Apple Wins Patent on Long-Delayed AirPods Wireless Charging Case and AirPower

[cmaier]

Apple, almost 10 years late to the inductive charging revolution, and now patent trolling. Unbelievable.
[doublepost=1550623185][/doublepost]I bought this back in 2011, 1 dock, 1 coil, awesome inductive charging stand for HP's Touchpad:

How are they patent trolling? They haven’t sued anyone with this patent. And what does this photo have to do with the patent? The patent covers something very specific. I suggest you read it before you mention irrelevant prior devices.

 

[trifid]

How are they patent trolling? They haven’t sued anyone with this patent. And what does this photo have to do with the patent? The patent covers something very specific. I suggest you read it before you mention irrelevant prior devices.

Photo has nothing to do with the Airpod's case patent, it's just a reference that inductive charging has been around for so long and Apple was late to the party. I also believe a vertical stand with predictable coil placement such as the photo shown for inductive charging is superior in both efficiency and usage to 30 coils inside Airpower generating heat and being energy inefficient.

 

[cmaier]

Photo has nothing to do with the Airpod's case patent, it's just a reference that inductive charging has been around for so long and Apple was late to the party. I also believe a vertical stand with predictable coil placement such as the photo shown for inductive charging is superior in both efficiency and usage to 30 coils inside Airpower generating heat and being energy inefficient.

What does any of that have to do with the patent? Nobody was claiming apple invented inductive charging. Nor did apple claim that.

 

[NT1440]

Photo has nothing to do with the Airpod's case patent, it's just a reference that inductive charging has been around for so long and Apple was late to the party. I also believe a vertical stand with predictable coil placement such as the photo shown for inductive charging is superior in both efficiency and usage to 30 coils inside Airpower generating heat and being energy inefficient.

...you understand that Apple’s “secret sauce” on the AirPower is intelligently determining ONLY which coils to power right?

Your own argument shows you haven’t bothered to actually understand the functionality of the product.

 

[trifid]

...you understand that Apple’s “secret sauce” on the AirPower is intelligently determining ONLY which coils to power right?

Your own argument shows you haven’t bothered to actually understand the functionality of the product.

So the rumors about overheating issues, where does that come from? Lets wait until it comes out, then we'll talk.

 

[cmaier]

So the rumors about overheating issues, where does that come from? Lets wait until it comes out, then we'll talk.

What the most recent rumors say is that there was a problem that things would overheat when metal foreign objects were placed on the pad, and that the delay was due to reengineering to include proximity sensors to detect that condition and disable relevant coils to prevent this problem.

 

[trifid]

What the most recent rumors say is that there was a problem that things would overheat when metal foreign objects were placed on the pad, and that the delay was due to reengineering to include proximity sensors to detect that condition and disable relevant coils to prevent this problem.

Interesting, I know some products like Samsung's dock actually do have a fan due to heat issues, and in that case it's only 3 coils I think. It'll be interesting if Apple actually can pull this off with that many coils, even with whatever new tech they come up with.

 

[Melab]

What a WIN !!!
Who lost?

Patents are not won - unless challenged by other party...
They are simply granted !!!

Who lost? The people who are now prohibited from implementing this invention.

 

[cmaier]

Who lost? The people who are now prohibited from implementing this invention.

If they had already implemented the invention or published how to do it, they wouldn’t be in this pickle.

 

[Tech198]

Publishing how to do something before its even approved wouldn't get you any closer to reality..

You still need to approve it regardless...

 

[cmaier]

Publishing how to do something before its even approved wouldn't get you any closer to reality..

You still need to approve it regardless...

I don’t know what you are trying to say. But if you publish something that describes what a patent application is claiming to be a new invention a year before the patent is filed, the patent is invalid under 35 USC 102, and the patent office would likely not grant the patent in the first place.

 

[calstanford]

Jesus. Even the freakin’ patent office is faster than Apple itself these days!

 

[0388631]

Good to see Apple hopping on the Qi train. This patent for coil initiation is pretty clever. Variable electrical draw based on device or devices' footprint.

 

[Melab]

If they had already implemented the invention or published how to do it, they wouldn’t be in this pickle.

My point stands.

 

[abhibeckert]

Although I like the technical achievement, I'm still hard pressed to find a practical value in place anywhere wireless charging.

Every night I charge my phone, my watch and my earbuds.

Having one charger is clearly preferable to three chargers.

But if you can't place the device anywhere, then every time you upgrade a device - that also means you've got to buy a new multi-device charger — assuming your new device has a different size/shape, which I'm pretty sure has been the case for every Apple product I've ever purchased.

 

[BvizioN]

Apple patent trolling

10,000 new patents to be submitted

"Inductively chargeable [thing that uses a rechargeable battery]"
[doublepost=1550601346][/doublepost]

Already available for $30

Not sure who would want to pay for a box in the box solution, just to make it wireless charging. I charge these things once a week and it is usually at night when I go to bed. Wouldn't pay even $1 for something like that.

 

[apolloa]

This is about inductively charging the battery in the case, no?

Ah that may explain it then. For the new case they will release for the existing AirPods plus the AirPods 2?

I have to admit I can’t really see how Apple has been awarded a patent for a technology that’s been in use for years and years. Toothbrushes have been using it long enough let alone phones etc.
I can’t see what’s different here?

 

[recoil80]

After such a long delay I’m pretty sure Apple will not be content to issue a press release. I fully expect to see both AirPower and AirPods to have stage time at the March event if they’re listed as ‘coming soon’, but expect to see a solid date even if a couple of months out

With an even only a few weeks away it makes sense to wait for it. If the only novelty of AirPods is the Qi charging case I'd be quite disappointed, I don't need to buy a new pair as mine is still great, but eventually I'll replace them and having a better bluetooth module or some more features would be nice.
I'm also curious about AirPower pricing, my guess is $149 and I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't buy it even at $99. I'd rather buy 2 o 3 cheaper Qi chargers and have them in multiple places (home, office etc.) than spending the same amount of money for a single one, even if it can charge 3 devices. Besides, it isn't convenient at all to charge an Apple Watch on a Qi pad if you have a strap like the sport loop, so having a dedicated charger is always necessary.

 

[cmaier]

Ah that may explain it then. For the new case they will release for the existing AirPods plus the AirPods 2?

I have to admit I can’t really see how Apple has been awarded a patent for a technology that’s been in use for years and years. Toothbrushes have been using it long enough let alone phones etc.
I can’t see what’s different here?

I’ve cited the patent claim multiple times in this thread. They have patented a very specific way of switching between multiple coils, and so far no one on this thread has accepted my challenge to show that this has been done before.

 

[NT1440]

Apple, almost 10 years late to the inductive charging revolution, and now patent trolling. Unbelievable.
[doublepost=1550623185][/doublepost]I bought this back in 2011, 1 dock, 1 coil, awesome inductive charging stand for HP's Touchpad:

I’ve got to say, HP was far ahead of the game on UI and other features. It’s funny that both iOS and Android have pretty much adopted the “cards” UI.

 

[macduke]

Does this thing have 16 freaking charging coils? No wonder it took them so long to get it right. Wow. Hopefully the failure rate on these things isn't bad. I'd also be shocked if it is priced below $129. But if it works well I would pay up to $149. I hate the mess on my night stand right now, which is mostly various charging pads and cables. It would also be great if it had a USB-C port on the back to plug the iPad Pro into.

I still wonder how this will work with Apple Watch bands. Wouldn't the milanese loop block the signal, so it would need to be taken off? Same for the link bracelet. I wonder if it's powerful enough to keep the sport loop on? If it's a pain that could impact my decision to buy AirPower if the cost is really high.

 

[NT1440]

Does this thing have 16 freaking charging coils? No wonder it took them so long to get it right. Wow. Hopefully the failure rate on these things isn't bad. I'd also be shocked if it is priced below $129. But if it works well I would pay up to $149. I hate the mess on my night stand right now, which is mostly various charging pads and cables. It would also be great if it had a USB-C port on the back to plug the iPad Pro into.

I still wonder how this will work with Apple Watch bands. Wouldn't the milanese loop block the signal, so it would need to be taken off? Same for the link bracelet. I wonder if it's powerful enough to keep the sport loop on? If it's a pain that could impact my decision to buy AirPower if the cost is really high.

I imagine this air hocky puck looking accessory would answer people's question about certain loops.

 

[cmaier]

I imagine this air hocky puck looking accessory would answer people's question about certain loops.

Little known fact: as of Apple Watch 4, the Milanese loop comes out - you can fully open it. This was news to me as a Apple Watch 0 owner, but the new band i got with my Apple Watch 4 actually can open all the way and lie flat.

 

[macduke]

I imagine this air hocky puck looking accessory would answer people's question about certain loops.

LOL. That is interesting! I feel like the AirPower pad is going to need to be a lot bigger to accommodate something like that. It's already pretty crowded! And just imagine an iPhone XS Max on here:



Hopefully the actual implementation is a lot sleeker. I know how these patent drawings can be so vague and bulky. I wonder if it would slow down significantly the charging speed since it would be inductively charging twice. Fortunately the Apple Watch battery is very small.

 

[NT1440]

LOL. That is interesting! I feel like the AirPower pad is going to need to be a lot bigger to accommodate something like that. It's already pretty crowded! And just imagine an iPhone XS Max on here:

View attachment 822757

Hopefully the actual implementation is a lot sleeker. I know how these patent drawings can be so vague and bulky. I wonder if it would slow down significantly the charging speed since it would be inductively charging twice. Fortunately the Apple Watch battery is very small.

Apple’s patent drawings are always crude (unless it’s a design patent). Just look at the AirPower mat, does that look anything like the finished product?

As for speed, that device is a pass through, at least that was my reading of it (the text of that patent). I’m fairly confident it will be the same speed as the mat itself.