Apple seeks wireless charging ecosystem for MacBook, iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch

Apple is investigating integrating multiple inductive charging coils into MacBooks and iPads for use as wireless chargers for other devices, according to a patent filed by Apple.

The patent, spotted by Obviously Apple, is titled “Inductive Charging Between Electronic Devices” and has been awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple has been researching device-to-device inductive charging technology since March 2016, when patents now granted on it were first filed. It should be noted that Apple seems particularly interested in this area, filing multiple patents relating to the technology, and it has now filed 40 new claims.

This patent shows how all of Apple’s mobile devices, including Apple Watches, iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks together could use a wireless charging ecosystem. The images included in the patent show a significant number of different coil placements for a range of portable Apple devices to facilitate this system.

Apple has a wide variety of possible implementations for device-to-device wireless charging. For example, the lid of a MacBook might contain a series of inductive coils facing upwards, allowing devices to charge while sitting on it. Coils can also be placed on the palm rests and trackpad of a MacBook.

Importantly, the wireless charging system is two-way, with devices capable of both receiving and transmitting power through inductive coils, allowing users to choose which device is charged. It can also be determined automatically by software based on the device with the highest load.

Apple’s proposed strategy seems to be to incorporate carefully positioned inductive charging coils on every Apple mobile device. For example, the patent explains how the coils could be placed along the front and back of an iPad, allowing it to be charged wirelessly on one side while transmitting the charge to another device from the other side. The proposed system is therefore highly interchangeable, with a large number of combinations of devices and possible locations.

There’s even the suggestion that a collection of Apple devices could be charged together from a single power source. One image shows an Apple Watch being charged from an iPhone, the iPhone‌ from an ‌iPad‌, the iPad‌ from a MacBook, and the MacBook from a power cable. Text accompanying the image indicates “that only one power cord or no power cord may be required to charge one or more of a group of devices that include electrically communicating inductive coils.”

Apple has also considered an assortment of software integrations for the device-to-device wireless charging system. When a smaller device is placed on the screen of a larger device, such as an Apple Watch on the front of an ‌iPad‌, the iPad‌ screen may indicate its “alignment condition” and the percentage of load.

Another more inventive software integration proposes that if the screen of an ‌iPad‌ is obstructed by loading an ‌iPhone‌ on it, the user interface of ‌iPad‌ could adjust to display only the content on the unobstructed part of the computer. screen. There are also provisions for scenarios where the iPhone‌ could be used to display content that has been obstructed on the iPad‌ screen, such as a row of home screen apps.

The patent also repeatedly refers to a system of magnets that could be used to line up devices on top of each other for charging, which appears to be surprisingly similar to Apple’s MagSafe system that was created with the range. iPhone 12.

In some embodiments, the electronic device includes an alignment magnet that is positioned adjacent to the inductive coil. The alignment magnet can be configured to help position the external device relative to the electronic device.

The patent implies that this magnetic alignment system could be used on any of its portable devices to provide a better experience when wireless charging, and it would certainly make sense to expand “ MagSafe ” or a system. MagSafe type to more devices to support this ecosystem of devices. -inductive load on the device. ‌MagSafe‌ is currently only available on the iPhone 12‌ and iPhone 12 Pro.

If Apple incorporated the proposed technology, it would create a unified wireless charging system across all Apple portable devices. The device-to-device inductive charging system seems doable and would help Apple synthesize its otherwise fragmented range of charging methods, but it’s unclear how Apple would deal with the inevitable thermal, penetration, or efficiency issues it would cause. .

The arrival of ‌MagSafe‌ charging on the iPhone 12‌ demonstrates Apple’s interest in wireless charging solutions, and the company’s depth of research shows how well these systems are being considered. Despite this, patents can only serve as proof of what Apple is looking for. They do not necessarily indicate what the company can implement, and the content of many patents never reaches final consumer products.