PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9519077-B2
Application Number: US-201514739526-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Proximity sensors with optical and electrical sensing capabilities

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with a touch screen display that is controlled based on information from a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor may have a light source that emits infrared light and a light detector that detects reflected infrared light. When the electronic device is in the vicinity of a user&#39;s head, the proximity sensor may produce data indicative of the presence of the user&#39;s head. Variations in proximity sensor output due to user hair color and smudges on the proximity sensor can be accommodated by using an electrical sensing mechanism in addition to the light sensing mechanism. The proximity sensor may include a pair of capacitive electrodes for generating an electric field in the vicinity of the device. The presence of a user&#39;s head can sufficiently disturb the electric field so as to produce data indicative of the presence of the user&#39;s head.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. Proximity sensor circuitry, comprising:
 optical proximity sensor circuitry configured to generate optical proximity sensor data; 
 electrical proximity sensor circuitry configured to generate capacitive proximity sensor data; and 
 an output on which an integrated sensor output signal containing the optical proximity sensor data and the capacitive proximity sensor data is provided, wherein:
 the optical proximity sensor circuitry comprises a light emitter element having a light-emitting diode (LED) and a light detector element having a photodiode (PD); 
 the electrical proximity sensor circuitry comprises at least a pair of capacitive electrodes; 
 the light-emitting diode has a first terminal that receives a power supply voltage and a second terminal that is coupled to a first capacitive electrode in the pair of capacitive electrodes; and 
 the photodiode has a first terminal that receives the power supply voltage and a second terminal that is coupled to a second capacitive electrode in the pair of capacitive electrodes. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 1 , wherein the optical proximity sensor circuitry comprises:
 optical isolation material interposed between the light emitter element and the light detector element. 
 
     
     
       3. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of capacitive electrodes comprises a pair of coplanar conductive structures. 
     
     
       4. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of capacitive electrodes comprises ring-shaped conductive structures. 
     
     
       5. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 1 , wherein the pair of capacitive electrodes laterally surrounds the optical proximity sensor circuitry. 
     
     
       6. An electronic device with proximity sensor circuitry, the proximity sensor circuitry comprising:
 optical proximity sensor circuitry configured to output optical proximity sensor data, wherein the optical proximity sensor circuitry comprises a light emitter element having a light-emitting diode and a light detector element having a photodiode; 
 electrical proximity sensor circuitry configured to generate capacitive proximity sensor data, wherein the electrical proximity sensor circuitry comprises first and second capacitive electrodes; 
 a mixer that receives an integrated sensor signal with both the optical proximity sensor data and the capacitive proximity sensor data at an input; 
 a signal generator that outputs a control signal, wherein the mixer receives the control signal at an additional input; and 
 a transistor that receives the control signal, wherein the control signal is configured to alternately activate and deactivate the transistor, wherein the light-emitting diode emits light when the transistor is activated, and wherein the light-emitting diode is coupled to the first capacitive electrode. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6 , the proximity sensor circuitry further comprising a switch interposed between the additional input of the mixer and the signal generator. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7 , the proximity sensor circuitry further comprising a phase shifter interposed between the switch and the signal generator, wherein the switch has a first switch port that is coupled to the additional input of the mixer, a second switch port that is coupled directly to the signal generator, and a third switch port that is coupled to the phase shifter. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the phase shifter is configured to shift the control signal by 90°. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 8 , wherein the switch couples the first switch port to the second switch port in a first detection mode, and wherein the switch couples the first switch port to the third switch port in a second detection mode. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 6 , wherein the control signal determines an amount of voltage applied to the light-emitting diode and the first capacitive electrode. 
     
     
       12. Proximity sensor circuitry, comprising:
 a light emitter element having a light-emitting diode, wherein the light-emitting diode has a first terminal that is coupled to a first power supply voltage and a second terminal that is coupled to a second power supply voltage; 
 a light detector element having a photodiode, wherein the photodiode outputs optical proximity sensor data on a signal line; and 
 first and second coplanar conductive structures adjacent to the light emitter element and the light detector element, wherein the second conductive structure outputs capacitive proximity sensor data to the signal line, wherein the proximity sensor circuitry outputs an integrated sensor output signal on the signal line, wherein the optical proximity sensor data is a first component of the integrated sensor output signal, wherein the capacitive proximity sensor data is a second component of the integrated sensor output signal, and wherein the first conductive structure is coupled to the second terminal of the light-emitting diode. 
 
     
     
       13. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 12 , further comprising an optical isolation material interposed between the light emitter element and the light detector element. 
     
     
       14. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 12 , wherein the first conductive structure partially surrounds the light emitter element and the light detector element. 
     
     
       15. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 14 , wherein the second conductive structure completely laterally surrounds the first conductive structure, the light emitter element, and the light detector element. 
     
     
       16. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 12 , wherein the photodiode has a first terminal that is coupled to a third power supply voltage and a second terminal that is coupled to the second conductive structure. 
     
     
       17. The proximity sensor circuitry defined in  claim 12 , wherein the first conductive structure is directly coupled to the second terminal of the light-emitting diode via a conductive path.

Description:
This application is a division of patent application Ser. No. 13/750,961, filed Jan. 25, 2013. This application claims the benefit of and claims priority to patent application Ser. No. 13/750,961, filed Jan. 5, 2013. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with proximity sensors. 
     Cellular telephones are sometimes provided with proximity sensors. For example, a cellular telephone may be provided with a proximity sensor that is located near an ear speaker on a front face of the cellular telephone. 
     The front face of the cellular telephone may also contain a touch screen display. The proximity sensor may be used to determine when the cellular telephone is near the head of a user. When not in proximity to the head of the user, the cellular telephone may be placed in a normal mode of operation in which the touch screen display is used to present visual information to the user and in which the touch sensor portion of the touch screen is enabled. In response to determining that the cellular telephone has been brought into the vicinity of the user&#39;s head, the display may be disabled to conserve power and the touch sensor on the display may be temporarily disabled to avoid inadvertent touch input from contact between the user&#39;s head and the touch sensor. 
     A proximity sensor for use in a cellular telephone may be based on an infrared light-emitting diode and a corresponding infrared light detector. During operation, the light-emitting diode may emit infrared light outwards from the front face of the cellular telephone. When the cellular telephone is not in the vicinity of a user&#39;s head, the infrared light will not be reflected towards the light detector and only small amounts of reflected light will be detected by the light detector. When, however, the cellular telephone is adjacent to the user&#39;s head, the emitted light from the infrared light-emitting diode will be reflected from the user&#39;s head and detected by the light detector. 
     Light-based proximity sensors such as these may be used to detect the position of a cellular telephone relative to a user&#39;s head, but can be challenging to operate accurately. If care is not taken, it can be difficult to determine when a user&#39;s head is in the vicinity of the cellular telephone, particularly when a user has hair that is dark and exhibits low reflectivity or when the proximity sensor has become smudged with grease from the skin of the user. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved ways in which to use proximity sensors to accurately determine whether a user&#39;s head is in the vicinity of cellular telephone or other electronic device. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with electronic components such as a touch screen display. The touch screen display may be controlled based on information from a proximity sensor. For example, when the proximity sensor indicates that the electronic device is not near the head of a user, the electronic device may be operated in a normal mode in which the display is used to display images and in which the touch sensor functionality of the display is enabled. When the proximity sensor indicates that the electronic device is in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head, the electronic device may be operated in a close proximity mode in which display pixels in the display are disabled and in which the touch sensor functionality of the display is disabled. 
     The proximity sensor may include optical proximity sensor circuitry that is used to gather optical proximity sensor data and electrical proximity sensor circuitry circuit that is used to gather capacitive proximity sensor data. The optical proximity sensor data may include an emitter element that includes a light-emitting diode capable of emitting infrared light and a detector element that includes a photodiode capable of detecting corresponding reflected infrared light. The electrical proximity sensor circuitry may include at least first and second capacitive electrodes. The first and second capacitive electrodes may be coplanar conductive structures and/or ring-shaped conductive structures that laterally surround the optical proximity sensor circuitry. 
     The proximity sensor may output an integrated sensor output signal that includes the optical proximity sensor data and the capacitive proximity sensor data to an associated digital signal processing circuitry. The signal processing circuitry can be used to extract the optical proximity sensor data from the integrated sensor output signal by demodulating the integrated sensor output signal using a periodic control signal during a first detection mode and can also be used to extract the capacitive proximity sensor data from the integrated sensor output signal by demodulating the integrated sensor output signal using a phase-shifted version of the periodic control signal during a second detection mode. 
     Sensor data extracted in this way may be processed to determine whether an external object is in the vicinity of the electronic device. As an example, the extracted optical signal component (i.e., the extracted optical proximity sensor data) may be compared to a predetermined light threshold, whereas the extracted electrical signal component (i.e., the extracted capacitive proximity sensor data) may be compared to a baseline capacitance to determine whether an external object is in close proximity to the proximity sensor. As another example, a proximity sensor score can be computed by weighting the optical proximity sensor data and the capacitive proximity sensor data with different respective weighting factors. The computed proximity sensor score may then be compared to a predetermined threshold score to determine whether an external object is in the vicinity of the electronic device. 
     Further features of the present invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device with a proximity sensor in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device with a proximity sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a graph showing how an electronic device may adjust display and touch sensor functionality in response to proximity sensor measurements in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is cross-sectional side view of an illustrative electronic device having a display layer and a proximity sensor in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative proximity sensor having optical and electrical proximity sensor circuitries in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C  are top views of illustrative proximity sensor configurations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a circuit diagram of a proximity sensor and associated signal processing circuitry in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing how an integrated proximity sensor signal may include an optical signal component and an electrical signal component in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a table of different scenarios that can be identified using a proximity sensor having optical and electrical sensing capabilities in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating a proximity sensor having optical and electrical sensing capabilities in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An electronic device may be provided with electronic components such as touch screen displays. The functionality of the electronic device may be controlled based on how far the electronic device is located from external objects such as a user&#39;s head. When the electronic device is not in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head, for example, the electronic device can be operated in a normal mode in which the touch screen display is enabled. In response to detection of the presence if the user&#39;s head in the vicinity of the electronic device, the electronic device may be operated in a mode in which the touch screen is disabled or other appropriate actions are taken. Disabling touch sensing capabilities from the electronic device when the electronic device is near the user&#39;s head may help avoid inadvertent touch input as the touch sensor comes into contact with the user&#39;s ear and hair. Disabling display functions in the touch screen display when the electronic device is near the user&#39;s head may also help conserve power and reduce user confusion about the status of the display. 
     An electronic device may use one or more proximity sensors to detect external objects. As an example, an electronic device may use an infrared-light-based proximity sensor to gather proximity data. During operation, proximity data from the proximity sensor may be compared to one or more threshold values. Based on this proximity sensor data analysis, the electronic device can determine whether or not the electronic device is near the user&#39;s head and can take appropriate action. A proximity sensor may detect the presence of external objects via optical sensing mechanisms, electrical sensing mechanism, and/or other types of sensing techniques. 
     An illustrative electronic device that may be provided with a proximity sensor is shown in  FIG. 1 . Electronic devices such as device  10  of  FIG. 1  may be cellular telephones, media players, other handheld portable devices, somewhat smaller portable devices such as wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, or other wearable or miniature devices, gaming equipment, tablet computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, televisions, computer monitors, computers integrated into computer displays, or other electronic equipment. 
     As shown in the example of  FIG. 1 , device  10  may include a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may be mounted in a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12  may have upper and lower portions joined by a hinge (e.g., in a laptop computer) or may form a structure without a hinge, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Housing  12 , which may sometimes be referred to as an enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fiber composites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of these materials. Housing  12  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  12  is machined or molded as a single structure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internal frame structure, one or more structures that form exterior housing surfaces, etc.). 
     Display  14  may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer of conductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes such as electrodes  20  or other touch sensor components (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touch sensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-based touch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is not touch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes  20  may be formed from an array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductive structures. 
     Display  14  may include an array of display pixels such as pixels  21  formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of plasma display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies. The brightness of display  14  may be adjustable. For example, display  14  may include a backlight unit formed from a light source such as a lamp or light-emitting diodes that can be used to increase or decrease display backlight levels (e.g., to increase or decrease the brightness of the image produced by display pixels  21 ) and thereby adjust display brightness. Display  14  may also include organic light-emitting diode pixels or other pixels with adjustable intensities. In this type of display, display brightness can be adjusted by adjusting the intensities of drive signals used to control individual display pixels. 
     Display  14  may be protected using a display cover layer such as a layer of transparent glass or clear plastic. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. For example, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate a button such as button  16 . An opening may also be formed in the display cover layer to accommodate ports such as speaker port  18 . 
     In the center of display  14  (e.g., in the portion of display  14  within rectangular region  22  of  FIG. 1 ), display  14  may contain an array of active display pixels such as pixels  21 . Region  22  may therefore sometimes be referred to as the active region of display  14 . The rectangular ring-shaped region  23  that surrounds the periphery of active display region  22  may not contain any active display pixels and may therefore sometimes be referred to as the inactive region of display  14 . The display cover layer or other display layers in display  14  may be provided with an opaque masking layer in the inactive region to hide internal components from view by a user. Openings may be formed in the opaque masking layer to accommodate light-based components. For example, an opening may be provided in the opaque masking layer to accommodate an ambient light sensor such as ambient light sensor  24 . 
     If desired, an opening in the opaque masking layer may be filled with an ink or other material that is transparent to infrared light but opaque to visible light. As an example, light-based proximity sensor  26  may be mounted under this type of opening in the opaque masking layer of the inactive portion of display  14 . Light-based proximity sensor  26  may include a light transmitter such as light source  28  and a light sensor such as light detector  30 . Light source  28  may be an infrared light-emitting diode and light detector  30  may be a photodetector based on a transistor or photodiode (as examples). During operation, proximity sensor detector  30  may gather light from source  28  that has reflected from nearby objects. Other types of proximity sensor may be used in device  10  if desired. The use of a proximity sensor that includes infrared light transmitters and sensors is merely illustrative. 
     Proximity sensor  26  may detect when a user&#39;s head, a user&#39;s fingers, or other external object is in the vicinity of device  10  (e.g., within 5 cm or less of sensor  26 , within 1 cm or less of sensor  26 , or within other suitable distance of sensor  26 ). 
     During operation of device  10 , proximity sensor data from proximity sensor  26  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . For example, when proximity sensor measurements from sensor  26  indicate that device  10  is in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head (and that the user&#39;s head is in the vicinity of device  10 ), device  10  can be placed in a close proximity mode. When operating in the close proximity mode, the functionality of device  10  can be altered to ensure proper operation of device  10 . For example, touch screen input can be temporarily disabled so that touch events related to contact between the user&#39;s head and one or more of capacitive touch sensor electrodes  20  can be ignored. Display brightness can also be turned down partly or fully by disabling a backlight in device  10  or by otherwise temporarily disabling display pixels  21 , thereby conserving power. In the event that proximity sensor data indicates that device  10  and the user&#39;s head are not adjacent to each other, (e.g., when it is determined that device  10  is more than 1 cm from the user&#39;s head, is more than 5 cm from the user&#39;s head, etc.), device  10  can be placed in a normal (non-close-proximity) operating mode. 
     A schematic diagram of device  10  showing how device  10  may include sensors and other components is shown in  FIG. 2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , electronic device  10  may include control circuitry such as storage and processing circuitry  40 . Storage and processing circuitry  40  may include one or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on a processor such as a microprocessor and other suitable integrated circuits. With one suitable arrangement, storage and processing circuitry  40  may be used to run software on device  10 , such as internet browsing applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, software for capturing and processing images, software implementing functions associated with gathering and processing sensor data, software that makes adjustments to display brightness and touch sensor functionality, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may be used to allow data to be supplied to device  10  and to allow data to be provided from device  10  to external devices. 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include wired and wireless communications circuitry  34 . Communications circuitry  34  may include radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one or more antennas, and other circuitry for handling RF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light (e.g., using infrared communications). 
     Input-output circuitry  32  may include input-output devices  36  such as button  16  of  FIG. 1 , joysticks, click wheels, scrolling wheels, a touch screen such as display  14  of  FIG. 1 , other touch sensors such as track pads or touch-sensor-based buttons, vibrators, audio components such as microphones and speakers, image capture devices such as a camera module having an image sensor and a corresponding lens system, keyboards, status-indicator lights, tone generators, key pads, and other equipment for gathering input from a user or other external source and/or generating output for a user. 
     Sensor circuitry such as sensors  38  of  FIG. 2  may include an ambient light sensor for gathering information on ambient light levels such as ambient light sensor  24 . Ambient light sensor  24  may include one or more semiconductor detectors (e.g., silicon-based detectors) or other light detection circuitry. Sensors  38  may also include proximity sensor components. Sensors  38  may, for example, include a dedicated proximity sensor such as proximity sensor  26  and/or a proximity sensor formed from touch sensors  20  (e.g., a portion of the capacitive touch sensor electrodes in a touch sensor array for display  14  that are otherwise used in gathering touch input for device  10  such as the sensor electrodes in region  22  of  FIG. 1 ). Proximity sensor components in device  10  may, in general, include capacitive proximity sensor components, infrared-light-based proximity sensor components, proximity sensor components based on acoustic signaling schemes, or other proximity sensor equipment. Sensors  38  may also include a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and other circuitry for making measurements of the environment surrounding device  10 . 
     Sensor data such as proximity sensor data from sensors  38  may be used in controlling the operation of device  10 . Device  10  can activate or inactivate display  14 , may activate or inactivate touch screen functionality, may activate or inactivate a voice recognition function on device  10 , or may take other suitable actions based at least partly on proximity sensor data. 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating how the operation of device  10  may be controlled using proximity sensor data from proximity sensor  26 . In state  90 , device  10  may be operated in a normal mode. For example, device  10  may be operated in a mode in which storage and processing circuitry  40  enables touch sensor operation (e.g., the operation of touch sensor electrodes  20  for touch screen display  14 ) and enables display  14  (e.g., by adjusting display pixels  21  so that an image is displayed for a user). During the normal mode operations of step  76 , device  10  may use control circuitry  40  to gather and analyze proximity sensor data from proximity sensor  26 . 
     When the proximity sensor data is indicative of a user in close proximity to device  10 , device  10  may be operated in a close proximity mode (state  92 ). In state  92 , device  10  can take actions that are appropriate for scenarios in which device  10  is held adjacent to the head of the user. For example, control circuitry  40  may temporarily disable touch screen functionality in display  14  and/or may disable display  14  (e.g., by turning off display pixel array  21 ). While operating in state  92 , device  10  may use control circuitry  40  to gather and analyze proximity sensor data from proximity sensor  26  to determine whether the user is no longer in close proximity to device  10 . When the proximity sensor data is indicative of the absence of a user in close proximity to device  10 , device  10  may be placed back into state  90 . 
     The example of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. Device  10  may, in general, take any suitable action based on proximity sensor data. For example, device  10  may activate or inactivate voice recognition capabilities for device  10 , may invoke one or more software programs, may activate or inactivate operating system functions, or may otherwise control the operation of device  10  in response to proximity sensor information. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , device  10  may include a display such as display  14 . Display  14  may have a cover layer such as cover layer  44 . Cover layer  44  may be formed from a layer of glass, a layer of plastic, or other transparent material. If desired, the functions of cover layer  44  may be performed by other display layers (e.g., polarizer layers, anti-scratch films, color filter layers, etc.). The arrangement of  FIG. 3  is merely illustrative. 
     Display structures that are used in forming images for display  14  may be mounted under active region  22  of display  14 . Display  14  may include a display stack structure  70  having a backlight unit, light polarizing layers, color filter layers, thin-film transistor (TFT) layers, and other display structures. Display  14  may be implemented using liquid crystal display structures. If desired, display  14  may be implemented using other display technologies. The use of a liquid crystal display is merely illustrative. 
     The display structures of display  14  may include a touch sensor array such as touch sensor array  60  for providing display  14  with the ability to sense input from an external object such as external object  76  when external object  76  is in the vicinity of a touch sensor on array  60 . With one suitable arrangement, touch sensor array  60  may be implemented on a clear dielectric substrate such as a layer of glass or plastic and may include an array of indium tin oxide electrodes or other clear electrodes such as electrodes  62 . The electrodes may be used in making capacitive touch sensor measurements. 
     An opaque masking layer such as opaque masking layer  46  may be provided in inactive region  23 . The opaque masking layer may be used to block internal device components from view by a user through peripheral edge portions of clear display cover layer (sometimes referred to as cover glass)  44 . The opaque masking layer may be formed from black ink, black plastic, plastic or ink of other colors, metal, or other opaque substances. Windows such as proximity sensor window  48  may be formed in opaque masking layer  46 . For example, circular holes or openings with other shapes may be formed in layer  46  to serve as proximity sensor window  48 . 
     At least one proximity sensor  26  may be provided in device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , proximity sensor  26  may be mounted within device  10  by attaching proximity sensor  26  directly to the inner surface of cover glass  44  at proximity sensor window  48  via pressure sensitive adhesive  102  or other adhesive materials. Space  104  between proximity sensor  26  and cover glass  44  may be filled with air, glass, plastic, or other transparent material so that light may pass through window  48  during optical proximity sensing operations. If desired, proximity sensor  26  may be mounted to opaque masking layer  46 , on other layers of display  14 , printed circuit boards, housing structures, or other suitable mounting structures within housing  12  of device  10 . 
     Display, touch, and sensor circuitry in device  10  may be coupled to circuitry on a substrate such as printed circuit board (PCB)  80 . The circuitry on substrate  80  may include integrated circuits and other components (e.g., storage and processing circuitry  30  of  FIG. 2 ). For example, circuitry in display stack  70  may be coupled to circuitry on substrate  80  via path  84 , circuitry in touch sensor array  60  may be coupled to circuitry on substrate  80  via path  86 , and proximity sensor  26  may be coupled to circuitry on substrate  80  via path  88 . Paths  84 ,  86 , and  88  may be formed using flexible printed circuit (“flex circuit”) cables, indium tin oxide traces or other conductive patterned traces formed on a dielectric substrate, and/or other conductive signal path structures. These signal path structures (e.g., paths  84 ,  86 , and  88 ) may have terminals that are coupled to the various circuitries within device  10  via one or more contacts such as gold pads or pads formed from other metals, metal traces using anisotropic conductive film (ACF) or other conductive adhesive, solder connections, welds, connections formed using connectors, and other types of electrical interconnect techniques. 
     During operation of device  10 , optical sensor signals may pass through proximity sensor window  48  for use in detecting the proximity of a user body part. Signals from proximity sensor  26  may be routed to analog-to-digital converter circuitry that is implemented within the silicon substrates from which proximity sensor  26  is formed, to analog-to-digital converter circuitry that is formed in an integrated circuit that is mounted to display stack  70 , or to analog-to-digital converter circuitry and/or other control circuitry located elsewhere in device  10  such as one or more integrated circuits in storage and processing circuitry  30  of  FIG. 2  (e.g., integrated circuits containing analog-to-digital converter circuitry for digitizing analog proximity sensor signals from sensor  26  such as integrated circuits  82  on substrate  80 ). 
     If desired, a proximity sensor may be implemented as part of a silicon device that has additional circuitry (i.e., proximity sensor  26  may be implemented as integrated circuits). A proximity sensor with this type of configuration may be provided with built-in analog-to-digital converter circuitry and communications circuitry so that digital sensor signals can be routed to a processor using a serial interface or other digital communications path. 
     Conventional proximity sensors only utilize infrared light emission and infrared light detection to sense the proximity of a user&#39;s hair, ear, or other body part. The hair of users varies in reflectivity in the infrared light spectrum. Dark (e.g., black) hair tends to absorb infrared light, rather than reflecting infrared light. Dark hair may, for example, reflect less infrared light than skin. As a result, relatively low magnitude infrared-light reflections may be measured when a dark-haired (e.g., black-haired) user places device  10  next to the user&#39;s head to make a telephone call. Smudges from finger grease or other contaminants also have the potential to affect proximity sensor readings. When a smudge is present over proximity sensor  26 , more infrared light will be reflected into light detector  30  than expected. 
     During operation, care must be taken to avoid false negatives (e.g., situations in which the absorption of light by dark hair makes it erroneously appear as though device  10  is not in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head when it is) and false positives (e.g., situations in which the reflection of light from a smudge makes it erroneously appear as though device  10  is in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head when it is not). In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a proximity sensor may be provided with optical proximity sensor circuitry and electrical proximity sensor circuitry to improve proximity sensor performance in challenging operating scenarios such as these. 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative proximity sensor that takes into account results gathered using both optical proximity sensing techniques and electrical proximity sensing techniques. As shown in  FIG. 5 , proximity sensor  26  may include an emitter element  28  and a detector element  30  that are used to perform optical proximity sensing operations. Emitter element  28  may, for example, include an infrared (IR) light-emitting diode (LED)  110  and associated lens  111 , whereas detector element  30  may include a corresponding photodiode (PD)  112  and associated lens  113  operable to receive infrared light. Emitter  28  and detector  30  may, for example, be formed on the same integrated circuit or on separate integrated circuits within one integrated circuit package  100 . Package  100  may include optical isolation material  111  interposed between emitter  28  and detector  30  so as to prevent light emit from LED  110  from directly being received by photodiode  112 . Material  111  may be formed from metal, infrared light filter structures, or other suitable materials that are opaque to IR light. 
     During operation, light-emitting diode  110  may emit infrared light outwards from the front face of device  10 . When device  10  is not in the vicinity of a user&#39;s head, the infrared light will not be reflected towards sensor  112  and only small amounts of reflected light will be detected by sensor  112 . When, however, device  10  is adjacent to the user&#39;s head, the light emit from infrared LED  110  will be reflected from the user&#39;s head and detected by sensor  112 . 
     In the exemplary scenario as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , smudge  130  (e.g., smudge from finger grease, facial oil, or other contaminants) may be temporarily deposited on cover glass  44  above proximity sensor  26 . When a smudge is present over proximity sensor  26 , more infrared light will be reflected into light detector  30  than expected (e.g., a portion of light  132  emit from LED  110  may be inadvertently reflected back towards photodiode  112  in the presence of smudge  130 , as indicated by path  134 ) and may potentially result in a false positive reading. 
     In an effort to reduce the occurrence of such types of false positives, proximity sensor  26  may be provided with a pair of conductive planar members that are used in performing electrical proximity sensing. For example, proximity sensor  26  may be provided with a first conductive planar member  114  that is coupled to LED  110  via path  120  and a second conductive planar member  116  that is coupled to photodiode  112  via path  122 . Paths  120  and  122  may be formed from flex cables, wires, indium tin oxide traces or other conductive patterned traces formed on a dielectric substrate, etc. 
     Appropriate voltages may be applied to members  114  and  116  so that an electric field may be generated at the surface of cover glass  44  in the vicinity of proximity sensor  26  (see, e.g., electric field lines  140  in  FIG. 5 ). In practice, conductive planar members  114  and  116  serve as opposing ends of a capacitive structure and may collectively be used to provide proximity sensing via capacitive sensing mechanisms. Members  114  and  116  may therefore sometimes be referred to as capacitive electrodes or capacitive structures. For example, any disturbance in the electric field within a predetermined threshold distance Xd from the surface of cover glass  44  may be detected via this capacitive sensing mechanism. Distance Xd may be equal to 5 cm, 1 cm, or other suitable distance (as examples). 
     The electric field generated using capacitive electrodes  114  and  116  may be sensitive to human body parts (e.g. a user&#39;s finger(s), head, etc.) within distance Xd of device  10  but relatively insensitive to smudge. For example, if a user&#39;s head  142  is in close enough proximity to sensor  26 , a sufficient disturbance in the electric field will be detected using sensor  26  to determine the presence of a user. An accurate determination of a user&#39;s proximity to device  10  can be obtained whether or not smudge  130  is present. Electrical proximity sensing such as capacitive-based proximity sensing of this type can therefore be used to prevent false positive readings when smudge is present. 
     Electrical proximity sensing may also be used to prevent occurrences of false negatives (e.g., situations in which the absorption of light by dark hair makes it erroneously appear as though device  10  is not in the vicinity of the user&#39;s head when it is). The electric field lines will be disturbed in the presence of a user, regardless of the user&#39;s hair color. As a result, an accurate determination of a user&#39;s proximity to device  10  can be obtained using the electrical sensing capabilities of proximity sensor  26  whether or not the user has dark hair. The example of  FIG. 5  in which capacitive sensing is used is merely illustrative. If desired, other suitable ways for performing electrical proximity sensing may be used. 
       FIG. 6A  shows one suitable arrangement of proximity sensor  26  in which electrodes  114  and  116  are rectangular plates. Electrodes  114  and  116  may be coplanar (e.g., formed in the same plane as shown in  FIG. 5 ) or may be vertically offset with respect to each other. Electrodes  114  and  116  may be coupled to emitter  28  and detector  30  in package  100  via paths  120  and  122 , respectively. If desired, electrodes  114  and  116  may have circular shapes, triangular shapes, or other polygonal shapes. 
       FIG. 6B  shows another suitable arrangement of proximity sensor  26  in which electrodes  114  and  116  are U-shaped planar members laterally surrounding sensor package  100  (i.e., a package that includes the emitter and detector pair). As shown in  FIG. 6B , first U-shaped conductive planar structure  114  may surround package  100  from a first side, whereas second U-shaped conductive planar structure  116  may surround package  100  from a second side opposite of the first side. U-shaped electrodes  114  and  116  may be coupled to emitter  28  and detector  30  in package  100  via paths  120  and  122 , respectively. If desired, U-shaped electrodes  114  and  116  may have rounded corners and/or sharp corners. 
       FIG. 6C  shows another suitable arrangement of proximity sensor  26  in which electrodes  114  and  116  are ring-shaped planar structures that laterally surround sensor package  100 . As shown in  FIG. 6C , first ring-shaped conductive electrode  114  having a first diameter may surround package  100  while second ring-shaped conductive electrode  116  having a second diameter that is greater than the first diameter may completely surround the first ring-shaped electrode  114 . Ring-shaped electrodes  114  and  116  may be coupled to emitter  28  and detector  30  in package  100  via paths  120  and  122 , respectively. If desired, ring-shaped electrodes  114  and  116  may have rounded corners and/or sharp corners. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram showing one suitable circuit implementation of proximity sensor  26 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , proximity sensor  26  may be coupled to associated signal processing circuitry  204  that is used for controlling the operation of sensor  26  and that is used for analyzing data gathered using sensor  26 . In particular, LED  110  may have a first (p-type) terminal that receives a positive power supply voltage Vdd via source resistor Rs and a second (n-type) terminal that is coupled to ground (e.g., a ground power supply source on which ground power supply Vss is provided) via a transistor such as n-channel transistor  202 . Source resistor Rs may be used to limit the amount of current that is being drawn from the positive power supply source. First capacitive electrode  114  may be coupled to the second terminal of LED  110  via path  120 . Photodiode  112  may have a first (n-type) terminal that receives positive power supply voltage Vdd and a second (p-type) terminal that is coupled to second capacitive electrode  116  via path  112 . 
     Light-emitting diode  110  and photosensor  112  may be used primarily for optical proximity sensing, whereas capacitive electrodes  114  and  116  may be used primarily for electrical proximity sensing. During operation of proximity sensor  26 , photosensor  112  may receive some amount of reflected infrared light when a user is not in close proximity to device  10 . When a user is in close enough proximity to device  10  (e.g., when a user&#39;s body part is within 5 cm or less of sensor  26 ), photosensor  112  may receive an elevated amount of infrared light that is greater than a predetermined light threshold and may produce a corresponding positive optical reading. A positive optical reading can be indicative of a user who is in close proximity to device  10  or the presence of smudge over sensor  26 . 
     An electric field between capacitive electrodes  114  and  116  may produce an effective capacitance Cprox near the surface of cover glass  44 . Capacitance Cprox may exhibit a baseline value when a user is not in close proximity to device  10 . When an object is brought in the vicinity of device  10 , capacitance Cprox may be altered from its baseline value. When a user&#39;s body part or other conductive entity is in close enough proximity to sensor  26 , Cprox may deviate from the baseline value by an amount that is greater than a predetermined threshold capacitance to produce a corresponding positive electrical reading. A positive electrical reading is indicative of a user who is in close proximity to device  10 . Proximity sensors  26  that rely on electrical sensing may produce more accurate results compared to a proximity sensor that only relies on optical sensing since electrical sensing does not depend on the reflectivity of a nearby object and since smudge only minimally affects Cprox (e.g., electrical sensing techniques can be used to prevent false negative readings and false positive readings). 
     Referring again to  FIG. 7 , signal processing circuitry  204  may have an input and an output. The second terminal of photodiode  112  may be coupled to the input of circuitry  204  via an operational amplifier circuit  200 . Operational amplifier circuit  200  may be used to amplify signals that have been detected by photodiode  112 . Amplifier  200  may sometimes be considered to be part of circuitry  204 . Transistor  202  may have a gate that is coupled to the output of circuitry  204 . Sensor data may be provided from proximity sensor  26  to the input of circuitry  204  via amplifier  200 , whereas a control signal may be provided from the output of circuitry  204  to sensor  26  to control the operation of sensor  26 . 
     Signal processing circuitry  204  may include a transmit (TX) signal generator  206 , a data converting circuit such as analog-to-digital converter (ADC)  208 , a mixer circuit  214 , a phase shift circuit  212  (e.g., a 90° phase shift circuit), a filter circuit  216 , and a digital signal processor (DSP)  218 . Signal generator  206  may be configured to output a periodic transmit signal V TX  to the gate of transistor  202 . Signal V TX  may, for example, be a square-wave clock signal, a sine-wave control signal, a cosine-wave control signal, or other types of periodic control signal. Control signal V TX  may be used to activate and deactivate transistor  202  in an alternating fashion. When transistor is turned on (e.g., during a positive/high clock phase of V TX ), the second terminal of LED  110  may be pulled to ground to trigger infrared light emission using LED  110 . When transistor  202  is turned off (e.g., a negative/low clock phase of V TX ), the second terminal of LED  110  may be disconnected from a direct-current power supply source to disable LED  110 . 
     Proximity sensor  26  may produce an integrated sensor output signal that includes both optical proximity sensor data content and electrical proximity sensor data content.  FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an integrated sensor output signal  304  having an optical signal component  302  and an electrical signal component  300 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , optical signal component  302  may be in-phase with the transmit signal (e.g., the optical signal component may have a 0° phase offset with respect to V TX ) while electrical signal component  300  may have a quadrature phase relationship with the transmit signal (e.g., the electrical signal component may have a 90° phase offset with respect to V TX ). The electrical signal is in quadrature phase with respect to the optical signal (which is in phase with voltage V TX ) since the electrical signal relies on capacitive sensing (e.g., current charging a capacitance is proportional to the first derivative of voltage). 
     The magnitude of optical component  302  may vary depending on the amount of light that is detected using photodiode  112  (e.g., higher levels of reflected infrared light will result in larger magnitudes for vector  302 ), whereas the magnitude of electrical component  300  may vary depending on the amount of electric field disturbance experienced by capacitive electrodes  114  and  116  (e.g., higher levels of disturbance in the electric field will result in larger magnitudes for vector  300 ). The integrated sensor output signal  304  may be the vector sum of optical signal component  302  and electrical signal component  300 . 
     The integrated sensor output signal generated by proximity sensor  26  may be amplified using circuit  200  and fed to analog-to-digital converter  208 . Converter  208  may be used to convert the integrated sensor output signal to its digital equivalence (e.g., converter  208  may be used to generate a digitized version of the amplified analog integrated sensor output signal). Mixer  214  may have a first input that receives the digital version of the integrated sensor output signal from ADC  208 , a second input that receives either signal V TX  or a phase-shifted version of signal V TX  from TX generator  206 , and an output. 
     In the example of  FIG. 7 , a switching circuit such as a single-pole double-throw switch  210  may be coupled between the second input of mixer  214  and generator  206 . In particular, switch  210  may have a first switch port P 1  that is coupled to the second input of mixer  214 , a second switch port P 2  that directly receives signal V TX  from generator  206 , and a third switch port P 3  that receives the phase-shifted version of signal V TX  via phase shifter  212 . Phase shifter  212  may serve to shift V TX  by 90° (i.e., by a quarter clock cycle). 
     During a first detection mode (e.g., a first analysis mode during which the optical signal component is being extracted from the integrated sensor output signal), switch  210  may be placed in a first state such that port P 1  is coupled to port P 2  to allow the integrated signal to be multiplied directly with signal V TX . Multiplying (or “mixing”) the integrated sensor output signal with a periodic signal in this way may provide a corresponding demodulated signal at the output of mixer  214 , where the demodulated signal has an average value that is only proportional to the magnitude of optical component  302  ( FIG. 8 ). Demodulated signals generated in this way may be filtered using circuit  216  to remove undesired noise/interference signals at unrelated frequencies. The filtered signals may then be received by digital signal processor  218  for further processing. 
     During a second detection mode (e.g., a second analysis mode during which the optical signal component is being extracted from the integrated sensor output signal), switch  210  may be placed in a second state such that port P 1  is coupled to port P 3  to allow the integrated signal to be multiplied with the phase-shifted V TX . Mixing the integrated sensor output signal with a 90° phase-shifted version of V TX  in this way may provide a corresponding demodulated signal having an average value that is only proportional to the magnitude of electrical component  300  ( FIG. 8 ). Demodulated signals generated in this way may be filtered using circuit  216  to remove undesired noise/interference signals at unrelated frequencies. The filtered signals may then be received by digital signal processor  218  for further processing. 
     The filtered signals received by signal processor  218  during the first and second detection modes may be used in determining whether a conductive object such as a user&#39;s body part is in close proximity with sensor  26 .  FIG. 9  is a table of different scenarios that can be identified using proximity sensor  26  of the type described in connection with  FIG. 7 . Filtered signals received during the first detection mode may be compared to a predetermined light threshold value to determine whether an external object is in close proximity to device  10  based on optical sensing techniques described herein (e.g., using emitter  28  and detector  30 ). If the signals are less than the predetermined light threshold, a corresponding low or “0” optical sensor reading may be output. If the signals are greater than the predetermined light threshold, a corresponding high or “1” optical sensor reading may be output. 
     Filtered signals received during the second detection mode may be compared to a predetermined capacitance baseline value to determine whether an external object is in close proximity to device  10  based on electrical sensing techniques described herein (e.g., using capacitive structures  114  and  116 ). If the signals are reflective of a capacitance value that deviates from the predetermined capacitance by more than a given threshold, a corresponding high or “1” electrical sensor reading may be output. If the signals are indicative of a capacitance value that deviates from the predetermined capacitance by less than the given threshold, a corresponding low or “0” electrical sensor reading may be output. 
     As shown in the table of  FIG. 9 , there may be at least four different possible scenarios. In a first scenario (A) in which no external object is in the vicinity of device  10  and in which no smudge is present on the display cover glass, optical sensor reading and electrical sensor reading are both low, and signal processor  218  may correctly determine that no user is nearby. 
     In a second scenario (B) in which a user with dark hair is present (as an example), the optical sensor reading may be low, whereas the electrical sensor reading may be high. In this scenario, signal processor  218  may accurately determine that an object is nearby since the electrical sensor reading is high (e.g., the electrical sensor reading corrected a false negative, as indicated by arrow  350 ). 
     In a third scenario (C) in which a user is not present but smudge is deposited on the surface of cover glass  44  above proximity sensor  26  (see, e.g.,  FIG. 5 ), the optical sensor reading may be high (due to deflection from the smudge), whereas the electrical sensor reading may be low. In this scenario, signal processor  218  may accurately determine that no user is nearby since the electrical sensor reading is low (e.g., the electrical sensor reading corrected a false positive, as indicated by arrow  352 ). 
     In a fourth exemplary scenario (D) in which a user with lighter hair is in close proximity to device  10  (smudge may or may not be present), the optical sensor reading and electrical sensor reading are both high, and signal processor  218  may correctly determine that a user is nearby. According to the truth table of  FIG. 9 , a simple logic AND gate may be implemented in digital signal processor  218  to combine the optical and electrical sensor readings. A combined output having a logic “0” value is indicative of the absence of a nearby user, whereas a combined output having a logic “1” value is indicative of the presence of a user in close proximity to device  10 . 
     In another suitable arrangement, signal processing circuit  218  may be configured to compute a proximity sensor score value as follows:
 
score= w 1*| S   OPT   −S   THRES   |+w 2*| S   ELEC   −S   BASE |  (1)
 
where w1 and w2 represent different weighting factors for optical sensor data and electrical sensor data, respectively, where S OPT  represents the filtered optical signal magnitude received during the first detection mode, where S THRES  represents a predetermined light threshold value to which S OPT  can be compared, where S ELEC  represents the filtered electrical signal magnitude received during the second detection mode, and where S BASE  represents a baseline capacitive value to which S ELEC  can be compared.
 
     If desired, electrical detection may be given more weight when calculating the sensor score (e.g., w1 may be greater than w2). If desired, optical detection may be given more weight when calculating the sensor score (e.g., w2 may be greater than w1). Processor  218  may compare the sensor score computed as shown in expression 1 to a predetermined threshold score. A computed proximity sensor score that is less than the predetermined threshold score may be indicative of the absence of a nearby user, whereas a computed proximity sensor score that is greater than the predetermined threshold score may be indicative of the presence of a user in close proximity to device  10 . 
     The techniques as described herein that take into account both optical sensor readings and electrical sensor readings when making a user proximity determination is merely illustrative and do not serve to limit the scope of the present invention. If desired, other ways of determining whether a user is present based on the optical and electrical sensor readings may be used. In other embodiments, proximity sensor  26  may include only electrical proximity sensing circuitry (without any optical sensing circuitry). 
       FIG. 10  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in gathering and using proximity sensor data in the operation of device  10 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , electronic device  10  may gather proximity sensor data during the operations of step  400 . During step  400 , storage and processing circuitry  40  may, for example, use proximity sensor  26  of the type described in connection with  FIG. 5  to make optical proximity sensing measurements using infrared light emitter and detector circuitry and electrical proximity sensing measurements using capacitive sensing circuitry. Measurement data may be stored in storage in circuitry  40  (e.g., in a buffer having storage bins). 
     At step  402 , gathered proximity sensor data may be analyzed by device  10 . Storage and processing circuitry  40  may compare proximity sensor data that has been gathered to one or more threshold values. For example, the optical sensor measurements may be compared to a predetermined light threshold level, whereas the electrical sensor measurements may be compared to a baseline capacitance level. These comparisons may be used to determine a current user scenario (e.g., using an algorithm as described in connection with  FIG. 9  or by computing a proximity score using equation 1). 
     At step  404 , device  10  may take suitable action based on the results of the analysis operations of step  402 . For example, device  10  may activate or inactivate a voice recognition feature in device  10  or other device functionality. As another example, device  10  may use storage and processing circuitry  40  (sometimes referred to as control circuitry) to control input-output circuitry  32  such as touch sensor and/or display components based on information on whether proximity sensor readings exceeded or did not exceed proximity sensor thresholds. Time constraints (e.g., information on the time period over which threshold values were exceeded or not exceeded), time-based filtering, and other signal processing techniques may be used in analyzing proximity sensor data during the operations of step  402 . 
     Actions that may be taken at step  404  in response to the data analysis operations of step  402  may include enabling components, disabling components, adjusting the power supplied to components, or otherwise adjusting the operating parameters of input-output circuitry  32  of device  10 . With one illustrative arrangement, which is sometimes described herein as an example, touch screen functionality and display output functionality may be selectively enabled and disabled based on proximity sensor information from sensor  26 . 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20150615
Publication Date: 20161213
Grant Date: 20161213
Priority Date: 20130125
Inventors: HOLENARSIPUR PRASHANTH S. S.
RAI ANANT
LUKOFSKY DAVID
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F1/169", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1684", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0254", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01V8/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/941", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/955", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2217/94108", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2017/9602", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0416", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0304", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0448", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01V8/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0443", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0448", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0416", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/941", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M2250/12", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2217/94108", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2017/9602", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2217/94108", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/955", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1684", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/169", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0304", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K2017/9602", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0254", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1684", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0416", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/941", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H03K17/955", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/169", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0254", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 51223506