Apple Patents: Apple Knows Every Device Needs One of These

Apple Patents: At some point in the future, who knows when, we may have the pleasure of having access to a smartphone or tablet that is powered by solar energy or some other source. Until then, however, companies such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are making do with the technology that is available in today’s day and age.

Every Apple device uses some sort of battery. But as with almost every other component of its devices, the Cupertino-based company is always looking for a way to make things better.

Not only does Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) want to make things better, but it wants to do so in a manner that will keep the competition on the outside looking in. Perhaps, this is why the company recently filed for a patent entitled High-Voltage Lithium-Polymer Batteries for Portable Electronic Devices.

Does Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have something up its sleeve in terms of the type of battery it will use in the future for portable devices? While it may not be making any major changes in the near term, this patent goes a long way in proving that Apple is at least looking into its options.

To better understand what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is thinking, here is the abstract of the patent:

“The disclosed embodiments provide a lithium-polymer battery cell. The lithium-polymer battery cell includes an anode and a cathode containing lithium cobalt oxide particles doped with a doping agent. The lithium-polymer battery cell also includes a pouch enclosing the anode and the cathode, wherein the pouch is flexible. The cathode may allow a charge voltage of the lithium-polymer battery cell to be greater than 4.25V.”

Like many technology patents, the language can be difficult to understand. This is definitely the case with this one.

Fortunately, it goes on to explain how the battery could potentially be used in future applications:

“Lithium-polymer batteries often include cells that are packaged in flexible pouches. Such pouches are typically lightweight and inexpensive to manufacture. Moreover, these pouches may be tailored to various cell dimensions, allowing lithium-polymer batteries to be used in space-constrained portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and/or digital cameras.”

Is it possible that we could see Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) using something like this in future generation iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices? Nobody knows for sure, but the company is at least keeping all its options open.

The patent was filed for on February 29, 2012. The inventors are listed as Hongli Dai and Richard Mank.

The following images will give you a better understanding of what this type of battery can do: