Apple has been granted several patents pertaining to the Smart Cover for the iPad.
Patent number 20120066865 is for a foldable accessory device. A magnetic attachment mechanism and method is described. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach at least two objects together in a preferred configuration without fasteners and without external intervention. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach an accessory device to an electronic device.
Patents 20120066873, 20120068797, 20120068798, 20120068799, 20120069502, 20120069503, 20120068919, 20120068942 and 20120069540 involve methods and an apparatus for configuring a magnetic attachment system. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach at least two objects together in a preferred configuration without fasteners and without external intervention. The magnetic attachment mechanism can be used to releasably attach an accessory device to an electronic device. The accessory device can be used to augment the functionality of usefulness of the electronic device.
The inventors on all the patents are Andrew Lauder, Matthew D. Rohrbach, Daniel J. Coster, Christopher J. Stringer, Florence W. Ow, Jiang Ai, Jonathan P. Ive, Elvis M. Kibiti, John P. Ternus and Sean D. Lubner.