Apple wins patent for NFC replacement technology and location services

　　NFC alternative technology patent

　　Beijing time, October 17th evening news, the US Patent and Trademark Office today announced a series of Apple's latest patents, including NFC alternative technology, location services and digital cameras and other related technology patents.

　　Currently, NFC (Near Field Communication) is one of the most popular technologies for sharing information between two mobile devices. Apple has also made a lot of efforts in this regard, but at the same time, Apple is also developing new alternative technologies.

　　According to a patent recently obtained by Apple, network device discovery is performed by monitoring the compass output of a portable electronic device. When a portable device and another external device are close to each other, a magnetic field signature is captured, and the signature is processed to determine whether the signature is related to the approaching electronic device. In other words, when two devices are close to each other, their respective magnetic characteristics cause the compass output to change, which means that a network device discovery program should be initiated between the two devices.

　　When a change in compass output is detected, it can be compared to previously stored compass outputs. The previously stored compass pattern that best matches the newly detected compass output pattern will be selected to perform the network device discovery process. For example, if the detected compass output pattern matches a particular smartphone, the WiFi or Bluetooth function of the portable device will be activated.

　　The patent was filed in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the inventors are Patrick Piemonte, Ronald Huang and Parin Patel.

　　iPhone location service patent

The content of this patent mainly includes: detecting a photo appearing on a device; detecting the geographic location of the current device; and providing relevant information based on the detected geographic location.

　　The patent was filed in the first quarter of 2008 and the inventors are Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall and his team.

　　Photo technology patent

　　Apple says that properly focusing the optical image on the image sensor can improve image clarity. The removable lens system can achieve manual or automatic focus, but most smartphones do not have such a feature because it not only consumes battery power but also adds weight to the phone.

　　The patent obtained by Apple can improve the clarity or quality of the image at a lower cost, mainly through a device shell. The shell integrates a digital camera sensor, a lens and a sensor for detecting the distance. The device selects a point distribution function (PSF) based on the detected distance (between the shell and the object), which is used to avoid blurring of the captured image. In this way, users will exclude high-quality photos.

　　The patent was filed in the third quarter of 2008 and the inventor is Michael Yeh.