USPTO grants Apple four patents
updated 11:20 am EDT, Tue August 22, 2006
Apple granted four patents
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) today published Apple's granted patents, which number four and solidify the company's right to use those technologies. The patents granted include "DC connector assembly," "Self aligning foot assembly," "a method and apparatus for accelerating detection of serial bus device speed signals," and a granted design patent for an electronic device holder. Apple's self aligning foot assembly (Patent #7,095,610) includes a foot with a snap and a first alignment feature, the snap and the alignment feature are coupled to a base, and the first alignment feature extends a greater distance from the base than an engagement of the snap. The Electronic Device Holder (Design Patent D526,777) claims the ornamental design for an electronic device holder, which depicts an armband holding an iPod shuffle.
Apple's DC connector assembly (Patent #7,094,089) is a DC connector arrangement that includes a DC plug and a DC receptacle that are configured to engage one another at more than one position.
Finally Apple's method and apparatus for accelerating detection of serial bus device speed signals focuses in particular on S400 signals for IEEE Standard 1394-1995 serial bus devices, or FireWire devices.
Foot Snap....What?
08/22, 12:54pm reply
Could anyone clarify what the heck the foot snap alignment base thing is all about? It makes absolutely no sense to me.
Zkatz007
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 1999
Not right to use
08/22, 01:59pm reply
A patent doesn't give you the right to use a technology - it gives you the right to prevent others from using it. This may come up for two reasons. First, there may be regulatory reasons (for instance I might patent a nuclear power plant but that doesn't mean I can build one). Second, and more likely to be the case with Apple, using the technology in a patent may require infringing other patents which you *don't* own.
diskgolfking
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2004