Apple has been granted a patent (number D671,114) for a portable display device with cover — the iPad and its Smart Cover, in other words.
The inventors are Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Jeremy Batillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Julian Hoenig, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rorhbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang and Rico Zorkendorfer.
Apple has also been granted the following patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office are:
° Patent number 8316321 for an user interface that includes elements whose appearance dynamically changes in dependence upon functions associated with the elements;
° Patent number 83163147 for techniques for synchronizing multiple time-based data streams with independent clocks wherein relationships between clock rates of timing devices associated with the time-based data streams are determined;
° Patent number 8316046 for a journaling subsystem on a mobile device stores event data related to applications or other subsystems running on the mobile device;
° Patent number 8315746 for thermal management techniques in an electronic device;
° Patent number 8315461 for methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining a location relative to an object and a type of a light source that illuminated the object when the image was captured;
° Patent number 8315248 for a protocol for a remote user interface for a portable media device with database navigation history;
° Patent number 83154043 is for methods and systems for forming housings from multi-layer materials;
° Patent number 8314847 for automatic tone mapping curve generation based on dynamically stretched image histogram distribution;
° Patent number 8314807 for a memory controller with QoS-aware scheduling;
° Patent number 8314799 for an enhanced motion behavior framework;
° Patent number 8314775 for a multi-touch touch surface;
° Patent number 8314773 for a mouse having an optically-based scrolling feature;
° Patent number 8314354 for an accessory controller for electronic devices.