Apple Inc.

Victor Luzzato

Dale N Memering

Christopher D Prest

Matthew S Rogers

Christopher C Bartlow

Tyler A Marshall

John Raff

Li Zhang

Joseph C Poole

Naoto Matsuyuki

Florence W Ow

Todd K Moyer

Joel N Ruscher

Liquan Tan

Soyoung Kim

Marco Soldano

Blake R Marshall

Reza Nasiri Mahalati

Guangtao Zhang

Naoki Okahata

Wai Man Raymund Kwok

Daniel B Sargent

Dezheng Qu

Asymmetrically strengthened glass articles, methods for producing the same, and use of the articles in portable electronic device is disclosed. The asymmetrically strengthened glass articles include glass articles having a deeper compressive stress layer in a thicker portion of the glass article. Using a budgeted amount of compressive stress and tensile stress, asymmetric chemical strengthening is optimized for the utility of a glass article. In some aspects, the strengthened glass article can be designed for reduced damage, or damage propagation, when dropped.

Asymmetric chemical strengthening

A component for an electronic device including an internal compressive stress region is disclosed herein. The internal compressive stress region may be created in a glass portion of the component or in a glass ceramic portion of the component. Electronic devices comprising the components and method for making the components are also disclosed.

Electronic device having a component with crack hindering internal stress regions

An electronic device includes a housing coupled to a display window, a battery and a plurality of inductive charging transmit coils coupled to the battery. The plurality of inductive charging coils are positioned within the enclosure to generate an inductive charging region that extends through the display window and across at least a portion of an exterior of the display window. Sensing circuitry is configured to sense a position of a stylus at the display window and a processor is configured to selectively engage and disengage one or more of the plurality of inductive charging transmit coils based on the sensed position of the stylus. The stylus receives power when it is positioned within the inductive charging window.

Electronic device having an inductive charging system

Disclosed herein is a substrate for an electronic device. The substrate has a visually imperceptible surface texture that exhibits different coefficients of friction on various input objects. In some implementations, the texture of the textured substrate is created using a gas etching process.

Substrate having a visually imperceptible texture for providing variable coefficients of friction between objects

Glass articles and methods for producing glass articles for a portable electronic device are disclosed. Properties of the glass articles, such as cover members, are improved through chemical strengthening, thermoforming, or a combination thereof. The glass articles may include barrier layers to prevent diffusion of ions between glass layers of the glass article, internal compressive stress regions, or a combination thereof.

Thermoformed cover glass for an electronic device

A property-enhanced cover sheet, and methods for forming a property-enhanced cover sheet, for a portable electronic device are disclosed. A property-enhanced cover sheet is formed by thermoforming a glass sheet into a specified contour shape while modifying one or more properties of the glass. Other property-enhanced sheets can be formed by layering two or more glass sheets having different material properties, and then thermoforming the layered sheets into a required contour shape. Property enhancement for a cover sheet includes, hardness, scratch resistance, strength, elasticity, texture and the like.

Asymmetrically strengthened glass articles, methods for producing the same, and use of the articles in portable electronic device is disclosed. Using a budgeted amount of compressive stress and tensile stress, asymmetric chemical strengthening is optimized for the utility of a glass article. In some aspects, the strengthened glass article can be designed for reduced damage, or damage propagation, when dropped.

An electronic device can include a three-dimensional glass feature. In one embodiment, the three-dimensional glass feature is a cavity formed on the inside portion of a cover glass of an electronic device.

Structured glass for an electronic device

Electronic device having a glass component with crack hindering internal stress regions

Components of an electronic device, such as glass articles, are susceptible to breakage, especially in regions where machining a glass article has created flaws. Chemical strengthening can be performed to create deeper compression layers at regions of a glass article that have been machined, include and/or are adjacent to an edge feature, have greater surface roughness, and/or have more or deeper cracks.

Targeted chemical strengthening of glass articles

Glass articles having a base layer formed of glass and having a first compressive stress, an adjacent compression layer formed in the glass and having a second compressive stress, and a witness layer formed in the glass adjacent the compression layer and having a third compressive stress. The first, second and third compressive stresses all differing from one another. The witness layer also having a higher index of refraction than an index of refraction for the base or compression layers. Methods for manufacturing and methods of quality control that include the use of the witness layer are also disclosed.

Witness layers for glass articles

The disclosure relates to an audio device that includes a diaphragm having a graphene material, such as a graphene flake, that is incorporated into a base material. The audio device may form part of a speaker device, a microphone device, or a headphone device. The concentration of the graphene and/or a size of the graphene flakes may be varied throughout the diaphragm to define a stiff center portion and a flexible portion that surrounds the center portion.

Graphene composite acoustic diaphragm

A material testing apparatus and methods of testing material are disclosed. The material testing apparatus may include a support ring contacting a test material and a moveable contact component positioned adjacent to the support ring. The moveable contact component may include a substantially curved contact surface comprising a radius-varying curvature profile formed between a center and a perimeter of the substantially curve contact surface. The curvature profile may be based on a predetermined deflection-force profile specific to the test material. Additionally, the curvature profile may also be based on the material characteristics of the test material, the physical characteristics of the test material, the physical characteristics of the support ring and/or a testing process performed on the test material.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Victor Luzzato