Apple Granted Ownership of New Patents

The year 2013 seems to be a year of patents for Apple. This electronic manufacturing giant has filed for multiple patents on its hardware and software. It now increases the exclusivity of Apple’s products.

A person or a multinational company applying for a patent has the power to prevent anyone else from producing or ordering the sale of or even copying a logo or a particular design. This helps a brand in maintaining its exclusivity too.

There are various advantages of filing a patent, and benefits that patented products enjoy. For instance, even a small touch screen feature, a multiple scrolling mechanism or any other special feature in a device like a mobile phone/laptop/PC, can be protected under a patent.

·         There are special rights given to the person applying for a patent to make use of the invention in the commercial medium or for personal use.

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One can give rights to others for using the patented product and earn money from the same patent.

·         The owner of the patent can always sell his or her patented product at the price he demands.

·         A person owning the patent can protect it from his or her rivals for set time duration.

Apple has been awarded nearly 36 patents for its hardware and software this year. Some of them are:

·       Page-flipping technology

Apple has enabled this new technology in its tablets and virtual book reading devices. This gives the user the feeling of turning the pages of a real book.

·       Slide to open phone lock

Apple won an important patent. This technology will help in swiping to open the phone’s interface and main display. In other words, a user can prevent unnecessary buttons from getting pressed while holding the phone or speaking to someone. This technology has been used in almost all of Apple’s smartphones.

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Multiple touch screen sensors for iPhone and iPad

This unique technology uses sensors that can ascertain whether the touch is soft or rough. It has additional abilities and functions as well. It also has the capacity to recognize or identify more than one user’s touch.

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Touch sensors

This will help in detecting or feeling the fluctuation in pressure while creating some virtual objects. It is especially useful in robotic technology.

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Device to detect shocks

It can check the impact of a fall that a device like an iPad or an iPhone endured using a specific numerical parameter. This will help store salespeople to calculate an exact estimate of the damages that happened when the device fell from the customer’s hands.

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Wireless system to charge Apple devices in a store

This way, the devices can be shown to customers and simultaneously be kept powered, but without using wires. This technology can be extended to software upgradation in all Apple devices without opening its packaging.

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Sensors to identify facial features

One of the three types of sensors developed by Apple for the iPhone, this one can find out the proximity of your phone or any other Apple device to your face. It will aid in automatically switching off the sensitive display whenever you want to answer a call.

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iPen with additional touch sensors

The new technology is aimed at helping artists who are working on virtual soft boards. The special pen’s sensors transmit data and that gives a realistic experience while drawing. You will think that you are drawing on a real canvas with a proper drawing pencil. The best part is that the device has a small battery at its rear.

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Device to protect eyes from bright phone screen

Whenever you are in a dark room, the smallest light can hurt your eye. This device has been designed by Apple to shade the eye and is extremely sight-friendly.

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Remote controlling media buttons on phone interface

Apple has devised a technique to switch on/switch off or reduce/increase volume levels of the music player in the phone, even when the display is shut off.

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Multiple IMs at one touch

This new technology displays chats with many users, including their chat history on your screen. It will enable you to send a chat message to multiple users at a single touch.

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Compact design of Apple’s shuffle

This new patent protects the shape and unique design of the iPod Shuffle. Sans a screen, this tiny music player has only four buttons.

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Play music by touch

Tactile sensors identify the application of touch mechanisms on this patented device. The touch could be across the screen, in a circle or any other way. For instance, if you want to play songs on the device, you could either touch the screen with one finger or move your finger in a circle. Either way, the device can identify your finger motions while performing a function as simple as playing a song.

Last, but not the least, Apple has won a patent for a three-dimensional version of its OS X & MacBook Pro.