Granted Patent B2

US 12,625,573 · App. 18/904,033 · Granted May 12, 2026

Inventors: Yuta Kuboyama (San Mateo, CA); Christopher M. Dodson (Denver, CO); Prashanth Holenarsipur (Los Altos, CA); Serhan O. Isikman (Sunnyvale, CA); Brian R. Land (Woodside, CA); Anant Rai (San Jose, CA)

Assignee: Apple Inc.

G06F3/038G04C3/001G04C3/005G04C3/007G04G21/08G06F1/163G06F3/0304G06F3/03547G06F3/0362G06F2203/04105G06F2203/04108

Abstract

Claims (63)

1 . An electronic device comprising:

a housing;

a cover material coupled to the housing, the cover material comprising a glass cover substrate of the electronic device;

a crown at least partially external to the housing;

a processor; and

an optical proximity sensor positioned within the housing of the electronic device and comprising:

a first light emitter;

a second light emitter; and

one or more light detectors;

wherein:

the optical proximity sensor is configured with a field of view including the crown at least partially external to the housing or an area above the crown;

the one or more light detectors comprises a first light detector aligned with the first light emitter and the second light emitter in a first direction, the first light detector configured to receive a first amount of light from the first light emitter and configured to receive a second amount of light from the second light emitter;

the first light emitter of the optical proximity sensor is configured to emit a first light path beginning within a threshold angle of a first angle and the cover material is configured to refract the first light path to a second angle, different from the first angle;

the second light emitter is configured to emit a second light path beginning within a threshold angle of a third angle and the cover material is configured to refract the second light path to a fourth angle, different from the third angle; and

the processor is configured to determine a distance of an object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in a second direction, different than the first direction, based on the first amount of light and the second amount of light.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a distance of the first light emitter to the first light detector is less than a distance of the second light emitter to the first light detector in the first direction, and wherein the distance of the first light emitter to the first light detector is less than a distance of the first light emitter to the second light emitter.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first amount of light from the first light emitter and the second amount of light from the second light emitter are received sequentially.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the first amount of light has a first wavelength and the second amount of light has a second wavelength different from the first wavelength of light or the first amount of light has a first pulsing scheme and the second amount of light has a second pulsing scheme different from the first pulsing scheme; and

the first amount of light and the second amount of light are received simultaneously.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the optical proximity sensor further comprises:

an optical filter disposed in or over one or more apertures for the first light emitter, the second light emitter, or the first light detector, wherein the optical filter is configured to pass light with one or more common wavelengths as one or more wavelengths of light emitted by the first light emitter and the second light emitter and block light with a wavelength different from the one or more wavelengths of light emitted by the first light emitter and the second light emitter.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more light detectors comprises a plurality of light detectors arranged in a one-dimensional array or in a two-dimensional array aligned with the first light emitter in a first direction.

7 . The electronic device of claim 6 , further comprising:

a processor configured to:

determine a centroid location using respective amplitudes detected by one or more of the plurality of light detectors; and

determine a distance of an object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in a second direction using the centroid location, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the one-dimensional array or the two-dimensional array.

8 . The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the centroid location is determined based on a particular light detector of the plurality of light detectors with a maximum amplitude among the plurality of light detectors or determined by interpolating the respective amplitudes detected by the plurality of light detectors.

9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the optical proximity sensor further comprises:

an emitter lens; and

a detector lens.

10 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the cover material includes a curved portion and a flat portion, wherein the field of view excludes an area normal to the flat portion of the cover material, wherein the field of view passes through the curved portion, and wherein the optical proximity sensor is mounted normal to the first angle with respect to a plane of the flat portion of the cover material.

11 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein a difference between the first angle and the second angle is between 10 degrees and 60 degrees.

12 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising:

an opaque mask having one or more apertures disposed on an inner surface of the cover material; and

an optical filter disposed at least partially in the apertures of the opaque mask;

wherein the field of view of the optical proximity sensor passes through the one or more apertures and wherein the optical filter is configured to pass a first range of wavelengths of light and to block a second range of wavelengths of light different from the first range of wavelengths of light.

13 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction.

14 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein determining the distance of an object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in the second direction is based on a ratio of the first amount of light and the second amount of light.

15 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the processor further configured to:

in accordance with a determination that an object is present within the field of view of the optical proximity sensor, perform a first operation; and

in accordance with a determination that an object is not present within the field of view of the optical proximity sensor, forgo performing the first operation.

16 . The electronic device of claim 15 , wherein the first operation is waking up the electronic device from a sleep state.

17 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the processor further configured to:

in accordance with a determination that the distance of the object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in the second direction is less than a first threshold distance and greater than a second threshold distance, perform a first operation; and

in accordance with a determination that the distance of the object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in the second direction is less than the first threshold distance and less than the second threshold distance, perform a second operation, different from the first operation.

18 . A wearable device comprising:

a housing;

a cover material coupled to the housing, the cover material comprising a glass cover substrate of the wearable device;

a crown at least partially external to the housing;

an optical proximity sensor positioned within the housing of the wearable device, disposed under the cover material, and configured with a field of view including the crown at least partially external to the housing or an area above the crown, the optical proximity sensor comprising a first light emitter, a second light emitter, and one or more light detectors; and

a processor coupled to the optical proximity sensor;

wherein the one or more light detectors comprises a first light detector aligned with the first light emitter and the second light emitter in a first direction, the first light detector configured to receive a first amount of light from the first light emitter and configured to receive a second amount of light from the second light emitter;

the first light emitter of the optical proximity sensor is configured to emit a first light path beginning within a threshold angle of a first angle and the cover material is configured to refract the first light path to a second angle, different from the first angle;

the second light emitter is configured to emit a second light path beginning within a threshold angle of a third angle and the cover material is configured to refract the second light path to a fourth angle, different from the third angle;

wherein the processor is configured to:

estimate a presence of an object touching or within a threshold distance from the crown; or

estimate a distance between the object touching or within the threshold distance from the crown; and

wherein the processor is further configured to determine a distance of an object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in a second direction, different than the first direction, based on the first amount of light and the second amount of light.

19 . The wearable device of claim 18 , wherein determining the distance of an object to the optical proximity sensor or to the crown in the second direction is based on a ratio of the first amount of light and the second amount of light.

20 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the first amount of light received by the one or more light detectors comprises a first reflection received via the cover material,

the second amount of light received by the one or more light detectors comprises a second reflection received via the cover material.

Continuity (10)

References Cited (157)