Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 37 newly granted patents (33 utility & 4 design) for Apple Inc. In this particular report we briefly cover a patent describing possible future devices that will integrate image sensors beneath the display that will allow a user with sunglasses on to read and enjoy content. Apple was also granted a patent for their Magic Keyboard for iPad 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 this week.

Devices And Systems For Under Display Image Sensor

In Apple's patent background they note that mobile devices may be used by any person in various locations such as inside buildings and outside, at varying times during the day, including the morning, day, and evening. During some periods of the day a user may be viewing the screen of the mobile device outside and while wearing sunglasses. Some of these sunglasses may have polarized lenses which may make viewing the mobile device screen difficult. Additionally, in some examples, the user may be viewing the screen of the mobile device through a polarizing film, a polarizing sheet, a polarizing layer, or a polarizing film on glass.

In any of these examples, the user may have difficulty viewing the screen of the mobile device in various orientations. it may be difficult to rotate the screen, remove sunglasses, or otherwise easily interact with the device in some situations (such as when the user's hands are full or otherwise busy). This is what Apple's granted patent attempts to address so that user's reading their iDevices outside on a sunny day with sunglasses on could actually be able to read and enjoy content without straining their eyes.

Apple's newly granted patent describes a new optical system that may include a sensor which may be integrated behind the display of a mobile device. The optical system may use the same light source for imaging the display and for providing light to a sensor or sensor device. The optical system may be configured so that randomly polarized light will exit the device for viewing so that a user may view the display in any rotated orientation while wearing polarized eyewear. The optical system may further be configured to mitigate reflections in the mobile device from ambient light entering the system and from reflected and backscattered light from cross-contaminating the imaging light of the display.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 illustrates a user looking at a display. The patent states though doesn't convey this in the patent figure, that the user is wearing sunglasses trying to view content on a device on a sunny day;  FIG. 2 illustrates an example layout of an optical system (#200).

Apple's patent FIG. 3 illustrates an example layout of an optical system and illustrates a cross-section of the mobile device (#120) of FIG. 1.

We can all relate to not being able to read content on our devices when it's sunny, let alone with sunglasses on, and hope that Apple's solution actually pans out. This is a highly technical patent that engineers will greatly appreciate. To view the details, review Apple's granted patent US 11611058 B2.

A Key Design Patent

Last Friday Apple was granted a series of design patents from the Hong Kong Patent Office relating to Apple's Magic Keyboard Folia for iPad (10th Generation). Today, the U.S. Patent Office granted Apple a design patent for their top of the line Magic Keyboard.  

Today’s Remaining Granted Patents