Self-mixing optical proximity sensors for electronic devices
US-11029442-B2 · Jun 8, 2021 · US
Self-mixing interference based sensors for characterizing touch input
US11599224B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-11599224-B2 |
| Application number | US-202117482265-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Sep 22, 2021 |
| Priority date | Apr 13, 2018 |
| Publication date | Mar 7, 2023 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2023 |
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Abstract
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Disclosed herein are electronic devices having touch input surfaces. A user's touch input or press on the touch input surface is detected using a set of lasers, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that emit beams of light toward the touch input surface. The user's touch causes changes in the self-mixing interference within the VCSEL of the emitted light with reflected light, such as from the touch input surface. Deflection and movement (e.g., drag motion) of the user's touch is determined from detected changes in the VCSELs' operation due to the self-mixing interference.
First claim
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What is claimed is: 1. A method of detecting a user input on a touch input surface of an electronic device, the method comprising: emitting a coherent light beam from a laser positioned within the electronic device, the coherent light beam emitted toward the touch input surface; applying a sinusoidal modulation to a bias current of the laser, the sinusoidal modulation having a modulation frequency; measuring a signal of an interferometric parameter associated with the laser;…
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Physics · mapped topic
- G01B9/02092Primary
Physics · mapped topic
Physics · mapped topic
Physics · mapped topic
Electricity · mapped topic
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- What does patent US11599224B2 cover?
- Disclosed herein are electronic devices having touch input surfaces. A user's touch input or press on the touch input surface is detected using a set of lasers, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that emit beams of light toward the touch input surface. The user's touch causes changes in the self-mixing interference within the VCSEL of the emitted light with reflected light…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Apple Inc
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification G01B9/02092. Mapped technology areas include Physics.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Mar 07 2023 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 7 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).