US 11,714,494 B2
Ring input devices
Gabriele D'Amone, Rome (IT); Muhammad F. Hossain, San Jose, CA (US); Ivan S. Marić, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Aidan N. Zimmerman, Sunnyvale, CA (US); and Stephen E. Dey, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed by Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 14, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/994,476.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/906,651, filed on Sep. 26, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0096657 A1, Apr. 1, 2021
Int. Cl. G06F 3/023 (2006.01); G06F 3/01 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0233 (2013.01) [G06F 3/014 (2013.01); G06F 3/017 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A ring input device to be worn on a finger, the ring input device comprising:
an inner ring configured to receive the finger and forming inner ring protrusions;
an outer ring that forms an outer ring protrusion and being configured to rotate about the inner ring such that the outer ring protrusion contacts the inner ring protrusions as the outer ring rotates, the outer ring comprising an encoding pattern comprising light and dark markings;
an optical sensor directed towards the outer ring and being configured to detect rotation of the outer ring about the inner ring based on a detection of the encoding pattern of the outer ring; and
a communication element configured to communicate a signal to an external device, the signal comprising an instruction for the external device to perform an operation based on the detected rotation of the outer ring about the inner ring.