IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,355,907
Granted Patent B2
US 12,355,907 · App. 17/903,900 · Granted Jul 8, 2025

Handheld electronic device

Inventors: Matthew D. Hill (Mountain View, CA); Rasamy Phouthavong (San Jose, CA); Jun Sik Ham (Sunnyvale, CA); James A Bertin (Saratoga, CA); Benjamin J. Kallman (Emerald Hills, CA); Sherry Cao (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: APPLE INC.
H04M1/0266H10K50/816H10K50/828H10K59/40H04M2201/38
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,355,907
App. No.
17/903,900
Granted
Jul 8, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A portable electronic device may include an enclosure including a front cover defining a front exterior surface, and a display positioned below the front cover and including a set of transparent conductive traces positioned in a graphically active region of the display and including a first plurality of transparent conductive traces and a second plurality of transparent conductive traces oriented perpendicular to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces. The portable electronic device may further include a proximity sensor including an optical emitter below the display and configured to emit light through the display and through the front cover. The optical emitter may be arranged relative to an optical receiver along a direction oblique to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces and to the second plurality of transparent conductive traces.

Claims (67)

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

an enclosure comprising a front cover defining a front exterior surface;

a display positioned below the front cover and comprising a set of transparent conductive traces positioned in a graphically active region of the display and including:

a first plurality of transparent conductive traces; and

a second plurality of transparent conductive traces oriented perpendicular to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces; and

a proximity sensor comprising:

an optical emitter below the display and configured to emit light through the display and through the front cover; and

an optical receiver below the display and configured to receive, through the display and through the front cover, a reflected portion of the emitted light, the optical emitter arranged relative to the optical receiver along a direction oblique to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces and to the second plurality of transparent conductive traces.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the proximity sensor is configured to detect a proximity of an object to the front exterior surface.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the optical emitter is a laser emitter configured to emit light having a wavelength between about 1300 nanometers and about 1400 nanometers.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the display comprises a substrate; and

the first plurality of transparent conductive traces are positioned on the substrate.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the display is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display;

the first plurality of transparent conductive traces is a set of anodes for the OLED display; and

the second plurality of transparent conductive traces is a set of cathodes for the OLED display.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the display comprises a touch sensor;

the first plurality of transparent conductive traces is a first set of electrodes for the touch sensor; and

the second plurality of transparent conductive traces is a second set of electrodes for the touch sensor.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 6 , wherein:

the display comprises an opaque backing layer defining a first hole and a second hole;

the optical emitter is positioned below the first hole; and

the optical receiver is positioned below the second hole.

8. A mobile phone comprising:

an enclosure comprising:

a housing component; and

a transparent cover coupled to the housing component and defining a display region and a front-facing sensor region surrounded by the display region;

a display below the transparent cover and defining a graphically active region configured to display graphical outputs in the display region, the display comprising a grid of conductive traces including:

a first set of conductive traces extending along a first direction; and

a second set of conductive traces extending along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and

a proximity sensor positioned below the graphically active region of the display and comprising a pair of optical components positioned along a third direction that is oblique to the first direction and to the second direction, the pair of optical components including:

an optical emitter configured to emit light through the display; and

an optical receiver configured to receive a reflected portion of the emitted light through the display.

9. The mobile phone of claim 8 , wherein the third direction is oriented at 45 degrees from the first direction and the second direction.

10. The mobile phone of claim 8 , wherein the proximity sensor is configured to detect a proximity of an object to the transparent cover based at least in part on a characteristic of the reflected portion of the emitted light.

11. The mobile phone of claim 8 , wherein:

the display comprises an opaque layer defining:

a first hole having a first size; and

a second hole having a second size greater than the first size;

the optical emitter is positioned below the first hole; and

the optical receiver is positioned below the second hole.

12. The mobile phone of claim 11 , wherein:

a first side of the second hole extends along a fourth direction that is oblique to the first direction and to the second direction; and

a second side of the second hole extends along a fifth direction that is oblique to the first direction.

13. The mobile phone of claim 8 , wherein conductive traces of the first set of conductive traces and of the second set of conductive traces are formed from an optically transmissive conductive material.

14. The mobile phone of claim 8 , wherein:

the mobile phone further comprises a bracket structure within the enclosure and defining a first wall section extending along a fourth direction parallel to the third direction; and

the proximity sensor comprises a housing defining a second wall section extending along a fifth direction parallel to the third direction, the second wall section set apart from the first wall section by a gap.

15. A portable electronic device comprising:

an enclosure comprising a front cover defining a front exterior surface;

a display positioned below the front cover and comprising:

one or more electrode layers including:

a first plurality of transparent conductive traces; and

a second plurality of transparent conductive traces oriented perpendicular to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces; and

an opaque layer positioned below the one or more electrode layers and defining a pair of holes extending through the opaque layer and oriented along a direction oblique to the first plurality of transparent conductive traces and to the second plurality of transparent conductive traces;

an optical emitter positioned below a first hole of the pair of holes and configured to emit light through the first hole; and

an optical receiver positioned below a second hole of the pair of holes and configured to detect a proximity of an object to the portable electronic device based at least in part on a reflected portion of the light emitted by the optical emitter.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the light emitted by the optical emitter has a wavelength between about 1300 nanometers and about 1400 nanometers.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the second hole is larger than the first hole.

18. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein transparent conductive traces of the first plurality of transparent conductive traces and of the second plurality of transparent conductive traces comprise indium tin oxide.

19. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein:

the display is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display;

the first plurality of transparent conductive traces is a set of anodes for the OLED display; and

the second plurality of transparent conductive traces is a set of cathodes for the OLED display.

20. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the optical receiver is configured to detect the proximity of the object to the portable electronic device while the display is producing a graphical output above the first hole and the second hole.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 15, 2022
From: BERTIN, JAMES A.; HILL, MATTHEW D.; CAO, SHERRY; HAM, JUN SIK; PHOUTHAVONG, RASAMY; KALLMAN, BENJAMIN J.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 061783/0085 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63298182 · Jan 10, 2022
Related Publication 20230224392A1 · Jul 13, 2023
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