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Patent: Wireless iPhone Charging Station?

I like all these far out technologies they are working on for future devices. I just wish they could use all that skill they have to make things cheaper instead of adding value that people arent really asking for. These features are great but they are not what existing customers of phones are wanting. All these things just make Apple products different and more expensive.
 
Induction charging + data transfer would be great for any iPod. Imagine if the induction charger were integrated into a MacBook....you'd just have to place the iPod near the MacBook to update and charge it. Very Star Trek.
 
I'm going to go ahead and submit my patent for the phone that charges via POSITIVE ENERGY. Just hold the phone in your hand and think happy thoughts.

It's gonna be WAY cooler than this. Sonicare has been doing this for years.:D
 
Nonoche said:
well the patent says that "Furthermore, inductively based systems are more robust than electrical contacts. For example, there are no contacts to wear out and/or oxidize." and "The combination of inductance and wireless provides an efficient way to transfer both power and data while keeping both the docking station and portable electronic device fully enclosed."

So if there's still a contact for an electrical outlet on the iPhone, then there's no point at all in the induction system, and we lose its benefits…
Click to expand...

Well, not really. Sure there are still electrical contacts, but they don't get worn out or oxidize when you're not using them. AND, if they did get worn out, you'd still have a backup.
 
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned what seems (to me) to be the coolest benefit of using induction (and excluding connectors/contacts) on the iPhone: no more water damage (right?). If there's no keyboard and the one home key is sealed/touch-sensitive, then you have a (pretty much) water-tight iPhone, or at least a very water-resistant iPhone. Water damage is a big deal for cell phones, and I think (not sure here) it's one of the leading reasons for phone failure (day at the beach, dropped in the toilet, etc). Heck, some companies even put water-contact indicators (white dots that turn red when water touches them, made by 3M I think) on their phones to keep people from using the phone's warranty to cover water-related damage.

And if you're spending this much on a phone, it's a pretty cool feature. Also, wouldn't it be possible for Apple to create a portable version of the charger, maybe using a magnet to hold the end of the cable "in place"?

What do you think?

Edit: Consider MagSafe, for example...Apple developed this and implemeted it for a (while very cool) relatively (although I know people to whom it's happened) uncommon way of hurting your laptop. I think water-damage to your phone is more likely than tripping on a cord and bringing down your laptop. It would be in line with Apple's previous thinking about how to help you protect your investment.
 
Nonoche said:
well the patent says that "Furthermore, inductively based systems are more robust than electrical contacts. For example, there are no contacts to wear out and/or oxidize." and "The combination of inductance and wireless provides an efficient way to transfer both power and data while keeping both the docking station and portable electronic device fully enclosed."
Click to expand...

Yup, there's no point in wireless power unless you have the wireless data syncing as well.

(Chances are the battery would have died long before the contacts wore out/oxidized anyway, but that's another story! ;) )
 
reyesmac said:
I like all these far out technologies they are working on for future devices. I just wish they could use all that skill they have to make things cheaper instead of adding value that people arent really asking for. These features are great but they are not what existing customers of phones are wanting. All these things just make Apple products different and more expensive.
Click to expand...

Look even at the (low end) MacBook and you have lots of features that once would have been considered extravagent extras, Magsafe, Front Row & remote, iSight etc.

Apple always has strived to be at the cutting edge, with all the features slowly trickling down the product line to it's "budget" models. They couldn't survive simply manufacturing bland phones/Macs/music players and trying to make them cheaper than anyone else.
 
what's the big deal

Got a cordless phone from Sony Japan and Pioneer a decade ago that charges by induction. sure it's nice, but it's not new and nothing that needs a patent. i suppose this is one of the hundreds of patents Apple boasted about in the introduction keynote.
 
motulist said:
My gosh man! Are you guys from the future?! I can't imagine a more fantastically out of this world idea than the ideas you guys are comming up with. Imagine having everything that gets put on your desk automatically charged and synced wirelessly. No wires to the keyboard, no wires to the mouse, just chuck your ipod or iphone on the desk and it starts charging and pops up in your itunes library.

Ladies and gentlemen, the future is nigh.
Click to expand...
This idea has been blabbered around since the first induction inventions came out several years ago. Actually, each time a company launches a product based on induction recharging, they mention this idea... Its *so* not new.
 
SonicCare

Much like my Sonic Care tooth brush. Obviously there is no "data" to transfer to the soniccare toothbrush, but the charging cradle has no connectors on neither the tooth brush nor the cradle. I've always thought that was interesting.
 
Wait until you see what I'm going to file...

"Mechanical devices that rotate about their central axis used under heavy objects to reduce friction when moving over ground. These devices have the unique geometric property the every point on the outer edge in equidistant from the point of rotation (See diagram 1.0) We shall refer to these devices as "wheels" below. .....
 
ChrisA said:
Wait until you see what I'm going to file...

"Mechanical devices that rotate about their central axis used under heavy objects to reduce friction when moving over ground. These devices have the unique geometric property the every point on the outer edge in equidistant from the point of rotation (See diagram 1.0) We shall refer to these devices as "wheels" below. .....
Click to expand...

:eek: You sooo stole my idea! :p

While it's nothing new, the tech would be cool to see in devices. Finally: an actual wireless computer! (on the outside, anyways)
 
I was hoping for the same thing.. I think Apple only showed off what they NEEDED to show off for the iPhone, and I'm really hoping that there's more then just what they showed.. like this.

Or if this isn't in the iPhone, put it in the next iPod please!
 
Wireless power source?

If the iPhone will be able to charge and/or transmit data from a few meters away, how far away are we from having one central power source in the home and all appliances and electronic devices are powered wirelessly from that? Electric receptacles would be a thing of the past. It might be expensive, but would it be feasible?
 
Does anyone have any experience with inductive data transfer? I was under the impression that it worked, but was extremely slow compared to wired and even RF wireless connections. That would be a major issue for iPod syncing, but would be ideal for contact information updates and such.

ammonihah99: All current inductive devices I'm aware of have an extremely limited range. Definately not more than a meter, most within inches. Things appear to be moving in the universal power supply direction, but I doubt we'll see anything like that for decades.
 
Gimzotoy said:
Does anyone have any experience with inductive data transfer? I was under the impression that it worked, but was extremely slow compared to wired and even RF wireless connections. That would be a major issue for iPod syncing, but would be ideal for contact information updates and such.

ammonihah99: All current inductive devices I'm aware of have an extremely limited range. Definately not more than a meter, most within inches. Things appear to be moving in the universal power supply direction, but I doubt we'll see anything like that for decades.
Click to expand...


I stayed in a hotel once where they served the internet over power.It got around 768K in both directions.Plenty enough bandwidth to synch a device.
 
Speaking of wireless, I wish Apple would just make a good set of "shuffle headphones". By that I mean a good quality light headphone with the shuffle built into the headband. You don't need to look at a shuffle to operate it, so it doesn't matter if the controls are on top of your head.

I'm sick and tired of getting headphones ripped off my head or earbuds ripped out of my ears because the cord got snagged on something.
 
Peace said:
I stayed in a hotel once where they served the internet over power.It got around 768K in both directions.Plenty enough bandwidth to synch a device.
Click to expand...

But that's not the same. BPL uses OFDM modulation over the lines in a house or building. It needs to be plugged into the wiring to work. This device is using, I assume, magnetic induction since another poster mentioned that the patent application discusses Philip's Sonicare toothbrush. This allows wireless transmission of power and data, whereas BPL does not.
 
I wonder if they can use this for laptops.

I totaly dislike all the cables coming out of my laptop, some are from the left, some from the right, messy tangle of wires.

If they can create a docking station that powers the laptop and transfer data between the laptop and base station, then the base station can deal with the differences between the device types (video, sound, USB, Firewire, Ethernet).

Now I would love that!!!!!
Drop and work.
:rolleyes:
 
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