Apple has been granted a patent (number 20100211886) by the US Patent & Trademark Office for management of user interface elements in a display environment.

A widget manager facilitates management of widgets in a dashboard layer. Management functions can include enablement, preview, importation, exportation, organization, installation, deletion, acquisition, etc. The inventors are Scott Forstall, Imran A. Chaudhri, John O. Louch and Eric Steven Peyton.

Several other Apple patents have also appeared. Here’s a summary of each.

Patent number 20100211700 involves methods and systems to dynamically manage performance states in a data processing system. It involves data processing systems that operate in different modes, including a mode which supports providing an output of images through a port on the systems. In one embodiment, a data processing system includes a processing system, a cellular telephone transceiver, and a port which is configured to provide, as an output from the handheld data processing system, data representing movie video images. Methods and machine readable media are also described. The inventors are Joshua de Cesare, Keith Cox and Kenneth C. Dyke.

Patent number 20100207857 is for undulating electrodes for improved viewing angle and color shift. The disclosure generally provides for a variety of multi-domain pixel configurations that may be implemented in the unit pixels of an LCD display device, such as a fringe field switching LCD display panel. An LCD display device utilizing one or more of the presently disclosed techniques disclosed herein may exhibit improved display properties, such as viewing angle, color shift, and transmittance properties, relative to those exhibited by conventional multi-domain designs. The inventors are Mingxia Gu, Xing Xu, Cheng Chen, John Z. Zhong, Shih Chang Chang and Shawn Robert Gettemy.

Patent number 20100207854 involves the placement and shape of electrodes for use in displays. A liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided having a discontinuous electrode. In certain embodiments, different portions (such as finger- or slit-like extensions) of the discontinuous electrode may be at different depths relative to one another and/or may be of different widths relative to one another. Similarly, in other embodiments, the different portions of the discontinuous electrode may be spaced apart in a non-uniform manner. The inventors are Mingxia Gu, Xing Xu, Cheng Chen, John Z. Zhong, Shih Chang Chang and Shawn Robert Gettemy.

Patent number 20100207854 is for an LDC display with index-matching passivation layers. A liquid crystal display (LCD) having one or more index-matching layers is provided. In one embodiment, an index-matching passivation layer is provided between two additional layers of the LCD. The index-matching passivation layer may include a refractive index greater than a first layer of the two additional layers and less than a second layer of the two additional layers. Various additional devices and methods are also provided. The inventors are Chen Cheng, Mingxia Gu, Shih Chang Chang and John Z. Zhong.

Patent number 20100208179 is for a pixel black mask design and formation technique. A display panel is provided having a first substrate including an electrode configured to generate an electric field and a second substrate including a black mask. The black mask includes an aperture configured to enable light to be transmitted through the aperture, wherein the aperture is at least substantially rectangular and includes corners that are not substantially chamfered. The display panel also includes liquid crystal disposed between the first and second substrates and configured to facilitate passage of light through the display panel in response to the electric field. The inventors are Shih Chang Chang, Ming Xu, Mingxia Gu, Shawn Robert Gettemy and John Z. Zhong.

Patent number 2010027853 involves electrodes for use in displays. A liquid crystal display (LCD) is provided having a discontinuous electrode. In certain embodiments, finger- or slit-like extensions of the discontinuous electrode may be shaped to reduce or eliminate disclinations of liquid crystals within a pixel aperture used to transmit light, where the liquid crystals are oriented in response to an electric field generated using the discontinuous electrode. Similarly, in other embodiments, the different portions of the discontinuous electrode may be lengthened to extend under an opaque mask or may not be linked at one end to reduce or eliminate the disclinations. The inventors are Cheng Chen, Ming Xu, Shih Chang Chang, Mingxia Gu and Shawn Robert Gettemy.

Patent number 20100211199 is for dynamic audio ducking. Various dynamic audio ducking techniques are provided that may be applied where multiple audio streams, such as a primary audio stream and a secondary audio stream, are being played back simultaneously. For example, a secondary audio stream may include a voice announcement of one or more pieces of information pertaining to the primary audio stream, such as the name of the track or the name of the artist. In one embodiment, the primary audio data and the voice feedback data are initially analyzed to determine a loudness value. Based on their respective loudness values, the primary audio stream may be ducked during the period of simultaneous playback such that a relative loudness difference is generally maintained with respect to the loudness of the primary and secondary audio streams. Accordingly, the amount of ducking applied may be customized for each piece of audio data depending on its loudness characteristics. The inventors are Devang Kalidas Naik, Kim Ernest Alexander Silverman, Baptiste Piere Paquier, ShawShin Zhang and Benjamin Andrew Rottler.