The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 20 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first report of the day, we look at several minor patents including a design win for the Mac Mini that was issued to Apple in China along with Apple's iPhone and iPad antenna system. Yet the most important patent in this first group goes to a series of newly advanced inductive charging docking stations that have never seen the light of day. With HP's TouchPad coming to market this summer with cool wireless charging capabilities, Apple needs to get these patented docks to market before HP scores a major point with consumers this fall.
Apple loves Industrial design and that's evident in their string of creative breakthroughs for products such as the iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, iMac and MacBook Air. Furthermore, they're fanatical passion for detail ventures into every facet of design from their stunningly crafted iPhone which includes advanced nitriding stainless steel and exotic materials like Liquid Metal right through to their New York store's insanely inspiring glass architecture and their other distinctive mall outlets. Every facet of an Apple product is considered for redesign at some point in time, and today we learn that Apple is considering the use a new flat cabling system that could end our tangled-wire blues and perhaps even prevent nasty power surges.
A few minor yet interesting Apple patents published today show that Apple has invented a new remote camera control accessory that might come in handy for photo and video shoots with the family. It sounds like it may also be used for other purposes like a security system. Another patent shows that Apple is working on new audio controls for iOS devices and even has another version of a DJ app for the iPhone. Lastly, a news item out of Japan states that a new navigation based app is coming to the iPhone on March 18 to those thinking about buying a new Honda this year.
On February 3, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's iPad. A future iPad, according to Apple, may include a built-in stand that could pivot to provide both landscape and portrait support while allowing the unit to be further angled just right for use with the iPad's virtual keyboard. The concept of the new advanced stand supports another recent Apple patent concerning added connectors for a future iPad. Apple's invention could technically eliminate the need for their current docking station.
A pair of new Apple patent applications have surfaced this month at the USPTO that clearly illustrate Apple's research efforts are mounting in the area of motion sensing and motion tracking. The first patent is all about controlling keyboard and gesture command sensitivities to accommodate public commuters while they work. The second is more dramatic and points to a new hybrid motion tracking desktop keyboard. The thing is that the latter is also being considered for use in Apple's MacBook line up. This would eliminate the use of trackpad and need for a touch display. There's no doubt that Apple is pushing hard to find a way to implement gestures on Apple's desktop and notebook products to support OS X Lion and beyond. At this point however, it's a little too early in the game to call the winner. Update 3:20 PM PST: New details have emerged about the motion tracking keyboard and are detailed herein.
A new Apple patent focuses on grounding future iPads in superior ways so that touch values don't get distorted when the iPad isn't being held by the user. For example, a user could be resting their iPad down on a wooden coffee table or a leather sofa so as to read a book or surf the web. In these situations, the iPad isn't being properly grounded and could begin to cause the iPad's touch commands to behave incorrectly due to improper grounding. Apple's solution includes adding additional ports to make it easier to ground the iPad and a new notification system to warn the user that the iPad requires to be grounded for proper operation.
One of the surprises that surfaced at the US Patent and Trademark Office this morning, was a granted patent for a new Magic Glove System from Apple. Being that Apple loves the word Magic, why not precast it as such right out of the gate. The proposed high tactility glove system isn't as magical as a projection-type of touch panel that was revealed in November. Then again, patents are about concepts and Apple is clearly working on several solutions relating to working with an iPhone in colder weather. Perhaps we'll see one of these solutions come to market sometime in the next year or two.
This morning, Apple revealed their research into integrating a display into devices like the Magic Mouse and Trackpad. The same team is also shown to be working on another project that would bring an optional full sized virtual keyboard to the iMac. The patent covers Apple's research into advancing a haptics system that would finally provide users with a sense that the virtual keyboard is in fact a regular keyboard. Of course one of the key advantages of such of a system isn't revealed in this patent, but rather a 2006 patent wherein they illustrate the possibilities of a virtual keyboard morphing into other types of inputs like a gaming pad or a musical keyboard. That's where the real fun begins.
On January 20, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's Magic Mouse. Apple is working on combining the Magic Mouse's touch surface with either an OLED or specialized display surface made of collimated optical glass that contains a unique magnifying capability. The display will be able to display a calculator when in use with Apple's Numbers app or be able to magnify text when using Apple's Pages app. The interface could be used for other applications in the future, and an iPhone keypad isn't out of the question.
One of the surprise patents of the week came in the form of a granted patent. The surprise is that the patent went under the radar as an application so as to keep it from being publicized. We now learn that Apple has a new power and data transfer system in the works and it'll likely come in the form of an upgraded version of MagSafe. The patent was originally filed a year prior to Intel announcing that they were working on a next generation I/O called Light Peak. For all intents and purposes, this seems to be the patent to confirm that Apple had this technology well under development prior to Light Peak's announcement. At the end of the day, the new I/O promises us a means of rapidly recharging our mobile devices while wildly-accelerating our data transfers.
On November 11, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's audio headsets. More specifically, Apple is contemplating the delivery of two new headset designs that would incorporate triple-microphones in the hopes of providing users with a vastly superior noise cancellation solution. One of the new headsets being considered would include a microphone boom – which many users have been hoping for. As Apple's iPhone and iPad 3G products keep on winning new marketshare quarter in and quarter out, every new technology that Apple could bring to the table to improve on quality and innovation is one more headache for Apple's competitors.
On October 28, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application of Apple's that relates to methods and apparatus for connecting together two electrical devices in which the mating connectors on each device are of different sizes. The mismatch of physical characteristics could be overcome through the use of an audio adaptor unit that is constructed from a plug having one dimension, a jack having another dimension and a coupler that physically and electrically connects the plug and jack together to form a single unit. In the future, this would allow a device like the iPhone to be coupled to such devices as the Ameriphone - cell phone for the deaf – and Bose's QuietComfort headphones. In a secondary patent published today, Apple reveals an early plug removal detection system that could help avoid iPhone disconnects that are caused by earphones jack connections.
