PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11953374-B2
Application Number: US-202318162393-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Electronic devices with ambient light sensor radio-frequency interference correction

Abstract:
An electronic device may have an ambient light sensor for gathering ambient light measurements. The ambient light sensor may include multiple channels for measuring different wavelengths of ambient light. An additional, modified, channel may be formed in the ambient light sensor to measure radio-frequency signals that may interfere with the ambient light measurements due to electromagnetic interference. Alternatively, circuitry separate from the ambient light sensor, such as an antenna, may measure the radio-frequency signals. If the radio-frequency signals exceed a threshold, the ambient light sensor measurements taken in the presence of the radio-frequency signals may be discarded or corrected. If the radio-frequency signals do not exceed a threshold, the ambient light sensor measurements may be kept. Therefore, the ambient light measurements that are kept and relied upon by the electronic device may be free from electromagnetic interference.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 an ambient light sensor, comprising:
 at least one photosensitive channel that generates ambient light measurements in response to light incident on the at least one photosensitive channel, and 
 radio-frequency measurement circuitry that generates radio-frequency measurements in response to electromagnetic interference while the at least one photosensitive channel is generating the ambient light measurements; and 
 
 control circuitry configured to determine whether the radio-frequency measurements exceed a threshold and to take a corrective action when the radio-frequency measurements exceed the threshold. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the at least one photosensitive channel comprises a first photodetector, the radio-frequency measurement circuitry comprises a second photodetector, and the second photodetector is configured to detect the electromagnetic interference. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuitry further comprises metal that covers the second photodetector. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 2  wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuitry further comprises a filter that covers the second photodetector. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the at least one photosensitive channel comprises a photodetector and wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuitry comprises an antenna that detects the electromagnetic interference. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a display configured to display images, wherein the display is blanked at intervals between the images and wherein the display overlaps the ambient light sensor. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the ambient light sensor is configured to generate the ambient light measurements and the radio-frequency measurements while the display is blanked. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 7  wherein each ambient light sensor measurement is generated during a time period of less than 500 μs. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  further comprising:
 a display configured to display images, wherein the display is blanked at intervals between the images, and wherein the ambient light sensor is configured to generate the ambient light measurements and the radio-frequency measurements over a first time period that exceeds the intervals between the images. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 9  wherein the ambient light sensor is configured to be adjusted to generate the ambient light measurements and the radio-frequency measurements over a second time period that is less than the intervals between the images in response to a given one of the radio-frequency measurements exceeding the threshold. 
     
     
       11. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the corrective action comprises discarding the ambient light measurements generated when the radio-frequency measurements exceed the threshold. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the corrective action comprises correcting the ambient light measurements based on an amount by which the radio-frequency measurements exceed the threshold. 
     
     
       13. A method of operating an electronic device having a display and an ambient light sensor, the method comprising:
 using a photodetector in the ambient light sensor to produce ambient light measurements; 
 while using the photodetector to produce the ambient light measurements, detecting electromagnetic interference with a radio-frequency measurement circuit; 
 determining whether the electromagnetic interference exceeds a threshold; and 
 in response to determining that the electromagnetic interference exceeds the threshold, taking a corrective action for the ambient light measurements that were generated while the electromagnetic interference exceeded the threshold. 
 
     
     
       14. The method defined in  claim 13  further comprising:
 during a non-blanking time, activating at least some pixel rows in the display overlapping the ambient light sensor to emit light; and 
 during a blanking time, deactivating the at least some pixel rows in the display overlapping the ambient light sensor. 
 
     
     
       15. The method defined in  claim 14  wherein using the photodetector in the ambient light sensor to produce the ambient light measurements comprises using the photodetector during the blanking time. 
     
     
       16. The method defined in  claim 13  wherein taking the corrective action comprises discarding the ambient light measurements that were generated while the electromagnetic interference exceeded the threshold. 
     
     
       17. The method defined in  claim 13  wherein taking the corrective action comprises correcting the ambient light measurements based on an amount by which the electromagnetic interference exceeded the threshold. 
     
     
       18. An electronic device, comprising:
 an ambient light sensor comprising at least one photodetector, wherein the ambient light sensor is configured to generate an ambient light measurement in response to incident light; 
 a radio-frequency measurement circuit that is configured to measure electromagnetic interference while the ambient light sensor generates the ambient light measurement; and 
 control circuitry that is configured to discard the ambient light measurement in response to the electromagnetic interference exceeding a threshold. 
 
     
     
       19. The electronic device of  claim 18  wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuit comprises at least one additional photodetector overlapped by a layer. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 19  wherein the layer is selected from the group consisting of: a metal layer, a filter layer, and an ink layer. 
     
     
       21. The electronic device defined in  claim 19  wherein each photodetector forms a channel of the ambient light sensor that generates first signals in response to ambient light and wherein each additional photodetector forms an additional channel of the ambient light sensor that generates second signals in response to electromagnetic interference. 
     
     
       22. The electronic device defined in  claim 18  wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuit comprises an antenna. 
     
     
       23. The electronic device defined in  claim 18  wherein the radio-frequency measurement circuit is a dual ambient light sensing and radio-frequency measurement circuit. 
     
     
       24. The electronic device defined in  claim 23  wherein the dual ambient light sensing and radio-frequency measurement circuit comprises first and second switches, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to modulate the first and second switches to switch the dual ambient light sensing and radio-frequency measurement circuit between an ambient light sensing mode and a radio-frequency measurement mode.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/319,694, filed Mar. 14, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and, more particularly, to electronic devices with light sensors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electronic devices such as laptop computers, cellular telephones, and other equipment are sometimes provided with light sensors. For example, ambient light sensors may be incorporated into a device to provide the device with information on current lighting conditions. It can be challenging to incorporate ambient light sensors into electronic devices. If care is not taken, electromagnetic interference may inhibit the accuracy of ambient light sensor measurements. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may have an ambient light sensor for gathering ambient light measurements. The electronic device may also include a display formed from an array of pixels. The ambient light sensor may be located under the array of pixels, or in a border region adjacent to the display. 
     The ambient light sensor may include multiple channels for measuring different wavelengths of ambient light. In particular, the ambient light sensor may include multiple photodiodes overlapped by different colored filters to generate charge in response to desired wavelengths of light. Once the charge is generated by the photodiodes, the charge may be amplified, filtered, and read out to processing circuitry in the electronic device. 
     An additional, modified, channel may be formed in the ambient light sensor to measure radio-frequency signals that may interfere with the ambient light measurements due to electromagnetic interference. Specifically, a channel with a photodiode covered by a filter layer (e.g., dark ink) may generate charge in response to radio-frequency signals but not to ambient light wavelengths, or a channel may be capable of sensing both ambient light and radio-frequency signals. As an alternative to having an additional channel in the ambient light sensor to measure radio-frequency signals, circuitry separate from the ambient light sensor, such as an antenna, may measure the radio-frequency signals. 
     If the radio-frequency signals exceed a threshold, control circuitry may take a corrective action by discarding or correcting the ambient light sensor measurements taken in the presence of the radio-frequency signals. If the radio-frequency signals do not exceed a threshold, the control circuitry may keep the ambient light sensor measurements. The control circuitry may then make adjustments to the electronic device, such as the display brightness or other settings, based on the ambient light measurements that are modified or are free from electromagnetic interference. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device having display and sensor components in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of an electronic device with an ambient light sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of an illustrative interior of an electronic device with a display and an ambient light sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  4    is a diagram of an illustrative display with an array of display pixels in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5 A  is a circuit diagram of an illustrative ambient light sensor having at least one ambient light measurement channel and an electromagnetic interference measurement channel coupled to control circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  5 B  is a circuit diagram of an illustrative ambient light sensor having at least one ambient light measurement channel and an electromagnetic interference measurement channel coupled to a threshold device in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is a circuit diagram of an illustrative ambient light sensor and a radio-frequency measurement circuit in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7 A  is an illustrative timing diagram of operating an ambient light sensor while a display is blanked in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  7 B  is an illustrative timing diagram of adjusting the integration time of an ambient light sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  8    is a circuit diagram of an illustrative ambient light sensor having at least one ambient light measurement channel and a dual ambient light sensing and radio-frequency signal sensing channel coupled to control circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  9    is an illustrative timing diagram of operating an ambient light sensor with a dual ambient light sensing and radio-frequency signal sensing channel coupled to control circuitry in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  10    is a flowchart of illustrative steps of gathering ambient light sensor data and measuring electromagnetic interference to determine which of the ambient light sensor data to discard in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  11    is a flowchart of illustrative steps of gathering data and measuring electromagnetic interference to determine which of the data to discard in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An illustrative electronic device of the type that may be provided with one or more light sensors is shown in  FIG.  1   . Electronic device  10  may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatch or other device worn on a user&#39;s wrist, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user&#39;s head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , electronic device  10  may have control circuitry  16 . Control circuitry  16  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of device  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include storage such as hard disk drive storage, nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  16  may be used to control the operation of device  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. Control circuitry  16  may include communications circuitry for supporting wired and/or wireless communications between device  10  and external equipment. For example, control circuitry  16  may include wireless communications circuitry such as cellular telephone communications circuitry and wireless local area network communications circuitry. 
     Input-output circuitry in device  10  such as input-output devices  12  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 devices  12  may include buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads, key pads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, light-emitting diodes and other status indicators, data ports, etc. A user can control the operation of device  10  by supplying commands through input-output devices  12  and may receive status information and other output from device  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  12 . 
     Input-output devices  12  may include one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may be a touch screen display that includes a touch sensor for gathering touch input from a user or display  14  may be insensitive to touch. A touch sensor for display  14  may be based on an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes, acoustic touch sensor structures, resistive touch components, force-based touch sensor structures, a light-based touch sensor, or other suitable touch sensor arrangements. Display  14  may be include any desired display technology, and may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a microLED display, or any other desired type of display. 
     Input-output devices  12  may also include sensors  18 . Sensors  18  may include a capacitive sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, a magnetic sensor, an accelerometer, a force sensor, a touch sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a compass, a microphone, a radio-frequency sensor, a three-dimensional image sensor, a camera, a light-based position sensor (e.g., a lidar sensor), and other sensors. Sensors  18  may also include one or more light detectors that are configured to detect ambient light. Sensors  18  may, for example, include one or more monochrome ambient light sensors and one or more color ambient light sensors that are configured to measure ambient light from the environment in which device  10  is operated. A monochrome ambient light sensor may be used to measure ambient light intensity. A color ambient light sensor may be used to measure the color (e.g., color spectrum, color temperature, color coordinates, etc.) of ambient light and may be used to measure ambient light intensity. 
     Electronic device  10  may include one or more ambient light sensors. Illustrative arrangements in which device  10  includes a single ambient light sensor are sometimes described herein as an example. In some configurations, the ambient light sensor may be located in a portion of device  10  where there is a potential for light interference from light-emitting components in device  10  that emit stray light. For example, the ambient light sensor may be overlapped by a pixel array in display  14  (e.g., an active area of the display that is configured to display images) that has a potential to generate stray light. The pixel array may have transparent portions (e.g., transparent gaps between metal traces and other opaque structures) or may have a window opening so that ambient light may pass through the pixel array to the overlapped ambient light sensor. By locating the ambient light sensor behind the active area of the display, the appearance of device  10  may be enhanced and/or more area can be freed up for other components and functions. Configurations in which the ambient light sensor is located under an inactive display area (e.g., a notch or pixel array window opening that is free of pixels) or is located elsewhere within device  10  may also be used. 
     During operation, control circuitry  16  may gather measurements with the ambient light sensor while controlling display  14  or other light source that generates stray light. Control circuitry  16  may then process the data gathered from the ambient light sensor to produce accurate ambient light measurements even in scenarios in which sensor data has been gathered in the presence of electromagnetic interference. For example, device  10  may include communications circuitry, including wireless transceiver circuitry, which may emit radio-frequency signals. Additionally or alternatively, device  10  may operate in environments in which there are ambient radio-frequency signals (e.g., radio-frequency signals that are emitted by other devices). These radio-frequency signals may cause electromagnetic interference with ambient light sensors in device  10 . 
     A perspective view of an illustrative electronic device of the type that may include an ambient light sensor is shown in  FIG.  2   . In the example of  FIG.  2   , device  10  includes a display such as display  14  mounted in housing  22 . Display  14  may be a liquid crystal display, an electrophoretic display, an organic light-emitting diode display, or other display with an array of light-emitting diodes (e.g., a display that includes pixels having diodes formed from crystalline semiconductor dies), may be a plasma display, may be an electrowetting display, may be a display based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) pixels, or may be any other suitable display. Display  14  may have an array of pixels  26  that extends across some or all of front face F of device  10  and/or other external device surfaces. The pixel array may be rectangular or may have other suitable shapes. Display  14  may be protected using a display cover layer (e.g., a transparent front housing layer) such as a layer of transparent glass, clear plastic, sapphire, or other clear layer. The display cover layer may overlap the array of pixels  26 . 
     Housing  22 , 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  22  and display  14  may separate an interior region of device  10  from an exterior region surrounding device  10 . Housing  22  may be formed using a unibody configuration in which some or all of housing  22  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.). If desired, a wristband or other strap may be coupled to a main portion of housing  22  (e.g., in configurations in which device  10  is a wristwatch). 
     Pixels  26  may cover substantially all of the front face of device  10  or display  14  may have inactive areas (e.g., notches, recessed areas, rectangular areas, or other regions) that are free of pixels  26 . The inactive areas may be used to accommodate an opening for a speaker and windows for optical components such as one or more image sensors, ambient light sensors, optical proximity sensors, three-dimensional image sensors such as structured light three-dimensional image sensors, and/or a camera flash, etc. In an illustrative configuration, pixels  26  may extend over the entirety of the front surface F of device  10  and may overlap an ambient light sensor in region  30 . In this type of arrangement, ambient light may pass to the ambient light sensor in region  30  through the array of pixels  26  in display  14 . 
       FIG.  3    is a side view of device  10  of  FIG.  2    in an illustrative configuration in which pixels  26  overlap ambient light sensor  40 . As shown in  FIG.  3   , ambient light sensor  40  may have one or more photodetectors  42 . A single photodetector  42  (or set of photodetectors  42 ) may be used to make monochromatic light measurements (e.g., measurements of light intensity) or a set of photodetectors  42  that have color filters of different respective colors may be used to make intensity and color measurements on ambient light  46 . Ambient light sensor  40  may be mounted in interior region  23  of housing  22  under display  14 . Display  14  and housing  22  may separate interior region  23  from exterior region  27  surrounding device  10 . Electrical components  38  (see, e.g., control circuitry  16  and input-output devices  12  of  FIG.  1   ) may be mounted within interior region  23  (e.g., on one or more printed circuits such as printed circuit  36 ). 
     Display  14  has an array of pixels  26 . Pixels  26  extend over front face F of device  10  and form an active area for display  14  in which images are displayed. A display cover layer (e.g., a layer of glass, crystalline material such as sapphire, polymer, etc.) may at least partially cover and overlap pixels  26 . Each pixel  26  may be formed from thin-film transistors and other components (e.g., liquid crystal display pixel components such as pixel electrodes, light-emitting diode pixel components such as light-emitting diodes, etc.). Metal traces and other opaque structures in pixels  26  may block light; however, the array of pixels  26  may also include transparent regions between the opaque structures. The presence of transparent areas in display  14  allows ambient light  46  from external light sources such as external light source  44  in exterior region  27  to pass through the array of pixels  26  to reach ambient light sensor  40  in interior region  23 . Window openings, notches, and other structures may also be formed in display  14  to allow ambient light to pass to ambient light sensor  40 . 
     As the example of  FIG.  3    demonstrates, ambient light sensor  40  may, in some configurations, be mounted under display  14 . In this location within interior region  23  of housing  22 , the active area of display  14  that is formed by pixels  26  overlaps ambient light sensor  40  when viewed from the exterior of device  10  (e.g., when viewing front face F). By mounting ambient light sensor  40  behind pixels  26  in this way, the overall size of device  10  may be reduced, the appearance of device  10  may be enhanced, and inactive display area may be reduced. If desired, ambient light sensor  40  may be located adjacent to display  14  without receiving ambient light through display  14  (e.g., ambient light sensor  40  may be near display  14  but not overlapped by pixels  26 ). Arrangements in which ambient light sensor  40  receives ambient light through an overlapping display may sometimes be described as an example. Additionally, although a single ambient light sensor  40  is shown in  FIG.  3   , this is merely illustrative. In general, device  10  may include multiple ambient light sensors  40  under display  14 , adjacent to display  14 , on the rear of device  10 , and/or any other location in device  10 . 
     During operation of display  14  to display an image for a user, pixels  26  of display  14  may emit light such as stray display light  48 . Some of light  48  from display  14  may pass through interior region  23  to ambient light sensor  40  or may otherwise reach ambient light sensor  40 . This stray light therefore represents a source of noise that has the potential to interfere with accurate measurements of ambient light  46  by ambient light sensor  40 . Stray light also represents a source of noise in configurations in which display  14  and ambient light sensor are located near to each other but do not overlap. 
     Control circuitry  16  may gather measurements with ambient light sensor  40  while controlling display  14 . In this way, control circuitry  16  can help discriminate between contributions to ambient light sensor measurements from sensor  40  that are due to ambient light  46  and contributions to the ambient light sensor measurements from sensor  40  that are due to display light  48 . In one suitable arrangement, control circuitry  16  may intermittently turn off the display during emission blanking intervals, and ambient light sensor  40  may then be used to measure ambient light during the emission blanking intervals while the display is temporarily deactivated. Since the display does not emit light during the emission blanking intervals, ambient light measurements obtained by ambient light sensor  40  in this way will be free of noise and crosstalk that would otherwise be present due to stray light emitted from the display. However, this is merely illustrative. Control circuitry  16  may gather at least some measurements while display  14  is emitting light with pixels  26 , if desired. 
     A top view of a portion of display  14  is shown in  FIG.  4   . Display  14  may have a rectangular shape (i.e., display  14  may have a rectangular footprint and a rectangular peripheral edge that runs around the rectangular footprint) or may have other suitable shapes. Display  14  may be planar or may have a curved profile. As shown in  FIG.  4   , display  14  may have an array of display pixels  26  formed on a substrate  360 . Substrate  360  may be formed from glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, porcelain, or other substrate materials. Pixels  26  may receive data signals over signal paths such as data lines D and may receive one or more control signals over control signal paths such as horizontal control lines G (sometimes referred to as gate lines, scan lines, emission lines, etc.). There may be any suitable number of rows and columns of pixels  26  in display  14  (e.g., tens, hundreds, or thousands of pixels  26 ). Pixels  26  may be implemented using any suitable type of display technology (e.g., using organic light-emitting diode display technology, liquid crystal display technology, electrophoretic display technology, plasma display technology, electrowetting display technology, MEMs display technology, etc.). 
     Display driver circuitry  300  may be used to control the operation of pixels  26 . The display driver circuitry  300  may be formed from integrated circuits, thin-film transistor circuits, or other suitable electronic circuitry. Display driver circuitry  300  of  FIG.  4    may contain communications circuitry for communicating with system control circuitry such as control circuitry  16  of  FIG.  1    over path  320 . Path  320  may be formed from traces on a flexible printed circuit or other cable. During operation, the control circuitry (e.g., control circuitry  16  of  FIG.  1   ) may supply circuitry  300  with information on images to be displayed on display  14 . 
     To display the images on display pixels  26 , display driver circuitry  300  may supply image data to data lines D (e.g., data lines that run down the columns of pixels  22 ) while issuing clock signals and other control signals to supporting display driver circuitry such as gate driver circuitry  340  over path  380 . If desired, display driver circuitry  300  may also supply clock signals and other control signals to gate driver circuitry  340  on a different edge of display  14  (e.g., the gate driver circuitry may be formed on more than one side of the display pixel array). 
     Gate driver circuitry  340  (sometimes referred to as horizontal line control circuitry or row driver circuitry) may be implemented as part of an integrated circuit and/or may be implemented using thin-film transistor circuitry. Horizontal/row control lines G in display  14  may carry gate line signals, scan line control signals, emission enable control signals, and/or other horizontal control signals for controlling the pixels in each row. There may be any suitable number of horizontal control signals per row of pixels  26  (e.g., one or more row control lines, two or more row control lines, three or more row control lines, four or more row control lines, five or more row control lines, etc.). 
       FIG.  5 A  is a circuit diagram of an ambient light sensor that may be included under display  14 , adjacent to display  14 , or elsewhere in device  10  and used to perform ambient light sensing (may be referred to as ambient light sensor  40  herein). For example, if ambient light sensor  40  is included under display  14 , in non-blanking periods when the display is on, ambient light sensor  40  may be in a “hold” or idle state. During blanking periods when the display is off, ambient light sensor  40  may switched into use to integrate charge. This type of ambient light sensing operation is sometimes referred to as having “hold function” capability. If desired, however, ambient light sensor  40  may be switched into use to integrate charge during at least some periods in which display  14  is on. 
     As shown in  FIG.  5 A , ambient light sensor  40  may include photodiode  42  coupled between ground line  51  and the negative (−) input port of amplifier  54 . Capacitor C D    50  may be coupled between the line coupled to the negative input port of amplifier  54  and ground line  52 . The positive (+) input port of amplifier  54  may be coupled to ground line  53 , and the output of amplifier  54  may be coupled to both capacitor C INT    56  (which is in turn coupled to the negative input port of amplifier  54 ), and to filter resistor R F    58 . Resistor  58  is coupled to switch  60  and capacitor C F    62  (which is in turn coupled to ground line  55 ). Together, switch  60  and capacitor  62  may form sample-and-hold circuitry, the output of which is read out to multiplexer (MUX)  64 . 
     As indicated by ellipses  66 , ambient light sensor  40  may have any desired number of photodiodes  42  (and corresponding capacitors, amplifiers, resistors, and switches). Together, each photodiode  42 , capacitor  50 , amplifier  54 , capacitor  56 , resistor  58 , switch  60 , and capacitor  62  may form an ambient light sensor channel. 
     Ambient light sensor  40  may include any desired number of ambient light sensor channels. For example, ambient light sensor  40  may include different channels with different overlying filters (i.e., different filters over photodiodes  42 ) to sense the color of ambient light. Ambient light sensor  40  may include two or more, three or more, five or more, six or less, or any other desired number of ambient light sensor channels. Each ambient light sensor channel may have output line  68  coupled to multiplexer (MUX)  64 , which may be in turn coupled to analog-to-digital convertor (ADC)  70 . ADC  70  may comprise one or more ADC circuits that convert the analog signals produced by photodiodes  42  into digital signals. The output of ADC  70  may then be coupled to micro-controller unit (MCU)  90 . MCU  90  may be a portion of control circuitry  16  or may be a standalone micro-controller, as examples. 
     Regardless of the number of ambient light sensor channels in ambient light sensor  40 , ambient light sensor  40  may also include radio-frequency (RF) measurement circuitry  41 . As shown in  FIG.  5 A , RF measurement circuitry  41  may be formed as an additional channel in ambient light sensor  40  and may have a similar architecture to the ambient light sensor channels discussed previously. In particular, RF measurement circuitry  41  may include photodiode  72  coupled between ground line  73  and the negative (−) input port of amplifier  78 . Capacitor C D    76  may be coupled between the line coupled to the negative input port of amplifier  78  and ground line  73 . The positive (+) input port of amplifier  78  may be coupled to ground line  77 , and the output of amplifier  78  may be coupled to both capacitor C INT    80  (which is in turn coupled to the negative input port of amplifier  78 , and to filter resistor R F    82 . Resistor  82  is coupled to switch  84  and capacitor C F    86  (which is in turn coupled to ground line  85 ). Together, switch  84  and capacitor  86  may form sample-and-hold circuitry. The output of the sample-and-hold circuitry may be coupled to MUX  64 , which may in turn be coupled to ADC  70  to convert the output to digital signals. The digital signals may then be output to MCU  90 . 
     As opposed to the ambient light sensor channels, which include photodiodes  42  that are sensitive to specific wavelengths of light, RF circuitry  41  may be modified to be sensitive to radio-frequency signals that cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) that may reduce the accuracy of measurements generated by ambient light sensor  40 . Specifically, layer  74  may overlap photodiode  72  in RF circuitry  41 . Layer  74  may be any desired material, such as metal, a filter layer (e.g., a layer formed from one or more thin-film interference layers, band-stop filter layers, band-pass filter layers, or any other desired filter layer), ink layer, or any other desired layer. In general, layer  74  may block light from reaching photodiode  72 . In this way, photodiode  72  may generate signals in response to RF signals that cause EMI. 
     In operation, photodiode  42  may generate charge in response to incident light. That charge may be transferred to capacitor C D  and provided to amplifier  54 . Amplifier  54  (which is coupled to capacitor C INT  to ensure proper amplification of the charge) may amplify the charge before it reaches filter resister R F . Filter resister R F  may prevent charge below a certain threshold (after amplification) from proceeding. Switch  60  and capacitor C F  may hold the charge until it is time to read out the charge for the given channel over line  68  to MUX  64  before it is converted into a digital signal by ADC  70  for processing by MCU  90  and other control circuitry. 
     Each parallel channel in ambient light sensor  40  may operate substantively the same way, generating charge in response to ambient light, amplifying the charge, and reading out the charge to MCU  90  as a digital signal. 
     Additionally, RF circuitry  41  may operate similarly to the other channels, with the exception of generating charge in response to radio-frequency signals, due to the presence of layer  74  over photodiode  74 . However, once the charge has been generated, it, too, is amplified, read out, and converted to a digital signal to be processed by MCU  90 . 
     After MCU  90  receives the digital signals from ADC circuitry  70 , MCU  90  may compare the signal generated by RF circuitry  41  to a threshold value (also referred to as a threshold herein). The threshold value may be set based on the sensitivity of ambient light sensor  40  to RF signals, and may be set at manufacturing, or through an update to the software or firmware of device  10 . 
     If the signal generated by RF circuitry  41  exceeds the threshold value, then the EMI present when the ambient light sensor channels performed the ambient light measurements may have rendered those measurements inaccurate. MCU  90  may therefore take a corrective action. The corrective action may include discarding any ambient light sensor measurements taken when the signal generated by RF circuitry  41  exceeds the threshold value. 
     Alternatively, the signals generated by RF circuitry  41  may indicate the extent to which the ambient light sensor measurements have been rendered inaccurate. In other words, the amount of RF interference present when the ambient light sensor measurements are made may be proportional or otherwise related to the amount by which the measurements are inaccurate. Therefore, if desired, MCU  90  may correct the ambient light sensor measurements based on an amount by which the RF signals exceed the threshold value. In this way, corrected ambient light sensor measurements may be produced by MCU  90 , which may in turn be used by control circuitry as desired (e.g., changing settings of the electronic device or performing another desired function). 
     If the signal generated by RF circuitry  41  does not exceed the threshold value, MCU  90  may keep the ambient light measurements, which in turn may be used by control circuitry as desired (e.g., changing settings of the electronic device or performing another desired function). 
     The example of  FIG.  5 A  in which RF circuitry  41  generates an analog signal which is converted to a digital signal by ADC  70  prior to reaching MCU  90  is merely illustrative. For example, as shown in  FIG.  5 B , threshold circuitry  89  may be included in RF circuitry  41  to determine whether the analog value generated by photodiode  72  and amplified by amplifier  78  exceeds a threshold value indicating that the EMI interfered with the ambient light measurements. If the analog signal exceeds the threshold value, threshold circuitry  89  may send a signal to MCU  90  to take a corrective action by discarding or correcting the corresponding ambient light measurements. In general, however, any desired method may be used to convert the signal generated by photodiode  72  to a digital signal and/or compare the analog or digital signal to the threshold value. In this way, MCU  90  may discard or correct ambient light sensor data that has been compromised by electromagnetic interference. 
     Although  FIGS.  5 A and  5 B  show RF circuitry  41  in ambient light sensor  40 , this is merely illustrative. RF circuitry may be anywhere in device  10 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , RF circuitry  91  may be formed separate from ambient light sensor  40 . Although RF circuitry  91  may be formed from a covered photodiode and corresponding amplifier, filtering, and sample-and-hold circuitry (i.e., with the same architecture shown in  FIG.  5 A or  5 B ),  FIG.  6    illustrates that RF circuitry  91  may be formed from antenna  92  and threshold circuitry  94 . In particular, antenna  92  may be used to detect radio-frequency signals that may cause electromagnetic interference. For example, antenna  92  may be a coil antenna, a patch antenna, an inverted-F antenna, or any other desired antenna. In general, antenna  92  may be any antenna to detect RF signals that may interfere with the operation of ambient light sensor  40 . After RF signals are detected by antenna  92 , threshold circuitry  94  may be used to determine whether the RF signals exceed a threshold (i.e., to determine whether the RF signals will interfere with the accuracy or functionality of ambient light sensor  40 ). Threshold circuitry  94  may be coupled to MCU  90 , which in turn may take a corrective action by discarding or correcting the ambient light measurements made by ambient light sensor  40  if the RF signals exceed the threshold, or may retain the ambient light measurements made by ambient light sensor  40  if the RF signals are below the threshold. This determination by MCU  90  may be performed using the same method as described above in connection with  FIGS.  5 A and  5 B . 
     Although  FIGS.  5 B and  6    shows threshold circuitry  94  in RF circuitry  91 , this is merely illustrative. If desired, threshold circuitry  94  may be formed external to RF circuitry  91 , may be formed within MCU  90 , or anywhere else in device  10 . Alternatively or additionally, RF circuitry  91  may include an ADC between antenna  92  and MCU  90 , if desired. 
     Moreover, although  FIG.  6    shows RF circuitry  91  being separate from ambient light sensor  40 , RF circuitry  91  with antenna  92  may be formed within ambient light sensor  40 , if desired. In general, antenna  92  and RF circuitry  91  may be formed anywhere within device  10 . For example, antenna  92  may be an antenna used for the reception of other signals within device  10  (e.g., a non-dedicated antenna). Alternatively or additionally to the embodiments in  FIGS.  5 A,  5 B, and  6   , MCU  90  may receive input from other control circuitry, such as control circuitry  16  in  FIG.  1   , indicating that an internal component within device  10  is emitting radio-frequency signals. MCU  90  may then take a corrective action by discarding or correcting ambient light measurements made by ambient light sensor  40  during the time RF signals are being emitted. 
     Although  FIGS.  5  and  6    respectively show a single photodiode and single antenna used in RF measurement circuitry, this is merely illustrative. Multiple photodiodes and/or antennas may be used in RF measurement circuitry  41  or  91 , as desired. 
     Regardless of the architecture used to form the RF circuitry, ambient light sensor  40  may be operated in tandem with display  14  to reduce additional interference from light produced by display  14 . A timing diagram for operating ambient light sensor  40  is shown in  FIG.  7 A . 
     As shown in  FIG.  7 A , the display, such as display  14  of  FIG.  2   , may have regular intervals in which the display is blanked (i.e., when the pixels in display  14  are not emitting light to display images to a user of device  10 ). These intervals are shown in  FIG.  7 A  as DISPLAY_BLANK, and may be referred to as a “blanking times” herein (periods in which the display is displaying images may be referred to as “non-blanking times” herein). For example, DISPLAY_BLANK may have a duration of 450 μs to 550 μs, less than 600 μs, less than 500 μs, greater than 450 μs, or any other desired duration. 
     An ambient light sensor, such as ALS  40 , may be activated to make a measurement of ambient light (i.e., be “ON” in  FIG.  7 A ), during time T. As shown in  FIG.  7 A , time T may be less than the DISPLAY_BLANK duration. For example, ALS  40  may be on (i.e., integrate) for 450 μs, less than 500 μs, 400 μs or less, or any other time T. Before and after time T, ALS  40  may be on “hold” or in an idle state (i.e., ALS  40  may not be generating ambient light measurements during this time). In this way, ALS  40  may integrate while display  14  is blanked, thereby reducing interference from the light emitted by display  14 . 
     The short integration time of ALS  40  may allow for the discarding of ambient light sensor measurements, if desired (e.g., when RF circuitry  41  detects RF signals that could cause EMI), without the loss of a substantial amount of ALS sensor measurements. For example, if one of the ALS measurements in  FIG.  7 A  occurs at the same time as RF circuitry  41  detects RF signals, processing circuitry or control circuitry, such as MCU  90 , may discard that ALS measurement. However, in the  FIG.  7 A  example, there would still be six ambient light measurements that are not discarded. In this way, control circuitry in device  10  may discard compromised ALS measurements, while maintaining sufficient ALS data to make corresponding adjustments to components within device  10 . 
     Instead of activating ALS  40  only during the blanking time, the integration time of ALS  40  may be varied depending on the environmental conditions of device  10 . An example of a varied integration time for ALS  40  is shown in  FIG.  7 B . 
     As shown in  FIG.  7 B , the display blanking duration DISPLAY_BLANK may be the same as in  FIG.  7 A . For example, DISPLAY_BLANK may have a duration of 450 μs to 550 μs, less than 600 μs, less than 500 μs, greater than 450 μs, or any other desired duration. However, ALS  40  may be on at a first time period T 1 , which is longer than display blanking duration DISPLAY_BLANK. For example, first time period T 1  may be 50 ms, less than 100 ms, less than 75 ms, greater than 40 ms, or any other desired duration. 
     If RF signals are sensed (e.g., by RF circuitry  41  or  91 ), then control circuitry may shorten the integration time of ALS  40  to T 2 , which is shorter than the blanking duration DISPLAY_BLANK. For example, T 2  may be 450 μs, 400 μs or less, or any other duration. By adjusting the ALS integration time to be shorter than the display blanking duration once RF signals are detected, any ambient light measurements that are discarded (e.g., because they occur while RF signals are detected) are shorter in duration. There will therefore be more ambient light measurements that are not discarded, allowing control circuitry in device  10  to make any necessary adjustments based on those measurements. 
     Although  FIGS.  5 - 7    have shown and described using dedicated RF measurement circuitry (e.g., RF measurement circuitry  41  of  FIG.  5    or RF measurement circuitry  91  of  FIG.  6   ), this is merely illustrative. In some embodiments, one or more ambient light sensor channels in an ambient light sensor may be used both for ambient light sensing and for RF sensing. An illustrative example of an ambient light sensor having a channel that can detect ambient light and RF signals is shown in  FIG.  8   . 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , an ambient light sensor, such as ambient light sensor  40 , may include any desired number of ambient light sensor channels. Each ambient light sensor channel may include photodiode  42 , capacitor  50 , amplifier  54 , capacitor  56 , resistor  58 , switch  60 , and capacitor  62 , if desired. The structure and function of each of the ambient light sensor channels may be the same or substantially similar to the ambient light sensor channels of  FIGS.  5 A,  5 B , and  6 . 
     In addition to the ambient light sensor channels, ambient light sensor  40  may have channel  81 . Channel  81  may be a dual ambient light and RF sensing channel. For example, channel  81  may include all of the elements of the other ambient light sensor channels, including photodiode  72 , capacitor  76 , amplifier  78 , capacitor  80 , resistor  82 , switch  84 , and capacitor  86 . When operated in an ambient-light-sensing mode, switch S 1  may be closed and switch S 2  may be open. In this configuration, channel  81  may have the same operation as the other ambient light sensor channels in ambient light sensor  40  (as well as the ambient light sensor channels described in connection with  FIGS.  5 A,  5 B, and  6   ). 
     It may also be desirable to operate channel  81  in an RF-sensing mode. In the RF-sensing mode, switch S 1  may be open and switch S 2  may be closed. In this way, any current from photodiode  72  will not pass to amplifier  78 . In this mode, the output of channel  81  should be zero (e.g., since there is no current passed to amplifier  78  and the sample and hold circuitry). However, if there are RF signals present, a non-zero reading may be produced. Therefore, a non-zero output from channel  81  may indicate the presence of RF signals, and any ambient light sensor signals collected in the presence of the RF signals may be discarded. 
     Using channel  81  for both ambient light sensing and RF sensing may reduce the footprint of ambient light sensor  40 . In particular, control circuitry may modulate S 1  and S 2  to switch channel  81  between an ambient light sensing mode and an RF sensing mode. As a result, ambient light sensor  40  may have one less channel since channel  81  can detect both ambient light and RF signals. Moreover, functions that are already present for ambient light sensing may be used in detecting the RF signals. For example, an auto-zero function may be used to remove an internal offset in the integrator (amplifier  78  and capacitor  80 ) prior to ambient light sensing. The same auto-zero function may be used prior to RF sensing, and may function whenever photodiode  72  is connected and/or disconnected (e.g., whenever switches S 1  and/or S 2  is activated or deactivated), if desired. 
     Although ambient light sensor  40  is shown as having one dual ambient light and RF sensing channel  81 , this is merely illustrative. Any number of channels in ambient light sensor  40  may perform both ambient light and RF sensing. 
     Channel  81  may operate in the ambient light sensing and RF sensing modes based on the current operation of device  10  ( FIG.  2   ), such as based on the operation of display  14 . An illustrative timing diagram for operating an ambient light sensor with a dual ambient light sensing and RF sensing channel is shown in  FIG.  9   . 
     As shown in  FIG.  9   , the display, such as display  14  of  FIG.  2   , may have regular intervals in which the display is blanked (i.e., when the pixels in display  14  are not emitting light to display images to a user of device  10 ). These intervals are shown in  FIG.  9    as DISPLAY_BLANK, and may be referred to as a “blanking times” herein (periods in which the display is displaying images may be referred to as “non-blanking times” herein). For example, DISPLAY_BLANK may have a duration of 450 μs to 550 μs, less than 600 μs, less than 500 μs, greater than 450 μs, or any other desired duration. 
     An ambient light sensor, such as ALS  40 , may be activated to make a measurement of ambient light (i.e., be “ON” in  FIG.  9   ), during time T at periods  95 . As shown in  FIG.  9   , time T may be less than the DISPLAY_BLANK duration. For example, ALS  40  may be on (i.e., integrate) for 450 μs, less than 500 μs, 400 μs or less, or any other time T. Before and after time T, ALS  40  may be on “hold” or in an idle state (i.e., ALS  40  may not be generating ambient light measurements during this time). In this way, ALS  40  may integrate while display  14  is blanked, thereby reducing interference from the light emitted by display  14 . 
     The short integration time of ALS  40  may allow for the discarding of ambient light sensor measurements, if desired (e.g., when RF signals are detected by channel  81 ), without the loss of a substantial amount of ALS sensor measurements. For example, if one of the ALS measurements  95  in  FIG.  9    occurs at the same time as RF signals are detected, processing circuitry or control circuitry, such as MCU  90 , may discard that ALS measurement. However, in the  FIG.  9    example, there would still be six ambient light measurements that are not discarded. In this way, control circuitry in device  10  may discard compromised ALS measurements, while maintaining sufficient ALS data to make corresponding adjustments to components within device  10 . 
     In addition to making ambient light measurements  95 , the ambient light sensor may also make RF signal measurements  93 . RF signal measurements  93  may occur during times in which the display is activated (e.g., “ON” in  FIG.  9   ). For example, it may be undesirable to make ambient light measurements when the display is on, as the display light may interfere with the light measurements. Therefore, any dual ambient light sensing and RF sensing channels in the ambient light sensor may be switched into an RF sensing mode and may make RF measurements while the display is on. In this way, the dual channels of the ambient light sensor may be switched between making ambient light measurements and RF measurements based on the operation of the display. 
     Although  FIG.  9    shows RF sensing  93  occurring every time the display is on, this is merely illustrative. If desired, RF sensing  93  may occur less often, or may occur with adjustable frequency. For example, if a system or device has a low RF risk, RF sensing  93  may occur less often or be adjustable to occur less often. 
     Additionally, although  FIG.  9    only shows RF sensing  93  when the display is on, RF sensing  93  may occur when the display is off, if desired. Moreover, RF sensing  93  may occur at any desired time. For example, a dual ambient light sensing and RF sensing channel may operate in an RF sensing mode while the other channels are measuring ambient light. 
     A method of operating an ambient light sensor, such as ALS  40 , and RF circuitry, such as RF circuitry  41 ,  91 , or  81 , is shown in  FIG.  10   . First, at step  100 , the ambient light sensor may be used to gather ambient light sensor data (also referred to as ambient light measurements herein). The ambient light sensor measurement may be made with one or more ambient light senor channels. For example, the ambient light sensor may have multiple channels, each of which is sensitive to a different wavelength of light. 
     At step  102 , which may occur at substantially the same time as step  100 , RF signals may be measured using the RF circuitry. The RF circuitry may either be a channel within the ambient light sensor that has been modified to be sensitive to RF signals, may be a dual ambient light sensing and RF sensing channel that is configured to measure RF signals, may be an antenna, or may be other internal circuitry within device  10 , as examples. 
     At step  103 , either a threshold device, such as threshold device  89  of  FIG.  5 B  or threshold device  94  of  FIG.  6   , or control circuitry, such as MCU  90  in  FIG.  5 A , may determine whether the RF signals detected by the RF circuitry exceed a threshold. The threshold may be set during manufacturing and/or be updated in the device&#39;s software or firmware as desired. 
     If the RF signals do not exceed the threshold, at step  106 , the processing or control circuitry may keep the ambient light sensor data. The ambient light sensor data may then be used by control circuitry, such as control circuitry  16 , to make adjustments to device  10 , if desired. 
     If the RF signals exceed the threshold, the process may proceed along one of two paths to take a corrective action on the ambient light sensor data. First, the process may proceed along path  104  to step  108 , at which the processing or control circuitry may discard the ambient light sensor data that was generated. In this way, ambient light sensor measurements that were affected by electromagnetic interference due to RF signals may be discarded. 
     Alternatively, the process may proceed along path  105  to step  109 , at which the processing or control circuitry may modify the ambient light sensor data based on the RF signals. In particular, the RF signals may indicate the extent to which the ambient light sensor data has been rendered inaccurate. In other words, the amount of RF interference present when the ambient light sensor measurements were made may be proportional or otherwise related to the amount by which the measurements are inaccurate. Therefore, if desired, the processing or control circuitry may correct the ambient light sensor data based on the RF signals. In this way, corrected ambient light sensor measurements may be produced, which may then be used by control circuitry, such as control circuitry  16 , to make changes to device  10 , if desired. 
     The process may then proceed along line  107  back to step  100 , where the ambient light sensor may make its next ambient light sensor measurement. 
     Although the method of  FIG.  10    is described as being used in conjunction with an ambient light sensor and RF circuitry, this is merely illustrative. As shown in  FIG.  11   , the method may be used with any two sensors. 
     At step  110 , a first sensor may be used to gather data or make a measurement. The first sensor may be a motion sensor, a pulse sensor, a blood oxygen sensor, a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor, a hall-effect sensor, or any other desired sensor. 
     At step  112 , which may occur at substantially the same time as step  110 , RF signals may be measured using a second sensor. The second sensor may be an antenna, a modified channel of the first sensor, or any other desired sensor that is capable of measuring RF signals. 
     At step  113 , control circuitry (or a threshold device similar to threshold device  89  of  FIG.  5 B  or threshold device  94  of  FIG.  6   ) may determine whether the measured RF signals exceed a threshold. The threshold may be set during manufacturing and/or be updated in the device&#39;s software or firmware as desired, and may be dependent upon the sensitivity of the first sensor to EMI. 
     If the RF signals do not exceed the threshold, at step  116 , the processing or control circuitry may keep first sensor data that was generated while the RF signals were present. The first data may then be used by control circuitry, such as control circuitry  16 , to make adjustments to device  10 , or may be used for any other desired function. 
     If the RF signals exceed the threshold, the process may proceed along one of two paths to take a corrective action on the first sensor data. First, the process may proceed along path  114  to step  118 , at which the processing or control circuitry may discard the first sensor data that was generated. In this way, first sensor measurements that were affected by electromagnetic interference due to RF signals may be discarded. 
     Alternatively, the process may proceed along path  115  to step  119 , at which the processing or control circuitry may modify the first sensor data based on the RF signals. In particular, the RF signals may indicate the extent to which the first sensor data has been rendered inaccurate. In other words, the amount of RF interference present when first sensor measurements were made may be proportional or otherwise related to the amount by which the measurements are inaccurate. Therefore, if desired, the processing or control circuitry may correct the first sensor data based on the RF signals. In this way, corrected first sensor data may be produced, which may then be used by control circuitry, such as control circuitry  16 , to make changes to device  10 , or may be used for any other desired function. 
     The process may then proceed along line  117  back to step  100 , where the first sensor may make its next measurement. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20230131
Publication Date: 20240409
Grant Date: 20240409
Priority Date: 20220314
Inventors: EATON, MICHAEL D
CHAMAKURA, ANAND K
ZHENG, DONG
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G01J1/44", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/4204", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/444", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0626", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/144", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/20", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/44", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/144", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2310/08", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/0261", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/4204", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/4228", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/4242", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/444", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/44", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/446", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J1/4204", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G3/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2320/0626", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2330/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G09G2360/144", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G01J2001/444", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 87932529