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Apple patents filter that cleans up sensor data from radio noise

Apple describes a method for electronic devices to detect when their own radio signals interfere with internal sensors. The system uses a digital filter to identify if sensor readings spike at the same time the radio is active, allowing the device to ignore those bad data points.

Why it mattersThis helps ensure that sensors in phones or laptops provide accurate readings even when the device is actively using Wi-Fi or cellular data.

In the filing’s own words

An electronic device may have a sensor and may have a radio-frequency signal transmitter. The sensor may be vulnerable to electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the radio-frequency (RF) signals. Therefore, circuitry in the device may determine whether measurements from the sensor have been impacted by EMI. To make this determination, a digital filter may be used. In particular, the digital filter may be a digital persistence filter that generates a signal if the sensor measurement is high for a time that corresponds with the known emission time of the RF signals. Alternatively, the digital filter may receive the sensor measurements in the digital domain and compare the sensor measurements to time-delayed sensor measurements to determine whether the sensor measurements have been impacted by EMI. Control circuitry may discard any of the sensor measurements, or measurements from one or more other sensors, in response to the sensor measurements being impacted by EMI.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a sensor configured to generate sensor measurements; a transmitter configured to transmit radio-frequency signals; and a digital filter configured to generate a signal in response to detecting electromagnetic interference in the sensor measurements, wherein the digital filter comprises an up-counter that is configured to be reset to a given value and to be clocked at a given frame rate, wherein the up-counter is configured to be reset to the given value when the sensor measurements are below a threshold, and wherein the up-counter is configured to overflow when the sensor measurements are above the threshold for a period of time longer than the given value divided by the given frame rate.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Electronic devices with electromagnetic interference correction
Patent number
US12736574B2
Application number
18745101
Filed
Jun 17, 2024
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
18

Classified under

G01R 31/002 Physics & computingG01R 29/0814 Physics & computingG01R 29/0892 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.