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:
Mar. 31, 2026
Filed:
Sep. 06, 2022
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Erik J. Bjornard, San Jose, CA (US);
Tingjun Xu, San Jose, CA (US);
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
An imaging system for a portable electronic device includes a variable aperture between a lens group and an image sensor. The variable aperture is defined by an electrochromic stack that defines a switching region and a central non-switching region. The non-switching region can be etched through the same material or set of materials defining the switching region and is backfilled with a dielectric transparent material having an index of refraction substantially equal to an average index of refraction of the layer(s) of the switching region of the electrochromic stack. This construction substantially reduces visible light absorption of the variable aperture.