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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 36 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover the patents behind Unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch and the Apple Watch series 7 minimized display border. And as always, we wrap up this week’s granted patent report with our traditional listing of the remaining granted patents that were issued to Apple today.
Unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch
Apple was granted a patent today titled “Remote interaction with a device using secure range detection,” which translates to an Apple Watch unlocking a Mac.
Apple notes that in order to provide a balance of security and convenience, a trusted device (e.g., key fobs, mobile devices, wearable devices, etc.) may be used to unlock (or otherwise modify a security state) a target device. For example, a locked target device may automatically unlock in the presence of a trusted device, or may otherwise accept commands from the trusted device (e.g., via user input) to unlock the target device, allowing a user to avoid having to manually interact with the target device to unlock it.
However, in the case of wireless protocols, the communications between the devices are susceptible to attackers who can capture the transmitted data and use it to spoof the proximity of a trusted device without having to break an encryption scheme that is commonly used for such communications.
Apple’s solution provides more secure methods for detecting the range of a trusted device before allowing the trusted device to unlock a target device.
Apple’s patent FIG. 8 below illustrates an example of a proxy device that assists in establishing a connection between a target device and a trusted device; FIG. 16 illustrates an access-accelerant process that may be performed by an accelerant module of a device
For more details, review Apple’s granted patent 11,250,118.
Apple Watch: Full Screen Ahead
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Apple was granted a patent today titled “Single-Step Extrusion of Fiber Optic Plates for Electronic Devices.” Apple’s summary of the patent states that a fiber optic plate guides and expands image light from the display and thereby expand the effective size of images on the display. The expanded image size helps cover peripheral housing structures and minimizes the size of display borders.
Apple’s patent FIG. 1 below is a side view of an illustrative Apple Watch device with a fiber optic plate; FIG. 8 is a top view of an illustrative fiber optic plate showing how fiber deformation may increase from the center of the fiber optic plate towards the edges of the fiber optic plate.
To review Apple’s highly technical granted patent #11,247,421, click here.
The Remaining Patents Granted to Apple Today
