The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 49 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's "Robust Magnetic Connector" for MagSafe 2 and beyond, along with an invention for nickel-based metallic glass that may be used for future devices and/or device parts.

Granted Patent: Robust Magnetic Connector

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to connector inserts and receptacles that are robust, easily manufactured, and provide an improved connector performance.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below illustrates an electronic system that may be improved by the incorporation of an embodiment of the present invention. In other words, you're looking at the current MagSafe connector style that may be replaced with a newer MagSafe connector style.

Apple's patent FIG. 2 appears to be close to the improved MagSafe 2 design.

Alternative MagSafe Re-designs: FIGS. 8 and 22 below appear to be alternative designs to MagSafe 2 which was introduced in 2012. Apple's granted patent offers yet other designs that you could check for yourself by clicking on the link to the patent.

Apple's patent FIG. 8 noted above illustrates a top view of a connector insert according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, top piece #810 has been fixed to the connector insert using fasteners #820. An over-mold #830, which may be soft plastic or other material, is placed over the connector insert to provide electrical isolation and a surface that may be handled by a user.

Apple's patent FIG. 22 illustrates a connector receptacle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Connector receptacle #2201 includes power contacts #2220 and ground contacts #2210. In this example, ground contacts are placed in front of power contacts, such that they engage corresponding ground contacts in a connector insert before power contacts engage corresponding power contacts in the connector insert.

Apple's granted patent 9,923,290 was originally filed in Q3 2016 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Granted Patent: Bulk Nickel-Based Glasses bearing Chromium, Niobium, Phosphorus and Silicon

Over the past four months Apple has been granted a series of patents that appear to have been acquired from California's Glassimetal Technology Inc. The first three granted patents were issued in December and January (01 and 02). Today Apple was granted their fourth Glassimetal Technology patent.

As with all of Apple's liquid metal patents, Apple's Glassimetal patents provide a general blanket of what products their glassy materials could be found in the future which includes the following:

The metallic glasses described [in the invention] can be valuable in the fabrication of electronic devices. An electronic device herein can refer to any electronic device known in the art. For example, it can be a telephone, such as a mobile phone, and a landline phone, or any communication device, such as a smart phone, including, for example an iPhone, and an electronic email sending/receiving device. It can be a part of a display, such as a digital display, a TV monitor, an electronic-book reader, a portable web-browser (e.g., iPad), and a computer monitor. It can also be an entertainment device, including a portable DVD player, conventional DVD player, Blue-Ray disk player, video game console, music player, such as a portable music player (e.g., iPod.), etc. It can also be a part of a device that provides control, such as controlling the streaming of images, videos, sounds (e.g., Apple TV), or it can be a remote control for an electronic device. It can be a part of a computer or its accessories, such as the hard drive tower housing or casing, laptop housing, laptop keyboard, laptop track pad, desktop keyboard, mouse, and speaker. The article can also be applied to a device such as a watch or a clock.

Apple's granted patent 9,920,400 was originally filed in Q4 2014 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Other Granted Patent Reports Posted Today

One: Apple Won 49 Patents Today Covering an iPhone with a Liquid Metal Wraparound Display, an Advanced Apple Pencil and more

Two: Apple Granted another Augment Reality Patent that supports the use of Future Smartglasses

Three: Apple Granted a Patent for the MacBook Pro's Touch ID Feature

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.