lu

David M Rockford

John Douglas Field

Steve Xing-Fu Zhou

Harsha Lakshmanan

Deborah Claire Sharrah

Jason J Leblanc

Embodiments are directed to a low profile key for a keyboard having an overmolded support structure. In one aspect, an embodiment includes a key cap having an illuminable symbol. A support structure having a pair of overmolded wings may pivotally couple to the key cap. A switch housing may surround the support structure and connect each of the first and second wings. A tactile dome may be at least partially positioned within the switch housing and configured to bias the key cap upward. A sensing membrane may be positioned along an underside surface of the tactile dome and configured to trigger a switch event in response to a collapsing of the tactile dome caused by a depression of the key cap. A feature plate may be positioned below the sensing membrane. A light guide panel may define at least one light extraction feature that may be configured to propagate light toward the key cap and cause illumination of the illuminable symbol.

Low-travel illuminated key mechanism

Systems and methods are provided for reducing unwanted noise in an electronic audio signal, wherein a computing device having a microphone is configured to receive signals from a sensor on an external device such as a camera, second microphone, or movement sensor. The signals from the sensor are used to identify sound information or characteristics of sounds made by a source of noise, and the audio signal of the microphone is modified to reduce unwanted sounds based on that sound information or based on sounds identified a second audio signal obtained by the second microphone, thereby improving teleconference and video conference audio quality and removing distracting noises from transmitted audio output.

Audio modification using interconnected electronic devices

A contextual audio system configured to adjust audio playback in response to positional data. The contextual audio system may include a wearable audio device and, optionally, a sensing device. In some embodiments, the sensing device and the wearable audio device are the same. Generally, the contextual audio system employs different types of data to determine a user's location and/or activity (both of which are examples of 'context') and adjust audio output of the wearable audio device portion of the system.

Contextual audio system

A personal audio device (e.g., headphones, earphones) can have an earpiece (e.g., an ear cup or earbud) with a removable cushioning member (e.g., headphone cushions or ear tips for earbuds). The cushioning member can include an identification tag that encodes identification data for the cushioning member. When the cushioning member is attached to the earpiece, the identification tag is brought into proximity with a tag sensor in the earpiece and the earpiece can read the identification tag to determine identification data for the cushioning member. The identification data can be used to modify a behavior of the earpiece and/or of a host device communicably coupled to the earpiece.

Identification of cushioning members in personal audio devices

An electronic device such as a voice-controlled speaker device may have a housing characterized by a vertical longitudinal axis. A flexible substrate such as a flexible mesh substrate with component support regions coupled by flexible segments may be wrapped around the housing and the vertical axis. The housing may have surface regions with compound curvature. The flexible substrate may conform to the regions with compound curvature. A fabric spacer layer may be interposed between the flexible substrate and the housing. Electrical components such as input-output devices may be mounted to the component support regions. A display may be formed from an array of light-emitting devices that are mounted on respective component support regions. Light from the light-emitting devices may pass through the fabric spacer layer toward the housing and back out away from the housing. An outer fabric layer may cover the mesh.

Fabric-covered electronic device

An input device, such as a stylus, can include a piezoelectric device for providing haptic feedback and/or detecting user input. The piezoelectric device can be coupled to an inner surface of a housing of the stylus. The piezoelectric device can provide haptic feedback with a force to the housing when an electric voltage is applied to the piezoelectric device. The haptic feedback can provide information to the user relating operation of the stylus with an external device. The piezoelectric device can also produce an electric voltage when an input force is applied to an outer surface of the housing and transmitted to the piezoelectric device. The electric voltage can be used to detect tactile input from a user.

Touch-based input device with haptic feedback

A fabric case for an electronic device may include a back panel having a periphery and a side wall that extends around the periphery. The back panel may include a knit image of a user-selected digital photograph or other design. The design of the back panel may be customized according to the user's tastes. The case may be formed using computing equipment and knitting equipment. The computing equipment may receive a digital image from the user and may reduce the resolution and the number of colors in the digital image according to the specifications of the textile machine. Fabric pattern design software may convert the digital image into knitting instructions. The knitting instructions may be executed by knitting equipment to produce a custom back panel having a knit image of the digital photograph. The back panel may be attached to a peripheral side wall to form the fabric case.

Custom fabric cases for electronic devices

An item may include circuitry, a battery that powers the circuitry, and one or more photovoltaic cells that are used to recharge the battery. The photovoltaic cell may be a thin-film photovoltaic cell with a flexible substrate. The flexible substrate may be formed from fabric, leather, polymer, or other soft materials. In arrangements where the substrate is formed from fabric with conductive strands, the photovoltaic cell may include a first electrical terminal coupled to a first conductive strand and a second electrical terminal coupled to a second conductive strand. The first and second conductive strands may be coupled to control circuitry. The control circuitry may route the electricity from the photovoltaic cell to a battery or other circuitry. Items such as cases, covers, bands, headphones, interiors, and other items may have flexible or soft surfaces that can form substrates for photovoltaic films.

Systems with photovoltaic cells

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Kathleen A Bergeron