The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 11, 2024
Filed:
Jun. 29, 2023
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Nahid Harjee, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Brian R. Twehues, Campbell, CA (US);
Teera Songatikamas, San Jose, CA (US);
Aonan Li, Berkeley, CA (US);
Travis N. Owens, Lakeway, TX (US);
Kyle J. Campiotti, San Jose, CA (US);
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
An earphone includes a speaker housing; a speaker positioned in the speaker housing; a stem extending from the speaker housing, the stem defining an input surface; a conductive object disposed within the stem; a flexible circuit positioned between the stem and the conductive object; a member positioned between the flexible circuit and the conductive object operable to allow the flexible circuit to move with respect to the stem; a force sensor electrode disposed within the flexible circuit; and a controller operable to determine an input to the earphone using a change in capacitance detected using the force sensor electrode, the change in capacitance corresponding to a non-binary amount of a force applied to the input surface. In some examples, the earphone further includes a touch sensor electrode disposed within the flexible circuit.