Technology Companies Which Tops the Innovation List This Year Till Date Including IBM and Samsung

We all agree that technology is changing as the time goes by. If a new technology has been innovated by someone or some company normally they will file it for a patent. From the list, we can know whether that someone or that company is having the most technology that has been patented of and we can say that they are being innovative. Starting from January to May this year, it seems like IBM tops the list by 3059 patents awarded while Samsung follows closely by 3052 patents awarded.

Apple on the other hand, listed in 11^th position of the list with 780 patents awarded. It seems like the company is going through a tough year this year as for the past years, Apple has been in the top 10 for the number of patents that the company has filed. Canon is in the third place with 1782 patents awarded while LG takes fourth position with 1484 patents. Google occupied the fifth place with 1083 patents awarded.

It seems like the changes in patent laws are having an effect on the number of patents granted. Unfortunately, it reduces the number of patents awarded. However, if we take a look at the medium to long term period, this may eventually reduce the number of lawsuits between technology companies.

Technology Companies Which Tops the Innovation List This Year Till Date Including IBM and Samsung

Xiaomi patents new fingerprint scanning technology, may use it in Xiaomi Mi5

We had heard rumors a few months back that Xiaomi Mi5 will have a fingerprint scanner on its home button similar to iPhone 6 or Samsung Galaxy S6. Now we have a report that the Chinese mobile maker has registered a patent application for new fingerprint scanning technology.

According to the Chinese website news.mydrivers, Xiaomi has filed a patent that has been published by the State Intellectual Property Office, China for a method for fingerprint implementation on touch buttons of mobile devices. There is a possibility that this new fingerprint scanning method will be used by Xiaomi in its next flagship Mi5. Xiaomi currently does not have this technology and if it gets the patent, the company can use its own fingerprint scanning technology in its next flagship.

The patent is primarily for integration of fingerprint recognition on touch buttons, using a glass layer over the touch button to provide protection, impart structural strength and improve the aesthetics. As we know, Apple has made use of sapphire glass for protecting its Touch ID technology inside the home button.

The English translation of other details mentioned in the patent application is as follows:

“The device comprises a bottom fingerprint sensors and optical sensor provided in the terminal equipment of the cover glass; fingerprint identification circuit connected fingerprint sensor for fingerprint recognition sensor and the fingerprint information analysis and processing, obtain fingerprint analysis ; host processor, and an optical sensor and fingerprint identification circuit connections for the monitored optical sensor light information received to determine whether cover glass touch button operation; identity authentication based on fingerprint analysis results obtained fingerprint identification circuit.”

Xiaomi Mi 5 is expected to feature a 5.2-inch 1440 x 2560 pixels QHD display, a quad-core 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 processor with Adreno 420 GPU, a 3GB of RAM, 16GB/64GB of built-in storage, a 16MP rear camera, an 8MP front-facing camera and a 3,600 mAh battery.

Xiaomi patents new fingerprint scanning technology, may use it in Xiaomi Mi5

Samsung’s next smartwatch could sport a much more flexible display that could turn into a smartphone!

The South Korean giant Samsung has been working on curved and flexible display technology for several years now. Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch, Galaxy S6 edge and  Galaxy Note Edge all have curved displays but the company is working to achieve something much more than that.

A new patent filed by Samsung has been revealed by the US Patent and Trademark office. It shows a device with a great amount of flexibility. This new invention is a wearable device that can transform from a curved wrist band to a flat device like a smartphone.

 

It can be seen in the pic above that the device can be wrapped around a wrist like a smartwatch or a smartband. However, when it is removed, it becomes flat and can work just like any regular smartphone. The device will support phone calls as well as other multimedia functions like games etc.

The device consists of a flexible display panel, a transparent protection panel and a touch panel for inputs. The body will have a processor, an input-output unit, a communication module and an image and audio processing unit.

Several small segments would be connected together sequentially below the OLED screen so that they are rotatable and can curl up into a bracelet form to fit on the wrist of the wearer. They could also straighten up into a flat shape to become a smartphone.

According to PatentlyMobile, Samsung has filed this patent application in the third quarter of 2014 but it is not known when this product will come into the market. It is a cool concept though.

 

Samsung’s next smartwatch could sport a much more flexible display that could turn into a smartphone!

Huawei-Telecom company from China Tops International Patent Filing:WIPO

According to report by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), Huawei, one of Chinese telecom company has topped the list as the applicant for international patents in 2014. Huawei was followed by Qualcomm Inc (San Diego-based chipmaker) as the second leading applicant and ZTE Corp as the third leading applicant. ZTE Corp topped the list in 2012.

The report was often seen as the barometer to measure a country’s technological progress.  In the past recent year, China was the only country to see double-digit growth although U.S. companies led by far. Japan which was known as the country of high-tech and automotive powerhouse saw its total filing slide during the last few years.

During the past few years, Chinese government has helped the country to shift from being low-priced cheap goods manufacturer to the level where its technology companies have filled the largest number of patent filling. On top of that the Chinese government has also made some improvement on the IP enforcement within its legal system.

In the future, Huawei’s Chief Executive Ken Hu has made statement that the company will spend $600 million on 5G wireless research and development from 2013 to 2018.

Huawei-Telecom company from China Tops International Patent Filing:WIPO

Apple gets patent for a VR headset that uses an iPhone for VR display

Apple has recently been awarded a patent for a VR headset that uses iPhone which serves as a virtual reality display. The headset is similar to Samsung’s Gear VR, Facebook’s Oculus VR or the Google cardboard.

The patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is titled “Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display” which is described as head-mounted display system to which a portable electronic device having a screen such as a smartphone, could be physically coupled. The iPhone mounted in the headset would communicate with it through connectors and act as a virtual reality display in front of the wearer’s eyes. According to the patent, coupling the iPhone with the headset “temporarily integrates the separate devices into a single unit.” The gadget would have an optional remote to control the VR experience.

Although granted recently, Apple had filed the patent application way back in 2008 which shows that the Cupertino giant was considering the VR headset project long back, even before the Gear VR or Google Cardboard projects were announced. Apple’s VR headset would work in a similar manner. You could insert your iPhone or iPod inside the headset frame and enjoy watching videos. The headset offers a picture-in-picture feature that allows you to watch your surroundings at the same time.

Various additional features could be incorporated into the headset such as additional memory; spare batteries; controls such as buttons, switches, dials, touch pads or screens; camera, antenna, receiver, microphone, speakers, cooling system and much more. The headset and the portable device would extend their capabilities to one another enhancing the user experience.

If Apple does decide to build its own VR headset, it will no doubt be an excellent one and would provide tough competition to other similar gadgets out there. On the other hand, although it has applied for patents, Apple hasn’t shown much interest in building such a device yet.

Source USPTO

Via Appleinsider

Apple gets patent for a VR headset that uses an iPhone for VR display

New USPTO Patents Awarded in 2104

The annual tabulation of the top US patent recipients for 2014 was released on Monday 12 Jan 2015 by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. IFI CLAIMS Patent Services is the leading producer of global patent databases, analytic solutions and innovative web services. The awards were given to global companies and organizations that receive the most utility patents from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The annual U.S patent grants are apparently growing in 2014 as it increases to more than 8 percent higher than the other years. IBM takes place at the top of the list, garnering 7534 patents and up 10.6 percents over 2013. IBM has been in the first place for 22 consecutive years.

Samsung takes place as number 2 in the list with 4952 patents and up 5.9 percents than earlier year. The third place is taken by Canon while the forth place is taken by Sony and the fifth place is by Microsoft. Apple surprisingly is taking place at the eleventh place.

One of the patents for Samsung is a phone with an aspect of 21:9 whereas Apple received a patent for internal changes to the iPhone that would allow it to land on a less vulnerable part of the device when it hits the floor.

Google showing a big jump and takes place as number 8 in the list. USPTO has awarded more than 300,000 patents last year proving that innovation is not dead yet.

 

New USPTO Patents Awarded in 2104

Apple’s new patents hint at plans to add public transit Commute App to Apple Maps

The current Apple Maps app doesn’t have the public transit info incorporated into it. Public transit commuters get no help from Apple Maps when they want to travel by bus, train or other public transport. Now it looks like Apple wants to add this feature to its Maps app as a couple of new patents filed by Apple with the US Patent and Trademark Office reveal.

Since long, there have been rumors that Apple would add the public transit feature to its Apple Maps in its iOS but it didn’t happen in iOS 6. However, a programming interface was added to iOS 6 through which 3rd party apps could link into Apple Maps to provide transit directions to commuters. Even the iOS 8 didn’t get this feature, maybe because it was not ready by then.

Now, as the individual app cannot be updated singly, the public transit commuters will have to wait till the next iOS i.e. the iOS 9 is out. Apple’s new patents published by the US Patent office are titled “User Interface Tools for Commute Assistant” and “Location-Based Features for Commute Assistant”. These patents reveal that Apple is developing a “Commute Application” that provides different travel routes, scheduled stops, arrival/departure times, current statuses, automatic updates, the ability to select a route and much more.

The app will guide a user to go from one place to another using public transportation. A user will be able to save the routes he chooses, to his smartphone and get alerts for delays. He will also be able to find the transit lines located nearby.

Apple has already acquired several mapping and navigating companies such as HopStop, BroadMap, Locationary, Emabark etc. and this will certainly help the company. Google Maps is offering such a feature since long. The Apple patents don’t mention specifically that the Commute App is for Apple Maps but it is expected that this new app will go into the Apple Maps and such a move will definitely help the commuters who use public transportation.

 

Via PhoneArena, tom’sGUIDE

Apple’s new patents hint at plans to add public transit Commute App to Apple Maps

Apple & Google Workout patents dispute!`

Patents issue all set to be resolved!

Apple and Google’s Motorola Mobility had patents litigation issues which the companies have seemed to resolve mutually. A joint announcement was made on Late Friday US time regarding this. However this doesn’t allow either company to use licenses of the other company. However the most fascinating part of this resolution is that both the companies would be working in revising few patents. Well almost everyone who reads news regularly knows that Google took over Motorola Mobility in $12.5 Billion in 2011. However things didn’t go all that well and Google had sold off the handset section of the company to Lenovo in the first quarter of this year. Most of the patents were reserved by Google though.

Coming back to the current patent issue, the latest deal would solve most cases that were pending between Apple and Google. But this won’t have any impact on the Apple – Samsung War. The judgments that were passed in favor of Apple against Samsung have not been implemented yet and one of them is still under appeal.

Apple and Motorola Mobility accused each other of infringing patents back in 2010 which were combined into a single case and were ruled off by Judge Richard Posner. An appeals court ruled last month that Apple can seek Sales ban against Motorola Mobility and the case now seems closed after this mutual consent resolution. We will keep updating you on this hot issue and keep watching this space for updates!

Apple & Google Workout patents dispute!`