Archive for the ‘iPod-related hardware patents’ Category

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Patents issued on April 24, 2007

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

D541,299  Media device    (5 pages)
Design for the iPod, 4G and up, in black.

D541,298  Media device    (5 pages)
Design for the iPod, 4G and up.

D541,297  Media device    (4 pages)
Design for the iPod nano.

D541,042  Electronic device holder    (7 pages)
Design for the iPod nano arm band.

7,209,344  Computer controlled display device    (136 pages)
Various embodiments for the old iMac “desklamp” design. In 102 pages of drawings, this patent shows the mechanical aspects of how the screen is supported and moves.

7,209,146  Methods and apparatuses for the automated display of visual effects    (20 pages)
Fade transition effects for video clips.

7,207,104  Hybrid ground grid for printed circuit board    (15 pages)
Printed circuit board layout with ground traces.

Posted in Apple design patents, iPod-related hardware patents, Issued Apple patents, Mac hardware-related patents, Non-iPod video-related patents | No Comments »

Applications published on April 19, 2007

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007

20070089066  Method and apparatus for displaying a window for a user interface    (29 pages)
Automatically adjusting windows displayed in a GUI. Examples given include the volume control window that pops up and fades out when you adjust the volume under OS X. The claims are directed to translucent windows and fading them out after a certain period of time.

20070088806  Remotely configured media device    (16 pages)
Remotely setting the configuration or settings of a portable electronic device. After a quick glance, this looks like it could be used to establish the operating parameters of the device, which could include a phone (i.e., this could be iPhone related). I’ll look into this one in more detail also.

20070085854  System and method for computing a desktop picture    (9 pages)
Showing a desktop picture without using an image file. The desktop picture is computed using a “recipe” that has a small memory footprint.

20070085841  Method and apparatus for accelerated scrolling    (26 pages)
Scrolling using an iPod’s scroll wheel. Claims are directed to the concept of the speed that you scroll through a list depends on how fast your finger moves on the scroll wheel.

20070085157  Integrated proximity sensor and light sensor    (33 pages)
Proximity sensor for the iPhone. More detail on this one later.

20070084333  Graphical user interface and methods of use thereof in a multimedia player    (16 pages)
Another application for the hierarchical iPod user interface. This one has claims directed to a method for navigating through the different layers.

Posted in iPhone-related patents, iPod-related hardware patents, Mac OS-related software patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

Applications published on April 12, 2007 (Part 2 of 2)

Tuesday, May 1st, 2007

20070083911  Intelligent media navigation    (69 pages)
Navigating sequential media content (i.e., the Front Row interface).

20070083825  Method and apparatus for displaying a window for a user interface    (30 pages)
Displaying different kinds of user informational windows (e.g., system alerts) in a GUI that automatically disappear after a user-triggered event or input or after a set period of time. Also includes windows that fade out, like the volume adjustment window.

20070083822  Method and apparatus for use of rotational user inputs    (17 pages)
Rotational input in a GUI is transformed into linear action (i.e., using an iPod scroll wheel to navigate through a GUI).

20070083616  Multi-media center for computing systems    (15 pages)
A modular architecture for a multimedia center. (To be reviewed in greater detail soon.)

20070083471  Techniques and systems for electronic submission of media for network-based distribution    (49 pages)
Submitting media to a media distribution site, which is then later encoded for subsequent purchase and downloading.

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, Issued Apple patents, Mac OS-related software patents, Miscellaneous Apple hardware-related patents, Non-iPod audio-related patents, Non-iPod video-related patents | No Comments »

Applications published on April 12, 2007 (Part 1 of 2)

Thursday, April 19th, 2007

20070083467 Partial encryption techniques for media data (22 pages)
Partial encryption still makes a media file useless to a potential thief, as the encrypted portion affects the whole file; e.g., you can’t play a partially encrypted song without it being interrupted. Plus, partial encryption is faster to decrypt.

20070080945 Mouse having a button-less panning and scrolling switch (18 pages)
Mouse that has different modes of operation based on how it is held by the user. These claims are related to switching operation modes of the mouse based on the user’s hand position. See discussion of a related issued patent.

20070080938 Method and apparatus for use of rotational user inputs (17 pages)
Scrolling through lists on an iPod. Claims are directed to a device and method that allows rotational input (i.e., the scroll wheel on an iPod). (Priority to February 25, 2002.)

20070080936 Method and apparatus for accelerated scrolling (26 pages)
Scrolling through lists on an iPod. Claims are directed to scrolling through portions of a data set. (Priority to February 25, 2002.)

20070080823 Techniques for pairing remote controllers with host devices (20 pages)
Pairing the Apple Remote with a computer. In general terms, only the paired remote can control the computer.

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, Miscellaneous Apple hardware-related patents, Non-iPod audio-related patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

Patents issued on April 3, 2007

Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

D539,814 Electronic device (3 pages)
First generation iPod Shuffle.

7,200,836 Menu authoring for automatically performing low-level DVD configuration functions (40 pages)
DVD authoring system.

7,199,805 Method and apparatus for titling (30 pages)
Creating titles and text effects in movies.

Posted in Apple design patents, iPod-related hardware patents, Issued Apple patents, Non-iPod video-related patents | No Comments »

Applications published on March 29, 2007

Sunday, April 8th, 2007

20070074118  Graphical user interface and methods of use thereof in a multimedia player    (16 pages)
Relates to the iPod user interface.

20070072443  Magnetic connector for electronic device    (21 pages)
Relates to the MagSafe power connector.

20070072442  Electromagnetic connector for electronic device    (19 pages)
Relates to the MagSafe power connector.

20070070272  Cosmetically uniform reflective border area in a transflective display    (9 pages)
Relates to the iPod display screen and how the border area of the display is the same color as the active area of the display when the display is turned off.

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, iTunes software-related patents, Miscellaneous Apple hardware-related patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

Patents issued on March 20, 2007

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

D538,822  Electronic device    (5 pages)

D538,820  Media device    (4 pages)

7,194,692  Method and apparatus for binding user interface objects to application objects    (24 pages)

7,194,564  Method and apparatus for preventing loops in a full-duplex bus    (32 pages)

7,194,035  Method and apparatus for improved coding mode selection    (12 pages)

Posted in Apple design patents, iPod-related hardware patents, Issued Apple patents, Miscellaneous Apple hardware-related patents, Miscellaneous Apple-related software patents, Non-iPod video-related patents | No Comments »

Applications published on March 8, 2007

Sunday, March 18th, 2007

20070052691  Movable touch pad with added functionality  (23 pages)

20070053268  Techniques and graphical user interfaces for categorical shuffle  (18 pages)

20070053523  Lanyard for handheld electronic device  (18 pages)

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, iTunes software-related patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

Docking station for hand held electronic devices

Tuesday, March 6th, 2007

Title:  Docking station for hand held electronic devices

Patent application publication number:  20070047198

Publication date:  March 1, 2007

Filing date:  August 24, 2005 (related to an application filed on April 25, 2003)

Link to PDF:    (19 pages)

AIPW Summary:  This is for the physical construction of the iPod dock, and specifically to the main dock component with a variety of inserts to allow a single dock to accept devices of various sizes and shapes. See Figures 3A, 4A-4B, and 6 for some good views of the dock in various states of configuration.

There’s not really much to say about this application. Once you’ve seen an iPod dock, you’ll understand what’s going on. The claims are directed to the dock with a removable insert with a “basin” to accommodate an iPod.

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

Housing of an electronic device formed by doubleshot injection molding

Monday, March 5th, 2007

Title: Housing of an electronic device formed by doubleshot injection molding

Patent application publication number: 20070048470

Publication date: March 1, 2007

Filing date: August 16, 2005

Link to PDF: (17 pages)

AIPW Summary: A method for making a plastic device (the first generation iPod shuffle is shown as a particular example) using a doubleshot injection molding process. The problem with existing molding processes is that there generally has to be some angled interior portion to be able to easily remove the plastic from the mold. When making small devices, such as electronic devices, the angled interior portion uses up valuable space. This invention is best understood by looking at Figure 8 and paragraphs 0074-0075, where you can easily see the difference between the two types of molding processes. Note how the doubleshot injection process allows for thinner walls while generally maintaining the interior volume. Without all the dimensions, it’s not easy to compare the volumes of the two devices shown in Figure 8, but the right side (top) interior dimension is 5.8.

Another example use of doubleshot injection molding is to create thin layers of different colors (see paragraph 0010).

Posted in iPod-related hardware patents, Miscellaneous Apple hardware-related patents, Published Apple patent applications | No Comments »

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