PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10962388-B2
Application Number: US-201816123808-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Conductor sensing assemblies

Abstract:
An electronic device may include a conductor sensing assembly for sensing movement of a conductor, for example, in order to provide an input assembly that may be operative to detect a user&#39;s manipulation of a distance between the conductor and a portion of the conductor sensing assembly for controlling a functionality of the device. The conductor sensing assembly may include an oscillator that may produce oscillations that decay at different rates dependent upon a variable distance between a component of the conductor sensing assembly and a conductor of the input assembly. As the decay rate may be dependent on or otherwise correlate with the magnitude of a distance between the oscillator and a conductor, detection of the decay rate of the oscillator may enable determination of a state of a button input assembly that includes a conductor operative to be movable by a user with respect to the oscillator.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of sensing a conductor using an oscillator, the method comprising:
 enabling the oscillator with a trigger burst during a trigger burst window of a periodic trigger interval; 
 generating first threshold count data indicative of the number of oscillations of the oscillator exceeding a first amplitude threshold during the periodic trigger interval; 
 generating second threshold count data indicative of the number of oscillations of the oscillator exceeding a second amplitude threshold during the periodic trigger interval, wherein the second amplitude threshold is different than the first amplitude threshold; and 
 determining a distance between the conductor and a sense coil of the oscillator based on the generated first and second threshold count data. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adjusting a functionality of an electronic device based on the determined distance. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the sense coil of the oscillator by an end user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein one of the sense coil or the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 after the enabling, re-enabling the oscillator; 
 detecting a number of oscillation cycles generated by the re-enabling; and 
 determining a type of movement of the conductor with respect to the sense coil based on the detected number. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising adjusting a functionality of an electronic device based on the determined type of movement. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the sense coil by an end user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises accessing a particular correlator that defines a relationship between at least the generated first threshold count data and the distance between the conductor and the sense coil. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the oscillator by an end user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sense coil is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       13. A method of sensing a conductor using an oscillator, the method comprising:
 enabling the oscillator with a trigger; 
 detecting a decay rate of oscillations of the oscillator when enabled; 
 determining a distance between the conductor and a sense coil of the oscillator based on the detected decay rate; and 
 setting a bias of the trigger to a minimum level required to sustain oscillations of the oscillator through the trigger when the conductor does not affect a decay rate of oscillations of the oscillator. 
 
     
     
       14. A method of sensing a conductor using an oscillator, the method comprising:
 enabling the oscillator with a trigger burst during a trigger burst window of a periodic trigger interval; 
 detecting a first number of oscillation cycles during the trigger burst window whose amplitude exceeds a first threshold; 
 detecting a second number of oscillation cycles during the trigger burst window whose amplitude exceeds a second threshold that is different than the first threshold; and 
 determining a distance between the conductor and the oscillator based on the detected first and second numbers. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising adjusting a functionality of an electronic device based on the determined distance. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the oscillator by an end user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 after the enabling, further enabling the oscillator with another trigger burst window of another trigger interval that follows the trigger interval; 
 detecting a third number of oscillation cycles in the other trigger burst window; and 
 determining a type of movement of the conductor with respect to the oscillator based on the detected first, second, and third numbers. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 19 , further comprising adjusting a functionality of an electronic device based on the determined type of movement. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the conductor is a portion of a housing of the electronic device. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 20 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the oscillator by an end user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the determining comprises accessing a particular correlator that defines a relationship between the detected first number of oscillation cycles and the distance between the conductor and the oscillator. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the determining the distance comprises determining the distance between the conductor and a sense coil of the oscillator based on the detected first and second number. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the conductor is operative to be movable with respect to the sense coil by an end user of an electronic device. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sense coil is a portion of a housing of the electronic device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/565,346, filed Sep. 29, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to conductor sensing assemblies and, more particularly, to conductor sensing assemblies that detect movement of a conductor using a decay rate of an oscillator. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     An electronic device (e.g., a laptop computer, a cellular telephone, etc.) may be provided with an input assembly that generates an input control based on the detected movement of an input assembly. However, heretofore, such input assemblies have required many electronic components and/or consumed a significant amount of power. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This document describes systems, methods, and computer-readable media for detecting movement of a conductor using a decay rate of an oscillator. 
     For example, a method is provided for sensing a conductor using an oscillator, wherein the method may include enabling the oscillator with a trigger burst window of a trigger interval, detecting a number of oscillation cycles in the trigger interval, and determining a distance between the conductor and the oscillator based on the detected number of oscillation cycles. 
     As another example, a method is provided for sensing a conductor using an oscillator, wherein the method may include enabling the oscillator with a trigger, detecting a decay rate of oscillations of the oscillator when enabled, and determining a distance between the conductor and a sense coil of the oscillator based on the detected decay rate. 
     This Summary is provided only to summarize some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the features described in this Summary are only examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The discussion below makes reference to the following drawings, in which like reference characters may refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an illustrative system including an electronic device with a conductor sensing assembly; 
         FIG. 1A  is a front, left, bottom perspective view of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1B  is a back, right, bottom perspective view of the electronic device of  FIGS. 1 and 1A , in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1C  is a cross-sectional view, taken from line IC-IC of  FIG. 1A , of a portion of the electronic device of  FIGS. 1-1B  with a button input assembly with at least a portion of the conductor sensing assembly, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1D  is an exemplary schematic view of the button input assembly with the conductor sensing assembly of  FIG. 1C , in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1E  is a cross-sectional view, similar to  FIG. 1C , of a portion of another button input assembly with at least a portion of a conductor sensing assembly, in a first input state, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 1F  is a cross-sectional view, similar to  FIGS. 1C and 1E , of the portion of the other button input assembly of  FIG. 1E , in a second input state, in accordance with some embodiments; 
         FIG. 2  is a graph illustrating exemplary behavior of various factors of a conductor sensing assembly over time, in accordance with some embodiments; and 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are flowcharts of illustrative processes for sensing a conductor. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Systems, methods, and computer-readable media may be provided for detecting movement of a conductor. An electronic device may include a conductor sensing assembly for sensing movement of a conductor, for example, in order to provide an input assembly that may be operative to detect a user&#39;s manipulation of a distance between the conductor and a portion of the conductor sensing assembly for controlling a functionality of the electronic device. As an example, such a conductor sensing assembly may include an oscillator that may be configured to produce oscillations that decay at different rates dependent upon a variable distance between a component of the conductor sensing assembly and a conductor of the input assembly. Such an oscillator may be provided as an LC oscillator that may be configured to produce oscillations that are damped at a varying rate based on a varying distance between a sense coil (e.g., an inductor) of the LC oscillator and a conductor (e.g., a conductive metal plate), where the conductor may be manipulated (e.g., pressed, deflected, etc.) by a user of the electronic device towards the sense coil to shorten such a distance, and the conductor sensing assembly may be operative to sense such manipulation by detecting a particular oscillation decay rate. As a decay rate of oscillations of an oscillator may be dependent on or otherwise correlate with the magnitude of a distance between the oscillator and a conductor, detection of the decay rate of the oscillator may enable determination of a state of a button input assembly that includes the conductor operative to be movable by a user with respect to the oscillator. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an illustrative electronic device  100  that may include a conductor sensing assembly. Electronic device  100  can include, but is not limited to, a music player (e.g., an iPod™ available by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), video player, still image player, game player, other media player, music recorder, movie or video camera or recorder, still camera, other media recorder, radio, medical equipment, domestic appliance, transportation vehicle instrument, musical instrument, calculator, cellular telephone (e.g., an iPhone™ available by Apple Inc.), other wireless communication device, wearable device (e.g., an Apple Watch™ available by Apple Inc.), personal digital assistant, remote control, pager, computer (e.g., a desktop (e.g., an iMac™ available by Apple Inc.), laptop (e.g., a MacBook™ available by Apple Inc.), tablet (e.g., an iPad™ available by Apple Inc.), server, etc.), monitor, television, stereo equipment, set up box, set-top box, boom box, modem, router, printer, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, electronic device  100  may perform a single function (e.g., a device dedicated to sensing a conductor) and, in other embodiments, electronic device  100  may perform multiple functions (e.g., a device that senses a conductor, plays music, and receives and transmits telephone calls). 
     Electronic device  100  may be any portable, mobile, hand-held, or miniature electronic device that may be configured to sense a conductor (e.g., of an input assembly) wherever a user travels. Some miniature electronic devices may have a form factor that is smaller than that of hand-held electronic devices, such as an iPod™. Illustrative miniature electronic devices can be integrated into various objects that may include, but are not limited to, watches (e.g., an Apple Watch™ available by Apple Inc.), rings, necklaces, belts, accessories for belts, headsets, accessories for shoes, virtual reality devices, glasses, other wearable electronics, accessories for sporting equipment, accessories for fitness equipment, key chains, or any combination thereof. Alternatively, electronic device  100  may not be portable at all, but may instead be generally stationary. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , for example, electronic device  100  may include a processor assembly  102 , memory assembly  104 , a communications assembly  106 , a power supply assembly  108 , an input assembly  110 , and an output assembly  112 . Electronic device  100  may also include a bus  118  that may provide one or more wired or wireless communication links or paths for transferring data and/or power to, from, or between various assemblies of device  100 . In some embodiments, one or more assemblies of electronic device  100  may be combined or omitted. Moreover, electronic device  100  may include any other suitable assemblies not combined or included in  FIG. 1  and/or several instances of the assemblies shown in  FIG. 1 . For the sake of simplicity, only one of each of the assemblies is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     Memory assembly  104  may include one or more storage mediums, including for example, a hard-drive, flash memory, permanent memory such as read-only memory (“ROM”), semi-permanent memory such as random access memory (“RAM”), any other suitable type of storage assembly, or any combination thereof. Memory assembly  104  may include cache memory, which may be one or more different types of memory used for temporarily storing data for electronic device applications. Memory assembly  104  may be fixedly embedded within electronic device  100  or may be incorporated onto one or more suitable types of components that may be repeatedly inserted into and removed from electronic device  100  (e.g., a subscriber identity module (“SIM”) card or secure digital (“SD”) memory card). Memory assembly  104  may store media data (e.g., music and image files), software (e.g., for implementing functions on device  100 ), firmware, preference information (e.g., media playback preferences), lifestyle information (e.g., food preferences), exercise information (e.g., information obtained by exercise monitoring equipment), transaction information (e.g., credit card information), wireless connection information (e.g., information that may enable device  100  to establish a wireless connection), subscription information (e.g., information that keeps track of podcasts or television shows or other media a user subscribes to), contact information (e.g., telephone numbers and e-mail addresses), calendar information, pass information (e.g., transportation boarding passes, event tickets, coupons, store cards, financial payment cards, etc.), any suitable oscillation count-distance correlator data of any suitable conductor sensing assembly of device  100  (e.g., as may be stored in a correlator memory portion  105   a  of memory assembly  104 ), any other suitable data, or any combination thereof. 
     Communications assembly  106  may be provided to allow device  100  to communicate with one or more other electronic devices or servers or any other remote entities using any suitable communications protocol(s). For example, communications assembly  106  may support Wi-Fi™ (e.g., an 802.11 protocol), ZigBee™ (e.g., an 802.15.4 protocol), WiDi™, Ethernet, Bluetooth™, Bluetooth™ Low Energy (“BLE”), high frequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (“TCP/IP”) (e.g., any of the protocols used in each of the TCP/IP layers), Stream Control Transmission Protocol (“SCTP”), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”), hypertext transfer protocol (“HTTP”), BitTorrent™, file transfer protocol (“FTP”), real-time transport protocol (“RTP”), real-time streaming protocol (“RTSP”), real-time control protocol (“RTCP”), Remote Audio Output Protocol (“RAOP”), Real Data Transport Protocol™ (“RDTP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”), secure shell protocol (“SSH”), wireless distribution system (“WDS”) bridging, any communications protocol that may be used by wireless and cellular telephones and personal e-mail devices (e.g., Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”), GSM plus Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (“EDGE”), Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (“OFDMA”), high speed packet access (“HSPA”), multi-band, etc.), any communications protocol that may be used by a low power Wireless Personal Area Network (“6LoWPAN”) module, any other communications protocol, or any combination thereof. Communications assembly  106  may also include or may be electrically coupled to any suitable transceiver circuitry that can enable device  100  to be communicatively coupled to another device (e.g., a server, host computer, scanner, accessory device, etc.) and communicate data with that other device wirelessly or via a wired connection (e.g., using a connector port). Communications assembly  106  may be configured to determine a geographical position of electronic device  100  and/or any suitable data that may be associated with that position. For example, communications assembly  106  may utilize a global positioning system (“GPS”) or a regional or site-wide positioning system that may use cell tower positioning technology or Wi-Fi™ technology, or any suitable location-based service or real-time locating system, which may leverage a geo-fence for providing any suitable location-based data to device  100 . 
     Power supply assembly  108  may include any suitable circuitry for receiving and/or generating power, and for providing such power to one or more of the other assemblies of electronic device  100 . For example, power supply assembly  108  can be coupled to a power grid (e.g., when device  100  is not acting as a portable device or when a battery of the device is being charged at an electrical outlet with power generated by an electrical power plant). As another example, power supply assembly  108  may be configured to generate power from a natural source (e.g., solar power using solar cells). As another example, power supply assembly  108  can include one or more batteries for providing power (e.g., when device  100  is acting as a portable device). For example, power supply assembly  108  can include one or more of a battery (e.g., a gel, nickel metal hydride, nickel cadmium, nickel hydrogen, lead acid, or lithium-ion battery), an uninterruptible or continuous power supply assembly (“UPS” or “CPS”), and circuitry for processing power received from a power generation source (e.g., power generated by an electrical power plant and delivered to the user via an electrical socket or otherwise). The power can be provided by power supply assembly  108  as alternating current or direct current, and may be processed to transform power or limit received power to particular characteristics. For example, the power can be transformed to or from direct current, and constrained to one or more values of average power, effective power, peak power, energy per pulse, voltage, current (e.g., measured in amperes), or any other characteristic of received power. Power supply assembly  108  can be operative to request or provide particular amounts of power at different times, for example, based on the needs or requirements of electronic device  100  or periphery devices that may be coupled to electronic device  100  (e.g., to request more power when charging a battery than when the battery is already charged). 
     One or more input assemblies  110  may be provided to permit a user or device environment to interact or interface with device  100 . For example, input assembly  110  can take a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, a touch pad, dial, click wheel, scroll wheel, touch screen, one or more buttons (e.g., a keyboard), mouse, joy stick, track ball, microphone, camera, scanner (e.g., a barcode scanner or any other suitable scanner that may obtain product identifying information from a code, such as a linear barcode, a matrix barcode (e.g., a quick response (“QR”) code), or the like), proximity sensor, light detector, temperature sensor, motion sensor, biometric sensor (e.g., a fingerprint reader or other feature (e.g., facial) recognition sensor, which may operate in conjunction with a feature-processing application that may be accessible to electronic device  100  for authenticating a user), line-in connector for data and/or power, and combinations thereof. Each input assembly  110  can be configured to provide one or more dedicated control functions for making selections or issuing commands associated with operating device  100 . Each input assembly  110  may be positioned at any suitable location at least partially within a space defined by a housing  101  of device  100  and/or at least partially on an external surface of housing  101  of device  100 . 
     Electronic device  100  may also include one or more output assemblies  112  that may present information (e.g., graphical, audible, and/or tactile information) to a user of device  100 . For example, output assembly  112  of electronic device  100  may take various forms, including, but not limited to, audio speakers, headphones, line-out connectors for data and/or power, visual displays (e.g., for transmitting data via visible light and/or via invisible light), infrared ports, flashes (e.g., light sources for providing artificial light for illuminating an environment of the device), tactile/haptic outputs (e.g., rumblers, vibrators, etc.), and combinations thereof. As a specific example, electronic device  100  may include a display assembly output assembly as output assembly  112 , where such a display assembly output assembly may include any suitable type of display or interface for presenting visual data to a user with visible light. 
     It is noted that one or more input assemblies and one or more output assemblies may sometimes be referred to collectively herein as an input/output (“I/O”) assembly or I/O interface (e.g., input assembly  110  and output assembly  112  as I/O assembly or I/O interface  111 ). For example, input assembly  110  and output assembly  112  may sometimes be a single I/O interface  111 , such as a touch screen, that may receive input information through a user&#39;s touch of a display screen and that may also provide visual information to a user via that same display screen. 
     Processor assembly  102  of electronic device  100  may include any processing circuitry that may be operative to control the operations and performance of one or more assemblies of electronic device  100 . For example, processor assembly  102  may receive input signals from input assembly  110  and/or drive output signals through output assembly  112 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , processor assembly  102  may be used to run one or more applications, such as an application  103 . Application  103  may include, but is not limited to, one or more operating system applications, firmware applications, media playback applications, media editing applications, pass applications, calendar applications, state determination applications, biometric feature-processing applications, compass applications, health applications, thermometer applications, weather applications, thermal management applications, video game applications, or any other suitable applications. For example, processor assembly  102  may load application  103  as a user interface program to determine how instructions or data received via an input assembly  110  and/or any other assembly of device  100  may manipulate the one or more ways in which information may be stored on device  100  and/or provided to the a via an output assembly  112 . As another example, processor assembly  102  may load application  103  as a background application program or a user-detectable application program to determine how input assembly output data received via any suitable assembly and/or combination of assemblies of device  100  (e.g., input assembly output data determined by a conductor sensing subassembly of an input assembly  110  based on a decay rate of an oscillator and any suitable oscillation count-distance correlator data) may be stored and/or otherwise used to control or manipulate at least one functionality of device  100  (e.g., a performance or mode of electronic device  100  may be altered in a particular one of various ways (e.g., volume of an audio output assembly may be lowered or muted) based on a particular type of received input assembly output data). Application  103  may be accessed by processor assembly  102  from any suitable source, such as from memory assembly  104  (e.g., via bus  118 ) or from another remote device or server (e.g., via communications assembly  106 ). Processor assembly  102  may include a single processor or multiple processors. For example, processor assembly  102  may include at least one “general purpose” microprocessor, a combination of general and special purpose microprocessors, instruction set processors, graphics processors, video processors, and/or related chips sets, and/or special purpose microprocessors. Processor assembly  102  also may include on board memory for caching purposes. 
     Electronic device  100  may also be provided with housing  101  that may at least partially enclose at least a portion of one or more of the assemblies of device  100  for protection from debris and other degrading forces external to device  100 . In some embodiments, one or more of the assemblies may be provided within its own housing (e.g., input assembly  110  may be an independent keyboard or mouse within its own housing that may wirelessly or through a wire communicate with processor assembly  102 , which may be provided within its own housing). 
       FIGS. 1A-1D  are various views of various portions of electronic device  100  in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, electronic device  100  may include a touch screen I/O interface  111   a , which may include a touch input assembly  110   a  and a display output assembly  112   a , an audio speaker output assembly  112   b , and a button input assembly  110   c , and where housing  101  may be configured to at least partially enclose each of the input assemblies and output assemblies of device  100 . Housing  101  may be any suitable shape and may include any suitable number of walls. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIGS. 1A -ID, for example, housing  101  may be of a generally hexahedral shape and may include a top wall  101   t , a bottom wall  101   b  that may be opposite top wall  101   t , a left wall  101   l , a right wall  101   r  that may be opposite left wall  101   l , a front wall  101   f , and a back wall  101   k  that may be opposite front wall  101   f , where at least a portion of touch screen I/O interface  111   a  may be at least partially exposed to the external environment via a housing opening  109   a  through front wall  101   f , where at least a portion of audio speaker assembly output assembly  112   b  may be at least partially exposed to the external environment via a housing opening  109   b  through front wall  101   f , and where at least a portion of button input assembly  110   c  may be at least partially exposed to the external environment by a housing portion  109   c  of left wall  101   l  (or via an opening through wall  101   l  (see, e.g.,  FIGS. 1E and 1F )). It is to be understood that electronic device  100  may be provided with any suitable size or shape with any suitable number and type of assemblies or components other than as shown in  FIGS. 1A-1D , and that the embodiments of  FIGS. 1A-1D  are only exemplary. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1C , button input assembly  110   c  may include a conductor assembly  120 , a spacer assembly  126 , and a conductor sensing (or sensor) assembly  130 . Sensor assembly  130  may be configured to detect various types of movement of a conductor component structure (or conductor)  122  of conductor assembly  120  with respect to sensor assembly  130 . For example, sensor assembly  130  may be configured to detect various types of adjustment of a magnitude of a distance dimension D of a spacing S between conductor  122  and a portion of conductor assembly  130  (e.g., to detect various magnitudes of dimension D). Such various adjustment types may be made by a user U interacting with button input assembly  110   c  in various ways, such as by user U pushing conductor  122  towards sensor assembly  130  for reducing dimension D of spacing S by initiating the application of, or increasing the magnitude of, a user force on conductor  122  in the direction of arrow P), by user U enabling conductor  122  to retreat from sensor assembly  130  for increasing dimension D of spacing S (e.g., by terminating the application of, or decreasing the magnitude of, a user force on conductor  122 ), or by user U maintaining a position of conductor  122  with respect to sensor assembly  130  (e.g., by maintaining a particular user force on conductor  122  or by continuing not to provide any user force or even any user contact on conductor  122 ). Moreover, sensor assembly  130  may be configured to generate various types of input assembly output data  130   d , where different types of input assembly output data  130   d  may correspond to different input states of button input assembly  110   c  (e.g., to different detected magnitudes of dimension D), and where such different types of input assembly output data  130   d  may be of any suitable use by any suitable receiving element  113  of device  100  (e.g., an active application  103  of device  100 ) for adjusting any suitable functionality of any suitable assembly of device  100  in different ways (e.g., for performing an adjustment  113   a  of a functionality of device  100  (e.g., for decreasing or muting the volume of audio emitted by audio speaker output assembly  112   b )). 
     Sensor assembly  130  may include an oscillator subassembly  140  and a processor subassembly  150 . Oscillator subassembly  140  may be configured to be enabled by any suitable (e.g., periodic) trigger to produce oscillations (e.g., sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o ) that may decay at a variable rate dependent upon a variable magnitude of distance dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  of conductor assembly  120  and a portion of oscillator subassembly  140 , such as a resonator subassembly  141  of oscillator subassembly  140 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 1C , sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  (e.g., a periodic trigger voltage) may be provided by processor subassembly  150  for enabling oscillator subassembly  140  to produce sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  (e.g., an oscillatory voltage indicative of oscillations of oscillator subassembly  140 ), and such oscillation data  130   o  may be received and processed by processor subassembly  150  to determine a particular oscillation decay rate of the oscillations of oscillator subassembly  140 . Such a determined decay rate may be indicative of a particular input state of button input assembly  110   c  (e.g., indicative of a particular magnitude of dimension D) and processor subassembly  150  may be configured to generate and communicate to receiving element  113  a particular type of input assembly output data  130   d  that may be indicative of such a particular input state of button input assembly  110   c.    
     Spacer assembly  126  may be provided for enabling any suitable magnitude D O  of a resting stable input state dimension of dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  and resonator subassembly  141  of oscillator subassembly  140  when button input assembly  110   c  is in an initial stable state (e.g., when no user force is applied by user U to conductor  122  such that button input assembly  110   c  may be in a resting stable input state (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 1C )). As just one example, conductor  122  of conductor assembly  120  may be provided by housing portion  109   c  of wall  101   l  of housing  101  (e.g., a metal or any other suitable conductive portion of housing  101 ), and spacer assembly  126  may provide a spacer structure with a thickness D O  that may be positioned between wall  101   l  and any suitable portion (e.g., subassembly  141 ) of oscillator subassembly  140 , and any suitable spacer opening  127  may be provided through the structure of spacer assembly  126  for exposing conductor  122  to resonator subassembly  141 . For example, opening  127  may be any suitable geometry, such as a cylinder with a diameter O and a height D O  for defining a spacer volume C within which at least a portion of conductor  122  and/or at least a portion of resonator subassembly  141  may move (e.g., within which at least a portion of conductor  122  may be deflected or otherwise manipulated) for adjusting the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  and resonator subassembly  141 . At least a portion of oscillator subassembly  140  and conductor assembly  120  may each be fixed to spacer assembly  126  for enabling spacer volume C to be provided in a static relationship with respect to at least that portion of oscillator subassembly  140  and conductor assembly  120  (e.g., at least in a stable state of input assembly  110   c ). In one particular embodiment, the spacer structure of spacer assembly  126  may be a portion of wall  101   l  of housing  101 , where opening  127  may be provided to form a reduced thickness portion  109   c  of housing  101  for providing a type of conductor  122  that may be more easily moved (e.g., deflected) with respect to oscillator subassembly  140  within spacer volume C for adjusting the magnitude of dimension D therebetween. In another embodiment, the spacer structure of spacer assembly  126  may be provided by any other suitable material, such as a heavy paper stock. Magnitude D O  of the height of the spacer structure of spacer assembly  126  and/or of dimension D of spacing S when button input assembly  110   c  is in a resting stable state may be any suitable magnitude, such as about 250 micrometers or may be in any suitable range, such as between 100 micrometers and 400 micrometers, while diameter O may be any suitable magnitude, such as about 1,000 micrometers or may be in any suitable range, such as between 500 micrometers and 1,500 micrometers. In some embodiments, rather than button input assembly  110   c  being configured such that a user U may be enabled to provide a force for moving at least a portion of conductor  122  into spacer volume C towards oscillator subassembly  140  in order to adjust the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S therebetween (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 1C ), a button input assembly  110   c ′, as shown in  FIGS. 1E and 1F , for example, may be configured such that a user U may be enabled to provide a force (e.g., in the direction P) for moving at least a portion of an oscillator subassembly  140 ′ (e.g., at least a portion of a resonator subassembly  141 ′ that may include one or more windings of an inductor or sense coil  143 ′ surrounded by a protective layer  143   t  (e.g., a polyimide film or tape)) into spacer volume C defined by opening  127  of spacer assembly  126  towards a conductor  122 ′ of a conductor assembly  120 ′ in order to adjust the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S therebetween. For example, as shown, button input assembly  110   c ′ may be adjusted from a first state of  FIG. 1E , in which user U exerts no force on oscillator subassembly  140 ′ such that at least a portion of oscillator subassembly  140 ′ (e.g., inductor or sense coil  143 ′) may be held (e.g., by spacer assembly  126 ) at a magnitude D O  of dimension D of spacing S with respect to conductor  122 ′, to a second state of  FIG. 1F , in which user U exerts a force on at least a portion of oscillator subassembly  140 ′ (e.g., in the direction of arrow P) such that a portion of oscillator subassembly  140 ′ (e.g., inductor or sense coil  143 ′) may move (e.g., deflect) within spacer volume C (e.g., via a housing opening  109   c ′ through wall  101   l ′ of a device housing  101 ′) and may be held (e.g., at least partially within spacer volume C) at a magnitude D C  of dimension D of spacing S with respect to conductor  122 ′, where magnitude D C  may be 0 millimeters or substantially 0 millimeters such that a portion of oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., sense coil  143 ′) may be contacting or substantially contacting a portion of conductor  122 ′ (e.g., as shown) or at any other magnitude between magnitude D C  and magnitude D O  (e.g., magnitude D M  of  FIG. 2 ). Additionally or alternatively, in yet other embodiments, button input assembly  110   c  may be configured such that a user U may be enabled to provide a first force for moving at least a portion of oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., at least a portion of subassembly  141 ) into spacer volume C towards conductor  122  and a second force for moving at least a portion of conductor  120  into spacer volume C towards at least a portion of oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., at least a portion of subassembly  141 ) in order to adjust the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S therebetween. 
     When sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  may be provided by processor subassembly  150  for enabling oscillator subassembly  140  to produce sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o , processor subassembly  150  may be configured to compare such oscillation data  130   o  to at least one threshold in order to determine the number of oscillation cycles whose amplitude exceeds that threshold, where such a determined cycle count for a particular threshold may be processed by processor subassembly  150  to determine a decay rate of the oscillations and/or a measure of a Q factor (e.g., resonator Q) of oscillator subassembly  140 , which may be used by processor subassembly  150  to infer the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S for generating appropriate input assembly output data  130   d . As shown in  FIG. 1D , for example, oscillator subassembly  140  may be configured to provide any suitable oscillator, such as any suitable harmonic oscillator and/or relaxation oscillator, and may include resonator subassembly  141  (e.g., any suitable feedback network, such as an inductor-capacitor (“LC”) circuit, a resonant circuit, a tank circuit, a tuned circuit, etc.) and an amplifier subassembly  146  that may be coupled to resonator subassembly  141  in any suitable manner (e.g., amplifier subassembly  146  may be coupled in a feedback loop with its output fed back into its input through resonator subassembly  141  to provide positive feedback). Resonator subassembly  141  may be configured to include any suitable first resonator module  142  and any suitable second resonator module  144  coupled to first resonator module  142  for providing any suitable resonating network. As shown in  FIG. 1D , for example, in a particular embodiment, first resonator module  142  may be configured to include an inductor  143  (e.g., a sense coil) and second resonator module  144  may be configured to include a capacitor  145  (e.g., a resonator capacitor), such that resonator subassembly  141  may be configured to provide an LC tank circuit. For example, in some embodiments, resonator subassembly  141  may include a coil (inductor) (e.g., first resonator module  142 ) that may be located proximate to conductor  122  so that magnetic field lines from the coil may enter the conductor when conductor  122  is at a minimum extreme spacing. Spacing S may be between the inductive element in the oscillator and the conductor. The oscillator may include an amplifier with a bias source and a resonator (e.g., capacitor plus inductor). The position of the inductor with respect to the conductor may be of interest, as the magnetic field from the inductor may interact with the conductor. The coil (inductor) of the oscillator subassembly may be positioned proximate to the conductor, while other portions (e.g., the remainder) of the oscillator assembly may be positioned further from the conductor. Amplifier subassembly  146  may be configured to include any suitable first amplifier subassembly  147  and any suitable second amplifier subassembly  148  coupled to first amplifier subassembly  146  for providing any suitable oscillator amplifier. For example, first amplifier subassembly  147  may be configured to include any suitable circuitry for configuring oscillator subassembly  140  to provide any suitable type of oscillator, including, but not limited to, a Colpitts oscillator, a Hartley oscillator, a Clapp oscillator, and/or the like, and/or to provide sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  (e.g., on any suitable bus  118  or otherwise) to processor subassembly  150 . Second amplifier subassembly  148  may be configured to provide any suitable circuitry for biasing oscillator subassembly  140  using sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  that may be provided to second amplifier subassembly  148  (e.g., on any suitable bus  118  or otherwise) from processor subassembly  150 . As shown in  FIG. 1D , for example, in a particular embodiment, second amplifier subassembly  148  may be configured to include a voltage controlled current source  149  that may be controlled by trigger data  130   t . Inductor  143  may be provided as any suitable sense coil, such as a coil that is configured to get a large amount of inductance with a limited volume, which may be accomplished by providing a large number of turns in a small area (e.g., a 2 millimeter by 2-6 millimeter coil with 1, 2, 3, or 4 layers). 
     Spacing S may extend between conductor  122  and sense inductor  143 , where sense inductor  143  may include a planar sense coil with any suitable number of turns that may be a single layer or multi-layer inductor, which may be patterned on a flex circuit. When such a sense coil of sense inductor  143  is within a certain proximity to a conductive plane (e.g., a conductive bottom planar surface of conductor  122 ), such as when the magnitude of dimension D is small (e.g., reduced to zero or substantially zero (e.g., when subassembly  142  (e.g., sense inductor  143 ) and conductor  122  are contacting each other) or any other suitable reduced dimension), a circuit equivalent to a transformer may be provided with the sense coil as a primary winding and the conductor as a single turn shorted secondary winding, where the primary and secondary may be coupled by a coupling coefficient k, where 0≤k≤1, where k=0 when there is no coupling (e.g., when the magnitude of dimension D is very large (e.g., dimension D O )), and where k approaches 1 when the magnitude of dimension D is reduced (e.g., close to 0 (e.g., when the magnitude of dimension D is a magnitude close to or at 0 or D C  (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 2 ))). Such a coupling coefficient k may be a function of spacing S between the sense coil of oscillator subassembly  140  and the conductive plane of conductor  122 , and/or the impedance of the coupled conductor  122  may change the equivalent impedance seen at the sense coil, whereby an adjusted proximity of conductor  122  to the sense coil of oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., to sense coil  143 ) may adjust the effective inductance of the sense coil. When coupling coefficient k is greater than 0, a magnetic field M produced by sense coil  143  may induce eddy currents E that may circulate in conductor  122 . Such circulating eddy currents E may require power from oscillator subassembly  140  and may reduce the resonator quality factor Q of oscillator subassembly  140 , which may increase the rate of decay of oscillations of oscillator subassembly  140 . 
     Processor subassembly  150  may include a comparator subassembly  151  that may be configured to receive sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  (or oscillation signal and/or oscillation signal amplitude information), which may be produced by oscillator subassembly  140  when enabled by sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  and while the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S between sense inductor  143  and conductor  122  may be adjusted. Comparator subassembly  151  may be any suitable subassembly that may be configured to compare such oscillation data  130   o  to at least one threshold in order to detect a number of oscillation cycles whose amplitude exceeds that threshold. For example, as shown, comparator subassembly  151  may include any suitable comparator circuitry  152 , such as at least a first comparator and/or N comparators, each of which may compare oscillation data  130   o  (e.g., oscillation signal amplitude information) with a different threshold (e.g., as may be defined by different resistors or otherwise) for generating threshold event data, such as a first comparator that may compare oscillation data  130   o  with a first threshold voltage H 1  for generating first threshold event data  130   h   1  (e.g., data indicative of a pulse for every oscillation cycle detected above first threshold H 1 ) and an Nth comparator that may compare oscillation data  130   o  (e.g., oscillation signal amplitude information) with an Nth threshold voltage HN for generating Nth threshold event data  130   hn  (e.g., data indicative of a pulse for every oscillation cycle detected above Nth threshold HN). 
     Processor subassembly  150  may also include any suitable controller subassembly  153  (e.g., a digital controller subassembly) that may be configured to count and process the number of oscillation cycles whose amplitude exceeds a particular threshold, where the determined cycle count for a particular threshold may be processed to determine a decay rate of the oscillations and/or a measure of a Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140 , which may be used by controller subassembly  153  to infer the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S for generating appropriate input assembly output data  130   d . For example, controller subassembly  153  may include any suitable counter subassembly  154  that may be configured to count the number of oscillation cycles whose amplitude exceeds a particular threshold for a particular interval of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  (e.g., a periodic trigger), where counter subassembly  154  may include any suitable counter circuitry  155 , such as a first counter that may be operative to count the number of pulses indicated by first threshold event data  130   h   1  (e.g., during a particular trigger interval) and provide such a number as first threshold count data  130   c   1  (e.g., data indicative of the number of oscillation cycles detected above first threshold H 1  during a particular trigger interval) and an Nth counter that may be operative to count the number of pulses indicated by Nth threshold event data  130   hn  (e.g., during a particular trigger interval) and provide such a number as Nth threshold count data  130   cn  (e.g., data indicative of the number of oscillation cycles detected above Nth threshold HN during a particular trigger interval). Controller subassembly  153  may also include any suitable logic subassembly  156  that may be configured to process one or more instances of threshold count data for one or more thresholds (e.g., for one or more particular trigger intervals) in order to determine a decay rate of the oscillations and/or a measure of a Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., during the one or more particular trigger intervals), which may be used by logic subassembly  156  to infer the magnitude of dimension D of spacing S (e.g., during the one or more particular trigger intervals) for generating appropriate input assembly output data  130   d.    
     Logic subassembly  156  may be configured to receive or otherwise detect threshold count data (e.g., threshold count data  130   c   1  with respect to threshold H 1  for each of one or more particular trigger intervals) and to access or otherwise determine oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  (e.g., from any suitable correlator data source  105   a  (e.g., memory portion  105   a  of memory assembly  104 )), and then to determine a magnitude of distance dimension D (e.g., to determine an input state of button input assembly  110   c ) based on the threshold count data  130   c  and oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  for use in generating appropriate input assembly output data  130   d . Such operations may be repeated by logic subassembly  156  at any suitable rate for continuously monitoring the oscillation decay rate of oscillator subassembly  140  by continuously receiving updated threshold count data  130   c  and then using that threshold count data  130   c  with oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  for continuously determining the input state of button input assembly  110   c  and continuously re-defining input assembly output data  130   d  accordingly. 
     Logic subassembly  156  may utilize threshold count data corresponding to any of N thresholds to optimize the bias level of amplifier assembly  146 . Such bias optimization may be operative to adjust the amplifier gain such that the variance of the number of oscillator cycles may be maximized over the operating range of dimension D. The bias adjustments may be used to provide optimum performance as parameters change due to temperature and aging. The bias level may be defined by the amplitude of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  (e.g., the amplitude of a periodic trigger), whereas the oscillation trigger interval may be defined by the duration of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t.    
     Oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  may be any suitable correlator that may be used to determine the current magnitude of distance dimension D based on certain threshold count data  130   c  for a particular threshold. For example, correlator data  130   r  may be provided by a look-up table with multiple distinct associations between a particular magnitude of a distance dimension and a particular threshold count for a particular threshold within a particular interval, such that, for example, logic subassembly  156  may be enabled to use received threshold count data  130   c   1  indicative of a particular number of oscillation cycles detected above threshold H 1  (e.g., within a particular trigger interval) in order to identify a particular appropriate association of the look-up table of correlator data  130   r , and where logic subassembly  156  may then determine the particular magnitude of distance dimension D of that identified particular association of the look-up table to be used as the current magnitude of distance dimension D of button input assembly  110   c  for defining input assembly output data  130   d . As another example, correlator data  130   r  may be a polynomial curve or equation that may approximate the dependence between the magnitude of distance dimension D of button input assembly  110   c  and the number of oscillation cycles detected above a particular threshold for a particular trigger interval (e.g., at various magnitudes of dimension D and/or at various thresholds and/or for various trigger intervals), where logic subassembly  156  may be enabled to leverage received threshold count data in combination with such a curve or equation to identify the appropriate magnitude of dimension D to be used for identifying the current state of the button input assembly for defining appropriate input assembly output data  130   d.    
     Any such correlator data may be defined by any suitable testing/calibrating process(es). For example, such correlator data may be defined by any suitable testing/calibration process(es) that may be carried out on sensor assembly  130  prior to incorporating sensor assembly  130  in a button input assembly, and/or may be defined by any suitable testing/calibrating process carried out on a button input assembly prior to incorporating the button input assembly into an electronic device, and/or may be defined by any suitable testing/calibrating process carried out on an electronic device after a button input assembly with a conductor sensing assembly has been incorporated into the electronic device (e.g., to take into consideration any mechanical tolerances of such a device and/or of such assemblies (e.g., stable state dimension magnitude D O  and/or deflectability of conductor  122  and/or of oscillator subassembly  140  may vary from device to device and/or from assembly to assembly)). For example, such process(es) may include any suitable testing/calibrating process(es) during which a known magnitude of distance dimension D may be maintained while a number of detected oscillations above a particular threshold for a particular trigger interval may be measured and associated with that known magnitude, and during which that sub-process may be repeated one or more times after altering the known magnitude and/or the threshold and/or the trigger interval (e.g., magnitude of a trigger burst and/or length of a trigger burst and/or length of the entire trigger interval) and/or various other adjustable electrical characteristics of the assembly(ies). Any suitable oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  may be accessible by logic subassembly  156  from any suitable source (e.g., stored data from memory portion  105   a  of memory assembly  104  of device  100  or data accessed from a remote source remote from device  100  (e.g., as may be accessible via communications assembly  106 )). For example, oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  may be at least partially determined and/or accessed by software in a microcontroller and/or by hardware based logic and/or by any other suitable digital signal processing mechanism. Depending on operating range, oscillation count-distance correlator data  130   r  may be indicative of a non-linear function. A tuning algorithm may be provided and utilized to adapt the oscillation count-distance correlator data, or, conversely an oscillator bias could be adaptively tuned to provide optimal performance with a fixed count. 
     Controller subassembly  153  may be configured to provide input assembly output data  130   d  that is indicative of the determined magnitude of distance dimension D (e.g., as determined based on the current decay rate of oscillator subassembly  140 ), and any suitable receiving element  113  of device  100  (e.g., an active application  103  of device  100 ) may be configured to adjust any suitable functionality of any suitable assembly of device  100  in different ways based on that input assembly output data  130   d  (e.g., for performing an adjustment  113   a  of a functionality of device  100 ). For example, receiving element  113  may be configured to perform a first type of adjustment  113   a  for decreasing the volume of audio emitted by audio speaker output assembly  112   b  when the distance dimension magnitude indicated by input assembly output data  130   d  is magnitude D M  (e.g., an intermediate button press) and to perform a second type of adjustment  113   a  for muting the volume of audio emitted by audio speaker output assembly  112   b  when the distance dimension magnitude indicated by input assembly output data  130   d  is magnitude D C  (e.g., a full button press) and to perform a third type of adjustment  113   a  for not adjusting the volume of audio emitted by audio speaker output assembly  112   b  when the distance dimension magnitude indicated by input assembly output data  130   d  is magnitude D O  (e.g., no button press). In some embodiments, receiving element  113  may be configured to determine an adjustment  113   a  based on the most recently received input assembly output data  130   d  (e.g., the input assembly output data  130   d  generated for a most recent trigger interval). Alternatively, in some embodiments, receiving element  113  may be configured to determine an adjustment  113   a  based on the most recently received input assembly output data  130   d  (e.g., the input assembly output data  130   d  generated for a most recent trigger interval) and one or more previously received instances of input assembly output data  130   d  (e.g., the input assembly output data  130   d  generated for one or more trigger intervals that occurred prior to the most recent trigger interval), for example, such that a running average or any other suitable statistical calculation may be made when processing input assembly output data  130   d  for generating a particular adjustment  113   a  (e.g., for muting the volume of audio emitted by audio speaker output assembly  112   b  when the distance dimension magnitude indicated by input assembly output data  130   d  is magnitude D C  (e.g., a full button press) for at least five (5) consecutive instances of input assembly output data  130   d ). 
     Controller subassembly  153  may also include any suitable timer subassembly  157  that may be configured to generate and transmit sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  (e.g., periodic trigger burst at any suitable trigger interval) to oscillator subassembly  140  (e.g., in conjunction with logic subassembly  156 ), whereby a magnitude and length of a trigger burst window and a length of an entire periodic trigger interval between the initiation of each periodic trigger burst window may be electronically controlled by timer subassembly  157  and/or logic subassembly  156  and/or any other suitable assembly of device  100 . For example, timer subassembly  157  may be based on any suitable oscillator and counter that may count time (e.g., with a constant interval), which may trigger measurement at a suitable sample rate/period, while logic subassembly  156  may be woken up by the same timer. Logic subassembly  156  may be configured to count the number of cycles exceeding each of the N thresholds during the interval when the trigger (e.g., from the timer) is active. After a delay following the end (e.g., falling edge) of the trigger, the count data may be stored, where such a delay may be configured to allow for oscillator decay after the trigger turns off (e.g., a simple embodiment may be configured such that the count interval may be twice the trigger width (TW)). The count data may go through any suitable processing (e.g., any suitable digital processing algorithm(s)) to compute input assembly output data  130   d  corresponding to spacing D. Other suitable processing (e.g., other suitable digital processing algorithm(s)) may be configured to compute an adjustment to the amplitude of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  (e.g., to optimize the bias of the oscillator&#39;s amplifier block). Therefore, if the bursts decay too quickly, the bias may be bumped upwards, and, if the bursts decay too slowly, the bias may be bumped downwards. 
       FIG. 2  is a graph  200  illustrating exemplary behavior of various factors of a conductor sensing assembly over time, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, as shown, graph  200  may show exemplary behavior of each one of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t , sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o , and magnitude of dimension D of spacing S of button input assembly  110   c  over any suitable period of time, which may include a first time period between time T 1  and time T 2  that may span a first trigger period or trigger interval I 1  of trigger data  130   t , a second time period between time T 2  and time T 3  that may span a second trigger period or trigger interval I 2  of trigger data  130   t , a third time period between time T 3  and time T 4  that may span a third trigger period or trigger interval I 3  of trigger data  130   t , a fourth time period between time T 4  and time T 5  that may span a fourth trigger period or trigger interval I 4  of trigger data  130   t , and a portion of a fifth time period that starts at time T 5  that may span a fifth trigger period or trigger interval I 5  of trigger data  130   t.    
     As shown, graph  200  may include an illustration of exemplary behavior of sensor assembly trigger data  130   t  over time. Trigger data  130   t  may be configured to include a periodic trigger that may be defined by a periodic trigger burst window. For example, as shown, trigger data  130   t  may be operative to define a first trigger burst window TB 1  during first trigger interval I 1 , a second trigger burst window TB 2  during second trigger interval I 2 , a third trigger burst window TB 3  during third trigger interval I 3 , a fourth trigger burst window TB 4  during fourth trigger interval I 4 , and a fifth trigger burst window TB 5  during fifth trigger interval I 5 . Each trigger burst window may be configured to be defined by any suitable trigger burst window magnitude TM for any suitable trigger burst window width TW, which may be any suitable percentage of any suitable periodic trigger interval width TI that may define the length of time of a trigger interval between the initiation of consecutive trigger burst windows (e.g., of consecutive trigger intervals). For example, trigger burst window width TW may be any suitable length of time, such as about 2.5 microseconds or may be in any suitable range, such as between 1 microsecond and 20 microseconds, while trigger interval width TI may be any suitable length of time, such as about 50 milliseconds or may be in any suitable range, such as between 10 milliseconds and 100 milliseconds, while trigger burst window magnitude TM may define an amplitude bias current in any suitable range, such as between 1 and 8 milliAmperes. The overall power consumption of oscillator subassembly  140  may be reduced by its duty factor of operation (e.g., active time of trigger burst window width TW divided by trigger interval width TI). As just one particular embodiment, when trigger burst window width TW may be 2.5 microseconds and when trigger interval width TI may be 50 milliseconds and when trigger burst window magnitude TM may define an amplifier bias of 4 milliAmperes, the overall power consumed (e.g., at 3.8 V supply voltage) may be 0.76 microWatts (e.g., 3.8 V supply voltage*4.0 milliAmperes amplifier bias current*2.5 microseconds trigger burst window/50 milliseconds trigger interval=0.76 microWatts). 
     Oscillator subassembly  140  may be enabled by such a periodic trigger of trigger data  130   t , which may turn on a bias current to the oscillator for a fixed time (e.g., the length of time of trigger burst window width TW every periodic trigger cycle). The oscillator bias current may be tuned to a level that may be sufficient to support resonator oscillation when conductor  122  is spaced at a maximum (e.g., resting state) distance dimension magnitude D O  of spacing S from the oscillator (e.g., from sense coil  143 ). For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , when button input assembly  110   c  may be at a resting static state where distance dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  and sense coil  143  may be of a (e.g., maximum or open) magnitude D O  during first trigger interval I 1 , the oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may be configured to produce a burst of Y O  (e.g., a maximum number of) oscillation cycles when enabled by first trigger burst window TB 1  during first trigger interval I 1 , where the number Y O  (e.g., 19 cycles as shown in  FIG. 2 ) may be dependent on the magnitude of the trigger burst window width TW of first trigger burst window TB 1  and/or the resonant frequency of the oscillator (e.g., the inductance of sense coil  143  of the oscillator (e.g., ˜90 nH (e.g., 43 MHz resonant frequency) when dimension D is of open magnitude D O )) and/or on any other suitable characteristics of sensor assembly  130 . It is to be understood that cycle count number Y O  may be any suitable number other than 19 for any suitable configuration of sensor assembly  130 , such as 100 cycles or any other suitable number. For example, a particular target sensor sample rate may be chosen based on any requirements of the system (e.g., where lower sample rates (e.g., ˜1 Hertz) may have lower power with higher latency, while higher sample rates (e.g., ˜100 Hertz) may have higher power with lower latency). Then, the system may be configured to ensure that the number of cycles may not last so long as to extend beyond the period defined by the sample rate. The number of cycles may depend, in part, on the resonant frequency (e.g., at 43 MHz, as above, the system may get at or about 100 cycles in a 2.5 μs trigger window). A start-up delay may exist at the oscillator so the number of cycles may be less. It may be desired to get enough cycles to yield a set of numbers from the threshold comparators that may allow some resolution in detecting the gap dimension D and/or that may allow for drift of parameters over temperature and/or aging. For example, in some embodiments of the system, 4 cycles may be too few and more than 100 cycles may be too many (e.g., resulting in a waste of power). In the open state, the amplifier bias current may be adjusted to be just enough to support oscillation through the burst window. Any decrease in Q (e.g., due to conductor moving closer to sense coil) may reduce the cycle count. If the bias is too high, then the oscillator may oscillate throughout the burst window even as the Q factor decreases. With bias set appropriately, the count may decrease for the travel (e.g., change in spacing) of the conductor. 
     When the magnitude of distance dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  and sense inductor  143  has been reduced from magnitude D O  to magnitude D M , as shown in graph  200 , between time T 1  and time T 2  that may span first trigger interval I 1 , the Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140  may be reduced (e.g., due to increased eddy current losses in conductor  122 ), whereby the oscillator output amplitude of sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  may decay more rapidly, for example, whereby the oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may be configured to produce a burst of Y M  oscillation cycles when enabled by second trigger burst window TB 2  following first trigger interval I 1 , where the number Y M  (e.g., 12 cycles as shown in  FIG. 2 ) may be less than the maximum number Y O . Moreover, when the magnitude of distance dimension D of spacing S between conductor  122  and sense inductor  143  has been further reduced from magnitude D M  to magnitude D C , as shown in graph  200  between time T 2  and time T 3  that may span second trigger interval I 2 , the Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140  may be further reduced, whereby the oscillator output amplitude of sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  may decay even more rapidly (e.g., at a maximum rate). As a result, the oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may produce a burst of Y C  oscillation cycles when enabled by third trigger burst window TB 3  following second trigger interval I 2 , where the number Y C  (e.g., 4 cycles as shown in  FIG. 2 ) may be even less than the number Y M . (e.g., number Y C  may be a minimum number of cycles due to the minimized magnitude of dimension D of spacing S). When the magnitude of distance dimension D has been increased from magnitude D C  to magnitude D M , as shown in graph  200  between time T 3  and time T 4  that may span third trigger interval I 3 , the Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140  may increase. As a result, the oscillator output amplitude of sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  may decay less rapidly, which may produce a burst of Y M  oscillation cycles when enabled by fourth trigger burst window TB 4  during fourth trigger interval I 4 . When the magnitude of distance dimension D has been increased from magnitude D M  to magnitude D O , as shown in graph  200  between time T 4  and time T 5  spanning fourth trigger interval I 4 , the Q factor of oscillator subassembly  140  may increase, whereby the resulting oscillator output amplitude of sensor assembly oscillation data  130   o  may decay even less rapidly (e.g., at a minimum rate), which may produce a burst of Y O  oscillation cycles when enabled by fifth trigger burst window TB 5  during fifth trigger interval I 5 . 
     The oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may be enabled by a trigger burst window of a trigger interval to produce a burst of oscillation cycles that may fully decay prior to the end of the trigger burst window or shortly thereafter. Power may be consumed by the oscillator only during the trigger burst window of each trigger interval, whereby for a trigger interval of 100 milliseconds with a trigger burst window of only 1 microsecond, the duty factor of the active power may be 0.00001 and an overall power consumption of less than 1 microWatt may be required on average. As shown in  FIG. 2 , oscillation may begin when trigger signal  130   t  is active (high). If the Q is low enough, the oscillation may decay before trigger signal  130   t  goes low. For high Q, the oscillator amplitude may be high throughout the active interval of trigger signal  130   t  and may decay after trigger signal  130   t  goes low. As shown in  FIG. 2 , trigger burst window width TW may correspond to the interval with stable amplitude in the first burst. If the bias current is high enough, or the conductor is far enough away, the oscillation may be sustained throughout the entire trigger burst window and may decay only after the bias is turned off at the end of the trigger burst window. In such an event, there may be no power consumed (e.g., from the power supply) as the oscillation decays (e.g., stored energy in the resonator may dissipate in the resistances of the sense coil and due to the eddy current losses in the conductor). Even though the decay may be happening after the burst window, the power duty factor may be the same (e.g., power may be consumed only when the bias current is on). However, it is to be noted that, if the conductor is spaced infinitely far away from the inductor, there may be no eddy current losses, but the oscillation may decay over time due to losses (e.g., resistance) in the resonator elements. Based on a practical Q of a sensor (e.g., an inverse function of resistance), it may be likely for oscillation to decay within a sample period. This may be based, at least in part, on the design of the LC circuit and any losses (e.g., R) and/or the time between samples. By reducing or minimizing the amount of time during which certain control logic may be active, power consumption may be reduced or minimized. 
     Therefore, a button input assembly with a conductor sensor may be configured such that the oscillator may oscillate throughout an entire trigger burst window of a trigger interval (e.g., an LC resonator may be pulsed or biased with enough energy so that it oscillates through the entire burst window) when a conductor is spaced at a distance dimension D of magnitude D O  from the oscillator, but, when the magnitude of such a spacing dimension is reduced, energy may be lost due to eddy currents induced in the conductor. The button input assembly may be configured such that there may not be energy sufficient to maintain oscillation throughout an entire burst window as the losses increase the oscillation decay becomes faster. Rather than measuring the change in inductance of an oscillator subassembly, it may be easier and/or more efficient and/or more effective to measure the energy loss of an oscillator subassembly. By measuring how fast oscillation energy may die out or decay or dampen, the magnitude of the distance dimension between the oscillator and the conductor may be calculated (e.g., very small changes in such a magnitude of such a distance dimension may be detected (e.g., small deflections (e.g., deflections on the order of 10 micrometers or even on the order of less than 1 micrometer) may be detected through such an approach). 
     As mentioned, the oscillations of oscillation data  130   o  output by oscillation subassembly  140  may be compared to one or more thresholds (e.g., one or more threshold voltages, such as threshold H 1  and/or threshold FIN) by processor subassembly  150  (e.g., by comparator subassembly  151 ) to create one or more types of threshold count data (e.g., one or more digital pulse streams) that may be indicative of oscillator cycles whose amplitude exceeds a particular threshold, such as first threshold event data  130   h   1  (e.g., data indicative of a pulse for every oscillation cycle detected above first threshold H 1 ) and/or N threshold event data  130   hn  (e.g., data indicative of a pulse for every oscillation cycle detected above N threshold HN). Moreover, processor subassembly  150  (e.g., counter subassembly  154 ) may be operative to count (e.g., provide counters that record and share) the number of oscillation cycles detected to be exceeding the amplitude threshold of a particular threshold, such as by generating first threshold count data  130   c   1  (e.g., data indicative of the number of oscillation cycles detected above first threshold H 1  during a particular trigger interval) and/or N threshold count data  130   cn  (e.g., data indicative of the number of oscillation cycles detected above N threshold FIN during a particular trigger interval), each of which may be indicative of any suitable number of cycles for a particular trigger interval that may be between 0 cycles or any suitable minimum number of cycles and a maximum count number Y O  of cycles (e.g., 19 cycles as shown in  FIG. 2  or any other suitable maximum oscillation cycle number). For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , first threshold H 1  may be a higher threshold than N threshold HN, yet each threshold may be any suitable value. As shown, first threshold count data  130   c   1  may be detected to be 17 cycles of the total 19 Y O  oscillation cycles that may be produced within first trigger burst window TB 1  of first trigger interval I 1  when distance D is of an open magnitude D O , while N threshold count data  130   c N may be detected to be 18 cycles within the same trigger burst window. First threshold count data  130   c   1  may be detected to be 4 cycles of the total 12 Y M  oscillation cycles that may be produced within second trigger burst window TB 2  of second trigger interval I 2  when distance D is of a mid-magnitude D M , while N threshold count data  130   c N may be detected to be 8 cycles within the same trigger burst window. First threshold count data  130   c   1  may be detected to be 2 cycles of the total 4 Y C  oscillation cycles that may be produced within third trigger burst window TB 3  of third trigger interval I 3  when distance D is of a closed magnitude D C , while N threshold count data  130   c N may be detected to be 3 cycles within the same trigger burst window. First threshold count data  130   c   1  may be detected to be 4 cycles of the total 12 Y M  oscillation cycles that may be produced within fourth trigger burst window TB 4  of fourth trigger interval I 4  when distance D is of mid-magnitude D M , while N threshold count data  130   c N may be detected to be 8 cycles within the same trigger burst window. Then, processor subassembly  150  (e.g., logic subassembly  156 ) may be operative to process such threshold count data for one or more particular thresholds and/or for one or more particular trigger intervals in combination with any suitable oscillation count distance correlator data  130   r , such as any suitable look up table date or digital threshold data and/or the like, to determine appropriate input assembly output data  130   d  that may be indicative of the magnitude of distance dimension D and/or otherwise of the input state of input assembly  110   c  (e.g., a solid state button or a substantially solid state button with minimal travel (e.g., a minimal travel distance D O  (e.g., 250 micrometers or less)) or any other suitable type of button with an adjustable distance between an oscillator and a conductor). Therefore, any oscillator cycle count may be indicative of decay rate and may be a measure of resonator Q that can be used to infer a magnitude of dimension D of spacing S for the sensor assembly and conductor. 
     It is to be understood that, graph  200  of  FIG. 2  is meant to be illustrative of certain features of sensor assembly  130  and input assembly  110   c  but, in certain embodiments, unlike as shown in  FIG. 2 , more than one trigger interval may occur before the magnitude of distance dimension D is able to be changed from magnitude D O  to magnitude D M  or from magnitude D M  to magnitude D C  or from magnitude D C  to magnitude D M  or from magnitude D M  to magnitude D O . For example, the length of each trigger interval may be much quicker than the length of time that may be needed for a user to move conductor  122  and the oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  with respect to one another by a magnitude equal to the difference between magnitude D O  and D M  and/or by a magnitude equal to the difference between magnitude D C  and D M . A trigger interval may be set to sample more quickly than any possible input component manipulation frequency by an end user (e.g., 100 times in a second). More than one threshold may be used to determine force, which may enable the button to be usable as a multi-level button, where different presses of different magnitudes may be differentiated and used to result in different functionality adjustments. Additionally or alternatively, more than one threshold may be used in certain calibration schemes, for example, when a wandering drift and/or offset may exist, where a threshold may be changed due to environment and/or aging of the system. Various characteristics of sensor assembly  130  and/or of input assembly  110   c  may be designed to provide certain functionality. For example, an oscillator bias current amplitude of oscillator subassembly  140  and/or one or more comparator thresholds may be set (e.g., through any suitable testing and/or calibration process(es) (e.g., any suitable auto calibration process(es))) to provide the largest change in counter value according to the range of motion of conductor  122  with respect to sense coil  143  (e.g., according to magnitude D O  of the range of dimension D of spacing S). As described earlier, to achieve effective detection, the oscillator bias current may be reduced to a minimum level needed to sustain oscillation through the trigger burst window when the spacing is large (e.g., at its maximum (e.g., magnitude D O )). If this is done, the oscillator bias may provide just enough energy to overcome losses due to resistances within the oscillator itself. A calibration routine may be configured to adjust the bias in such a fashion during a time interval when the switch is in the “open” state. When the bias is set this way, any additional loss due to the eddy currents induced as the conductor moves to a closer position may cause the oscillations to collapse as the Q decreases. Therefore, it may be useful to do an initial bias calibration when the switch is known to be in an open position (e.g., such an initial calibration may be done at assembly of the system in the factory). Afterwards, the bias calibration can be updated when the reported count is near the maximum, which may be indicative of the open state. The optimal threshold(s) may depend on the shape of the decay envelope. In some embodiments, multiple comparators and thresholds may be provided by the circuitry and the best one may be selected for use after the unit has been assembled. Maximizing or increasing a change in counter value for a given button press may be indicative of achieving a maximum or increased amount of Q change, which may depend on material of the moving conductor, its spacing from the coil, the cross-sectional area (e.g., diameter) of the coil, and/or the baseline open inductance of the coil. Higher Q inductor layouts may perform better or more effectively or more reliably. Measurement of the Q of a tank circuit utilizing a sensing coil may allow for such a simple counter-based detection scheme. Low throw designs may require certain processing capabilities (e.g., digital processing) to track the history of the detected excursions to properly set a detection threshold. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of an illustrative process  300  for sensing a conductor using an oscillator. At operation  302  of process  300 , the oscillator may be enabled with a trigger burst window within a trigger interval (e.g., an oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may be enabled by a trigger burst window TB of a trigger interval I). At operation  304  of process  300 , a number of oscillation cycles (e.g., as generated by the oscillator as enabled at operation  302 ) may be detected in the trigger interval (e.g., a number of oscillation cycles may be detected by threshold count data  130   c  during a trigger interval I). At operation  306  of process  300 , a distance between the conductor and a portion of the oscillator (e.g., a sense coil) may be determined based on the detected number of oscillation cycles (e.g., a magnitude of distance dimension D between conductor  122  and the inductor of oscillator subassembly  140  may be determined based on threshold count data  130   c ). 
     It is understood that the operations shown in process  300  of  FIG. 3  are only illustrative and that existing operations may be modified or omitted, additional operations may be added, and the order of certain operations may be altered. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an illustrative process  400  for sensing a conductor using an oscillator. At operation  402  of process  400 , the oscillator may be enabled with a trigger (e.g., an oscillator of oscillator subassembly  140  may be enabled by a trigger burst window TB of a trigger interval I). At operation  404  of process  400 , a decay rate of oscillations of the oscillator when enabled may be detected (e.g., during a trigger interval I). At operation  406  of process  400 , a distance between the conductor and a sense coil of the oscillator may be determined based on the detected decay rate (e.g., a magnitude of distance dimension D between conductor  122  and the inductor of oscillator subassembly  140  may be determined). 
     It is understood that the operations shown in process  400  of  FIG. 4  are only illustrative and that existing operations may be modified or omitted, additional operations may be added, and the order of certain operations may be altered. 
     One, some, or all of the processes described with respect to  FIGS. 1-4  may each be implemented by software, but may also be implemented in hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. Instructions for performing these processes may also be embodied as machine- or computer-readable code recorded on a machine- or computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of such a non-transitory computer-readable medium include but are not limited to a read-only memory, a random-access memory, a flash memory, a compact disc (e.g., compact disc (“CD”)-ROM), a digital versatile disk (“DVD”), a magnetic tape, a removable memory card, and a data storage device (e.g., memory assembly  104  of  FIG. 1 ). In other embodiments, the computer-readable medium may be a transitory computer-readable medium. In such embodiments, the transitory computer-readable medium can be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. For example, such a transitory computer-readable medium may be communicated from one electronic device to another electronic device using any suitable communications protocol (e.g., the computer-readable medium may be communicated from a remote device or server to electronic device  100  via communications assembly  106  (e.g., as at least a portion of an application  103 )). Such a transitory computer-readable medium may embody computer-readable code, instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A modulated data signal may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. 
     It is to be understood that any, each, or at least one module or component or element or subsystem of device  100  may be provided as a software construct, firmware construct, one or more hardware components, or a combination thereof. For example, any, each, or at least one module or component or element or subsystem of device  100  may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, that may be executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, a program module may include one or more routines, programs, objects, components, and/or data structures that may perform one or more particular tasks or that may implement one or more particular abstract data types. It is also to be understood that the number, configuration, functionality, and interconnection of the modules and components and elements and subsystems of device  100  are only illustrative, and that the number, configuration, functionality, and interconnection of existing modules, components, elements, and/or subsystems of device  100  may be modified or omitted, additional modules, components, elements, and/or subsystems of device  100  may be added, and the interconnection of certain modules, components, elements, and/or subsystems of device  100  may be altered. 
     At least a portion of one or more of the modules or components or elements or subsystems of device  100  may be stored in or otherwise accessible to an entity of system  1  in any suitable manner (e.g., in memory assembly  104  of device  100  (e.g., as at least a portion of an application  103 )). Any or all of the modules or other components of device  100  may be mounted on an expansion card, mounted directly on a system motherboard, or integrated into a system chipset component (e.g., into a “north bridge” chip). 
     Any or each module or component of device  100  may be a dedicated system implemented using one or more expansion cards adapted for various bus standards. For example, all of the modules may be mounted on different interconnected expansion cards or all of the modules may be mounted on one expansion card. 
     While there have been described systems, methods, and computer-readable media for detecting movement of a conductor, it is to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein in any way. Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. 
     Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concepts of the disclosure can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration rather than of limitation.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20180906
Publication Date: 20210330
Grant Date: 20210330
Priority Date: 20170929
Inventors: PATEL, PARIN
HRINYA, STEPHEN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G01D5/202", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/243", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/954", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/202", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/245", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/243", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/954", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/245", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/243", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/954", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01D5/202", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 65897265