27 patents awarded to Apple

Apple has reloaded its patent Glock with 27 new bullets. In other words, the USPTO has awarded the Cupertino based firm a batch of 27 patents. Among the protected ideas is a dock that induces inductive charging. Yes, we could see Apple finally come to market with an official wireless charging accessory for the Apple iPhone or the Apple iPad. Apple has tried to develop an inductive charging system before that worked in both portrait and landscape mode, while another invention by the Cupertino based firm used the cable from a headphone as a charging coil.

One interesting patent is for Apple's "Antenna Insert" application which is a docking station that could feature an antenna for an improved wireless signal and also an inductive charger. Adding an antenna to the dock could remove one of the problems To prevent radiation, most mobile phones are designed with the antenna away from the user's head, usually at the base of the unit. Unfortunately, that leads to interference when the handset is docked. To prevent that from occuring, Apple would allow the antenna inside the docking station to enhance the one on the handset. The reradiating antenna would "receive and transmit RF signals, such as once and data." The antennas inside the docking system could be tuned to different frequencies, thus improving the reception on the device. The design of the dock also makes sure that the circuits for the interactive charging and those for the antenna do not touch. The patent number is 11/970,504 and was filed in Q1 of 200

Another patent won by Apple in the batch is for scrolling lists, rotating and scaling documents on a touchscreen. This is a patent that could end up hitting a few competitors on the head. The patent also includes the area at the top and bottom of the list if it ends while you are scrolling it.This is patent number