Apple Faces Patent Lawsuit Over iPhone's Battery Technologies

MacRumors ^ | July 12, 2016 | by Joe Rossignol

[Swordmaker]

Apple Faces Patent Lawsuit Over iPhone's Battery Technologies

Tuesday July 12, 2016 12:04 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Somaltus, LLC has filed a complaint against Apple today in an Eastern Texas district court, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing upon its 2010 patent related to complex battery technologies. The small Frisco, Texas-based firm also filed lawsuits against Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba over the same patent.

The lawsuit claims that the iPhone 6s and any similar devices sold by Apple infringe upon U.S. Patent No. 7,657,386, titled "Integrated Battery Service System," and seeks unspecified monetary damages or, alternatively, a running royalty on sales of infringing devices from the time of judgment going forward.

Defendant sells, offers to sell, and/or uses telephones including, without limitation, the iPhone 6s (the "Product"), for example, and any similar devices, which infringe at least Claim 1 of the ‘386 Patent.

On information and belief, the Product includes a battery service system including a processor (e.g., the A9 chip), which is configured to receive signals from connectors coupled to a battery (e.g., the Product's rechargeable lithium-ion battery).

Specifically, it appears that the infringement claim at least partially relates to the iPhone's process of charging in fast-charge mode until the battery reaches 80% capacity, and then adjusting to trickle-charge mode above 80% capacity.

On information and belief, the processor executes the control codes to continually adjust a charge level to the battery. The Product has a charging system according to which the system operates in fast-charge mode until the battery reaches 80% capacity and then adjusts to trickle-charge mode when the capacity exceeds 80%. When the capacity drops below 80%, the system gain adjusts to fast-charge operation. The purpose of the system is to reduce the charging level applied to the battery at high capacity in order to extend the battery lifespan. Thus, the system adjusts the charging level applied to the battery and does so continuously as the battery charge capacity repeatedly exceeds and drops below 80%.

Somaltus, LLC generally fits the description of a "patent troll," as it does not appear to provide any obvious products or services and lacks an easily identifiable online presence. Nevertheless, it has successfully reached out-of-court settlements with automakers like Ford and Nissan in the past in relation to the same particular patent.

The legal complaint's case number is 2:16-cv-00758 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

[WENDLE]

apple took 1 million jobs to China and they are saturated with homosexuals at the top. To HELL with apple.

[Swordmaker]

Claim 1:

1. A battery service system comprising: connectors configured to couple to a battery;

a signal source coupled to the connectors for generating signals with time variant components configured to apply the signals to the battery continuously during a battery test;

a processor coupled to the connectors and configured to receive signals representing a battery response to the applied signals, and to generate a battery parameter based on the battery response to the applied signals with time variant components, the processor generating a control signal to alter a charge signal by adjusting an on/off period of an AC power source to a transformer coupled to the battery; and an output device for generating an output representing the battery parameter.

The overall invention is in reference to an EXTERNAL, STAND-ALONE AUTOMOBILE BATTERY TESTER, and refers, in the description, to doing things such as: "b) The processor 101 sends a control signal to switch 121 to engage the load 117 to apply a 150 amp resistive load for several seconds." Can you imaging doing such a thing in an iPhone? The invention applies to an external battery tester. Apple was using such technology in its notebook charging prior to the patent's June 13, 2002 application date. . . and even had built in testing for condition of its notebook computers.

[Swordmaker]

apple took 1 million jobs to China and they are saturated with homosexuals at the top. To HELL with apple.

Apple did not take one million jobs to China. Get your propaganda straight. Apple is one of over 500 Consumer Electronics manufacturers which contracts with FoxConn who employed 1.5 million employees. Among those CU manufacturers are these 52 major makers:

• Acer Inc. (Taiwan)
• Alcatel (France)
• Amazon (United States)
• Apple Inc. (United States)
• Archos (France)
• ASRock (Taiwan)
• Asus (Taiwan)
• Barnes & Noble (United States)
• BenQ (South Korea)
• Blackberry (Canada)
• Cisco (United States)
• Dell Inc.(United States)
• EVGA Corporation (United States)
• Fujitsu (Japan)
• GE Thomson
• Google (United States)
• Griffin Technologies (United States)
• Gründig Mobile (Germany)
• Hewlett-Packard (United States)
• HTC (Taiwan)
• Huawei (China)
• Intel (United States)
• IBM (United States)
• Kyocera Communications (Japan)
• Lenovo (China)
• Lenovo/Motorola Mobility (China)
• LG Lucky GoldStar (South Korea)
• Microsoft (United States)
• Microsoft MSI (Taiwan)
• Motorola Communications (United States)
• NCR (United States)
• NEC Casio Communication (Japan)
• Netgear (United States)
• Nintendo (Japan)
• Nokia Oyj (Finland)
• PackardBell (Netherlands)
• Panasonic (Japan)
• Philips (Netherlands)
• Pioneer Electronics (Japan)
• Samsung (South Korea)
• Sanyo (Japan)
• Sharp (Japan)
• Siemens (Germany)
• Sony (Japan)
• TCL Communication Technology (China)
• Telefunken (Germany)
• Thomson (France)
• Toshiba (Japan)
• Vizio (United States)
• Xiaomi (China)
• Zoostorm (New Zealand)
• ZTE (China)

Apple is only one of those and Apple was not the first to go to China. . . in fact, of the Computer manufacturers, it was the last to go.

There is ONE homosexual at the top of Apple, not a saturation as you claim. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and other tech firms had given far more money to the LGBT agenda than Apple has ever given and they started doing 10 years before Tim Cook came out of his closet and Apple got on that idiotic bandwagon. Get your head out of your nether regions. Microsoft's Bill Gates and his foundation have been funding abortions and financing Common Core.

[cba123]

The criticism has some validity.

Apple is making far too much, in China. Granted a lot of other companies are as well, but that doesn’t let Apple off the hook.

Bring back manufacturing to America.

[PA-RIVER]

With Algore on the board of directors.... a good reason to hate apple.

[Diplomat]

So they patented technology that probably 100s of companies have figured out and been doing for decades. Seems bs to me, but at least the science is valid, unlike the ridiculous curved edges and other bs thats been upheld.

[Swordmaker]

So they patented technology that probably 100s of companies have figured out and been doing for decades. Seems bs to me, but at least the science is valid, unlike the ridiculous curved edges and other bs thats been upheld.

And again someone posts a vapid response falling for Samsung's propaganda and demonstrating you don't have a clue about the difference between a utility patent and a design parent, which are two entirely different things and fall under completely differing rules and standards. The later has to do with trade dress, more akin to Trade Marks, and the appearance, look and feel, of a product, its design and ornamentation that distinguish it from other products that compete with it. Such design patents require describing their appearance, including "rounded corners," etc., that Samsung absurdly derided as Apple trying to patent. They did not tell you that their own Samsung design patents ALSO included the same wording when required, or that the judge threatened to sanction the Samsung attorneys for their using such derisive false claims in their arguments.

[Swordmaker]

The criticism has some validity.

Apple is making far too much, in China. Granted a lot of other companies are as well, but that doesn’t let Apple off the hook.

Bring back manufacturing to America.

You don't have a clue. Apple manufactures the Apple Mac Pro in Austin, Texas, and the Apple iMac in Elk Grove, California. That makes Apple the only major computer maker manufacturer in the USA. Many components of the iPads and iPhones are made in the US.

[Diplomat]

Yea, that didnt clear up anything for me. All i was saying was that the science behind battery charging has been known and develped by many different companies for decades now. So why should load varying be allowex to be so recently patented when its beem done by others long before the patent application? Its like patenting math. Maybe theres more, but my intuition says its bullshit.

When i was in college i thought of going lawyer and i know i would hve been good at it. But i was wise enough in my youth to realize that having a license to steal would be a bad thing for me to have.

[Swordmaker]

I know exactly what you mean. Several years ago a fellow got a patent on swinging sideways instead of swinging to and fro. He applied for it, and was granted it, even though children have been swinging sideways since swings were hung from tree limbs! The patent examiners are dodos.

The "inventor" applied knowing full well that it was bogus, expecting it would be rejected, but it was accepted and granted.