The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 64 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover the possibility of a future iPhone having side display that could present virtual controls and quick access app icons. We also briefly cover Apple's granted patents for AirPower, Apple's charging mat that may still be coming to market (someday), and a sunroof design for Apple's future Electric Vehicle. And as always, we wrap up this week's granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.

Apple Granted a Patent for Future iDevices with Sidewall Displays

Apple's newly granted patent covers their invention relating to flexible displays, and more particularly, to electronic devices with flexible displays.

Apple notes that the flexible displays may include one or more flexible layers and may be mounted under a transparent display cover layer such as a layer of clear glass or plastic. For example, a flexible display may be mounted on the underside of a cover layer. Flexible displays may include a touch-sensitive layer that allows a user to provide touch input to an electronic device. Display pixels on a flexible display may be used to display visual information to the user.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a perspective view of an iPhone with a flexible display having portions on multiple surfaces of a device.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below is a perspective view of a portion of an iPhone showing touch-sensitive edge displays on an edge of a flexible display and a patterned housing member.

Apple's patent FIG. 15 above is a side view of a portion of an illustrative edge display portion of a flexible display showing how user the edge display portion may include virtual buttons for selecting a software application; FIG. 18 is a side view of a portion of an illustrative edge display portion of a flexible display showing how user the edge display portion may include a scrollable list that is scrollable in multiple dimensions FIG. 19 is a side view of a portion of an illustrative edge display portion of a flexible display showing how user the edge display portion may display a different list based on a user touch-input to the edge display.

Apple's patent FIG. 14 above is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device showing how virtual sidewall buttons may form a portion of a gaming controller when the device is operated in a landscape position.

For more details, see Apple's granted patent 11,237,685.

Wireless Power System with Device Priority

In late November 2021 we posted a report titled "A Rumor Report from Mark Gurman claims that Apple is continuing to work on a Wireless Charging Pad, Reverse Charging and more." Today, Apple has won yet another patent regarding their possible future AirPower recharging mat.

For those interested, review Apple's granted patent 11,239,695 here. You could review other wireless charging related patents including reverse charging in our archives.

Today Apple was granted patent 11,235,701 for a sunroof construction along with variable window translucence so that the driver could control the level of light that they want the sunroof to have so as to control brightness in the vehicle. For more details, review the patent here.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 above is a perspective view of a sunroof in a closed position relating to a future Apple vehicle.

The Remaining Patents Granted to Apple Today

Posted by Jack Purcher on February 01, 2022 at 08:55 AM in 2. Granted Patents | Permalink | Comments (0)

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