Remote surface touch detection for electronic devices
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsBaptiste C. Uzel, Kevin Durfee, Robert D. Watson, Timothy S. Paek, Wasifa Jamal, Soham Banerjee, Vaishnavi Dhulkhed
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Implementations of the subject technology provide systems and methods for detection of a user input with an electronic device, in which the input is received on or using a case for an electronic device. In one or more implementations, the case may be free of user input components such as buttons, switches, or touch sensors.
Claims21
A method, comprising:
- determining, by a case having an internal cavity for storing for an electronic device, that the electronic device is present in the case, wherein an outer surface of the case is free of user input components;
- providing, by the case, a first instruction to the electronic device to perform one or more detection operations for detecting a user input to the case;
- receiving, by the case from the electronic device, an indication of the user input to the case;
- and
- providing, by the case, a second instruction to the electronic device to perform an action responsive to the detection of the user input.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of an electronic device that is disposed within, and removable from, an other electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform operations comprising:
- obtaining sensor data from one or more sensors of the electronic device that is disposed within, and removable from, the other electronic device;
- receiving, from an additional electronic device disposed within and removable from the other electronic device, additional sensor data;
- and
- determining whether the sensor data indicates a user input on an outer surface of the other electronic device based on the sensor data and the additional sensor data.
A case, comprising:
- an internal cavity for storing an electronic device;
- a sensor;
- and
- processing circuitry configured to:
- determine that the electronic device is not present in the case;
- obtain, responsive to determining that the electronic device is not present in the case, sensor data from the sensor of the case;
- provide the sensor data as an input to a machine learning model at the case;
- identify, based on an output from the machine learning model, a user input on an exterior surface of the case;
- and
- perform a predetermined action responsive to identification of the user input on the exterior surface of the case.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.