Apple Granted 16 Patents Covering a Mystery Handheld Device, an iPhone Feature, Luminance & Chrominance Sensors, More
On a slow summer day, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 16 newly granted patents for Apple covering such things as a mystery handheld device designed by the late Steve Jobs along with others related to the iPhone, iPhone camera and more.
Apple Granted Camera Patent for Luminance and Chrominance Sensors
Apple has been granted a patent today for their invention relating to systems, apparatuses and methods for capturing an image using one or more dedicated image sensors to capture luminance and chrominance portions of an image. The image sensors may include one or more luminance sensors and one or more chrominance sensors to capture images of a certain resolution, regardless of the position of objects in the image. In one embodiment, a luminance sensor may be positioned between two chrominance sensors. The fields of view of the chrominance sensors may be offset such that their potential blind regions do not overlap. Accordingly, chrominance information may be obtained for each pixel of the image sensor.
Apple credits David Gere as the sole inventor of granted patent 8,497,897 which was originally filed for in Q3 2010 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. To review today's 18 granted patent claims and details, see Apple's patent.
Apple Granted Patent for Outgoing Telephone Call Indication
Apple has been granted a patent today for their invention relating to how a mobile phone interacts with its user when the user is making an outgoing telephone call.
One embodiment of Apple's invention is directed to the iPhone vibrating in a pulsing manner while the destination phone is ringing. The on/off cycle of the vibration pulse may be synchronized to that of the ring tone, which is being played back simultaneously through the receiver.
In another embodiment, the mobile phone flashes its display screen (e.g., its backlight), in sync with the ring tone (during the making of the outgoing call). Once the call has been answered, the background of the display may change color. The phone may be programmable by its end user, to enable just one or both of these vibratory and flashing screen indications. This may give the caller a more satisfying feeling when making outgoing phone calls. For example, the caller no longer needs to hold the phone against her ear or strain her eyes to read text on the display screen, to know that her outgoing call is being made.
To review today's 19 granted patent claims and details, see Apple's patent. Apple credits Michael Lee, Chad Sequin and Cyril Labidi as the inventors of granted patent 8,498,677 which was originally filed in Q3 2012 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Apple Granted Two Design Patents Today
Apple was granted two design patents today which cover a handheld portable computing device and an electronic device which turns out to be the original MacBook Air. The late CEO Steve Jobs is posthumously credited as an inventor on both.
The handheld device was only one of several mystery designs that have never made it to market thus far and likely never will. The others included design patents D553129, D566706, D584303, D620488, D645037 and D659135.
The Remaining Patents that were granted to Apple Today
Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of granted patents with associated graphics for journalistic news purposes as each Granted Patent is revealed by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments.
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The granted patent has a clear "touch pad" vs. the nano with a Click-wheel. Apple doesn't verify what the design was for and I listed a number of other designs that were mystery designs that never came to market.
Posted by: Jack Purcher | July 30, 2013 at 05:40 AM
I did not read the patent description, but I think the mystery handheld device is the original iPod nano. Instead of the second square for the controller the shipping nano had a circle.
Posted by: James Greene | July 30, 2013 at 05:36 AM