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:
Jul. 01, 2025
Filed:
Jul. 12, 2021
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Dong Zheng, Los Altos, CA (US);
James M. Hollabaugh, San Jose, CA (US);
Jihyun Cho, Cupertino, CA (US);
Narendra S. Mehta, San Carlos, CA (US);
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
An electronic device may include a proximity sensor for detecting whether an external object is in the vicinity of the device. The proximity sensor may have a light detector and a light source that can be reused for data communications. The light detector may be coupled to optical receiver circuitry, whereas the light source may be coupled to optical transmitter circuitry. The optical transmitter circuitry may include encoding circuits configured to convert electrical signals to optical signals. The optical receiver circuitry may include decoding circuits configured to convert optical signals to electrical signals. The optical signals can be encoded and decoded using pulse width modulation schemes or amplitude modulation schemes.