The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 56 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The first granted patent that we cover in this report involves an invention that could include an advanced environmental sensor that could be built into future iDevices that could detect dangerous gasses within the vicinity of an iDevice and warn the user to evacuate.

The second patent that we cover involves a possible future Cellular MacBook that would include a telephone application over and above mere data that is available with an iPad with WiFi and Cellular data.

This could be important as Microsoft and Qualcomm will be announcing at a special event in London today or tomorrow their new hybrid 2-in-1 notebooks using ARM processors that are 'Always On' like your iPhones.

Apple has many patents on MacBooks with Cellular connectivity but has held back thus far so as to not interfere with iPad sales. Perhaps the Windows + Qualcomm hybrid notebooks being released for the holiday quarter will egg Apple on to compete with a new generation of MacBooks with data and voice.

We wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Granted Patent: Electronic Devices with Dangerous Gas Detection Sensors

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to electronic devices with environmental sensors. As noted in patent FIG. 10 below, we're able to see a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative environmental sensor having a microphone sensor data processing circuit that processes microphone sensor data from a stand-alone microphone and having a gas sensor data processing circuit that processes gas sensor data from a stand-alone gas sensor.

The dangerous gasses that Apple's sensors would be able to detect include: the concentration of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, alcohol vapor, water vapor (humidity), propane and other fuels, volatile organic compounds, ozone, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, benzene, methane, hydrogen, oxygen, or other gases that are present in the atmosphere in the vicinity of device

Apple's granted patent 9,804,003 was originally filed in Q2 2015 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Patently Apple posted a similar report on this back in April 2014 which covered two additional patents on the matter.

Our Cover graphic illustrates patent FIG. 3 of the granted patent which presents us with a cross-sectional perspective view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device in the vicinity of an environmental sensor having an opening in a printed circuit portion of the sensor that is aligned with an opening in an outer structural member for the device.

Granted Patent: Cellular MacBook

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to a new MacBook hinge that could be used to provide cellular connectivity.

Apple's granted patent states that "Control circuitry may be used to run software on the device [MacBook], such as internet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) telephone call applications, email applications, media playback applications (e.g., applications that display moving and still images on display 14), operating system functions, etc. Communications protocols that may be implemented using the control circuitry include internet protocols, wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocols--sometimes referred to as WiFi), protocols for other short-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth protocol, cellular telephone protocols, etc.

Apple's granted patent 9,804,639 was originally filed in Q3 2013 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Patently Apple covered this invention as a patent application back in February 2015 here.

There are many other patents in the category of 'Cellular MacBook' in our archives here.

Apple Granted AirPods Design Patent

Apple was granted design patent D801,314 for AirPods today. Apple's first round of design patent wins for their hot new AirPods came in early September in Patently Apple report covering seven design patent wins in Hong Kong. See our September report to see more patent figures including the case.

Apple was also granted design wins today for the iPad cover (D801,343) and original Apple TV remote (D801,311).

The Remaining Patents granted to Apple Today

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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 Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.