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Intellectual Property law Blog
Our goal is to provide some general information about recent developments and interesting news impacting Patent, Trademark and Copyright Issues. Please feel free to check back often for the latest.
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Behold the Power of Apple
02-09-2010 [Ben Hanrahan] [Permalink]The current trend in portable devices and consumer electronics is to combine multiple devices and functionalities into a single, user-friendly handheld device, such as the popular Apple iPhone, iTouch, or iPod. The problem, however, is that as the functionality and technology of a single portable device increases, the need for more power and longer battery life also increases. According to two recently published patent applications, Apple is attempting to combat this need in a variety of ways.
First, on January 21, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's patent application entitled "Power Management Circuitry and Solar Cells" (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0013309). In essence, the patent application is directed toward a system and method for powering a portable electronic device, such as an iPhone or iPod, using solar cells. The patent application explains that although some devices attempt to use solar panels as a source of power, a large number of solar panels must be used in order to generate enough power to run the device, which, of course, either means the device is generally large and bulky or the solar panels do not provide much of an advantage in terms of powering the device. Apple's patent application attempts to solve this problem with the use of "boost circuitry" powered by a battery and/or the solar cells. The "boost circuitry" is used to regulate the power generated by the cells, which can then power other components of the device.
Even more recently, on February 4, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published another patent application assigned to Apple, entitled "Media Processing Method and Device" (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0030928). Certain embodiments of this patent application are directed toward the use of an "audio processing subsystem" which operates independently of the main processor or CPU. The asserted advantage of Apple's "audio processing subsystem" is that because it is independent of, or loosely coupled to, the main CPU, it does not need to interact with the CPU to accomplish audio playback. This allows the main CPU to enter into a low power state or sleep mode, conserving battery power.
First, on January 21, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Apple's patent application entitled "Power Management Circuitry and Solar Cells" (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0013309). In essence, the patent application is directed toward a system and method for powering a portable electronic device, such as an iPhone or iPod, using solar cells. The patent application explains that although some devices attempt to use solar panels as a source of power, a large number of solar panels must be used in order to generate enough power to run the device, which, of course, either means the device is generally large and bulky or the solar panels do not provide much of an advantage in terms of powering the device. Apple's patent application attempts to solve this problem with the use of "boost circuitry" powered by a battery and/or the solar cells. The "boost circuitry" is used to regulate the power generated by the cells, which can then power other components of the device.
Even more recently, on February 4, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published another patent application assigned to Apple, entitled "Media Processing Method and Device" (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0030928). Certain embodiments of this patent application are directed toward the use of an "audio processing subsystem" which operates independently of the main processor or CPU. The asserted advantage of Apple's "audio processing subsystem" is that because it is independent of, or loosely coupled to, the main CPU, it does not need to interact with the CPU to accomplish audio playback. This allows the main CPU to enter into a low power state or sleep mode, conserving battery power.