Aug 11

Nintendo patent filing reveals inflatable cushion controller for horse riding, shark jumping

Posted in: nintendo, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili, wii

“For centuries throughout the world, horseback riding has captured the imagination of adventurous people. In the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, the horse was a symbol of power. In medieval Europe and Japan, horses were essential for quick movement across large distances and were often used in warfare. In the American wild west, the horse was a cowboy’s constant companion and a symbol of self-reliance and adventure.”

– Nintendo patent application, building up to… an inflatable cushion for your Wiimote. Really.

[Via Joystiq]

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Nintendo patent filing reveals inflatable cushion controller for horse riding, shark jumping originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 10

Creative patent filing reveals drag and drop interface with “action tabs”

Posted in: patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili, touchscreen

Creative’s made itself pretty well acquainted with the FCC as of late, and it looks like it’s also been doing its part to keep the old Patent and Trademark Office busy as well, with a recently revealed application showing off some plans for a drag and drop touchscreen interface. That’s obviously somewhat of a tricky area to patent, but it seems that Creative’s big new idea is something called “action tabs” that could be used for something as simple as tabbed web browsing, but would apparently also be applied to other OS elements as well — letting you drag something to the clipboard, for instance, or drag a photo to an action item of some sort. Just as interesting as the patent itself, however, is the fact that it’s assigned to Creative subsidiary 3DLABS, now known as ZiiLABS, makers of the touchscreen-based Zii EGG. Like we said, interesting.

[Via Tech in Hiding]

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Creative patent filing reveals drag and drop interface with “action tabs” originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 06

Apple patent application promises means to detect gadget abuse

Posted in: Apple, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, sensor, Today's Chili

Apple’s already put liquid submersion sensors in some of its recent products, but a recent patent application seems to suggest that it has some considerably grander plans in mind to detect and prevent gadget abuse. Described as a “Consumer Abuse Detection System and Method,” the new system would apparently make use of a whole range of sensors to various issues that might void the warranty of the device, like exposure to extreme cold or heat, drops, or submersion in liquid. What’s more, unlike the current liquid sensors that simply change color when something bad happens, the new system would apparently store the damage digitally in memory which, presumably, wouldn’t be as susceptible to damage as the device itself. The system would also apparently do its best to protect the devices by disabling them if it detects some imminent danger, although Apple doesn’t make any bones about the fact that it’s primarily designed to save money on returned products that have been abused by the user.

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Apple patent application promises means to detect gadget abuse originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 05

RIM patent filing reveals hybrid capacitive / resistive touchscreens

Posted in: capacitive, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, RIM, Today's Chili, touchscreen

RIM’s no stranger to playing different tricks with touchscreens, and it looks like it may have another up its sleeve, with a recent patent application revealing some plans for a hybrid capacitive / resistive touchscreen. As you might expect, the idea here is to take the best aspects from each and form one super touchscreen, which would have the general usability and “goodness” of capacitive displays, and the added benefits of a resistive screen, like better support for stylus-based input. Of course, such a screen would also likely eliminate one of the biggest advantages of resistive displays — their cost-effectiveness — so it seems safe to assume that it’d be reserved for higher-end phones to start with.

[Via Unwired View]

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RIM patent filing reveals hybrid capacitive / resistive touchscreens originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 26

Apple patent filing details “touch and go” USB devices

Posted in: Apple, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili, touch, usb

We already caught sight of a whole batch of Apple patent applications earlier this month, but it looks like the company still has a few more big ideas up its sleeve, which may or may not actually come to fruition. The most interesting of those is what’s described as a “Portable Device Capable of Initiating Disengagement from Host System,” or a “touch and go” system as AppleInsider calls it. That, as you may be able to discern, is essentially a touch sensor tied to a USB drive or other USB device, which would be able to sense when you touch it (or even when you’re about to touch it, apparently), and then disconnect the device from the computer before you’re able to cause any data corruption. Better still, the system could apparently also double as a fingerprint sensor in some implementations, and completely lock down the device if an unauthorized user grabs it.

[Via AppleInsider]

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Apple patent filing details “touch and go” USB devices originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 03

Apple’s ‘active packaging’ patent application tries to reinvent the box

Posted in: Apple, firmware, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili

Electronics packaging has been growing steadily smaller and less annoying over recent times, but here comes Apple adding complexity where we didn’t know it was needed. The bright sparks at Cupertino envision powered, data-transmitting boxes that will ensure the device within is fully juiced, packing the latest firmware, and capable of pumping out video demos so that the packaging needn’t get in the way of wooing customers. Sure, up-to-date firmware and a full battery sound nice, but we can’t help but wonder about the price premium we’d have to swallow to be able to see our new toy dancing before we’ve even set it free from its box.

[Via Phone Arena]

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Apple’s ‘active packaging’ patent application tries to reinvent the box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 02

Apple patent applications offer glimpses of haptic screens, RFID readers, fingerprint ID

Posted in: Apple, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili

Alright, so you know the drill by now. A patent application doesn’t necessarily mean an actual product is on the way — but it’s always fun to speculate, right? And this latest trio of applications from Apple certainly provides plenty of speculation fodder. The most notable of the lot is an application for a “multi-touch display screen with localized tactile feedback,” which Apple seems to be at least considering as a possibility for the iPhone (or iPod touch). Like some similar systems, Apple’s application covers a screen that uses a grid of piezoelectric actuators that can be activated at will to provide vibrational feedback when you touch the screen. Apple even goes so far as to use a virtual click wheel on an iPhone as an example. Other patent applications include a fairly self-explanatory RFID reader embedded in a touch screen, and a fingerprint identification system that could not only be used for security, but to identify individual fingers as an input method — for instance, letting you use your index finger for play/stop and your middle finger to fast forward.

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Apple patent applications offer glimpses of haptic screens, RFID readers, fingerprint ID originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 18

Sony Ericsson bracelet phone concept unearthed in patent app

Posted in: cellphone, concept, patent application, PatentApplication, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili

Yeah, we can probably safely leave this one in the file we found it in: you know, the one marked “never going to happen.” Regardless, when we spied this little dude on Unwired View, we thought we’d pass along the weirdness. Unearthed in a Sony Ericsson patent application mysteriously dubbed “Mobile Terminal,” what we have here is a bracelet mobile phone concept, sort of reminiscent of LG’s infamous GD910 watch phone. This one’s got some added fun in the form of keys on the side of the wristband for a fuller typing experience. Like we said, it’s never going to happen, but that won’t really stop us from hoping.

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Sony Ericsson bracelet phone concept unearthed in patent app originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

J Allard’s ‘Magic Wand’ patent application for Microsoft puts Nintendo, sorcerers on notice

Posted in: controller, e3, Microsoft, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili, xbox, xbox 360, Xbox360

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from J Allard; the man who assumed responsibility for Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division (think: Zune and Xbox) in mid 2008 in an effort to unify the experience into a centralized package. Now Microsoft’s CTO and CXO (that’s, Chief eXperience Office) has co-signed a patent application for a “Magic Wand” first filed in November of 2007 and made public just a few days ago. The patent application reads very much like a Wiimote, hand-held controller,

“The architecture can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation.”

It’s worth remembering that Microsoft has been rumored to be working on such a controller since at least August 2007. Something they’ve apparently scrapped for a camera-based solution that will allow gamers to control the action with their bodies and hand-gestures without requiring a hand-held controller — you know, if current rumors are true. How many days until Microsoft’s June 1st E3 press conference again?

[Via TechFlash]

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J Allard’s ‘Magic Wand’ patent application for Microsoft puts Nintendo, sorcerers on notice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 May 2009 03:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Apple ponders kiosk-style movie and music downloads

Posted in: Apple, itunes, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili

This is not the first time we’ve heard talk of an Apple media download kiosk, nor does it seem any more plausible this time around, but who knows? According to patent docs dredged up by Apple Insider and dating back to the halcyon days of late 2007, the company has certainly put some thought into this, detailing a wireless iTunes station that would allow users to access the iTunes store on the go, using a “virtual physical connection” to the player. As for the kiosk, it would both access media stored locally (perennial faves and new releases) and the rest of the iTunes store over its Internet connection, with users ponying up by either providing their iTunes account credentials or by credit card. Not a bad idea, eh? Well, we won’t hold our breath. One more pic for you after the jump, jump, jump…

[Via Apple Insider]

Continue reading Apple ponders kiosk-style movie and music downloads

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Apple ponders kiosk-style movie and music downloads originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 May 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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