The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 77 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly touch on Apple Pencil that was updated to charge when magnetically attached to the iPad Pro. One patent figure interestingly illustrates an iPhone as one of the devices that could work with such a new Apple Pencil.

Apple describes granted patent 10,739,871 as an invention relating to a wireless power system that has a wireless power transmitting device that transmits power wirelessly to a wireless power receiving device. The wireless power transmitting device may be a device such as a tablet computer, cellular telephone, laptop computer, desktop computer and more.

Technically speaking, the wireless power transmitting device has one or more capacitor electrodes that are used in transmitting wireless power to one or more wireless power receiving capacitor electrodes in the wireless power receiving device. The wireless power receiving device may be a device such as a computer stylus, cellular telephone, watch, media player, tablet computer, pair of earbuds, headphones or other headset device, remote control, laptop computer, other portable electronic device such as a peripheral or accessory electronic device, or other wireless power receiving equipment.

During operation, the wireless power transmitting device supplies alternating-current drive signals to one or more wireless power transmitting capacitor electrodes. This causes the capacitor electrode to transmit alternating-current electromagnetic signals (sometimes referred to as wireless power signals) to one or more corresponding capacitor electrodes in the wireless power receiving device (e.g., via near-field capacitive coupling). Rectifier circuitry in the wireless power receiving device converts received wireless power signals into direct-current (DC) power for powering the wireless power receiving device.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a schematic diagram of an illustrative capacitive wireless charging system; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an illustrative capacitive wireless charging system having a computer and associated computer stylus; FIG. 4 is a side view of an illustrative computer stylus having one or more wireless power receiving capacitor electrodes.

While there's no doubt that today's granted patent is covering the latest Apple Pencil that was updated to work with the iPad Pro; to be magnetically attached and wirelessly charged. However, Apple's choice of device to portray in patent FIG. 2 is dimensionally closer to that of an iPhone working with Apple Pencil which has been hinted at in patents for some time (01, 02 and 03) and clearly listed in the patent verbiage.   

As Craig Federighi recently stated, Apple will introduce something new when they can make it special and perhaps one day Apple will have enough reason to bring Apple Pencil to the iPhone.

In 2016 Tim Cook let it slip in an interview that "Apple Pencil could do amazing things on … an iPhone."

More specifically, Tim Cook stated: "Well we launched a pencil, not a stylus, first of all, and there's a big difference, and the things that people are doing with this pencil, I think that Steve would have loved. He loved to help people create. And if you've ever seen what can be created with that pencil on an iPad or an iPhone, it's really unbelievable. You should really show some of these to your audience."

That wasn't a Freudian slip, it was an articulate statement of fact. So, we'd like to see what's really unbelievable, Tim. Could you please push a little harder to get it out the door.

Apple's granted patent 10,739,871 was originally filed in Q1 2018 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. You could check out the details here.