IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,659,392
Granted Patent B2
US 12,659,392 · App. 18/243,504 · Granted Jun 16, 2026

Handheld electronic device

Inventors: Shayla A. Schoensee (Campbell, CA); Jacob Barton (Campbell, CA); Kevin Y. Chung (San Jose, CA); Daniel W. Jarvis (Sunnyvale, CA); Jason P. Shannon (Sunnyvale, CA); Marwan Rammah (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: APPLE INC.
H04M1/0266G06F1/1643G06F1/1656G06F1/1683G06F1/169G06F1/181G06T7/50G06V40/161G06V40/172H04M1/0262H04M1/0264H04M1/0268H04M1/0283H04M1/22H04M1/724631H04M1/72466H04N23/90G06T2207/10028H04M2201/38H04M2207/18
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,659,392
App. No.
18/243,504
Filed
Sep 7, 2023
Granted
Jun 16, 2026
Kind
B2
Examiner
JAIN, ANKUR
Art Unit
2649
USPC
455/566
Abstract

A mobile phone may include an enclosure defining a front exterior surface of the mobile phone, a rear exterior surface of the mobile phone, and a side exterior surface of the mobile phone. The mobile phone may further include an audio output system configured to produce an audible alert in response to the mobile phone receiving an incoming call, a momentary ringer-control button positioned along a side exterior surface of the housing component, and a processing system configured to, in response to detecting an actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while a first ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, transition the mobile phone to a second ringer mode, and in response to detecting the actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while a second ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, transition the mobile phone to the first ringer mode.

Claims (97)

1 . A mobile phone comprising:

an enclosure defining:

a front exterior surface of the mobile phone;

a rear exterior surface of the mobile phone; and

a side exterior surface of the mobile phone, the enclosure comprising:

a front cover assembly defining the front exterior surface of the mobile phone; and

a housing component coupled to the front cover assembly and defining the side exterior surface of the mobile phone;

an audio output system configured to produce an audible alert in response to the mobile phone receiving an incoming call;

a momentary ringer-control button positioned along the side exterior surface of the housing component; and

a processing system configured to:

in response to detecting an actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while a first ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, transition the mobile phone to a second ringer mode; and

in response to detecting the actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while a second ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, transition the mobile phone to the first ringer mode.

2 . The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein:

in the first ringer mode, the audio output system produces the audible alert in response to the mobile phone receiving the incoming call; and

in the second ringer mode, the audio output system does not produce the audible alert in response to the mobile phone receiving the incoming call.

3 . The mobile phone of claim 1 , further comprising:

a first volume button positioned along the side exterior surface of the housing component and configured to increase a volume of an audio output of the mobile phone; and

a second volume button positioned along the side surface of the housing component and configured to decrease the volume of the audio output of the mobile phone.

4 . The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein:

the front cover assembly comprises a front cover defining:

a primary display region;

a front-facing sensor region surrounded by the primary display region; and

a supplemental display region within the front-facing sensor region; and

the processing system is further configured to, in response to detecting the actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while the first ringer mode of the mobile phone is active, cause a graphical element indicative of the second ringer mode to be displayed in the supplemental display region.

5 . The mobile phone of claim 4 , wherein:

the mobile phone further comprises a display below the front cover, the display operable in:

a first state in which graphical outputs are displayed in the primary display region; and

a second state in which graphical outputs are not displayed in the primary display region; and

the graphical element is displayed in the supplemental display region when the display is operating in the first state and in the second state.

6 . The mobile phone of claim 1 , wherein:

the actuation of the momentary ringer-control button is a first actuation of the momentary ringer-control button;

the first actuation occurs while the mobile phone is in a first mode of operation;

transitioning between the first ringer mode and the second ringer mode is a first device function; and

the processing system is further configured to:

in response to detecting a second actuation of the momentary ringer-control button while the mobile phone is in a second mode of operation, initiate a second device function different than the first device function.

7 . The mobile phone of claim 6 , wherein:

the mobile phone further comprises a camera;

the second mode of operation is an image capture mode; and

the second device function includes capturing an image with the camera.

8 . A portable electronic device comprising:

a touchscreen display;

wireless communication circuitry;

a battery; and

an enclosure enclosing the touchscreen display, the wireless communication circuitry, and the battery, the enclosure comprising:

a front cover positioned over the touchscreen display and defining a front exterior surface of the enclosure; and

a housing component coupled to the front cover and defining a side exterior surface of the enclosure, the side exterior surface extending from the front exterior surface of the enclosure to a rear exterior surface of the enclosure; and

a momentary button positioned along the side exterior surface of the enclosure, wherein:

while the portable electronic device is in a first mode of operation, actuation of the momentary button toggles between a first ringer mode of the portable electronic device and a second ringer mode of the portable electronic device; and

while the portable electronic device is in a second mode of operation different than the first mode of operation, actuation of the momentary button initiates a device function other than toggling between the first ringer mode and the second ringer mode.

9 . The portable electronic device of claim 8 , wherein:

when the portable electronic device is in the first ringer mode, actuation of the momentary button transitions the portable electronic device to the second ringer mode; and

when the portable electronic device is in the second ringer mode, actuation of the momentary button transitions the portable electronic device to the first ringer mode.

10 . The portable electronic device of claim 9 , wherein:

the portable electronic device further comprises an audio output system configured to produce an audible alert in response to the portable electronic device receiving an incoming call;

in the first ringer mode, the audio output system produces the audible alert in response to the portable electronic device receiving the incoming call; and

in the second ringer mode, the audio output system does not produce the audible alert in response to the portable electronic device receiving the incoming call.

11 . The portable electronic device of claim 9 , wherein, in response to transitioning to the second ringer mode, the portable electronic device displays a graphical output indicative of the second ringer mode.

12 . The portable electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the graphical output is displayed by the touchscreen display.

13 . The portable electronic device of claim 12 , wherein:

the front cover defines:

a primary display region; and

a supplemental display region at least partially surrounded by the primary display region; and

the graphical output is displayed in the supplemental display region when the primary display region is inactive.

14 . The portable electronic device of claim 13 , wherein:

the front cover further defines a front-facing sensor region at least partially surrounded by the primary display region;

the supplemental display region is within the front-facing sensor region; and

the portable electronic device further comprises a front-facing camera positioned in the front-facing sensor region.

15 . A mobile phone comprising:

a housing component defining a side surface of the mobile phone;

a front cover coupled to the housing component;

a display positioned below the front cover;

a momentary button positioned along the side surface of the mobile phone; and

a processing system configured to:

in response to detecting a first actuation of the momentary button while a first ringer mode of the mobile phone is active:

transition the mobile phone from the first ringer mode to a second ringer mode; and

cause a first graphical element indicating the second ringer mode to be displayed on the display; and

in response to detecting a second actuation of the momentary button while the second ringer mode of the mobile phone is active:

transition the mobile phone from the second ringer mode to the first ringer mode; and

cause a second graphical element indicating the first ringer mode to be displayed on the display.

16 . The mobile phone of claim 15 , wherein:

the front cover defines:

a primary display region;

a front-facing sensor region surrounded by the primary display region; and

a supplemental display region within the front-facing sensor region; and

the first graphical element is displayed in the supplemental display region.

17 . The mobile phone of claim 16 , wherein:

the display is operable in:

a first state in which the display displays graphical outputs in the primary display region; and

a second state in which the primary display region is blank; and

the first graphical element is displayed in the supplemental display region when the display is operating in the first state and when the display is operating in the second state.

18 . The mobile phone of claim 15 , further comprising:

a first volume button positioned along the side surface of the mobile phone and configured to increase a volume of an audio output of the mobile phone; and

a second volume button positioned along the side surface of the mobile phone and configured to decrease the volume of the audio output of the mobile phone.

19 . The mobile phone of claim 15 , wherein the mobile phone comprises a dome switch, and actuation of the momentary button causes the dome switch to collapse.

20 . The mobile phone of claim 15 , wherein:

the mobile phone further comprises a haptic actuator configured to produce a haptic output; and

the processing system is configured to, in accordance with a determination that the momentary button remains actuated for a predetermined duration, cause the haptic actuator to produce the haptic output.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 13, 2023
From: SHANNON, JASON P; SCHOENSEE, SHAYLA A; JARVIS, DANIEL W; BARTON, JACOB; CHUNG, KEVIN Y; RAMMAH, MARWAN
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 065546/0034 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63441756 · Jan 27, 2023
Related Publication 20230421678A1 · Dec 28, 2023
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