The US Patent and Trademark Office gets up to date with some old and new Apple technology

Jul 9, 2014 15:17 GMT  ·  By

The details of some of Apple's little things tend to get away from the public eye. However, the California-based tech company makes sure to protect all the stuff it incorporates into its devices and stores with patent awards. 51 of them have been accepted by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

 
Apple prides itself on using the most advanced I/O ever. That's what it calls the Thunderbolt cable and connector. And it does have a reason for that. Thunderbolt can support high-resolution displays, external hard disk drives, cameras, Ethernet and other peripherals, all on the same port. 
 
The Thunderbolt technology is a standard on every new Mac, and some computers even have two (MacBook Pro), or six (the new Mac Pro) such features. According to the official Apple website, Thunderbolt gives you two channels on the same connector and the speed is up to 10Gb/s of throughput in both directions.
 
To put it in layman's terms, Thunderbolt is 20 times faster than USB 2, and 12 times faster than FireWire 800. 
 
Apple sells a few devices that are Thunderbolt-compatible. Some of them are Apple-branded (Thunderbolt display), others have integrated that connector into their peripherals (mostly external HDDs).
 
Apple's work in that field along with Intel's was recognized by the US Patent and Trademark Office. It was first introduced as Light Peak in 2009 and then developed into a port that can power devices at the same time. The trademark was filed by Apple back in 2011. 
 
The same day was a good one for other small design patents gained by Apple. Among them, there are the new iTunes U and Launchpad icons, the general design of the 6th generation iPod nano, the fan in the new retina MacBook Pro, and an Apple Store retail stand. 
 
According to PatentlyApple, on the list of new patents there are quite a few that are of interest:
- Counteracting memory tracing on computing systems by code obfuscation;
- Method or apparatus for providing a web page to a call member;
- Integration of map services with user applications in a mobile device;
- Consolidating information relating to duplicate images;
- Landmark detection in digital images;
- Vented in-the-ear headphone;
- Vertically stacked image sensor;
- Integrally molded die and bezel structure for fingerprint sensors and the like;
- Audio jack that enables electrical and optical connectivity.