Several Apple patents have been granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each.

Patent number 7954057 is for an object movie exporter. Methods and apparatuses for compressing and/or transmitting and/or receiving data representing different views of an object are disclosed in the QuickTime VR-related patent.

In one method according to the present invention, the method stores a plurality of frames of an object wherein each of these frames represents a view of the object. The method then assigns a reference number to each of these frames, arranges these frames in a preferred layout, divides the preferred layout into a plurality of blocks having frames sharing spatial similarities, and compresses each of these blocks separately. The inventors are Xiaochun Nie and Christopher L. Flick.

Patent number 7954061 involves the creation and manipulation of Internet location objects in a graphical user interface environment. Per the patent, Internet location objects are created and displayed as icons in a graphical user interface environment. When an object is dragged from within an application into a system window, a drag object describing what is being dragged is passed from the application to the operating system.

Depending on the drag object, the file manager either causes an Internet location object to be created directly or intelligently parses a text string that has been dragged and dropped onto the user desktop to determine whether the text string is likely a URL. If a text string is found to likely be a URL, then an Internet location object is created to contain a URL by transforming the text string into the URL. When the user "opens" an Internet location object, a browser or other program is launched and retrieves the resource identified by the URL stored as part of the Internet location object. Peter Joseph McInerney is the inventor.

Patent number 7954061 involves observing properties associated with an object in an object-oriented programming platform (such as Mac OS X). An application programming interface is provided in an object-oriented programming platform for developing applications. A method comprises registering a first object with a second object to observe one or more properties associated with the second object, the second object having a set of methods associated therewith and replacing a first implementation of a method in the set of methods associated with the second object with a second implementation of the method that automatically sends a notification to the first object.

The observable objects need not explicitly invoke the observer notifications, avoiding writing of a large amount of code. These observer notifications need only be sent for objects that are actually being observed but are related objects, substantially reducing the performance overhead of needless invocations of the observer notifications without limiting binding between objects. The inventors are Ronald D. Lue-Sang, Ali T. Ozer, Mark A. Piccirelli and Andreas W. Wendker.

Patent number 7954064 is for multiple dashboards and again relates to Mac OS X. Per the patent, systems, methods, computer-readable mediums, user interfaces and other implementations are disclosed for organizing, managing and presenting widgets in display areas associated with multiple dashboard environments. In some implementations, a first display area associated with a first dashboard environment is configured for displaying at least one widget from a first set of widgets.

A second display area associated with a second dashboard environment is configured for displaying at least one widget from a second set of widgets. The inventors are Scott Forstall, Imran A. Chaudhri, John O. Louch and Eric Steven Peyton.

Patent number 7954064 concerns Aperture, Apple's software for pro photographers. The patent is for a parameter setting superimposed upon an image. Tools and techniques allow visual media to be edited by superimposing a parameter adjusting mechanism on the visual media itself and adjusting parameter settings based on user input detected by the parameter adjusting mechanism.

In a visual media editing application, the parameter adjusting mechanism is superimposed on visual media so that the user can keep his eyes on the visual media and so that the visual media itself is unobscured by other user interface controls and windows as the user edits it. The user sets control points on the visual media that act as a fixed reference points for subsequent user input. The parameter adjusting mechanism detects subsequent user input calculates new parameter settings based on that input. Melissa Erin Breglio is the inventor.

Patent number 7954047 is for cutting and copying discontiguous selections of cells. In some embodiments, in response to receiving an indication of a selection of a set of cells that does not include only a continuous grid of selected cells and receiving an indication of a selection of a paste destination in which the set of cells is desired to be pasted, the set of cells is pasted in the paste destination in a manner that preserves a respective relative position of each cell in the set.

In some embodiments, if a paste destination is not large enough to accommodate a paste operation, the paste destination is automatically expanding so that it is large enough to accommodate the paste operation. The inventors are Peter Glen Berger, Jay Christopher Capela, Yaniv gur, Roger Rock Rosner, Peter Su and Christopher Douglas Weeldreyer.

Patent number 7952890 involves an interlocking EMI shield. An electromagnetic interference shield system is provided. Each EMI shield may include a frame providing the structure around the electronic device components to be shielded, and a cover operative to be placed over the frame to prevent electromagnetic radiation from passing over the frame. Each frame may be coupled to a circuit board, and enclose electronic components in need of shielding.

Each cover may be coupled to its corresponding frame using at least one snap that extends from the periphery of the cover towards the frame and circuit board. To minimize the space taken by the EMI shields, the snaps of adjacent covers may be offset or staggered so that opposing snaps engage voids left between snaps of the opposing cover, thus reducing the space needed between adjacent EMI shields by up to the width of a snap. Scott Meyers and Erik Wang are the inventors.

Patent number 7953808 is for an automatic notification system and process. According to Apple, receiving a notification message by a mobile subscriber can include establishing a session with a notification service; maintaining a persistent communication connection with the notification service after the session is established; subscribing to a node hosted by the notification service, wherein the node is pre-provisioned for use by a mobile subscriber; and receiving from the notification service a notification message corresponding to the subscribed node.

Further, a message can be transmitted over the communication connection to the notification service at a predetermined interval and it can be determined whether the communication connection is viable. Additionally, it can be determined that the communication connection is no longer viable if no response is received from the notification service, the period of the predetermined interval can be decreased, and another session with the notification service can be established. The inventors are Christopher Brooke Sharp and Brendan A. McCarthy.

Patent number 7952012 involves adjusting a variable tempo of an audio file independent of a global tempo using a digital audio workstation. Per the Logic Studio-related patent, a computer implemented method allows a DAW to adjust a variable tempo of an audio file independent of a global tempo. The method includes causing the display of a musical arrangement having a global tempo. The musical arrangement includes an audio file having a variable tempo which is independent of the global tempo.

The method includes adjusting the variable tempo of the audio file, wherein the variable tempo begins at an initial tempo and adjusts to an end tempo over a set length of time. The method can also include outputting the audio file having the variable tempo in response to a command to play the musical arrangement. Clemens Homburg is the inventor.

Patent number 7950967 is for low profile plugs. Apparatus, systems, and methods for assembling a plug with a low profile for use with an electronic device are provided. In some embodiments, a 4-pin plug may include a diameter similar to the diameter of a 3-pin plug. In some embodiments, the fourth pin may be coupled to the plug such that a portion of the fourth pin may be coupled to any suitable device on an internal surface of the plug.

In some embodiments, the fourth pin may dive into the plug at the same depth as one of the other three pins of the plug. The pins within the plug may be coupled (e.g., soldered) at the ends that may emerge underneath an overmold to any other suitable device to form electrical connections. The plug may be used to transmit audio or transfer data to a user of the electronic device. Kurt Stieh is the inventor.

Patent number 7954065 is for the two-dimensional timeline display of media items. Per the iMovie-related patent, a computer-implemented method includes displaying, within a user interface in a digital media system, a media pane having a vertical direction and horizontal direction, displaying, within the media pane, a plurality of thumbnail groups, each thumbnail group comprising one or more thumbnails collectively representing a corresponding media item, a first thumbnail group being displayed as arranged in a first row extending across the media pane in the horizontal direction such that the first thumbnail group is displayed substantially adjacent to a first vertical edge of the media pane and subsequent thumbnail groups are displayed substantially adjacent to one another in the first row until a thumbnail group in the first row is displayed substantially adjacent to a second vertical edge of the media pane, and displaying a next thumbnail group in a second row vertically displaced from the first row. Randy Ubillos is the inventor.

Apple was also granted design patents for the white iPhone 4 and a previous gen iPod shuffle.

-- Dennis Sellers