Hasta La Gadget!

Remember when Apple’s Phil Schiller mentioned he wasn’t into wireless charging? Well, what he specifically said was that he didn’t dig “having to create another [charging] device you have to plug into the wall.” In other words, Apple is probably looking for a simpler way to make the idea work — and that’s exactly what we’re looking at in the patent drawings above, which are currently being weighed up by the USPTO after having been submitted back in 2011. They show an iPad‘s Smart Cover tricked out with an “inductive power transmitter” arranged to “wirelessly pass power” to a receiver housed within the tablet itself. The application mainly focuses on the use of magnetic attachments to trigger charging when the cover is closed, but it looks like the ultimate goal might be to use the cover as an additional battery that can keep an iPad charged up while it’s on the move. That certainly sounds practical enough — and it’d do away with the need for an additional charging accessory, which ought to keep Schiller happy for a while.

Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Apple

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Source: USPTO

The decision to invest in an electric vehicle would be much easier to justify if the car in question offered unlimited range. That appears to be the concept behind a Toyohashi University research group’s wireless power prototype, which can successfully transmit electricity through a 10 centimeter-thick concrete block. During a demonstration in Yokohama, Japan, the team sent between 50 and 60 watts of power through a pair of concrete blocks to two tires, which then juiced up a light bulb (you can see the rig just above). The project is called EVER (Electric Vehicle on Electrified Roadway), and could someday be used to keep cars moving along a highway without any need to pull over for a recharge, thanks to a constant stream of electricity coming from below the road. There are some serious obstacles to overcome before EVER can get some wheels turning — namely, a need to pump nearly 100 times the current maximum load through concrete that’s twice as thick as what they’ve managed today, not to mention improving undisclosed efficiency levels — but the group reportedly said that it’s up to the task, making us fairly optimistic that such a solution could one day get us from A to B without petrol. Until then, you’ll probably want to plan out a pit stop or two before you leave the garage.

Japanese group transmits electricity through 4-inch concrete block, could power cars on roads originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jul 2012 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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