The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 62 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover several key patents relating to Apple Watch, micro heat vents for MacBooks, all-important 5G millimeter wave antennas for the iPhone, HomeKit and more. And As always, we wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Smarthome – HomeKit

Apple has been granted patent 10,681,141 for HomeKit, a smarthome app that will grow in importance over time.  

Apple's patent covers an application (e.g., home application) on a device (e.g., laptop, mobile device, wearable device, etc.) may be used to control other devices, such as accessory devices (e.g., kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, thermometer, etc.), throughout a home. A user of the home application may be in the same room as the accessory device that is controlled or may be in a different room from the accessory device that is being controlled. For example, a user may be in their kitchen when they use the home application on their mobile device to close the garage door.

Shape Shifting Micro Heat Vents for Devices

Apple has been granted patent 10,681,843 for MacBooks having adaptive surfaces. The adaptive surfaces are deformable from a first configuration to at least a second configuration responsive to a temperature change such as a temperature change caused by heat generated by an electronic component within the housing, or responsive to a mechanical strain on the surface. For instance, if a MacBook gets too hot, the seemingly smooth surface of the MacBook cover could have distinct portion that would spring open so as to cool the temperature of the MacBook. You could check out our April 2019 report for more details and patent figures here.

Electronic Devices with Piezoelectric Ink

Apple has been granted patent 10,680,161 for Electronic Devices with Piezoelectric Ink. The image above is an example relating to Apple Watch with piezoelectric components.

Apple notes that Input-output devices may include piezoelectric components. The piezoelectric components may include piezoelectric fluid or ink in which piezoelectric particles are dispersed in a binder. The piezoelectric ink may be deposited on a substrate. Illustrative components that may include piezoelectric inks include audio components such as speakers and microphones, buttons, touch sensors, force sensors, ultrasonic sensors, other sensors, ultrasonic motors, other motors, actuators, latches, other components, or components that implement the functionality of two more of these components.

Apple was also granted another Apple Watch related patent today titled "Wearable band including magnets."

Next-Gen iPhone with Millimeter Wave Antennas

Apple was also granted their second patent covering one of the most important components that completes a 5G smartphone. Apple was first granted a patent for this in 2018. Apple updated their invention in January 2019 and granted their second patent today under number 10,680,663. Apple's original patent application for this was published in 2017.

According to Scientific American, "One of the most promising potential 5G technologies under consideration is the use of high-frequency signals—in the millimeter-wave frequency band—that could allocate more bandwidth to deliver faster, higher-quality video and multimedia content. 

The Remaining Patents granted to Apple Today