Apple has been granted several patents by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Four involve touch screens and iOS devices, while three others are design wins.
Patent number 7,812,826 is for a portable electronic device with multi-touch input. Per the patent a portable communication device with multi-touch input detects one or more multi-touch contacts and motions and performs one or more operations on an object based on the one or more multi-touch contacts and/or motions. The object has a resolution that is less than a pre-determined threshold when the operation is performed on the object, and the object has a resolution that is greater than the pre-determined threshold at other times. The inventors are Bas Ording, Scott Forstall, Greg Christie, Stephen O. Lemay and Imran Chaudhri.
Patent number 7,812,827 is for a simultaneous sensing arrangement. Multi-touch touch-sensing devices and methods are described. The touch sensing devices can include multiple sense points, each located at a crossing of a drive line and a sense line. In some embodiments, multiple drive lines may be simultaneously or nearly simultaneously stimulated with drive signals having unique characteristics, such as phase or frequency. A sense signal can occur on each sense line that can be related to the drive signals by an amount of touch present at sense points corresponding to the stimulated drive lines and the sense line. By using processing techniques based on the unique drive signals, an amount of touch corresponding to each sense point can be extracted from the sense signal. The touch sensing methods and devices can be incorporated into interfaces for a variety of electronic devices such as a desktop, tablet, notebook, and handheld computers, personal digital assistants, media players, and mobile telephones. The inventors are Steven P. Hotelling, John Greer Elias and Kapil Vinod Sakariya.
Patent number 7,814,304 is for an ellipse fitting for multi-touch surfaces. Apparatus and methods are disclosed for simultaneously tracking multiple finger and palm contacts as hands approach, touch, and slide across a proximity-sensing, multi-touch surface. Identification and classification of intuitive hand configurations and motions enables unprecedented integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting into a versatile, ergonomic computer input device. The inventors are Wayne Westerman and John G. Elias.
Patent number 7,814,163 is for a text-based communication control for a personal communication device. Systems, devices, and methods are provided for enabling a user to control the content of text-based messages sent to or received from an administered device. In some embodiments, a message will be blocked (incoming or outgoing) if the message includes forbidden content. In other embodiments, the objectionable content is removed from the message prior to transmission or as part of the receiving process. The content of such a message is controlled by filtering the message based on defined criteria. The criteria may be defined according to a parental control application. These techniques also may be used, in accordance with instructional embodiments, to require the administered devices to include certain text in messages. These embodiments might, for example, require that a certain number of Spanish words per day be included in e-mails for a child learning Spanish. Michael M. Lee is the inventor.
Regarding design wins, patent D625,310 is for the Apple wireless keyboard, D625,293 is for a dock insert, and D625,291 is for an iPhone/iPod base/stand.
Nine other Apple patents have also appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.
Patent number 7,814,304 involves switching drivers between processors. Systems, methods, and computer software for operating a device can be used to operate the device in multiple modes. The device can be operated in a first operating mode adapted for processing data, in which a first processor executes a driver for a nonvolatile memory and a second processor performs processing of data stored in files on the nonvolatile memory. An instruction can be received to switch the device to a second operating mode adapted for reading and/or writing files from or to the nonvolatile memory. The driver for the nonvolatile memory can be switched from the first processor to the second processor in response to the instruction, and the driver for the nonvolatile memory can be executed on the second processor after performing the switch. A communications driver can be executed on the first processor in response to the instruction to switch the device to the second operating mode. The inventors are Michael J. Cornwell and Christopher P. Dudte.
Patent number 7,814,231 is for a method for syncing between three or more devices. Per the patent, hitherto synchronization of a number of devices has involved a large number of comparison steps between actual data or changes in data. Such comparison has potentially involved extensive redundant comparison steps. Another problem with existing synchronization methods is that such synchronization has been effected based upon the systems clocks defined by the devices. Those system clocks can be modified either intentionally or malevolently with disastrous consequences for subsequent synchronization of the devices. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method of synchronization between three or more devices, the method involves: storing an indication of the device or devices involved in each synchronization event; storing data changes received during a current synchronization event together with the device submitting those changes; and applying the data changes subsequent to the stored synchronization event for the or each device. The inventors are Toby Paterson and Jerome Lebel.
Patent number 7,813,697 involves power efficient, high speed communication systems and methods. Systems and methods for utilizing multiple wireless communication protocols are provided. In one embodiment, the portable device includes circuitry for providing wireless communications utilizing a low power, relatively slow communications protocol, such as Bluetooth, to establish a communications path between two wireless devices. When high speed communications are preferred, the two devices can agree to switch to a different, high speed protocol, such as Wi-Fi, for communications. In this manner, power loss is minimized while one of the devices is seeking another communications node. In another embodiment, the high speed communications are performed utilizing a private network established between the two devices in which a non-standard protocol is utilized. That protocol could be, for example, a minimized subset of 802.11 instructions. Christopher D. McKillip is the inventor.
Patent number 7,8143,715 is for the automated pairing of wireless accessories with host devices. Techniques that facilitate pairing of wireless accessory devices with wireless host devices are disclosed. Advantageously, the improved techniques permit pairing of wireless devices without requiring user entry of pin codes. In one embodiment, a wireless accessory device, such as a headset or earphone, can be paired with a wireless host device, such as a mobile phone or media player. The inventors are Chris McKillip and Chris Wiebe.
Patent number 7,8143,832 involves a multiband dynamic range control graphical interface. A graphical user interface is provided for dynamic gain control that allows a user to view and adjust multiple frequency bands and multiple controllers using a single screen in a simple and visually appealing way. Each controller within each particular frequency band may be easily modified to allow thresholds to begin at different amplitude levels for an input signal. Additionally, textual areas may be provided where the user may enter ratios, attack, and release parameters for each controller. Jack Curtis Dubowsky is the inventor.
Patent number 7,814,055 is for a method of managing a calendar and a computer system for implementing that method. The invention is about methods, systems and machine readable media for operating a calendar in a data processing system. In one exemplary method of managing said calendar, which contains at least one event, the method includes subscribing to said calendar which is available in an electronic format, downloading said calendar from a host electronic device to a subscriber electronic device, and storing said calendar in said electronic format to form a local calendar. The inventors are Jean-Marie Hullot, Bertrand Guiheneuf, Laurent Derveau and Eric Noyau.
Patent number 7,814,432 is for a method and system for image rendering, including polymorphic image data in a graphical user interface. A method and system are provided for developing images for use in a graphical user interface. In one implementation, the method includes displaying a graphical user interface on a display device, and providing an operating system on a computer that is in communication with the display device. The operating system includes an imaging object structure that is an abstract base class from which subclasses of text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects are derivable. The subclasses of text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects are used to respectively generate text imaging objects, picture imaging objects, and pattern imaging objects for display in the graphical user interface. The inventors are Dylan B. Ashe, Lewis K. Cirne, Jeffrey R. Cobb, Ramesh Gupta and Eric C. Schlegel.
Patent number 7,814,492 is for a system for managing partitions having resource and partition definitions, and assigning a named job to an associated partition. Systems and methods for resource management are provided. In one implementation a computing system is provided. The computing system includes a controller having an associated information base; the information base including a plurality of resource definitions, a partition definition defining a plurality of partitions, and a plurality of queues. Each partition includes a grouping of one or more resources available to process user jobs and each partition has a name. At least one queue of the plurality of queues is associated with each partition in the partition definition. The controller includes an administrative interface for managing partitions, resources and queues and an authorization routine operable to receive named jobs, a named job identifying a partition in the partition definition, and assign named jobs to an associated partition queue for processing by one of the resources in an associated grouping of one or more resources. The inventors are David Zachary Creemer and David Anthony Kramer.
Patent number 7,813,140 involves methods and systems for filtering signals. The present invention describes methods for enhancing the performance of two-capacitor low-pass filters. In certain embodiments of the invention, the capacitors are placed on opposite sides of a PCB board. Cheung-Wei Lam is the inventor.