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US-12619201-B2 - Force-detecting input structure

US12619201B2US 12619201 B2US12619201 B2US 12619201B2US-12619201-B2

Abstract

An input mechanism, such as a crown, detects amounts of applied force. In various examples, an assembly including an input mechanism has an enclosure; a stem coupled to the enclosure such that the stem is rotatable, translatable, and transversely moveable with respect to the enclosure; a sensor, coupled between the stem and the housing, to which force is transferred when the stem moves with respect to the housing; and a processing unit coupled to the sensor. The processing unit is operable to determine a measurement of the force, based on a signal from the sensor.

Inventors

  • Colin M. Ely
  • Erik G. DE JONG
  • Fletcher R. Rothkopf

Assignees

  • APPLE INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20240919

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . An electronic device, comprising: a housing defining an internal volume of the electronic device; a processing system within the internal volume of the electronic device; a crown assembly comprising: an input structure positioned along an external side of the electronic device, the input structure configured to receive an axial input; a force-sensitive structure coupled to the input structure and positioned outside of the internal volume of the electronic device; and a conductive element extending from the input structure and through a sealed interface into the internal volume of the electronic device, the conductive element operatively coupling the force-sensitive structure to the processing system; and wherein the processing system detects the axial input in response to a signal received via the conductive element.
  2. 2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to to determine an amount of force applied to the input structure.
  3. 3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising wherein: the force-sensitive structure comprises: a pair of conductive pads defining a separation; and silicone disposed within the separation; and the processing system is configured to detect, via the conductive element, a change in the separation between the pair of conductive pads.
  4. 4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the conductive element comprises a flex circuit.
  5. 5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the crown assembly further comprises: a collar comprising: an inner core to which the conductive element is coupled; and a compliant material disposed between the force-sensitive structure and the conductive element.
  6. 6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein: the force-sensitive structure comprises a conductor; the crown assembly comprises a plurality of capacitive sensors formed by a flex circuit and the conductive element; and the processing system is configured to detect a change in capacitance in response to the axial input.
  7. 7 . An electronic watch comprising: a housing defining an internal portion of the electronic watch; a crown cap positioned externally with respect to the housing, the crown cap configured to rotate in response to a rotational input and translate in response to an actuation input; a stem extending from the crown cap to the internal portion of the electronic watch; a force-sensing system comprising: a force-sensitive structure positioned external to the housing; and a conductor configured to produce a signal in response to detecting a change in an electrical property defined in part by a state of the force-sensitive structure due to the actuation input, the conductor extending from the crown cap to the internal portion of the electronic watch; and a processing system operably coupled to the force-sensing system, the processing system configured to detect the actuation input or the rotational input.
  8. 8 . The electronic watch of claim 7 , wherein the force-sensitive structure is configured to rotate or translate with the cap in response to the rotational input or the actuation input.
  9. 9 . The electronic watch of claim 7 , wherein the processing system is further configured to determine a direction of the actuation input.
  10. 10 . The electronic watch of claim 7 , wherein the force-sensitive structure comprises a strain gauge.
  11. 11 . The electronic watch of claim 7 , wherein: the electronic watch further comprises a collar coupled to the housing and at least partially surrounding the stem; and the force-sensitive structure is captured between the stem and the collar such that the force-sensitive structure couples the stem to the collar.
  12. 12 . The electronic watch of claim 11 , wherein: the electronic watch comprises a sealing element positioned between the housing and the collar and configured to prevent ingress of liquid into the housing; and the conductor extends between the sealing element and the collar.
  13. 13 . The electronic watch of claim 7 , wherein the force-sensing system comprises a compliant material captured between the force-sensitive structure and the conductor.
  14. 14 . An electronic device comprising: a housing defining an internal cavity; a display positioned at least partially within the internal cavity; a crown assembly configured to receive a user input, the crown assembly comprising: an external crown portion configured to rotate or translate in response to the user input; and a force-sensitive structure configured to produce a signal in response to a user input, the force-sensitive structure external to the housing; and a conductor operably coupled to the force-sensitive structure, the conductor extending from the force-sensitive structure to the internal cavity of the housing; and a processing system configured to detect a signal generated by the conductor due to the user input and cause a change in the display based on the received signal.
  15. 15 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the force-sensitive structure is configured to rotate concurrently with the external crown portion, thereby generating a change in an electrical property detected by the processing system.
  16. 16 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the force-sensitive structure comprises a compliant silicone material.
  17. 17 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the force-sensitive structure is configured to move concurrently with the external crown portion in response to a translational input.
  18. 18 . The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the processing system is configured to measure a magnitude of force applied during the translational input.
  19. 19 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the force-sensitive structure is configured to detect a transverse input applied along a direction perpendicular to a rotational axis of the external crown portion.
  20. 20 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the force-sensitive structure comprises a conductive pad configured and a change in position in the conductive pad with respect to the conductor generates the signal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/217,944, filed Jul. 3, 2023 and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/833,851, filed Jun. 6, 2022, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,720,064, issued Aug. 8, 2023, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/187,519, filed Feb. 26, 2021, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 11,385,599, issued Jul. 12, 2022, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/738,198, filed Jan. 9, 2020, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,948,880, issued Mar. 16, 2021, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/391,856, filed Apr. 23, 2019, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,572,053, issued Feb. 25, 2020, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/022,563, filed Jun. 28, 2018, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,296,125, issued May 21, 2019, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/219,253, filed Jul. 25, 2016, and titled “Force-Detecting Input Structure,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,019,097, issued Jul. 10, 2018, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD The described embodiments relate generally to input mechanisms such as crowns. More particularly, the present embodiments relate to an input mechanism, such as a crown, that detects the amount of force applied. BACKGROUND Many devices, such as wearable electronic devices, use various input mechanisms to receive user input. Many devices, particularly small form factor devices, such as watches, smart watches, wearable devices, and so on, may have a limited number of input mechanisms For example, many watches include a crown or similar input mechanisms. Some crowns can be rotated to wind the watch. Other crowns may be translated into a time-changing position whereupon they may be rotated to change the time of the watch. SUMMARY The present disclosure relates to an input mechanism, such as a crown, button, key, surface, or the like, that detects applied force. The input mechanism may be included in an electronic device. A user may provide input by rotating the input mechanism, translating the input mechanism, moving the input mechanism transversely, and so on. The input mechanism may include one or more force sensors that the electronic device may use to determine a non-binary amount of the force applied to the input mechanism. As the electronic device may determine non-binary amounts of force corresponding to different types of movement, the input mechanism may be used to receive a variety of different input. In various embodiments, an electronic device includes a housing, a collar coupled to the housing, and an input structure extending from the collar. The collar includes a moveable conductor, a conductive element, and a separation defined between the moveable conductor and the conductive element. Movement of the input structure changes a capacitance between the moveable conductor and the conductive element. In some examples, the electronic device further includes a processing unit operative to determine an amount of force applied to the input structure based on the change in capacitance. In numerous examples, the electronic device further includes silicone disposed within the separation. In various examples, the conductive element includes a flex circuit that extends through at least part of the collar into the housing. In some examples, the collar includes an inner core to which the conductive element is coupled and a compliant material disposed in the separation that couples the conductive element and the moveable conductor. In numerous examples, the input structure is operable to move without changing the capacitance between the moveable conductor and the conductive element. In some embodiments, an input mechanism assembly includes an enclosure and a stem coupled to the enclosure, such that the stem is rotatable with respect to the enclosure, translatable toward and away from the enclosure, and transversely moveable with respect to the enclosure. The input mechanism assembly further includes a sensor, coupled between the stem and the enclosure, to which force is transferred when the stem moves transversely with respect to the enclosure and a processing unit, coupled to the sensor, operable to determine a measurement of the force, based on a signal from the sensor. The processing unit may also be operative to determine a direction in which the stem moves transversely. In various examples, the sensor is a strain gauge. In other examples, the sensor includes a first conductor, a s