USPTO grants three new Apple patents
updated 03:55 pm EDT, Tue July 24, 2007
Three new Apple patents
The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued three new patents to Apple, covering a breadth of interests. The most notable may be a new air cooling system, designed to fit into desktop tower Macs resembling the Mac Pro. Using a blend of fins, fans and a shelf, heat in a case is divided into two main zones: one for the CPU, below, and another for the clustered peripherals up top. Reflecting the uneven heat generated, the default layout assigns two fans to the CPU, while the peripherals are limited to one. This can easily be reconfigured however, simply by moving the shelf to create different zones and allow more fans.
The next patent covers an improvement to the Core Imaging architecture, in which a new layer has been added to handle compositing. Specifically, the layer deals with the composition and management of interface windows, which may improve the rendering of these elements as a whole.
Last is a system for automatically mounting storage volumes over a network, through a client interface such as a web browser. Once a client makes a request to a server, the needed parameters are sent over through a client-side plug-in. For the sake of security, the plug-in can be set to verify the server before mounting begins.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2001
Air Cooling Patent
The first patent, regarding air cooling, is definitely not a hint towards new cooling methods but is just a patent on the cooling system used in the original PowerMac G5. Patents are often delayed many years after their represented products are introduced. The movable divider in question here is the clear plastic shield used in PowerMac G5's.