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Radio Transparent Materials in iPhone?

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Apr 12, 2001
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Hrmpf reports on Apple's latest patent application which depicts the previous iPod mini casing but with particular attention paid to the materials used in the enclosure.

According to the patent application, Apple suggests the use of Zirconia as a radio-transparent material for part the enclosure:

A portable computing device capable of wireless communications, the portable computing device comprising: an enclosure that surrounds and protects the internal operational components of the portable computing device, the enclosure including a structural wall formed from a ceramic material that permits wireless communications through.
Click to expand...

Consideration for radio-transparent material is to allow cellular/mobile phone functionality from the device itself. This is simply further evidence that Apple has been actively considering wireless integration with current iPod devices.

Current iPhone rumors suggest a target date of the first half of 2007 for the possibility of such a device.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2006/11/30/radio-transparent-materials-in-iphone/
Whether or not these things ever become products, it always interesting to get a glimpse of what Apple is thinking about / experimenting with.
 
Couldn't this just be fore iPods that have wifi syncing or a built-in FM transmitter?

I didn't read the full patent, but does it mention anything specific to phone functionality?
 
Wait - what is principally new in this patent? I am not getting it. A radio-transparent enclosure? But isn't plastic radio-transparent already? Or are they patenting Zirconia for enclosure material?
 
Portable Computing Device = PCD, PCD = Pussycat Dolls

Will we see Apple teaming up with the Pussycat Dolls to launch a new music-enabled iPhone? I hope so! :)

luv ya bunches! xoxoxo
 
hayesk said:
Couldn't this just be fore iPods that have wifi syncing or a built-in FM transmitter?

I didn't read the full patent, but does it mention anything specific to phone functionality?
Click to expand...

If you go to the link it talks about GSM and dual/tri/quad functionality.


I think it's a great idea, and would help with signal strength, now if they incorporate this into their laptops/desktops, would this mean better signal strength with 802.11 devices/bluetooth? Interesting...

-Corran Horn

edit: dang it notjustjay you beat me to it. :)
 
jsw said:
...or trying to prevent others from capitalizing upon. ;)
Click to expand...

this may be the case, but it still bugs me when companies use the patent system this way. the system was designed to protect inventions/inventors, not to prevent people from inventing.
 
nsbio said:
Wait - what is principally new in this patent? I am not getting it. A radio-transparent enclosure? But isn't plastic radio-transparent already? Or are they patenting Zirconia for enclosure material?
Click to expand...

Can they patent the making of anything with a material that already exists? That's stupid, and this type of patent is just as bad as the ones Apple seems to get sued over. We'd be complaining if Apple was sued over using "a plastic enclosure for a portable music or media device". :rolleyes:
 
I think it's noteworthy that this patent was filed on August 7, 2006. That's not even four months ago. If I'm not mistaken that's right around the time of that famous conference call where Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple wasn't "...sitting around doing nothing."

So maybe there is some truth to the recent resurgence of the iPhone rumors. Then again, maybe they're just playing with technologies and thinking up cool stuff...
 
If Apple doesn't at release a cell phone at MacWorld '07, they better say something either at it or shortly thereafter because all these investors aren't going to like going on rumors forever. If Apple once again stays silent on its cell phone intentions, I'd look for their stock to take a dive back to where it was.
 
Nuclear Fuel rod material!

Wow, Apple is going to make they're cell phone out of the same stuff that Nuclear Fuel rods are made out of! Cool!

"Zirconium is primarily used in nuclear reactors due to its resistance to corrosion and low neutron cross-section."

from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zirconium
 
Madmic23 said:
Wow, Apple is going to make they're cell phone out of the same stuff that Nuclear Fuel rods are made out of! Cool!
Click to expand...

Not exactly... It actually looks like the patent talks of using Zirconia, which is an oxide of Zirconium. The patent doesn't spell out what sort of oxide (cubic zirconia - like what's used to make fake diamonds) or a different derivative. Zirconia maintains the low molecular cross-section of natural Zirconium, but doesn't have its volatile characteristics. I haven't read through the entire patent, but skimming through 2/3rds of what I've seen, I'm not exactly sure what they are actually trying to patent. You can't specifically patent the use of a given material (gold, zirconium or whatever) to construct something. The material has to have a specific property for the application and even then it's a stretch if the property is already known. It would be like filing for a patent on using gold to make speaker wire because it's a really, really good conductor, it won't fly... However, if it's a man-made material - like a zirconium alloy, the molecular make-up of that material can be patented. And the design of a new cell-phone or iPod enclosure can be patented. To me it looks like the details of this patent are a few years old and they're simply patenting the enclosure design and the fact that Zirconia is mentioned as a construction material is irrelevent, but kinda curious. Processesed zirconia would have a much more radio-transparent nature than a traditional plastic or metal enclosure and it can be made in just about any color and level of transparency so it can look like chrome or pure silicon, even with a colored tint or transparent and with proper faceting could be refractive and look like your little device is carved out of a gemstone. It would also be rather durable too...

Back on the subject of the patents... Apple has been filing several patents lately and many appear to detail older products or concepts and designs that hint of older products. We're probably going to see some more patents with some newer ideas too... My guess is that Apple is starting to dump a lot of their concepts to the patent offices and some will contain concepts that they will be using in upcoming products and others are just bunk. Keeps the competition guessing about what they're doing... And many of the key concepts of these patents may be completely bogus, but Apple could be really just wanting something recorded that holds a simple statement within the text. With the exception of some possible hiddent tidbits, I'd wager that this patent application is entirely bogus.
 
I don't much see the point in this for a portable device, given that the housing may be RF transparent but your body certainly won't be... If it's a phone, it'll have your hand wrapped around it and your head on the other side, if it's an iPod it's got a display and touch wheel on one side and your hip on the other.

A captured antenna would look slick, but... I dunno, maybe I'm just being grumpy after a long day...
 
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