patents

500 'patents' stories December 2010 - March 2017

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Apple patent describes iPhone or iPad docking into MacBook-style dumb terminal

Ben Lovejoy Mar 23 2017 - 6:44 am PT

As perhaps further evidence of Apple exploring ways to make its entry-level products more affordable, a patent published today describes using an iPhone as the brains of a MacBook-style dumb terminal. As usual with patents, the language is dense, but the illustrations make clear the concept.

An electronic accessory device, comprising: an operational component that provides an output to a user; a housing carrying the operational component, the housing having a recess; and a control interface coupled to the operational component and configured to receive a control signal from an electronic host device when the electronic host device is positioned within the recess and coupled to the control interface, wherein the electronic accessory device is inoperable without the electronic host device being coupled to the control interface.

The idea itself is not a new one, and is similar in essence to a currently-available HP product …

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Patent application shows Apple Pencil holder for iPads, again references use with iPhone

Ben Lovejoy Mar 2 2017 - 4:30 am PT

A patent application spotted by Patently Apple shows a feature you might have expected Apple to have introduced alongside the Apple Pencil: a holder to attach it to an iPad when not in use.

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Court throws out $533 million verdict against Apple over data storage patent

Zac Hall Mar 1 2017 - 12:05 pm PT

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit made a decision today to throw out the verdict of a two-year old legal case against Apple based on data storage patents. The original verdict reached by a Texas jury stuck Apple with $533 million in damages.

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Apple granted patent for fingerprint reader embedded in display; could allow auto-authentication

Ben Lovejoy Feb 28 2017 - 4:12 am PT

Apple has filed a number of patent applications for different ways of embedding a fingerprint reader into a display, and one of these has today been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Apple first applied for the patent in 2015.

In addition to allowing Apple to eliminate a separate Touch ID sensor, the patent also explains how embedding the reader into the screen can make for a more seamless experience …

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Apple patents describe auto-detecting cracked screens and charging your Watch by winding it

Ben Lovejoy Feb 16 2017 - 4:32 am PT

If there’s one thing worse than damaging your iPhone or iPad by dropping it, it’s when that damage is a cracked screen. While you might be able to ignore a scuff to the casing, you’re going to see cracks in the screen every time you use the device.

Apple appears to be aiming to make screens more resistant to cracking by exploring a method of automatically detecting cracks, asking users to confirm them and then sending diagnostic data to the company to help it understand the type of impacts that cause them …

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Another Apple Watch patent features battery-band; oddly, shows round Watch design

Ben Lovejoy Feb 2 2017 - 5:26 am PT

With multi-day battery life on the wish-list of many Apple Watch owners, it’s not surprising that Apple is at least considering making a battery band available which could potentially allow the wearable to go many days between charges. This would be of particular value to those who want to use the Watch for sleep-tracking in addition to its usual duties during the day.

The company was recently granted a patent for a multi-function band that could include power, and AI has spotted a new patent application – filed back in 2015 but only published today – which deals specifically with power …

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Latest absurd patent troll claim suggests Messages app infringes 2002 point-of-sale patent

Ben Lovejoy Jan 16 2017 - 4:47 am PT

Apple has been the subject of some pretty absurd patent troll claims over the years, and a new one seems determined to push the boundaries still further. Seatoun Media is claiming that Apple’s Messages app infringes a 2002 patent regarding a point-of-sale system, reports Patently Apple.

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Comment: Apple continues to explore bringing the Digital Crown to iPhones & iPads, and I still like the idea

Ben Lovejoy Dec 30 2016 - 4:31 am PT

Two further patent applications published today and spotted by Patently Apple show that Apple continues to explore the idea of bringing a Watch-style Digital Crown to the iPad and iPhone. The original patent application was published back in July, and the two additional ones published today further refine the idea.

Apple has generally been moving away from physical controls on iDevices, the iPhone 7 replacing the mechanical Home button with a touch-sensitive one, and the iPhone 8 rumored to be embedding it into the display. We’re also expecting to see a near bezel-free design next year.

It was for this reason that the idea initially seemed unlikely …

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Future Apple Watch models could be slimmer as patent illustrates haptic motor in wristband

Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2016 - 4:45 am PT

A patent application published today could herald slimmer Apple Watch models as the company describes a method of moving the haptic motor from the watch to the band. Taps to the wrist could then be delivered by the band rather than the Watch.

Apple specifically cites space-saving as the benefit of the invention …

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Nokia suing Apple over alleged patent infringements in the US and Germany

Zac Hall Dec 21 2016 - 10:28 am PT

Apple versus Samsung isn’t the only legal battle over patent violations to follow now. CNBC reports that Nokia has filed several complaints in a lawsuit against Apple over patent infringement in the United States and Germany…

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New patents refer to Apple Pencil working with iPhone, show use with iMovie & more

Ben Lovejoy Dec 15 2016 - 7:04 am PT

A series of new patents spotted by Patently Apple refer to the Apple Pencil working with an iPhone, as well as illustrating it being used with additional stock iOS apps like iMovie.

A comment by Tim Cook back in September seemed to suggest that Apple is already testing the Apple Pencil with an iPhone …

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Apple patent granted for ‘Sports EarPods’ with biometrics and gesture-based controls

Ben Lovejoy Nov 15 2016 - 6:03 am PT

Apple’s delayed wireless AirPods may not be the only new earphones the company has in the works. A patent originally dating back to 2008 but only published today describes what seems a logical next step for a company increasingly focused on health and fitness: a sports earphone.

The patent describes two types of functionality, one geared to gathering biometric data to provide fitness data, the other allowing gesture-based control of an iPhone …

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As Apple explores dynamic keyboards, patent describes variable keyboard travel

Ben Lovejoy Oct 20 2016 - 5:14 am PT

We’ve been hearing reports that Apple is planning to adopt hardware keyboard with e-ink displays in future MacBooks, the most recent of which suggested that the technology will be incorporated into 2018 models.

A new patent application suggests that the company may also be looking to make future keyboard even higher-tech by allowing the feel of the keyboard to work for both shallow and deeper keypresses …

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Patent shows how Apple Watch could use heart-rate sensors to identify owner

Ben Lovejoy Oct 13 2016 - 4:05 am PT

Unlikely as it sounds, a future Apple Watch may be able to identify its owner using nothing more than the heart-rate sensors. In principle, this could allow it to eliminate the need for a PIN (or verification via iPhone unlock) when you put it on in the morning.

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Just when you thought slide-to-unlock was dead: Samsung owes Apple $120M in patent case

Jordan Kahn Oct 7 2016 - 9:51 am PT

Bloomberg reports that Apple this week won an appeal in its long-running case against Samsung over its slide-to-unlock patent.

The decision reinstates an original $119.6 million verdict owed to Apple that a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled was wrongly thrown out in a previous decision back in February.

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Apple loses $22.1 million case against patent firm Acacia, federal jury rules

Zac Hall Sep 16 2016 - 10:56 am PT

Apple will have to pay a patent holding firm called Acacia a penalty of $22 million, a federal jury in East Texas decided this week. The issue is over a patent dispute, which is all to common for Apple, regarding cellular network technology.

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Future iPhones & iPads could video thieves and capture their fingerprints

Ben Lovejoy Aug 25 2016 - 5:34 am PT

An Apple patent noted by Patently Apple describes how iOS devices could make it very easy to police to identify thieves by automatically taking photos and video of them, and capturing their fingerprint data via the Touch ID sensor.

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Apple granted patent for Samsung Edge-style virtual buttons on curved glass sidewall

Ben Lovejoy Aug 9 2016 - 12:01 am PT

Apple was today granted a patent for devices with a curved glass sidewall with virtual buttons, switches and information displayed on the edge of the device. This approach is the same as that used by Samsung on its Galaxy Edge devices, and a less radical version of an earlier Apple patent for a full wraparound curved display.

However, before anyone suggests that Samsung should sue Apple for copying its idea, it should be noted that Apple first applied for the patent in May 2014, almost a full year before Samsung launched its first Edge device, the Galaxy S6 Edge …

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111 designers including Dieter Rams & Calvin Klein back Apple in Supreme Court patent case against Samsung

Zac Hall Aug 4 2016 - 6:59 am PT

The United States Supreme Court is set to take on Samsung’s appeal over Apple’s design patent case in two months, and today Apple has submitted an amicus brief with support from 111 famed designers ahead of the trial. Prominent names featured in the amicus brief supporting Apple include Dieter Rams, Calvin Klein, and Lord Norman Foster who is the designer behind Apple’s Campus 2 project. The Supreme Court is scheduled to take on Samsung’s appeal of the ruling in favor of Apple on October 11th.

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Apple reaches patent license agreement with OpenTV after lawsuit over streaming video tech

Zac Hall Aug 2 2016 - 9:17 am PT

There is now a conclusion to the patent dispute between Apple and software company OpenTV. Back in March Apple lost its case brought on by OpenTV in a German court ruling, and today OpenTV owners Kudelski Group announced that the two companies have reached a patent license agreement and all pending litigation has stopped.

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Judge throws out $625 million verdict in VirnetX’s patent case against Apple … for now

Zac Hall Aug 1 2016 - 8:17 am PT

Back in February an East Texas court ruled that Apple must pay more than $625 million in damages to VirnetX over patent infringement related to iMessage and FaceTime. The patent case was especially notable for being one of the highest amounts rewarded in history, but the plaintiff in the case wasn’t satisfied and asked for $190 million more in damages four months later. But for now it’s back to the step one for Apple and VirnetX in this case as a federal judge has decided the case must be revisited…

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Apple patents Apple Watch-style digital crown for iPhone and iPad, hints at bezel-free devices

Ben Lovejoy Jul 28 2016 - 5:01 am PT

Not many of you agreed with me when I wrote an opinion piece a year ago saying that I could see a role for an Apple Watch-style digital crown on an iPhone, but a patent application published today shows that Apple is at least toying with the idea of introducing it to iOS devices.

Patently Apple spotted the patent application which shows a ‘rotary input’ device on an iPad …

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Patent to allow Apple Pencil to work with a Mac trackpad now granted

Ben Lovejoy Jul 26 2016 - 4:25 am PT

A patent application geared to allowing the Apple Pencil to work with Mac trackpads has today been granted.

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Petition launched asking Apple not to implement patent to remotely disable iPhone camera

Ben Lovejoy Jul 21 2016 - 4:15 am PT

When covering Apple patents, we do so with the disclaimer that the company patents a huge number of ideas that never make it into products, but one group is taking no chances. A Care2 petition has launched a petition asking Apple not to implement a recently-granted patent that would allow iPhone cameras to be disabled remotely.

While the patent has in mind situations like concerts, where the audience can have their view blocked by a sea of cameraphones, the petition is concerned about the potential for more sinister uses of the technology …

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