Future MacBooks May Have 4G LTE Connectivity, Apple Granted Patent For “Isolated Cavity Antennas”

The Cupertino has been known for its licence wars and the unending list of patents and copyrights, increasing ever since the time Steve Jobs founded the company. It’s not the iPhones, iPads, other tech stuff that claim an entry in the patent list the but the glass staircase, yes! you heard that right. The signature all-glass staircase present in the Apple Stores is a patent design used by the company.

These patents are the things which help Apple fight imposters and earn some hard cash during the lawsuit drama. In some regions, Apple has even managed to put a check on those copycats from selling their devices, we all remember the Apple Vs Samsung war.

An addition to the list is impressive enough to grab mass attention, especially, the Apple fans. Future MacBooks could have 4G LTE connectivity right out of the box. Just like we have on the iPads.

In a patent, granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple claims inclusion of a “cavity antenna” inside the metal casing of an electronic device having an upper metal housing (which includes a display) and a lower metal housing (includes components like a Keyboard). The antenna would be placed in the slots placed around the hinge and the openings between the upper and lower housing of the device. The electric device would also have angle measurement sensor to allow adjustments in the position of the antenna according to the angle between the upper and lower metal housing.

“Electronic devices often include antennas. For example, cellular telephones, computer, and other devices often contain antennas for supporting wireless communications.” – describes the patent. “In some wireless devices, the presence of conductive housing structures can influence antenna performance. Antenna performance may not be satisfactory if the housing structures are not configured properly and interfere with antenna operation.”

The patent also states the issue of compact devices sizes with conductive housing cases leading to difficulty in achieving desired performance levels. “It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless circuitry for electronic devices.”

The new antenna device so described in the patent would be able to support MIMO in addition to operating on mobile broadband and dual-band frequencies i.e. 2.4 GHz and 5GHz.

The patent “ Electronic Devices With Isolated Cavity Antennas” corresponds to the US Patent number 9,397,387 and was filed on June 8, 2015. The inventors of this development include Jerzy Guterman, Edward T. Sweet, Huan-Chu Huang, and Daniel K. Boothe.

Shaun Nichols writes for The Register,

As with any patent, the feature is far from certain to even make it into prototype hardware, let alone any product released to the public. Apple, like most other consumer electronic companies, often patents technologies early and often to help avoid (and provide ammunition for) legal battles.

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