Apple patent hints at wireless charging for iPad

Owners of Apple iPad tablets who are wary of having to lug around a cable and adapter on long trips may soon find relief, if this patent becomes reality. The US Patent and Trademark Office on March 14 released details of Apple's patent application for an "integrated inductive charging in protective cover." USPTO said the application described "accurate and reliable techniques for wirelessly powering a tablet device." It credited the inventors as Justin Richard Wodrich and Stephen Robert McClure, adding the application was filed as early as Sept. 12, 2011. An article posted on tech site Mashable said this could suggest future iPads may use a wireless charger "built into the device's Smart Cover." It quoted the patent application as describing "a 'protective cover arranged to protect at least a display of a tablet device' with a body portion comprising 'an inductive power transmitter arranged to wirelessly pass power to a corresponding inductive power receiver unit.'" "In other words, Apple's Smart Cover could be an additional battery that charges the iPad when it runs out of juice, without the need to actually connect it with the iPad's dock," it said. Mashable added such a technology could use magnets in the Smart Cover to help align the cover with the iPad. "As always, the patent application does not necessarily mean we'll ever see the technology in an actual product, but we definitely wouldn't mind having some extra battery juice for the iPad, especially if it's as easy to carry as the Smart Cover," it added. — LBG, GMA News