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:
May. 12, 2026
Filed:
May. 28, 2021
Google Llc, Mountain View, CA (US);
Patrick M. Amihood, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Octavio Ponce Madrigal, Mountain View, CA (US);
Anton Heistser, Munich, DE;
Google LLC, Mountain View, CA (US);
Abstract
Techniques and apparatuses are described that implement hand-grip location detection using ultrasound. In particular, an ultrasonic sensor determines a location that a user's hand grips a user device. While gripping the user device, the hand creates an additional aperture area, which amplifies ultrasonic signals that are received by one or more transducers of the ultrasonic sensor that are proximate to the user's hand. By analyzing the amplitude (or power) of received ultrasonic signals, the ultrasonic sensor can detect if the user's hand is proximate to a particular transducer. In some implementations, the ultrasonic sensor utilizes speakers and/or microphones that are present within the user device. In this way, the ultrasonic sensor can have a relatively small footprint and fit within space-constrained devices.