Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to wireless power systems for charging electronic devices. One of the key attributes of Apple's patent relates to a future generation of CarPlay that closely resembles the new "instrument cluster" Apple introduced at this year's WWDC22. A future feature of CarPlay may include a wireless charging platform to rest your iPhone. You'll also have the option of changing CarPlay's standard user interface with that of your iPhone's home screen or that of an app you choose to display on CarPlay's display.  

Apple's patent filing notes describes their next-generation of CarPlay with Instrument Cluster as follows: "…an in-car entertainment system, vehicle preferences (e.g., preset radio stations, seat position(s), cabin temperature, steering wheel position, mirror position(s), etc.) will include one or more sensors (e.g., a camera, a three-dimensional image sensor such as a structured light sensor that emits beams of light, a proximity sensor, a gaze detection sensor, a fingerprint sensor, touch sensor, etc.) may also be included in audiovisual electronic device to obtain additional information that is used to update any of the aforementioned settings in audiovisual electronic device and provide a customized experience for the user."

The patent goes on to point to a new "paired mode" between an iPhone and CarPlay. Apple's patent states that "a user interface based on the existing home screen in cellular telephone (iPhone) may be provided for the home screen of the in-car entertainment system. In other words, affordances (e.g., buttons and/or icons) from the existing home screen of the cellular telephone (iPhone) may be provided for display on the home screen of the in-car entertainment system (CarPlay)."

More specifically, Apple notes that applications on your iPhone may be operated using the user interface of CarPlay (in-car entertainment system). For example, the iPhone's navigation application "Maps" may operate using the input-output components of in-car entertainment system. This will allow CarPlay's display, which is likely to be larger than the iPhone's display be in a convenient location within the vehicle to be used for navigation instead of the iPhone display. The iPhone, noted as the "controlling device" may connect to CarPlay by a wired or wireless connection. The next generation of CarPlay may at one point include a wireless charging set-up for your iPhone.

A wireless power transmitting device in the vehicle may make the charging process easier for the user. Instead of plugging in a wire between an iPhone and the vehicle, the iPhone may simply be placed on the wireless charger built-into the vehicle.

Apple further notes that the user may enter the vehicle and place their iPhone on the wireless charger. In response to detecting the iPhone, the wireless charger will notify CarPlay of the presence of iPhone in the vehicle. In response, CarPlay may enter into a paired mode with the iPhone and start displaying content provided iPhone (e.g., may switch from displaying one or more affordances representing functions provided by CarPlay to displaying one or more affordances representing functions provided by the iPhone.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a schematic diagram of an illustrative wireless charging system that includes a wireless power transmitting device and a wireless power receiving device, 

(Click on image to Enlarge)

For more details, review Apple's patent application number 20220311275. Apple lists Hossein Safyallah as the sole inventor.

Earlier this month Patently Apple posted a report titled "A Key CarPlay Instrument Cluster patent provides us with a Deep Dive into how it will be customized for Drivers & more."