Patents Assigned to Apple
  • Publication number: 20110278312
    Abstract: A method for forming an enclosure for enclosing internal electronic components of an electronic device is provided, which comprises: performing a first injection molding process, the first injection molding process forming at least a first wall of the enclosure; allowing the at least a first wall of the enclosure to solidify; thereafter performing a second injection molding process, the second injection molding process forming at least a second wall of the enclosure, the at least a second wall of the enclosure fusing with the at least a first wall of the enclosure during the second injection molding process, the at least second wall of the enclosure forming at least one different side of the enclosure than the at least first wall of the enclosure; and allowing the at least a second wall of the enclosure to solidify, the at least a second wall of the enclosure being integrally formed with the at least a first wall of the enclosure to thereby form a single-piece multi-walled enclosure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2011
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Paul ZADESKY, Evans HANKEY, Jonathan P. IVE, Rico ZORKENDORFER
  • Publication number: 20110281570
    Abstract: A method to control configuration change times is performed at a mobile wireless communication device when the mobile wireless communication device is connected to a wireless network. The mobile wireless device is connected in a first configuration mode. The mobile wireless communication device receives a control message from a radio network subsystem in the wireless network at a local receive time. The received control message includes a time indication for when to start a configuration mode change of the mobile wireless communication device, which the device extracts from the control message. The mobile wireless communication device reconfigures to a second configuration mode, different from the first configuration mode, based on the extracted time indication and the local receive time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2010
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Jianxiong SHI, Longda XING
  • Publication number: 20110278923
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing power to an electronic device may include a power input configured to receive an input voltage from a power supply, and a rectifier operatively connected to the power input and configured to convert the input voltage to a first voltage. The rectifier may further be configured to transmit the first voltage to a first power output operatively connected to the rectifier. The apparatus may further include a power converter operatively connected to the rectifier and configured to convert the first voltage to a second voltage different than the first voltage and a first relay operatively connected to the rectifier to selectively prevent the first voltage from being transmitted through the first power output. The power converter may further be configured to transmit the second voltage to a second power output operatively connected to the power converter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Aleksandar Pance, Nicholas Alan Rundle, John Douglas Field
  • Publication number: 20110280042
    Abstract: Methods and aparatuses disclosed herein relate to backlit visual display elements. A visual display element may include a base layer defining one or more microperforations and a light guide coupled to a light source. The light guide may be positioned adjacent the base layer and include one or more microlenses in alignment with the one or more microperforations along at least one vertical axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Aleksandar Pance, Gregory L. Tice
  • Patent number: 8060690
    Abstract: Systems and processes may include a first memory and a second memory. A driver and/or an application may be stored in the first memory. Flash memory type data of the first memory may be stored in the second memory. The driver may control the first memory at least partially based on the flash memory type data. The first memory may be exchanged for a third memory. The driver may be stored on the third memory. The flash memory type data for the third memory may be stored on the second memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael J. Cornwell, Christopher P. Dudte
  • Patent number: 8060728
    Abstract: A method for performing parallel operations in a computer system when one or more memory hazards may be present, which may be implemented by a processor, is described. During operation, the processor receives instructions for detecting conflict between memory addresses in vectors when operations are performed in parallel using at least a portion of the vectors, and generating one or more stop indicators corresponding to any detected conflict between the memory addresses, where a given stop indicator indicates a memory hazard. Next, the processor executes the instructions for detecting the conflict between the memory addresses and generating the one or more stop indicators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffry E. Gonion, Keith E. Diefendorff
  • Patent number: 8060514
    Abstract: Systems and methods for managing data, such as metadata or non-metadata such as content. In one exemplary method, a composite document is received and it is determined whether the composite document contains at least one subdocument and if it does, the method captures metadata and/or content from the subdocument and stores the captured metadata and/or content for use in future searches (or an immediate search). The metadata and/or content from the composite document is typically combined together with information about the hierarchy of the subdocuments in the document. The type of information in metadata for one type of file differs from the type of information in metadata for another type of file. Other methods are described and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Yan Arrouye, Dominic Giampaolo
  • Patent number: 8060825
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method is disclosed. The method applies to a set of content files including a subset of the content files that do not have associated digital artwork. For each content file in the set of content files, whether the content file has associated digital artwork is determined. For each content file in the set of content files that does not have associated digital artwork, digital artwork for the content file is created based on metadata associated with the content file. The digital artwork for a plurality of content files in the set of content files is displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Imran Chaudhri
  • Patent number: 8060821
    Abstract: An item in a user interface is visually enhanced in response to an interaction with the item or in response to a request. In some implementations, the item (e.g., an icon, button, text, etc.) is visually enhanced and displayed in the user interface at a conspicuous location (e.g., the center of the user interface). Optionally, the user interface can be altered (e.g., darkened) to improve the visibility of the enhanced item. In some implementations, visual enhancement includes displaying enhanced feedback (e.g., text, data, graphical objects or images, etc.) associated with the item in a caption panel. The caption panel can display enhanced feedback associated with any items in the user interface and not just the item associated with a current user interaction. In some implementations, the user can interact with items (e.g., launch an application) from within an interaction panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Seymour, Kevin B. Aitken
  • Patent number: 8059570
    Abstract: The battery life of a mobile device operating in a wireless network environment is extended by terminating network communication activities after a specified period of time. Network communication activities may be restored when any one of a specified number of user actions are detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Albert, Nate Begeman, Evan Doll, Charles Dominguez, Scott Herz, Dan Keen, David Myszewski, Mallory Paine, Rob Yepez
  • Patent number: 8060389
    Abstract: Provided is a fully automated web service with location based services generally involved in transmission of situational location dependent information to automatically located mobile receiving data processing systems. The web service communicates with a receiving data processing system in a manner by delivering information to the device when appropriate without the device requesting it at the time of delivery. There are varieties of configurations made by different user types of the web service for configuring information to be delivered, and for receiving the information. The web service maximizes anonymity of users, provides granular privacy control with a default of complete privacy, and supports user configurable privileges and features for desired web service behavior and interoperability. The web service is fully automated to eliminate human resources required to operate services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: William J. Johnson
  • Patent number: 8059040
    Abstract: Wireless portable electronic devices such as laptop computers are provided with antennas and radio-frequency transceiver circuitry. Antenna structures and transceiver circuitry may be provided within a clutch barrel in a laptop computer. The clutch barrel may have a dielectric cover. Antenna elements may be mounted within the clutch barrel cover on an antenna support structure. The antenna support structure may be mounted to a metal housing frame. The metal housing frame may have a tab-shaped extension that serves as a heat sink. The heat sink may draw heat away from the transceiver circuitry. The transceiver circuitry may be coupled to the antenna using a radio-frequency transmission line path that contains microstrip transmission lines or coaxial cable transmission lines. The transceiver circuitry may be coupled to logic circuitry on a laptop computer motherboard using a digital data communications path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Enrique Ayala Vazquez, Hao Xu, Gregory A. Springer, Bing Chiang, Eduardo Lopez Camacho, Douglas B. Kough
  • Patent number: 8058954
    Abstract: Transmission lines for electronic devices such as microstrip and stripline transmission lines may be provided that include patterned conductive lines and a conductive paint in the patterned conductive lines. The transmission lines may include one or more planar ground conductors. The ground conductors may include conductive lines arranged in a crosshatch pattern with spaces between the conductive lines. The ground conductors may also include conductive paint in spaces within the crosshatched pattern. The ground conductors may form one or more ground planes for the transmission lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Kyle H. Yeates
  • Patent number: 8060229
    Abstract: Improved techniques and systems for utilizing a portable electronic device to monitor, process, present and manage data captured by a remote sensor are disclosed. The portable electronic device offers a convenient user interface that can be visual and/or audio based customized to a particular application, user-friendly and/or dynamic. The portable electronic device can pertain to a portable media player and thus also provide media playback.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Sandeep Gupta, Greg Marriott, Max Sprauer, David A. Shayer, John Wesley Archibald, Shannon E. Wells
  • Patent number: 8059099
    Abstract: Techniques for providing input to interactive and multitasking applications are disclosed. A game input area (surface or plane) receives input for multiple applications including an interactive application executed in connection with a scene. The input received is directed to the appropriate application based on one or more locations (e.g., points, positions, regions, portions) of the input area effectively identified when input is received (or entered). In addition, the manner in which input is received (or entered) can be used to determine which application should receive the input. The input area can additionally resemble or approximate the shape of a scene (e.g., game scene) to allow a person to provide input in a more intuitive way. Accordingly, input can be provided in a simple and more intuitive manner by effectively allowing the user to interact with the input area in a way that mimics or approximates a desired action (e.g., moving a ball or bat around by inputting a rotational movement).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Lampell, Francois-Yves Bertrand, Alan Berfield, Leo Lee, Eric Snider
  • Patent number: D648703
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: D648724
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Bartley K. Andre, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steve Jobs, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: D648725
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Jody Akana, Bartley K. Andre, Jeremy Bataillou, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Duncan Robert Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whang, Rico Zorkendorfer
  • Patent number: D648737
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen O. Lemay
  • Patent number: D648738
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen O. Lemay