14 DAY TRIAL // Apple's team of researchers is definitely not on stand-by. The US Patent & Trademark Office published yesterday Apple's patent application called 'Lanyard for handheld electronic device'. The patent relates to lanyards for handheld gadgets and would incorporate electronic circuitry. It would address Apple's iPods and iPhone.
The connector unit may also include a processor to control interaction between connected devices. This processor could include additional control functionalities not offered by the handheld device. This lanyard patent could be referring to the adding of telephony functions to iPod players (and turning them into iPhones?).
According to the patent filing, the lanyard might also be used for adding mechanisms of input (like buttons, touch-pads, sliders), to be used for the additional functionalities. The connector unit might include output mechanisms as well.
The device could also enable the adding of lighting effects that synchronize with joggers' heart rates, temperature or speed, through connector unit or the cord. Lights could change color and create effects.
The documentation given by Apple also mentions that the connector unit may include additional ports, jacks, or connectors to additional peripheral devices to the handheld gadget. The connector unit might have a wireless interface for broadcasting, allowing the transfer of data to another device. This connector unit could have a battery to provide the handheld device with extra power for the situations when it is used remotely and a flash memory.
The connector unit will have sensors to capture exterior information from the user or their surrounding, and will be able to process this information. According to the patent, this lanyard could take various forms of embodiment.
Apple named Daniele De Iuliis, Matthew Dean Rohrbach and John Greer Elias as the inventors behind this patent.