Apple Granted Second Patent for the iPad's Smart Cover

Apple has received a Granted Patent relating to their Smart Cover's various releasable attachment techniques. Apple's first Coded Magnet patent win came in March of this year. In Apple's second granted patent we see that their patent claims have been dramatically strengthened and focused. Two of the more dramatically detailed claims cover a method and apparatus.

It was revealed yesterday that Microsoft has signed a licensing deal with Apple regarding certain iPad technologies. I now wonder if this extended through to Apple's Smart Cover as well. We pointed to a possible clash with Microsoft's smart cover equivalent in our August report titled "Apple Invents Mind Boggling Next Generation Smart Cover with Multi-Touch Flexible Display, Solar Panels & Built-in Keyboard."

Apple credits Senior VP of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive and team members Andrew Lauder, Matthew Rohrbach, Florence Ow, Jiang Ai, Elvis Kibiti, John Ternus and Sean Lubner as the inventors of this patent which was originally filed in Q4 2010 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple Granted Multi-Button Mouse Patent

Apple has received a Granted Patent relating to mice having multiple button functionality. Is this patent relating to Apple's Magic Mouse? No, it's not. Apple's Magic Mouse patents clearly point to the mouse having an optical sensing surface and/or "touch detection "capabilities which are attributes missing in this current patent. Apple's latest granted patent points to possessing tilt sensors which puts this mouse design more in tune with those covered in our reports in January and February 2010.

Apple's patent figures 6A to 6D shown below are top views of a unibody mouse having a plurality button zones 32 integrated into the housing of the unibody mouse . As shown, the dotted lines represent areas of the housing that make up an individual button zone, i.e., an area of the housing that operates as a separate button.

Specifically in patent FIG. 6A, the unibody mouse includes a pair of button zones that are positioned in the front of the unibody mouse. In this example, one of the button zones 32A is positioned on the left side 38 of the unibody mouse and one of the button zones 32B is positioned on the right side of the unibody mouse. In patent FIG. 6B, the unibody mouse includes a pair of button zones 32A and 32B that are positioned to the sides 38, 40 of the unibody mouse. In this example, the button zones 32 extend from the front 36 of the mouse to the back 42 of the mouse.

In patent FIG. 6C, the unibody mouse includes a pair of button zones 32A and 32B that are not symmetrical, i.e., they have different sizes and shapes. In this example, one of the button zones 32 extends over an imaginary centerline 44 that divides the mouse in half.

In patent FIG. 6D, the unibody mouse includes a pair of button zones 32A and 32B that are positioned in the front 36 and back 42 of the unibody mouse. In this example, each of the button zones 32 extends from one side to the opposite side of the mouse. Furthermore, each of the button zones 32 are symmetrical, i.e., they are mirror images of each other and therefore they have the same size and shape.

Apple credits Abraham Farag and Brian Huppi as the inventors of this granted patent which was last filed in Q2 2009 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple Files Trademark Application for the Logo Representing iPhoto for iOS

Apple has filed their latest trademark application 302342231for the logo representing iPhoto for iOS in Hong Kong under application International Class 9 representing computers and peripherals which covers cameras. Update August 15, 2012: Apple's iPhoto logo for iOS has now been filed with the European Patent Office under 011116779. Apple has filed the logo under International Classes 9, 41 and 42. 

Patent Round-Up

Over and above the granted patents that were specifically reported on today, we present you with links to a series of other granted patents in our Patent Round-Up as follows:

8,243,017 Menu overlay including context dependent menu icon

8,242,707 Ambient light calibration for energy efficiency in display systems

8,242,390 Dome switch array

D665,381 Dock insert

8,245,152 Method and apparatus to accelerate scrolling for buffered windows

Notice

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 Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments.

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